Byte Magazine Volume 08 Number 07 - Videotex

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Apple Computer Inc., 20525 Mariani Avenue, Cupertino, California 95014

Vol. 1 No. 2

For the authorized Apple dealer nearest you, call 800-538-9696 (800-662-9238 in Califoi

Fruitful Connections.

There are more people in more places making more accessories and peripherals for Apples than for any other personal computer in the world.

Thanks to those people — in hundreds of independent companies—you can make the humblest 1978 Apple II turn tricks that are still on IBM's Wish List for 1984.

But now we're coming out with our very own line of peripherals and accessories for Apple* Personal Computers.

For two very good reasons.

First, compatibility. We've created a totally kluge-free family of products designed to take full advantage of all the advantages built into every Apple.

Second, service and support.

Now the same kindly dealer who keeps your Apple PC in the pink can do the same competent job for your Apple hard-disk and your Apple daisywheel printer.

So if you're looking to expand the capabilities of your Apple II or HI, remember:

Now you can add Apples to Apples.

Gutenberg would be proud*

Old Faithful Silentype® has now been joined by New Faithfuls, the Apple Dot Matrix Printer and the Apple Letter Quality Printer.

So now, whatever your budget and your needs, you can hook your Apple to a printer that's specifically designed to take advantage of all the features built into your Apple. With no compromises. The 7x9 Apple Dot Matrix Printer is redefining "correspondence quality" with exceptional legibility With 144x160 dots per square inch, it can also create high resolution graphics.

The Apple Letter Quality Printer, which gets the words out about 33% faster than other daisywheel printers in its price range, also offers graphics f capabilities. See your authorized Apple dealer for more information and demonstrations. Because, unfortunately, all ie news fit to print simply doesn't fit.

A joy to behold

The new Apple Joystick II is the ultimate hand control device for the Apple II.

Why is it such a joy to use?

With two firing buttons, it's the first ambidextrous joystick just as comfortable for lefties asrighties.

Of course, it gives you 360° cursor control (not just 8-way like some game-oriented devices) and full X/Y coordinate control.

And the Joystick II contains high-quality components and switches tested to over 1,000,000 life cycles.

Which makes it a thing of beauty And a joystick forever.

©1983 Apple Computer Inc.

lip the creek fwithout |l paddle?

Or lett in space? Or down in the dunAons?

Whatever your games, you'll be happj to know that someone has firtaly come out with game paddlefbuilt to hold up under blistering fire. Without giving you blisters!

Apflle Hand Controller II game paddles were designed with one recent discovery in mind:

Peoprnplaying games get excited aril can squeeze very, very hard. ■!

So we rrapde the cases extra rugged. We'Jised switches tested to 3,000,00(Jlife cycles. We shaped them for hoping hands and placed the firing bitton on the right rear side for maximum comfort.

So yoml never miss a shot.

A storehouse of knowledge.

If you work with so much data or so many programs that you find yourself shuffling diskettes constantly you should take a look at Apples ProFile™ the personal mass storage system for the Apple III Personal Computer.

This Winchester-based 5-megabyte hard disk can handle as much data as 35 floppies. Even more important for some, it can access that data about 10-times faster than a standard floppy drive.

So now your Apple III can handle jobs once reserved for computers costing thousands more.

As for quality

and reliability, you need only one word of wisdom: Apple.

store

Launching pad for numeric data.

Good tidings for crunchers of numerous numbers:

Apple now offers a numeric keypad that's electronically and aesthetically compatible with the Apple II ,

Persona! Computer. [ So you can enter numeric data ~^ faster than ever before.

The Apple Numeric Keypad II has a standard calculatorstyle layout. Appropriate

because unlike some other keypads, it can actually function as a calculator.

The four function keys to the left of the numeric pad should be

' of special interest

-•■: to people who use

B- *\M Jin VisiCalc? Because Ki J11 ^y ^et y°u zip || ( H around your !" work sheet more easily than ever, adding and deleting entries.

With one hand tied behind your back.

In The Queue

BITE

Volume 8, Number 7

Check air fare* with OAG bef make r-eservat i on*. It's eas< and could save you money! 9

Page 42

•^ TraveI /

64781411k

ively dasignad 4 bidroom ouit. A spacious kitch»n ast room, large lounge &. ~ on the ground ■floor.

~~> threa roomy bedrooms, throom and shower

Page 60

Themes

40 Videotex Brings the World to Your Doorstep by Rich Malloy / Essentially an enhancement of existing technologies, videotex will bring into your home or place of business a host of services and conveniences, such as shopping and banking. Videotex's potential is enormous, but a few problems must be worked out before it reaches the mass market. Our theme articles address some of these problems and look at the possibilities videotex presents.

42 Videotex: Science Fiction or Reality? by Darby Miller / An overview of the fledgling videotex industry.

60 Prestel: The Basis of an Evolving Videotex System by Graham Hudson / The

pioneering videotex system is flexible enough to adopt anticipated technological advances.

82 NAPLPS Standard Graphics and the Microcomputer by Leo Lax and Mark

Olson / The authors discuss incentives for adopting the NAPLPS standard and what NAPLPS means for microcomputer users.

96 Privacy and Videotex Systems by Richard M. Neustadt / The potential for abusing personal information is that much greater with two-way systems.

104 Graphics Artistry On Line by Martin Nisenholtz / The Telidon videotex workshop from the National Endowment for the Arts explores a new medium for artistic expression.

114 Commentary: Personal Computers and Videotex by Rich Malloy / The different worlds of personal computers and videotex complement each other in exciting ways.

Features

26 Build the RTC-4 Real-Time Controller by Steve Ciarcia / A 4-bit single-chip microcomputer from Texas Instruments comes preprogrammed for timed automatic control.

130 The Microsoft Mouse by Chris Peters / Someone let the mouse out of the bag.

147 Benchmarking the Intel 8086 and 8088 by Gregg Williams / The 8086 is faster than the 8088, but there's more than execution speed to consider when selecting a computer.

166 Vlsl On's Interface Design by Dr. George Woodmansee / Design philosophy behind Visicorp's integrated software.

186 Voice Lab, Part 1: A System for Digital Speech Synthesis and Analysis by

John E. Hoot / Modular routines make this speech synthesis and analysis system useful for application programming and experimentation.

210 Parallel I/O Ports for H-89 Computers by Ronald LaClaustra / You can add

64 input/output ports plus a Centronics-type printer interface to your Heath-/Zenith-89 computer.

266 The Touch of Color by David M. Dacus / Add a new, inexpensive keyboard to Radio Shack's Color Computer.

286 BYTE West Coast: Improving the User Interface at Digital Research by Phil Lemmons and Barbara Robertson / Digital Research's vice-president of Commercial Systems Divison, Gordon Eubanks, describes three different general approaches that his company is taking to improve the user interface.

Page 104

BYTE is published monthly by McGraw-Hill, Inc., with offices at 70 Main St, Peterborough NH 03458, phone |603) 924-9281. Office hours: Mon-Thur 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM, Friday 8:30 AM - Noon, Eastern Time. Address subscriptions, change of address, USPS Form 3579, and fulfillment questions to BYTE Subscriptions, POB 590, Martinsville NJ 08836. Second class postage paid at Peterborough, NH 03458 and additional mailing offices. USPS Publication No. 528890 (ISSN 0360-5280]. Postage paid at Winnipeg, Manitoba. Registration number 9321. Subscriptions are $21 for one year, S38 for two years, and S55 for three years in the USA and its possessions. In Canada and Mexico, S23 for one year, S42 for two years, S61 for three years. S53 for one year air delivery to

299 The 8086—An Architecture for the Future, Part 2: Instruction Set by

Stephen A. Heywood / The 8086 lets you easily construct compact programs.

323 User's Column: Interstellar Drives, Osborne Accessories, DEDICATE/32, and Death Valley by Jerry Pournelle / A medley of miscellanea from our microcomputer maven.

398 The 8088 Connection by Dan Rollins / Interfacing IBM PC BASIC to machinelanguage programs.

417 Squeezing Memory from the Apple with Pascal by Jill David / Using Apple Pascal's Segmentation facilities and a few other techniques, you can write bigger programs than you might have thought possible.

428 Control Your Environment with the Atari 400/800 by David Alan Hayes / A

combination of hardware and software enables your computer to monitor and influence your surroundings.

460 The Practical EEPROM by Louis Wheeler / For less than the price of an EPROM eraser, you can buy an EEPROM that doesn't need one.

484 Add Hlgh-Level Logical Structure to Your FORTH Assembler by Victor

Joseph Grazi / Some extensions to your FORTH assembler package can make your assembly-language programs more readable and easier to write.

Reviews

226 BUBDISK by Peter Callamaras / A bubble-memory device gives the Apple II 128K bytes of nonvolatile memory.

232 Commodore 64 by Stan Wszola / Sprite graphics, good sound, and a S595 price tag make Commodore's new computer a versatile machine.

248 The Strobe Plotting System by Jack L. Bishop / A low-cost plotter for graphs and charts.

360 CP/M Plus by Mark Dahmke / This new disk operating system is faster and more efficient than CP/M.

388 Quadram Corporation's MX700 by Curtis P. Feigel / This video terminal lets you view the equivalent of two typewritten pages, side by side, on a single screen.

470 Alcor Pascal and Advanced Development Package by Rowland Archer Jr. / This package runs on the TRS-80 Models I and III and under CP/M.

Nucleus

4

Editorial. A Statement of Purpose

498

Ask BYTE

7

MICROBYTES

503

Books Received

10

Letters

505

Software Received

356

BYTE Game Contest #2: The Winners

510

Event Queue

440

Programming Quickies: Redefining the

518

What's New?

Apple Keyboard

573

Unclassified Ads

450

Book Review: The Handbook of Artificial

574

BOMB, BOMB Results

Intelligence, Volume 1

575

Reader Service

494

Clubs and Newsletters

Cover Painting by Robert Tinney

Europe. 17,100 yen for one year surface delivery to Japan. S37 surface delivery elsewhere. Air delivery to selected areas at additional rates upon request. Single copy price is S3.50 in the USA and its possessions. $3.95 in Canada and Mexico, S4.50 in Europe, and S5.00 elsewhere Foreign subscriptions and sales should be remitted in United States funds drawn on a U.S. bank. Printed in United States of America.

Subscription questions or problems should be addressed to: BYTE Subscriber Service, P.O. Box 328, Hancock, NH 03449

Page 114

Page 26

Page 210

m

Editor In Chief

Lawrence J. Curran Managing Editor

Pamela A. Clark Senior Editor

Gregg Williams

Technical Editors

Richard S. Shuford, Curtis P. Feigel,

Arthur A. Little, Stanley Wszola,

Richard Malloy. Bruce Roberts;

Philip Lemmons, Barbara Robertson, West

Coast Editors; Steve Garcia, Mark Dahmke,

Consulting Editors; Jon Swanson, Drafting

Editor

Copy Editors

Beverly Cronin, Chief;

Faith Hanson, Warren Williamson, Anthony J.

Lockwood, Hilary Selby Polk, Elizabeth Kepner.

Nancy Hayes,; Margaret Cook. Junior Copy

Editor

Assistants

Faith Kluntz, Beverly Jackson, Lisa Jo Steiner

Production

David R. Anderson, Assoc. Director; Jan Muller, Virginia Reardon, Michael J. Lonsky; Sherry McCarthy, Chief Typographer; Debi Fredericks, Donna Sweeney, Valerie Horn

Advertising

J. Peter Huestis, Sales Manager Deborah Porter. Supervisor; Marion Carlson. Rob Hannings, Cathy A. R. Drew, Lisa Wozmak, Jeanne Cilley, Jeanna Reenstierna; Patricia Akerley, Reader Service Coordinator; Wai Chiu Li, Advertising/ Production Coordinator; Linda J. Sweeney

Circulation

Gregory Spitzfaden, Manager;

Andrew Jackson, Asst. Manager;

Agnes E. Perry, Barbara Varnum, Louise

Menegus, Jennifer Price, Mary Emerson;

James Bingham, Dealer Sales, Deborah J.

Cadwell, Asst; Linda Ryan

Marketing Communications

Horace T. Howland, Director;

Vicki Reynolds, Coordinator;

Timothy W. Taussig, Graphic Arts Manager;

Michele P. Verville, Research Manager

Business Manager

Daniel Rodrigues

Controller's Office

Kenneth A. King, Asst. Controller; Mary E. Fluhr, Acct. & D/P Mgr.; Karen Burgess, Linda Fluhr, Vicki Bennett, Vern Rockwell, Lyda Clark, Janet Pritchard, JoAnn Walter

Traffic

N. Scott Gagnon, Manager; Scott Jackson, Brian Higgins

Receptionist

Jeanann Waters Personnel/Office Manager

Cheryl A. Hurd

Publisher

Gene W. Simpson; John E. Hayes,

Associate Publisher/Production Director; Doris R. Gamble, Publisher's Assistant

Officers of McGraw-Hill Publications Company: John G. Wrede, President; Executive Vice President: Paul F. McPherson; Senior Vice President-Editorial: Ralph R. Schulz; Vice Presidents: Kemp Anderson, Business Systems Development; Shel F. Asen, Manufacturing; Harry L. Brown. Special Markets; James E. Hackett, Controller; Eric B. Herr. Planning and Development; H. John Sweger, Jr., Marketing.

Officers of the Corporation: Harold W. McGraw Jr., Chairman; Joseph L. Dionne, President and Chief Executive Officer; Robert N. Landes, Senior Vice President and Secretary; Ralph J. Webb, Treasurer.

4 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Editorial

A Statement of Purpose

Lawrence J. Curran, Editor in Chief

BYTE's growth over the past seven years has paralleled the microcomputer's swift rise to prominence in the broad-based computer world. The foresight of the magazine's founders, who recognized that microcomputer pioneers wanted detailed technical information about hardware and software, enabled the magazine to establish itself as an authoritative voice in the personal computer arena. Today we are still committed to communicating detailed and technical information.

As the needs of the readers guided BYTE's founders, so do they guide us as we write and edit articles for a sophisticated audience that we believe comprises three principal segments: professionals in fields such as law, medicine, accounting, and business management who rely on computers as personal tools in their work; scientists and engineers in the computer industry who regard computers as essential development aids on the job; and those who use personal computers in nonvocational pursuits. We'll call those in the latter category hobbyists, although that term is subject to careful reexamination today.

BYTE's purpose will be to serve the technical information needs of that audience as it continues to grapple with myriad equipment and software choices. We intend to do that with a greater sense of urgency than BYTE has ever had. Some of the current speculation about BYTE suggests that it will become a news magazine. We do intend to offer departments in the magazine that treat late developments of interest to our audience. We introduced one of those last month. Called MICROBYTES (see page 7), it highlights industry events that will be treated in greater detail in subsequent issues. Be assured, however, that this new department, or others whose purpose is to present timely interpretation of industry events for computer users, will not tempt us to soften the detailed technical analysis of new products, technologies, and developments in computer science that BYTE has traditionally presented in its feature-length articles.

We intend to hire more editors and writers to gather and interpret information and to solicit technical articles from authorities in various disciplines within the microcomputer industry. We intend to bring you that information more quickly than ever before. We believe that adding some timeliness and urgency to BYTE's traditionally strong technical orientation will not make BYTE a news magazine. We have no intentions of diluting the magazine's technical content. If anything, we're committed to enriching that content through our own resources and those of McGraw-Hill Inc., the most highly respected publisher of technical information in the world. ■

How to buy a computer by the numbers.

IntroducingtheCromemcoC-lO Personal Computer. Only $1785, including software, and you get more professional features and performance for the price than with any other personal computer on the market. We've got the numbers to prove it.

The C-10 starts with a high-resolution 12" CRT that displays 25 lines with a full 80 characters on each line. Inside is a high-speed Z-80A microprocessor and 64K bytes of on-board memory. Then there's a detached, easy-to-use keyboard and a 5V«" disk drive with an exceptionally large 390K capacity. That's the C-10, and you won't find another ready-to-use personal computer that offers you more.

But hardware can't work alone. That's why every C-10 includes software —word processing, financial spread sheet, investment planning and BASIC. JHard-working, CP/M "-based software at meets your everyday needs. Software that could cost over $1000 some

where else. FREE with the C-10. There's really nothing else to buy.

But the C-10's numbers tell only part of the story. What they don't say is that Cromemco is already known for some of the most reliable business and scientific computers in the industry. And now for the first time, this technology is available in a personal computer.

One last number. Call 800 538-8157x929 for the name of your nearest Cromemco dealer, or to request literature. In California call 800 672-3470 x929. Or write Cromemco, Inc., 280 Bernardo Avenue, P.O. Box 7400, Mountain View, CA 94039. In Europe, write Cromemco A/S, Vesterbrogade 1C, 1620 Copenhagen, Denmark.

CP/MR is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc. All Cromemco products are serviced by TRW.

Cromemco

Tomorrow's computers today

Circle 117 on inquiry card.

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Add Multi

to Your S-100 or Multibus*

The system builder's best choice for color graphics is a CS5000 color system from SCION. Its basic component is MicroAngelo, the single board graphics display computer that has revolutionized monochrome display capability with low cost 512x480 pixel graphics resolution and 40 line by 85 character text capacity. When MicroAngelo boards are combined, they create high resolution color graphics that have a unique advantage. The displayed image is a combination of transparencies. So you can add, modify or delete images by transparency rather than as an entire image.

SCION'S Series CS5000 builds an image with up to 8 bit planes, each generated by a MicroAngelo board. You select the assignment of those bit planes to transparencies. Each transparency can display 2n-1 colors where n is the number of bit planes it uses... 2 bit planes would make a three color transparency, 8 bit planes would make a 255 color transparency. Once each transparency has been defined, your host can work with it independently, generating and modifying its graphics and text without interacting with the others. The independent transparencies are combined by the Color Mixer board which also assigns one of 16.8 million possible colors to each color of each transparency.

-* —»

tor . V h

Your computer talks to the SCION Color System in SCREENWARE™, SCION'S high level display firmware language. SCREENWARE commands are used by the computer in each MicroAngelo bit plane to generate graphics and text primitives. User interface is made simple with prompted system set-up using SCION'S ColorPak.

MicroAngelo based color graphics systems are easy to use. Just plug the boards into your Multibus or S-100 host. Or use the freestanding work station configuration with its RS-232 interface. In each case, you get high resolution color graphics for such a low price you can't afford to design your own.

Think SCION for your graphics display needs. Think MicroAngelo. Call us at (703) 476-6100.

System shown is a Model CS5050S. *A trademark of Intel Corp.

if the image is important.

12310 Pinecrest Rd./Reston, VA 22091 (703)476-6100 TWX: 710-833-0684

For S-100 circle 501 on inquiry card, For Multibus circle 502 on inquiry card.

MICROBYTES

Staff-written highlights of microcomputer-related developments from the National Computer Conference.

NEW SYSTEMS ABOUND AT THE NATIONAL COMPUTER CONFERENCE

Two makers of minis and mainframes displayed 16-bit microcomputers at the National Computer Conference. Honeywell's Microsystem 6/10 uses a proprietary 16-bit microprocessor but features a personal computing option that includes an 8086 processor and both MS-DOS and CP/M-86. A complete system with 512K bytes of memory, two 650K-byte disk drives, two serial ports, and the 8086 processor costs $6370. Configurations for NCR's Decision Mate V microcomputer range from an 8-bit processor with a monochrome display that sells for $2650 to a 16-bit processor with an RGB color monitor for about $3600. NCR is courting local computer outlet chains to distribute the new machines.

Sanyo introduced the MBC 550, an 8088-based personal computer that sells for $995 when equipped with 1 28K bytes of RAM, a 160K-byte floppy-disk drive, printer port, and word-processing and spreadsheet software. A color monitor is available for $495.

The M68 personal computer from Sord Computer of America, New York, NY, features two microprocessors: a 10-MHz 68000 and a 4-MHz Z80A. The system has two 5%-inch, 1.2-megabyte floppydisk drives, two RS-232C ports and one parallel printer port, and 256K bytes of RAM. As an 8-bit machine, the M68 can run CP/M software. With a color monitor and Sord's PIPS III spreadsheet/file manager software, the M68 will sell for $4895.

Visual Technology Inc., Tewksbury, MA, demonstrated the Visual 1050 personal computer. Listing for $2695, the system has both Z80A and 6502 processors, 800K bytes of disk storage, bit-mapped graphics, serial and parallel I/O, and applications programs.

Mitsubishi's 816 distributed resource system supports multiple users in a 1-megabit network configuration. The network nodes can have up to 768K bytes of RAM, local as well as shared mass storage, and optional 800 by 500 graphics resolution. The operating system is an extended version of MP/M-86.

Mad Computer Inc., Santa Clara, CA, maker of the MAD-1, a new machine based on the 80186, announced that it will offer a $400 software package that will include MS-DOS 2.0, the Multiplan spreadsheet program, the low-cost Wordvision word processor, and GW-BASIC. CP/M-86 and Peachtree Software's integrated accounting packages will be available as options. MAD-1 will sell for between $4000 and $6000.

Digilog Business Systems' entry-level business computer is capable of being expanded to five processors and 16 users. Based on the Intel 80186, the DBS 16 contains two disk drives, 256K to 51 2K bytes of RAM, and interface capacity for up to four workstations running CP/M-86 and MP/M-86. To add more than four workstations, Digilog offers an expansion chassis with up to four slave 80186 processors. The DBS 1 6 is priced at $3495; individual workstations start at $1095.

NEC announced significant price reductions for its Advanced Personal Computer, dropping prices on many options by as much as 40 percent. The price of the 10-megabyte hard disk, however, came down only $100, to $2698. New options include an 8087 board and the family of Digital Research languages.

THREE COMPANIES INTRODUCE PORTABLE COMPUTERS

Televideo displayed the Teletote I, a 64K-byte, Z80A portable machine with one double-sided doubledensity disk drive, two serial-communication ports, a mouse connector, and a 9-inch green-phosphor video screen. The machine is bundled with CP/M and word-processing, spreadsheet, and graphics software for $1499.

Columbia Data Products introduced the Columbia VP, an IBM-compatible portable. In a 30-pound box, this machine offers as much as 256K bytes of RAM and dual half-height 320K-byte floppy-disk drives. Bundled with applications from Perfect Software, the machine will retail for $2995.

Universal Data Inc., Clarkston, Ml, is offering a 12-pound portable computer that can run for two days on battery power. The UDI-500 has dual microfloppy disk drives, an 8-bit processor running CP/M, and word-processing, spreadsheet, and BASIC software. The system sells for less than $4000.

Otrona announced Attache S, a single-drive system that sells for $2695, and dropped the price of its Attache portable computer by $1000, to $2995. Both systems come with CP/M and five applications software packages.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 7

MICRO BYTES.

STRIPPED-DOWN $495 COMPUTER IS IBM PC COMPATIBLE

Farrady Electronics, Palo Alto, CA, is shipping the FE Model 64, a single-board computer whose board and software are compatible with the IBM Personal Computer; the unit is $249 in OEM quantities and $495 in single quantities. The board contains an Intel 8088 processor, five expansion slots (four more slots can be added), two serial ports, one parallel port, and 64K bytes of memory (expandable to 256K). The user must provide power supply, keyboard, disk drive, and disk and video boards to complete the system.

FUJITSU DISPLAYS ENHANCED WORDSTAR FOR MICRO IBS

Fujitsu is offering an enhanced version of the popular word-processing program Wordstar with its new dual-processor microcomputer, the Fujitsu Micro 16s (see June, p. 1 50). This version of Wordstar features menus in color, user-definable function keys, and multitasking under Concurrent CP/M. The Micro 16s, with 8086 and Z80 processors, two floppy-disk drives, an RGB monitor, CP/M-86, Wordstar, and Supercalc, will sell for about $3995.

WESTERN ELECTRIC AND MICROSOFT ANNOUNCE NEW VERSIONS OF UNIX AND XENIX

The Western Electric division of AT&T announced that its new version of the Unix operating system, called System Five, will work with several powerful microprocessors, including Intel's 80286, Motorola's 68000, and National Semiconductor's 16032. Microsoft, which sells Xenix (a businessoriented version of Unix) and which is the largest licensee of Unix, responded by announcing that the company will incorporate Unix System Five's new enhancements into Xenix as soon as possible. Microsoft's version 3 of Xenix will be available soon for the Altos 586 and by November for the IBM PC. Because the entire Xenix package with all of its utility programs takes up about 8 megabytes, Microsoft has divided the system into modules. A single-user module will sell for $395. A multiuser module costs an additional $695. Two other modules can be added on top of the multiuser module: a system-development module for advanced programming work ($495) and a module for advanced text processing and typesetting ($395).

CP/M LICENSES COVER HEWLETT-PACKARD, XEROX, AND UDI MACHINES

Digital Research Inc., Pacific Grove, CA, used NCC to announce licenses with three microcomputer manufacturers for various versions of the CP/M operating system. One of the licensing agreements makes CP/M-68K available with Hewlett-Packard's HP Series 200 personal computers. CP/M-68K is a 16-bit version of CP/M that has been rewritten to take advantage of the power of the Motorola 68000, the 16/32-bit microprocessor used in all HP Series 200 computers. Digital Research views this contract as important because it's one of the first high-volume distribution agreements for CP/M-68K, which provides a bridge for transporting application software between Unix and CP/M systems.

Another licensing agreement enables Xerox Corp. to use CP/M and CP/M-86 on Xerox's 1 6/8 professional computer, which was introduced in early May. The 16/8 has both 8- and 16-bit microprocessors, each with separate memory, and the two versions of CP/M will allow users to perform separate operations simultaneously. The last of the Digital Research licensing agreements is with Universal Data Inc., Clarkston, Ml, and provides CP/M for the UDI-500 8-bit portable computer, which was also announced at NCC.

NETWORKING AND WINDOWS FOR THE IBM PC

3Com Corporation, Xerox, and Visicorp have embarked on a joint project that will allow IBM PCs that are interconnected via 3Com's Ethernet interface and running Visi On to exchange electronic mail and to access Xerox laser printers and file servers. Xerox will design the print/filing/mailing module, and Visicorp and 3Com will market it. In addition to allowing electronic mail with Visi On-based applications, this product will enable IBM PCs in the office to be used with other Ethernet-based office equipment. In a related announcement, Xerox pledged that it would work closely with Visicorp to develop Visi On for Xerox's personal computers.

In yet another network offering, Davong Systems introduced Multilink, which enables up to 255 IBM PC or XT users to share hard-disk resources. Using a data-transfer rate of 2.5 megabits per second, this network is based on ARCNET levels 1 and 2. The network interface consists of a network transceiver, a local-network controller, a data buffer, a host interface, and ROM. The interface card for each node is $595 and requires 128K bytes per node. The networking software sells for $500. The maximum

Continued on page 296 8 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc Circle 316 on Inquiry card. —►

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Letters

Sounding Off for the PC

I am one of those quiet, ordinary computer professionals who buys BYTE every month. I also happen to be one of more than 200,000 IBM Personal Computer owners. I understand that you can't address every type of system every month or even every other month, so I don't get too upset at the lack of coverage of the IBM PC.

However, last month I read Gregg Williams' "The Lisa Computer System" (February, p. 33), which attempted to show how much better a machine it is than the PC. I cannot hold my tongue any longer. Just to point out the bias, you mentioned that when the two machines were comparably equipped, the PC very quickly ran out of slots. While this is true if you use all IBM products, it is certainly not true if you use multifunction cards such as Quadram or AST. Most of the people I know have done exactly that and have been quite pleased.

So what happens? IBM announces the PC-XT, a host of interconnects, a new operating system, etc. What does BYTE print? Zero! Nothing! An article on the new Intel chips is as close as you came to printing anything related to the PC. I guess I must be buying the wrong magazine. I dare you to print this letter and ask how many other readers out there feel the same way.

I'm not asking for top billing for the PC, just close to equal billing with the others. The Apples, S-lOOs, and others are all good machines, but so is the PC. I'd like to see a few comparisons done fairly.

William T. Manley 8345 Attica Ct. Jonesboro, GA 30236

/ hope you don't have the wrong impression about our interest in the IBM Personal Computer. By unhappy coincidence, your letter came just before our May issue, which contained a full-page announcement of the IBM PC-XT (p. 520), a construction article on the IBM PC keyboard (p. 402), and a review of four IBM PC word processors (p. 176). We plan to have other articles on the IBM PC, including a two-part article on interfacing the IBM PC to the Intel 8087 floatingpoint chip (the latter written by Tim Field, who did the excellent "A Peek into the IBM PC" in March).

10 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Regarding the Lisa article I wrote in February, I do not agree that my treatment of comparably equipped Lisa and IBM PC machines constitutes a bias on my part. I was aware that third-party multifunction boards could make IBM look better in that comparison, but the point was that the product as seen by IBM (i.e., using IBM products only) does run out of expansion room. I will change that opinion only when IBM introduces a multifunction board. . . .G.W.

Portables Banned from Aircraft

The recent boom in portable computers has spawned a host of articles on the subject in recent months. Almost without fail, such letters refer to the fact that today's machines are portable in name only because they have either nonexistent or inadequate battery capability. These observations are most frequently followed by the comment that even those units with batteries lack the staying power for a coast-to-coast flight.

As both a manufacturer of computer systems and a pilot, I would like to call your attention to the fact that the operation of portable electronic devices aboard a commercial aircraft or an aircraft flying under instrument conditions is prohibited by law. (See Federal Aviation Regulations, Section 91.19.)

Computers are sources of EMI (electromagnetic interference), which can affect the navigational equipment aboard modern aircraft. This poses a clear hazard to the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.

Clearly, portable computers and airplanes do not mix. Nor is this restriction likely to be lifted in the near future. Although EMI can be reduced through shielding, it cannot be eliminated, and its effects can be cumulative. With most airline passengers flying for business purposes, the chance of multiple computer users on a given flight increases with the growing popularity of portables. Additionally, defects in wiring caused by either poor manufacture or physical shock (an increasing possibility with portables) can totally negate the effects of shielding. This would not necessarily affect the operation of the computer in any other way that might alert the operator to the situation.

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Letters.

Manufacturers may advertise portables that will fit under an airplane seat. That is where they belong. If you feel compelled to work while flying, stick to pushing papers. Sit back and enjoy the flight.

Alexander Raue Executive Vice-President Elegant Solutions 3 Pleasant Valley Rd. Whippany, NJ 07981

Don't Knock FORTH, C

I was pleased to see "Modula-2" by Joel McCormack and Richard Gleaves (April, p. 385), as I have been trying, with little success so far, to find out something about this alternative to Ada. It seems to be all that I hoped for. Although I like begin-end blocks better than if-end, whileend blocks, that's mainly due to my experience first with Pascal and then with C. Niklaus Wirth seems to have done an excellent job. Which brings me to the meat of my letter: the article is a good introduction to Modula-2, but it contained an unfair attack on the languages C and FORTH.

Hear me out. I am not an uncritical exponent of either language, especially not FORTH (although I don't know any other language that is as well suited to fast, efficient programming), but C certainly has the capability to clearly describe data structures and algorithms, detect program errors as syntax errors (although FORTH falls behind here, it certainly won't "quietly rearrange the meaning of the program"), and protect against improper mixing of different types (Pascal protects against even proper mixing of different types). If McCormack and Gleaves claim it can't, they don't know much about C. They certainly can't ever have programmed in C.

They also claim that C is "unreadable." Nothing could be farther from the truth. C is clean and lean, but hardly unreadable. I find it much more readable than Pascal, with its muddy structure. The authors' final slam on C, that it has "inadequate separate compilation features," is clearly untrue. The only way they could have gotten such an idea is by using (or hearing about) one of the hobbyist implementations of C.

Hoare was right: a language needs to be small enough that there is no need for subsets. It also needs to be large enough

that there is no need for supersets. C (and probably, now, Modula-2) is a happy balance of small and large. I have never seen a superset (or even the need for a superset) of C. I have seen subsets of C and Pascal (and even, God forbid, BASIC), but these have been amateur compilers and interpreters designed purely for hobbyists. I have seen plenty of supersets of Pascal. In fact I have seen only one ISO standard, no-extensions Pascal. Nobody used it.

Extended Pascal is certainly not superior to C. It fails in power, elegance, and portability. McCormack and Gleaves should have presented Modula-2, which they clearly know well, to be judged on its own merits, rather than attack a language they seem to have little experience with.

P. J. da Silva

9950 Club Creek Dr., Apt. 602

Houston, TX 77036

Belady's Algorithm Revisited

Because Stephen Schmitt's "Virtual Memory for Microcomputers" (April, p. 210) mentions L. A. Belady's algorithm, I would like to call your attention to the paper in which Belady presented many other algorithms (such as LRU) and the concept of locality of references for the first time: "A Study of Replacement Algorithms for a Virtual Storage Computer," IBM Systems Journal, Volume 5, Number 2, 1966, pp. 78-101.

R. J. Wilfinger

17 Square Woods Dr.

La Grangeville, NY 12546

Formatting in FORTRAN

I really enjoyed the April Letters column (p. 12). It was a lively forum on what has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, the home computer business.

I first verified David Dunthorn's allegation (December 1982, p. 22) that Microsoft's FORTRAN 80 (version 3.41, created December 1980) would not correctly compile a format statement:

FORMAT(lX,3 F 10.2 / 1X,4 (F 10.4)

Instead of rescanning at the 'F 10.4' set of parentheses as the ANSI (American

12 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 15

Letters.

National Standards Institute) standard said it should, it rescanned to '3 F 10.2 '. If there were 11 variables in the I/O (input/ output) list, the first row should have three floating-point numbers with two decimal places and the second and third rows should have four floating-point numbers with four decimal places.

Old Microsoft didn't quite manage this! It gave a correct first and second row, but the third row had three numbers with two decimal places and the fourth had one number with four decimal places.

However, I'm not sure T. M. Putnam's criticism (December 1982, page 22) of the IBM Personal Computer FORTRAN compiler's handling of the CHARACTER data type is as valid. If a CHARACTER*64 data type is specified and the I/O list has fewer than 64 characters, a run-time error should occur. If, for example, the 64 characters in the I/O list form a sentence and the compiler accepts fewer than 64 characters, a logical error, loss in meaning, occurs. Pascal has a similar compiler error more cryptically stated:

175: Actual Parameter string length less than var formal max length

To make things more confusing, Apple FORTRAN had no trouble with the rescan problem and will accept the CHARACTER * 64 data type. In this compiler a variable LINE, typed as CHARACTER*64 and confronted with an I/O list 10 characters in length, would be 10 characters; if the I/O list were more than 64 characters, variable LINE would be 64 characters.

Computer languages evolve, and meaning, form, and syntax change. I don't like Microsoft's handling of the FORMAT rescan function, but I cannot go along with Putnam's criticism of IBM PC FORTRAN. Microsoft is paranoid about the number of backup copies you make for your personal use and anxiously awaits the return of your serial number. It would seem, in fairness to the consumer, that a "bug" list, or discovered variations from ANSI standards, should be made available to registered purchasers of Microsoft products.

I use FORTRAN a good deal because most of the medical computers in radiology use the language. Many of these devices are under the jurisdiction of the FDA and the Bureau of Radiological Health. With the proliferation of microcomputers and programs in the hands of health-service professionals and physi

cians who use these products in patient care, it is possible to have a negligent software company on the wrong end of a multi-million-dollar malpractice suit. L. J. Kutten's elegant letter on "Disclaimers and the Law" (April, p. 22) should be required reading for the president of Microsoft.

Albert Weinshelbaum, M.D. Associate Chief, Diagnostic Radiology V.A. Medical Center 150 Muir Rd. Martinez, CA 94553

VDTs and Radiation

Edward Gogol's letter (April, p. 14) on the health risks of video display terminals' radiative emissions is indeed alarming. One of the aspects of his argument is that he would like actual exposure values quoted so that he could make his own decisions relative to absolute danger. I submit that if he knew enough about the subject to assess risk from quoted figures, he would either know where to find the numbers or how to measure them. In our technologically advanced society, we must accept the fact that another's knowledge must be depended on—an individual cannot know everything there is to know.

The subject of risk from radiation exposure is fraught with difficulties. These difficulties stem from the facts that Gogol points out, such as the lack of a threshold. The first documented cases of biological risk from ionizing radiation began to appear in the few months immediately following its discovery (before the turn of the century). The early cases showed damage attributable to massive doses, and it did not take many such instances to assign a correlation between the irradiation and the damage. As time (and knowledge) progressed, effects due to smaller and smaller amounts of radiation became apparent.

There is one salient feature involved here—the smaller the risk imposed by a perturbing factor, the larger the number of samples required to prove a causal relationship. The fact that the relationship between sample size required to prove causality and radiation dose follows a squared relationship can be illustrated as follows: if it takes 1000 people to prove that the risk of developing disease due to radiation is x at a dose level of 100 rads, it would take 100,000 people to demonstrate

a risk at 10 rads. These numbers are only hypothetical, but at the radiation levels we can measure from VDTs, it is exceedingly unlikely that deleterious effects will ever be detectable, especially in view of background radiation levels and spontaneous disease rates.

To quote from FDA 81-8153, An Evaluation of Radiation Emission from Video Display Terminals, "For both normal and Phase III (worst-case) operating conditions, the likely emission from a VDT is 0.1 millirem (mR) per hour or less. Terminals capable of exceeding the 0.5mR per hour regulatory limit receive special attention. With the assumptions of 6 hours per viewing day, 5 days per week for 50 weeks per year, the annual radiation dose to an individual 2 inches from the front surface of the screen emitting 0.1 mR per hour would be 150 mR. Note that 2 inches is an unrealistically short viewing distance; as one moves further away from the screen, the radiation exposure decreases correspondingly."

The synergistic effects of UV, microwaves, and ionizing radiation are questionable. The microwaves emitted from VDTs fall primarily (95 percent) in the range 15 kHz to 125 kHz, or below the AM radio band, and do not interact significantly with the body. Careful attention to the spectral response of phosphors limits their emissions to visible light, which should make the benefit/risk analysis very easy. Again, the levels emitted are much below applicable standards, which are sent below detectable limits for disease induction. Remember, "detectable" implies relative risks compared to background rates.

It seems apparent to me that if radiation exposure from VDTs was indeed a significant health hazard, the effects would be seen in the population consisting of TV station program directors, who have peered into not one but many (10 or 20) simultaneously operating screens for multiple years—many of those years prior to the 1968 regulations that limit the circuitry and radiative emissions of TVs and VDTs. We know that the risk is vanishingly small (based on our past experience), so the risk/benefit/cost analysis cannot favor any change that will even mildly increase the cost (i.e., lead screens, folded optics, LCDs, etc.).

Gregory L. Gibbs

Rocky Mountain Medical Physics Inc.

POB 27667

Denver, CO 80227

16 July 19S3 © BYTE Publication! Inc

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BYTE July 1983

Letters,

Fuzzier Than Intended

There are errors in the programs accompanying my article "Keywords in a Fuzzy Context " (March, p. 389). Line 182 in the program BIBBLD.BAS should read 'WORDS = LEFT$( WORDS, K WD. LEN%)' vice 'WORDS=LEFT$(WORDS, 16)'. Without this change, the program will not work correctly for keywords with lengths other than 16 characters. A second error is present in the program VOCLST.BAS in line 6, which contains an extraneous variable, KWD, in the COMMON variable list. Line 6 should read

COMMON ISS.LEN%,CLS$,ERR%, JOUR.LEN%,KWD.LEN%,CMD$(l)

With the error certain sequences of program operation will result in an inability to chain from the keyword listing function back to the main menu.

Thomas A. Smith 1525 Lyndhurst Ave. Camarillo, CA 93010

Thomas Smith's "Keywords in a Fuzzy Context" was most interesting. However, his mathematical interpretations of the fuzzy operations seem to yield perhaps unintended results.

By defining the Boolean AND operation as the minimum of two values, Smith has created a function that emphasizes the smaller value and ignores the larger one. Consider the use of the AND operation as applied to the values of the corresponding keywords in the interrogation and the article descriptors. If an interrogation attribute was assigned a weight of 0.4 and a group of five articles with keyword values of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 were being considered, the results of the fuzzy AND would be 0.2, 0.4, 0.4, 0.4, and 0.4 respectively. Thus, rather than reflect a combination of the desired importance of an attribute and its value in an article, the AND operation limits the value of an article attribute to the keyword value, i.e., all articles with values greater than 0.4 will be evaluated equally and assigned a maximum result of 0.4. Why doesn't Smith use the arithmetic multiply function that would yield a more discriminating set of values: 0.08, 0.16, 0.24, 0.32, and 0.4?

A similar distortion occurs in the use of the OR operation, which is defined as the maximum of two values. Compare the

results of (0.9 or 0.1) versus (0.8 or 0.8). Is the former pair, which yields a result of 0.9, really superior to the latter pair, which has a result of only 0.8? Note again the importance placed on one value in a pair, in this case the larger one, at the expense of ignORing all information about the smaller one.

The "maximum" function is equivalent to (1.0 X larger value + 0.0 X smaller value). To take into account the smaller value, the coefficients could be adjusted to perhaps 0.75 and 0.25. In the above example, this formula would yield 0.7 for (0.9 or 0.1) and 0.8 for (0.8 or 0.8). The values of the coefficients could be adjusted depending on the importance you assign to the larger value versus the smaller one.

Seymour Small

Center for Birth Defects Information

Services 171 Harrison Ave., Box 403 Boston, MA 02111

Storing Binary Numbers

There may be a better way to store numbers in binary floating-point form than the technique that you presented in "Binary-Format Numbers Storage on the Apple II Disk," (March, p. 453).

Why bother with the high-order bit? In fact, why call the DOS routine to put the data into the file buffer? Just move the 5-byte floating-point number to the buffer directly and update the byte offset in the file manager work area. When the buffer is full, call the DOS routine to output the buffer and reset the work area pointers.

In fact, many text files do not have the high-order bit on for each data byte in the file. These files do not follow the DOS convention, but they contain valid data nevertheless. Personal Finance Manager (Apple Special Delivery) uses a 281-sector text file for storing binary data (floating point, integer, and character values, all without the high-order bit on). A better technique would be to use BSAVE/ BLOAD for binary data. This eliminates the program altogether.

Using your technique to store a 1000-element array would take four additional sectors of disk space (6000 bytes versus 5000 bytes in a binary file).

Ken Kashmarek 6 Cherokee Ct. Eldridge, IA 52748

In Support of Hackers

Contrary to Ron Dyer and Daniel Ross, (Letters column, February, pp. 26-27), I find Jerry Pournelle's column very enlightening and entertaining. A periodical that is very technically oriented needs Jerry's approach to journalism. I enjoy it so much that it's the first thing I read after "In the Queue." Pournelle tells it like it is in the real world. His "friends" add dimension, and the clubs and organizations add topic material and background.

Daniel Ross should come down from his pedestal and look around. I've worked in a software house for seven and a half years as a quality assurance analyst, and I'll take the so-called hacker any day to correct a bug report. The hacker's tools are intuition, imagination, and luck. The rate at which he or she can fix the bug and get the customer up and running again is what it's all about. All that top-down stuff is fine for new software development, but when the customer finds a bug and revenue isn't being generated, the hacker comes to the rescue.

No matter how much you preach and teach about flow charting or top-down design, they're long forgotten once the software is released. If it weren't for hackers, nothing would get done.

Larry Brown

26565 Joy Rd.

Dearborn Heights, MI 48127

A Vote for Pournelle

In reference to the attack on Jerry Pournelle in the February Letters column (p. 26), Dyer and Ross take themselves and microcomputing much too seriously. Keep the column just the way it is. I think that Jerry is much closer to the real world than either of these gentlemen. Those who are offended can very easily skip the User's Column.

Rodger B. Hallen Regional Comm, Office American Embassy-Manila APO San Francisco, CA 96528

Tell Jerry Pournelle that I am with him 100 percent on his comment in the February User's Column (p. 364). Keep it

18 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Letters.

a user's column. Tell me about things that can be bought and have been tested. Let somebody else write the language theorist's column.

I rather like seeing a little of the background behind the columnist's life. It makes the column seem more like a letter from a friend. And it helps to explain why "excellent" products that are hard to learn get such a chilly market reception; most people are too busy to spend the time learning them.

A reverence for clear thought is more the domain of the scientist/mathematician/theorist than the engineer. Those who solve real physical problems under time and expense constraints use many "cut and try" or "rule of thumb" approaches. Many practical real products are produced this way, and recombinant DNA and movies are prime examples, not counter-examples. Haven't Pournelle's critics ever heard of the "cutting rooms" in Hollywood?

R. S. Lumsden

36 Palomino Crescent

Willowdale, Ontario M2K 1W3

Canada

Revisiting the Next Generation

Timothy Stryker presented a proposal for a stack-oriented microprocessor that would directly implement in hardware the primary operations of a high-level language such as FORTH ("The Next Generation of Microprocessor," January, p. 128). However, as Stryker points out, this machine does not implement threaded code, and therefore it does not provide one of the most significant features of FORTH—extensibility of the operation set. In fact, implementing FORTH on this machine would require either an inner interpreter as in present-day implementations (the FORTH routine NEXT) to run FORTH code, which is very inefficient in terms of time, or in-line threading via explicit subroutine calls, which is inefficient in terms of space.

By making the following slight change in Stryker's scheme, it is possible to implement threaded code directly and efficiently in hardware (in fact, Stryker suggests a similar trick in his article, but (of other purposes): the low-order bit of each machine instruction is used to distinguish between primary operations and user

defined extensions to the operation set. If this bit were set, the rest of the byte being examined would be decoded as an ordinary machine instruction to be executed directly by the hardware, but if the loworder bit was 0, this and the following byte would be treated as a 16-bit address of a subroutine to which an implicit CALL would be performed. With this architecture, a full version of FORTH can be implemented directly in machine language. User definitions would be compiled simply as subroutines. The double-indirect threading of today's FORTH is not needed because its main function (distinguishing between machine code and high-level code) is taken over by the hardware, and its other functions (e.g., for the definition of new operation types) can easily be achieved if there are instructions to directly access the subroutine return stack and its stack pointer. Moreover, in this new machine's FORTH, machine and highlevel operations can be arbitrarily mixed. And in contrast to present-day FORTHs, operations in the primary word set require only 1 byte for each reference and no overhead in machine time; high-level operations require the same amount of memory but less time than at present.

The cost of this scheme is small—on average, Vi byte of memory for each user definition because definitions must begin at even addresses. Also, Stryker's abbreviated "PUSH a 16-bit constant" operation could no longer be implemented (i.e., a 16-bit PUSH would now always require 3 bytes of program space). However, PUSHes of constants above 16 or so make up only a very small part of a typical program.

Gordon Wassermann Plasshofstrasse 29 4630 Bochum West Germany

Surpassing the 68000?

I read Chris Morgan's Product Description of IBM's 9000 (January, p. 100). Excellent article and to the point. Sounds like quite a product.

The article's last statement provides food for thought and speculation. "In one gesture, IBM has legitimized a microprocessor that deserves more attention. The Motorola 68000."

It would be interesting to know when IBM made the decision to use the 68000 in

20 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Letters.

the 9000. Was the Intel 80286 available at the time7 As of today (the 80286 became available in the fourth quarter of 1982), the 80286 will run rings around the 68000 on every score from speed to chip count. The 68000 won't come close in the C/Unix "microcomputer box" competition, for example. I think the 68000 has been surpassed.

Howard Boyet

14 E. 8th St.

New York, NY 10003

And More Pdkkdos. . .

It is my sad duty to inform you that the otherwise excellent letter from Chris Rudek (March, p. 22) contains a typographical error. The word "pokkdo" should actually be "pdkkdo."

It further annoys me that a ROM change is required to reconfigure the Osborne keyboard. This kind of executive paranoia is unjustifiable in light of the manifest availability of EAROMs,

EEPROMs, etc. Why not permit users to reconfigure ad libitum! After all, the keyboard is detachable. When it becomes thoroughly discombobulated, they can always return it for refurbishing.

Jon Singer Associate Engineer Metamorphic Systems 4858 Sterling Dr. Boulder, CO 80310

The Notion of Computer Literacy

I'd like to rebut E.J. Neiburger's letter (March, p. 16) scornfully decrying the need for computer literacy. The author shows more wit than insight.

Had the notion of computer literacy existed in the decades following the 1830s, it surely would have been pressed into service by the builders of railroads and other early products of the Industrial Revolution. The fact is that folks back then were

just as leery of those machines as folks today are of computers.

Comparing computers to telephones or digital watches is misleading. Telephones came at the end of the Industrial Revolution, when the public was ready to accept—and expect—the "wonders of science." Nowadays we grow up with telephones and either don't give them a second thought or view them as indispensable tools of modern life—presumably the computer's future niche.

The computer literacy issue is a moot point. In two years or five the public will be computer literate by virtue of media overexposure and plain old familiarity— but what about those in the industry itself who write the documentation meant to clarify both hardware and software? Will they achieve literacy? I hope so, because my poor brain is wearing out from so much head scratching arising from puzzling over obtusely written manuals.

Sadja Herzog 6519 Fountain Ave. Los Angeles, CA 900281

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Available at all participating Computerland stores and other fine computer dealers.

Ciarcia s Circuit Cellar

Build the RTC-4 Real-Time

Controller

A 4-bit single-chip microcomputer from Texas Instruments comes preprogrammed for timed automatic control.

Bee-beep . . . bee-beep . . . beebeep. I fumbled for the alarm button on my digital watch and briefly wondered what I had set it for.

"Oh yeah. Time to turn on the recorder."

The audio-cassette recorder in question was set up in one corner of the Circuit Cellar and connected to an FM radio. 1 had set it up to record a local news program, which is broadcast daily at 5:30 p.m. in my area. Because 5:30 is not usually a convenient time for me to listen to the radio, I often record the program so that I can listen to it later in the evening or the next day while I'm driving someplace.

So it was 5:28. Time to turn on the recorder. The trouble was I was outside working on my satellite dish antenna. As I dashed into the house and down the stairs, I thought, 'There's got to be a better way to do this."

Once the recording was safely under way, I began to consider various automatic methods. I could use a mechanical timer, a simple digital alarm clock (with appropriate Circuit Cellar modifications), a BSR X-10 Home Control System timer, or my existing home-security and conCopyright © 1983 Steven A. Ciarcia. All rights reserved.

by Steve Ciarcia

trol system. None of these seemed completely satisfactory. Instead, I decided to look for a more universal solution.

The problem of timed activation pointed out the need for a generalized, cost-effective timer/controller that might, while solving my particular problem, have additional capabilities. As I was evaluating various circuits for real-time controllers, I came across some preprogrammed TMSlOOO-series 4-bit microcomputers-on-a-chip from Texas Instruments. One of these chips became the essential element in this month's project, the Circuit Cellar RTC-4 real-time controller.

The RTC-4 is a four-channel timeactivated device or appliance controller that can be built for less than $100, complete with keypad, display, power supply, and relay outputs. It can be used in the home or laboratory for general time-dependent applications or, as in my case, to solve one particularly nagging problem.

Before jumping into how to build the RTC-4, let's take a look at the TMS1000 family tree and the particular branch of use in our project.

The TMS1000 Family

Texas Instruments (TI) makes a large family of single-chip MOS/LSI (metal-oxide semiconductor /large

scale integration) components called the TMS1000 series, which all contain 4-bit microprocessors. While the approximately 50 members of the family share a common subset of about 40 instructions, they differ in the varying amounts of read-only memory (ROM) and random-access read/write memory (RAM), and varying numbers of I/O- (input/output) control circuits. The family's members also differ in packaging and power requirements, but, in the 28-pin dual-inline package, the basic TMS1000 and TMS1100 are virtually the same with the exception of internal memory capacity. TI intends that the ROM in TMSlOOO-series components be mask-programmed for specific computing tasks; the devices are not general-purpose microprocessors, as are the familiar Z80, 6502, and 8088.

One major member of the product line is the TMS1100. This chip has 2048 bytes of internal ROM, 128 4-bit words (nybbles) of RAM, 4 input lines, and 19 output lines. (The basic TMS1000 contains less memory.) Figure 1 is a block diagram of its internal structure.

TMS1121C UTC

Somewhere on the 1100 branch of the TMS1000 family tree is an offshoot called the TMS1121C Universal

26 July 1983 © BYTE Publicatioiu Inc

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 27

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28 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Figure 2: Block diagram of the Circuit Cellar RTC-4 real-time controller, showing the TMS1121C 4-bit microcomputer and its associated user-interface components.

Timer Controller. When I found out about the TMS1121C UTC, I realized that it was the perfect basis for the Circuit Cellar RTC-4 real-time controller. It is a variant of the 1100, designed and mask-programmed by Texas Instruments primarily to be a demonstration device for the TMS1000 product line. The 1121 is intended to provide a simple and inexpensive means for a prospective customer to become familiar with the workings of the 1000 series in an easily understood application that does not require costly custom programming. Fortunately for us, someone at TI did a little thinking and produced a rather neat (even considering its limitations) real-time programmable controller on a single chip.

RTC-4 Characteristics

The RTC-4 features a variety of control possibilities and operating aids: various status displays are avail

able, many events can be programmed at once, and several options can be set up. Part of the RTC-4's task is merely to operate as a digital clock, displaying the time of day and the day of the week. The capabilities of the RTC-4 are essentially those of the TMS1121. A list of the unit's features is shown in table 1.

The RTC-4 contains additional circuitry necessary to interface the chip to the real world. In addition to the TMS1121, the unit includes an LED (light-emitting diode) display and associated drivers, a 20-key keypad, and four output relay switches.

The 20-key keypad enables you to enter instructions and data into the TMS1121. The instructions may be in the form of a stored program telling the RTC-4 what to do in the future, or they may be intended for immediate action. Using the pad, you can turn any of the output relays on or off directly without storing the

commands in memory. Also, using the pad you can originate, change, inspect, or delete any timer programs. The RTC-4 is capable of retaining up to 18 timer programs (on/off settings), which are entered through the keypad. Each of these programs can control one of the four output relay switches. The onboard output relays are small, low-current devices, so if

Four independent switch outputs with buffer

Display of time and day and status of its own switches

As many as 18 daily or weekly programmable setpoints Memory display of programmed setpoints

Key entry for clock set and timer set 50-Hz or 60-Hz operation

Table 1: Capabilities of the RTC-4, which are essentially identical to those of the TMS1121C Universal Timer Controller.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 29

»• +12V SUPPLY

L1-L4 ARE TYPE MAN74A COMMON-CATHODE DISPLAYS OR EQUIVALENT

ALL LEDS ARE TYPE T1L220 OR EQUIVALENT

HO

Rl

22

R2

23

R3

24

R4

25

R5

26

Rfi

27

Figure 3: Schematic diagram of the RTC-4. A type-MAN74A common-cathode LED display module is specified, a type somewhat different from the junk-box unit used in the prototype (see text box, page 34). Please note the position of the MSD (leftmost digit) and the LSD (rightmost digit) when wiring the unit.

you want to control a toaster, you'll need to let the onboard relay control a larger outboard relay, which in turn operates the high-current device.

There are two kinds of timer programs: fixed programs and interval programs. Fixed-time programs toggle an output switch at a specific time of day, while interval programs toggle an output switch when a certain interval of time has elapsed since the previous toggling of the switch. Fixed-time programs are retained in memory and repeatedly executed. Interval programs are automatically

deleted after execution.

Each program setting toggles only one switch, but a special function exists to combine on/off operations into one program sequence: the SLP (sleep) function is used to turn a switch on and then off 1 hour later. Ill tell you more about programming the RTC-4 later.

RTC-4 Hardware

Figure 2 is a simplified block diagram of the RTC-4, and figure 3 is the schematic diagram. Most of the circuitry of the RTC-4 is associated

with the keypad and display and is multiplexed.

As with the other members of the TMS1100 group, the input lines on the TMS1121 are designated Kl, K2, K4, and K8 (after their binary significance), and the two sets of output lines are labeled OO through 07 and RO through RIO. The eight O output lines are configured during the mask-programming of the chip such that only certain combinations of their output values are attainable. Rather than a full range of 256 values, these eight lines can be set only to a

30 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

12 LSD

Jl

X

X

ON I </' OFF//" SLP,,^' CLR,/" CLR . J' CLK,/''

2

mem Y

^

^

INSTALL FOR 60 Hz RATION

FOR 50 Hz)

ZD2 1N914

specific subset of combinations defined by the accumulator and status flags. Most frequently the O lines are used as display drivers or status indicators. In this application, very few combinations of the eight O lines are necessary. The 11 R-series output lines, on the other hand, are treated separately; each R line can be set or cleared individually.

The 00 through 07 lines are dataoutput lines used here to convey the mode, day, switch, and seven-segment codes (for the display) along a time-multiplexed bus. Each O line is

buffered through a type-75491 MOSto-LED-segment driver. Line O0 is segment A, Ol is segment B, and so on through 06, which is segment G. Line 07 is called the decimal-point segment even though no decimal points are used in this application; 07 is attached to the LED that indicates operation of the SLP (sleep) command.

Output lines RO through R6 are the digit-select lines. Each of the four numeric digits in the LED display module is composed of a cluster of seven segments; the O lines control

Number

Type

+ 5V GND

IC1

75491

11 4

IC2

75491

11 4

IC3

75492

11 4

IC4

75492

11 4

1C5

TMS1121C

20 4

the segments, while each of four of the R lines activates a digit cluster. Each of the digit-select lines is buffered through a type-75492 signalinverting MOS-to-LED digit driver. Only one digit-select line is active and one display group illuminated at a time, but by sequencing (multiplexing) through all the digits rapidly, the system can make all the LEDs appear to be illuminated simultaneously.

The two MOS-to-LED drivers, the 75491 and 75492, are designed to

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 31

RO — Mode

R1 — Tens of hours

R2 — Hours

R3 — Tens of minutes

R4 — Minutes

R5 — Day of week

R6 — Switch

— AM, PM, ON, OFF, SLP

— 0, 1, or 9 (error)

— 0 through 9

— 0 through 5 and 9 (error)

— 0 through 9 and colon

— SUN, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT

— SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4

Table 2: Groups of LED status and numeric displays in the RTC-4, along with their corresponding select lines.

drive common-cathode LED displays. The 4-digit numeric module is wired for common-cathode operation, and I set up the discrete LEDs in the three other display groups as commoncathode also. By impressing a logic high level (binary 1) on the O lines and logic low level (0) on one of the digit-select lines, the LEDs of each of the display groups can be lit. The seven display groups and their individual select lines are shown in table 2.

In addition to tunctioning as digitselect lines, the RO through R6 outputs are used in combination with the K-group input lines in scanning the keypad matrix for user input. As each display group or digit cluster is selected in its turn by an R line, the same R line applies a logic 1 to a column of three keys (or two keys on the R6 line). If one of these three keys is pressed during the application of this scanning signal (thereby closing the circuit), the signal will flow into one of the three K input lines. The program in ROM determines which key has been pressed by reading the K lines in sequence and comparing the combined R and K addresses. This procedure includes use of a 10-ms (millisecond) software contact-debouncing subroutine.

The remaining four R output lines (R7 through RIO) are the timer outputs. Buffered through some more sections of a 75492, these signals, in the case of the RTC-4, drive electro

mechanical relays; you could use solid-state relays also to control external equipment.

The rest of the RTC-4 consists of the power supply and timing sections.

The TMS1121 uses a resistor and a capacitor in a tuned circuit, rather than a crystal, to set its internal clock frequency. This is adequate because the real-time-clock function is synchronized to the 60- or 50-Hz AC power line, and the actual processor clock speed is not critical.

With the 47-picofarad/47k-ohm resistor/capacitor combination shown in the schematic, the clock frequency should be about 300 kHz. The 60- or 50-Hz timing signal is derived from one side of the power-supply transformer. This clock signal is made

The RTC-4 keyboard

has 10 dual-function

and 10 single-function

keys; programming

is relatively

straightforward.

more square by the transistor Ql and applied to the K8 input line. If the frequency source is 60 Hz, then you should install jumper Jl (it is omitted for 50-Hz operation). The INIT input pin, connected to diode Dl and capacitor Cl, functions as a poweron reset line.

The power supply requires a centertapped (CT) step-down transformer that has an output between 20 and 24 V (volts). I used a 300-mA (milliampere), 22-V CT unit (Micromint PITB-109), but a 450-mA, 24-V centertapped transformer from Radio Shack (catalog number 273-1366) should also work. The RTC-4 cannot be battery powered because the power line's frequency is used for timing. The rest of the power-supply circuit consists of a standard type-7805 three-terminal voltage regulator configured for a + 9-V output with a zener diode to raise its ground reference potential.

If you don't have any 4- or 5-V zener diodes for this kind of circuit, I recommend that you use an LM317

regulator instead. The power for the displays and relays need not be well filtered or regulated; it can be derived directly from the rectifier output when using a 22-V transformer. In the case of higher-voltage transformers, you might need to add a 7812 regulator to keep the LED drivers from dissipating too much power.

Keypad Programming

Programming the RTC-4 is relatively straightforward. The keyboard has 10 dual-function and 10 singlefunction keys, as shown in table 3.

When the RTC-4 is turned on, the display will automatically read Sunday at 12:00 p.m. if the unit is configured for 60-Hz operation (with jumper Jl installed). If the RTC-4 is set for 50 Hz, then you must press the CLK key to start it. Obviously, after you turn it on in this fashion, the first thing to do is set the correct time on the clock.

For instance, entering the following keypress commands:

SUN, DAY, 1, 1, 2, 4, PM, CLK

sets the clock to 11:24 p.m. Sunday evening.

The pattern for setting the clock is always the same. The day of the week is registered by typing, in this case, the SUN and DAY keys. The SUN key could be interpreted as meaning "1", but the entry of the DAY key immediately afterward leaves no ambiguity, and the software can determine your intent. (Texas Instruments uses the name WEEK for this key, instead of DAY, but since all entries involve a day setting, I felt that DAY was better than WEEK as the key legend.)

After the day of the week has been set, you tell the computer the hour and minutes, and whether these are antemeridian or postmeridian (a.m. or p.m.). Once the proper day and time have been selected, you press the CLK key to start the real-time clock from that setting.

Direct Switch Control

The RTC-4 controls external devices and appliances through four relay-switch outputs designated SWl,

32 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

SW2, SW3, and SW4. These switches can be individually turned on or off at specific times under program control, or they may be directly controlled from the keypad. To directly turn switch 2 on and then off, the commands would be:

2, SW, ON,

2, SW, OFF

An alternative to separate on/off command sequences is the SLP (sleep) command. The sequence:

2, SW, SLP

will turn switch 2 on immediately and then automatically off 1 hour later. Any of the three basic functions, SLP, ON, or OFF, may be specified for any of the four switches. But the direct control sequences are not stored in RAM.

Fixed-Time Programs

Fixed-time programs change the state of the switch when the clock reaches a preset time. A typical sequence for entering a fixed-time program would be:

3, SW, MON, DAY, 9, 0, 0, AM, ON

This series would turn on switch 3 on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. The first two keys, 3 and SW, indicate a switching function for the specific output channel 3. Next, you enter the day and time in the same manner as if you were setting the clock. Finally, you designate the action desired, ON.

As the key sequence is entered, the digital readout and LED indicators display the program settings. The day, time, and program function are automatically stored but will continue to be displayed until another sequence is initiated. To return the display to the current-time digitalclock mode, press CLK.

If the switch being controlled or day of the week differs in the next sequence from the preceding setting, the preceding key sequence must be repeated in its entirety with the new parameters. If, however, the switch number and day of the week are the same, a shortened sequence can be used:

1, 1, 4, 5, AM, OFF

If both of the above sequences are entered, the combined result would be to activate switch 3 on Monday at 9:00 a.m. and deactivate it at 11:45 a.m. the same day. In the case of my tape recorder, I want the action to take place every day, so I use the EDAY (every day) command to turn the recorder on every day at 5:30 p.m. and off at 7:00 p.m. as follows:

1, SW, EDAY, DAY, 5. 3, 0, PM, ON 7, 0, 0, PM, OFF

Exceptions to this can be added as separate program lines. Because the radio program I record runs for only 30 minutes on weekends, instead of

You are able to

display stored

timer settings by

the day or by

the switch channel.

Status LEDs show

pertinent Information.

the usual 90 minutes during the week, I can shut the recorder off 60 minutes sooner on Saturday and Sunday:

1, SW, SAT, DAY, 6, 0, 0, PM, OFF 1, SW, SUN, DAY, 6, 0, 0, PM, OFF

Interval Programs

In an interval program, the function is performed after the specified time interval has passed. For example, in the sequence

4, SW, 2, 3, 0, ON

switch 4 would be turned on 2Vz hours after the last key in the sequence is pressed. ON, OFF, and SLP commands can be used in interval programs. If SLP were substituted for ON in the above entry, switch 4 would have been turned on after 2Vi hours and off again after 3Vi hours from the time of programming. The maximum time length for any interval is 11 hours and 59 minutes. Inter

Double-Function Keys

EDAY/0 - Everyday or 0

SUN/1 ■ Sunday or 1

MON/2 - Monday or 2

TUE/3 - Tuesday or 3

WED/4 - Wednesday or 4

THU/5 - Thursday or 5

FRI/6 - Friday or 6

SAT/7 - Saturday or 7

SW/DISP - Switch or Display switchprogram memory

DAY/DISP - Day or Display dailyprogram memory

Single-Function Keys

8 - Numeric 8

9 - Numeric 9

AM - AM time setting

PM - PM time setting

ON - Switch on

OFF - Switch off

SLP - Sleep — switch output on

for 1 hour then off

CLR - Clear entry or Error

MEM CLR - Clear Program Memory

CLK - Set or display clock

Table 3: Functions of keys on the RTC-4's keypad; some have two functions, others only one.

val programs can also be combined in the same manner as the fixed-time programs:

4, SW, 3, 0, ON

3, 1, OFF

These commands cause switch 4 to be activated after 30 minutes and deactivated after 31 minutes. The result is a 1-minute "on" time that starts 30 minutes after command entry.

Program Display and Errors

Stored timer settings can be displayed by the day or the switch channel. For example:

2, SW, SW,

SW, SW

would display all programs affecting switch 2. As each step is displayed, the status LEDs and numeric display show pertinent information such as the time, day, and what relays are set on or off. Entering

SAT, DAY, DAY DAY, DAY

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 33

rototype Construction Techniques

Photo 2: Back side of the RTC-4 prototype.

I receive at least half a dozen letters each month asking me how I put my project prototypes together and wire them. This month I'll reveal a few of the techniques I exercised in building the RTC-4.

To begin with, I don't recommend my techniques for everyone. I try to keep the circuit boards very small and lay the components out in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. The results are not particularly easy to troubleshoot or modify.

I use standard integrated-circuit (IC) sockets (I prefer the Amp brand), and I hard-wire the power-supply and ground bus lines around the perforated project board using 22-gauge tinned bus wire. These soldered power connections fasten the IC sockets to the board.

Next, I insert the discrete components into the board and if possible directly route their leads to the appropriate pins on the IC sockets. When I absolutely must cross some leads, I use Teflon-insulated wire or sleeving. I finish by using 28- or 32-gauge wire-wrap wire to finish the connections, but I point-to-point solder them.

This may seem tedious, but I end up with a lowprofile package, shown in photo 2, that looks very much like a commercially produced unit. It took me about 14 hours to assemble the RTC-4 prototype. Some of my other projects take much longer.

One detour I traveled during the RTC-4 project was the result of wanting large LED-display digits. I had some 0.3-inch type-MAN74A common-cathode singledigit display components, but I decided to adapt a 4-digit 0.7-inch display component I found in my junk box. Unfortunately, units of that type are not intended to be driven as multiplexed displays, and the digits are not wired individually. I had to disassemble and rewire it so that it functioned as 4 separate digits. Photos 3a through 3d show the process. It was so much trouble that I would just use the MAN74As if I were doing it

instead displays the programs for a particular day. You can also display those for every day (use ED AY ).

Errors in command entry are indicated by the appearance of all nines ("99:99") in the display, which can be cleared by the entry-clear key, CLR, or the program-memory-clear key, MEM CLR. It is possible to selectively clear program segments. For example, entering

1, SW, MEM CLR

would erase all programs pertaining to switch 1. Similarly, entering

FRI, DAY, MEM CLR erases any Friday programs.

Applications

Obviously, one of the more practical uses for the RTC-4 is to enhance your home's security by giving your house that lived-in look. If, for example, you have three lights and a stereo system plugged into the RTC-4, you could go away for weeks at a time and leave everything blinking on and off and sounding away. Because the RTC-4 can be programmed for sequences of one week, most normal

home activities can be simulated. It is certainly more cost-effective and reliable than other timer-controllers I've seen.

A Previous Project's Woes

Some of you might have wondered why I didn't use the BSR X-10 Home Control System timer unit, which performs many of the same functions. Besides the obvious damper of losing a chance to experiment with some interesting components from TI, eliminating a good article topic, I've had less than consistent results with the X-10 devices over the years.

34 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

11 IW*

Photo 3a: This typical National Semiconductor 4-digit LED display (which I believe to be one of the NSB7400 series) is most frequently used in digital clocks. It consists of three parts: a plastic circuit board with LEDs bonded to the circuit traces, a plastic reflective digit form, and a red lens cover.

Photo 3b: The LED display with the lens cover removed.

Photo 3c: Because this display has one common cathode line for all 4 digits, I had to cut it at strategic points to isolate the digits.

Photo 3d: Finally, I drilled holes and soldered wires to the individual digit connections.

At one time (shortly after my article on attaching an X-10 controller to a computer; see reference 1), most of my house was X-10-activated and remotely controlled. Frequently, however, I would find that the switches would reset or change state arbitrarily. I attributed this to power-line transients or electrical noise. Eventually I remedied this situation by retransmitting the intended status of each channel once every minute (obviously a tedious task suitable only for a computer).

Finally, I had a complete falling out with the BSR X-10 system shortly

after a thunderstorm a few summers ago. While nothing else (computers, television sets, printers, etc.) in the house was affected, eleven X-10 remote receivers were blown out all at once. I expected to lose a couple receivers now and then, but I didn't expect to replace all of them. And I learned that when a light bulb burned out on a lamp connected to a lamp module, the module was often destroyed. In later production, BSR supposedly installed heavier SCRs (silicon-controlled rectifiers), but this has not completely eliminated the problem. Consequently, I've switched back

to the old reliable copper wire and heavy-duty relays. But if I find any better methods 111 be sure to let you know.

A Trick Up My Sleeve

Some of you who are audiophiles might have been wondering how I have managed to record a 90-minute radio program unattended, due to a well-known property of ordinary Philips-type tape cassettes. Strictly speaking, a 90-minute program should just fit on a C-90 cassette. But, of course, a C-90 cassette can record only 45 minutes on one side; people

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 35

are accustomed to turning the tape over halfway through. (While there do exist C-180 cassettes, they are expensive, and the thin tape doesn't handle the rigors of the automotive environment very well.)

But luckily, when I was still recording manually, I solved this problem. It was hard enough for me to turn the recorder on at all, let alone be there at 6:15 to turn the tape over, so after searching through most of the stereo shops in New England I eventually found a tape recorder that automatically reverses and records on both sides of the tape without turning the cassette over (a Pioneer CTF-750). Now, everything is automatic. But perhaps I should have taken this as an opportunity to build a robot.

In Conclusion

The RTC-4 owes its intelligence to the TMS1121C microcomputer chip. While I used it only in its off-the-shelf configuration, Texas Instruments would like you to know that there are other packaging and functional configurations that can be specifically mask-programmed for high-volume applications. For myself, 111 be satisfied with my somewhat-automatic tape recorder. Of course, to regularly record from radio broadcasts, I had a chat with the program director of the radio station, who gave me permission to record this particular news program. As an author, I'm very careful about copyright infringement.

Next Month:

Use the hidden resource of your electrical power wiring for data communication, using a power-line modem. ■

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Jeff Bachiochi for his help on this project.

Diagrams pertaining to the TMSlOOO-series devices are reprinted here through the courtesy of Texas Instruments Inc.

References

1. Ciarcia, Steve. "Computerize a Home." January 1980 BYTE, page 28. Reprinted in Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume II, page 137.

2. Staehlin, David C. "An 8080-Based Remote Appliance Controller." January 1982 BYTE, page 239.

36 July 1963 © BYTE Publication toe

About the Author

Steve Ciarcia (pronounced "see ARE see uh") is an electronics engineer and computer consultant with experience in process control, digital design, nuclear instrumentation, product development, and marketing. In addition to writing for BYTE magazine, he has published several books, including Build Your Own Z80 Computer (BYTE Books, 1981). His mailing address is POB 582, Glastonbury, CT 06033.

Editor's Note: Steve often refers to previous Circuit Cellar articles as reference material for each month's current article. Most of the past articles are available in reprint books from BYTE Books, McGrawHill Book Company, POB 400, Hightstovm, NJ 08520.

Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume I contains the articles that appeared in BYTE from September 1977 through November 1978. Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume II contains the articles from December 1978 through June 1980. Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume III contains the articles that were published from July 1980 through December 1981.

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IBM

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MICROPRO

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DATASTAR 207.00

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the World to Your Doorstep

e a regular telephone, add a color television set and a small microcomputer, connect them and add some user-friendly software, and what you end up with is a close facsimile of a videotex terminal. Hook this terminal to a large host computer storing hundreds of frames of information and you have something very similar to a videotex system. With such a setup you can, among other things, access a wide range of information, make banking transactions, shop, send electronic greeting cards, and do computations, all in the comfort of your home or office.

Videotex is not an entirely new technology but rather an enhancement of existing technologies, which in certain applications have been found to be inadequate. For example, television is an excellent way to transfer information, but it's unidirectional. The telephone is excellent for two-way communication but it can't accommodate graphics. And personal computers are excellent for processing and transmitting data, but they too are unable to transmit graphic information easily and are sometimes difficult to use. Videotex, a low-cost, easy-to-use, graphics information medium, is designed to serve a market that these other technologies cannot.

But there have been a few problems with videotex. In order for the service to be economical it must

have a mass market. But before it can have a mass market it must be economical. This is the familiar chicken-and-egg dilemma: which must come first?

Also, before videotex can become a mass-market item, it must have a standard way of encoding graphic information. Currently about six different videotex protocols are in use worldwide. Each has strong merits. Which one should be adopted?

And what about personal computers? They tend to have good graphics and communications capabilities, although the various graphics systems do not follow any one standard. Will the hundreds of thousands of personal computer owners be required to purchase another machine to take advantage of videotex? Or can they use the system they already own and are familiar with? And how will this new technology affect the design of future personal computers?

¥ ideotex poses some nontechnological problems as well. If videotex becomes a prominent medium, personal information will be circulating in a form that is easily accessible by organizations that are unlikely to have our best interests at heart. For example, a purchase made from a videotex catalog could be moni

tored by a number of different parties. What rights to privacy do we have when we correspond electronically?

In another context, because videotex is a graphics medium, it will attract artists eager to explore its capabilities for expression. Videotex may offer these artists the opportunity to make their artwork interactive, allowing it to evolve in conjunction with the preferences of the viewer. What will this new art be like?

The purpose of our theme articles is to address these and other questions. We have an overview of videotex describing the various technologies and protocols. We present an article each on two of the more popular protocols, Prestel and the North American Presentation Level Protocol Syntax (NAPLPS). We have an article on privacy, and another that examines how artists are using videotex as a medium. And we offer a commentary on how videotex and personal computers may affect each other.

Someday, according to various videotex proponents, magazine articles such as these in BYTE will appear on your home television screen. Until then, we invite you to curl up with this rather weighty collection of wood pulp and printing ink and enjoy. As big as BYTE is, it's still a lot easier to carry around than a TV. ... by Rich Malloy

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 41

Science Fiction or Reality?

It's 8:00 A.M., Monday, July 15, 1993. For Tom Benson, it's the start of another work week.

Waking up is still the hard part, but after that things get easier. Tom has coffee, prepared while he slept by a coffee maker controlled by his personal computer. Later he sits down at his computer and simply pushes one of its keys to download the electronic mail sent to him from various other computers during the night.

He reads through the mail and answers those messages requiring immediate responses. One includes a roughly drawn picture of a person on skis, speeding down a slope. Beside it are the words, "Will you make the ski weekend? Signed Carol." Response: "You bet."

Tom remembers he has to get some new skis for the weekend. He calls up a service offering ski equipment,

by Darby Miller

picks out his skis, states size, model, and color and confirms the charge request. A drawing of the skis even appears on the computer screen. The computer tells him he can pick up the skis at the store or they will be sent to him by the next week. He gives instructions to have them sent.

Tom looks through more important mail. A friend George asks, "Should I sell such and such stock today at 452?" This requires a response, but Tom doesn't have the latest information on the stock. He logs on to his stock service, where he finds that that company may soon announce yet another update of one of its incredibly successful products, a move that should prove quite profitable. Under his instructions the electronic service automatically searches out all articles and information that may affect certain stocks. He leaves a message for

INVERTED TREE STRUCTURE

MAIN MENU I. BUSINESS n.GAMES

BUSINESS

A. STOCKS

B. BONDS

GAMES

A. BLACKJACK

B. ADVENTURE

STOCKS

BONDS

BLACKJACK

ADVENTURE

Figure 1: A simplistic representation of an inverted tree structure. This is a common method for providing easy access to a wide range of data pages. You proceed through a series of menus until you reach the desired page of information.

George not to sell.

Tom then switches to a newsletter service that provides instant coverage of events in his industry. Tom works in telecommunications, and at one time he had to read through several trade journals each day before he went to the office. Now his newsletter service can give him a brief review of each article, or if he wants more than the encapsulated information, he can tell his computer to display the entire article on the screen or print it out. Later, at the office. Tom logs on to another personal computer. Much of the paperwork that he previously had to deal with is gone now, and Tom has more time to think and plan, and more tools to help him make faster, more informed decisions.

From Prediction to Reality

In 1993, people such as our fictitious Tom Benson will most likely continue to use the telephone and read magazines and newspapers, but much of their work and recreation may be planned and accomplished through the use of videotex, a generic term for computer services that display textual and graphical information on remote video screens.

Before we see this ideal picture, however, a great many hurdles must be cleared. The technology is already here; the marketplace, however, is not. Videotex, by the definition of those working in the field, should be a low-cost, easy-to-use system. At this time, it is neither. I'll now give an

42 July 19M © BYTE Publicationi bic

overall view of the industry as it is developing around the world, showing the types of systems available, the standards, and the tests that have been conducted or are planned for 1983. After reading the facts, perhaps you'll be able to predict the future for yourself.

How It Works

On a videotex system, you select the information you want with the help of a numeric keypad resembling a channel selector or by using a keyboard. You make choices from tables of contents (or menus) and retrieve screens of information (or pages) either by searching for keywords or by following an inverted tree structure. You can use keywords to quickly display one or more pages that include that word. Inverted tree structures involve a series of menus, in which each menu choice leads to another menu. You move from general menus to more specific ones until you reach the desired page. (See figure 1.)

In the typical videotex setup, you would have a terminal that connects to a central host computer through a modem, which converts analog signals coming through the telephone lines to digital signals that can be read by the videotex terminal. Another way to receive videotex services is through a cable television network.

A decoder box that sends and receives videotex signals can be built into an ordinary television set during

manufacture or added on outside the television set and connected to the antenna terminals.

There are actually two forms of graphics-based data communications. One-way systems, in which you only receive information and cannot transmit any, are called teletext; and twoway, or interactive, systems are called viewdata in Europe and videotex elsewhere. Sometimes twoway videotex is referred to as interactive videotex, but here we shall refer to it merely as videotex and will avoid using the term in the general sense. (See figure 2.)

Teletext information is usually transmitted over the vertical blanking

interval (VBI) of a television signal (the black bar visible when vertical hold isn't working); the data in the VBI can then be translated into textual and graphics information by a teletext decoder. But teletext can also be sent on a subcarrier of an FM or television broadcast signal or even on a whole cable television channel. Current FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulations prohibit using a whole broadcast channel.

Videotex may be carried over telephone lines, cable television, or optical fiber. It can also be transmitted via satellite. In addition, a hybrid system, consisting of a one-way broadcast signal to a teletext receiver

GRAPHICAL DATA COMMUNICATIONS

VIDEOTEX (TWO-WAY)

TELETEXT 10NE-WAY)

OPTICAL FIBER

CABLE TELEVISION

TELEPHONE LINES

BROADCAST TELEVISION

CABLE TELEVISION

BROADCAST FM RADIO

HYBRID

Figure 2: The different videotex technologies. Videotex and teletext are two different ways of communicating graphics data. The term videotex usually refers to a two-way system where you can interact with the host computer system. In teletext, a one-way system, you merely select which of a limited number of pages you would like to see. Both teletext and videotex can use a variety of transmission methods. In a hybrid system, a teletext decoder can function as an interactive videotex terminal by sending information back to the host computer over phone lines.

July 1983 © BYTE Publication* Inc 43

WORLD VIDEOTEX USE

U.S. (VIEWTRON)

U. K. (PRESTEL)

NETHERLANDS

Figure 3: A pie chart showing approximately how world videotex use is divided between various countries. This does not include use of teletext. The data for the U.S. includes the proposed 5000 users in the Viewtron test in southern Florida. If the subscribers to such videotex-like services as Dow fones News Retrieval, CompuServe, and The Source were included, the U.S. portion would take up more than half the chart.

with return communication through the telephone, has also been developed.

Different Protocols

Videotex and teletext were born in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and have been struggling into adolescence ever since. In 1979, the British Post Office—now British Telecom—began offering videotex (viewdata) as a commercial service.

The British version of videotex is called Prestel. Ceefax and Oracle are the British teletext services, which have proved to be quite popular. In

the U.K., 800,000 television sets are now equipped with teletext decoders. British consumers, however, have not yet fully embraced Prestel. It has only 24,000 paying subscribers, most of whom use the system for business. However, at this time it is still the world's largest videotex service (see figure 3). Information providers (IPs) on the Prestel system include Barron's, American Express, and shipping and travel agencies. You can make restaurant and ticket reservations through the system, access business information, order goods, and read various publications [see

Graham Hudson's "Prestel: The Basis of an Evolving Videotex System" on page 60].

Although the Prestel service is basically business-oriented, certain consumer publications such as the Hearst Corporation's Family Living magazine have Prestel versions that have been successful. Family Living presented Harrod's Christmas catalogue in 1982, displaying some of the famed department store's wares and enabling users to make purchases via the service.

The Prestel format for videotex differs from that followed by other, later systems developed in France, Japan, and Canada. It uses alphamosaic graphics, pictures composed of small, character-size blocks. The resulting graphics images have fairly low resolution (see photo 1).

The original French format, called Antiope, developed by the French PTT (Post, Telephone, and Telecommunications Ministry) used alphamosaics but also employed dynamically redefinable character sets (DRCS) that allow the system to exchange one series of characters for another.

DRCS can also be helpful in defining separate graphics so the French system has a more refined look.

Another difference between the British videotex technology and the other technologies is that the British use serial coding, meaning that for every character appearing on the monitor, a corresponding character is

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44 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

sent over the transmission lines. If only one character is incorrectly transmitted, very little information is lost.

The French system, on the other hand, uses a parallel-coding technique with asynchronous transmission. The signal is sent out in bursts rather than in a continuous stream. The French feel this is a more economical use of data-transmission techniques.

The British technology is endorsed by the Conference of European Posts and Telecommunications (CEPT). The German videotex system (Bildschirmtext) grew out of the British system, as did the systems being developed by Belgium, Italy, and The Netherlands. Austria's MUPID (Multipurpose Universally Programmable Intelligent Decoder) and Norway's Teledata also use the CEPT (British) format.

A third system, Telidon, was developed by the Canadian Department of Communications. This technology uses alphageometrics, where shapes are not defined by a series of boxes but by geometric elements such as points and lines. The points are connected according to certain commands, called picture description instructions (PDIs), such as arc, rectangle, circle, square, polygon, and line. A set of points can be connected by merely specifying a series of points and issuing a draw instruction, such as "arc."

VIDEOTEX PROTOCOLS

s

TELIDON (CANADA)

; I

ANTIOPE (FRANCE)

PLP (AT8T)

i r\

NAPLPS

(NORTH AMERICA)

PRESTEL (U.K.)

"

BILDSCHIRMTEXT (W. GERMANY) VIDITEL (NETHERLANDS)

PROPOSED WORLD STANDARD

Figure 4: A genealogical chart of the different videotex protocob. Prestel, the British videotex protocol, was first introduced around 1976. Later systems are either based on Prestel or have added significantly enhanced graphics capabilities. The CEPT (Conference of European Posts and Telephones) standard is based predominantly on Prestel. Although the various protocols are fairly incompatible, they are being merged into a world videotex standard.

The best feature of Telidon is that it provides a sophisticated graphics environment that appeals to consumers and advertisers, two necessary elements of a mass videotex service. The argument against Telidon is that the equipment needed to receive the highresolution graphics may be too expensive to gain acceptance in the marketplace.

The Japanese have developed yet another videotex system, called CAP

TAIN (Character and Pattern Telephone Access Information Network). This system is alphaphotographic; the screens look very much like still photos, and each individual point on the screen is addressed separately. This is necessary to accommodate the great variety of Japanese characters.

Unfortunately, these systems are not compatible with each other at this time (see figure 4).

Two years ago AT&T developed

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 45

another videotex system called PLP (Presentation Level Protocol), based on the Telidon technology. This system was later modified as the North American Presentation Level Protocol Syntax (NAPLPS). It uses Telidon's PDIs and alphageometrics and employs macro-PDIs, which define a series of commands and thus allow more information to be sent with fewer instructions. It also uses Antiope's DRCS and Prestel's alphamosaics. [See Jim Fleming's four-part series (February through May) on "NAPLPS: A New Standard for Text and Graphics."]

Canada has decided to upgrade its technology to meet NAPLPS specifications. France has also made plans to upgrade its system. But the British have not agreed to go along with the NAPLPS protocol. A worldwide videotex standard is now being developed.

Videotex and Teletext in America

The U.S. government has not yet approved any standard for videotex

or for teletext. It seems that only two standards for teletext are being considered seriously: the North American Broadcast Teletext Specification (NABTS), which is compatible with NAPLPS and is supported by Time Inc., CBS, and NBC; and the British technology supported by Satellite Syndicated Systems and Keycom

Proponents of NAPLPS

and NABTS say that

the superior graphics of

their systems will

attract advertising

support.

Electronic Publishing (a joint venture of Field Enterprises, Honeywell, and Centel Communications). Taft Broadcasting and Zenith Corporation have announced plans for a teletext system using the British technology to be launched in Cincinnati. Zenith has stated, however, that it will make hardware for any type of system. NBC and CBS have announced

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plans for the 1983 launch of two national teletext systems supporting the NABTS format. Times Mirror and Viewtron, a subsidiary of KnightRidder, have both announced plans for 1983 launches of videotex systems using the NAPLPS format.

A strong argument for the simpler British teletext format is that it is already in commercial use. The system is presented by its supporters as being affordable for mass-market distribution and relatively error-free in transmission.

The proponents of NAPLPS and NABTS state that their systems will have very good graphics capabilities to interest advertisers who might support various system offerings and that the decoders, when produced in mass quantities, will be comparable in price to British decoders.

At this time, the cost of British television sets equipped with interactive videotex decoders is approximately $200 (U.S.) over the cost of a standard color television set. Add-on decoders that would attach to standard television sets would cost approximately $250 for the British version and approximately $450 for the NAPLPS version if produced in large quantities. American Bell Inc. (an AT&T company) and Norpak (a Canadian company) have produced prototypes of NAPLPS terminals. American Bell will be marketing NAPLPS terminals at a special introductory price of $600 for the Viewtron test in southern Florida this year. Norpak's decoders are approximately $1000, with prices expected to go down to $500 per decoder by the middle of 1984.

Matsushita has just signed an agreement with Time Video Information Services (of Time Inc.) to codevelop hardware for its teletext services. The first products will be teletext terminals selling under the Panasonic name for approximately $150 each.

Personal Computers and Videotex

Although the technology behind videotex is new and barely out of the trial stages, it is merely an extension of traditional online services. Videotex should allow the unsophisticated

46 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Service

Advertising

Graphics

Date Technology

Users

CBS/AT&T

yes

yes

1982 PLP(AT&T)

200

CompuServe

yes

no

1980 ASCII

45,000

Dow Jones

no

no

1977 ASCII

60,000

Keyfax (teletext)

yes

yes

1982 Prestel

2500

Viewtron

yes

yes

1980 PLP(AT&T) 1983 NAPLPS

200 5000

Qube (Warner Amex)

yes

yes

1977 Text & Video

50,000

The Source

yes

no

1979 ASCII

27,000

Time Inc. (teletext)

yes

yes

1983 NAPLPS

400

Times Mirror

yes

yes

1982 NAPLPS

350

Table 1: Videotex and teletext tests being performed in the United States.

user access to many kinds of information. This will be similar to the way user-friendly software, which can be used by professionals in all fields, not just computer science or data processing, has helped personal computer growth to become extraordinary.

A large part of the planned videotex audience will include personal computer users. Some personal computers may be adapted to videotex terminals, and dedicated videotex terminals may have a number of computer-like features. Depending on the amount of processing power built into videotex decoders, some may even use interactive game services, and have software downloaded to them.

Videotex is not in competition with personal computers; both are part of a new world of telecommunications. The difference is that personal computer owners can process information on a stand-alone basis, while videotex users may be dependent on processing power resident in a distant mainframe computer. But in many cases, that processing facility, regardless of geographic location, is only a local telephone call away.

Many people see videotex as the gateway to myriad other services. Data processing professionals have seen this type of computer interaction for some time in the form of distributed processing.

Videotex terminals may be hooked up to television sets just as personal computers and game machines are. The terminals may communicate with personal computers and vice versa.

Therefore, the issue is not whether videotex will overtake personal computers, but rather whether the combination of the consumer and business markets for videotex services will be enhanced by the growth of the personal computer market. Each one should generate interest in the other. What new users can expect to find are specialized services similar to those now available from the Dow Jones Information Service, which appeals to businessmen interested in financial news. Dow Jones' subscribers now number 60,000. The service, begun in 1977, offers a Media General database, the Academic American Encyclopedia, The Wall Street Journal Online, Barron's, and more. Dow Jones recently developed software for the service that enables subscribers to chart performance of stocks and update and evaluate portfolios using the News Retrieval Service. Software development is going hand in hand with videotex-like service development, with the idea that personalized usability of interactive services will make for long-term subscribers.

Videotex and Teletext Tests

Although there is little real videotex and teletext usage in the U.S., a number of tests are being performed, and videotex-like services such as Dow Jones have been quite popular (see table 1).

On October 31, 1982, the Time Video Information Services division of Time Inc. began its teletext test in San Diego, California, and Clearwater, Florida, in partnership with

48 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications he

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Photo 2: Examples of pictures created on Time Video Information Services' teletext system. This system uses a protocol based on NAPLPS and thus is capable of fairly high resolution graphics.

the Copley Press and The Orlando Sentinel. They are offering 4000 to 5000 pages of information on entertainment, national and local news and weather, travel, stocks, and education (see photo 2).

Time will offer a national teletext service in late 1983 to be aimed at a wide consumer audience. Time will use a full cable channel to deliver the one-way service with advertiser support. Users may select pages of information from a continually changing cycle of pages. Because Time is not limited to using the vertical blanking interval (VBI), it can put out 5000 pages of information, whereas most VBI services put out only 200 pages. Time is also offering an interactive game feature, household hints, sports scores, news, weather, and restaurant guides.

Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan, and Citibank in New York City are all experimenting with banking services using interactive videotex.

Using a videotex

service, electronic

banking might be

linked to shopping by

computer, with credit

checks and billing handled automatically.

These systems, however, are not graphics-oriented. Chemical intends to license its system, called Pronto, to other banks. Because paper-based banking is becoming more and more expensive, banks are looking for ways to cut down on the expense of processing checks and to speed up the

collection of money. Electronic banking might be the solution, but some banks feel that a banking service alone will not be enough to entice banking customers to buy videotex terminals.

Again, the idea of distributed processing or videotex "gateway" connections between geographically disparate computers becomes more appealing. If bank customers could also order merchandise, for example, with merchants having immediate credit checks performed and automatically generated billing, both the banker and the retailer might profit from operating or supplying information to a videotex service.

The questions are Does the consumer want the information in electronic form? and Will the price be acceptable? Studies have shown that

50 July 1M3 © BYTE Publication! Inc

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Photo 3: A terminal that is used in the French Teletel system for electronic access to phone directories and other services.

users may have to pay from $15 to $40 per month for videotex services.

The teletext service Keycom, first offered by Field Enterprises Inc. over broadcast station WFLD in Chicago, is now transmitted on the VBI of the WTBS Satellite Service. Keycom offers weather, sports, and leisure information 24 hours a day. The National Keyfax magazine is a joint venture between Satellite Syndicated Systems (SSS) and Keycom.

Ongoing U.S. videotex tests include a CBS /AT&T test in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Cox Cable's Indax in San Diego, and various agricultural services.

The Warner Amex Qube system in Columbus, Ohio, begun in 1977, is

going strong with 50,000 subscribers who receive videotex-like services over cable.

Canada has many experiments operating, including Grass Roots in Manitoba and Teleguide in Ontario. Grass Roots is an agricultural database that Canadian farmers are using to check weather, grain futures, and livestock prices. Teleguide is a kind of electronic Michelin Guide offered in public places to let city visitors know what's available—from museums to nightclubs—and how to get around town.

The French have completed two videotex tests, including an electronic telephone directory project with 1400 users and a total service, known as

3-V (for Velizy, Versailles, and Val de Bievre), with 2500 subscribers.

France is putting millions of dollars into a countrywide electronic yellowpages project that is expected to serve all of France by 1986 and save even more millions in the cost of producing and updating print directories. Along with the yellow pages, other features are being offered. The electronic directory trial uses stand-alone terminals (photo 3) capable of linking into Teletel, the French videotex service.

The 3-V trial included transactional services where users had "smart cards" containing a microprocessor capable of storing an individual's one-year credit or complete medical history. The cards were put into card readers near the terminal and credit checks could be performed on the spot.

French studies show that games and entertainment sections such as horoscopes were used more widely than any other interactive videotex feature when the services were first introduced. Another very popular service was electronic mail. Most information providers in France have begun to use video games to draw users to their databases, even though the games may have very little to do with the other information offered.

The French technology is being used in a test with 200 farmers in Fargo, North Dakota, sponsored by First Bank System. J. C. Penney (which recently purchased the system), Dayton's (a regional retail store), B. Dalton Bookseller, and local merchants are participating in

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Photo 4: Examples of the pictures created on the Viewtron system being run by Knight-Ridder newspapers and AT&T. This system is based on NAPLPS and is capable of some very impressive graphics. (Copyright © 1983 by Viewdata Corporation of America Inc., used by permission.)

the test. From their farms, ranches, or one of approximately 40 public locations, users may bank at home, send and receive electronic mail, order goods, and get weather, crop, and shopping news along with local and national news and sports. The French system is also being tested in Brazil and Greece.

The French have now consolidated their marketing programs for the U.S. and have announced the establishment of Videographic Systems of America (VSA) to supply potential teletext and videotex clients with complete systems. Thomson-CSF, the major stockholder in the new company, will oversee VSA. CBS and NBC have agreed to use VSA equipment for their NABTS teletext operations.

The Viewtron (Knight-Ridder/ AT&T) videotex service to begin this

year in southern Florida will offer banking and shopping from home, education, games, puzzles, reference material, an electronic messaging service, bulletin boards, classified ads, and recreational information such as airline schedules, seating arrangements, and community events. The service will also allow users to link up with other databases (see photo 4). Viewtron is currently soliciting advertisers to appear on the system. Advertisers' storage charges for information kept in the Viewtron computer are $1 per frame per week. (A frame is composed of 40 characters by 20 lines.) Advertisers can also electronically mail commercial messages to specific Viewtron subscribers.

Viewtron's first test (July 1980) in Coral Gables involved a total of 204 households and 500,000 frames, although only approximately 18,000

frames were available at any one time.

Test results showed that 90 percent of the participants liked the service and 66 percent thought that the advertisers offered enough information for them to make a buying decision.

Preliminary joint venture agreements have been signed between Viewtron and Affiliated Publications Inc. (The Boston Globe), Capital Cities Communications (The Kansas City Star and The Fort Worth StarTelegram), and A. S. Abell Publishing Company (The Baltimore Sun).

Times Mirror began videotex testing in March 1982, with 150 households having the service delivered through television cable and 150 receiving the service through telephone lines (see photo 5). Of all the services offered—banking, home

54 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc

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Photo 5: Examples of pictures on the Times Mirror Videotex System. Again, a NAPLPS protocol has been used. (Reprinted with permission from Times Mirror.)

security, and home shopping—games were one of the most widely used features.

Available Services

Personal computer owners or videotex terminal owners can take advantage of some of these interactive services right now. If you have a modem and communications software you can sign up to receive Dow Jones, The Source, CompuServe, Newsnet, and several other services. Although these services do not yet have graphics capabilities, you can keep tabs on almost whatever it is you want to know. These systems may, in time, provide graphics information (and thus become true videotex systems) as soon as a sizable number of videotex terminals appear in the marketplace.

As you probably know, The Source and CompuServe have been

offering databases on subjects ranging from wine and food to electronics and communications. Electronic mail, bulletin boards, and special interest groups are among their most popular features. A new system called Delphi, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, promises a very userfriendly environment.

Another new videotex-like service, Newsnet, a subsidiary of Independent Publications Inc., is run from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The service allows you to access newsletters on specific topics listed in electronic form or in printed directories. You can then pick keywords relating to your interest in a specific field. Newsnet's computer will find all articles on that subject. Each day you can receive a listing of pertinent new articles that have come into the Newsnet database.

Personal computer owners already

have access to the videotex-like services that our fictional Tom Benson will be using 10 years from now. The important difference is that Tom may be able to use them more easily and less expensively. The factors of low cost and ease of use have already proved to be crucial elements in the growth of the personal computer market. It will be interesting to see how these same two factors affect the growth of videotex. It has a potential growth rate as explosive as that of the personal computer industry. ■

About the Author

Darby Miller is director of Information Services Development for Hearst Cable Communications (959 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10019). She has an extensive background in computer science and electronic media and has written articles for such magazines as Data Communications, Datamation, Videography and View.

56 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc

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Photo 1: Samples of Prestel pages (screens) showing the variety of services and the character-graphics-display capabilities. Photos la through le show a sequence of service-information pages with a response page at If. Mailbox-message pages are shown in lg through li. A gateway to services on another computer is shown in Ij through ll. Character-graphics pages are depicted in lm through lo.

Prestel: The Basis of an Evolving Videotex System

The first videotex system in the world is flexible enough to adopt anticipated technological advances

Prestel is a system for transmitting screens of textual and color-graphics information over the telephone line with two-way communication between the user and electronic information services. This is often referred to by the generic name videotex. Teletext and videotex are two distinct but complementary electronic-information services available primarily in the United Kingdom and Europe. They differ in the way their information is distributed and the types of services they provide, but their colorgraphics displays are compatible.

With teletext, television viewers have immediate access to news, sports, travel, weather, and entertainment information. It is telecast as a television signal by the British Broadcasting Corporation in a public service called Ceefax and by independent television companies in a commercial service called Oracle. A special adapter is required to decode the telecast signal and create a page of information with graphics characters on your television screen.

by Graham Hudson

A limited number of pages of information are continuously telecast in a loop, and you select from a menu, or index page, with a remote-control keypad similar to the one on a pushbutton telephone. The decoder, which can be built into the television, has some intelligence and gets the next telecast of the page of text you've selected. This takes several seconds in some cases. The index page is telecast more often because it is viewed more frequently.

Videotex, also called viewdata, is an entirely separate service that uses telephone lines for transmitting information. Prestel is British Telecom's public videotex system that provides subscribers with information from travel agencies, banks, newspapers, and other information services. Businesses can also use Prestel for private information networks with closed user groups that control the receipt of certain pages of information to a selected group of users.

Prestel was the first, and is still the most successful, videotex system in

the world, and many of its features have been adopted by later videotex systems. It differs from telecast teletext systems like Ceefax and Oracle in significant ways. It is faster, provides more information, and is interactive, allowing you to both send and receive information. As soon as you ask for a page of information, a Prestel computer sends it to. you over the telephone line at 1200 bits per second (bps) and it appears on your video display. The characters that you type are transmitted to the Prestel system at 75 bps. Hundreds of thousands of pages can be stored with the Prestel system, as opposed to hundreds of pages with a teletext system. You can interact with Prestel to reserve an airplane seat, shop electronically, or send a message to an information service or to another user on the system with electronic mail.

Prestel is available in the United States, but it is not as widespread or popular as The Source or CompuServe information services that offer text but not color-graphics capabil

ity 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 61

ities. The Prestel distributor for the U.S. is Torch Computers Corporation of Woburn, Massachusetts, which also offers a British microcomputer with a built-in Prestel decoding program.

The major videotex system in North America is the Telidon system that was developed in Canada. It has been modified by AT&T, resulting in NAPLPS (North American Presentation-Level-Protocol Syntax). (See the four-part series "NAPLPS: A New Standard for Text and Graphics" that begins in the February 1983 BYTE on page 203.)

Prestel's advantages over NAPLPS are that it is easily decoded by a terminal, requires little display memory or time, is less sensitive to errors in data communications, and costs less. The weak points for Prestel include a dependence on video-display hardware, the current low resolution of the images due to character graphics, and interconnections with printers and plotters.

History and Background

Videotex was born at British Telecom Research Laboratories in the early 1970s from a marriage of computer, communications, and television technology. Prestel began in 1979. Now more than 62 percent (90 percent by the end of the year) of the United Kingdom's telephone population can access Prestel through a local telephone call.

Videotex is an interactive two-way information system. You are sent only the information pages that you request. Also, you can make a response to a page, for example, to make a hotel reservation or to order goods. (See photo 1 for examples of Prestel information pages.) A local Prestel center has a database of more than 250,000 pages of information and acts as a gateway to information on external computers. These other computers can provide services such as online bookings, financial quotations, or banking.

The videotex message facility known as Mailbox on the Prestel system lets you create and store a message on the database for another user. When logging into the system,

the recipient is told if there is a message waiting. However, sending textual messages will require the use of an alphanumeric keyboard, not the simple telephone-type keypad. An exciting new scheme launched earlier this year will let the growing numbers of microcomputer owners in the United Kingdom access a telesof tware library on the Prestel database. Known as Micronet 800, the package provides an acoustic modem, decoding software for your computer, and library access.

For mass-market penetration, lowcost terminals were needed. Because

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of this, the original terminals were based on television receivers with special-purpose integrated-circuit display controllers. In the United Kingdom a common display standard was developed for videotex and telecast teletext. More than a million terminals using this display standard are in the United Kingdom; several million more are in the rest of Europe.

Teletext is a one-way noninteractive system. All the pages on its database are transmitted cyclically. After a user selects a page, the terminal displays it as it is received. The two services are meant to be complementary: teletext providing a small database of mass-appeal information that is constantly updated (news, weather, television program guides, and sports results) and videotex providing a broad spectrum of in-depth information (timetables, town guides, and consumer reports).

This article examines the features of a Prestel display and discusses ways to implement them using a character generator or bit-mapped display. Some of the features of the new European videotex standard are

outlined, including the recently proposed geometric graphic and photographic recommendations.

Display Facilities and Coding

The Prestel display consists of a page with 24 rows of 40 characters. In practice, the top row of the page is used for a header with the information service's name, page number, and page charge. The bottom row can be used for system messages (for example, "Mistake? Try again or tell us on *36"). This leaves 22 rows available for information. The repertoire of 96 alphanumeric characters (see figure 1) is based on the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) character set that is similar to ASCII (American National Standard Code for Information Interchange). Prestel does not specify the actual dot-matrix size or character font.

For producing simple graphics, a set of characters made up from a mosaic of 3 by 2 blocks is provided. Each of the 6 least significant bits of the code used corresponds to one of the six mosaic elements. Characters are normally referred to in a twonumber hexadecimal notation that corresponds to their column and row position in an 8 by 16 code table (for example, 4/1 equals the letter "A"). Figure 1 shows the normal way of representing a coding scheme where the interpretation of a single code is dependent on earlier code sequences. The empty code table represents the character set in use. Individual codes are received and decoded with respect to the current character set. The default value is the alphanumeric character set.

Columns 0 and 1 of the code table are used for control purposes such as moving the active position around the display. (The active position is where the next character will be displayed.) This is synonymous with the cursor controls of a video-display unit. The display must automatically wrap around to the next row after 40 characters are displayed. The Prestel central editor terminates short rows (less than 36 characters) using Active Position Down (APD) and Active Position Right or carriage return

62 July 1983 © BYTE Publication. Inc

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 63

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attributes to their default values as indicated in figure 1. The active position is then sent to the top of the display. Following a Clear Screen command, the terminal should be ready to receive the next character after 30 ms. The null code (00) causes no action to be taken and fills up this time to allow the terminal to clear the display. Other control codes, in

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TELETEXT ACQUISITION AND DECODING CIRCUITRY

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numeric and mosaic graphics sets. The colors available are the eight combinations possible (except for black) from having the RGB (redgreen-blue) display-tube electron guns turned on or off. The 3 least significant bits of the attribute code correspond to the logic drive of the RGB electron guns.

The new background attribute sets the character background color to that of the current foreground. The foreground must therefore be set to another color for subsequent characters to be visible. On a new row, a new background code will immediately change the background color for the rest of the row. The black background code simplv sets the

downward to occupy two rows by using the double-height attribute. Any characters that exist in the lower row are obliterated, even those below a normal-height character. Also, the entire lower row takes on the background color from the row above. The normal-height attribute makes subsequent character foregrounds normal height.

The separated mosaic attribute causes each element of a mosaic graphics character to split and become surrounded by the background color. This provides a set of large-dot building blocks that have a visual smoothing effect when used for graphics such as maps and portraits. The seDarated effect is canceled bv

and displayed in the attribute's position, instead of a space. Release mosaic stops the hold-mosaic effect. Hold mosaic has an immediate effect; release mosaic is effective from the next character position.

Character-Generator Displays

In common with many other text displays, most Prestel terminals use a character generator because this technique is extremely efficient for display memory. A block diagram of a complete teletext/Prestel terminal is shown in figure 2. The distinguishing principle of a character-generator system is that the display is divided into an array of character cells. Codes identifvine trip rhararfpr in parn roll

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40 characters needs a page store with 960 locations. With 96 different characters, it has to have 7 bits for each character. In practice, a lK-byte RAM (random-access read/write memory) is used. Normally, the display position is held in the decoding processor in a row (5 bits for 24 rows) and column (6 bits for 40 columns) count, but this is compacted to a 10-bit number in the range 0 to 959 to address the IK bytes of memory.

The main component of the character generator is the character-set ROM (read-only memory). A character matrix of 10 by 6 dots is common, allowing 9 by 5 dots for the character foreground that permits descending lowercase letters. The actual address of the line of character dots in ROM is derived from the character code in the page store plus the character-line count. For an interlaced display, character rounding is achieved by comparing two consecutive lines and adding half a dot before or after a whole dot when a diagonal is detected.

The other major function of the character generator is to implement the attributes. For example, the dot color can be generated by holding the 3-bit foreground and background colors from the invoking attributes on the inputs of a multiplexer and controlling their selection by the dot bits from the ROM. Double-height characters are achieved by addressing the same character line on two consecutive display lines. Mosaic graphics characters can be generated directly from the bit patterns of the character codes. For separated graphics, the line of dots is masked on certain lines. All these features are provided on the Signetics/Mullard SAA 5050 chip that is used in the majority of Prestel and European teletext terminals.

The contents of the page store are transferred automatically through the character generator under the control of a display-timing circuit. The timing source is normally a local crystal, sometimes phase-locked to the telecast synchronization pulses if available. This produces dot pulses at 166-microsecond (/is) (6-MHz) inter

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vals that are used by the character generator to push out character dots serially. The dot clock is divided to produce the column addresses for the page store and further divided to produce line synchronization pulses at 64-/is intervals. The line pulses are counted to produce line numbers (1 to 10) for the individual character memory and row numbers (1 to 24) to address the page store. A complete synchronization signal is also produced to drive the display-raster time base when no telecast carrier is available. The teletext timing-chain chip (Signetics/Mullard SAA 5020) incorporates all these clock dividers and the address logic.

Bit-Mapped Displays

Another type of display architecture is frequently used for computer graphics and television pictures: a bitmapped display. Until recently, its use has been restricted to professional applications because of the relatively large amounts of memory needed to keep track of each dot on the screen.

With a bit-mapped system, each display dot is uniquely associated with a bit or bits in the display memory. For a monochrome display, a bit specifies whether a dot is on or off; for a color display, the bits specify the color (3 bits for eight colors) of the dot. (Making a color dot the same color as its background effectively turns it off.) Text and graphics information are converted once, on receipt, into a dot pattern and stored in the bit map. At display time, the bit-mapped memory is simply read directly to the display.

A bit-mapped architecture provides a flexible display on which practically all display features can be performed under software control. A bit map of 240 by 240 dots requires 29K bytes of memory and will display Prestel characters with the same resolution provided by a character generator with a lK-byte page store. Despite this inefficiency, many microcomputers are available whose character generators do not have the capabilities for displaying Prestel

characters but do have either a redefinable character set or bit-mapped graphics that can be used for Prestel. Future generations of videotex, mentioned later, will need a bit map for high-resolution graphics and photographic displays. It may then be desirable to implement alphamosaic characters on the same display.

When a displayable character code is received, each character line is fetched by the processor from the character matrices in memory. Each bit representing foreground or background color is converted to a full dot color (3 bits) and modified according to the attributes effective at the current display position. The resulting dot information is written into the bit-mapped display. A flowchart outlining the decoding process is shown in figure 3.

The receipt of a single serial attribute code can generate a lot of writing into the bit map. For example, on a previously blank row a new background code has the effect of filling the rest of the row with a new

TO ORDER BY PHONE:

In California (805) 482-9829

Outside California TOLL FREE [800)821-4479

MegaPlus & l/O-PIus 2 The Ultimate Expansion for IBM PC or XT

The AST Research MegaPlus'" has three functions standard: Parity checked and fully socketed memory up to 256k in 64k increments, clock/ calendar vvith battery back-up for automatic loading of time and date when the computer is turned on: at id asynchronous communication port (RS232C serial) which can be used as COM1 or COM2, |DTE for a printer, or DCE for a modern). Also included is SuperDrive™ electronic disk' software. This piogram builds "disk drives" in memory which access your programs at the speed of RAM memory And you get SuperSpooier", punt spooling software

Options include a 100% IBM compatible parallel printer port (can be configured as LPT1, or LPT2), and a second RS232C asynchronous poit (COMi oi COM2) The MegaPak1" option plugs into your MegaPlus "piggyback" style to give you an additional 128k or 256k of memory.

I/O-Plus 2, is the answer for those who don't need additional memory but would like all those other multi-function board features. The l/O-Plus 2 comes standard with a clip-on battery powered clock/calendar, an asynchronous communication port (RS232C serial), SuperDrive™ electronic disk, and SuperSpooier'" print spooling software

Optional is a second asynchronous port |DTE, or DCE), a parallel printer adapter, and the best game paddle adapter on the market. It is an IBM standard game port, but it can also use Apple compatible paddles and joysticks

Both boards come witfi a one year factory warranty and the Qubie' satisfaction guarantee If for any reason you are not satisfied with the performance of your board within thirty days of purchase, you may return it for a full refund, including the postage to return it.

PRICES: I/O-Plus 2'" with Clock/calendar, asynchronous communication adapter, SuperDrive™ and SuperSpool'" - S129 MegaPlus'" with memory, clock, async. SuperDrive™ and SuperSpool™ - $289

OPTIONS: 64k upgrades, installed and tested $50 Parallel Printer Port S35

Second Asynchronous Port S35

Game Adapter (I/O-Plus 2 only) S35

MegaPak'" with 256k of Memory S349 with 128k of Memory SI 79 2 year extended warranty S50

ConnectAII Cable Bracket SI9

Cable to Parallel Printer $35

Cable to Modem or Serial Printer $25

Comprehensive Diagnostics Programs SI0 SUPERWRITER by Sorcim S239

SUPERCALC by Sorcim $159

dBASE II by Ashton-Tate $419

SHIPMENT: Normal shipment is day after receipt of order. We pay UPS surface charges, 2 day air service $5 extra.

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4809 Calle Alto, Camarillo, CA 93010 European Inquiries:

129 Magdalen Rd., London, SW18, England Phone (01) 870-8899

70 July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc

Circle 449 on Inquiry card.

Stay in touch with the world anywhere you go.

Plug into the largest information banks ever compiled, with the inexpensive and easy-to-use RCA Videotex Terminal.

Electronic news . . . stock market updates direct to home or office . . . published articles . . . government and industry reports . . . electronic mail. . . there's hardly anything going on, anywhere in the world, that can't be captured by giant computers, ready to be examined at the touch of a button. But until recently, these vast resources were available only to a select few: those having access to the largest computers and the skill to use them.

Suddenly, that's all changed. Now the information of the world is available to anyone who can tap out a few words on a keyboard. The reason: an extraordinary piece of portable equipment that weighs less than six pounds, takes no special training to operate, and gives you instant access to the world's major information and communication services.

The RCA VP3501 Videotex Terminal.

With the VP3501, you don't need a personal computer. If you have a telephone and a TV set, you have everything you need to get in touch with the incredible range of services at CompuServe, The Source, the Dow Jones News/Retrieval Service and others.

The world of videotex.

A subscription to such services gives you ready access to literally thou

sands of "menu" selections covering subjects of vital interest.

■■■

\

■

■•■«"■'

v.

_

• Read electronic editions of important newspapers and magazines, right on your TV screen . . . national and international news . . . weather, sports. . . direct from the newswires.

• Research almost any subject in depth . . . with published articles . . . government and industry reports . . . other authoritative sources.

• Keep up with the world of finance . . . latest stock market prices . . . commodity reports . . . market and business commentaries . . . detailed information on thousands of publicly held companies.

• Send and receive electronic mail with other subscribers nationwide, including private person-to-person communication at less cost than a long distance phone call.

• Bank and shop at home . . . choose from thousands of electronically catalogued items . . . made available at discounted prices.

• Enjoy a wide selection of home services, including dozens of challenging games to test your family's playing skills.

Quick and easy start-up.

The VP3501 is as easy to use as a video game. Just follow the easy-tounderstand instructions you get in the User's Guide. Connect the VP3501 to your phone and TV set, turn it on, touch a few keys, and you're in direct contact with a whole new world of information.

Other VP3501 applications.

The VP3501 may also allow you to communicate with your company or school computer, in addition to the many subscription services available. There are expansion interfaces for a printer and cassette recorder. These features can provide you with hard copy and a full cassette of downloaded information for review off-line, at your convenience. You can even

write and run your own programs on host computers. In addition to the built-in direct connect modem and RF modulator, the VP3501 has 58-key alphanumeric and 16-key calculator keypads. . . resident and user-definable character sets. Color-locking circuitry provides sharp graphics . . . and there are programmable tones from a white noise generator.

Order now: only $399.

V\fe know of no comparable videotex data terminal available today at this low price. The VP3501 terminal comes with basic cables and connections for your TV set and telephone (with certain phones, the optional RCA acoustical coupler may be necessary), and the illustrated User's Guide with comprehensive instructions. Order now and you'll also get a free hourof connect timefrom CompuServe, The Source and the Dow Jones News/ Retrieval Service. Try the VP3501 for just 10 days. If not completely satisfied, you can return it to RCA for a full refund.

Call toll-free: 800-233-0094.

In Pennsylvania, call collect to 717393-0046. Visa and MasterCard orders are accepted by phone or mail your order direct to RCA Microcomputer Products, Dept., BY-383 , Customer Service, New Holland Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17604. Be sure to include name and shipping address, telephone, and payment: $399.00 each, plus $3.00 each shipping, plus applicable state and local taxes. Send check or money order payable to RCA Corporation. Prices and specifications subject to change without notice.

I1CJ1

Circle 348 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 71

/start when \

yCODE RECEIVEDy

ACTION ON RECEIPT OF CONTROL CODE

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Figure 3: A flowchart of the Prestel decoding process. Each code received causes one pass through the flowchart.

background color (up to 40 characters times 60 dots per character equals 2400 dots). If the double-height attribute has been set previously, two rows of characters (4800 dots) would have to be written. That is a lot of data to be transferred in the interval between two codes of 10-ms length.

The decoding can be kept relatively straightforward for a page of information being written from the top left to the bottom right on a previously cleared display. This is the case for Prestel information-retrieval pages.

The decoding processor needs only to accumulate knowledge of attributes affecting the current position.

The situation becomes more critical if the active position moves backward and an addition or modification is made to the page. Then it is necessary to know the character and attributes at this position and the range of the effects of these attributes. It is not possible to determine this information from the bit map. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a record of how the page was created. This can take the

same form as a character page store. When a new code is sent to a row, the entire row must be decoded and rewritten into the bit map.

Alternatively, an array must be kept of the displayable characters and attributes set for each character position. Another array, known as the marker memory, has a location for each character and a flag bit for each attribute type. This indicates where attribute changes occurred and sets the limit of propagation for each attribute type. With this arrangement,

72 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 145 on inquiry card.

:■■>,;:..

PERFORMANCE ACCESSORIES

In the fast moving, high technology world ot microcomputers, the need for high performance accessories often gets overlooked.

Discwasher, recognized as a world leader in audio/video care accessories, understands this need and has developed a line of computer accessories to allow users to get the most from their computer hardware.

The easy-to-use Discwasher' Disk Drive Cleaner is both a problem preventer and problem solver. Its dry format safely cleans single or doublesided drives without altering the delicate head alignment or doing possible damage to rubber drive parts with solvents.

The Discwasher' Computer Cassette Drive CareSet,* is a total maintenance package for your cassette drive system. It includes both the Discwasher" Computer Cassette Drive Head Cleaner and the Computer Cassette Drive Mechanism Cleaner. Together, these two maintenance units can keep the high resolution heads and the critical drive system ot your cassette drive system in optimum performance.

The Discwasher" DiscKeeper,* is a magnetically shielded storage system for floppy disks that takes up no more space than conventional folder packs. DiscKeeper protects against stray magnetic fields which can destroy valuable software. Three DiscKeeper sizes provide lossfree storage and protection for transporting any size disk format.

\-\ ^>

discwasher

1407 NORTH PROVIDENCE ROAD, P.O. BOX 6021, DEPT. BY, COLUMBIA, MO 65205 USA

A DIVISION OF .II \SIA

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CODES RECEIVED CS, T. E, X, T. ESC. 4«H. S, T, R, I. N. G

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PRESTEL DISPLAY

C) CODES RECEIVED APR, ESC, 42H

MARKER RECORD

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Figure 4: A diagram showing the immediate effect of a serial attribute and the need for attribute-marker flags. The notation 4/4 is the equivalent of 44 hexadecimal.

characters, attributes, and attribute ranges can quickly be found without having to decode the whole row. It is not possible to determine the range of an attribute from the attribute value alone (see figure 4).

Flashing characters are difficult to implement on a bit-mapped display. The area to be flashed can be rewritten at the flash rate, but this takes a noticeable time for large areas, not the desired instantaneous change. A technique that gives a limited flash capability is to use an extra bit plane and a color lookup table. Dots that

are to be flashed have the extra bit set, and the corresponding locations in the color table are alternately rewritten. The color that the character flashes to can be black or, if only eight foreground /background combinations are to be flashed, a true flash to background color can be achieved. When pairs of colors are alternated in this way, the facility is called blinking.

Microcomputer Displays

Some microcomputers have a complete Prestel display capability, such

as the popular BBC microcomputer with its teletext/Prestel character generator. The Apple II computer can become a Prestel terminal with the addition of an Appletel card. The majority of microcomputers in use today can display the basic textual information, although they don't permit all the Prestel features.

The primary requirement is the ability to display 24 rows of 40 characters. If this is not the normal display format of the computer, it may be possible to represent the page using bit-mapped graphics. If you have less than 24 rows on your computer's display, this can be overcome by scrolling or splitting the page display.

Most microcomputers can display the text characters that make up the core of the ISO alphanumeric characters. For characters that do not exist in the computer and for which there is no suitable substitute, the delete (DEL, 7/15, or 7¥ hexadecimal) character can be used. It is important to display a character for every character or attribute code transmitted in order to preserve the page layout.

The mosaic graphics were originated for use by teletext/videotex and do not exist on many microcomputer displays. It may be possible to make good substitutions, for example, using the block graphics of the TRS-80 Model I/III. Computers with redefinable character sets, such as the IBM Personal Computer, should have few problems simulating all the Prestel characters. With the Apple II, another approach might be using bitmapped high-resolution graphics. Representing all mosaic characters with a simple character such as an asterisk at least gives an outline of the graphics.

Implementing the various attributes presents more of a problem. Being able to display characters using the foreground color adds greatly to the presentation of the page.

European Videotex

Prestel is a subset of the new European videotex recommendation published in 1981 and, as a subset, is the most inexpensive to implement. The

74 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 171 on inquiry card.

d:ril!i:i1IUkW:?ilHJ:U:

DOZEN!

imiimiimmtmm

13 Good Reasons to Buy the

it

f. Apple® 11-compatible

2. CP/M -compatible

3. 128KofRAM

4. Built-in floppy disk drive 3. Disk controller

6. 80 column card

7. Serial interface

8. Parallel interface

9. Upper and lower case a VisiCalc® keys

■" f - Cursor control pad < Numeric pad Auto repeat keys

fciSSSSS

Extras can more than double the price of your personal computer. Not so with the Franklin ACE 1200. It's the professional computer system that includes the extras—and a long list of exclusive Franklin features that make it the most extraordinary value on the market today.

The ACE 1200 has everything you'll need

to add a color or black and white monitor, modem, printer, back-up disk drive and other accessories. You can choose from the enormous selection of Apple programs and peripherals because the ACE 1200 is hardware- and software-compatible with

the Apple II. And, with the built-in CP/M card, you can run both Apple II and CP/M programs. Franklin's CP/M operates three times as fast as many competing systems, drastically reducing processing time for most business applications.

The Franklin ACE 1200—the most extraordinary value

on the market today. Call or write today for the name of your local authorized Franklin dealer.

Franklin ACE is a trademark of Franklin Computer Corporation. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research Inc. VisiCalc is a registered trademark of Visi Corp.

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Born 1925. Educated Grantham High School and Somerville Col lege,Oxford earch chemist 1947-51. Mrrister Lincons Inn Bar 1953 MP. for Finchley 1959-74. M.P. for Finchley and Barnet 1974-. Sec.State for Education and Science 1970-74. Prime Minister and First Lord of Treasury 1979-.

key 1 for- indSK

Photo 3: Experimental photographic-videotex pages from Picture Prestel.

76 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

CEPT (Committee European des Postes et Telephones) TCD 6/1 recommendation is supported by 26 European countries and is being implemented by many of them.

Future European videotex terminals will have many enhanced text and graphics features as well as being able to display existing databases. An efficient character-generator display chip using a stack architecture for attributes is being developed that uses only 2K bytes of display memory. A repertoire of 331 text characters and 151 graphics characters is provided. Dynamically redefinable character sets (DRCS) infinitely extend the repertoire by allowing character shapes to be sent from the database. Extra attributes include double-width and double-size characters, and simple animation effects can be achieved using three phases of flashing. Display colors are chosen from four palettes of eight colors, all of which can be defined by the database.

The alphamosaic/DRCS recommendation is part of a basic protocol to which new videotex techniques will be continually added as they emerge. A geometric graphics facility is currently being included, based on the highly favored graphics kernel system (GKS) that is expected to shortly become the ISO computergraphics standard. Several classes of implementation are envisioned— ranging from simple incremental line drawing for a telewriting terminal to beyond GKS to multiple display planes and animation.

The GKS scheme uses a unit-coordinate system similar to NAPLPS. Points can be defined in terms of direct or relative coordinates or by using incremented coding (with increments of the screen size). The powerful, generalized GKS primitives of polymarker (polypoint with a range of point types), polyline, and polygon are used. The transformation primitives of translation, scaling, and rotation are also included. A part of a graphics image can be specified as a segment and then transformed as a whole. An infill command, as well as the normal filled polygon command, lets an area be filled from a seed point to a defined color boundary.

When critics rate you tops, what do you do for an encore?

"VISUAL 50 is in a class by itself for visual quality; the character set is unusually clear and sharp." *

"The VISUAL 50 is the most promising new terminal to come out so far, especially in light of its price."*

"We consider this terminal to be one of today's best products in price/ performance, its incorporation of economically designed features and its broad range of functionality. "**

Feature Comparison Chart *

ADDS VISUAL

Feature 60 50

TeleVideo Zenith 925 19

Wyse 100

Style 4 4

4 3

5

Overall Quality 2 5

3 4

3

Keyboard 3 5

2 4

2

Rollover/false keying 5 5

3 4

4

Video Quality 1 5

4 4

3

No. of attributes 5 5

5 2

5

Attribute method 2 5

2 4

2

Suitability for micros 2 5

3 5

3

24 39

26 30

27

List Price $895 695

995 895

995

'MICROSYSTEMS-March 1983

'THE ERGONOMICS NEWSLETTER-August 1982

Meet the VISUAL 55

The VISUAL 50, widely acclaimed as the best performing low cost terminal in the industry, is a tough act to follow. But the new VISUAL 55 extends its predecessor's performance even further by adding 12 user-programmable nonvolatile function keys, extended editing features and selectable scrolling regions ("split screen").

Both the VISUAL 50 and VISUAL 55 offer features you expect only from the high priced units. For example, the enclosure is ergonomically designed and can be easily swiveled and tilted for maximum operator comfort. A detached keyboard, smooth scroll, large 7 x 9 dot matrix characters and non-glare screen are only a few of the many human engineering features.

Another distinctive feature of the VISUAL 50 and VISUAL 55 is their

emulation capability. Both terminals are code-for-code compatible with the Hazeltine Espirit,™ ADDS Viewpoint," Lear Siegler ADM3A and DEC VT52f In addition, the VISUAL 55 offers emulations of the Hazeltine 1500/1510 and VISUAL 200/210. Menu-driven set-up modes in non-volatile memory allow easy selection of terminal parameters. And you're not limited to mere emulation. Unbiased experts rate the combination of features offered by the VISUAL 50/55 family significantly more attractive than competitive terminals.

Both VISUAL terminals are UL and CSA listed and exceed FCC Class A requirements and U.S. Government standards for X-ray emissions.

Call or write for full details.

See for yourself

Visual Technology Incorporated

540 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876

Telephone (617) 8S1-5000.Telex 951-539

Circle 434 on Inquiry card.

Eye-Guard...

the only anti-glare screen shield*

made with lead

to prevent eye-fatigue

and other problems

from working with

computer terminals.

If you regularly work with a computer terminal, a word processor, or spend long hours in front of video monitors, chances are you frequently suffer some form of eye strain or headache.

Eye-Guard Leaded Acrylic Anti-Glare Screen Shields eliminate the burning, watery eyes or other symptoms of eye-fatigue which may be caused by working in close proximity to computer terminals or other forms of CRTs.

The new Eye-Guard anti-glare screen shield is made of strong, impact-resistant, lead-impregnated acrylic. They're identical to the

•Attaches to any computer terminal with convenient VelcroT" tabs.

V

FOR NAME OF YOUR NEAREST DEALER,

CALL (800)

221-7070

IN NEW YORK STATE, CALL (212)989-6876

material used as windows by nuclear power plants and hospital x-ray facilities to protect personnel. And, even though Eye-Guard screen shields contain 30% lead (by weight), they're safe to handle and are completely transparent.

Supplied complete with convenient Velcro™ tabs, Eye-Guards attach quickly and easily to most computer monitor screens. Attach one to your computer terminal and see how fast it'll relieve your eyefatigue.

EyeGuard Anti-Glare Leaded Acrylic Screen Shields are available at fine computer and office supply stores nationwide. Visit the one nearest you today and get

an Eye-Guard for your

computer terminal

lntwosizes,91/2"xll!/2" or 10" x 13," suggested retail price, $129.95

Also available without anti-glare filter, suggested retail price, $119.95

For the name of your nearest dealer, call (800) 221-7070.

in New York State, call (212) 989-6876.

(Dealer inquiries invited)

•:•:•

LcinglCy-St.CIlclir Instrumentation Systems, Inc. 132 W. 24th St., New York, NY 10011

The greatest advance in videotexdisplay technology has been the development of photographic videotex. This is the inclusion of a still color photograph of telecast television quality in a videotex page, as shown in photo 3. Photographic videotex is the introduction of digital television technology to videotex.

The problem with photographic images is that their large information content takes a long time to transmit. A studio-quality picture represents more than 1 megabyte of information. In a photographic videotex system, the image is represented by luminance (intensity) and chrominance (color) sample values and is digitally compressed for database storage and transmission. The experimental Picture Prestel system allows for pictures up to one-sixth of the display area to be transmitted in 15 seconds over a 4.8K bps telephone link. Two coding techniques are used: differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) and a Hadamard transform, each providing a compression of 2:1. The latter technique gives a multiscan buildup providing a crude image quickly, which is then refined. A protocol to define the various photographic videotex image parameters and data is being added to the European recommendation.

The Goal

From the simple text and graphics terminals for information retrieval, now emerging are highly advanced graphics and photographic videotex terminals for use in a comprehensive information-communication system. The videotex terminal of the future will be capable of displaying a complete electronic version of the printed page and should also allow for such pages to be created and sent to other terminals. Prestel is a videotex system that can evolve to meet new service needs while incorporating technological innovations. ■

About the Author

Graham Hudson is responsible for advanced videotex terminal development at British Telecom Research Laboratories (Martlesham Heath, Ipswich IP5 7RE, England) and is the United Kingdom's representative at CEPT.

Circle 232 on Inquiry card.

MWf;K-. '■*■ *S#ffs-i.""\" H"

i i

Jt

\ U:

ZZi\

last night, compuserve turnedthis

Computer Into ATravel Agent For Jennie,

A Stock Analyst For Ralph, And Now,

It's Sending Herbie To Another Galaxy.

NO MATTER WHICH COMPUTER

YOU OWN, WE'LL HELP YOU GET

THE MOST OUT OF IT.

If you've got places to go, CompuServe can save you time and money getting there. Just access the Official Airline Guide Electronic Edition—for current flight schedules and fares. Make reservations through our on-line travel service. Even charter a yacht through "Worldwide Exchange."

If your money's in the market, CompuServe offers a wealth of

prestigious financial data bases. Access Value Line, or Standard and Poor's. Get the latest information on 40,000 stocks, bonds or commodities. Then, consult experts like IDS or Heinold Commodities. All on line with CompuServe.

Or if, like Herbie, intergalactic gamesmanship is your thing, enjoy the best in fantasy, adventure, and space games. Like MegaWars, the ultimate computer conflict.

To get all this and more, you'll

need a computer, a modem and CompuServe. CompuServe connects with almost any personal computer, terminal, or communicating word processor. To receive an illustrated guide to CompuServe and learn how you can subscribe, contact or call:

CompuServe

Consumer Information Service

2180 Wilson Road, Columbus, Ohio 43228

800-848-8199

In Ohio, call 614-457-8650

Circle 90 on inquiry card.

An H&R Block Company

BYTE July 1983 79

^

Shown are IBM-PC* compatible programs. The Columbia VP portable runs MS-DOS* plus five other operating systems.

INTRODUCING THE COLUMBIA VP PORTABLE. IBM-PC COMPATIBILITY

AT AN AFFORDABLE

PRICE.

World Headquarters:

West Coast:

Europe:

Call our distributor nearest you.

9150 Rumsey Road

3901 MacArthur Blvd.

Limitenstr. 94

Access Systems Advanced Management

Peripherals Plus, Inc.

Columbia, MD 21045

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4050 Moenchengladbach 2

Wellesley, MA Systems

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

(301)992-3400

Newport Beach, CA 92660

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TWX 710-862-1891

(714)752-5245 Telex 277778

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Telex 852452

(303) 752-2972

N.I.D.I. (National Instrument Distribution Inc.) Dayton, OH (513)435-4503

Distributors in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands-Antilles, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Venezuela.

Ahead in industry compatibility.

Today, the Columbia VP portable takes on hundreds of IBM-PC compatible software programs and IBM-PC add-ons or peripherals.

What's more, six other Columbiasupported operating systems are available - CP/M-80: CP/M-86* (Concurrent CP/M-86; OASIS-16* and XENIX* available soon) — stretching the Columbia VP's software compatibility beyond any other personal computer you can buy.

Get started with thousands of dollars worth of software FREE.

Every Columbia VP portable is shipped with fully supported software that will save you thousands of dollars on your initial purchase. That means your Columbia is up

and running right out of the box. Included is:

Perfect Writer Perfect Filer™ MS-DOS," with

RAM disk Macro/86 Assembler MS-BASIC" Diagnostics Space Commanders™ Fast Graphs"

Perfect Speller

Perfect Calc™

BASICA"

Asynchronous Communications Support

Columbia Tutor

Home Accountant Plus™

CP/M-86"

Full feature performance at an affordable price.

The Columbia VP portable features an 8088 16-bit CPU, 128K RAM, (additional 128K, optional). 640K in dual disk drives, one IBM-PC compatible expansion slot, one serial and one parallel I/O, IBM-PCcompatible keyboard, and a 9" built-in monitor with graphics.

The best news of all is the price: $2,995—including software. And

the Columbia is built with lasting value in mind. Rugged single board design plus the flexibility to expand and personalize your Columbia VP.

Made in U.S.A.—supported worldwide.

All Columbia hardware and software are backed by our dealers and distributors worldwide with national service provided by Bell & Howell. Call for the name of the dealer in your area. Let us show you a whole new world of performance and value.

COLUMBIA

DATA PRODUCTS, INC.

Circle 79 on inquiry card.

Commercial Computer Sales Atlanta, GA (404)256-9190

Renaissance Technology Corp.

Concord, CA (415)676-5757

Compatible Data Systems, Inc. MP Systems Rochester, NY Dallas, TX

(315)437-3909 (214)385-8885

Southeastern Data Commercial Computer

Products Sales

Lynchburg, VA Miami, FL

(804)237-6286 (305)266-9569

Perfect Software, Perfect Writer, Perfect Speller. Perfect Filer, and Perfect Calc are trademarks of Perfect Software, Inc. Home Accountant Plus is a trademark of Continental Software Company. Fast Graphs is a trademark of Innovative Software, Inc. IBM and IBM-PC are trademarks of International Business Machines. CP/M and MP/M are registered trademarks of Digital Research, Inc. OASIS is a trademark of Phase One. MS-DOS, MS-BASIC and XENIX are trademarks of MICROSOFT.

Mid Tech Associates Desoto, KS (913)441-6565

Tele-Terminals Brooklyn Park, MN (612)536-6045

Mid Tech Associates Florissant, MO (314) 837-5200

Waybem Corporation Garden Grove, CA (714)554-4520

Micro Distributing, Inc. Coquitlam, B.C. Canada (604) 941-0622

Tele-Terminals Milwaukee, WI (414)785-9221

NAPLPS Standard Graphics and the Microcomputer

Why a graphics standard is important and how it can be implemented in a microcomputer

NAPLPS, the cacophonic acronym that stands for North American Presentation-Level Protocol Syntax, is the coming thing in communicating information. To understand just why this proposed graphics standard is important, well take a look at NAPLPS itself, the incentives for adopting it, how to implement it on personal computers, and the NAPLPScompatible microcom- (ia) puter products that are currently available.

What Is NAPLPS?

From its inception, NAPLPS was planned as a set of conventions that would allow the digital communication of graphic information (see photo 1) over low-bandwidth channels—telephone lines, for example. More specifically, NAPLPS provides a method of compressing pictures into a relatively short block of digital data. As a standard, it can be used with equipment from different manufacturers, an advantage every com

by Leo Lax and Mark Olsen

puter owner can appreciate. Moreover, the NAPLPS encoding scheme is compatible with ASCII (American National Standard Code for Information Interchange), which is already in use by most texthandling digital equipment.

NAPLPS describes screen locations using a virtual screen and coordinate system, which makes it possible to

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Photo 1: NAPLPS-encoded images shown on two different display systems. The image in photo la is a "frame" from the Viewtron Videotex system using a standard home videotex terminal; resolution is 256 by 200 pixels. Photo lb (opposite page) shows a different NAPLPS-encoded image, displayed on a 500 by 500 screen made by Avcor of Toronto, Ontario.

use the same data to produce the same image on different machines. It uses PDI (picture-description instructions; see listing 1) to define the geometric properties of the displayed picture, so the encoded result is compact. The protocol maps all codes into the ASCII table to maintain compatibility with existing equipment and standards. To retain the flexibility of a character-oriented (or "mosaic"-oriented) terminal, NAPLPS also incorporates a mosaic definition table (see figure 1) and uses a general character-oriented display technique called DRCS (dynamically redefinable character sets).

The microcomputer industry has several incentives to move toward NAPLPS. Providers of videotex services, observing the success of other information utilities in the personal computer market, view microcomputer owners as potential customers. And the widespread acceptance of

82 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

NAPLPS has prompted microcomputer manufacturers to incorporate the protocol into their machines.

Implementing NAPLPS

You can implement the standard for a microcomputer through hardware, software, or a combination of both. Because the protocol can be viewed as a language and is accessible from other high-level languages, a user with a library of NAPLPS graphics routines can generate videotex images (called frames) by using software alone. Users of popular software packages such as Visicalc will be able to convert their results to easily perceived, colorful images. On the other hand, technology for constructing ICs (integrated circuits) is advanced enough that it is now possible to build a videotex decoder chip. Microcomputer users who have NAPLPS capability can provide others with information that any microcomputer can accept, thus overcoming the incompatibility of many popular best-selling microcomputers.

Features and Functions

NAPLPS allows text and pictures to be encoded in a manner indepen

dent of the display device. Pictorial information can be described in terms of points, lines, arcs, polygons, and incremental primitives, all on a Cartesian coordinate system. Thus a low-resolution frame can be shown on a high-resolution display device in such a way that any coarseness due to the encoded resolution of the frame is eliminated. Conversely, high-resolution pictures are displayed at the limit of the resolution of the display device. This independence holds true for other picture parameters, such as color.

The basic features of NAPLPS are the coding of text in ASCII and the coding of geometric images as PDIs. In addition, it is possible to augment text with supplementary characters and diacritical marks and to generate DRCS for use as alternate alphabets. Sequences of PDIs can be defined as macroinstructions before being transmitted, and you can then re-execute them by transmitting a simple instruction rather than the whole sequence.

Coarse pictures may be drawn using graphics characters, which can have various stroke-width, texture, color, size, and rotation attributes.

Colors in frames are selected from a palette of 16; the standard allows for more than 512 colors. Unprotected fields may be created on the screen to allow for user input. This combination of features results in a method of communication that is at once flexible and straightforward. (For an in-depth look at the functions of NAPLPS, see Jim Flemming and Will Frezza's fourpart series "NAPLPS: A New Standard for Text and Graphics," in the February through May issues.)

Designing NAPLPS Machines

Graphics creation is taking much the same path that text editing has been following for some years. Text editing is now an interactive process in which users, whether they are programmers or not, see the results of

NAPLPS, Past and Present

In past issues of BYTE we have presented a detailed description of a very powerful videotex protocol, the North American Presentation-Level Protocol Syntax (NAPLPS). This article briefly reviews NAPLPS and explores how NAPLPS decoders can be integrated with personal computers.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 83

Listing 1: PDIs (picture-description instructions) used to encode an image. The actual instructions are shown in listing la, while listing lb explains each sequence. The sequence of the PDIs specifies the order in which the image is drawn; thus, newly defined areas may overlay previously drawn parts. In the listing, x and y refer to absolute coordinates, while dx and dy refer to relative displacements. Operands are encoded as 3 bytes, so the whole image can be described in 108 bytes.

(1a)

SO (a)

CONTROL

green LINE

(e)

CONTROL (b)

blue

x and y

RECTANGLE

position

x and y

dx and dy

position

displacement

dx and dy

displacement

POLYGON dx and dy

(f)

CONTROL (c)

displacment

green

dx and dy

POLYGON

displacement

x and y

dx and dy

position

displacmenet

dx and dy

displacement

CONTROL

(g)

dx and dy

yellow

displacement

ARC

x and y Start position mid position

dx and dy

end

displacement

position

CONTROL (d)

RECTANGLE

(h)

red

x and y

POLYGON

position

x and y

dx and dy

position

displacement

dx and dy

displacement

CONTROL

(i)

dx and dy

white

displacement

POINT SET x and y position

dx and dy

SI

(J)

displacement

house

(1b)

(a) Shift out (SO) to graphics mode.

(b) Draw a blue background covering the entire display area.

(c) Draw a green foreground using a filled 8-sided polygon instruction.

(d) Draw the walls of the house in red using a filled 6-sided polygon instruction.

(e) Draw a green line to define the edge of the roof.

(f) Proceeding from the present beam position, draw the remainder of the roof using a filled 4-sided polygon instruction.

(g) Draw a yellow sun using the arc instruction. Fill in the area between the chord and the end points of the arc.

(h) Draw a yellow door.

(i) Set the color to white and reposition the beam ready for text.

(j) Shift in (SI) to alphanumeric mode and write "House."

their changes immediately. Thanks to the advent of microcomputers, NAPLPS becomes a personal tool for creating and manipulating images.

A NAPLPS-compatible microcomputer must provide these functions:

• Input: keyboard, digitizing tablet, mouse, joystick, or a combination of these devices to create images

• Processing: the computer must be able to interpret the input and let the user manipulate images

• Output: the system should have the capability to both display and transmit encoded frames

• Filing: mass-stcrage and management of encoded frames are useful in composition and planning

While successful mosaic-type and DRCS-type NAPLPS decoding schemes have been demonstrated, bitmapping is preferable for two reasons: it provides the picture with the best quality, and its software overhead is lower as a result of color independence. In most current microcomputers that provide color graphics, users must always be conscious of the background color behind their images. For instance, in drawing a thin diagonal of a rectangle, the picture may be accurate only if certain colors are chosen for the lines and the background; the image is affected by the background color because of the way in which the machine's designers mapped the screen into memory.

When NAPLPS is implemented in a bit-mapped architecture, no pixel (picture element) is affected by the color of its neighbors; background color and foreground color are neither interrelated nor interdependent. You can lay any color from the palette over any other without concern for the colors of the adjacent pixels.

Some Current Implementations

One of the first implementations of NAPLPS was in a dedicated decoder (the Norpak MK IV) that incorporated a 6809 microproa videotex display general also produced the first widely used NAPLPS in

84 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

The new COMPAQ Portable Computer. IBM compatibility to go.

@

I imple, isn't it? The COMPAQ™ Portable Computer can do lwhat the IBM® Personal Computer does. To go.

It runs all the popular programs written for the IBM. It works with the same printers and other peripherals. It even accepts the same optional expansion electronics that give it additional capabilities and functionality.

There's really only one big difference. The COMPAQ Computer is designed to travel.

Carry the COMPAQ Computer from office to office. Carry it home on the weekend. Or take it on business trips.

If you're a consultant, take it to your client's office.

If you use a portable typewriter, you can use the COMPAQ Computer as portable word processor instead.

If your company already uses the IBM Personal Computer, add the COMPAQ

you'd probably need to buy an additional display screen because the built-in screen is too small for certain tasks, like word processing. The COMPAQ Computer's display screen is nine inches diagonally, big enough for any job, and it shows a full 80 characters across. And the built-in display offers high-resolution graphics and text characters on the same screen.

The bottom line is this. The COMPAQ Computer is the first uncompromising portable computer. It delivers all the advantages of portability

In the standard configuration, the COMPAQ Computer has three open slots for functional expansion electronics as your needs and applications grow. It accepts standard network and communications interfaces including ETHERNET™ and OMNINET™.

If you're considering a personal computer, there's a new question you need to ask yourself. Why buy a corn

Portable as a mobile unit that can use the same programs, the same data disks, and even the same user manuals.

There are more programs available for the COMPAQ Computer than for any other portable. More, in fact, than for most nonportables. You can buy them in hundreds of computer stores nationwide, and they run as is, right off the shelf.

With most other portables

without trading off any computing power capability.

And what do those advantages cost?

Nothing.

The COMPAQ Portable sells for hundreds less than a comparably equipped IBM or APPLE® III. Standard features include 128K bytes of internal memory and a 320K-byte disk drive, both of which are extra-cost options on the IBM. Memory and additional disk drive upgrades are available options to double those capacities.

puter that

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e 1983 COMPAQ Computer Corporation

IBM* is a registered trademark of International Business

Machines Corporation.

ETHERNET™ is a trademark of Xerox Corporation.

OMNINET™ is a trademark of Corvus Systems.

Apple* is a registered trademark of Apple Computer. Inc.

COMPAQ™ is a trademark of COMPAQ Computer

Corporation.

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terminal—its Information Provider System (IPS2)—a desk-like unit that provides two video screens, two

8-inch floppy-disk drives, and a small minicomputer to drive the videotex display processors and enable very quick frame creation, immediatefeedback editing, and data storage.

There are three principal variations on the theme of NAPLPS implementation in a microcomputer: the dedicated microcomputer, the add-on card, and the software package. One example of each follows.

Norpak GC-1000: One way to implement NAPLPS in a microcomputer is to design the computer from the ground up to incorporate videotex hardware and a bit-mapped display. This unit provides the "standard" videotex resolution of 256 by 200 pixels via an integral color video monitor. With custom software, RS232C communications ports, and a keyboard with programmable keys, the GC-1000 is fully equipped to receive and display NAPLPS information from external sources and to generate frames in a stand-alone mode. Further, its integrated design includes two SVi-inch floppy-disk drives to store images, develop programs, or load videotex from a database or other microcomputers. Its 6809 microprocessor and emulation of Digital Equipment Corporation's VT52 video terminal make the GC-1000 an all-purpose personal machine rather than simply a dedicated frame-creation or decoding device.

Telidon Graphics System (TGS) for the Apple II: The Apple II TGS is an excellent example of a truly personal videotex system. It provides frame creation, decoding, and communications software that enable the system to talk to another Apple so configured (see Rich Malloy's "Commentary: Personal Computers and Videotex" on page 114). Most people consider communications software crucial to a truly interactive and useful videotex system.

The TGS is designed for use on Apple II or Apple II Plus computers with 48K bytes of RAM that run DOS 3.3 with at least one disk drive. A modem data communications system would also be necessary for communication with remote Apple systems or videotex databases. Fast and easy marker control for frame creation and editing can be provided with an optional joystick or tablet.

The TGS package consists of an interface card, incorporating a 6809 microprocessor with serial interface connector, one SVi-inch floppy disk, a serial-interface connector mounting kit, and a reference manual.

Three graphics system programs are stored on the floppy disk. Create/Edit/Communications is a stand-alone program that enables the user to interactively create, edit, and communicate pictures. Also provided are a variety of frame-creation com

The Modem that Delivers 3 Ways

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2. t3S6 Of US6. Operator's commands are easy to remember, like 'Dial:'

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86 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 413 on inquiry card.

The Juki 6100 printer. It should cost a lot more than $699.

The new Juki model 6100 letter quality daisy wheel printer has full features you'd expect to find on a more expensive printer.

It can support word processing and graphic functions, print 18 CPS, and use a simple drop-in daisy wheel.

The 6100 has 10/12/15 pitch, proportional spacing, utilizes standard IBM Selectric typing ribbons, has 2K buffer memory (expandable to 8K), parallel interface, and both tractor feed and serial interface are available as options.

That's only the beginning.

Best of all, the low-noise Juki model 6100 is extremely reliable.

You can pay more, but you can't buy a better printer than the Juki model 6100.

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(2a)

CLOCK

GENERATION

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... .

c

CONTROL LOGIC

c

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ADDRESS DRIVERS

ACIA

DATA

BI-DIRECTIONAL

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Figure 2: Block diagrams of the Telidon Graphic Systems card (figure 2a) and how it interfaces to the Apple II (figure 2b).

mands that concern the basic graphic primitives, colors, text sizes, and text orientation. Frames created with the system or those received from other Apple TGS systems may be edited with this program.

In the Edit mode, you identify a graphic element and can move, erase, copy, or change its color. Text characters or lines of text may be inserted and deleted. The communications feature of the program enables the user to send or receive NAPLPS information to or from other Apple computers fitted with the TGS. Picture data is available either through the Apple internal peripheral connec

tors for the Hayes Micromodem or through the interface card integral RS-232C serial interface for direct connection or stand-alone modems. A disk-file handling feature permits pictures to be saved, recalled, or deleted from the disk.

The Videotex Terminal program transforms the Apple II into a NAPLPS videotex terminal that can communicate with a remote database. Through keyboard commands users can enter their account numbers or other information giving them access to videotex databases, call up database subject lists or menus, search through the available material

for required information, hold it for review, and store locally on disk any pages required for later reference.

The Graphics Routines Library program lets anyone experienced in 6502 Assembler or Apple BASIC programming create pictures using routines called from the disk. The library routines perform a variety of functions such as displaying screen images using the drawing primitives or enabling data transfers through the serial interfaces.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the interface card and the Apple TGS System.

IBM Personal Computer: There are three NAPLPS implementation options for the IBM Personal Computer. First, a software package can be created to generate NAPLPS data, whether it's in a library or a full applications package that, when sent out to a decoder, will display pictures. Such a package is available from Tayson Information Technology Ltd., a company based in Calgary, Canada.

A software package designed to use IBM's existing graphics-displaying capability can be created. This would be available only on the computer's low-resolution mode because that's the only mode that provides full bitmap capability. The resulting NAPLPS resolution would be 160 by 100 pixels. Although the resolution is lower than the usual 256 by 200, there is an advantage to this option: videotex implementation can be packaged in one machine.

Finally, a proper bit-mapped hardware display generator can be developed for the IBM Personal Computer. This would provide a minimum resolution of 256 by 200 and allin-one frame creation, editing, and decoding. The advantage of this option is the PC's 8088 microprocessor, which provides the speed and accuracy required by NAPLPS and a memory-addressing capability large enough for the necessary code and video RAM (random-access read/ write memory). Implementing this option would be more cost effective than the same option for the Apple II because you can use the microprocessor already in the machine to share

88 July 1983 © BYTE Publications inc

APPLES ABLE TO DRAW

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Sweet-P Software Offers More Apple Applications.

Sweet-Plot™ I Software will have you drawing standard graph formats within minutes—even if you're not familiar with how a plotter works. And, for drawing

$795. Personal Plotter Produces Apple Art.

The new Sweet-P™ Personal Plotter™, invented by Whiz Kid Richard Murray will have your Apple' drawing every graphic you will ever need.

k ^^^^ ^^Lm I addition, \

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With Sweet-P next to your Apple, you guickly create, store, edit and draw high resolution, hard copy graphics that add color and clarity to any business, engineering or scientific presentation.

Sweet-P polishes Apple's performance.

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paper or transparency material. At an incredible speed of 6 inches per second. And, once stored in memory, information can be drawn in any scale desired—even on paper up to 10 feet long.

With Sweet-P you're not only able to draw your own conclusions, but communicate them more effectively as well.

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the burden of memory and computational power needed for decoding.

Other Implementations

Intel and NEC (Nippon Electric Company) provide the next step in the NAPLPS evolution. Their GDC (Graphics Display Controller) chip (Intel 82720, NEC uPD7220) not only takes care of low-level details like refreshing the display but also accepts high-level commands such as Draw a Line, Draw an Arc, Draw a Rectangle, Draw a Character, and so on, and draws the dots on the screen.

Because the processor doesn't have to spend time figuring which dots to draw, it can receive and interpret NAPLPS commands or process data.

Although the GDC chip is significantly closer to providing NAPLPS capabilities in hardware than previous display controllers, some software is still required to convert NAPLPS commands to commands the GDC understands. Digital Research has already introduced software that does this, and several other companies such as Norpak are developing competing products.

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For more information on the Modem II or the MT212A n™ (a 200/300 bps full duplex modem for your Apple II), call or write!

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Obviously, future generations of VLSI (very large-scale integration) graphics chips will come closer and closer to providing the complete set of NAPLPS capabilities in hardware. Designers will offer higher and higher levels of system performance providing users with faster and faster computer systems. They will reduce the number of chips required to implement a system to a minimum, reducing the cost of computing power to the user. Fortunately, users who embrace these standards will be able to transport software from system to system as they upgrade.

Future Developments

Several enhancements to current NAPLPS implementation are under development.

Photographic data generation, storage, and transmission using NAPLPS has been demonstrated but is still in the prototype stage. The machine that has this feature must perform pattern recognition in order to encode the information and pattern synthesis for geometric shapes, but the realism required for photographic reproduction means more processing power than most of today's consumer-priced decoders or microcomputers offer.

Sound for NAPLPS, whether voice synthesis or musical tones, is also being examined. One question asked is, Why encode sound when you can transmit it now by telephone? An answer is that if a means of encoding sound digitally (through bandwidth compression) were found, clarity of sound superior to that of telephone lines could be provided over longer distances.

Animation currently presents problems for NAPLPS implementation but will exist in the future. NAPLPS coding does not contain time-descriptor instructions. Sequences of images are now displayed in terms of a spatial domain, not a temporal one. Time control over NAPLPS is currently limited to a WAIT command. Work is progressing on a time description protocol, but memory and calculation requirements are high.

Telesoftware will be a major ap

90 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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plication of videotex in the future. NAPLPS currently provides a limited facility to personalize or customize the decoder to specific applications; data can be communicated using a macroinstruction and invoked for local use. More useful, however, would be the downloading of both PDIs and the processes that manipulate them so that users could interact with the pictures using someone else's definition of the manipulation process. Thus telesoftware would provide both pictures and the tools (programs) to manipulate them.

Highly device-dependent telesoftware is now available. Still to come is a general-purpose definition of software such that it will run on any microprocessor. (The Pascal p-System definition provides a device-independent telesoftware vehicle but is restricted to the facilities provided in the Pascal language.) Although general-purpose telesoftware can never be all things to all people, application-dependent telesoftware will flourish, irrespective of the machine, for certain standard microcomputer applications.

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Conclusion

NAPLPS is an efficient protocol for the creation, storage, and communication of graphic and textual information. Because it is hardware independent by design, it will be implemented on an increasing number and variety of consumer-oriented devices. Proliferation of the graphics protocol will reduce the cost of its implementation as a result of such efforts as VLSI development, mass production, and old-fashioned marketing competition. The ultimate winner in this logical progression is the user, who will be provided with the most costeffective graphics-communication vehicle available and will have a choice of implementations, costs, and applications. The old "open system concept," in which anyone talks to anyone else on any terminal, will be revived, using the two newly rediscovered tools that make it ideal: color graphics and the personal computer. ■

References

1. "Bell System Videotex Standard Presentation-Level Protocol," American Telephone and Telegraph Company, May 1981.

2. Bown, H.G., CD. O'Brien, W. Sawchuk, and J.R. Storey, "Picture Description Instructions (PDI) for the Telidon Videotex System," Canadian Department of Communications, CRC Technical Note 699-E.

3. Bown, H.G., CD. O'Brien, J.C. Smirle, Y.F. Lum, and J.Z. Kukulka, "Videotex Presentation-Level Protocol: Augmented Picture Description Instructions," Canadian Department of Communications, CRC Technical Note 709-E.

4. "Videotex/Teletext Presentation-Level Protocol Syntax (North American PLPS)," American National Standards Institute X3L2.1 Videotex/Teletext Character Sets Standing Task Group and CVCC/CSA Working Group on Videotex, T500X3L2.1/82-72, June 18, 1982.

5. International Standards Organization (ISO)/DP 7498, "Data Processing—Open Systems Interconnection—Basic Reference Mode," Document TC 97/SC16 N719, October 1981.

About the Authors

Leo Lax is Assistant Vice-President, marketing and sales, for Norpak Corporation (10 Hearst Way, Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2L 2P4). Mark Olsen is a product marketing engineer for display components at Intel Corporation (3065 Bowers Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051).

92 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Privacy and Videotex Systems

Two-way services bring with them the potential for abuse

by Richard M. Neustadt and M. Anne Swanson

Midway through George Orwell's 1984, the hero meets an old man and asks him how "Big Brother" got started. Things began to go wrong, the old man answered, when someone invented two-way television.

Advances in telecommunications promise to bring all sorts of conveniences to our doorsteps. We'll be shopping, banking, and working from home. We'll have computercontrolled electronic mail, burglar and fire alarms, and medical alerts, among other things. But along with this array of new services and products comes a potential for abuse.

The possible threat to privacy that home video and computing services pose is beginning to worry some people. The growth of nationwide videotex systems, whether they operate over cable TV or telephone lines, presents two major causes for concern. First, companies that sell electronic information or provide transactional services such as home banking and shopping will be able to compile dossiers on their subscribers. This information could be misused. Second, the proliferation of electronic transfer of information raises new questions about wiretapping.

Data Collection and Disclosure

The current debate focuses on the collection and possible misuse of subscriber records. Most companies that provide videotex services generate files on subscriber behavior as a mat

ter of course. For instance, if the system operator provides information and charges his customers on a per-page basis, then his computer must keep a record of every video page subscribers request. If the system is used for transactions such as shopping or banking at home, the retailer or financial institution must keep a record, and the cable or telephone system operator may want to keep its own record as protection against claims of error.

Most companies that

provide videotex services generate files on subscriber behavior as a matter of course.

Of course, similar records have always been collected by banks, hospitals, insurance companies, and other institutions. But with videotex systems, more records are being collected in one place. Moreover, computer files are easier to obtain than original documents.

The concern about collection of records leads to another issue: the possible disclosure of private information on consumer behavior. System operators may want to sell this data to retailers, pollsters, direct mailers, or credit investigators. Such information is commercially valuable, as indicated by the similar active market in magazine subscription

lists.

The action of a theater owner in Columbus, Ohio—where WarnerAmex runs its interactive Qube service—is an example of data disclosure. The owner of the theater subpoenaed lists of people who had watched "adult" movies on cable TV in order to defend himself against obscenity charges for screening those movies in his theater.

Protecting Privacy

Without a law or service contract to the contrary, company records belong to the company that collects them, not to the subscriber. The United States Supreme Court established this principle in 1976 when it held that a consumer had no constitutionally protected interest in his bank records that would enable him to challenge their release to government officials.

In the last two years, however, a movement has taken wing to legislate protections for those records. California, Illinois, and Wisconsin have passed privacy laws, six other states are seriously considering such measures, and the U.S. Congress may well pass a privacy law next year. While most of these bills are aimed at cable TV, the Illinois law and several of the proposed bills also cover twoway services provided over telephone lines. In addition, most cable TV franchises issued in recent years include privacy rules.

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The central aim of this legislation is to require the system operator to obtain the subscriber's consent before collecting information. In most cases, collection without consent is allowed only for purposes of billing, providing a service like at-home shopping, or protecting against unauthorized reception or other services.

The measures vary on specifics. The Wisconsin law goes so far as to require cable operators to offer subscribers a free on-off switch controlling the interactive service. Some of the pending bills require system operators to acquire liability insurance to cover any suits based on violation of their privacy provisions.

Many people in the videotex field feel that all this legislation is unnecessary. They argue that there has been no evidence of abuse and that system operators are hardly likely to offend their customers by invading their privacy. These companies make a strong argument that we should wait to set rules until we know more about

the market and the technology.

Legislation is beginning to look inevitable, however. And when it does pass, the biggest problem for the videotex industry will be the motley of state and local rules and the often ambiguous wording of laws. The differences from law to law would, for example, require the operator of a system serving several states to maintain separate databases and procedures for each state—a costly proposition.

Some companies providing interactive services see self-regulation as the best way to allay subscriber concerns and avoid a patchwork of conflicting rules. Two large cable firms— Warner-Amex and Cox—have issued codes of behavior regarding privacy. The National Cable Television Association and the Videotex Industry Association have formed groups to draft industry-wide guidelines. Meanwhile, there is increasing support for a uniform standard, set by Congress, to preempt state and local rules.

Interception

In the case of interactive systems, several kinds of interception are possible. An eavesdropper—or a lawenforcement agent—could put a physical tap on a telephone line or dial into a central computer that transmits messages and keeps records. A cable subscriber could use special equipment to listen on his cable and pick up signals addressed to or transmitted by other subscribers.

Federal law provides criminal sanctions against unauthorized interception of wire communications and regulates legal wiretapping by lawenforcement authorities. The law allows government agencies to wiretap, but only with a court order—which the courts are to grant sparingly—or, if national security is at issue, pursuant to an order from the Attorney General.

Unfortunately, the drafters of this law—who worked on it almost 15 years ago—did not anticipate advances in technology, and the law now has two large loopholes. First,

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the law covers only "aural interception," so it does not seem to apply to eavesdropping on data and text transmissions, such as electronic mail. Second, the law defines "wire communications" as transmission provided by common carriers such as the telephone company—probably omitting most cable services.

Legislation pending in Congress addresses both problems. Senate Bill 66 forbids any private person or government body from intercepting any broadband communication unless authorized to do so by the system operator, program originator, or federal law. (The provision does not specify whether law-enforcement investigators would use a regular search warrant or would have to meet the wiretapping law's strict standard to get court permission for nonaural interception.) This same proposal defines cable transmission as "wire communications" so as to include them within the law's scope.

It is too early to tell whether the privacy legislation pending in Congress will become law. If it does, it would preempt similar state regulation and would provide a unified substitute for the hodgepodge of different state and local rules. Although the federal proposal is currently part of a bill that focuses on cable systems, it is drafted broadly enough so that its provisions could be interpreted to include telephone-based services as well.

In the meantime, industry attempts at self-regulation on the privacy issue will increase. Most system operators are anxious not to scare their subscribers—it's hard enough to sell a new product without introducing fear into the equation. As a result, the Orwellian scenario may remain more fiction than fact.B

About the Authors

Richard J. Neustadt is a partner in the law firm of Wiley, Johnson and Rein (1776 K St., NW, Washington, DC 20006). His recently published book, The Birth of Electronic Publishing (Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982), touches upon privacy and interactive video services. M. Anne Swanson is an associate with Wiley, Johnson and Rein.

100 July 19S3 © BYTE Publicatiom Inc

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BYTE July 1983 103

Graphics Artistry On Line

A Telidon videotex workshop

sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts

explores a new medium for artistic expression

The paint is an electron beam, and the canvas is a luminescent bubble of glass; 10 million people can own an original when artists use a new graphic medium—videotex.

When the staff of New York University's Alternate Media Center

by Martin Nisenholtz

began to create broadcast teletext pages with the Norpak Telidon terminal (see the text box on page 106), very little work had been done with alphageometric graphics in areas where we felt they could be quite effective. We wanted to try using the

Photo 1: The opening page from "Nancy Reagan Takes the Subway," an interactive comic strip by Maria Manhattan.

graphics to enhance the legibility of text; to create maps, charts, diagrams, and other symbolic representations; and to improve the overall aesthetic appeal of a teletext or videotex service. We also hoped to define the stylistic limitations of the medium, both in content and design. At that time, mid-1979, few artists had worked on Telidon production terminals and the field showed little creative diversity. Although several commercial field trials were in the planning stages, we wanted to involve more creative people in the very early stages of the medium. Therefore, in addition to our work with teletext, we decided to develop a noncommercial videotex database to explore the more complex database architecture of the two-way videotex system.

On April 1, 1981, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) began funding an artists' videotex workshop. Artists would be invited to learn to use the Norpak equipment and to create works that would be structured into a hierarchical database for display over videotex systems in the United States and Cana

104 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

W^B

k K ~

Jhe birds are singing and it is a cheery day

Photo 2: A page from "Snap Shots" by Mary Beams. Note use of textures.

da. This independent production facility began its work with three major goals:

Creative growth: Working under the production constraints of a fast moving videotex or teletext operation, it's difficult to set aside time simply to explore the medium. However, a certain amount of "waste" is built into an exploratory program, and in this more relaxed environment ideas tend to emerge that can then be integrated into an operational setting. In many fields commercial applications spring from ideas that are spawned in laboratories established by artists and engineers. The computer graphics field serves as an excellent example, in which conceptual thinking and experimentation often lead to new commercial applications

and vice versa. The first goal of our videotex workshop was to be the basis for such experimentation.

Content diversity: Creative growth and content diversity are related goals. A wide assortment of artists with different backgrounds and skills can best provide the intellectual richness and range of opinions necessary for growth in a new medium. And because new ideas are often stumbled upon unexpectedly, our second goal was to create an environment where people would feel free to explore their own insights.

Independent expression: The extent to which the public should be able to contribute ideas to a public videotex system is only now being addressed. While open videotex systems are more responsive and more diverse than closed systems, the British ex

perience suggests that too much diversity can result in confusing and illegible pages, nonstandard routing commands, and content that is redundant and sometimes crude. Our third goal was to establish a framework for independent thought and expression while maintaining database consistency and page legibility.

The Process

Bringing this rhetoric down to earth meant first exploring the visual characteristics of the alphageometric presentation standard and then structuring the discrete videotex frames in a usable, public videotex database. We invited different types of artists—illustrators, animators, journalists, and conceptual artists—to ensure that a diversity of skills and points of view would be established.

July 1963 © BYTE Publications lnc 105

Photo 3: A page from Wendy Richmond's "Cultural Patterns."

Ten artists were selected to learn to use the Norpak Telidon terminal. Only one of these artists had any previous experience with computer graphics.

Learning Curves

How long does it take an artist to achieve proficiency on the production terminal? That depends on the demands of the production operation, the need for complex graphics, and the personality and skill of the artist. Most of our workshop participants were creating complex graphics after three or four sessions on the terminal. However, some of these artists may not have been capable of creating production-quality pages until their third or fourth month, if ever (see reference 1).

Database Structure

While learning the basic commands of the Norpak software and achieving skill in using geometric primitives to create images (see the text box on page 108), the artists also had to learn the context in which these discrete frames were being placed. That is, they had to learn to structure their own databases to be incorporated into a larger project database and,

more globally, into the databases of several system operators. Some artists responded by building sequential series of pages, such as Maria Manhattan's "Nancy Reagan Takes the Subway," a sequential cartoon (see photo 1). To display the next page in the sequence you simply press the forward arrow on the keypad. Other artists, responding to the numerical choices offered by the Norpak keypad, built more complex databases in which more than one choice is offered throughout. Mary Beams' "Snap Shots" (see photo 2) is a series of short stories that are selected from a subindex. Beams used a house with different rooms as a metaphor for the database architecture.

For the overall NEA database, we were far more concerned with diversity of content and style (see photo 3) than with achieving a consistent graphics presentation style across artists' databases. Nonetheless, we needed standard application-level commands for each videotex system on which the work was shown. This entailed specifying user commands in the bottom right-hand corner of each page, constructing an index page for the overall database, and making sure that each artist's database conformed

to the tree structure indexing and routing schemes for each system.

Graphics Capabilities and Trade-offs

The Norpak software generates six colors and six shades of gray, as well as black-and-white images. However, laying different fill patterns in different colors on top of one another gives an image a heightened look of texture. We found two major tradeoffs in using such textures. First, a textured pattern displays much more slowly than a solid or outlined shape because a textured fill pattern writes in more memory locations than a solid or outlined shape. Thus, when the textured geometric shape redisplays, it takes longer to recall from memory. Second, finding the "right" textured pattern may take hours of experimentation with different fill patterns, pixel densities, and line attributes. Because of these limitations, we feel textured patterns should be used selectively and over small areas of the screen.

Animation

In some instances, animation can add visual appeal and excitement to a videotex image. In other cases, it can be distracting, tiresome, and wasteful of memory. Using the Norpak IPS-2E software, the artist animates an image

The First Step: Broadcast Teletext

In 1979, the Alternate Media Center of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts conducted a planning study of broadcast teletext for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (see reference 3). The following year, the center proposed a field trial of teletext in association with public station WETA-TV in Washington, D C. The field trial was jointly funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Science Foundation, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Department of Education. The Canadian Telidon system was selected for production of teletext pages, which were transmitted over the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of

106 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications he

by copying it in the background color and then again in another screen position in the original or some new color. When the page displays, the image appears, disappears, and then reappears in the new position, conveying the illusion of motion. New software developments allow the artist to manipulate the blink function by specifying time intervals between blinking images, which may change color. Although the expanded blink function improves the animation capability, artists should be aware that its overuse will distract viewers. We found that animation succeeded most when it added meaning to the frame and wasn't purely decorative.

Legibility

A delicate relationship exists between the amount of text placed on the screen and its legibility. Several artists worked to arrive at what they felt was a balanced format for text preparation. They improved clarity and legibility by avoiding long sentences and by dividing the frame into three or four separate paragraphs, each with one or two shorter sentences. They found that a light gray text against a dark gray background was a legible combination and that, in general, lighter backgrounds were too harsh on the eyes (reference 2).

the television station's signal (see reference 4). On June 24, 1981, a test group involving 40 homes and 10 public locations began receiving teletext daily, from 8:00 AM, until 12:00 midnight. The teletext service was designed and operated by Alternate Media Center staff at WET A in Shirlington, Virginia. A research team evaluated users' responses to different categories of content, editorial styles, page designs, indexing schemes, and related issues. The field trial was concluded on August 30, 1982, and the broadcast station has since adopted the service as part of its overall broadcast operation. Results of the field trial are available to the public from the Alternate Media Center, 725 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

Photo 4: A pictogram game developed by Martin Nisenholtz, called "Mystery of the Drink."

Database Attributes

We discovered serious economic trade-offs in balancing database sophistication against usage costs. In many instances, however, the more sophisticated search procedures are easier to use and add features to videotex that are unavailable on more traditional databases. For example, at least one major videotex system is experimenting with multifield key-word search procedures. You needn't search through a cumbersome tree structure for restaurant information. Instead, you enter the desired type of restaurant and other dining attributes (e.g., price and location), and the computer finds the appropriate restaurant. These advanced database features were not available to us, but they will have an impact on future planning. At the outset of the workshop project, our concern was to build a small hierarchical database (approximately 250 pages), compatible with early videotex systems. Therefore, we didn't encounter the complex problems of constructing a large hierarchical database. Nonetheless, we experimented with two features to make the database more attractive and fluid: overlays and indexing symbols.

By default, all Telidon pages coming over the consumer's terminal clear the screen to black before delivering the next page. One useful characteristic of the picture editor filing system is the ability to overlay new text or graphics on a portion of the previously drawn page. This improves display time and continuity over related frames of content. This feature is particularly handy when presenting changing textual material against some fixed graphic display and was used widely by our artists in storytelling.

Artists were also encouraged to help users negotiate the tree-structure indexing scheme with visual cues. For example, maps were used to replace words in leading users to information on different geographical locations. A game was developed that used pictograms rather than textual descriptions to lead users from one database location to another (see photo 4).

Results

The final product of the National Endowment for the Arts videotex workshop was a roughly structured electronic magazine with the works of 10 artists contained in 425 pages, including index pages (see photo 5),

luly 19S3 © BYTE Publications Inc 107

NANCY REAGAN TAKES THE SUBWAY By Mar i a Manhattan

SNAPSHOTS

By Mary Beams

STARBOY

By Lady McCrady

CULTURAL PATTERNS

By Nendy R i chroond

CALENDAR STORY

By Susan Rub in

ABDULLAH

By Mark Ginsburg

FRAMES

Selected Artists

LISTINGS

L.A. Arts Organizations

Photo 5: The contents page from NEA videotex magazine.

mm

BE

mm

works in progress, and a section on gallery listings and information for the Los Angeles show mentioned below. Thus far, the NEA workshop material has been shown at the American Film Institute's National Video Festivals in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, and was transmitted for three weeks over the Times Mirror Videotex Service. At this writing, it is being loaded on the Sask Tel videotex system of Saskatchewan Telecommunications.

New Directions

In addition to the basic ideas of artistic expression, diversity of content, and design research, other elements could be integrated into a videotex workshop:

Increased communication: By using the messaging facilities now available on most experimental videotex systems, interaction can take place among artists with videotex-compatible microcomputers and between

The Telidon System

The videotex production equipment used at the Alternate Media Center is part of Telidon, a Canadian system used for both videotex and teletext. Telidon allows the operator to specify the screen locations of seven geometric primitives by defining the picture description instructions (PDIs) for each shape. These include the following:

Dot: Draw a dot in a specific pixel location.

Line: Join any two dots with a straight line.

Rectangle: Draw a rectangle by selecting two diagonally opposite corners.

Arc: Join any three dots with a curved line.

Circle: Draw a circle by specifying two points defining the diameter.

Polygon: Join any number of dots with lines.

Text: Select size and height of characters.

The designer selects shape attributes such as colors, fill patterns, pixel densities, and line characteristics (e.g., dashed, dotted). By ordering and overlapping these graphics elements, images are created.

these artists and other videotex users. Ongoing computer conferences could develop where artists might take primary responsibility for the overall direction of the interaction, but where videotex users could also input questions and opinions on the system. In turn, this could lead into the area of pictorial telecommunications. New types of stories may also emerge, in which writers develop an ongoing plot and selected users play roles in its development—a type of computer-based soap opera. Increased communication among artists means that new visual symbols could be exchanged to form the basis of a more complete understanding of visual literacy.

New types of stories

may also emerge, in

which writers develop

an ongoing plot and

selected users play

roles in its

development—a type

of computer-based soap

opera.

Information on arts events: Although the information component of the NEA workshop was very limited, it generated a great deal of enthusiasm from members of arts organizations who wanted to have their events, schedules, and general information put into the videotex system. A more comprehensive database might include organizations that would regularly enter and update material into a videotex magazine. Over time, organizations with compatible microcomputers could update their own material. The end product would be a comprehensive arts information service. For example, if you were interested in seeing Edward Weston photographs in galleries in New York, you would enter this information, and the videotex system would provide an answer in the form of a schedule of exhibits.

Marketing applications: Arts orga

108 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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nizations and individual artists often wish to distribute printed brochures, catalogs, and events schedules to specific groups or individuals. Video artists may wish to sell their cassettes to owners of video-cassette recorders. Gallery owners may wish to expand their mailing lists to include a broader range of collectors. Artists who design crafts, clothing, or jewelry may wish to reach new customers through videotex. Local arts-supply stores, photographers, and others providing arts services may wish to advertise on a videotex directory. Future videotex databases might address these needs of the arts community. Such services could have broad commercial applications.

Telesoftware: Future videotex design workshops may combine the skills of computer programmers, artists, and writers to experiment with designing educational software in art history and appreciation, language training, and new types of computer games. The transmission of a computer program from a host to a re

mote terminal demands more memory than most existing videotex terminals have.

Conclusions

In the United States, videotex systems are developing within commercial settings that are far more discriminating in the videotex material and services they accept than are common carriers such as the Prestel system. Nevertheless, within these new systems there is an enthusiasm about learning and an acceptance of new ideas that, for the most part, seem compatible with the goals set out by the NEA workshop program. New design workshops should continue this experimentation and development and, in the process, help blaze the trail for videotex in the United States. ■

References

1. Elton, Martin and Martin Nisenholtz. "Labor Costs of Creating Teletext Pages." New York: Alternate Media Center, February 1982.

2. Nisenholtz, Martin. "Early Use of Graphics in the Alternate Media Center/ WETA Teletext Trial." New York: Alternate Media Center, September 1981.

3. Teletext and Public Broadcasting. New York: Alternate Media Center, April 1981.

4. Elton, Martin. "Access Time and Reception Quality in the-Field Trial in Washington, D.C." New York: Alternate Media Center, September 1981.

About the Author

Martin Nisenholtz is currently affiliated with Olgilvy and Mather Advertising (2 East 48th St., New York, NY 10017). At the time the article was written, he was project director for the Alternate Media Center of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Author's Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the National Endowment for the Arts or New York University.

The current project director of the NEA workshop, Pat Quarles, can be reached at the Alternate Media Center, New York University School of the Arts, 725 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

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Commentary: Personal Computers and Videotex

An examination of how the worlds of personal computers and videotex will interact with one another

The fledgling videotex industry and the thriving personal computer industry provide different services, but they have a number of things in common. For instance, they both are dependent on computers, they both promote their graphics capability, and they both are aiming at a huge market—average consumers. In fact, it's possible that they have a few too many things in common. The question is Will they compete with one another or complement each other?

We are already familiar with the services that can be provided by a personal computer. A videotex terminal, however, will be able to pro

by Rich Malloy

vide some of those same services (for example, simple computations on the host computer) along with excellent communication facilities. Personal computers are now able to communicate with each other and with large databases, but videotex terminals will allow you to communicate much more easily, thanks to well-designed databases. And the graphics capabilities of videotex will allow you to communicate much more effectively—not just in words, but in images and icons (the effectiveness of which has been shown by systems such as Apple's Lisa).

Although the capabilities of these

two machines, the computer and the terminal, are somewhat different, they are designed for the same place: the top of a desk. And because we all have limited desk space and limited budgets, we may be faced with a difficult choice: to buy a personal computer or a videotex terminal. Several large corporations are spending millions of dollars to determine which will prevail.

This either/or view may be too simplistic, however. It is quite probable that, although videotex and personal computers may compete with one another to some extent, they will more likely enhance each other's ca

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Photo 1: Two examples of videotex pictures that will be available on CompuServe if you have a NAPLPS decoder.

114 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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pabilities and, in the long run, may merge to become different facets of the same general product.

Already we are seeing products that allow personal computers to act as videotex terminals, and videotex terminals are being designed with several features taken from personal computers. At least one product on the market can be equally well described as a personal computer or a videotex terminal.

History

Videotex and personal computers both developed as a means to give the average person access to the power of a computer. When videotex was first conceived in Britain during the early 1970s, personal computers were nonexistent, a fact that forced designers to develop a system of dedicated terminals connected to a large central computer. Because dedicated terminals would be too expensive, the early developers decided to modify the consumer's home television into a terminal. And to make the service as palatable to the masses as possible, heavy emphasis would be placed on ease of use. This meant that the system should have good graphics capabilities because a picture is much easier to read than a page of text.

The first Prestel terminals consisted of a decoder box placed on top of a home television and a small numeric keypad and were fairly simple. They performed a minimal amount of processing of data before displaying it on the screen.

As videotex technology became more advanced, the terminals had to become more complex. A terminal using the North American Presentation Level Protocol Syntax (NAPLPS) has to be capable of performing a significant amount of processing. It must be able to draw lines, fill in polygons, display newly defined characters, and even perform simplistic animation.

Meanwhile, out in a garage in California—and dozens of other places—people were trying to bring computer power to the masses in another way, by simply shrinking the computer to a suitable size and simplicity. The result, of course, was

I Circle 158 on inquiry card.

the personal computer.

Like videotex systems, personal computers have also undergone several changes. The first microcomputers had very crude graphics capabilities, but as time went on, graphics became more and more desirable, and thus more prominent as a feature. The result is that the graphics capabilities of some home computers are beginning to approach those of videotex systems.

Applications

Videotex and personal computers have rather different applications. Personal computers are most efficient for data-processing tasks that require a large amount of user interaction (for example, a spreadsheet calculator or a word processor). Personal computers can also communicate with other computers, but this capability is limited by a shortage of easy-to-use communications software and the lack of a graphics standard for sending graphics from one computer to another.

Videotex systems, on the other hand, are very good at communicating. Videotex employs a simple menu structure that makes it easy to use, and each system has its own standard graphics protocol that can be decoded on any terminal in the system. The general consumer can use videotex to retrieve news, shop at home, make banking transactions, and send electronic greeting cards to other videotex users. The graphics capabilities of videotex will be attractive to advertisers, who will help defray the cost of the system.

Business people can use videotex to retrieve quickly changing, specialized information, such as stock prices or the location of ships at sea. It can also be used for electronic mail. Salespeople can use private videotex systems to check inventories or to learn about new products. In the United Kingdom, Prestel is used by car dealers to locate cars that conform exactly to their customers' preferences.

Note that many business applications of videotex are not heavily dependent on graphics and thus might be performed by personal computer networks if an easy-to-use

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database management program were available. Also, videotex is somewhat inefficient for data-processing tasks, such as word processing, which require a large amount of user interaction.

Marketplace

People in the personal computer business tend to envision a huge potential market. We frequently hear about a computer on every desk or even in every home.

Videotex industry people envision

a market of similar proportions. After all, almost every house in the U.S. has a television set, and the great majority have phones. Thus, a tremendous number of people already have, as it were, two-thirds of a videotex terminal. And, in terms of applications, a large number of people read newspapers, shop by mail, use electronic banking machines, and send express mail, all of which can be done by a videotex system. Particularly appealing to videotex supporters is the fact that television, dur

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ing its formative period, took only six years to saturate 75 percent of the American market.

The current situation, however, is that both personal computers and videotex are rather expensive. For the near future, their markets consist of business people and affluent consumers, and their applications are somewhat business-oriented. Today, two of the most prominent applications of videotex are the fast retrieval of quickly changing, specialized information (such as gold prices) and electronic mail. And videotex may take a long time to become established. While television was very quickly adopted, another important product—the telephone—required more than 70 years to reach even half the homes in the country.

Today many companies, including IBM and Honeywell, are aiming their videotex efforts only at business customers. These companies are promoting small private systems that will allow, for example, salespeople to quickly check inventory and new product information. Prestel, the largest true videotex system, has found that over 80 percent of its decoders reside in places of business.

This concentration on the business market is typical also of many personal computer manufacturers. But while this market is large and capable of absorbing high-priced machinery, the huge consumer market lies ever in the distance, and even a businessoriented company such as IBM is rumored to be preparing a consumeroriented home computer.

Because there is a finite amount of desk space in the average office, videotex and personal computers may soon be going neck and neck for the business market and may later battle again for the home market.

A Merging

Instead of fighting for the same markets with pretty much the same technology, videotex and personal computers will probably share features and merge into one powerful product. Personal computers are beginning to adopt the graphics features of videotex. Meanwhile, videotex terminals are starting to

118 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 210 on inquiry card.

The inventor of VisiCalc, the world's leading software product, introduces TKISolver"—the revolutionary way to crunch problems on a personal computer.

With VisiCalc, Software Arts'" created an entirely new application for personal computers —the electronic spreadsheet.

Now Software Arts has developed TKISolver, another entirely new and different application for personal computers—the problem solver. Business and financial problems. Scientific and engineering problems. Architectural and building design problems. Any kind of problem you can dream up, in any area.

What's so revolutionary about that? Simply this: the power of the TKISolver program comes from the ease with which you can set up problems, vary assumptions, find solutions, and display results. All the facilities needed to solve the problems —simple or complexare built-in, and need not be developed. Once you

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Circle 377 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 119

feature capabilities such as information storage and printout that have been borrowed from the computer market.

Personal Computers as Videotex Terminals

True videotex systems differ from conventional timesharing systems primarily because of their extensive graphics capabilities. For years nongraphics timesharing systems have been available for personal computers. These systems, which here we shall call videotex-like systems, include services such as The Source, CompuServe, and Dow Jones News/ Retrieval.

CompuServe features a number of large databases and some communications features, such as electronic mail and even a CB-radio emulator. The Source has similar capabilities and features a sophisticated computer-moderated conferencing system. Dow Jones News/Retrieval features stories from The Wall Street Journal, stock prices, and an en

cyclopedia but offers no electronic mail capabilities.

Besides their lack of graphics, these services fall somewhat short on another vital videotex element: ease of use. Over time these services will probably develop easier protocols. In the meantime, new services such as Delphi from General Videotex Corporation (377 Putnam Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139) hope to provide a similar service in a more friendly way.

The other lacking element, graphics, should be available very soon. CompuServe, according to Richard A. Baker, editorial director, already has some stock-price information encoded in NAPLPS on its system. Apparently, if you have a NAPLPS decoder you can retrieve a graph of the price of your favorite stock (see photo 1). The problem is that very few people have decoders to display these pages. And here we enter the familiar chicken/egg question: Which has to come first, a lot of decoders or a lot of databases? When videotex

decoders become more prevalent, all of these services will probably add videotex pages.

Prestel and Personal Computers

The British videotex service called Prestel was the first and so far most successful videotex system in the world. It currently has about 20,000 subscribers. Prestel World Service has been available for microcomputer users in the U.S. for about two years now. Until recently a company called Logica in New York City sold programs that would allow some microcomputers to decode Prestel pages. For example, Appletel was available for the Apple II ($85), and a similar program was offered for the TRS-80 Model III ($50). Unfortunately the graphics could be displayed only in black and white. Logica also sold time on the Prestel system itself, but this service was rather expensive (a minimum of $50 per month) and was of somewhat limited interest to most American business people because nearly all of Prestel's information is

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You're covered against fire, theft, accidental damage, earthquakes, and damage in transit. SAFEWARE even covers power surges, the second leading destroyer of microsystems. And, in the event of a claim, you'll get fast replacement. So you can be back in business almost before the smoke clears.

To find out more, or to obtain immediate coverage, call the toll free number. Or write: Columbia National General Agency, 88 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43215.

1-800-848-3469

(In Ohio call toll free 1-800-848-2112)

120 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 80 on Inquiry card.

Some people drive

fine German machines to work.

Some people drive them once they arrive.

The tradition of high quality, high performance German craftsmanship and engineering is legend. And while we most often see that tradition in action on America's streets and highways, it is in America's business offices that its future holds the most promise.

The BASIS 108 is the proof.

This powerful small business computer passes higherpriced competitors with ease. Its dual processors—for CP/M® and Apple II® compatibility — open up the largest library of microcomputer software and plug-in peripherals available today. This unique combination also provides compatibility with other popular languages, including Pascal™ and LOGO.™

The detached keyboard is a work of art and practicality. Lightweight and low profile, it features a full one-meter cord for comfortable operation on your desk— or your lap. There's a full 128-key ASCII character set. Fifteen user-definable function keys that can provide access to 60 distinct functions. A nine-key cursor control block. And a convenient eighteenkey numeric pad. For special applications, you can also custom map the keyboard with a simple exchange of ROMs.

And there's more. RGB and composite NTSC or PAL video. Keyboard-selectable 80-or 40-column display.

High resolution color graphics. Parallel and serial printer interfaces. Easily accessible outboard I/O connectors. Six Apple Il-compatible card slots for peripherals expansion. Even a two-inch alarm or music speaker.

The BASIS chassis is cast aluminum, eliminating heat and RFI interference problems. And there's plenty of room for internal expansion to include hard disk drives and other peripherals.

The BASIS 108. Microcomputing's "Best Of Both Worlds." German craftsmanship and American business savvy. CP/M-based business computing and Apple Il-based personal computing. High performance and surprisingly low cost. The BASIS 108. A computing machine finely tuned to handle the fast tracks of business today. Call your BASIS dealer for a test drive. Or call toll free in the U.S. (800) 222-0626.

5435 ScottsValley Drive

ScottsValley, CA 95066

(408) 438-5804 TWX: 910-598-4512

CP/M® is a registcrc d trademark of Digital Research, Inc. Apple II® is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Pascal™ is a trademark of the Regents of the University of California at San Diego. LOGO™ is a trademark of Logo Computer Systems, Inc.

Circle 45 on inquiry card.

it really pays to rent terminals and desktop computers from Genstar REI!

You can rent — right now, off-the-shelf, for as short as 30 days — Hewlett-Packard desktop computers, intelligent graphics terminals, graphics terminals, digitizers and thermal graphics printers. Plus, you can rent dot matrix printers, graphic printers, impact printers and teleprinters from Centronics, HP, Tally, Texas Instruments, Qume, and more. Also, data terminals from ADDS, Beehive, Computer Devices, HP, Lear Siegler, Tektronix, Televideo Systems, Tl, and others. We've also got modems and acoustic couplers immediately available for rent throughout North America. Think of your bottom line in graphic terms. Rent from Genstar REI. Today!

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related to the United Kingdom.

Two months ago, the U.S. branch of Torch Computers (61 Commerce Way, Woburn, MA 01801) became the exclusive distributor of Prestel World Service in this country and began selling the Prestel service and the Prestel-decoding software at a lower price. Torch also has tentative plans to establish a Prestel database on this side of the Atlantic, which would be oriented toward American information.

Prestel is actually a sideline for Torch. The company's main purpose is to sell the Torch Computer. This rather hefty Z80-based machine includes a 6502 coprocessor and comes complete with two floppy-disk drives, 96K bytes of memory, an RGB (red, green, blue) monitor, and a bundle of software. The price for all of this is about $4995. Included in the bundle of software, by the way, is a Prestel decoder that can display all eight of Prestel's vivid colors.

For those people who would like to display Prestel pages on an IBM Personal Computer, a company named Wolf data (187 Billerica Rd., Chelmsford, MA 01854) will provide several products of interest. One of these is a color interface card that plugs into the PC's expansion bus ($600). Different software products can then turn the PC into a Prestel terminal ($250), a frame-creation terminal ($450), or even a small host system ($500). Thus a complete, though small, Prestel system could be set up using only IBM PCs.

A year ago, IBM announced that it would support the Prestel coding format for its videotex products. Although IBM's main product in this area is a database program for its Series/1 minicomputer, the company relies heavily on Wolfdata's products for its demonstrations of videotex.

While I'm on the subject of Prestel, I must make mention of the BBC computer from Acorn Computers in the U.K. (see Gregg Williams' "Microcomputing, British Style," January, page 40). This computer may not be marketed too heavily in the U.S., but one of its features is the ability to decode Prestel. If the BBC computer becomes very popular in

122 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 175 on inquiry card.

LET THE "ANGEL" DO THE WAITING

Two RS-232C Connectors for serial in put and output

6 Leds to indicate power, transmission and reception status, buffer activities, page number, etc.

SKIP and REPRINT provide independant page controls to reprint portions of documentation.

40 Pin Expansion Bus available for future expansion

COPY provides convenient one key operation for single copy or multi-copy of text

3 externally accessible Dip Switches for baudrate, device type, and parallel and serial selections. Selections can be made without losing buffer

Connect an "ANGEL" between your computer and your printer, and let the "ANGEL" do the waiting ....

Your valuable computer spends 95% of its time waiting for the printer to catch up...and while the computer waits, the payroll continues.

The computer sends data to the "ANGEL" at speeds up to 19.2K baud. The "ANGEL" stores data and sends it to the printer at a speed the printer can handle, and your computer is free to continue working without interruption. A USER WRITES: "I tried the "ANGEL" with my Altos system connected to an Epson MX-100, both set at 9600 baud. Without the "ANGEL" it takes 30 minutes to print 210 doctors' requisition forms. With the "ANGEL" installed, my computer is free after 90 seconds." With "ANGEL'S" self diagnostics and memory test, the entire system thoroughly checks itself every time you power up. PAGE REPRINT is another unique feature. EXAMPLE: You are printing a 32 page report, and the paper jams at page 11. Reset the printer to the top of the form, press PAGE REPRINT, and resume printing at the top of page 11. Want to restart two pages back? Press PAGE REPRINT twice, and you resume at page 10.

PAGE REPRINT

Ligo Research, Inc. • 396 E. 159th St. • Harvey. Circle 236 on inquiry card.

Function keys extend the useful commands to more than 10, including: hexdump, memory test, remote loading, etc.

Independant PAUSE and HOLD con trots to suspend transmission and recep tion.

8 easy-to-operate membrane key switches.

Two 20 Pin Edge Connectors for parallel input and output

"ANGEL" is compatible with almost all Micro-Computers, including IBM. Apple, TRS-80, Vector Graphic, NorthStar, Altos, Xerox, Heath, Zenith, NEC, DEC, etc., with RS-232 serial, Hardware Handshaking, or Centronics compatible parallel interface. The manufacturer reserves the right to change the product specification.

...And think of these other possibilities: HEX DUMP. Display or printout every bit of data your computer sends out to the printer in an easy-to-read Hexidecimal and ASCII format. A must for your programmer. Pause and Hold for real time programs. Page skip for selective printing. What a waste to print the entire documentation if you only need part of it. Simple external switch settings, let the "ANGEL" accept either RS-232 serial or Centronics parallel data and can output either/or in any combination, (S-S,S-P,P-S,P-P). The "ANGEL" is compatible with almost all Micro-Computers, and can be installed by anyone in minutes. Switches are clearly marked for ease of operation, and a concise, USER FRIENDLY operator reference card is included with each unit. The "ANGEL" has a full one year limited warranty.

ANGEL, The Intelligent Buffer, features:

- 64K Byte Memory Size

- Four Interface Modes in one unit:

- Serial to Serial

- Parallel to Parallel

- Serial to Parallel

- Parallel to Serial

Serial Baudrate from 1 10 to 19.2K Baud Single, Multiple and Continuous Copy Clear/Reset Pause/Hold Page Skip Page Re-print Page-Pause Hex-Dump Self-Diagnostics

Space Compression to extend the effective buffer size to more than 1 28K Price • $295.00

THE "ANGEL'

WAITING!

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1L 60426 • 1-312-331-8797 • In Canada 1-416-859-0370

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Sub total

'lonl°yis Add 6% (IS. sales tax

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BYTE July 1983 123

the U.K., Prestel may gain a significantly larger subscriber base.

NAPLPs and Personal Computers

The NAPLPS protocol, which is a standardized version of AT&T's PLP (Presentation Level Protocol) system, has such powerful graphics capabilities that many personal computers are severely limited in their ability to exploit them (see "NAPLPS Standard Graphics and the Microcomputer" by Leo Lax and Mark Olson on page 82). The decoding program takes up about 30K bytes of memory, and the minimum terminal configuration (256 by 190 pixels in 16 colors) requires about 24K bytes of bit-mapped memory for the display. Because NAPLPS is designed to be resolution-independent, however, personal computers can be used to display an approximation of the minimal display picture.

Like NAPLPS itself, most of the NAPLPS products for personal computers started in Canada. These products were originally designed for Telidon, the predecessor of NAPLPS. In

Canada, NAPLPS is sometimes called 'Telidon version 709" after Technical Note 709 of the Canadian Department of Communication. Many of these original Telidon products are in the process of being expanded to full NAPLPS capability.

One of the more interesting of the NAPLPS products for microcomputers is the Telidon Graphics System (TGS) board for the Apple II made by Norpak of Canada and sold by Apple ($595). This system consists of a circuit board for the Apple's expansion bus and a floppy disk of software programs that allow the Apple to act as a simple Telidon terminal and as a frame-creation terminal so that you can produce and send pictures to other Apples equipped with this board—and presumably to other Telidon boards.

Norpak is one of the leading manufacturers of Telidon terminals and in this product the firm seems to have taken a 6809 processor and its software out of a Norpak terminal and placed it on an Apple expansion

board with the appropriate memory.

For the sake of a larger number of possible colors, the designers of this board had to sacrifice some of the Apple's resolution. The result is medium resolution (128 by 98 pixels in 16 colors). The pictures from this system are somewhat coarse, but interesting nonetheless (see photo 2).

Unfortunately, this system uses the pre-NAPLPS form of Telidon. The manufacturer says that the system will decode files written using the full version of NAPLPS but will display only those features that it supports. This capability is hard to test, however, because there are very few NAPLPS databases available at this time.

Another NAPLPS-based product for the Apple II is Picture Creation System—Telidon/Apple (PCS-T/A) sold by Softwords (235-560 Johnson St., Victoria. B.C., Canada V8W 3C6). This software package, which uses the Apple UCSD system and a graphics tablet, turns the Apple into a small Telidon frame-creation ter

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PCnet is the first local area network designed specifically for the IBM Personal Computer. It consists of the necessary hardware and software to set up a powerful, yet cost effective local area network for the IBM PC. While others make claims, PCnet is a local area network proven to be successful by hundreds of installations in IBM Personal Computers.

Circle 3 on inquiry card.

^MTR€S€nflCH INC

2372 Morse Avenue, Irvine, CA 92714

Telephone (714) 540-1333

Call or write for immediate response.

AST& PCnet Hardware:

• CSMA/CD LAN technique

• 7000 feet max. distance

• Low cost CATV Coaxial cable as medium fortranmission

• 1 Megabit per second transmission

• Optional Mainframe connection (eg., AST-SNA; AST-5251; AST-3780 etc.)

AST& PCnet Software:

• Disk Sharing

Unlike other networks,

PCnet does not demand expansive file server or proprietary hard disk systems for disk sharing. Almost any PC- DOS compatible hard disk including IBM's can be used for disk sharing

• File locking Provides locking to common data files so that common files are only accessed by one user at a time

• PC Sharing (Multitasking) Allows user on 1 PC to run command on another PC in the same network

Other AST Products

• I/O Plus II

• MegaPlus

• ComboPlus

• PlusModem

• Etc....

achnoloc

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Machines Corporation.

Photo 2: The Telidon Graphics System for the Apple 11 and a sample display picture.

minal. The package was originally written for the pre-NAPLPS version of Telidon, but the current version should now support full NAPLPS. The main use for this system is said to be picture creation for cable television system operators. The cost of the software is $1000.

For the IBM PC, a company called Tayson Information Technology (POB 30104, Station B, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2M 4N7) has produced a software package (the Tayson Personal Videotex System) that will turn the PC into a complete NAPLPS-based videotex system. This package, though expensive ($2500), allows you to create pictures on the IBM, display them, and store them so that they can be accessed by another videotex terminal. This system was used fairly successfully by IBM itself at its exhibit in the Videotex '82 convention last year.

A new product called Teligraph by Microtaure (POB 6039, Station J, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2A 1T1) should offer similar capabilities for the IBM PC at a much reduced price ($399). Teligraph should allow you to create and store NAPLPS pictures. According to Microtaure, it will also allow you to print out a picture on the Epson printer (equipped with Graftrax) at a very high resolution.

This capability will allow the IBM PC to function as a very powerful graphics system.

For the Commodore CBM 8032 and 4032, there is a package called Graph Ease by a small computer named Limicon (144 Hampton Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4K 2Z1). This package should turn the Commodore 8032 into a videotex system with capabilities similar to those of the Tayson package for the IBM PC. For $2500, Limicon says it will supply you with all you need, including a Norpak NAPLPS decoder and an RGB (red-green-blue) monitor, to turn the Commodore into a low-end computer-aided design (CAD) machine.

Several computer manufacturers should have NAPLPS-decoding software available soon. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was one of the first large companies to back NAPLPS. In fact, over 70 percent of the public videotex systems in the U.S. use DEC computers (either VAX, DEC 10, or DEC 20 systems) for database management. According to Michael Mensh of DEC's Enhanced Communication department, DEC may at some point offer NAPLPSdecoding software for its new line of microcomputers, the Professional series. These computers have power

ful graphics capabilities. In fact, at a videotex convention in London last October, DEC showed off a Professional 350 that was displaying NAPLPS pictures.

Torch, the previously mentioned British computer that comes complete with a Prestel-decoding software package, will soon offer NAPLPS software as well through its Canadian division.

In a significant move, Microsoft of Bellevue, Washington, has designed the new version, 2.0, of its very successful MS-DOS operating system with the capability to interface easily with several different types of programs to drive peripheral equipment. Because of this capability, it should be easy to add a NAPLPS-based interface to any MS-DOS machine. Bill Gates, the president of the company, has listed this capability among the most important features of the new version of MS-DOS. Microsoft has even hinted that it might offer a NAPLPS decoding program of its own.

Videotex Terminals as Personal Computers

Videotex terminals started out as simple devices that would display information on a home television screen and relay a user's requests

126 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

t&EMgHI

The Universal Operating System*. Finally, you don't have to repeat yourself.

There was a time when, if you wanted to develop applications for more than one micro, you had to sink significant time and money into reprogramming. Time

With the UCSD p-System* from SofTech Microsystems, the industry's only Universal Operating System, those days are over. Whether it's an IBM PC or Displaywriter, an Apple, a DEC, an HP, an Osborne, a Philips, a Sage, a Tandy, or a TI, the p-System is portable across virtually any micro made anywhere today.

At last, increase your productivity.

Because the programming you do is portable and reusable. Every time. For every micro. So you can broaden your customer base quickly. Because the p-System runs the same object code programs on virtually all 8 and 16-bit micros,

We know how much work you put into programming, so the p-System allows you to reuse program com

Finally,

ponents. At last, you can use programs and utilities over and over again—instead of writing them over and over again. In fact, as much as 50% of the code used in one application can be reused on others.

Designed to be timeless.

With the p-System, you'll never have to worry about locking yourself into an OS that will some day lock you out of the market. Because the p-System's efficient, advanced design will let you grow with tomorrow's hardware, and let you continue to expand your product line.

You can develop higher quality applications faster, less expensively, more dependably and more efficiently. For the entire market.

All at the same time. All on one micro.

Finally, once really is enough.

For product information or information on

how to get a copy of the p-System Application Catalog, call or write to us

OflPtf* 1^ T^flOIICfh at SofIech Microsystems.

SofIech Microsystems • 16885 West Bernardo Drive • San Diego, CA 92127 • (619) 451-1230

"Universal Operating System is a trademark of SofIech Microsystems Inc., UCSD p-System is a trademark of the Regents of the University of California

Circle 375 on inquiry card. BYTE July 1983 127

back to a host computer. Now terminals are being developed that will interface with printers and storage devices and that will function as personal computers.

The Time Video Information Services division of Time Inc. will be using an interesting terminal for its teletext operations in Southern California. Although it is a teletext terminal (i.e., capable of one-way communication only), it will use the NAPLPS protocol and will be able to download software from the system's central computer. According to Larry

Pfister, vice-president of Time Video, these terminals will have a fairly large amount of volatile memory and will be able to run simple programs (games). Matsushita, the Japanese firm that will make some of the terminals, claims that they will even be able to interface with disk drives.

A very interesting terminal is being used in Austria for videotex operations there. Called MUPID (Multipurpose Universally Programmable Intelligent Decoder), this terminal includes a Z80 processor, 64K bytes of volatile memory, and a full ASCII

10 reasons whyyou should call DataSource for software...

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Infostar - MicroPro 297 00

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Supercede - Sorcim 135.00

Visicalc - visicorp 189.00

Lotus 1-2-3 - Lotus Call

Multiplan - Microsoft 225.00

Supercalc II - Sorcim 169.00

Communications

Crosstalk - Microstui 145.00

Move it - Wool! software 99.00

Word Processing

Wordstar - MicroPro 297.00

Spellbinder - Lerisofl 295.00

The Final Word - Mark of the Unicorn 245.00

Easy Writer II - IUS 265.00

Volkswnter - Lifetree 155.00

The Word Plus - Oasis 125.00

Superwrlter - Sorcim 250.00

Srammatik - Aspen 60.00

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The Home Accountant - Continental Milestone - Organic Software Statpak - NW Analytical The Norton Utilities - Peter Norton

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(American National Standard Code for Information Interchange) keyboard. Also, the terminal will rent for an incredibly low price of about $8 per month. One of the prime features of the MUPID system will be the ability to download and upload software. One of the programs that will be downloaded is a BASIC interpreter.

As videotex and teletext become more popular and as their terminals become less expensive, these terminals could become valuable peripherals for personal computer users. For example, the new videotex terminal by the Consumer Products division of American Bell (CIS Product Development, 5 Woodhollow Rd., Parsippany, NJ 07054) will sell for about $600, including a modem. If this terminal can be conveniently attached to personal computers through a serial port, this will allow even a very inexpensive home computer to display impressive graphics.

Videographic Systems of America (VSA, 520 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022) will soon be producing a teletext terminal that will also have videotex capabilities. Personal computers can be attached to this terminal via an RS-232C connector. According to Hubert Stijns of VSA, the price of the terminal will initially be about $1000, but it could approach $250 if it can be sold in sufficient volume.

Zenith, the large consumeroriented electronics firm, has been making terminals for a number of years. Until recently most of these terminals have been in the Prestel format, but Zenith is now producing some of the NAPLPS-based terminals for Time Video's teletext operation. Very soon, all Zenith television sets will have provisions for adding a teletext decoder right onto the main chassis.

The powerful graphics capabilities of NAPLPS offer another type of peripheral service. A Canadian company called Avcor (512 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5A 1M1) will produce high-resolution slides of any NAPLPS file you can send it. For example, an artist in Louisiana can design a picture on an

128 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc

Circle 130 on Inquiry card.

Photo 3: Two examples of high-resolution slides (512 by 512 pixels) produced by Avcor from NAPLPS code.

Apple computer with one of the above-mentioned NAPLPS products and then send the NAPLPS code over the phone to Avcor. Avcor will then display the picture at 512 by 512 resolution (see photo 3) and send the slide back to the artist by mail. Zal Press, marketing manager of Avcor, says that a slide will cost about $10. Company plans include opening similar facilities in the U.S., and soon slides with a resolution of 4000 by 4000 pixels will be available.

The Ideal

A combination personal computer/videotex terminal would seem to be the ideal machine. Such a machine should be possible in a few years, and it would, in effect, take advantage of the best from both worlds.

In such a system, most of the processing would be done locally. For example, word processing would be done completely on your personal machine. If you needed a certain piece of information, your system would automatically search through your personal databases. If, however, this information could not be found in your personal files, then the system would automatically become a videotex system and put you in touch with the remote database that would be most likely to have that information.

To you, the user, the point where the personal databases ended and the large remote databases began would

be transparent in such an ideal system. You would simply request a piece of information, and the system would retrieve that information as inexpensively as possible. In the case of, say, spelling checking, the system would first check the words in your personal dictionary file. Any words not found in that file could then be checked in a larger, multilingual dictionary at a remote database.

Similarly, if you asked such a system what today's weather was, it might search through an index of your personal files to see if you had made any notes about the weather. If not, it would then automatically log onto an index of databases, find the appropriate database, and log onto it. There it would find a frame describing the day's weather in beautiful graphic detail.

Such an ideal system represents a great deal of work, of course. But the trend toward easy-to-use software suggests that a system like this is entirely possible. Note that in the future, users will probably not think in terms of videotex terminals or even personal computers. Users will simply see an information system, which will process, retrieve, or display any information they want, as quickly and as graphically as possible.

Conclusion

The videotex industry and the personal computer industry have some

what similar products and are aiming at the same market. Although these two industries may compete with one another for a while, their products may gradually evolve to the point where they are almost indistinguishable from one another. In the meantime, personal computer owners may benefit from a profusion of powerful graphics products that will become available as a result of this merging.

There is always the possibility that videotex may be overshadowed by some other new technology. Some industry analysts such as Michael McLaughlin of Booz, Allen & Hamilton have suggested that videotex may be an interim technology. Eventually most of the functions of videotex will be handled by videodiscs, which will be distributed to local cable TV stations and which will display pictures of products as graphically as is now done on TV commercials. As McLaughlin says, "How can you sell a BMW on videotex if it looks indistinguishable from a Volkswagen?"

But for fast communication of graphics information—whether it's today's weather or an electronic Valentine's Day card—videotex should prove quite effective for some time to come.l

About the Author

Rich Malloy is a technical editor of BYTE.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 129

In May, Microsoft announced the introduction of its Mouse—an onscreen pointing device (see photo above) priced at $195 including mouse-based software. This relatively low-cost package is available in two versions: a plug-in board for the IBM Personal Computer (and XT) and an RS-232C-port version for any MSDOS-based computer.

The Mouse, a hand-held input device, translates the motion of your hand to a cursor moving about the video-display screen. To use the mouse, you simply point to the area of the screen that displays your op

by Chris Peters

tions (e.g., menu choices) and press the button(s) to choose your action. Thus, you are not required to remember confusing command sequences or even use the keyboard to input choices.

Because the Mouse rests on your desktop, it is less fatiguing and cumbersome to use than a light pen. Furthermore, it is considerably more accurate than either a light pen or a joystick. For every one-hundredth of an inch a mouse moves, a pulse is generated. Finally, you need not move your eyes from the screen, a necessity with keyboard entry.

Software

Until recently a mouse was relatively expensive—around $400, without the necessary software drivers. A mouse has also been difficult to integrate with application software because it requires a cursor to be displayed on the video display. The routine that draws the cursor must be called whenever the mouse moves, even when the computer is busy doing something else. If this routine is not called, the cursor jumps and moves sporadically on the screen as the mouse is moved. Until now, the only way to redraw the cursor when

130 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

PIANO: The Microsoft Mouse Tutorial Progra

With the PIANO tutorial program, a user can practice moving the Mouse cursor around on a graphics screen. I he program begins by drawing a three-octave piano keyboard on the monitor. Moving the Mouse cursor over one of the keys and pressing the left (primary) button causes that note to play. The action is like that of an organ (i.e., the note continues to play as long as the key is held down but stops immediately upon release). The octaves start on the note C and end on B. The second of the three octaves begins on middle C. Pressing the secondary (or right) button causes a note one octave higher to be played. To stop the program, simply press either Mouse button while the Mouse cursor is inside the box labeled "Quit."

As an example of the use of these function calls in an actual BASIC program, the complete source code to the piano demonstration (as written for the IBM PC) is given in listing 1 on page 138-143. The following is an explanation of the program details:

Line numbers

1000-1090 1100-1160 1170-1250 1260-1380 1390-1430

1440-1620 1630-1810

1820-1860

1870-1930 1940-2150 2160-2200 2210-2250 2250-2250 2260-2290

2300-2370

2380-2430

2440-2510

2520-2570

2580-2630 2640-3050

Comments

Copyright message

Set up music, clear graphics screen to blue. Read in the frequencies for the various piano keys. As explained in the text, this code locates the Mouse driver.

Function call 18 is performed to set the Mouse sensitivity. As set here, 3.2 inches of horizontal motion will move the cursor across the entire screen. This relatively high sensitivity was chosen so that songs could be played more rapidly. Accuracy is no problem because the piano keys are large.

The first cursor mask is defined. A logical AND operation is performed on the mask with the graphics screen. In conjunction with the Exclusive OR mask, a variety of cursor styles can be selected.

The Exclusive OR mask is defined. Because the entire AND mask was set to 1, wherever the Exclusive OR mask is set to 1 the screen will invert. The following table lists all the possibilities. AND mask XOR mask Result

0 0 screen set to 0

0 1 screen set to 1

1 0 screen not changed 1 1 screen inverted

The Mouse driver is called to set the cursor shape. The cursor center is also defined. In this case, it is the tip of the arrow. The Mouse driver will automatically prevent the cursor center from leaving the screen. These statements simply read in the Microsoft logo from precalculated data and put it on the screen. The white and black (magenta) piano keys are drawn. A box labeled "Quit" is drawn in the lower right corner.

A Mouse call is performed to move the Mouse cursor just under the piano keyboard near the center. Mouse function 1 is performed to switch on the Mouse cursor.

The Mouse driver is called to give the status of the two Mouse buttons and the location of the screen cursor. This is probably the most common Mouse call used in applications.

Some decisions are made. If both Mouse buttons are up or if the Mouse is not on the piano keyboard, then any sound that might be playing is turned off.

At this point, the Mouse button is down over the quit box. The program turns off the Mouse cursor, clears the screen, and then quits.

The program has determined a button is down over the piano keyboard. These statements determine which key the Mouse cursor is over.

The note is played by the SOUND statement set with the correct frequency. This note is played in the background as the program loops back to line 2290.

This data contains the correct frequency to play the musical notes. Data to draw the Microsoft logo using the PUT statement.

the mouse moved was to write an assembly-language routine using interrupts. Interrupts allow the computer to stop its current program, perform another task (such as updating the cursor), and then resume execution of the program. Unfortunately, assembly-language interrupt routines are difficult to write, and many BASIC programmers have been prevented from using mice for their application programs.

The extensive software provided with Microsoft's new Mouse does away with this problem. Three example programs are included: PIANO

(see listing 1 on page 138 and the textbox above); LIFE (two mouse tutorials); and Multi-Tool Notepad (a mouse-driven text editor). In addition, three software packages are included for the programmer: MOUSE.COM and MOUSE.SYS provide a hardware-independent interface between the Mouse and an application program; MOUSE.LIB supports the use of the Mouse with Microsoft's compiled languages (Pascal, BASIC, FORTRAN, and COBOL). All of this software is compatible with MS-DOS (versions 1.1 and 2.0).

The most significant feature of this

software is that the cursor will automatically track the Mouse every time it moves, no matter what other task the system is currently executing. The result is smooth, accurate cursor motion—even from interpreted BASIC programs, which are usually relatively slow.

Another unique feature of the software is the capability to alert the application program when the status of the Mouse has changed. Previously, programmers had to make periodic calls to the interface software to determine whether the mouse had Text continued on page 136

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 131

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Function Calls for the Microsoft Mouse

The details of the calls for the Microsoft Mouse (as written for the IBM PC) are listed here. The parameters are labeled Ml%, M2%, M3%, and M4%, but they can have any legal variable names.

FUNCTION CALL 0 — Initialize the Mouse Input:

Ml% =0 Output:

Ml% = 0 if Mouse hardware not found, —1 otherwise

M2% = Number of buttons on Mouse

This call has the dual function of resetting the Mouse driver to default parameters.

FUNCTION CALL 1 - Show cursor Input:

Ml% = 1

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

None, but a cursor tracking the Mouse will appear.

FUNCTION CALL 2 — Hide cursor Input:

Ml% - 2

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

None, no cursor will track the Mouse. If the area of the screen containing the Mouse cursor is to be modified, the Mouse cursor must first be hidden. After the screen is modified the cursor is turned back on using CALL 1.

FUNCTION CALL 3 — Get Mouse cursor position and button status Input:

Ml% = 3

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

M2% — Current state of buttons, 0 ** button up M3% = Current horizontal cursor position (0-639) M4% = Current vertical cursor position (0-199)

The Mouse cursor position is always defined on a virtual 640 by 200 screen. This is probably the most common call to the Mouse software.

FUNCTION CALL 4 — Set Mouse cursor position Input:

Ml% =4

M3% = New horizontal cursor position (0-639)

M4% = New vertical cursor position (0-199)

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

Mouse cursor will move to the desired location on the graphics screen.

FUNCTION CALL 5 — Get button-press information Input:

Ml% =5

M2% = Button number (0 = left button, 1-right button)

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%)

Output:

Ml % — Current state of buttons, 0 — button up

M2% = Count of button presses since last Ml% =5 call

M3% = Horizontal cursor position when button was last pressed

Text box continued on page 134

132 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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M4 % = Vertical cursor position when button was last pressed

FUNCTION CALL 6 — Get button-release information Input:

Ml% = 6

M2% = Button number CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

Ml % = Current state of buttons, 0 = button up

M2% = Count of button releases since last Ml% =6 call

M3% = Horizontal cursor position when button was last released

M4% = Vertical cursor position when button was last released

FUNCTION CALL 7 — Set minimum and maximum horizontal value Input:

Ml% - 7

M3% = Minimum horizontal Mouse-cursor position M4% ■» Maximum horizontal Mouse-cursor position CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

This call will restrict the Mouse cursor to a certain area of the screen, the cursor is outside this area when the call is made, it will be moved just inside the area. If minimum is greater than maximum, the two values will be swapped.

FUNCTION CALL 8 — Set minimum and maximum vertical value Input:

Ml% = 8

M3 % = Minimum vertical Mouse-cursor position

M4% = Maximum vertical Mouse-cursor position

CALL MOUSE <Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%)

Output:

This call will restrict the Mouse cursor to a certain area of the the cursor is outside this area when the call is made, it will be \ just inside the area. If minimum is greater than maximum, the values will be swapped.

FUNCTION CALL 9 — Set graphics cursor block Input:

Ml%

M2% M3% M4%

Horizontal position of cursor center (0-15) Vertical position of cursor center (0-15) A 16 by 2 array dimensioned as: DIM M4%(15,1)

Output:

First, a logical AND operation is performed on the 16 by 16 shape defined by M4% (aaa,0) with the graphics screen. Then, an Exclusive OR is performed on the second 16 by 16 cursor shape in M4% (xxx,l) and the result of the AND operation.

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%(0,0))

None, but the cursor style in graphics mode will reflect the new table values. If the screen is set for 320 by 200 four-color mode, the Mouse cursor will move only to even pixel locations on the 640 by 200 screen. In this case adjacent bits in the cursor are used to define the cursor color. For this reason, the horizontal cursor center should be an even number while in 320 by 200 graphics mode.

FUNCTION CALL 10 — Set text cursor Input:

Ml% = 10

M2% = 0 = Software cursor, 1 = hardware cursor

Text box continued on page 1

134 July 1083 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Output:

M3% — A two-byte word. A logical AND operation is performed on M3% and the current text cursor location

'-• — or — the top scan line of hardware cursor M4% = A two-byte word. An Exclusive OR operation is performed on M.4% and the current text cursor location

— or — the bottom scan line of hardware cursor CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%)

None, but the cursor style in text mode will reflect the new values.

FUNCTION CALL 11 — Read Mouse motion counters Input:

Ml% «■ 11

CALL MOUSE (Ml%. M2%, M3%, M4%)

Output:

M3% = Horizontal mickey count since last Ml% =10 call (positive to

the right) A mickey is the smallest unit of distance that can be

resolved by the mouse. M4% = Vertical mickey count since last Ml % =10 call (positive

down)

A very low level call that is rarely used. See Call 15 for definitions.

FUNCTION CALL 12 Input:

Ml% = 12 M3%

Set user-defined subroutine-call mask

Output:

Set call mask whose bits are defined as follows:

bit 0 — call if cursor position changes

bit 1 — call if primary button is pressed

bit 2 — call if primary button is released

bit 3 — call if secondary button is pressed

bit 4 — call if secondary button is released M4% = Offset of the machine-language subroutine, which will be called

as a far procedure if any of the above conditions are met. CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%)

NOTE: The default mask is all zero, so no calls are generated.

If a bit in the call mask is set to 1, then the Mouse driver will perform a far call to the user-defined subroutine when that particular condition is met. When the routine is called, the registers will contain the following information.

AX = Mask containing reason routine was called

Text continued from page 131:

moved or not. This was wasteful because most of the time the mouse had not moved. With Microsoft's interface software, any time the status of the Mouse changes, the Mouse driver can execute a user-defined subroutine. Five conditions can be independently specified, and when any or all of these conditions are met, the subroutine is called. The application program can be alerted whenever the Mouse moves or when either of the two buttons on the Mouse is pressed or released.

Microsoft has provided several

ways of accessing the interface software for the applications software developer. The assembly-language programmer simply loads the appropriate registers and issues a software interrupt; only the registers that pass back information are modified. For the programmer using Microsoft's compiled languages, routines in the library MOUSE.LIB will access the interface software. Those programmers using Microsoft's interpreted BASIC have access to the Mouse interface with the CALL statement. Optionally, the mouse may simulate the functions of a light pen, making it

136 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 281 on Inquiry card.

BX = Button states, 0 = button up

CX — Horizontal position of Mouse cursor

DX — Vertical position of Mouse cursor

This routine is called before the on-screen cursor is updated, so it is ideal for changing the cursor shape, depending on its location on the screen or for drawing your own cursor.

FUNCTION CALL 13 — Light-pen emulation mode on Input:

Ml% - 13

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%)

Output:

None, but the light pen calls will return Mouse information. Because there is no concept of "pen down" or "pen off screen" with a Mouse, some compromises will have to be made. The Mouse is "down" if the primary or secondary button is down, and "up" if the primary or secondary button is up. By default light-pen emulation is on.

FUNCTION CALL 14 — Light-pen emulation off Input:

Ml% = 14

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%) Output:

None, light-pen emulation stops.

FUNCTION CALL 15 — Set mickey/pixel ratio Input:

Ml% = 15

M3% — Number of mickeys required to move 8 horizontal screen pixels

M4% = Numberof mickeys required to move 8 vertical screen pixels

CALL MOUSE (Ml%, M2%, M3%, M4%)

NOTE: 1 mickey = 2 Mouse increment

1 pixel — 1 640 by 200 picture element

None, but the amount that the Mouse must be moved to move the cursor will vary according to the inputs. Note that this mickey/pixel ratio is defined on a (possibly) virtual 640 by 200 screen. The Mouse driver will automatically compensate for lower-resolution screens. The default value for the horizontal mickey/pixel ratio is 8. The default vertical value is 16. This means that it will take 6.4 inches of Mouse travel to move across the screen horizontally and 4.0 inches of travel to move across the screen vertically. This distance is independent of the current screen mode.

Output:

simple to retrofit existing programs by using the light-pen statements built into BASIC (and other languages).

Calling Your Mouse

Although there are 16 different Mouse functions available to the programmer, they are all called in the same way (see "Function Calls," page 132). A procedure named MOUSE is executed via the CALL statement in the format

CALL MOUSE (n, n, n, n)

Four interior parameters are always specified, even though some of them may be dummy values. The parameters can have any legal variable name, but in the examples here, they will always be labeled Ml%, M2%, M3 %, and M4 %. The % means that the variables are integers. The first parameter (Ml%) specifies which of the 16 functions are to be executed. Lines 1260 through 1380 in listing 1 on page 138 must be executed before any Mouse calls are performed to determine where the MOUSE function is located in memory (all example programs are designed to run on

FOR TRS-80 MODEL I OR III IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER

The MMSFORTH

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• The speed, compactness and extensibility of the MMSFORTH total software environment, optimized for the popular IBM PC and TRS80 Models 1 and 3.

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• With source code, for custom modifications by you or MMS.

• The famous MMS support, including detailed manuals and examples, telephone tips, additional programs and inexpensive program updates, User Groups worldwide, the MMSFORTH Newsletter, Forth-related books, workshops and professional consulting.

FORTH

A World of Difference!

• Personal licensing forTRS-80: $129.95 for MMSFORTH, or "3/4TH" User System with FORTHWRITE, DATAHANDLER and FORTHCOM for $399.95.

• Personal licensing for IBM PC: $249.95 for MMSFORTH, or enhanced "3/4TH" User System with FORTHWRITE, DATAHANDLER-PLUS and FORTHCOM for $549.95.

• Corporate Site License Extensions from $1,000.

If you recognize the difference and want to profit from it, ask us or your dealer about the world of MMSFORTH.

MILLER MICROCOMPUTER SERVICES

61 Lake Shore Road, Natick, MA 01760

(617)653-6136

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 137

the IBM Personal Computer).

The Mouse cursor is made up of 16 by 16 points, its shape is definable from application programs, and it can be used in all screen modes. The cursor always appears to move over the data on the screen. As it continues to move, the shapes are restored to the screen.

Summary

The Microsoft Mouse makes mouse capabilities available to users of the IBM PC and computers running under MS-DOS, without requiring assembly-language programming and at an inexpensive price. It opens up the possibility of a whole new generation of software. With the Microsoft Mouse and interface software, the independent software writer can easily develop mouse-based applications. ■

About the Author

Chris Peters is a systems software engineer at Microsoft Corporation (10700 Northup Way, Bellevue, WA 98004). In addition to the Mouse Project, he worked on Microsoft's Softcard and helped develop MS-DOS 2.0.

Listing 1: The source code of the VIRTUAL PIANO demonstration program, written in IBM PC BASIC.

THE VIRTUAL PIANO

COPYRIGHT (C) 1983 BY MICROSOFT CORPORATION WRITTEN BY CHRIS PETERS

INTIALIZE

OOO

010

020

030

04O

050

060

070

080

090 '

100 DEFINT A-Z

110 DIM CURSOR(15, 1) ,FREO(27, 2) .MICROSOFT (839)

120 KEY OFF

130 PLAY"MF"

140 SCREEN 1

150 COLOR 1,1

160 CLS

170 '

180 ' Read in the -flat, normal, and sharp note frequencies

190 '

200 FOR J=0 TO 2

210 FOR 1=0 TO 6

220 READ K

230 FREQ(I,J)=K : FREO(1+7,J)=K»2 : FREQ<1+14,J)=K*4 : FREQ<1+21,J)-K*8

240 NEXT

250 NEXT

260 '

270 ' Determine Mouse Driver location, if not found, quit.

280 '

290 DEF SEG=0

300 MSEG=256*PEEK(51*4+3)+PEEK(51*4+2) ' Get mouse segment

310 M0USE=256*PEEK(51*4+1)+PEEK(51*4)+2 ' Get mouse offset

320 IF MSEG AND MOUSE THEN 1370

330 PRINT"Mouse driver not found" ' Not found, so print error.

340 PRINT

350 PRINT"Press any key to return to system"

360 I*=INKEY* : IF 1*="" THEN 1360 ELSE SYSTEM

370 DEF SEG=MSEG ' Rot mniiso unwnt

3BO Ml = 0 : CALL MOUSE(Ml,M2,M3,M4) ' Initialize the mouse

390 '

400 * Set Mouse sensitivity

410 '

420 Ml = 15 : M3-4 : M4=8

430 CALL MOUSE(Ml,M2,M3,M4)

Listing 1 continued on page 141

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Our duet is perfect ior a single user system. The same duet performs even better in a multi-user orchestra.

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S-100 Single Board Computer I Single or multi processor capability i Programmable master or slave selection ] Redundant processor manipulation

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■ 2 serial, 2 parallel, 4 timer ports ■ Bi-directional interprocessor channel ■ Dual mode serial ports interface ■ Multi-layer PCB construction

Circle 216 on Inquiry card

DCM • 80t S-100 Disk Controller Module a 8" and/or SVi" floppy disk controller ■ SASI (ANSI, SCSI) hard disk host adapter m Single and double density, single and double side Software mplementation on CP/M1 2.2 and TurboDOS?

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field compnnion

Now you can leave your office without abandoning your business. Gensoft has combined five of the most common business functions in one versatile software dazzler: the Field Companion.

The Field Companion is as flexible and capable as today's business professional, handling everything from itineraries to invoices. Don't overload your desktop or portable computer with five bulky programs when one will do it all. For instance, the Field Companion will help you:

• Summon proc. jet, parts or repair information when and where you need it.

• Update customer files and write purchase orders during or after a client conference.

• Stay on top of expenses — with a weekly expense tally itemized by day and category. The Field Companion asks for all pertinent information, such as "Who were the guests?" and "What was the subject discussed?"

• Generate invoices or quotations, and store them for future reference.

• Record and compile the time you spend on each project or client.

The Field Companion provides universal business forms, concise on-screen instructions and password confidentiality. Field Companion — currently included with high-performance CompuPro" systems — will also interface with virtually any CP/M" -based word processor, allowing full editing of reports, journals, etc. The regular price is $129, but for a limited time you can order the Field Companion at our introductory price of $99.95 (plus $10 for our concise, uncomplicated manual).

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE: Examine the Field Companion for ten days after you receive it — if you have any doubt that it is worth every penny you've paid, send it back to us with the disk seal intact for a full refund.

For executives on the move, business IS pleasure... \, ith the Field Companion.

GENSOFT

CORPORATION

Available for CP/M-80™ and CP/M-86" operating systems; MS-DOS" version available third quarter 1983. Special Osborne 1 version is customized for smaller screens. Please specify computer make/model and disk format. Include street address for UPS delivery within 3-6 weeks. VISA, Mastercharge, C.O.D. and personal or business checks accepted. Dealer inquiries welcome.

CP/M, CP/M-86 and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and CP/M-80 is a trademark of Digital Research. CompuPro is a registered trademark of Godbout Electronics: Field Companion is a trademark of Gensoft Corporation

Gensoft Corporation, 2363A Boulevard Circle, Walnut Creek. CA 94595 — (415) 930-9330

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• All Standard Grappler + features, 23 Text and Graphics Commands in all

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Anadex WP-6000 (w/Tractor) .$3,450 $2,960

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Atari, IBM, TRS-80 (and MORE!) SCall

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Hayes Micromodem II $300

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Prism 80 Base List $1,299 An ■■

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Brother HR-1/DX-15

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Verbatim Diskettes SCall

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Here's How To Order:

Phone orders are welcome; same-day shipment on orders placed before 11:00 a.m. Free use of MasterCard and Visa. COD's accepted. Personal checks require 2 weeks clearance. Manufacturer's warranty included on all equipment. Prices subject to revision. APO/FPO Orders Welcome.

Red Baton

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National Order Desk:

(800) 854-8275

Product Information/ Order Inquiries:

(714) 779-2779

Circle 349 on inquiry card.

Listing 1 continued:

1440

1450

1460

1470

1480

1490

1500

1510

1520

1530

1540

1550

1560

1570

15BO

1590

1600

1610

1620

1630

1640

1650

1660

1670

16SO

1690

1700

1710

1720

1730

1740

1750

1760

1770

1780

1790

180O

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

I860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

2060

2070

2080

2090

2100

2110

2120

2130

21 40

2150

2160

2170

2180

2190

2200

2210

2220

2230

2240

2250

2260

2270

2280

2290

2300

ave

2310

ave

2320

2330

2340

2350

2360

2370

2380

2390

Define the "logical and" cursor mask

CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR < CURSOR < CURSOR( CURSOR(

0,0)

1,0)

2,0)

3,0)

4,0)

5,0)

6,0)

7,0)

8,0)

9,0)

10,0)

11,O)

12, O)

13,O)

14,0)

15,O)

=&HFFFF =ScHFFFF =&HFFFF =8iHFFFF =&HFFFF =!cHFFFF =&HFFFF =SeHFFFF =S.HFFFF =&HFFFF =fcHFFFF =&HFFFF =!.HFFFF =8<HFFFF =&HFFFF =!<HFFFF

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Binary 1

Hill 11111 11111

mil urn urn urn mil inn urn urn urn mil urn mil urn

Define the "exclusive or" cursor mask

0,111,1)' 2, 1) =

CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR( CURSOR < 3,1) i CURSOR( 4,1)= CURSOR ( 5,1) = CURSOR( 6,1)= CURSOR ( 7,1) = CURSOR( 8,1)= CURSOR ( 9,1) = CURS0FM10, 1) = CURSOR(11,1)= CURSOR(12,1)= CURSOR(13,1>= CURSOR(14,1)= CURSOR(15,1)=

S.H300 ' Binary 00000011OOOOO0O0

tcH300 • Binary OOO0O011OOOOOOOO

S.HFCO ' Binary OOOO111111OOOOOO

S.HFCO ' Binary 0000111111O000O0

&H3FFO ' Binary OOl11111 111lOOOO

&H3FF0 ' Binary OOl111 1111110OO0

ScHFCFC ' Binary 1 11 1 1 10O1 1 111 loo

&HCOOC ' Binary 11OOOOOOOOOO11OO

&H0 ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

*H0 ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ScHO " Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

S.HO ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

&HO ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

S.HO ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ScHO ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

S.HO ' Binary OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

' Set the mouse cursor shape

Ml = 9 : M2 = 6 : M3 = O

CALL MOUSE(Ml,M2.M3,CURSOR(O,O))

Draw the MICROSOFT logo from pre-calculated data

FOR 1=0 TO 779

READ MICROSOFT(I)

NEXT

PUT(62,O),MICROSOFT,PSET

' Initialize keyboard size parameters

YL = 60 : WKL = 80 : BKL = 45 : KW = 15 : WKN m 21

XL = 320-KW*WKN : YH = YL + WKL : XH = 319 : BKW2=KW\3

QX = 272 : QY = 176

' Draw the white keys

LINE (XL,YL)-(XH,YH).3,BF FOR I=XL TO XH STEP KW LINE (I,YL)-(I,YH),0 NEXT

Draw the "black" keys

C=6

FOR X=XL TO XH STEP KW

C=C+1 : IF C=7 THEN C=0

IF C=0 OR C=3 THEN 2150

LINE(X-BKW2,YL)-(X+BKW2,YL+BKL),2,BF

NEXT

Draw the quit box

LINE(QX,QY)-(319,199),3,B LOCATE 24,36 : PRINT"Quit";

Set mouse cursor location, then turn on cursor

Ml = 4 : M3 = 320 : M4 = 160 : CALL MOUSE(Ml,M2,M3,M4> Ml = 1 : CALL MOUSE(Ml,M2,M3,M4)

Ml=3 : CALL MOUSE(Ml,BT,MX,MY) ' Get mouse location and button status IF (BT AND 2) THEN 0TV=7 : GOTO 2340 ' If right button down, set high Oct

IF (BT AND 1) THEN OTV=0 : GOTO 2340

If left button down, set lower oct

SOUND 442,0

GOTO 2290

MX = MX\2

IF MX <= XL OR MY < YL THEN 2320

IF MY <= YH THEN 2470

IF MY < QY OR MX < QX THEN 2320

* Button down inside the quit box

' If both buttons up, turn off sound

' Keep looping...

' Correct for medium resolution screen

p If above keyboard, turn off sound

' If on keyboard, play sound

' If above quit box, turn off sound

Listing 1 continued on page 143

Circle 109 on Inquiry card.

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 141

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Listing 1 continued:

Turn off mouse cursor

Clear screen

quit

Continue looping

2400 '

2410 Ml=2 : CALL MOUSE(Ml,M2,M3,M4>

2420 CLS

2430 END

2440 "

2450 ' Button down over keyboard, determine which key

2460 '

2470 WKY = (MX-XL)NKW+OTV : R = 1 ' Get which white key cursor is over

2480 IF MY > YL+BKL THEN 2560 ' is it lower than the black keys?

2490 MK=(MX-XL) MOD KW ' No, get which side of key

2500 IF MK <= BKW2 THEN R=0 : SOTO 2560 " Is it the left black key?

2510 IF MK >= KW-BKW2 THEN R=2 " Is it the right black key?

2520 '

2530 ■ Play the note. For BASIC interpreter duration = 2

2540 ' For BASIC compiler duration =1 -■

2550 '

2560 SOUND FREQ(WKY,R),2

2570 GOTO 2290

25B0 •

2590 ' Musical note frequencies

2600 '

2610 DATA 131,139,156,175,1B5,208,233

2620 DATA 131,147,165,175,196,220,247

2630 DATA 139,156,165,185,208,233,247

2640 '

2650 • Data to draw the MICROSOFT logo

2660 '

2670 DATA 462,28,0,0,0.0,0.0,0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0

2680 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

2690 DATA 0,0,0,-193,240,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

2700 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,768,-1,0,0,0,0,3840,-1,-16129,0,-253,0,0,-193,240

2710 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-193,0,16128,4095,252,16128,-1,240,-256,-769,0

2720 DATA 0,0,0,0,-193,240,768,-1,255,768,-1,1023,-1,-1,240,0,0,0,-193,192

2730 DATA -256,4095,252,-253,-1,255,-256,-1,240,-253,-1,-1,768,-1,255,16128,-1,

3841,768,-1

2740 DATA 1023,-1,-1,240,O,O,O,-193,192,-256,4095,252,-193,-1,-3841,-256,-1,252,

-1009,0

2750 DATA -256,4032,-1,-16129,-253,-1,-1,768,-1,1023,-1,-1,240,0,0,0,-193,240,-2

53,4095

2760 DATA 252,-3841,0,-961,-256,-1,255,0,0,0,3840,-1,-16129,-241,0,-253,960,-1,1

023,-1

2770 DATA -1,240,0,0,0,-193,240,-253,4095,1020,255,0,-253,-256,4032,-16129,-1,-1

,-1,4092

2780 DATA 4095,-16129,-4033,0,16128,1008,-1,1023,-1,-1,240,0,0,0,-193,252,-241,4

095,1020,252

2790 DATA 0,-256,-256,960,-15361,252,0,0,4095,1023,-16129,-16321,0,3840,1008,255

,0,3840,252,0

2800 DATA 0,0,0,-193,252,-241,4095,4092,240,0,16128,-64,192,-16129,0,0,0,3840,25

5,0

2810 DATA 255,0,76B,1020,255,0,3840,252,0,0,0,0,-193,255,-193,4095,4092,240,0,16

12B

2820 DATA -64,192,-12289,-1,192,-241,-12289,-3B41,0,255,0,768,1020,255,0,3840,25

2,0,0,0

2830 DATA 0,-193,255.-193,4095,16380,192,0,3840,-16,960,-12289,240,0,0,-15553,-1

,768,252,0

2840 DATA O,1023,255,0,3840,252,0,0,0,0,-193,-16129,-1,4095,16380,192,0,0,-256,4

032

2850 DATA -16129,0,0,0,768,-1,lOOB,252,0,0,1023,-1,255,3840,252,0,0,0,0,-3265

2860 DATA -16129,-3073,4095,163BO,192,0,0,-256,-1,4095,-1,0,-253,-16129,-1,1020,

252,0,0,1023

2870 DATA -1,255,3840,252,O,0,0,0,-3265,-3073,-3073,4095,16380,192,O,O,-256,-1,4

095,240

2880 DATA 0,0,-16321,-241,1023,252,0,0,1023,-1,255,3840,252,0,0,0,0,-4033,-3073,

-15361

2890 DATA 4095,16380,192,0,0,-256,-1,252,0,0,0,0,16128,-15361,252,0,0, 1023,-1,25

5

2900 DATA 3840,252,0,0,0,0,-4033,-1,-15361,4095,163B0,192,0,0,-256,-1,4092,240,0

>0

291O DATA -16321,768,-3073,252,0,0,1023,255,0,3B40,252,0,0,0,O,-4033,-193,1023,4

095,4092

2920 DATA 240,0,0,-256,-64,4092,-1,192,-241,-16129,O,-3B41,255,O,76B,1020,255,O,

3840,252

2930 DATA 0,0,0,0,-4033,-193,1023,4095,4092,240,0,16128,-64,4032,255,0,0,0,16128

,252

2940 DATA -3841,255,0,768,1020,255,0,3840,252,0,0,0,0,-4033,-241,1020,4095,1020,

252,0

2950 DATA -256,-256,960,1023,252,0,0,16383,1023,-3841,-16321,0,3840,1008,255,0,3

840,252,0,0

2960 DATA 0,0,-4033,-241,1020,4095,1020,255,0,-253,-256,960,-16129,-1,-1,-1, 1638

0,-l,-3B41,-4O33

2970 DATA O,1612B,1008,255,0,3840,252,0,0,0,0,-4033,-253,1008,4095,252,-3841,0,

961,-256

2980 DATA 192,-16129,0,0,0,3840,-1,-16129,-241,0,-253,960,255,0,3840,252,0,0,0,0

2990 DATA -4033,-253,IOCS,4095,252,-193,76B,-3B41,-256,192,-16129,-1009,0,-256,4

032,-1,255,-253,240,-193

3000 DATA 768,255,O,3B40,252,O,O,O,O,-4033,-256,960,4095,252,-253,-1,255,-256,19

2,-16129

3010 DATA -253,-1,-1,768,-1,252,16128,-1,-3841,768,255,0,3840.252,0,0,0,0,-4033,

-256

3020 DATA 960,4095,252,16128,-1,240,-256,192,-16129,O,O,O,O,-193,192,768,-1.255,

768,255

3030 DATA 0,3840,252,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,768,-1,0,0,0,0,3840,-1

3040 DATA -16129.O.O,O.O.-193.240.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

305O DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-193,240,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

C.ITOH

Prowriter 8510 $345

F-10 Serial $1110

F-10 Parallel $1110

COMREX

CR-l-S $670

CR-l-P $760

CR-2 $AVE

DATASOUTH

DS-180 $1170

DIABLO

620RO $920

630RO $1720

IDS

Microprism 480 $485

EPSON

RX80 $AVE

MX100 $AVE

FX80 $AVE

Free Cover with each Epson Printer

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3510 $1370

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OKIDATA

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84S $1070

84P $980

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MT 160Lw/Tractors $570

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is on UPS ground only. Prices & availability subject to change

without notice. Send cashier's check or money

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order...all other checks will delay shipping two weeks.

«S88§«*

July 19(3 © BYTE Publication. Inc 143

ill! til?.

• . . Ml ill tff til III

ill

*&'

Victor. How a first name

can make it big in the business world

What does it take these days to be successful?

First, speak several languages. Have a large and infallible memory. Adapt at lightning speed. Stay accessible 24 hours a day. Be practical. And, above all, remain simple and inexpensive.

That's exactly why Victor® is a leader. The leading 16-bit microcomputer in Europe.

Start with the fact that Victor speaks virtually all Western languages. Fluently. And, you can adapt Victor's keyboards to either language or business specific applications.

Then, Victor has a large and useful memory. That's vital.

And Victor is highly flexible and adaptable. With appropriate software, Victor can perform thousands of jobs at electronic speed, tn fact, Victor's extensive software library allows you to put Victor to work in your office, department or plant immediately. Productively.

Finally, Victor is cost-conscious. When it comes to price and performance, you can't buy more computer for less.

A success in the business world? Absolutely. To find out how a first name can make it big in your business, contact Victor at the address or phone number below.

Circle 431 on inquiry card.

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VICT

The computer you call byname.

VICTORTECHNOLOGIESIW 380EI I'l EB1.0ROAD sa>lTSV-\U,n.CA95066(408)438-6680. VICTORTECHNOlOGlBSEVROPB.NmOOFSESTEENWeG71.1750SCHEPDMLBELGI0VE.(2)5m.5500:

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Meet the leading family in multifunctional micro printers. The 80-column Tally MT160 for a small footprint; the 132-column Tally MT 180 for accounting and spreadsheet packages. (Print at 20 cpi and get 264 columns!)

A Word Processing package gives you letter quality text, proportional spacing, margin justification, auto centering. A resident Graphics package offers the versatility of two different dot densities. And you get high speed report printing at 160 cps

bi-directionally. Plus eight different resident character widths for condensed or doublewide printing.

There's more. 3-way paper handling lets you use fanfold forms, letterhead or roll stock. The control panel has a conversational program menu for easy "answer a question" pushbutton set-up. The dual interface has both a serial and parallel port for direct plug compatibility with your micro (no hidden interface costs!) And one look at the solid machine construction lets you

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Circle 247 on Inquiry card.

Benchmarking the Intel 8086 and 8088

The 8086 is faster than the 8088, but there's more than execution speed to consider when selecting a computer.

by Gregg Williams

The Intel 8086 (iAPX 86) owes much of its popularity to its introduction in 1978 as one of the first 16-bit microprocessors. That same year, Intel also introduced the 8088 (iAPX 88), a companion microprocessor that is virtually identical to the 8086 but that communicates over an 8-bit data path rather than the 8086's 16-bit path. From its introduction, the 8088's lower price and its familiarity to designers of 8-bit systems have

made it the microprocessor of choice in an increasing number of applications. And when IBM chose the 8088 for its Personal Computer, the chip surpassed the 8086 in popularity.

Component price is an important criterion because of its effect on system price, but the relative performance of the two microprocessors should be weighed in the context of complete system price and performance. To more fully explore the

Execution

Times

Ratio

Description

8086

8088

8086/8088

empty-loop benchmark (BASIC)

4.24

6.00

1.42

GOSUB benchmark (BASIC)

8.19

11.5

1.40

30,000 additions (BASIC)

61.4

86.0

1.40

5000 square roots and multiplications (BASIC)

38.0

53.2

1.40

Gilbreath sieve benchmark (BASIC)

147.

205.

1.39

MID$ benchmark (BASIC)

14.6

20.3

1.39

C = A/B benchmark (BASIC)

12.6

17.5

1.39

unoptimized bubble sort (assembly language)

71.4

89.9

1.26

graphics-scaling routine (assembly language)

55.4

60.1

1.08

Table 1: Real-world benchmarks that execute groups of assembly-language instructions. All results are accurate to three significant digits. For more details, see the text boxes, figure 2, and listing 2.

merits of the two devices, BYTE conducted a benchmark study that should help anyone who's faced with choosing between systems built with either microprocessor.

The results of that benchmark study show that the 8088 is slower than the 8086, varying from 10 percent to 20 percent slower for numericintensive applications to as much as 40 percent slower for other applications (see tables 1 and 2). The main reason for the popularity of the 8088 in computers available today remains the difference in the price of the chips two to three years ago, when these machines were designed. And although that price differential has decreased significantly, system manufacturers may still choose the 8088 because of the price advantage it gives them in a highly competitive market.

Historical Considerations

When the 8086 and 8088 were first introduced, their prices, in quantity, were about $97 and $48, respective

July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc 147

8086

8088

Ratio

Description

Recorded

Empty Loop

True Time

Recorded

Empty Loop

True Time

8088/8086

4 ADD AX,1

26.5

11.4

15.1

44.2

13.9

30.3

2.01

4 ADD AL,1

21.5

11.4

10.1

34.1

13.9

20.2

2.00

4 XCHG BL.AL

21.5

11.4

10.1

34.1

13.9

20.2

2.00

4 XCHG BX.AX

21.5

11.4

10.1

34.1

13.9

20.2

2.00

4 MOV[30],AX

41.6

11.4

30.2

69.4

13.9

55.5

1.84

4 MOVAX,[30]

39.2

11.4

27.8

64.4

13.9

50.5

1.82

4 ADD AX,[30]

51.1

11.4

39.7

79.4

13.9

65.5

1.65

4 MOV[30],AL

41.6

11.4

30.2

59.3

13.9

45.4

1.50

4 ADD AL,[30]

51.1

11.4

39.7

69.3

13.9

55.4

1.40

4 M0V[31],AX

51.7

11.4

40.3

69.4

13.9

55.5

1.38

4 near JMPs

56.8

11.4

45.4

69.4

13.9

55.5

1.22

4 MULWORD[30] *

120.

3.80

116.

125.

4.63

120.

1.04

4 MUL BYTE [30] *

76.1

3.80

72.3

77.6

4.63

73.0

1.01

4 short JMPs

56.7

11.4

45.3

59.2

13.9

45.3

1.00

Table 2: Pure benchmarks of individual 8086 assembly-language instructions. All results are accurate to three significant digits. The MUL instructions (marked with asterisks) differ from the others in having an outer loop executed 10 (hexadecimal) times. For more details, see the text boxes, figures 1 and 2, and listing 1.

ly—a difference of $49. In addition, an 8086-based system design required several more chips: a bidirectional bus transceiver (such as the Intel 8286) to transmit and receive the top 8 bits of the data bus and several TTL (transistor-transistor-logic) chips to organize the memory into 16-bit words. These chips added about $6 in parts to the 8086-based design, for a total price differential of about $55. Given the designer's rule of thumb that the final price of a product (because of extra labor, documentation, circuit-board area, product support, price markup, and other factors) is three to six times the actual component cost, the use of an 8086 over an 8088 in 1978 meant an increase in the product cost of between $165 and $330; using $250 as a compromise figure, the cost of the 8086 represented about 8 percent of the selling price of a $3000 computer. Although this was not a prohibitive expense, it was taken seriously by many manufacturers.

These factors influenced the design of systems such as the IBM Personal Computer (introduced in August 1981, work on its design began in early 1980) and the Texas Instruments Professional Computer (introduced in February 1982, work on its design began in early 1981). The extracomponents cost of an 8086-based system is lower than $250 now (more

on that later), but it was probably close to that in 1981 and even closer in 1980.

Bill Skelton, hardware manager of the Texas Instruments Professional Computer, says that cost considerations influenced the design of the TI machine. 'The 8088 led us to a lowercost solution in terms of manufacturing costs," he says, but the price differential for components alone was "in a range of a few tens of dollars

It is reasonable to Infer

that the IBM PC would

run BASIC about 40

percent faster if IBM

had designed it

using an 8086.

versus a few hundreds of dollars when TI made its system." He very roughly estimated the manufacturing cost to be $40 to $50, raising the final price by $125 to $200. But, he says, "the $3000 machine market is intensely competitive—even a few hundred dollars' price difference is important." Although the design of the TI PC was swayed by cost considerations, it was also influenced by the IBM PC (to which it still bears a faint similarity) and other factors. One subtle advantage of the 8088 over the 8086, Skelton says, is its ability to be con

figured as a 64K-byte system using cost-effective 64K-bit memory chips. (The smallest 8086-based system that can be designed using 64K-bit chips is a 128K-byte system.) A minimum configuration of 64K bytes is attractive to most manufacturers because it enables them to offer a system with a lower base price—a point that was probably not lost on IBM, which also designed a minimal 64K-byte system. When the TI PC was being designed, Skelton says, the 8086 was not a serious contender. Given the prices of the various chips at the time, "the real controversy was the Z80 versus the 8088, not the 8086 versus the 8088." He continues, 'The payoff on the 8088 is not its performance but its ability to have huge amounts of memory" compared to the 8-bit Zilog Z80, which can address a maximum of 64K bytes. In this light, the 8088 was the obvious choice for TI.

Present Price and Benchmark Considerations

The 8086 now sells for $30 in quantity, the 8088 for $20. Because chip prices have fallen and the price differential between the two processors has narrowed, the component price differential is now about $16. At a markup of three to six times, the price difference between an 8088-based system and its equivalent 8086-based counterpart is $48 to $96. Although

148 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Amazing! This was Printed on an Epson

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Circle 374 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 149

The three best micros

you can buy:

^^ "factor mimhpr- ^K_. i ^^

"Faster number crunching than rny mini.'

"Gazelle's speed and programming tools make software development a snap.'

If you're lookingfor an extremely high performance computer tor scientific and engineet ing applications, the Seattle Computer Gazelle™ isforvou.

Or, if you're in the market for an ultra-fast, powerful micro with a complete software development system for the IBM PC and othet MS-DOS systems, the Gazelle is an absolute whiz.

Or, if you need serious minicomputer peiformanc e in your business accounting applications at micro prices, look for—you guessed it—the Seattle Computer Gazelle.

In fact, the new Gazelle is really three 16-bit micros in one.

For floating point scientific and engineering applications, the Gazelle equipped w ith our optional 8087 number crunching hardware easily out-performs most minis in both speed and accuracy. Pascal, FORTRAN and BASIC compilers are available with full 8087 support.

150 BrTE July 1983

"Gazelle has flexibility and features for every part of my business."

Seattle Computers I Gazelle^r^

For software development, the Gazelle comes with the MSDOS operating svstem -the same as used by the IBM PC. You can program in Pascal, FORTRAN, BASIC C, or assembly language. You (an even plug a 5" disk drive into our disk controller to directly produce disks for the IBM PC, Zenith Z-100, and other MS-DOS systems.

For business applications, the Gazelle has a full complement of accounting software from MBSI running on Ryan/McFarlandCobol. This is serious business software, not like some of the "toys" on the market. It was developed for minis

and has the comprehensive features you would expect. For any of these three broad application areas, the Gazelle now offers an optional 15 megabyte Winchester hard disk drive. Standard Gazelle features include: 8 Mhz. 8086 CPU set, MS-DOS, 128K RAM, three RS-232 ports, a parellei port, 2.5 megabytes of 8" floppy disk storage, 12 extra S-100 slots for future expansion and Microsoft BASIC interpreter.

Best of all, you can buy the fully tested Seattle Computer Gazelle for only $5995. And, you can add the 15 MB hard disk for just $2595.

hor serious micro-computing, call us at 1-800-426-8936 for more information and the location of your nearest Gazelle dealer.

&MM

I bK

1114 Industry Drive, Seattle, Washington 98188

Circle 363 on Inquiry card.

this is not the economic handicap it used to be, it will still influence manufacturers in favor of the 8088.

Setting aside price as a system selection criterion for the moment, it's time to consider the benchmark results in detail. The BYTE study consisted of real-world and "pure" benchmarks. The numeric results of the real-world benchmarks are given in table 1; those of the pure benchmarks are in table 2. Figure 1 shows the execution time of selected assembly-language instructions for each of the two chips (8086 and 8088) and for each of the two possible data lengths (8- and 16-bit). Figure 2 shows the execution time ratio of the 8088 to the 8086 for selected pure and real-world benchmarks. (The results shown here are representative of a larger number of measurements that were taken while researching this article.) The text box on page 154 contains further information.

Analysis of Real-World Benchmarks

The real-world benchmarks (the last three bars in figure 2) show that the 8088 performs much better with the numeric-intensive graphics routines than it does with the data-movement-intensive bubble sort or the BASIC sieve program. This result agrees with the conclusions reached about the relative performance of numeric- and data-intensive instructions. All the BASIC benchmark programs produce almost identical statistics (see table 1), implying that the 8088-to-8086 execution ratio (dictated by the underlying instruction mix being executed) does not change much regardless of the BASIC program being interpreted.

If the real-world benchmarks are more accurate indicators of the relative performances of the 8086 and 8088 microprocessors, we can generalize, very roughly, that numericintensive applications are about 10 percent slower on the 8088 compared to the same program running on an equivalent 8086-based system with 16-bit-wide memory. That's assuming the program executes a good number of multiplication and division instruc

8086,8-BIT OPERATION

8086, 16-BIT OPERATION

8088, 8-BIT OPERATION

8088, 16-BIT OPERATION

MOV

Mill

Figure 1: A comparison of representative 8086 instructions by processor (8086 versus 8088) and operand length (8 versus 16 bits).

w 20

i

K 1.8

z o

5 1.6 o

X

ui 1.4

IB

n o 00 1.2

2.00

UJ

1.0

| 0.8

V

§ 0-6 x

UJ

95 0.4

1.82

1.65

1.22

1.00

1.04

1.39

1.26

1.08

a. SHORT 16-BIT NEAR 16-BIT 16-BIT 16-BIT GRAPHICS BUBBLE SIEVE

JMP MUL JMP ADD MOV XCHG ROUTINE SORT PROGRAM

> ~ * y ' (BASIC)

(ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE) ' '

Figure 2: Performance ratios for selected pure and real-world benchmarks. The ratios are obtained by dividing the execution time of the 8088 for that benchmark by the execution time of the 8086. The first six bars are derived from the pure benchmarks of table 2; the last three are from the real-world benchmarks of table 1.

tions; if it executes primarily addition and subtraction instructions, the performance of the 8088 will be considerably slower. Data-intensive applications may be about 25 percent slower; however, the performance of a BASIC interpreter indicates that some programs will be about 40 percent slower.

Considering the Pure Benchmarks

The 8088 performs poorest (figure 2) against the 8086 in pure benchmarks with data-movement instructions (MOV and XCHG) and best with program-control instructions (JMPs). There is a seeming paradox, however, in that the 8088 performs

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5000 applications. And you get file converter programs to make existing WordStar,* Easy Writer™ and VisiCalc™ files usable with PeachText 5000 — because you shouldn't have to suffer because you've waited this long for the complete personal productivity system.

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*In actual trials using an IBM Personal Computer and 320K diskettes, Spelling Proofreader checked a 10.024-word document in one minute and 15 seconds, using the standard 20,000-word dictionary supplied with the package. Checking times may vary depending on your hardware.

WordStar is a trademark of MicroPro International Corporation.

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BY

\

Technical Details About the Benchmarks

The hardware we used included a 20-slot terminated Compupro HighPerformance Motherboard, Compupro s floppy-disk system (two 8-inch Qume floppy-disk drives), and computer boards from Lomas Data Products. The Lomas boards were the Lightning One processor board (which can use the 8086 or the 8088 microprocessor as well as the 8087 arithmetic or 8089 I/O coprocessor chips), the RAM67 128K-byte CMOS static RAM board, the Hazitall system support board (used for a serial port to a Wyse WY-100 terminal), and the LDP72 floppy-disk interface board. The software we used included Digital Research's CP/M-86 version 1.1 (used for all the benchmarks except BASIC), Microsoft's MS-DOS version 1.10, and Microsoft's MBASIC-86 revision 5.21.

Each benchmark was executed three times; execution times were recorded to the nearest hundredth of a second, averaged, and rounded to three significant digits. For the assembly-language benchmarks listed in table 1, the actual benchmark programs are created by inserting four copies of a given instruction into the framework of listing la; a sample program is given in listing lb. The final benchmark time associated with a given instruction is its benchmark execution time minus that of an empty loop. The ]MP benchmarks use four J MPs, each of which points to the instruction after it. Because the MUL instructions were relatively slow, their benchmark programs substituted "MOVSI,$10" for "MOV SI,$30" as the first instruction.

The bubble-sort and graphics-scaling routines mentioned in table 2 are given in listings 2a and 2b. The bubble sort sorts a list of 2048 16-bit data elements. The graphics-scaling routine takes a list of 16 x,y pairs and creates a list of altered x', y' pairs by the formulas x' = (21/4)(x-15) and y' = (21/4) (y —8); you might perform this

graphics operation on a list of data points to be viewed in a different way. The empty-loop, COSUB, MID$, and "C=A/B" BASIC benchmarks are simple BASIC instructions executed in a loop 5000 times. These four benchmarks and a modified Sieve of Eratosthenes benchmark—popularized by Jim Gilbreath—are listed in the January 1982 BYTE, p. 54. The addition and square root/multiplication programs of table 2 are given in listings 2c and 2d.

(Note to nitpicking readers: please do not write in with improvements to the bubble-sort program in listing 2a. It is admittedly slow and could be replaced by a better method or improved by bumping the beginning comparison point after each pass through the table of values. Nevertheless, this program has the ability to exercise data-movement instructions heavily and fulfills the prime requirement of a benchmark—to be an arbitrary program that can be run in different situations—in this case, on different microprocessors—to provide data with which to make comparisons.)

The Benchmark Conditions

An analysis of the 8086 and 8088 chips would be worthless without some quantitative evidence, so an environment was devised in which meaningful comparisons could be made. Hardware included a Compupro HighPerformance Motherboard (an S-100 motherboard with active termination) and a set of S-100 boards from Lomas Data Products. The Lomas boards were chosen because they allowed easy switching between an 8086-based system using 16-bit memory and an 8088based system using 8-bit memory. In particular, the Lightning One central processing unit board can hold either an 8086 or an 8088 in the same socket; it senses the chip being used and reconfigures the RAM67 memory board to reorganize itself as either 8 bits wide

(for the 8088) or 16 bits wide (for the 8086).

Various individual 8086 instructions were benchmarked by executing them repeatedly in a loop (both chips will execute identical 8086 machine-language code) using Digital Research's CP/M-86 operating system and DDT86 debugging program. To assure that the final benchmark execution time reflected that of executing the instruction under examination, an empty loop was executed (i.e., the same program as described above, but without the 8086 instruction being tested) for each machine, and this time was subtracted from the loop-plus-instruction execution time. These are the "pure" benchmarks because they test the performance of single assembly-language instructions; the final benchmark figures, sorted in decreasing amount of speed difference, are given in table 2.

As a second level of benchmark, several assembly-language programs of varying lengths were tested. One, an unoptimized bubble-sort routine, moves a lot of 16-bit quantities, which should emphasize any execution-speed weakness of the 8088. Another, a graphics-scaling routine, involves much numeric calculation and little data movement, which should emphasize the relative merits of both chips in numeric-intensive applications.

As a final level of benchmark, BYTE's BASIC benchmarks were timed. These were first described in a review of the IBM Personal Computer (January 1982, p. 54). The programs ran under Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system and its MBASIC language. To that were added two BASIC programs that did, respectively, 5000 square-root and multiplication operations and 30,000 floating-point additions. Because MBASIC is an interpreted language, the BASIC benchmarks should be considered as real-world assembly-language benchmarks along with the programs mentioned above. —G.W.

almost identically to the 8086 on a

16-bit multiply instruction but fares

nuch worse on a 16-bit addition.

Figure 1 shows some interesting

condary information about the

96 and the 8088 microprocessors.

•h group of four bars represents the

T7&3

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

execution times for the 8086 doing an 8- and 16-bit version of the same operation, followed by the 8088 doing the same 8- and 16-bit operation. The 8088 operates more slowly than the 8086, and the 8088 performs 8-bit operations faster than equivalent

16-bit ones. But the 8086 takes exactly the same time to do some operations in both their 8- and 16-bit versions. The times are identical for XCHG (exchange the contents of two registers) and MOV (move from register to memory) and only slightly

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Listing 1: (la) Prototype of and (lb) example of the pure assembly-language benchmarks used to test the Intel 8086 and 8088 microprocessors. See table 2 for the benchmark results. The listings roughly follow the syntax of the Digital Research DDT86 miniassembler.

(la)

(lb)

MOV

SI,5 30

MOV

SI,(30

LPl

MOV

DI.SFFFF

LPl

MOV

DI .SFFFF

LP2

(code 1

o be tested

LPZ

ICHC

81,AI

placed

here)

XCHC XCKC XCHC

EX,AX EX,AX BX.AX

DEC

DI

DEC

DI

JNZ

LP2

JNZ

LP2

DEC

SI

DEC

SI

JNZ

LPl

JNZ

LPl

(breekp

oint set here)

(break

point set

here)

different for MUL (multiply memory and accumulator). Both 8- and 16-bit arithmetic operations on the 8086 sometimes take the same time, sometimes not. For example, "ADD [30],An" (add either the lower 8 bits of the accumulator, AL, or the entire 16 bits of the accumulator, AX, to memory location 30) takes the same time for both versions, while "ADD An,#l" (add the value 1 to either AL

or AX) is about one-third faster in its 8-bit version (see table 2).

Factors That Slow Execution

The relationships between the execution times of the two chips are caused by three factors: the inherent design of the instruction set, the different-sized data paths of the chips, and the mechanics of the prefetch queue. The 8086 instruction set

itself (which is identical to the 8088 set) dictates the identical behavior of some of its instructions and not others. The 8088 behavior mimics this when the 16-bit operation is internal to the chip itself (the registerto-register XCHG in figure 1), but not when it deals with external memory and must go through the 8-bit data bus.

The address bus on both chips and the data bus on the 8086 are all 16 bits wide. The data bus on the 8088, however, is 8 bits wide. Although the details are somewhat complicated (both microprocessors use the same pins for both address and data information and so must use external latch chips to separate the address and data information), the result is that the 8086 retrieves or transmits a 16-bit word in one bus cycle, while the 8088 does so in two (8 bits at a time). Consequently, any operation that manipulates external memory will be slowed by the 8088's 8-bit data bus. The extent of the slowdown is determined by the prefetch queue.

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156 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

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LMC's MegaMicros are among the most powerful and expandable microcomputers ever offered. They provide mainframe or super-minicomputer performance at prices competitive with today's far less powerful 8- and 16-bit microcomputers. And, they are available for delivery now!

LMC Mega series computers incorporate: the NS16032 central processing unit which has true 32-bit internal logic and internal data path configured on the multibus (IEEE 796) 16-bit interface (making hundreds of peripheral boards and products available); demand-paged virtual memory implemented in hardware; and hardware 64-bit doubleprecision floating point arithmetic. These features give the Mega series remarkable performance.

In addition, the NS16032 instruction set architecture is symmetrical making the processor ideally suited to high-level languages such as FORTRAN, C, and PASCAL and to structured modular programming. Consequently, LMC's MegaMicros make efficient use of large operating systems and application software. LMC is pleased to offer HCR's UNITY* version of UNIX* with our MegaMicros. UNITY, an extremely powerful operating system that has been fieldproven and used successfully on minicomputers and mainframes, is a full UNIX implementation and includes Berkeley 4.1 enhancements to take advantage of demand-paged virtual memory. Also included with UNITY are C and FORTRAN 77; PASCAL, PL/I, ADA and other high-level languages will be available soon as options.

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Listing 2: Benchmark programs associated with table 2. Listing 2a is an unoptimized bubble sort. Listing 2b is a graphics-scaling routine that does scaling operations on 16-bit pairs of data. Listing 2c does 30,000 floating-point addition operations in BASIC. Listing 2d calculates 5000 square roots and does 5000 multiplication operations in BASIC. The assembly-language listings roughly follow the syntax of the Digital Research DDT86 miniassembler.

(2a)

Bubble sort

Register BL used is flag, FF heiadecimal itint elements switched,

00 means no switch Register SI points to beginning of list to be sorted

i flag set to eichange elements ; were any elements eichanged?

; if so, done , set flag to "no switch"

; number of elements in list

. set SI to 0--i.e., data is at beginning ; of data segment i compare two adjacent element!

i jump past code for eichanging elements ; eichange two elements

; set flag to "elements swi tched"

increment pointer by one word

; pass through table again if CI not sero

; beg in again ; sort f inished

(2b)

, Graphics scaling routine

Register BX is a counter for an esternal loop that performs this

routine 44 times (40 heiadecimal) Register CX contains the number of i,% pairs to be processed Register OS * 300 heiadecimal ■ pointer to data input area Register ES ■ 900 heiadecimal » pointer to data output area

17FD (heiadecimal) i,f data pairs starting at location 8 are

translated to |',y' pairs by the formulas:

i'.(21HHi-15> and T'«(}1/JMHI

The data pairs are all filled to the value (2AAA.2AAA) heiadecimal The constants IS, 8, 4, and 21 are in locations 0, 2, 4, and 4, respec lively

MOV

BL.ISFF

CMP

BL,SFF

JNZ

A4

XOF.

SL , BL

MOV

CI, 15800

DEC

CI

XOR

SI

MOV

ai.csij

CMP

AI,2[S1I

JLE

A3

XCHG

AX,HSU

MOV

[SIJ.AI

MOV

BL.tlFF

INC

SI

INC

SI

LOOP

A2

JMP

At

NOP

MOV

MOV MOV MOV

CLD

BI,»«40

CX, tiI7FD SI,IB SI ,DI

SUB

AX,CO]

MUL

WORD Hi

DIV

VORD C41

STOSW

LOOSV

SUB

AX,[21

MUL

VORD [61

DIV

VORD C4I

STOSW

LOOP

XV

DEC

BI

JNZ

LP

END NOP

(2c)

10 5IZE-1OD00

20 VAR1<0

30 ONE.l

4 0 FOR 1=1 TO

SIZE

SO VAHl=VAR1t

3NE

iO VARI.VARW

3NE

70 VAR1=VAR1*

3NE

80 NEXT

90 PRINT VAR1

, " ADDITIONS DONE

, set outs i de loop

, number of data pairs to be translated , address of first i,v pair

, cleared decimal flag affects LODSV instruction

, this is DDT86 mnemonic for the word-length

, version of the LODS instruction -- this gets

; an i_ value from the list , subtract IS

i multiply by 21

, divide by 4 ; store as output i value

, perform similar functions for x value

loop until CX becomes sero i citernal loop ; end of benchmark -- breakpoint inserted here

(2d)

10 DIM SORTI5000),NUMSOD(5000)

20 SIZE.5000

30 FOR LI TO SIZE

40 SQRT1I)=SOR(I)

SO NUMSQD<I>*SQRT(1>«SQRT<1>

60 NEXT I

70 PRINT SIZE;" ITERATIONS DONE"

The Prefetch Queue

To understand the prefetch queue and its role in influencing the performance of the 8086 and the 8088, first look at the internal architecture of the two microprocessors. The 8086 and the 8088 each contain two internal processors, the execution unit (EU) and the bus interface unit (BIU). The EU executes instructions and depends on the BIU to retrieve and store data and instructions. To surpass the performance of earlier microprocessors that alternated between fetching and executing instructions, Intel decided to include in the 8086 and 8088 a prefetch queue that would fetch several instructions beyond the one currently being executed; except for cases in which the current instruction is a jump or branch execution, these fetched instructions are available for execution much faster than if they had to be brought in from memory. The 8086 has a prefetch queue 6 bytes long, while the 8088's is 4 bytes long; in both cases, the bus interface unit is responsible for keeping the queue filled.

(Dan Lenehan, an applications engineer for the microcomputer group at Intel, says the design team determined the optimal size for each microprocessor's prefetch queue by simulating it on a computer. Both the execution unit and the bus interface unit need access to the system bus, but only one can have it at a time. A long prefetch queue needs to be filled more often by the BIU; even though the EU always has priority over the BIU, it must wait for the BIU to release the system bus if its request comes while the BIU is using the bus. Therefore, at a certain length, a long prefetch queue will slow the EU down more than it will help. A short prefetch queue is full more of the time, decreasing the chance that the EU will be slowed by a BIU bus access; however, at a certain length, a short prefetch queue has less "slack" and so saves the EU less time. By simulating each microprocessor's slightly different architecture and the kinds of programs each was expected to run, the Intel designers found a 4-byte queue optimal for the 8088 and a 6-byte queue optimal for the 8086.)

158 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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The prefetch queue influences 8086 and 8088 instruction times in two ways. First, longer instructions execute slightly slower on the 8088 because, on occasion, bytes must be fetched directly from memory 8 bits at a time (as opposed to 16 bits in the 8086). This behavior is indicated by the speed of the short JMP (a 2-byte instruction) relative to the near JMP (3 bytes). (See figure 2.) Second, instructions that do more internal processing and leave the system bus free longer allow the BIU more time to fill the prefetch queue uncontested, increasing the speed with which the EU can execute instructions. This explains why the 8088 shows almost no speed degradation for the MUL (multiply) instruction, which spends a lot of time doing the operation internally; some degradation for the ADD instruction, which spends less time in computation; and the most degradation for the MOV (move-register-tomemory) instruction.

(Note: the results in table 2 and figure 1 result from an interaction of all the factors mentioned above, an interaction that varies in proportion from instruction to instruction. For example, the surprising performance of the MUL instruction is probably largely due to the interaction of the EU and the prefetch queue, while that of the MOV instruction is probably due to the 8088's 8-bit data path.)

Finally, the BASIC benchmarks (January 1982, p. 54) indicate that MBASIC-86 version 5.21 (the version we used) will run about 40 percent more slowly on an 8088 when compared with an 8086. For various reasons, the performance of other BASIC interpreters might vary significantly from this, so we should not infer too much about the BASIC language from just one benchmark. However, because Microsoft supplies the PC-BASIC that runs on the IBM Personal Computer and its look-alike machines, it is reasonable to infer that the IBM PC would run BASIC about 40 percent faster if IBM had designed it using an 8086.

Conclusions

After weighing the results of these BYTE benchmarks, should you re

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BYTE July 1983 161

Chronos Models 500 and 600 (use 80186): Chronos International, 13256 Northrup Way, Suite 7, Bellevue, WA 98005, (206)641-7277

CPU-286(S-100 card using 80286, for Compupro 816 system): Compupro, Box 2355, Oakland Airport, CA 94614

Eagle 1600 (uses 8086): Eagle Computer Inc., 938 University Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030, (408) 395-5005

Gazelle (uses 8086): Seattle Computer Products Inc., 1114 Industry Dr., Seattle, WA 98188, (800)426-8936

M-20 (uses Zilog Z8001, 8086 coprocessor available): Docutel/Olivetti Inc., 155 White Plains Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591,(914)631-8100

MAD-1 (uses 80186): Mad Computer Inc., 3350 Scott Blvd., Bldg. 13, Santa Clara, CA 95051, (408) 980-0840

Series 1600 (uses 8086): Datamac Computer Systems, 680 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 735-0323

Wang Professional Computer (uses 8086): Wang Laboratories Inc., One Industrial Ave., Lowell, MA 01851, (617) 459-5000

Table 3: A list of selected vendors of computers that use the Intel 8086, 80186, or 80286 microprocessors.

think your inclination to buy an 8088-based computer? Possibly, but not necessarily. If the choice is between the 8086 and the 8088, the two are identical except for the speed difference. And execution speed, though a seductive factor, is not the only criterion that should influence your selection of a microcomputer. You should also consider price differences, ease of use, software and hardware compatibility (especially with the IBM PC and its associated operating systems—Microsoft's MS-DOS, Digital Research's CP/M-86, and Softech Microsystems' p-system), features, and other factors. Table 3 lists manufacturers who offer 8086-based computers, all of which claim various levels of compatibility with the IBM PC. Two of those listed use an Intel 80186, and a third offers an S-100 board that uses an Intel 80286; both are next-generation chips that are upward compatible with the 8086.

Bill Skelton of Texas Instruments points out that the gestation time of a product is usually between 18 and 36

months. This time frame has two implications. First, because of the lead time and the IBM PC's popularity, many computers introduced in the next few years (which have been fully designed by now) will use the 8088. However, look for some brave manufacturers to use the Intel 8068, 80186, or 80286 microprocessors, sacrifice hardware compatibility with the IBM PC, but maintain software compatibility. Second, look for designers to switch to other chips eventually—the advanced Intel chips (including a 32-bit 80386 that is also upward compatible with the 8086) or even to other microprocessor lines, e.g., Motorola's MC68000, Zilog's Z8000, or National Semiconductor's NS 16032. ■

About the Author

Gregg Williams is senior technical editor of BYTE.

Acknowledgments

We thank Compupro (Box 2355, Oakland Airport, CA 94614) and Lomas Data Products (66 Hopkinton Rd., Westborough, MA 01581) for their help on this article.

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Compare the "Beauty" of our printed letters for the word processing fonts which include Cubic, Trend, Spokesman, Courier, Italics, Script, OCR-A, APL, Scientific plus downloaded fonts from your computer. Draft copy modes include 8 resident fonts — U.S., U.K., German, French, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish.

Other features include high resolution graphics — 144 x 144, single pass and double pass word processing, and 180 cps data processing modes and user defined formats.

Operator initiated, the MultiMode printer provides a complete printed status report of operating parameters and diagnostics.

For more information, or a demo, call us about the new Qantex Model 7030 MultiMode Printer.

% north ntlnntic

Qantex

60 Plant Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788

(516) 582-6060 (800) 645-5292 Circle 340 on inquiry card.

Do you Jiave the the entire S400

We do.

And now you can too: The most powerful multi-processing CPU board you can buy. The world's first 256K static RAM memory board. And the most sophisticated hard disk controller board available.

Run 8-bit CP/M 80* and 16-bit CP/M 86* simultaneously in a single or multi-user environment. $895.

Now you can upgrade to 16-bit without forsaking your investment in 8-bit software. Octagon's plug-and-play CPU Board 8/16™ is a complete computer-on-a-board with all this:

• Dual processors: 4MHz NSC-800 (executes full Z80* instruction set) and 8MHz 8088.

• Intel 8272 floppy disk controller with 24-bit DMA. Runs up to four 51/4" or 8" floppies in any combination at the same time.

• 8K PROM monitor. Boots operating system and also contains all the disk interface software you need for almost any operating system. Plus many useful debugging features, such as memory test, memory dump and memory search.

• Two serial ports (baud rate software selectable up to 19.2 Kbauds.)

• Interrupt controller with eight vectored interrupts.

• Fixed frequency real-time clock interrupt for multi-user dispatching.

• IEEE-696 S-100 compatible.

Add the optional 8087 math co-processor for just $300.

And save $155 when you buy the operating system from Octagon, whether you take Concurrent CP/M 86 at $195, CP/M 86 at $150 or MP/M 86* at $495.

CPU Board 8/16 is completely ready to run with no additional software. And both operating systems automatically include your CP/M 80 emulator, so you can run any 8-bit CP/M program—as well as auto-select bios that let you transfer files back and forth between 5Va" and 8" floppies.

World's first 256K Static RAM Memory Board. $1850 Memory may be configured as either four totally independent 64K software-selectable blocks or as a single 256K block which responds to IEEE-696 extended addressing lines. Will accept either 8-bit or 16-bit bus requests.

And each 64K block can be one of 256 addresses—so theoretically you could address

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CPU Board 8/16

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256K Static RAM

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A partially populated 128K board with the same characteristics is just $1095.

Sophisticated, reliable Hard Disk Controller. $550.

Designed around LSI technology for greater reliability. With its sophisticated Western Digital

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Using the WD 1014, it detects and corrects single-bit errors and detects double-bit errors.

ECC generation and correction on data fields is user selectable.

And its phase lock loop lets you forget about critical timing adjustments. In fact, you never need to adjust it at all. There's no pot.

Octagon's Hard Disk Controller Board also gives you data rates up to 5MBits/sec, and CRC generation and verification on ID fields. Complete subsystem including board and 19.2 MB hard disk packaged with power supply: $2195.

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Call us now for more details. And take advantage of these introductory offers: Buy CPU Board 8/16 plus the Memory Board and get Concurrent CP/M 86 or CP/M 86 free. (Includes CP/M 80 emulator.) Or buy all three boards and get MP/Mp/us new Personal BASIC from Digital Research free.

You'll never need any other S-100 boards. It takes guts to say that, but try us out and you'll know: Octagon has what it takes.

^^""V Circle 300 on Inquiry card.

Kioctagon

2960 North First St., San Jose, CA 95134 408-262-7777

•CP/M 80, CP/M 86. MP/M 86 and Pe

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Hard Disk Controller

Visi On's Interface Design

Visi On belongs to a new breed of office automation software that makes it possible for diverse application programs to interact. Instead of switching from one application program to the next, users can run several programs simultaneously and transfer data directly between them. Initially, Visi On's open-ended system will accommodate spreadsheet, word processing, plotting, data manipulation, and communications software. Because it makes use of windows to implement the "desktop metaphor," Visi On appeals to a wide variety of business users. (See "A Guided Tour of Visi On," June BYTE, page 256, for a more detailed description.^

As system architects of Visi On, the major challenge we faced was to design a user interface that integrates varied applications and hides their differences while maintaining their power and potential to work together. After discussing the philosophy behind Visi On's design, we'll take a look at the factors that shaped it and how our design team met its challenge.

Project Goals

Visicorp's Visi On project is an effort to produce an efficient and businesslike office-automation product using the most appropriate software

by Dr. George Woodmansee

and hardware technology. The first release, scheduled for late summer, is for machines in the same class as the IBM Personal Computer—those with bit-mapped displays, a Winchester hard disk, and at least 256K bytes of memory.

Our primary goal was to produce a nonintrusive problem-solving support system for the office professional: a workbench and tools that do the job without getting in the way. We wanted to design a system that integrates application packages by making data interchange simple and provides the appearance of concurrent application execution. We wanted it to be easy for a novice, casual user, or experienced user to learn. Finally, we wanted the system to be able to accommodate new and unanticipated applications.

Design Factors

Two major factors shaped Visi On's design: the needs of the end user we had in mind and relevant available technology.

The market for Visi On is primarily office professionals, a varied group that includes middle and upper managers in large businesses, small businessmen, staff analysts, and planners. Time, pressure, and the need for quality results are critical to this group.

To be productive, efficient, and successful at their work, office professionals look for an office-automation product that fills three major needs. First, the product must help solve problems quickly without getting in the way. Second, it must enable users to gain expertise easily and make allowances for different levels of facility. Office professionals are casual users who may be experts in some parts of the system and novices in others. They are neither computerphiles nor touch-typists. Finally, the product must support different styles of problem solving. People vary widely in the way they solve problems; some may carefully plan and execute an attack, while others will indulge in a series of skirmishes until the problem is solved.

After identifying our target audience, we considered three communication concepts: representation, direction, and presentation.

Representation

A well-chosen and consistently applied metaphor is a key to successful interface design. By mirroring the behavior of systems that are already familiar to the user, a valid metaphor enables the user to correctly anticipate the operation of the system. Because the Visi On system must support concurrent operation of applica

166 July 1983 © BYTE Publication. Inc

Its graphic system makes brilliant color more affordable.

————

□

1

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yftf

m

Now everyone can have the advantage of a full-color graphics system at a very affordable price.

The Canon AS-100 microcomputer gives you a choice of 27 high resolution colors. Plus, its quiet color ink jet printer generates clean, crisp, impressive copies.

And it isn't just the AS-100's vivid color that dazzles.

It has a powerful, fast 16 bit microprocessor with standard 128K RAM.

A choice of storage capacity that includes 5V4 mini or 8 inch floppy disks, with hard disk drive also available.

A software system that uses either CP/M-86* or MS-DOS+, and if you prefer, a monochrome green or black and white display unit.

All of which make it the perfect tool for business and professional needs.

The new Canon AS-100. It's so smart, it makes life simple.

•CP/M-86 is a trademark of Digital Research. 'MS-DOS is a trademark of MICRO SOFT. © 1983 Canon U.S.A.. Inc.

I7/83~I

Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Systems Division

One Canon Plaza, Lake Success. NY 11042

Please send me more information about the Canon AS-100 Microcomputer.

NameTitle—

(Please print)

CompanyAddress—

City

Phone(

(State)

(Zip)

Canon

So smart, it makes life simple.

Circle 65 on Inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 167

Circle 411 on Inquiry card.

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tions that manipulate objects familiar to the office scene, the interface design is based on the desktop metaphor. This representation identifies the user's desk with the screen and, correspondingly, objects that might appear on the desk with objects on the screen.

Direction

The way in which the user directs the system should complement the metaphor and the user. Because the user is assumed to be casual and not a touch-typist, the design emphasizes recognition rather than recall. Thus menu selection was favored over command entry ai.c pointing over keystroking.

Presentation

For the desktop metaphor to work effectively, users must have the feeling that the electronic objects are real. In other words, when objects are manipulated, they must behave in a manner analogous to the behavior of their physical counterparts. Part of this mimicry calls for the use of raster graphics in order to maintain objects lying about the screen.

The Design

Having defined our project goals and identified the audience and the technology available, we developed and carefully considered at least four contending design models. These included a Smalltalk-like model (object oriented, multiwindow), a Star-like model incorporating the desktop metaphor, an overlapped 4-window model, and an overlapped 2-window model. Because these models did not meet the project goals, they yielded to the current design, which is a variant of the desktop metaphor.

The Visi On design is menu driven, uses a mouse to select commands and some arguments, uses a verb-object rather than object-verb syntax ("delete text" rather than "text delete"), and supports a variable number of applications communicating with the user through individual, possibly overlapping windows. Because the design focuses on applications running in windows, the interface is application oriented as op

168 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc

Circle 455 on Inquiry card.

■

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UNBELIEVABLE!

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XCOMP sat down to design a truly distributed IBM network so versatile and complete that it would satisfy any user's needs. It seems too good to be true, but we did it!

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Call our sales department today for complete details on X-NET. The exclusive network of PC-DOS 2.0!

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A Network Superset of PC-DOS 2.0

Other quality products available from XCOMP.

CONTROLLERS

XCOMP manufactures a complete line of controllers for all popular drives. The X/R Series is a controller for 3 to 300 megabyte drives. We also produce a S100 controller package. A microprogrammable data board is common to each package and operates with a second drive interface board. Buffer size is 256 bytes, with disk data rate up to 10MHz.

Circle 451 on Inquiry card.

HARD DISK SUB-SYSTEMS

10 megabyte and 16 megabyte hard disk sub-systems for the IBM PC, Apple II and III and nearly all popular personal computers.

XCOMP sub-systems are 2 to 3 times faster than many of the competition's and come complete with our extensive software.

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Exceptional prices on 10 and 16 megabyte formatted drives and controllers. The ST/S for S100 computers and the ST/R for single board computers. An optional Z-80 adapter allows for simple plug-in convenience. Optional equipment includes software, cables and cabinetry.

THE TOASTER

THE TOASTER is a hard disk sub-system containing TWO REMOVABLE 3.9", 5 megabyte cartridges. THE TOASTER provides unlinr' storage and conven; back-up with to* e

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Apple, Apple ii ana Apple ill are trademarks of Apple IBM and IBM PC are trademarks of International Busin

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1983, XCOMP, Inc.

(COMP, Inc., 7566 Trade Street, San Diego, CA 92121, (619) 271-8730, Telex 182786

PURCHASING AGENT

has made some changes!

What's new? • New telephone number. • New address closer to our Silicon Valley suppliers. • New corporate structure.

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Alpha Micro 1000VFF $5,060 Alpha Micro 10O0VWF 6,957 Alpha Micro 1042V,

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Amdek Color III monitor 429

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Corona portable 2.255

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Vector 4 30 4,547

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Victor 9000 s.s 2,874

Zenith ZF-100-21 2.525

Zenith ZF-110-22 3,099

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Amdek Color II monitor 610 Amdek Color Ha (ttl) 768

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Add 3% tor Mastercard, Visa. Prices subject to change without notice.

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The Purchasing Agent Philosophy, Part 1:

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posed to object oriented. Thus the objects on the user's desk are applications operating on spreadsheets, documents, graphics, and the like, rather than the spreadsheets, documents, or graphs themselves. (The underlying system design, however, is object oriented.)

We rejected the Smalltalk and Starlike interface models primarily because they were object-oriented designs that made heavy use of icons. While both of these approaches have many desirable properties, our need to provide an environment that would allow fast and easy introduction of new applications and the relatively limited resolution of the targeted class of machines argued against their use. Whether the business market will accept icons is also unclear.

Our choice of a verb-object rather than object-verb syntax was based on the (unsubstantiated) hypothesis that users verbalize in this fashion ("fire Phil" rather than "Phil fire") and consequently would tend to find it more natural. The marketplace will ultimately determine which, if either, is preferable.

We rejected the 2- and 4-window models, while conceptually simple, because they severely restricted the number of applications users could concurrently manipulate.

Two Important Design Concepts

The conceptual framework supporting the Visi On interface is the result of sifting and synthesizing ideas from many sources. Two areas in particular, application structuring and the help network, illustrate the thinking behind the interface.

The Visi On system and applications together must help novices and expert users alike. How should the behavior of individual applications be structured to support both groups?

Application behavior is what users experience when they interact with an application. Does it act predictably? Is the user in control? Is it clear what to do next? The correct answers to these and similar questions determine the effectiveness of the application as a tool in the user's hands. The behavior of an application mirrors its

170 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 339 on inquiry card.

IF YOUR DATA'S WORTH

REMEMBERING, ITS

WORTH PROTECTING.

®

MICRO UPS

A split-second blackout or a sudden voltage sag can shut down your small business computer, completely wiping out critical data. Inventories, payrolls, receivables — whatever is in the memory may be lost instantly.

Although this type of data is just as important to a small business as it is to a large corporation, blackout protection has always been far too costly for small business applications. But now there is the Powermaker Micro UPS, an inexpensive standby power source specifically designed for small business computers.

This new rechargeable power system provides up to 35 minutes of steady sine-wave power, enabling even the most sensitive small computers to ride through blackouts and voltage sags completely unaffected.

Why sine-wave power? Because squarewave power impairs the performance of many printers, viewing screens and timing circuits. Powermaker produces a sine wave that exactly matches the wave shape of commercial power,

ensuring compatibility with any computer system.

In addition to providing highly reliable blackout and brownout protection, Powermaker also protects against electrical noise, one of the major causes of computer errors and system malfunction. Powermaker is portable, completely automatic, maintenance free and plugs into any standard 120V outlet.

No matter how small your computer, your data is worth remem- — -■ — — — — — -•■•»■— — bering. Protect it with an affordable Powermaker Micro UPS.

For complete information about the new Topaz Powermaker Micro UPS, please fill out this coupon or call us.

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□ Please send me complete information about Powermaker®

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Name

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BYTE July 1983 171

Circle 39 on inquiry card.

Less for lour Money

If you do word processing on your personal computer, you probably know that there are many programs for sale to help you with your spelling. But the biggest spelling error you'll ever make is paying too much for your spelling correction software. The Random House ProofReader gives you less for your money — less trouble, that is, and fewer spelling errors. The Random House ProofReader is based on the world famous Random House Dictionary. It contains up to 80,000 words, depending on your disk capacity. You can add new words with the touch of a key. It shows you the error and the sentence it's in. It instantly suggests corrections. It even rechecks your corrections. And it costs half as much as other programs with far less power. The Random House ProofReader is compatible with all CP/M 2.2®, MS-DOS® and IBM Personal Computer® systems.

, the

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The *=

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For orders or information, see your local dealer or call 505-281-3371. Master card and VISA accepted. Or write Random House ProofReader, Box 339-B, Tijeras, NM 87059. Please enclose $50 and specify your computer model, disk size and memory.

Random House and the House design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research. Inc. IBM and IBM Persona] Computer are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft, Inc.

172 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Figure 1: A general Visi On applications model.

internal structure, so application structure is important in determining behavior.

One goal of systematizing the structure of an application is to provide similar behavior in similar circumstances, to give the user a sense of familiarity. All menus, for example, look similar and work the same way. Another goal is to break the application into comprehensible pieces that are closely related to the way a user attacks problems (that is where I do my editing, this is where I do my analysis, this is where I do my plotting). A third is to provide a framework in which to state uniform interface guidelines.

By designing applications and their parts to look and feel alike and by breaking them into digestible pieces, it takes less effort for a new user to learn an application and less time for a semi-experienced user to add another application to his repertoire. Moreover, the casual user obtains reinforcement applicable to all applications each time he uses any one.

The Application Model: Parts

We used the application model illustrated in figure 1 to provide a conceptual framework for dealing with application behavior. In this model, an application consists of contents (spreadsheet, graph, document, and so on), characteristic views of con

tents (one aspect of total screen appearance), and functions that the user can invoke to change the contents or the way they are viewed. A spreadsheet application would be modeled as follows: the contents would consist of one or more spreadsheets, the characteristic views would be windows onto the sheets, and the functions would include content manipulators such as Insert Row, Recalculate, and Enter Formula and view manipulators such as Scroll and Freeze Border.

The Application Model: Places

From the user's point of view, an application is a tool that helps solve a class of problems by providing a specific capability. This capability often breaks naturally into several subcapabilities that suggest a toplevel structure for the application. For example, a stand-alone application like the Visitrend/plot program might be described as helping a user to solve graphical problems. Generally, solving these problems requires that the user be able to manage, edit, plot, and analyze data. This suggests what the application structure should be.

The application model captures subcapabilities by using the concept of places. Each place is a group of functions with its own characteristic display. At present, functions are organized into a static hierarchy and

Circle 21 on Inquiry card. *

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if properly constructed should satisfy these requirements:

•The user, even the first-time user, should intuitively know the kinds of things that can be done at a given place. If the place supports editing, the user should expect something like an Insert function and should not be surprised to discover a Delete function.

•Equally important, the user should intuitively know what cannot be done at a place and where the place is to do it.

•Because a place corresponds to a major step in the solution of a problem, the user should not need to shift frequently from place to place. If shifting is required, the place is not well conceived and should be reformulated because such shifting distracts the user from the problem being solved.

•Places should have associated characteristic displays so that the user always knows his location.

Places are organized into a small, static hierarchy and are named to reflect that. This aids the user in navigating in search of subproblem support not available at the current place.

Movement from place to place is always the result of an explicit user request. This provides a feeling of stability and predictability.

A place provides a palette of functions for the user and remains in a neutral state until he chooses one or moves to another place. While in the neutral state, the place exhibits neutral-state behavior. Neutral-state behavior is generally application and place dependent but will usually involve direct manipulation of the contents through the characteristic display. For example, in a word processor, neutral-state behavior would support repositioning the character cursor with the mouse and typing into the document.

All functions have a predictable behavior called the function-action cycle (see figure 2). Stereotyping function behavior provides a framework for specifying when and where user feedback is supplied. The function-action cycle begins when the Text continued on page 178 i Circle 398 on Inquiry card.

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It's a hard worker. The DMP-29 goes about its job with amazing speed and precision. Unbeatable resolution and repeatability are yours in both 8V2" x 11" and 11" x 17" formats, and 8-pen capability assures you of fast attention-free flexibility when multi-color output is required. High pen speed combined with an addressable resolution of O.OOl" assures fast, accurate and stepless traces.

It's friendly, You can call 21 different functions directly from the front-panel membrane keyboard. It's tolerant too. The DMP-29 will modestly protect itself from user errors, as when attempting to place a pen in an already occupied stall.

And it's smart. An extensive set of firmware routines makes life easier for the user. A small sampling of the built-in talent inherent in the DMP-29 includes character generation, circle, arc and ellipse synthesis, line type variations, viewport/windowing, clipping and scaling.

For the name, address and phone number of your nearest distributor/dealer, write Houston Instrument, 8500 Cameron Road, Austin, Texas 78753. Phone 512-835-0900, or 1-800-531-5205 if outside Texas. In Europe contact Bausch & Lomb Belgium NV., Rochesterlaan 6, 8240 Gistel, Belgium. Tel 059-27-74-45. Tlx 846-81399,

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4P005B

How to get

You're not alone, you know.

We've all been through that same excruciating moment when we realized that we were going to have to learn a lot more than we wanted to know about programming, in self-defense.

But most of us survived.

Many of us with a little bit of help called dBASE II, the relational database management system (DBMS) for micros.

The best defense is a strong offense.

Don't get seduced by BASIC, because basically BASIC is weak. And to make it do anything useful can take 10 times as much programming (and time) as with dBASE II.

dBASE II is much easier because it's a relational DBMS, and you control your information with powerful, English-like commands.

With a word or two, you CREATE databases, APPEND new data, UPDATE, MODIFY and REPLACE fields, records and entire databases. DISPLAY some or all of your data for any conditions you want to apply. Organize months worth of data in minutes with REPORT.

You can prepare your forms and formats precisely the way you want them. Do calculations on fields, records and entire databases with 10-place accuracy.

And do even more with dozens of other commands.

Here's the catch.

With any language, you'll need to understand relational operators ("less than'' "greater than;' "equals") and a bit of logic ("or}' "and;' "not").

With dBASE II, you'll also get an easy way to make choices (IF..THEN..ELSE) and a powerful way to perform repetitive tasks (DO WHILE..).

176 BYTE July 1983

With these tools, you're ready to tackle your accounting and time billing, project management, and any other data handling and record keeping. You can work interactively and get your answers right now. Or save your instructions and repeat everything with two words: DO Manhours, DO ProjectX, DO whatever has to be done.

Use dBASE II to help make your choice.

If you've got a 48k CP/M micro with a disk drive (96k IBM PC), send us $700. We'll send you a copy of dBASE II to use free for 30 days.

st micro.

Instead of just poring over a manual, run it and make certain that dBASE II does what you need done.

Then if you find it isn't right for you, send it back and we'll return your money, no questions asked.

But we know that you'll probably keep it.

Because having dBASE II is like having a black belt in micros.

Call (213) 204-5570 today or drop by your local computer store for the rest of the story.

Ashton-Tate, 9929 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230.

Circle 37 on inquiry card.

Ashton-Tate

©1982 Ashton-Tate

CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research

BYTE July 1983 177

COMPUTERS

Kaypro $1659

Superbrain OD 64K DS DD $2250

Franklin Ace 1000 $1059

NEC APC 128K,

1 drive, monochrome $2489

Syscom 11 48K $679

Eagle 11 64K DS DD w/software $1795

~ PRINTERS

Cables made to your order CALL

Gemini 10 $329

Gemini15 $535

Okidala 92 $529

Diablo 620 $952

Mannesmann Talley 160L

10" carriage w/tractor $659

Mannesman Talley 180L

15" carriage w/tractor $861

Daiseywriter

17cps letter quality 48K $1149

IDS Prism 80 $1015

Microbuffer 64K stand alone $290

IDS Prism 132 Sprint, 3 4K Buffer $1179

IDS Prism 80 $1015

Microbuffer 64K stand alone $290

MODEMS ™"

Hayes 300 baud $219

Hayes 1200 baud $509

Novation J Cat $125

Novation Smart Cat $190

MONITORS ~~~

Princeton Graphics RGB $599

BMC Green $85

Amdek Amber $169

Amdek Green $139

Amdek Color Composite $319

Taxan Amber $149

Taxan Green $143

Taxan 111 RGB 630H $549

APPLE PERIPHERALS

ALS CP/M $299

ALSZ Card $139

Taxan III Interface $89

Davong Hard Disk 5MB $1599

Apple Dumpling $95

Grappler Plus $125

Grappler 16K Buffer Board $125

Modemcard. internal, 300 baud $245

Rana Drives $295

Micro Sci Drives $259

Shugart Drives $239

The Filler w/DOS & Copy Utility $20

PFS Filler $89

PFS Report $69

Easywnter $72

Microbuffer 16K $212

More than 1000 programs to choose from CALL

IBM PERIPHERALS ~"

AST I/O (no ram) w/1s,1p,c,g $219

AST Mega Plus 64K. 1 s, c $359

Tandon TM100-2 drive $259

Davong 5M8 Hard Disk

Internal $1345

Monte Carlo Card new pricing CALL

Hercules Board

w/monochrome & graphics $549

Perfect Writer CALL

Perfect Calc CALL

Perfect Filer CALL

Lotus 123 CALL

Multiplan $210

Flight Simulator $29

Copy 11 $40

Smartcom Communications, Hayes $45

Modem, internal card CALL

More' 100's of programs available CALL

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Information: (206) 641-7233

Bank Cards

Prices reflect 3% Cash Discount

Sorry, no CODs.

PACIFIC COMPUTERS

13256NorthupWay#7 Bellevue, WA98005

♦RELEVANT CURRENT STATUS

TERMINATION FEEDBACK

-NEW STATUS OR -ERROR MESSAGE

Ca>

♦initiation feedback

♦PROMPTS FOR ARGUMENTS

♦ACTION ACKNOWLEDGMENT FEEDBACK

OR ♦ERROR MESSAGE ♦STATUS

♦STATUS -REMAINING WORK -STATE CHANGE

Figure 2: The function-action cycle.

user picks a function, providing zero or more arguments and an execution phase in which the requested function is performed. Function-action cycles always terminate in the neutral state.

Applications implement the argument-solicitation phase by using a small number of canned I/O (input/output) primitives called BITS (basic interaction techniques). This is one of the mechanisms employed to achieve uniform behavior. BITS support such things as multiple choice, line editing, and using the mouse to select objects.

The function-action cycle models reactive behavior. The application idles in the neutral state, waiting for the user to decide on a course of action, and then reacts in a predictable manner by jogging his memory for necessary actions (prompting), informing him of the continuing state of affairs (status), acknowledging his actions (sound and selection feedback), producing what was expected (status) or informing him why the result could not be produced, and ideally suggesting corrective action (error messages).

Guiding the User

The system must accommodate users who are not quite sure what to do next as well as those who have reached an impasse.

Users need help when they don't understand some aspect of the system or application. They may be confused about the capabilities of an applica

tion, unclear prompts or error messages, or how to accomplish a particular task.

The Visi On system provides an extensive help network of individual frames linked together in such a way that any frame can be reached by following some sequence of interconnecting links. The more links that must be traversed, the farther apart the frames. Related frames are "near" in this sense; loosely related frames are farther apart. The Visi On help system interface provides a natural means of moving from frame to frame.

A user requests help by choosing HELP in the global menu and then pointing with the mouse at the object that needs to be explained. The object may be a menu choice in some application, an error message, a portion of a display, or anything on the screen that may require explanation.

The help system responds by opening a new help window and displaying the appropriate help frame. Once the window is open, the user is free to traverse the help network by picking commands in the help window's menu or cross-references that may be embedded in the help text itself. Help windows behave just as any other application in the system and thus may be reframed, closed, or opened completely to fill the entire screen. Useful frames may be placed off to the side for frequent reference, tucked away for future reference by closing, or deleted.

178 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

WE HAVE THE JUMP ON THE COMPETITION

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| Try A Box Of

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We are so convinced Kangaroo is the best disk you can buy that we make this offer. Buy a box of Kangaroos, if for any reason you are not satisfied with the quality of Kangaroos, return them within 30 days for a full refund—no questions asked.

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";le 272 on inquiry card.

Will This Happen = to You?

NOT IF YOU BUY

YOUR PRINTER

FROM...

ipffl®

SERVICE, COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY, and LOW PRICE, are among the many factors to consider when purchasing a printer. At the PRINTER STORE we specialize in printers, so our trained professional staff oan help you choose the right printer for your personal and business needs. Every Printer Purchase includes:

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Prowriterll SCALL

New! Banana $ 239

IDS SERIES

Microprism480 SCALL

Prism 80 $ CALL

Prism 132 SCALL

GEMINI SERIES

Gemini 10 SCALL

Gemini 15 SCALL

NEC8023 SCALL

Toshiba P1350 $1750

LETTER QUALITY printers

BROTHER SERIES

HR-1 (parallel) $799

HR-1 (serial) SCALL

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COMREX SERIES

CR-1 (parallel) $ CALL

CR-1 (serial) $ CALL

CR-2 $CALL

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HOW TO ORDER: Our phone lines are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST. Monday-Friday. We accept VISA. MASTERCHAflGE (at no extra charge), personal checks take two weeks to clear. COD'S accepted. Same-day shipment on orders placed before 1p.m. Manufacturer's warranty applicable on all equipment. Prices subject to change.

2357 Westwood Blvd., L.A., CA 90064 i

© The Printer Store, 1983

The help network mechanism is so general that it is quite possible to design networks that hinder rather than help the user. To design an effective network, it is important to understand the various conditions that prompt users to solicit help.

The user who solicits help is generally in trouble. Thus help is a necessary distraction that will be tolerated to a greater or lesser degree depending on the nature of the problem the user is solving. If the problem is "getting to know the system better," a spare-time activity, perhaps, the user will be willing to interact extensively with the help facility. On the other hand, if the problem is "getting the report out in the next half hour," the user's tolerance for help distractions will be low. In the first example, the user is essentially nondirected, a browser with no specific goal. In the second, he has a very specific goal.

Browsers do not have a sense of urgency and are willing to travel around the help system as their interests dictate. They require overview frames to orient themselves and detail frames to dig deeper into interesting areas, and they frequently use glossaries and references to indirectly related help materials.

Goal-directed users, in contrast, do have a sense of urgency, perhaps made acute by a deadline. They are put off by verbosity, involved nonfocused traveling, and expositions that don't seem to be leading them quickly to a better understanding of how to use the system to solve a problem.

The design and organization of help frames depend upon whether a user is browsing or in hot pursuit of a solution to a specific problem. To the extent that designers can anticipate this, the network may be tailored. An individual help frame catering to a browser might be almost tutorial in nature and look like a page out of a manual. Such a frame would be text intensive and have little white space. A frame supporting a directed user will look more like a viewgraph, with ample white space and a regular layout.

Goal-directed users enter a help

180 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 326 on inquiry card.

You've got problems. Get an expert to help you. Get KnowledgeMan.

Why not dBASE II or 1-2-3? Because KnowledgeMan w jgives you the best of the data !▲ management and spread- f^ sheet worlds... and much more— integrated to manage information like no other package can.

Designed to be more **4%jp4 powerful and easier to g>^JJ use, KnowledgeMan has it all. Fast, efficient storage. Queries like IBM's SQL/DS. 3rd generation spreadsheet. Report writer. I/O screen manager. Statistics. Structured programming Ian- Aguage. Security. \,

IF" Introducing ,a=

KnowledgeMan

more—

ao The all-in* one °7E software package that

e. Queries screen

™r "Out-Thinks" .£

s. q m including

an the competition °ls;

KnowledgeMan Is: ■ Easy to get to know. Goes to work fast with easy-to-follow documentation. ■ Friendly and intelligent.

* ^T Interactive. English-like

r»l^l commands. Answers spurof-the-moment questions. ■ Organized. Keeps track of data in concise tabular form. ■ Efficient. Supports B ' tree 4-L»/^4- indexing and virtual fields. U ldl ■ Neat. Produces forms the way you want, on the screen or on the printer. Automatic editing and integrity checking. ■ Great with figures. Statistics, including means and standard devia>>* tions. Square roots, logarithms, trig II functions, random numbers, etc.

DO YOU NEED TO... dBASE I

Store and retrieve data?

■ Max fields per record 32

■ Max tables open at once 2

■ Max records per table 65.535

■ Query multiple tables with a single command

■ Dynamic sort of query output No

■ Multi-level control breaks No

Use a spreadsheet?

■ Rows by columns

■ Cell can extract data from independent tables No

■ Cell can be entire program No

Make screens, forms attractive?

■ Color, reverse video, blinking, half-intensity, bell. No

■ Form-at-a-time processing No

Safeguard data?

■ Passwords, data encryption

■ Field level read/write protection No

The information in this table is believed to be correct based upon vendor documentation but cannot be guaranteed.

256

1

2,048

No No

2048 x 256

No No

No No

No

KnowledgeMan

255

Unlimited

65,535

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

ORDER KnowledgeMan now—only I $500, the best value on the market. I

First releases are for the IBM PC, | Victor/Sirius, Altos. Call regarding I other environments. I

Handling & shipping: add $10 for U.S.. Canada.Mexico:$45 elsewhere. I Indiana residents add 5% sales tax. I VISA and MASTERCARD orders may I be placed by phone. Call (317) 463-2581 or see your local [ computer dealer lor a demo. J

4

Micro Data Base Systems, Inc.

KnowledgeMan is a Trademark of Micro Data Base Systems, Inc.: SQL/DS. PC of IBM; Victor/Sirius of Victor Business Systems . Altos of Altos Computer Systems, dBASE II of Ashton-Tate; 1-2-3 of Lotus Development Corp.

Send check or money order payable to: Micro Data Base Systems. Inc., P.O. Box 248 Lafayette, IN 47902, Attn: David Bartkus

Name

Add ress

City

_ State.

-Zip

Phone ( )

Operating System D PCOOS n MSDOS □ CP/M-86

Machine /disk format

n5W" IBM PC SS D5M" Victor/Sirius P!8" IBM 3740 SS-SD

172K RAM & 500K mass storage recommended n Check or money order enclosed (US. Currency)

□ MasterCard/VISA No

| Expiration Date_

_BankNo.(ifMC)_

Signature

□ Please send more information.

Circle 215 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 181

PERFORMANCE

QUALITY

SDSystems

RELIABILITY

The Choice of Systems Integrators Worldwide!

The features you need, the quality you demand, and field proven with over 50,000 S-100 boards sold since 1977. SDSystems quality board products now backed by a one year warranty.

IEEE 696/S-100 BUS

H

SBC 200 $315

ExpandoRAM III $650

n

3

Versa Floppy II $450

CPU Board

• Z80A Processor, 4 MHZ.

• Serial Port

• Parallel Port

• Includes Monitor - Prom

Memory Board

• 256K Dram

• 4 MHZ Operation

• Software Selectable Bank Switch

• Ideal for use with Banked CP/M Plus™

Disk Controller

• Control up to 4 Drives Simultaneously

• Single or Double Side

• Single or Double Density

• Includes CP/M Plus™ (V3.0) and BiOS

■ Buy the Complete SDSystems

! Three Board Set with CP/M Plus™

■ And SAVE

I

Price if Purchased Separately $1415

YOUR I

COST I

$1295°° |

SDSystems State-Of-The-Art S-100 Mainframe Enclosure

• 6 Slot Motherboard with folded bus architecture

• Power supply, reset, and on/off are integral to the motherboard

• Dual cooling fans

• Compact size approximately 4"X14"X17"

CP/M Plus™-High Performance Single User Operating System

• CP/M 2.2™ compatible-no modification

• When used with SDSystems 256K memory board speeds are up to 7 times faster than CP/M

2.2TM

• Support for 1 to 16 banks of RAM

• High performance file system

Obtain These and Other Fine SDSystems Products From:

S100

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14425 North 79th Street, Suite B

Scottsdale, Arizona 85260

TELEX 165025

Technical 602-991-7870

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FULL DEALER SUPPORT

Est 1977

Visit our Showroom, Hours Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm

CP/M 2.2 and CP/M Plus Trademarks of Digital Research, Inc.

182 July 19S3 © BYTE Publication! Inc

Circle 471 on Inquiry card.

frame thinking of their problem in terms of solution steps natural to them. They should emerge with potentially relevant actions directly supported by the application. These help frames serve to translate user subproblems into application actions. This implies that the frame should allow the user to quickly answer the following questions:

•Ballpark: Is this frame relavant? (Am I wasting my time reading it?) •Target: Assuming it's relevant, where is the information I need? •Action: Assuming I've found the information, what do I do next?

Assuming that users read text from left to right and top to bottom but can quickly scan text vertically if it is organized in a regular, visually predictable manner, we are led to frames that have a tabular layout. This layout presents user concepts vertically on the left in frequency-ofuse priority (if that is known or applicable) so that users can quickly answer the targetting question. Corresponding actions or further helps appear on the right, allowing the user to answer the action question. The purpose of the frame should be explicitly stated so that the user may quickly answer the ballpark question.

Conclusion

The concepts and structures underlying the Visi On interface are a synthesis of ideas from many sources, some theoretical, some applied, some tested, some previously untried. There are few proven methods in this technology, for this audience, and with our express goals. Based on our research and tests with sample users, we believe that Visi On will be all that we set out to achieve. The real test, though, will be in the marketplace with end users who are looking for a practical tool that gets the job done without getting in the way. We await their verdict. ■

About the Author

Dr. Woodmansee is a staff engineer at Visicorp Inc. (2895 Zanker Rd., San Jose, CA 95134). He is responsible for the development and application of applied human-engineering technology.

Circle 365 on Inquiry card. »

THE PRICE OF FAST WAS JUST SHATTERED!

■aw***

256Kbyte SemiDisk $99

For more than a year, we've been making the most advanced disk emulator available for microcomputers. The one that's taken the "waiting" out of computing. Now we have some more news that'll set the world on fire: A price cut! The NEW 256Kbyte board is only $995. And the 512Kbyte SemiDisks for the S-100 and TRS-80 Model II are $1495. (1Mbyte unit is $2350.) So, what are you waiting for?

The SemiDisk is the ORIGINAL single-board microcomputer disk emulator. It has a greater storage density than any other: 1 Mbyte per board! And we've been shipping them for over a year! We didn't do this with 'me too' engineering. Our products are true innovations, based on reliable technology and proven designs, without the need for custom components.

Floppies are ok for data transfer or long-term storage. But they fall far short as online storage. If you are using high level languages, spelling checkers, word processors, databases and other disk-intensive software, you know the price you are paying: time. Your productivity is going down the drain. The SemiDisk disk emulator will save time and increase your productivity.

Even better, Release 5.0 of the SemiDisk CP/M-80 installation software contains SemiSpool, an automatic printer buffer. No extra hardware is required; it's all in the software. Up to 8 Mbytes of buffer space! It's a better solution than a $350 64Kbyte printer buffer that wastes space on your desk. Send documents of almost any length to the printer at a very high speed, then continue using the computer immediately. No Waiting!

SemiDisk

It's the disk the others are trying to copy.

SemiDisk Systems, Inc.

P.O. Box GG Beaverton, OR 97075 (503) 642-3100

Call 503-646-5510 for CBBS "/NW, a SemiDisk-equipped computer bulletin board. SemiDisk trademark of SemiDisk Systems, Inc. Copyright 1983 SemiDisk Systems, Inc.

H(,in!i

-» - -T --* T

ml

iiiiiiif

■'Wt

A

\44-H\A I

» t | > 1 a

The Memory Board: I

.iiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiiii' 5245 to 256KB for $545.

:,,m?>M$m&

•■J

>

H

Mi''

WJWWj

■

MH

i~ ■- -

*.—._ -.—...

■

Mf

u ---.—•,. . ..

'I' \*!hW

The IDEAboard: 5

wiard. Memory up to ioSKIi Options include serial

Prices range from S320 for 64KB with I option to $695 lor 256KB with 3 options. All prices include RAMFLOPPY disk emulation software.

*

IT • It I t* . Hi 1

" MgMHjpj t> w « m

« M IH • MM MM MM Mia MM MM

\

MM MIM MM MM

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PWRiiiiii

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BMmMMMBBbjbj,

Jjy ~ /iT* *%jjk<jL«4'3S^Bt?!^y

BWIBIir ideas

from IDE for expand, n

yourffiMPC.

We think the IBM Personal Computer is the best on the market. That's why we've concentrated our efforts on making add-ons strictly for the IBM PC.

We have ideas that can make your IBM PC even better And more affordable.

Granted, those are ambitious goals. Goals that take quite a bit of imagination - and nerve - to reach.

And at IDE, we think we have the ideas it takes. Better Idea No. 1: Innovative products.

We're leaders, not followers. IDE was first with a Combination

Board for the IBM PC that includes a Winchester disk drive interface. On the board itself.

We were the first to let you cable both serial and parallel interfaces from the back of the board. Without any troublesome jury rigging, without wasting expansion slots, and with the unit's protective cover in place.

And the innovations don't stop there. Removable Winchester disk drives. Expandable memory boards. Printer spooler software. Disk emulation software. A broad array of products.. .with still more to come.

IDE Dealers: Alaska: VFM Electronics, Fairbanks o Arizona: Abbot Data Products, Glendale; Computer Emporium, Tucson a California: Q-Bits. Mountain View; M icroHelp, El Cajon; Stoneware Ltd., La Jolla; Precision Design Corp., San Diego u Connecticut: The Computer Establishment, Old Saybrook; MicroAge, Danbuty; American Business Computers, Groton; Creative Systems, E. Granby □ Iowa: ComputerLand, Des Moines d Kansas: CompuType, Manhattan o Massachusetts: Aiby Corporation, Cambridge; TEK Microsystems, Boston; MTS Microproducts, Arlington a Michigan: The Computer Workshop, Houghton; TransNational Corp., Troy o Minnesota: Computer Depot/Daytons Computer Centers, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Burnsville Centec Ridgedale, Rosedale, South dale o Nebraska: Computerland, Lincoln; ComputerLand, Omaha o New Hampshire: Software

itesA I - I '.

^M,

The IDEAdisk: Winchester disk drives, in-chassis or self-contained external

mount, fixed or removable cartridge. From $1450 to $2000.

Special offer: 10MB (5 + 5) external mount from $2600 to $3000.

IIIIKA

Sothrare Diskette

Memorv Diagnostic

| IDEAdisk

Clock/Calendar

|

Printer Spooler

|

RAMF10PPY

1 im-:.\

I Software Diskette

Memory Diagnostic

IDEAdisk

Clock/Calendar

Printer Spooler

■ '■:■■: \.■:■■..:!■ i..

RAMFLOPPY |X

■

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IDEAware:

RAMFI.OPPYdiski

Better Idea No. 2: One year warranty.

We believe in the quality of our products. We buy only bumt-in components; we do extensive burn-in ourselves; and we customize final testing to match customers' configurations.

That's why we offer a full year warranty with all IDE products. 365 days. Not 90.

And we bacR it up with full software support and diagnostics, including software updates as necessary. Better Idea No. 3: Unique upgrade policy.

When you buy any IDE product, you buy only the options you want. So you never have to pay for something you don't need.

Then you can add extras as you need them.

Take our boards, for example. For one year, you can trade up a board for one with more memory and/or options for the price differential plus $25. In fact, you can trade up any IDE product for anything else in our product line the same way.

And that's unique. Better Idea No. 4: Service that really delivers.

Our products are available through IDE dealers and representatives around the country. And our network is growing quickly

We offer free installation in the metropolitan areas listed below, and our retailers will install any of our products for you right in the store.

If you'd rather do it yourself, we provide every IDE product

Designs, Deny a New York: Future Data, Oppenheimer Software, N.Y.C; Yankee Computer Services, Putnam Valley

U-Compute, Toledo □ South Carolina: Berry's Office Automation, Lugoff a Texas: MicroSpec, Video Station, Piano;

Reston □ Washington: COMCO, Seattle

IDE Representatives: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles. International Distributors: Austria, Switzerland, West Germany: Computer 2000 GmbH . Munich

Q Israel: O.D.C. Systems, Natanya.

Circle 197 on inquiry card.

with all the.-:: imentati n m n dtoperformtl ■ nstallation

yourself. In minutes.

Better Idea No. 5: High value; low price.

Since our products are made strictly for the IBM PC, we can concentrate our efforts. Run our company more efficiently And keep costs down.

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Voice Lab

Part 1: A System for Digital Speech Synthesis and Analysis

Several modular routines are useful for application programming and experimentation.

Your new home video game rasps playing instructions to you when you make a mistake. Your new car audibly reminds you to buckle your seat belt and check the oil. And in your office building, the elevator politely announces its arrival at your floor.

Digital speech synthesis has made it possible for commonplace mechanisms to possess surprising powers of expression, and advancing technology is making speech synthesis practical at lower and lower prices. Machine recognition of speech is progressing much more slowly, but it is making a first appearance in a few applications where it's cost-effective.

Speech synthesis has also shown up in personal computers, but the synthesis schemes in common use have limitations (in expense, vocabulary, or intelligibility) that have restricted their use. However, any personal computer equipped an analog-todigital (A/D) converter and a digitalto-analog (D/A) converter would theoretically be capable of both

by John E. Hoot

speech synthesis and recognition, if only it had the necessary software.

A practical, reliable, and affordable method for computers to recognize and synthes'ize speech would yield at least these three benefits to computer users:

Maximum user-friendliness: Speech is our most natural mode of communication.

Economy: Speech interaction could eventually become the least expensive way to communicate with a computer. The components of today's most common user/computer interface—a video monitor and keyboard—cost several hundred dollars, while a loudspeaker and microphone cost only a few dollars. Given the decreasing price of electronic sophistication, a future generation of portable computers may be speech-oriented.

New applications: Speech interaction does not interfere with most human activities, especially those that require use of the hands; there

fore, speech interaction could allow computers to be used for tasks that are now impractical.

But despite the potential benefits of computer speech, the problems it poses are not simple.

Most personal computer systems can now be equipped with analog-todigital and digital-to-analog converters. The A/D converter allows the computer to detect the continuously varying electrical signals that represent (form an analog of) a sound and store them as a series of binary numbers. Conversely, the D/A converter takes a series of numbers stored in the computer and produces analog electrical signals, which can be fed into a loudspeaker to produce sound. Numerous articles have been written by other authors to explain how these devices work and how to add them to your computer, so I won't treat them in any detail here (see references 2 and 8).

Nevertheless, programs to use A/D

186 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

VOICE MESSAGES

ANALOG

I/O

DIGITAL FILTER

SPEECH BUFFER

SPEECH ANALYSIS

h

VOICE DICTIONARY

Figure 1: The main program, Voice Lab, uses a set of p-System units that aid in the creation and maintenance of a vocabulary and provide signal-analysis and signalmodification functions to investigate the structure and content of digitized speech. The program units are designed so that they not only serve Voice Lab but can provide synthesized speech output from virtually any program running under the p-System. Data flows between the units according to a fixed scheme.

and D/A converters for speech interaction or even for mere speech research are lacking for most computers. For my own purposes, I set out to design an integrated, yet modular, system of hardware and software that would do two things: allow me to use my present application programs with speech output and permit me to perform speech analysis to study the potential for speech input.

The result of this effort is a collection of specialized program routines that are compiled as Pascal-language units in the UCSD (University of California, San Diego) p-System, which is supported by Softech Microsystems. These program units are used by a main program called Voice Lab, working together according to the relationship shown in the block diagram of figure 1.

(In UCSD Pascal, a unit is a collection of specialized procedures and/or functions that can be used as if they were explicitly declared within the program that uses them. Preprogrammed units, tailored to an application, extend the utility of the UCSD Pascal language without requiring that the language itself be extended. Units are usually compiled separately from the using program.)

Voice Lab serves as an interactive utility program, aiding in the creation and maintenance of a vocabulary and providing signal-analysis and modifi

Analog I/O Unit

services provided:

•analog output from the speech buffer •digitizing speech into the speech buffer

resources provided:

• 16K-byte speech buffer

• tempo-rate variable

Voice Dictionary Unit services provided:

•vocabulary word look-up •vocabulary word insertion •vocabulary word deletion •vocabulary word retrieval •dictionary erasure

Voice Messages Unit

services provided:

•word-to-speech output

• string-to-speech output

Voice Display Unit

services provided:

•zero-crossing counts and plots

• spectral-energy plots

• total speech-energy plots

• signal-level monitoring

Voice Filter Unit service provided:

• interactive linear digital filtering

Table 1: Summary of functions of Voice Lab units.

cation functions to investigate the structure and content of digitized speech. Furthermore, the program units are designed so that they can not only serve Voice Lab but also provide synthesized-speech output from virtually any program running under the p-System. They allow my computer to speak with a limited vocabulary and provide a set of tools for investigating computer speechgeneration and recognition.

Architecture of Voice Lab

Each function of Voice Lab is provided by a single unit; each unit contains all of the variables and structures necessary to provide its particular service. The interface sections of each unit contain only these necessary structures. Table 1 summarizes the services and resources provided by each unit in Voice Lab.

This design approach has several benefits. It's easy to change the way functions within Voice Lab are im

plemented. Recompilation time is minimized. Because units are always segmented, the program can be made more complex without increasing memory requirements; and the Voice Lab units can be easily reused in other projects.

Let's take a look at the individual units and their functions.

Analog I/O Unit

The Analog I/O (Analog IO) unit

of Voice Lab uses the computer's A/D converter to record snatches of sound, initially held in a sound buffer, as a sequence of numbers. The unit also performs the opposite function: it converts a sequence of numbers in the sound buffer into audible sounds using the D/A converter. These two processes are called speech encoding and decoding.

Of the units in Voice Lab, only the Analog I/O unit and the speechanalysis units are concerned with exactly how the speech sounds are en

July 1983 © BYTE Publication* Inc 187

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coded in the buffer. You can encode sounds in many ways, and different methods are appropriate in different applications.

Two principles are important in choosing an encoding scheme. First, the more you know about a sound before you start encoding it, the more compact you can make your encoding. Second, you should weigh computational complexity (encoding and decoding time) against the space required to store the sound.

To decide on how to represent sounds as numbers, I began by applying the first principle.

Speech is much like music played from a complex instrument. It is composed of many different "notes" played simultaneously, interacting in complex ways. Furthermore, the voice is a tremendously versatile instrument. It can be as percussive as a snare drum at one moment or as melodious as a flute just a fraction of a second later.

The frequencies present in speech can range from 15 kilohertz (kHz) down to 10 hertz. And the signalstrength range of the human voice is as impressive as its frequency range. The ratio in volume between a shout and a quiet whisper is over 16,000 to 1. To detect every nuance of all the sounds in a voice, you would have to measure the sound signal over 30,000 times per second and store each measurement, using many bits of the computer's memory. Exactly capturing 1 second of such speech with certainty would require more user memory than my computer contains. Even a floppy disk would hold only 4 to 5 seconds of sound, and the data-transfer rate could not keep up.

Fortunately, it isn't necessary to reproduce speech sounds with that much precision for them to be acceptable and understandable. Voice telephone systems, for instance, are restricted to transmitting voice sounds from 30 Hz to 3 kHz, with volume ratios of less than 1000 to 1. True, people's voices do not sound the same on the phone as in person, but it's usually easy to recognize a familiar voice over the phone, and the speech is easily understood.

What constitutes acceptable speech

188 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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'"-MANUFACTURER'S TRADEMARK

Sample

PCM

DPCM

DPCM

DPCM

ADPCM

ADPCM

ADPCM

ADPCM

Time

Wave

Wave

Delta

Error

Wave

Sign

Delta

Error

1

100

100

0

0

100

4

0

2

160

160

32

u

108

8

52

3

192

192

16

0

124

16

68

4

208

208

-28

0

156

32

52

5

180

180

-63

0

220

64

-40

6

71

117

-63

-46

92

-1

128

-21

7

27

54

-31

-27

28

-1

64

-1

8

23

23

37

0

-100

-1

128

123

9

60

60

63

0

156

256

-96

10

181

123

63

58

284

128

-103

11

210

186

21

24

28

_ -|

256

182

12

207

207

-27

0

156

128

51

13

180

180

-61

0

220

64

-40

14

119

119

-49

0

92

-1

128

27

15

70

70

-12

0

28

-1

64

42

16

58

58

-19

0

156

128

-98

17

39

39

-11

0

92

-1

64

-53

18

28

28

11

0

60

-1

32

-32

19

39

39

24

0

-4

-1

64

43

20

63

63

60

0

124

128

-61

21

123

123

54

0

60

_ -|

64

63

22

177

177

23

0

92

32

85

23

200

200

-2

0

108

16

92

24

198

198

-17

0

140

32

58

25

181

181

-62

0

204

64

-23

26

119

119

-19

0

76

-1

128

43

27

100

100

0

0

140

64

-40

Table 2: Comparison of time-domain speech encodings. The "Wave" columns refer to the values of the reproduced waveforms.

quality is a subjective judgment on the part of the listener. One factor I had to consider when picking a frequency range for Voice Lab is the voice pitch of the human speakers likely to be speaking into it. A lowpitched voice would need fewer samples than a high-pitched one. If you want to use Voice Lab, you should experiment with different sampling values. I have been satisfied with limiting Voice Lab to speech sounds from 50 Hz to 2.5 kHz, with volume ratios of less than 256 to 1.

As I have constructed it, the Analog I/O unit encodes speech by sampling the input sound signal 5000 times every second and converting its amplitude into a number from 0 to 255. A burst of speech is represented in Analog I/O as a vector of these samples. The exact method of converting the sound to numbers will be discussed shortly. However they are encoded, the numbers are translated

back to a sound wave when Analog I/O writes out successive samples each 1/5000 second to a D/A converter and thence through an audio amplifier and into a loudspeaker. A 16K-byte speech buffer will hold about 3 seconds of speech; depending on how quickly you speak and on what you say, this is between 3 and 10 words.

Methods for encoding speech fall into two broad categories: frequencydomain and time-domain approaches.

Time-Domain Encoding

Time-domain encoding methods seek to measure and record the amplitudes of the sound waveforms, which vary in time, and to reconstruct the speech waveforms from their recorded history. The three most popular techniques of timedomain encoding are pulse-code modulation (PCM), differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM), and

adaptive differential pulse-code modulation (ADPCM). All of these measure the exact amplitude of the speech waveform frequently enough so that when it is played back a reasonable facsimile of the original wave results. Table 2 shows a comparison of the encodings produced by the three methods.

The method of encoding speech I chose is pulse-code modulation. This technique requires no special knowledge about speech signals, except their bandwidth. It uses the most memory for a given amount of signal of the three techniques mentioned, but it is the simplest. In fact, virtually no computing at all is required beyond the storage and retrieval of the data. A speech sample before encoding by PCM is shown in figure 2a, while figure 2b shows the sample afterward.

The other methods do have advantages in efficiency of storage. DPCM

190 July 1983 © BYTE Publications he

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Figure 2a: Analog speech waveform fed as input to the analog-to-digital converter.

f\

SX

\f

Figure 2b: Speech waveform digitized by simple puke-code modulation.

r-TL

r^

Figure 2c: Speech waveform digitized by differential pulse-code modulation.

tJ

1 h

i/

Figure 2d: Speech waveform digitized by adaptive differential pulse-code modulation.

is a variation of PCM that utilizes the fact that speech signals are not random but are closely related to sinusoidal functions. Thus, at each successive sample time the signal value is not random; rather, it is likely to be relatively close to its preceding value. DPCM, therefore, stores a value indicating the change from the last recorded sample rather than a value representing the sample itself.

The example in figure 2c shows the effect of DPCM encoding: a waveform stored and reproduced using only 7 bits (sign bit plus a 6-bit delta [change] value). Notice that the amount of space required to store the signal has been reduced by 12 percent, but no significant errors have

been introduced. DPCM does suffer from the defect that the errors, the differences between the input and reproduced values, tend to become large when the signal is varying quickly and when the rate of signal change exceeds the rate that can be represented by the number of bits reserved for the delta value. (This condition is called slope overloading.)

ADPCM is a further development that cures this defect of DPCM. Optimized for speech storage, ADPCM offers better compliance with the input waveform and better intelligibility of the reproduced voice signal at lower data rates (see reference 3).

In ADPCM, each sample of the signal is encoded by a complex process

that includes these steps: a PCMvalue differential dn is calculated by subtracting the previous PCM-code value from the current value; the quantization value An (delta-n) is obtained by multiplying the previous quantization value times a coefficient times the absolute value of the previous PCM-code value; the PCMvalue differential is then expressed in terms of the quantization value and is encoded in a small number of bits, sometimes as few as three.

As the rate of change in the signal increases, An grows to track the more rapid changes. As the rate of change becomes smaller, An becomes smaller and tracks only the subtle changes.

The comparison in table 2 shows large errors for ADPCM encoding, but this is not indicative of actual results achievable in a system set up specifically for ADPCM: typically the sampling rate is two to four times what PCM or DPCM encodings might use, but the storage required is still only 25 to 50 percent of that needed by PCM, with comparable sampling errors. One further problem: ADPCM is characterized by high-frequency error noise that must be filtered out to produce acceptablequality speech reproduction.

Frequency-Domain Encoding

Frequency-based approaches seek to measure the frequencies present in a voice waveform and how they vary through time in distribution and in amplitude. Typically, if three or four dominant pitches are recorded, acceptable speech can be reproduced. The most popular of the frequencybased approaches is linear-predictive coding (LPC), which is used in the Texas Instruments Speak & Spell toy.

LPC is one of the most compact encodings; using LPC, only about 300 bytes are required to store one second of speech. However, in agreement with the second principle of speech storage mentioned above, the price in computational complexity for LPC is prohibitive in small-scale use. Converting a few seconds of PCM speech to LPC can take several minutes on a large computer, and converting LPC back to PCM is equally complex without the aid of a dedicated VLSI

192 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 193

(very-large-scale integrated) circuit. But recent information coming from semiconductor manufacturers indicates that custom LPC encoders may soon be available. These should revolutionize computer speech technology.

Rationale for Choice

Having ruled out LPC, during the development of Voice Lab I experimented with all three of the time-domain encodings I've mentioned. Finally, I settled on simple PCM because the analysis routines I planned to use require it. And because my primary use of Voice Lab was to be for speech analysis, I saw no point in using another encoding when the PCM encoding would have to be reconstructed before analysis could begin.

If you wish to use the Voice Lab units chiefly for speech synthesis, and storage is at a premium, I recommend using ADPCM encoding. (However, if you also want to do analysis, the routines for it must be modified.)

11

TWO

2000

2

TO

2000

3

TOO

2000

4

THREE

2300

5

FOUR

1500

6

FOR

1500

7

FIVE

1500

8

SIX

2800

9

SEVEN

2000

Table 3: Partial vocabulary-directory listing produced by the Directory option. The current vocabulary is displayed in three columns: the lefthand column contains an index to the vocabulary word, the middle column contains the word, and the right-hand column displays the size in bytes of the encoded speech segment stored for that word.

Don't be discouraged from experimenting with other speech-encoding techniques. Only the digital-filtering and analysis units in Voice Lab assume that data in the speech buffer will be PCM-encoded. The speech-recording and speech-synthesis func

tions of Voice Lab will work well with any arbitrary encoding (including frequency-based approaches).

Voice Dictionary Unit

The Voice Dictionary (Voice Dictionary) unit provides all speechstorage and speech-retrieval services. Voice Dictionary places speech bursts, read from the speech buffer, into a dictionary keyed with an arbitrary string. It can then retrieve that speech burst, inserting it back into the speech buffer, when presented with the appropriate string. The unit also provides some dictionary-maintenance services to remove unwanted words, examine the vocabulary, and erase the entire dictionary.

Although the dictionary is the bookkeeper of sound and text for Voice Lab, it doesn't have any knowledge of the encoding to the speech buffer. It just manages a warehouse of sounds on the disk. This vocabulary database is contained in a file called VOICE.DICT kept on a disk. The typical retrieval

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1

one

won

2

two

too

to

3

three

4

four

for

fore

5

five

6

six

7

seven

8

eight

ate

9

nine

0

zero

A

B

be

bee

C

sea

see

D

E

F

G

H

I

eye

aye

J

K

L

M

N

O

oh

P

pea

Q

queue

R

are

hour

our

S

T

tee

tea

U

you

ewe

V

W

X

ex

Y

why

Z

again

and

&

at

@

cancel

check

down

equal

error

go

greater >

have

hi

high

in

is

it

less

<

minus

of

off

on

yes

no

know

over

/

percent

%

plus

+

please

ready

write

right

than

that

times

*

time

try

this

code

text

what

how

Table 4: Sample base vocabulary for use with Voice Lab.

time for a given task is determined by the disk latency of your particular computer. On my system, which has reasonably quick 8-inch drives, I find the speech-retrieval time quite satisfactory. With Winchester-technology hard disks or semiconductormemory disk emulators, response is nearly instantaneous.

As table 3 indicates, the dictionary is structured to handle homonyms: words that, while spelled differently and having different meanings, have the same sound when spoken. The words "two," "to," "too," and the numeral 2 are examples of a homonym set. Rather than repetitively storing speech samples for each of these in the database, the dictionary allows many words or strings of characters to cause the same digitized speech sample to be output.

The extent to which this tech

nique can be used is not always obvious. Sometimes you can use nearhomonyms, words that are not quite proper homonyms, with acceptable results, if you are willing to tolerate some mispronunciation. Examples of improper homonyms, which surprised me with their acceptability, are those in the group R, are, our, and hour and the pair M and am.

In my implementation of Voice Lab using PCM encoding, I find that a typical word requires between 1200 and 2500 bytes of storage. As such, a dictionary of minimum practical size (100 words) requires 350 blocks of disk storage in the p-System.

Voice Messages Unit

The Voice Messages (Voice msg)

unit is responsible for the conversion to speech of text represented by ASCII (American National Standard

Code for Information Interchange) characters. This process is called textto-speech synthesis.

There are two techniques commonly used in commercial equipment to synthesize speech from English text. In one approach, the sounds of each word that the computer can speak are recorded digitally and stored. When the computer reads the incoming ASCII character stream, it assembles the characters into whole words. It then looks up each word in the stored vocabulary list, and when it finds the word among those it "knows," it plays back the appropriate digital recording. The process is analogous to a person's learning to read by the "look-say" method (the learning method made famous by the "Sally, Dick, and Jane" reading primers of the early 1960s).

The second technique is called phoneme synthesis. In this approach, the ASCII character stream is analyzed and broken into groups of letters assumed to represent particular speech sounds within a word, the phonemes. Each phoneme is interpreted according to a set of rules and its corresponding sound is pronounced. Phoneme synthesis is similar to a person's learning to read by the phonics method.

Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. The stored-list approach takes more space to store the speech information, and there will always be words that cannot be found, regardless of the dictionary size. In such cases, the word must be spelled out or skipped entirely. On the other hand, words that are found in the stored list will always be correctly pronounced and accented, whereas the phonetic approach always takes a stab at pronouncing words, but often pronounces them wrong (although this occurs less than 5 percent of the time for good translators).

For the sake of simplicity, I adopted the stored-list approach. While this technique limits the size of the computer's speaking vocabulary, Voice Lab compensates for this by allowing the vocabulary to be easily tailored to a specific application context. My experience with application programs led me to conclude that the

196 July 19«3 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Figure 3a: The waveform for my utterance of the word "two" with no filtration. Corresponding to a plot of the function V(t) over time, where V(t) is the voltage of the incoming analog audio signal, it graphically depicts the sound-pressure variation at the microphone, over a 400-ms (millisecond) period while the word "two" is being spoken. This graph was produced on an Epson MX-70 dot-matrix printer and then reduced to about one third its original size.

-*"**?$

ij#M

Figure 3b: Utterance of the word "two" after the PCM samples have been processed by a low-pass digital filter.

vocabulary for a given set of application programs is fixed and rarely exceeds a couple of hundred words.

The Voice Messages unit has two entry points. One is for speaking a single word, and the other is for picking words out of a character string and pronouncing them. In the event that the list does not contain the word, Voice Messages attempts to spell the word aloud to the listener.

In designing Voice Lab, I assumed that the basic word list would contain at least all the letters and digits. If you don't put at least these entries in, the Voice Messages unit will display on the computer's video screen the character code it cannot find an entry for, followed by a question mark. (This is normally a debugging feature.)

Punctuation marks and special characters are isolated and treated like any other character string. Thus, the occurrence of " + " in the input can evoke the utterance "plus" from the computer. Punctuation marks that are not found in the stored list are

198 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

simply ignored, so that commas, semicolons, etc., do not clutter up the output. You can add entries of approximately 100 ms (milliseconds) of silence to the list for these symbols, thereby producing more lifelike spacing.

Table 4 contains the root vocabulary I have compiled over a period of time. When I begin to build a custom vocabulary for an application, I start with this basic list and add words and terms specific to my application.

Voice Display Unit

The Voice Display (Voice dsp)

unit contains an interactive utility routine that displays graphic information about the contents of the speech buffer. The information can be routed either to a printer or to the video display.

The program, as listed here, is configured to operate with an Epson MX-70 dot-matrix printer. Portions of the program that require modification to work with other popular graphics dot-matrix printers are commented on

in the source code. Variations of the unit have worked with both the C. Itoh Electronics Prowriter and the Epson MX-80.

Three different plots are available: speech-waveform reconstruction, energy and zero-crossing counts, and spectral energy.

Figures 3, 4, and 5 are samples of the output produced by the printer. Each of the plots provides a different insight concerning the speech.

Figure 3a shows the waveform for my utterance of the word "two." This corresponds to plotting the function V(t) over time, where V(f) is the voltage of the incoming analog audio signal. It graphically depicts the sound-pressure variation at the microphone, over a 400-ms period, while the word "two" is being spoken.

Notice that the beginning of the plot is characterized by very rapid and jagged signal activity. This is typical of speech sounds called fricatives, which are unvoiced (or voiceless) sounds, akin to whispers. The only sound is Text continued on page 202

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BYTE July 1983 201

Figure 4: Raw zero-crossing plot (4a) and filtered zero-crossing plot (4b) for the spoken phrase "one, two, three."

caused by air being expelled; the larynx or voice box is relaxed. These sounds do not have much power, and the waveform is of low amplitude. However, they do carry a lot of information about what is being said.

After the fricative "t," the waveform amplitude for "two" grows large. So large, in fact, that the top and bottom of the waveform are outside the range of my A/D converter, so that the top and bottom of the waves are cut off. This phenomenon is called clipping. Too much clipping badly distorts a speech signal, but a little clipping of large signals does not affect speech intelligibility too much. Signal plotting in Voice Lab can help you adjust the amplitude of your input signal so that it just barely clips; this is the optimal signal level. The center of the signal plot for "two" shows the start of the "oo" sound. Then the signal gradually decays as the exhalation of air ceases.

Not all the information in the waveform for a spoken word is useful for recognizing or classifying the word. Different utterances of the same word, even by the same individual, will have different duration, stress, and pitch. Furthermore, a waveform offers so much information that processing becomes computationally prohibitive. For that reason, two other featureextraction plots are generated by Voice Lab. These have the potential of reducing the amount of information presented, while retaining the information allowing words to be distinguished.

The first of these plots totals the speech energy and zero crossings on the same time axis. Figure 4 shows these for the utterance "one, two, three."

The energy plot E(i) versus i is an approximation for the following computation:

I = ix50+ 100

E(i) =

100

L

V, - 128

This function yields a result close to the instantaneous peak energy of

(4a)

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the waveform. As noted in the previous section, a high energy level is usually a sign of voiced speech.

The zero-crossing count is a good approximation of the average of the two dominant frequencies in a speech segment. These frequencies are called formant frequencies. The approximation is valid only during voiced speech. While fricatives are being sounded, the zero-crossing count becomes very high and represents another useful way to separate voiced speech from unvoiced speech.

The formula below shows how the zero-crossing count ZC(f) is computed:

ZC(i)

t m i x 50 +

if V,-, X V, < then 1 else 0

Looking at the energy and zerocrossing counts for the word "two" in figure 4a, you can see how the word starts with the fricative sound "t," which is followed by a strong, voiced "oo." The "oo" linearly decays in amplitude as the pitch gradually grows lower.

The jump in zero crossings at the end of the waveform results from the noise caused by the cooling fan in my computer becoming the dominant sound as the speech dies away. A quieter computer would eliminate these zero-crossing jumps at the end of all the words. (I have verified this by tape-recording speech segments while the computer is off and playing them back into the machine.) The plotting algorithm compensates for this problem by squelching the zero-crossing display until a minimum of sound energy is present. If this were not done, the zero-crossing plot would vary randomly during periods of relative silence.

In addition to the waveform-function and zero-crossing plots, the spectral energy of the speech waveform

Figure 5: Raw spectral-energy plot (5a) and filtered spectral-energy plot (5b) for "one, two, three." This kind of graph is similar in concept to a voiceprint but is obtained by a different method.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 203

can be plotted. This plot is the same as plotting E(z') where the incoming waveform has been filtered to accentuate the frequencies in a given octave. Rather than linearly plotting the amplitude in each octave, the program varies the thickness of the octave's time line. The darker the line, the more the frequencies in the octave are present. These plots are similar in meaning to voiceprints (see references 4 and 6), although they are computed using a different technique.

Voice Filtering Unit

The Voice Filtering unit

(Voice filter) is designed to allow

you to selectively enhance or attenuate frequencies within the speech sample through digital filtration. It's something like a digitally implemented graphic equalizer that you can use to select specific frequencies to study. Furthermore, you can run the results of filtering through the filter again and again to get as sharp a cutoff as you like.

Tune tip your LA36

The DS120 Terminal Controller makes your LA36 perform like a DEOriter® III.

The Datasouth DS120 gives your DECwriter® II the high speed printing and versatile performance features of the DECwriter® III at only a fraction of the cost. The DS120 is a plug compatible replacement for your LA36 logic board which can be installed in minutes. Standard features include:

• 165 cps bidirectional printing

• Horizontal & Vertical Tabs

• Page Length Selection

• 110-4800 baud operation

• 1000 character print buffer

• X-on, X-off protocol •Self Test

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• Top of Form

• Adjustable Margins

• Double wide characters

• Parity selection

• Optional APL character set

Over 5,000 DS120 units are now being used by customers ranging from the Fortune 500 to personal computing enthusiasts. In numerous installations, entire networks of terminals have been upgraded to take advantage of today's higher speed data communications services. LSI microprocessor electronics and strict quality control ensure dependable performance for years to come. When service is required, we will respond promptly and effectively. Best of all, we can deliver immediately through our nationwide network of distributors. Just give us a call for all the details.

data@@(A computer corporation

4216 Stuart Andrew Blvd. . Charlotte, North Carolina 28210* 704/523-8500

Digital filters can perform all the same functions that linear filters perform on analog signals. Furthermore, digital filters can do tricks that analog filters cannot (see references 7 and 11).

The Voice Filter unit allows you to construct a digital filter of up to five stages of the form:

At = /Co X Vt-nO T* rC, X V,.nl +

k2 X V,-„2 +

k3 X V,.„3 + k4 X V,-„4 +

h X V,.„5

Filtration is applied serially to the contents of the speech buffer from start to end. The best way to understand the effect of such a filtering operation is to set all the coefficients k2 through ks to 0, and by taking the specific example below:

X, = 0.5 X v, + 0.5 X u,+1

When this operation is performed on a speech segment where the signal is changing very slowly relative to the sampling rate (a low-frequency signal), then for most adjacent sample pairs vt = u(+1.

So taking the average of these signal samples does not change the waveform at all. For rapidly varying signals, this computation will tend to smooth out rapid changes by making them more gradual, thus filtering out high frequencies. Figures 3a, 4a, and 5a show the structure of the previously described examples prior to digital filtering. Figures 3b, 4b, and 5b show the effect of passing these examples through the above digital filter three times (the equivalent of a three-stage analog low-pass filter).

In figure 3, observe how the rapidly changing signals have been considerably smoothed by the filter, while the lower-pitched voiced portions of the waveform are relatively unchanged. Accordingly, figure 4b shows a lower zero-crossing total, because the higher-frequency components in the speech have been reduced.

The digital filter in Voice Lab is capable of functions considerably more complex than simple low-pass

204 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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m

If it's a communications problem, we probably pioneered the solution.

filtering, but we don't have room here to consider them all.

To Be Continued

Indeed, there is no more room in this month's BYTE for me to continue at all. But next month, in part 2, 111 describe how the system actually operates.!

References

1. Anderson, James C. "An Extremely LowCost Computer Voice Response System." BYTE, February 1981, page 36.

2. Ciarcia, Steve. "Talk to Me! Add a Voice to Your Computer for $35." BYTE, June 1978, page 142.

3. Ciarcia, Steve. "Use ADPCM for Highly Intelligible Speech Synthesis." BYTE, June 1983, page 35.

4. Ciarcia, Steve. "Use Voiceprints to Analyze Speech." BYTE, March 1982, page 50.

5. Flanagan. J. L. Speech Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception, second revised edition. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1972.

6. Flanagan, J. L. "Voices of Men and Machines." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Volume 51, March 1972, page 1375.

7. Mazor, Stan. "Approaching Filtering Discretely." Computer Design, April 1982, page 159.

8. O'Haver, Tom. "Audio Processing with a Microcomputer." BYTE, June 1978, page 166.

9. Payne, Robert A. "A Voice for the Apple II Without Extra Hardware." BYTE, November 1981, page 499.

10. Schafer, Lawrence R. and Ronald W. Schafer. "Digital Representations of Speech Signals." Proceedings of the IEEE, Volume 63, April 1975, page 662.

11. 2920 Analog Signal Processor Design Handbook. Santa Clara, CA: Intel Corporation, 1980.

UCSD Pascal is a registered trademark of the Regents of the University of California. Use thereof in conjunction with any goods or services is authorized by specific license only, and any unauthorized use is contrary to the laws of the State of California.

p-System is a trademark of Softech Microsystems, Inc.

About the Author

John E. Hoot is president of Software & Systems Consulting (4181 Bryan St., Oceanside, CA 92056) and former manager of product software development for Softech Microsystems. His firm specializes in p-System adaptations, application development, and marketing.

206 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

'U" Your computer's telephone.

r vvj

Phil: Just got the word trom Gary Increased our share by 6%. if trend holds, well pass competition by third quarter!

A personal computer without communications, is tike a car without gasoline. It can't go anywhere.

It needs a special telephone (called a modem), to get you communicating with other computers. Across the city. Or the entire country.

Whether you're swapping programs with friends or club members. Working at home and sending reports to the office. Or taking advantage of a wealth of information from any of the networks or information utilities. Telecomputing gready expands the world of your personal computer

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ghone receiver a design feature lat makes it far superior to acoustic coupler modems.

Choose your speed, choose your price. Hayes Smartmodems are available at two different speeds and price levels. The lower-priced Smartmodem 300 is ideal for local data swaps and communicates at 300 bps.

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At Hayes, all of these "extras" are standard. We've built our reputation on superior quality. Excellent documentation. A limited two-year warranty. And a wide range of software support. Including our own hot-selling Smartcom II™ communications software for the IBM** PC, making Smartmodem 300 and 1200 even easier for you to use. See your computer dealer today for a demonstration. Then break out of isolation. Get a Hayes telephone for your computer Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc., 5923 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Norcross, Georgia 30092.404/449-8791.

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ING

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BYTE July 1983

Parallel I/O Ports for H-89 Computers

You can add 64 input/output ports plus a Centronics-type printer interface to your Heath-/Zenith-89 computer.

by Ronald La Claustra

About the only major failing of the Heath-/Zenith-89 computer is the unavailability of parallel input/output ports. This article describes a method of bringing the required data, address, and control lines out of the H-89 so you can add 64 I/O ports and an additional dedicated port for a Centronics-type printer.

Moreover, this example should serve as inspiration to other users of nonmainframe computers to work out similar circuits, perhaps ultimately yielding a new I/O port standard bus that would simplify design of accessory boards.

The interface circuit board plugs into one of the bus connectors on the left side of the processor board (see photo 1). The only alteration to this circuit board is the addition of a single wire lead. The needed control lines are taken from a Heath accessory board, which plugs into the right side of the processor board. The interface outputs are brought to the

Photo 1: The installed interface showing cable placement. Note that the cable connectors of PI and P2 do not connect to all the pins on the interface board because they were wired for an earlier version. Yours should fit in exact correspondence.

rear panel of the computer where they end in two D-type connectors. From one connector a cable leads to a new motherboard for the added ports. The printer cable attaches to the other connector. The entire project should cost less than $80.

The printer output must be controlled by a device-driver program that runs as part of the operating system (HDOS or CP/M). You can write your own driver or buy one.

Circuit Description

In the interface circuit diagramed in figure 1, data and address lines are buffered to prevent problems with the processor. The data lines are handled by a three-state bus transceiver, which buffers and controls the data switching (read in, write out). The control lines are buffered and inverted for further processing by the logic circuits. (Note: control-line names are capitalized, and an "L" at the end of the name means the line is true on a low pulse. Thus, BRDL means buffered read asserted low. Refer to Heath schematics.) Two input NAND gates derive new signals that control data direction and printer strobing. The clock pulses are inverted twice to return them to the correct phase.

The two separate bidirectional data buses must connect in an orderly fashion. Thus, the following method of controlling the external bus must be used. It's based on the particulars

210 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 211

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212 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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of the H-89's port usage and demonstrates what you should look out for in adapting the circuit to other computers. The H-89 uses port addresses for its internal workings. Parallelport usage must not interfere with these internal operations, so the internal ports must be isolated from the external ones.

Some simple circuitry handles this problem. Rl and the two diodes connected to address lines D6 and D7 form an OR gate. If the port address appearing on the bus contains either of these bits, the logic cuts off the control pulses (IOREAD, IOWRITE) going to the external bus and transceiver direction control pin, thus preventing the transceiver from switching direction at the wrong time.

If the processor wants data, say, from the disk-drive port, and the transceiver switches to allow a read of the external bus at the same time, two conflicting data words appear, causing the computer to crash or prevent it from bootstrap loading. This

condition would happen if the same read control signals employed on the processor board were used to directly control the transceiver. Limiting the response of the interface only to those port addresses reserved by Heath for the user (0 to 63 decimal, 0 to 77 octal) eliminates this problem by preventing the normal reading of internal I/O ports from crashing the machine. Thus, the OR gate detects the illegal addresses and enables only those ports that can be used safely.

There are two input lines from the external bus—WAITL and INTERRUPT!, (or INTL). A pulse on the INTL line causes the processor to jump to a specified address in memory where you have put a machinelanguage routine, which is then executed. Several interrupt priority levels are present in the H-89 hardware. Those available are levels 3, 4 and 5. However, they are not reserved by Heath and may be taken up by other accessories, so check your manuals before using them.

A pulse on the WAITL line keeps

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the clock pulses from running the Z80 microprocessor, thus freezing its current state to allow the Z80 to be used with slow I/O circuits such as certain memory ICs (integrated circuits). The I/O circuit would activate the WAITL line and hold it until it had finished accepting the data word. This wait state is no problem when static memory is used but could be catastrophic with the H-89's dynamic memory, which needs to be refreshed periodically to prevent loss of stored data. This refreshing is done by addressing each memory location at least once every 2 milliseconds (ms). The Z80 is responsible for refresh addressing, and if the WAITL line is activated, the Z80 stops dead. Therefore, the WAITL line can't be used with mechanical devices like printers. Use it only with circuits having write acceptance times much shorter than 2 ms. Both WAITL and INTL are sent through three-state buffers whose outputs connect to the processor only when their inputs are asserted.

The Printer Circuit

The printer output consists of an 8-bit data latch controlled by a negative pulse, which is also the strobe line for the printer. We use the same port address that Heath hardware has decoded as IOLPL, permitting access to the printer through the operating system in the usual way. (You can also use the other serial port addresses.)

The following description is based on a Centronics-type printer but applies to most other parallel types. The data going to the printer can arrive much faster than the printer can handle it; therefore, we need a way to tell the computer (through the device driver) to stop sending data while the printer is printing.

To send this message, the printer's BUSY signal line goes high while the printer is accepting and processing data. The BUSY line and up to three other inputs are brought into the H-89 along the printer cable and are then sent to three-state buffers. The outputs of these buffers are controlled by the LPRDL line, which is activated when the processor wants to read the printer status port. The outputs are

214 July 1983 © BYTE Publkationi Inc

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Photo 2: A close-up of the circuit board showing parts and jumper placement. Red dots show pin 1 on each IC.

sent directly to the processor bus, bypassing the transceiver because the printer address is not a legal address and thus the transceiver is not switched in the correct direction for a read. What those other three input lines contain depends on the requirements of your device-driver program.

The Device Driver

A device driver program is used by

your operating system to communicate with a peripheral device. The program is tailored to the requirements of that device. If you need to use the device the operating system calls the driver and passes all data to it, leaving the control particulars to the driver.

A basic driver program may correctly send data to, and control, the printer but may not be able to access

all of the printer's functions. I wanted easy access to all the modes of the Centronics 737 and so had to come up with a 737 driver. Not being a whiz at assembly language, I decided to use one offered by FBE Research (POB 68234, Seattle, WA 98168). It is written for HDOS (Heath disk operating system) and the H-89 printer adapter but can be used as is with the one presented here.

Along with the BUSY line on bit 7, the FBE driver needs the printer ONLINE signal on bit 6. All you need do then is send this signal through a three-state buffer and on to the processor bus just as with the BUSY line. The driver program checks the status of these bits and controls data transmission accordingly. If the driver you use needs any of the other printer status lines, handle them in the same way unless the driver uses interrupts, in which case you would connect the BUSY printer line to the appropriate interrupt line. CP/M users may have to modify the BIOS (basic input/output system).

Construction

Heath sells a wire-wrapping board (H-88-10) that can be used to build this circuit, but I chose to make an etched circuit board (see photo 2). If you want to make one, use the positive pattern shown in figure 2. Kits are available that let you chemically lift the pattern off the magazine page for use in exposing a photosensitized copper-clad board. Photo 2 serves as the parts mounting diagram. Red dots signify the loca

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216 July WW © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 473 on inquiry card.

tion of pin number 1 on the ICs.

Because the board is one-sided, it requires several jumpers: 18 on top and up to 4 on the rear. The rear jumpers are used in the printer input circuit (output of buffer to Heath bus) with wires going between the lettered points in photo 2. One end of each wire goes into a pad near IC7. The end that connects to the data bus is soldered to the same pad as the processor connector (see photo 3). Figure 1 shows the correct connections to use with the FBE program.

I could not find a source for the required processor bus connectors (right-angle female with 0.1-inch spacing) so I ordered both lengths, 10 and 25 pins, from Heath (part numbers 432-1074 and 432-1076). It is through these that the interface gets the data, address, ground, and + 5-volt (V) supply lines. The rest of the connectors on the project board also have 0.1-inch spacing but are male. The data, address, IOWRITE, IOREAD, 2.048-MHz CLOCK, WAITL, INTL, several ground, and unassigned lines form the new bus cable, which leaves the board through the large 28-pin connector, PI. Data, LPWRL (strobe), four input lines, and grounds leave through a right-angle connector (P2). Entering the board are IOLPL, BWRL, BRDL, 2.048-MHz CLOCK, WAITL, and INTL through the last cable assembly (P3). There are no connections to pins 1, 4, and 9. BIORQL comes in on a single pin (connector P4).

BIORQL is the line that must be directly tapped from the processor

Photo 3: How wires are to be connected when they go to the same pads as the bus connectors. Shown are the control signals being tapped off the serial interface board.

board. Remove the processor and, using a 9-inch piece of thin shielded cable, connect the inner lead to IC U509 pin 9 and the shield to pin 10. On the other end, cut back the outer insulation and shield, leaving out about 1 inch of the insulated center conductor. Strip Vi inch of this and solder it to a single female 0.1-inch connector and cover the connection with tape or heat-shrink tubing. Re

place the processor after running the cable underneath it.

To get the bus and printer lines out of the cabinet, use 23-inch ribbon cables with female 0.1-inch connectors on one end and female D connectors on the other. For the bus use a 25-pin D connector and for the printer, a 15-pin one. The pins on the interface board are numbered from the top down; follow this numbering

MAIL LIST SOFTWARE

a series of ready-to-use mail list programs arranged in a tutorial sequence that show how to write mail list software: Create random access data files, store on disk, recall, update, sort by zip code, sort in alphabetical order, list, print mail labels. Programs progress step-by-step from elementary file handling concepts and build to ready-to-use mail list software. Perfect for small businesses who want to customize their own software. Programs listed in the book in IBMpc BASICA; disks available for Apple and IBMpc.

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STRUCTURAL SOFTWARE

11 programs combining structural analysis with graphics: Create a 3D mesh interactively, rotate in 3 dimensions, store on disk. Then recall, do linear and non-linear 3D truss analysis, linear 3D frame analysis using the 'direct stiffness' method. Also do combined stress analysis, calculate geometric properties of beam cross-sections. Truss programs graphically display deformed shape of structure. All programs in BASIC fully documented with theory, equations, sample problems.

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TO ORDER: Send check on US bank, money order in US funds, VISA/MASTERCARD no with exp date to KERN PUBLICATIONS, PO Box 1029-BJ. Duxbury, MA 02332. Ad $2 per book 4th cl mail in US and Canada: $4 1 st cl or UPS in US: $4.50 1 st ol Canada: $1 2 air Europe and Central America: $18 elsewhere. For Inter delivery call (617)934-0445.

KERN

PUBLICATIONS

Circle 474 on inquiry card.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 217

Figure 2: Layout of etched circuit board. When exposing the board, place this artwork face up on the copper-clad side.

when wiring the bus D connector. In order to get the 28-pin bus out through a 25-pin D connector, do not connect ground wires 21, 24, or 28 to the D connector. Leave each loose and go to the next wire. When done take wire 21 and attach it to pin 3 along with wire 3. Twist wires 24 and 28 together and connect the result to pin 12, thus adding them to wire 12 and increasing the capacity of ground lines 3 and 12. When you wire the new bus board, leave a bus conductor free for each of these ground lines (that is, leave a space for them when you get to their number). The etched board has these conductors already grounded. You should end up with the lines in the order specified for Pi (see table 1). For the printer, wire the D connector as listed in table 2.

The 20-inch P3 cable has at one end a 9-pin female 0.1-inch connector, while the other ends are soldered to the same pads as the bus connectors on an accessory board (photo 3). This board can be either the cassette,

serial, or other interface; it occupies one of the two innermost connectors on the right side of the processor board. The far right connector is reserved for the 5-inch disk controller and lacks the IOLPL signal. If you don't have a suitable board or run into trouble, you can solder the leads of the cable directly to an extra 25-pin Heath bus connector.

The signals to be tapped off the 25-pin bus are, counting from the top pin, as follows: BRDL pin 6, BWRL 7, WAITL 8, IOLPL 11, 2.048-MHz clock 13, and (choose one or none) the interrupts: INT 3 pin 18, INT 4 pin 19, and INT 5 pin 20. Wire the cable to these points in the order specified for P3. At the 0.1-inch connector end, pins 1 and 9 are not used at this time, so you can leave them unwired. Also, skip pin 4.

Construction Tips

When mounting devices on the board, use sockets for the ICs. The capacitors serve to bypass the power

lines. If you're not using the etched board, put the Tantalum capacitor as close as possible to the 5-V input pin of the processor bus connector. (Depending on space, you may have to connect this capacitor to the rear of the board.) The 0.1-microfarad capacitors go near the individual IC pins.

When you connect the board, route the bus and printer cables over the processor and terminal panels to the rear (photo 1). Keep the jumper cable (P3) away from the horizontal output transformer to help prevent noise pickup from the transformer.

The unconnected pins may be used to carry other signals you may use in the future. You can also work with two unused buffers on IC3. The diodes must be fast switching types.

Exposure of GC brand presensitized boards is about seven minutes in direct sunlight through the single sheet of glass holding the positive art to the board. Keep the light perpendicular to the board's surface. Use

218 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc

boards made of epoxy glass. Wash assembled boards with flux remover.

The printer cable should be the round shielded type to reduce radiofrequency interference. You may have trouble, however, finding a printer-end connector that accepts this type of cable. I had to splice on a short piece of ribbon cable. Keep the length around 6 feet.

Suggestions

Early-production H-89s (without the external brightness control) have space on the rear panel for two D connectors in which you can mount the bus and printer connectors. However, if the connectors are occupied, I recommend you get the junction-box adapter from Heath. Heath's H-88-6 backplate modification kit gives you enough room to route your cables and mount the connectors (photo 4). The 25-pin D bus connector can go into one of the three serial I/O holes, and the printer connector can go out the hole marked "488" (use a metal strip to make up the space), or you can cut new holes. The kit also has a cable that brings out the floppy-disk bus and lets you add brightness control.

Because the processor board must be removed for installation of the P4 cable, you should also consider putting in the new ROM kit if yours is an older H-89. The H-88-7 replacement ROM kit enables you to use the H-47, add the last 16K bytes of memory for a maximum of 64K bytes, and use standard origin CP/M. The only problem is that you can't use the cassette interface board anymore; you must remove it to allow the H-89 to boot up. Use the alternatives stated above if you run into this problem. If you add the last 16K-byte expansion, leave an empty connector between it and the port interface board; otherwise, you may get interference on the video screen.

If you have the serial I/O board installed and you'll be using the parallel printer port, you must remove the serial ICs from the printer port address. On the two-port serial board, just move the chips down to the empty sockets on the board and use them at that port.

Pin

Function

1

unassigned from interface

2

reserved for board reset

3

main ground, interface return #1

4-11

data 0 to data 7

12

main ground, interface return #2

13-20

address 0 to address 7

21

bus ground

22

IOWR

23

IORD

24

bus ground

25

system clock, 2.048 MHz

26

WAIT L

27

INTL

28

bus ground

29

+ 5-V supply

30

+12-V supply

31

- 12-V supply

32-35

unassigned bus lines

36

reserved for 1.843-MHz clock

Table 1: Pin assignments for

• the H-/Z-89 parallel I/O system.

0.1-Inch Female

Signal

15-Pin D Female

Pin

Carried

Connector Pin

1

ground

11

2

DO

2

3

D1

3

4

D2

4

5

D3

5

6

D4

6

7

D5

7

8

D6

8

9

D7

15

10

STROBE L

1

11

BUSY IN

13

12

ONLINE IN

12

13

SPARE IN

10*

14

SPARE IN

14*

15

ground

11

Table 2: Wiring of connectors for the printer cable from the interface board to the rear panel of the H-89. (The output D connector arrangement corresponds to that of the Atari 850 parallel printer port except for those marked *, which are unused on the Atari.)

Try out

With everything connected, remove the CRT socket (to keep from burning out the video display if you have to switch the power repeatedly) and turn on the H-89. If you hear two beeps you're OK and can reconnect the video display. If not, you have a problem. Check for shorted connections in the cables as well as the circuit board. Also check the transceiver direction pin (pin 1) with an oscilloscope. There should be no activity on it unless you are reading a legal port.

Once you get the two beeps, boot up with a scratch copy BASIC disk. You can check operation of the new bus in BASIC programs with the INP and OUT port commands in FOR . . . NEXT loops. Count through all the port addresses, 0 through 255, and read them with the INP(X) statement. If you get through without crashing the computer, you're in business. To send a data byte to the new bus, use the OUT command, specifying which port is to receive it.

The printer section can be checked

July 19»3 © BYTE Publications Inc 219

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RAM Card $89

MICROPRO

(See CP/M Micropro)

VISICORP

Visicalc3.3 $189

Desktop/Plan II $219

Visiterm $90

Visidex $219

Visitrend/Visiplot $259

Visifile $219

Visischedule $259

PEACHTREE

G/L, A/R, A/P, PAY, (each). ... $224

PeachPack P40 $395

ACCOUNTING PLUS

G/L, AR, AR INV, (each) $385

OTHER GOODIES

Super-Text II $127

Data Factory $269

Mini Factory $269

DB Master $184

Versaform VS1 $350

IBM PC, 16 BIT 8;' DISPLAYWRITER

"WORD PROCESSING"

Wordstar $289

Spellstar $199

Mailmerge $199

Easywriter $314

Easyspeller $159

Select/Superspell $535

Write On $116

Spellguard $189

Textwriter III $189

Spellbinder $349

Final Word $270

"LANGUAGES & UTILITIES"

Crosstalk $174

Move-it $129

BSTAM or BSTMS $149

Pascal MT+ /86, SPP $679

CBasic 86 $294

Act 86 $157

Trans 86 $115

XLT86 $135

MBasic (MSDOS) $329

MBasic Compiler (MSDOS). . $329

Both $629

CBasic Compiler (MSDOS).. .$495

Cobol (MSDOS) $649

Pascal (MSDOS) $429

Fortran (MSDOS) $429

"C" (MSDOS) $429

CP/M 86 $239

OTHER GOODIES

Lotus 1-2-3 $329

SuperCalc $269

VisiCalc $219

Visiplot/trend $259

Visidex $219

Easyfiler $359

Mathemagic $95

dBase II Call 4??

Condor Q & R, Others Call

Statpak $449

Optimizer $174

Desktop Plan $259

FORMATS AVAILABLE.*

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Try to display this much data on any other

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Finally. A monitor that can display entire accounting spread sheets, business documents and more.

Quadscreen by Quadram. A high-resolution, big screen monitor for the IBM Personal Computer. Quadscreen's 17-inch monochrome screen displays 10,240 characters — more than five times the screen capacity of IBM's PC monitor.

Write in German, Chinese, Sanskrit, or. of course, English. With characters as large or small as you desire.

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Photo 4: The rear panel of an updated H-89, as fitted with parallel port bus connector (leftmost) and parallel printer output (small rightmost). Male D connectors have been used here but female ones would be better protected from accidental shorts.

in a similar way by sending ASCII (American National Standard Code for Information Interchange) characters out to Heath port 224 (decimal) with the statement OUT 224,13. (The 13 is the decimal equivalent of a line feed.) Then set up a FOR . . . NEXT loop that steps through the numbers between 32 and 126 (inclusive) to print the ASCII character set. For the H-89 don't use the OUT statement to a port address greater than 63 decimal unless you know what's out there— you could crash the machine.

If you have the device-driver program, you can call the line printer from your operating system. See your manual for the correct commands. Configure the FBE driver for port 340 octal.

The New I/O Bus

The new external bus leads to a motherboard with 36 parallel conductors and female 0.1-inch connectors mounted an inch apart (see photo 5 and figure 3). The ribbon cable attaches to pads at the left end, and supply power enters via the binding posts at the right end. Line 1 is at the top.

The ribbon cable connecting the computer to the motherboard should be a 3-foot-long 27-conductor one. Three feet is long enough to be convenient, while not so long that it

causes electrical problems. Why 27 conductors for a 25-line feed? Because we need to double up the ground lines to keep the signal return a lowimpedance path. Before you start wiring, prepare the ribbon cable as follows: separate the conductors at both ends of the cable for about 2 inches and then strip off Vt inch of the insulation. Then from one edge count in two conductors. The next two con

Thls interface will allow

you to use your H-89 to

experiment with

talking computers, music synthesis, remote

control, and more.

ductors (3 and 4) should be twisted together and soldered, thus making one double conductor. Proceed from the next conductor (5) to the 13th and 14th. Twist and solder these two in the same way. Do the same at the other end of the cable (being sure to count from the same reference edge), and your 27 conductor cable has been reduced to 25. You can now wire the D-25 connector and motherboard with the cable using the reference edge as line number 1, counting the paired conductors as a single line

Photo 5: The new port-bus assembly, fitted with female 0.1-inch bus connectors and 10-kilohm termination resistors. Insert circuit boards beginning with the connector farthest from the cable end. The separate power supply is not shown.

(remember to skip the "missing" motherboard ground lines).

If you don't plan to use the wait or interrupt functions (the usual case) you may want to leave these lines unconnected for safety—an erroneous pulse on either one could crash the machine. When you reach their pads on the motherboard, tape them back to the cable. This way they remain accessible for when you need them.

Power for the accessories to be plugged into the bus must come from a separate supply circuit. Don't try bringing power lines out of the H-89. The common grounds, however, must be connected together. If you make the etched board, power connections from the center are ground, + 5 V, +12 V, -12 V. Twenty-eight 10-kilohm resistors serve to terminate the bus lines, reducing crosstalk between conductors and cleaning up the waveforms of the pulses. The yellow item under the ribbon cable is a 1-microfarad Mylar capacitor that serves to filter the +5-V line.

To use the new ports you just need circuitry to isolate the port address; then combine it and the IOREAD or IOWRITE signals to control data latching. For more detailed instruction in this technique see Steve Ciarcia's article "I/O Expansion for the Radio Shack TRS-80, Part 1: Principles of Parallel Ports" (May 1980,

July 1963 © BYTE Publication Inc 223

Figure 3: Layout of the bus board. When exposing, the "scoops" in the ground perimeter are at the top, and the power supply pads are on the left. Large pads in the corners are for mounting-screw holes. The lead holes in some lower pads have been blocked out; open these with a pin on transparency before exposing.

page 22). This circuitry plugs into the motherboard. The data lines can then be led off by cable or can stay on the board and go to other circuitry (digital-to-analog converters, etc.). Keep in mind the fanout limits of the interface buffers when you connect circuitry to the new bus.

Conclusion

In short, this interface can save you money in dispensing with serial conversion when adding a printer, give you a wider choice in printers, and let you experiment with talking computers, music synthesis, analog-todigital and digital-to-analog con

verters, remote control, and all the other functions you thought you couldn't do with your all-in-one H-89.B

About the Author

Ronald La Claustra (882 57th St., Brooklyn, NY 11220) is an electronics technician currently working with microcomputers.

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THE

The Microtext module isa program pack containing not only firmware but a second serial port so that both your printer and modem can be connected at the same time. Microtext can be configured for any serial printer that will work with the Color Computer, even if it requires line feeds! But even if you don't have a printer, you can keep a permanent copy of your data by storing to cassette tape. Also, any Radio Shack/Centronicscompatible parallel printer may be used by adding the Micro Works' P180C parallel interface.

For those of you with special terminal applications, Microtext has selectable parity; it sends odd, even, mark or space. With mark parity (which is default) you can send to computers requiring either seven or eight bits. All 128 ASCII codes can be sent. Exchange programs with other Color Computer users! Basic programs may be downloaded from other computers or timesharing systems.

You'll find many uses for this versatile module! Available in ROMPACK, ready-to-use, for $59.95

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224 July ) 983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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This Programming professional deserves a lot more from his personal computer.

He's earned it. As a seasoned professional, he's learned to master some of the world's most advanced programming tools. Tools specially designed to meet the everyday demands of programming experts.

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Prior to the announcement of micro/ SPF™ development software, experienced programmers felt programming a personal computer was a lot like playing with a toy. You couldn't take it seriously.

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Programming experts can take advantage of skills they've spent years perfecting.

Now, for the first time, mainframe software is available for personal computers. SPF screens are fully reproduced in logical sequence and each screen is formatted identical to those found in the SPF system.

In addition, micro/SPF™ comes equipped with the same primary and line commands, tutorial messages and program editor (with program function keys) experienced programmers are used to.

Programming professionals who've spent years perfecting the art of writing sophisticated code deserve to work with state-of-the-art tools, not toys. Find out how micro/SPF™ can help you do workcompatible programming on your personal computer today!

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BYTE July 1983 225

Hardware Review

Bubble Memory for the Apple II

BUBDISK

by Peter Callamaras

Memory is a very important part of a computer. After the price, the question most people ask when they shop for a computer is how much memory the system has. For most small-business systems, and for the higher-priced personal computer systems available today, the starting size of the computer's main memory is usually 64K bytes, which is the limit for most 8-bit processors. Many of the newer systems can also be expanded up to 256K or 512K bytes of internal memory. Basically, the more RAM (random-access read/write memory), the better.

Many early Apple II owners can remember when the "standard" Apple came with a whopping 16K bytes of RAM, and the main storage system for programs and data was the cassette. Now, thanks to bank-switching techniques (which switch banks of memory into and out of the 64K-byte address space) and memory-management systems, the old 64K-byte limit has been effectively eliminated. Today, many hardware memory-expansion modules are available for the Apple, and they usually come in packages of 128K bytes or multiples thereof.

Coincidentally, the amount of data that can be stored

on a single Apple II floppy disk with the DOS (disk operating sytem) is just under 128K bytes. Looking at the size of memory available now and the amount of data on a disk, it seems obvious that if you have a 128K-byte memory card that stores information as a disk would, you can now work at RAM speeds on disk-based data. Because it can take several seconds to access a disk drive and then read or write data to or from the disk, the potential for reduced processing time is excellent. An expanded memory means you can do a lot more in less time.

Once the processing is finished, however, you have to write the final information to a disk if you wish to save it. If you lose power in the middle of a session, you also stand to lose all the data on the memory card because of the volatile nature of standard memory chips.

Oh well, you can't win them all, you say. WrongI Now you can have your cake and eat it too, thanks to the Apple II bubble-memory module from MPC Peripherals Corporation.

The BUBDISK, as it is called, is a 128K-byte memory

Photo 1: The BUBDISK for the Apple II. The large square chip is Intel's bubble-memory chip, which holds 128K bytes of nonvolatile data.

226 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

SORT, COMPRESS, and TRANSFORM dBASE If DATA FILES

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•Sort

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DBPlus™ is designed to free you from the chore of typing or memorizing a new language. In most cases all you have to do is move the cursor to the next menu item and press return!

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DBPlus™ can sort a data file up to 15 times faster than dBASE II™ on a single field; 32 fields may be sorted in a single pass and each additional field requires 1% more sorting time.

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The compressed file will save you transmission time and phone costs when you send a data file over a modem.

Making backup copies of large data files can use up many floppy disks. Compressed files will save you space in archival storage.

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You can now modify the structure of any data file by adding, deleting, and modifying fields without any programming knowledge.

DBPlus™ can also create a new file which is compatible with WordStar/MailMerge.™

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Manual and demo disk may be purchased separately.

Dealer and distributor inquiries invited!

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661 Massachusetts Avenue Arlington, Mass. 02174 (617) 641-1880

dBASE II is a registered trademark of AshtonTate, Inc.

WordStar/MailMerge is a registered trademark of MicroPro, Inc.

DBPlus is a registered trademark of HumanSoft

Available from: Software Distributors 1-800-421-0814 France: La Commande Electronique

5 Villa Des Entrepreneurs

75015 Paris, France

Tel: (11 577.31.82

Circle 188 on inquiry card.

Software Wholesalers 1-800-633-2552 Japan: JSE Infl

9FToyoBldg. 6-12-20 Jingmae Shibuya-ku Tokyo, Japan 150 Tel: (03) 486-7151 Available in popular formats (coming soon- IBM P.C.)

Germany: Markt & Technik

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8013 Haar bei Munich, West Germany

Tel: 089-4613-0

BYTE luly 1983 227

The intensity of Scrabble,*

the excitement of Boggle,"

the imagination of word search games...

WORD CHALLENGE

The Ultimate Word Game.

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Word Challenge. Only $39.95 at your computer dealer. For Mastercard and Visa orders, call tollfree, 1-800-323-0023 In Florida, call collect, 305/566-3511. Or complete the coupon and send check or M.O to: Word Challenge, Proximity Software, 3511 N.E. 22nd Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33308.

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Check appropriate box.

□ Apple II, II Plus or II Plus E (min 48k) w/disk

D IBM Personal Computer (min 64k) w/disk

D Osborne I (min 64k) w/disk

Name

Address City

State

Zip

Apple IBM and Osborne are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc . International Business Machines Corp and OsDorne Computer Corp respectively Boggle and Scrabble are registered trademarks of Parker Brothers Division of

CPG Products Corporation and Selchow and Richter. respectively BY783

At a Glance

Name

Hardware Required

BUBDISK Apple II bubble

Apple II or II Plus with Apple

memory module

33 DOS floppy disk

Manufacturer

Capability

MPC Peripherals Corporation

Stores 128K bytes of data;

9424 Chesapeake Dr.

accesses disk data at RAM

San Diego, CA 92123

speeds; works with Pascal or

[619) 278-0630

Apple 3.3 DOS

Price

Documentation

S895

14-page manual with 4-page

Pascal supplement

Hardware

Intel 71 10-4 bubble; 128K

Warranty

bytes capacity; 32-track

Two years for parts and

equivalent; mean access

labor

time: 40 ms; data rate: I2.5K

bytes per second

Audience

Any Apple owner wishing

Software

to reduce waiting time

BUBDOS with Diversi-DOS

when using floppy disks

|DRS Inc.); BUBPAS [Pascal

version)

module designed to plug into the Apple II. The difference between the BUBDISK and other expansion boards is MPC's use of an Intel 7110-4 bubble-memory device (see photo 1). For those of you not familiar with bubble memory, one of its main attractions is its nonvolatility. If you turn off the computer or lose power, whatever was stored in bubble memory is not lost. You thus end up with an added measure of protection against disaster.

Installation of the BUBDISK is extremely simple. After turning off power to the Apple and opening the top of the computer, you must ground yourself by touching the power-supply case. You then remove the disk-controller card from its normal slot 6 position, put the controller in slot 5, and plug the BUBDISK card into slot 6 of the Apple. Just button up the Apple and you are done.

To check everything out, when you turn on the Apple you should hear a few clicks from the speaker and the BUBDISK greeting should appear on the screen. If you don't get the BUBDISK greeting, simply insert the BUBDOS disk into your standard disk drive, boot the disk from slot 5, and initialize the BUBDISK in slot 6. The DOS on MPC's BUBDOS disk is a patched version of the standard Apple 3.3 DOS. In fact, the BUBDOS is actually a version of Diversi-DOS from DSR Inc., which operates faster than the Apple 3.3 DOS.

After you have the BUBDISK up and running, you have a real treat in store. You can use the Copy program on the Apple System Master to copy a whole floppy disk into bubble memory from the drive in slot 5 (or just move over selected files with the FID program). Then run your application program. You will not believe the difference in speed I You have a data-transfer rate of 12.5K bytes per second.

To see how much difference the BUBDISK makes, I tried several representative programs Apple users might

228 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 338 on inquiry card.

System Saver

The most important peripheral for your Apple n and lie.

HI"1!!! ■Hiiilli

I

For Line Surge Suppression

The SYSTEM SAVER provides essential protection to hardware and data from dangerous power surges and spikes.

^v*IF

T

SYSTEM SAVER APPLE II

J

By connecting the Apple II power input through the SYSTEM SAVER, power is controlled in two ways: 1) Dangerous voltage spikes are clipped off at a safe 130 Volts RMS/175 Volts dc level. 2) High frequency noise is smoothed out before reaching the Apple H A PI type filter attenuates common mode noise signals by a minimum of 30 dB from 600 khz to 20 mhz, with a maximum attenuation of 50 dB.

For Cooling

As soon as you add 80 columns or more memory to your Apple II you need SYSTEM SAVER.

Today's advanced peripheral cards generate more heat. In addition, the cards block any natural air flow through the Apple II creating high temperature conditions that substantially reduce the life of the cards and the computer itself.

For Operating Efficiency

SYSTEM SAVER contains two switched power outlets. As shown in the diagram, the SYSTEM SAVER efficiently organizes your system so that one convenient, front mounted power switch controls SYSTEM SAVER, Apple H, monitor and printer.

Available in 220/240 Volt. 50 Hz

SYSTEM SAVER provides correct cooling. An efficient, quiet fan draws fresh air across the mother board, over the power supply and out the side ventilation slots.

The heavy duty switch has a pilot light to alert when system is on.You'll never use the Apple power switch again!

Easy Installation

Just clips on. No mounting or hardware required. Color matched to Apple n.

PATENT PENDING

Compatible with Apple Stand

$89.95 at your local dealer or order direct by phone or mail.

For phone or mail orders include $2.50 for handling. New York State residents add sales tax. VISA and MASTERCARD accepted. Dealer inquiries invited. Circle 228 on inquiry card.

Kensington Microware Ltd.

919 Third Avenue, New York NY 10022

(212) 486-7707 Telex: 236200 KEN UR

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KENSINGTON MICROWARE

have. As an example, using the Home Accountant program from Continental Software, I was able to save 10 seconds on each read/write operation using the BUBDISK. The particular files I was using took slightly more than 18 seconds to read or write using a standard disk drive, but only 8 seconds with the BUBDISK. I found the same sort of time savings on all the programs I tried (programs will give different time savings depending on how many different files you have to move and their sizes). It was like going to a disk system from cassettes all over again.

In one case, a computer war game on disk took so long going back and forth reading various files during play that I almost hated the game because of the time required to play out one scenario. Using the BUBDISK, however, I found the game one of the most enjoyable of that type I have played. I no longer had to wait for the disk drive.

I found the time saved was consistently better than 50 percent—and in some cases more. Using the BUBDISK with Apple Pascal also gave similar time savings over the standard disk system. At the time this was written, I was unable to determine if and when CP/M programs would be compatible with the BUBDISK.

Another application for the BUBDISK is a "disk-less" Apple. For example, you can load the BUBDISK with BUBDOS, a word processor, and a communications program. Then you can disconnect the disk drive and use the Apple (with a small monitor and modem) as a fairly portable workstation.

I experienced only one problem area while using the BUBDISK, and it has nothing to do with this outstanding product. In many cases, I couldn't use this new tool because of the copy-protection measures used by manufacturers on their programs. These copy-protection measures made it impossible to read these programs into the BUBDISK. In several cases, I couldn't even read the data disk into bubble memory because the data disks were also modified as part of the copy protection. If for no other reason than to be able to use products like the MPC system, users should insist that their application programs not be copy protected.

Some minor notes. Because a standard Apple 3.3 DOS

disk holds 143K bytes, with DOS loaded on the first three tracks, and BUBDISK holds only 128K bytes, something has to be sacrificed. I never had any problems in this area, however. If I needed all the bubble memory for data, I deleted the DOS from the BUBDISK and used the DOS from a BUBDOS disk in the disk drive.

Additionally, because you are using Diversi-DOS, the DOS error messages are now just numbers rather than the more familiar messages. When you are using bubble memory, you get a clicking noise from the speaker when it is in use. If the sound bothers you, you can turn it off using two simple POKE commands.

Conclusions

I found the BUBDISK a pleasure to work with, and the time it saved was in all cases substantial. The DOS commands were also executed faster than with the standard Apple 3.3 DOS. The MPC system is simple and reliable. Automatic error-correction circuitry is built into the system. I didn't experience any data errors during the time I used the system. The board is a very well made piece of hardware. If you need to know whether the bubble is operating, you can look at the board; the board's LED (light-emitting diode) comes on when the bubble is being used. Some users may find the manuals provided with the system a little skimpy, but there really isn't much involved in operating the BUBDISK. Just act as if it were a standard disk drive and you should have no problems. It is also noteworthy that the BUBDISK comes with a two-year (parts and labor) warranty.

If you have ever been frustrated at having to wait while your Apple shuffled back and forth to a disk drive for data, you can eliminate those frustrations very quickly by using a BUBDISK.■

About the Author

Peter Callamaras, an officer in the Air Force, can be reached at AFIT/LS, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433. The recipient of degrees in computer technology and biological sciences, he is currently working on a master's degree in systems management. He has been interested in computers since 1966 and used to be the service department manager of a computer store.

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230 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Ire

Circle 458 on inquiry card.

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Hardware Review

Photo 1: The Commodore 64 and 1541 disk drive. Inset shows rear view of the 64. From left to right, the cartridge slot for game or program cartridges; channel selector and TV output connector; the direct audio and video connector; serial port for disk drives or a printer; cassette interface; and the user port for peripherals such as the VICmodem.

At first glance it's possible to mistake the Commodore 64 for its predecessor—externally the 64 looks like a tan VIC-20. But the similarities stop with the case design and keyboard layout (see photo 1). The 64 is a completely different machine. It has features, such as sprite graphics and high-quality sound, not to be found on the VIC-20. A full-featured and versatile machine, the 64 retails for $595. At that price it promises to be one of the hottest contenders in the under-$1000 personal computer market.

by Stan Wszola

The Commodore 64 is based on MOS Technology's 6510 8-bit microprocessor, which uses the same instruction set as the 6502 (the heart of the VIC-20), but which includes eight additional input/output (I/O) lines used in the 64 for memory management; they control bank switching between the internal ROM, an external ROM cartridge, or an I/O device, which allows any of these to appear to occupy a certain portion of the processor's address space. This bank switching gives the 64 a total of 84K bytes of memory: 20K bytes of read

only memory (ROM) and 64K bytes of random-access read/write memory (RAM). BASIC programs can access 39K bytes of RAM; machine-language programs (figure 1) can access 52K bytes of RAM.

The 64 can be expanded in a variety of ways. At the back of the case is a slot for program or game cartridges (see photo 1 inset). On the right side are two ports for joysticks or game paddles and a socket to plug in the outboard power supply. The 64 has a built-in RF (radio-frequency) modulator so you can use your TV as a video

232 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

monitor. All you have to do is make a simple connection to the antenna terminals; a switch on the computer lets you view the output on channel 3 or 4.

The 64 has connections for audio input and output and a connection that provides a composite video signal and direct audio for driving a video monitor. Also, the 64 contains a serial port for connecting a disk drive or printer, a cassette-recorder interface, and a user port for peripherals such as the VICmodem. It would be nice, however, if the 64 had real RS-232C and parallel printer ports so you could use someone else's peripherals. Even to load a cassette tape you must buy Commodore's cassette recorder.

The 6567 Video Interface Chip (also referred to as the VIC-II chip) controls graphics. It gives the Commodore 64 a 40-column by 25-line text display with 16 text colors and its own set of graphics characters. The chip can produce a 320- by 200-dot high-resolution display with up to 255 combinations of foreground and background colors and support up to eight sprites (movable object blocks) on the screen at one time.

The Commodore 64 has the 6581 Sound Interface Device (SID) chip, which produces music and sound effects covering a nine-octave range and generates three voices simultaneously. You can control all aspects of the sound generation via POKE instructions in BASIC. The volume, waveform, attack, decay, sustain, release, duration, and note selection are all under software control.

Such an inventory of standard features is impressive at $595 (some discount houses advertise it for as little as $399). As an added benefit, the 64 can run some PET software. And the optional Z80 CP/M cartridge gives you access to a potentially large base of well-established software that includes word-processing, electronicspreadsheet, and communications programs.

First Touch

Having worked with the original PET 2001 back in 1978 and experienced the limitations of its keyboard,

At a Glance

Name: Commodore 64

Data Storage

VIC-1530 Datassette audio-cassette

Manufacturer

recorder; VIC-1541 single-sided single

Commodore Business Machines Inc.

density floppy-disk drive

Computer Systems Division

The Meadows

Languages

487 Devon Park Rd.

Commodore BASIC V2 0

Wayne, PA 19087

Optional Z80 CP/M cartridge available

(215) 687-9750

Documentation

Price

Commodore 64 User's Guide, 167 pages

S595

Optional Programmer's Reference Guide,

487 pages

Dimensions

16 by 8 by 3 inches

Audience

Any computer buyer who wants an

Processor

introductory machine with BASIC, color

6510 |a 6502-compatible processor with 8

graphics, and sound

additional I/O lines)

Memory

20K bytes of ROM

64K bytes of RAM

I found it a pleasure to sit down at the Commodore 64. Its full-size 66-key keyboard includes four specialfunction user-programmable keys. The graphics characters and special functions that are accessible from the keyboard are displayed on the sides of the keys.

I have no trouble touch-typing on the Commodore 64. The layout differs only slightly from that of the Selectric. Fast typists will appreciate the type-ahead buffer that holds 10 keystrokes. Only the cursor, spacebar, and Insert/Delete keys repeat automatically when held down. A minor annoyance is that there are only two keys for cursor control. To move the cursor right or down, you simply press the appropriate keys but to move the cursor left or up you must press the Shift key in addition to the appropriate key. This is an awkward arrangement for those used to four separate cursor-control keys. In the graphics/text mode, pressing the shift key and any alphabetic key will give you the graphics character shown on the right side of the key. By pressing the Commodore key and an alphabetic key, you'll get the graphics character shown on the left side of the key. PET owners have long used this arrangement to produce graphics from within BASIC programs.

E000-FFFF

DOOO-DFFF CO00-CFFF

A000-BFFF 8000-9FFF

«000 - 7FFF 0000-3FFF

8K KERNEL ROM OR RAM

4K I/O OR RAM OR CHARACTER ROM

4K RAM

8K BASIC ROM OR RAM OR ROM PLUG-IN

8K RAM OR ROM PLUG-IN

16K RAM

16K RAM

Figure 1: Me modore 64. 1 figuration. Be BASIC may I ory, leaving t

mory map of the Com'his is the standard conth the Kernal ROM and >e switched out of mem4K bytes of RAM.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc 233

Memory Management

The 64 uses the 6510's eight additional I/O lines as a memory-mapped control port. The eight lines are treated as one memory location and reside at address 0001; address 0000 is a control register that determines the direction of data flow on the lines. By sending a 0 to the least significant bit (called bit 0) of address 0001, you can replace the BASIC ROM with RAM, a process known as bank switching. Sending a 0 to bit 1 of address 0001 eliminates the Kernal ROM that contains the 64's operating system.

Bank switching explains how the 64 can run CP/M. By using bank switching to replace the ROMs with RAM, the system is left with an uncluttered 64K bytes of memory into which you can load CP/M. Of course, this also gives you the opportunity to design your own operating system.

Graphics

The Commodore 64 provides a variety of graphics modes. You use the POKE command to enter values into the 47 control registers of the VIC-II chip to set the various graphics modes. Although using POKE commands makes for awkward programming, it allows for fast-action graphics in BASIC.

The VICTI chip is designed to access 16K bytes of memory, which means that, for example, it can be programmed to access the charactergenerator ROM or any 16K-byte bank in memory. By using POKE and PEEK instructions to enter values into port A of the 6526 Complex Interface Adapter Chip #2, you can control which bank of memory the VIC-II chip uses. This setup frees the 6510 microprocessor from the time-consuming work of controlling all the graphics and gives programmers a flexible tool to use in developing creative graphics.

When you first turn on the Commodore 64 it's in a graphics/text mode showing a 40-column by 25-line screen composed of two 256-character sets. Each character in the sets is made from an 8 by 8 matrix; the sets contain uppercase and lowercase letters, punctuation marks, graphics, and other special symbols and include

234 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Photo 2: Sample screen display showing the 16 colors available.

normal and reverse-video characters. The 40 by 25 display format was chosen because most Commodore 64s will be used with home television sets that have a limited bandwidth for graphics. (An 80-column by 24-line adapter, the Video Pak 80, is available from the Data 20 Corp., Suite B10, 23011 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653.)

The screen initially displays dark blue characters on a light blue background. By pressing one of the number keys and either the Control or Commodore key, you can change the display characters to any of 16 different colors (photo 2). The background and border colors can also be changed by using POKE commands. For example, POKE 53280,x and POKE 53281, y (where x and y are the color numbers) alter the border and background screen colors, respectively. Screen colors may be restored to the default values by pressing the Run/Stop and Restore keys simultaneously.

In standard character mode, each of the 1000 character positions on the standard screen has a corresponding byte in memory. This is known as a memory-mapped display. By using POKE commands, you can enter an 8-bit number into any of the character locations in memory; the Commodore 64's character-generating ROM will make the correct pattern of dots appear at the corresponding screen location.

You can create a custom character set by instructing the system to use a section of RAM in place of the character-generating ROM. Then, by turning dots on or off in the 8 by 8

matrix that represents a character image (actually an 8-byte block in memory) you can design your own character set for foreign languages and technical or scientific applications.

The 64's memory-mapped display lets you use bit-mapped graphics. In this mode, each dot on the screen may also be represented by a bit in memory. Because each character is composed of an 8-byte block, the bitmapping of the screen's 1000 blocks must contain 8000 bytes of memory, or 640,000 bits. Each of these bits can be turned on or off under program control.

The Commodore 64's high-resolution bit-mapped screen measures 320 dots horizontally by 200 dots vertically and gives you a choice of two colors for each 8- by 8-dot character block. A multicolor bit-mapped mode allows a choice of eight different colors for each block, but the resolution is reduced to 160 by 200 dots.

Sprites

Sprites, which are also referred to as movable object blocks, are similar to the player/missile graphics used on the Atari 400/800 computers. A sprite is a user-definable character composed of 24 horizontal by 21 vertical dots (photo 3). Sprites, which are generated and controlled by the VIC-II chip, can be sculpted into any shape, given any of 16 colors, combined with any other graphics mode, and made to move about the screen. As such they are ideal for use in arcade-type games. Independent of normal graphics, they can be used from within a BASIC program. Each sprite has its own 63-byte location in memory and its own position and color registers.

You can activate a sprite by entering a 1 for the appropriate bit in the sprite register of the VIC-II chip. You then program its shape, enter a value for its color, and set its position on the screen. You define each movement by providing a new set of Cartesian coordinates for its position.

You can enlarge a sprite to twice its original dimensions, but its resolution drops when it is expanded to the max

Text continued on page 239

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Micro Decision, MD1. MD2. and MD3 are trademarks of Morrow WordStar is a registered trademark of MicroPro, I LogiCalc is a trademark of Software Products International BASIC-80 ts a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation BAZIC is a registered trademark of Micro Mikes, Inc. Personal PEARL is a trademark of Relational Systems, Inc. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc.

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imum size of 12 by 21 dot pairs. The resolution also drops when you use the multicolor mode (up to four colors for each sprite).

Each sprite has a display priority. When sprites cross paths, one appears to pass behind the other. Sprite 1, for example, has a higher priority than sprite 6. If their positions intersect, sprite 1 appears to pass over sprite 6. This can give a three-dimensional effect for games and graphics (photo 4).

The VICTI chip can detect collisions between sprites or between sprites and background data—a handy feature for game designers. You can use PEEK commands to examine the sprite-to-sprite or sprite-todata collision registers in the VIC-II chip. Each sprite has a bit in this register; if that bit is a 1, that sprite is involved in a collision. The collisiondetection feature simplifies the programming required for interactive arcade-type games.

Sound and Music

The Commodore 64 gives you something rare in a microcomputer— good sound. It uses the 6581 SID chip, a true music synthesizer that has been interfaced to a computer. The quality of the sound has to be heard to be believed. At first, I had used, the 64 with a color television and was surprised to get good sound considering that the signal had been run through the RF modulator and then demodulated by the TV receiver. When I heard the monophonic direct audio output amplified by my stereo system, I was even more impressed.

Each of the SID's three voices can be programmed to sound like a different musical instrument; you have a choice of organ, piano, harpsichord, woodwind and brass instruments, and special sound effects. Because the sound generation is under direct program control, you can custom design a sound to your liking.

Separate tone and envelope generators on the SID chip produce each voice over a nine-octave range. You can program the SID chip using POKE commands to memory locations 54272 through 54296.

To understand how the Commodore 64 produces sound, consider the following program that uses one voice to produce the note C in the fourth octave:

5 REM SAMPLE SOUND PROGRAM 10 POKE 54296,15 20 POKE 54277,64 30 POKE 54278,130 40 POKE 54276,17 50 POKE 54273,17:POKE 54272,37 60 FOR T = l TO 250:NEXT 70 POKE 54276,0:POKE 54277,0: POKE 54278,0

To begin, enter a 15 into location 54296 (line 10). This sets the volume at the highest level. Line 20 starts to define the envelope of the note. The envelope, a way of shaping the sound, defines the rate at which the amplitude of the note attacks (or rises) to its maximum volume, decays (or drops) in volume, the length of time it will be sustained, and finally the point at which it is released. Each

Photo 3: Sprite editor display. Defining a sprite is just a matter of turning dots on or off. The actual size of the sprite is shown in the lower left corner.

Photo 4: Sprite Priorities. In this still shot from an animated sequence, some of the sprites appear to pass in front of or behind the mountain. All of the sprites on the screen have different priorities to give the effect in three dimensions.

musical instrument has a distinctive attack/decay /sustain /release (ADSR) envelope. If you look at an oscilloscope display of a note played by a particular instrument, you can see the envelope for that instrument.

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Line 20 sets a high attack rate and a low decay rate. (The number is broken into 8 bits: the high-order bits set the attack, while the low-order bits set the decay.) That value, 64, is entered into location 54277. Line 30 enters the sustain/release rate, which lets you prolong the note. Again, as in line 20, the two values are represented by one number. The number 128 produces a long sustain and a short release.

Line 40 sets the waveform of the note in one of four shapes: sawtooth, triangle, pulse, and white noise. Sawtooth waves contain a lot of harmonics and are good for simulating horns or string instruments. Triangle waves produce flute-like sounds. Pulse waves can simulate many different sounds depending on the pulse width. A square wave will produce a woodwind sound similar to a clarinet. A very narrow pulse will produce a sound similar to an oboe or bassoon. White noise is used for producing untuned sounds such as percussion instruments. Line 40 uses a triangle waveform.

Line 50 performs two functions: the two memory locations 54273 and 54272 determine the voice to be used, while the values 17 and 37 determine the note to be played (in this case a quarter note). Finally, line 70 clears all previously used memory locations in preparation for playing another note.

The Commodore 64 has a few more musical tricks up its sleeve: the harmonic content of a note can be altered by filtering. The SID chip has three different filters: high-pass, low-pass, and bandpass. As you might expect, the high-pass filter allows only frequencies above a certain value to get through, the low-pass filter allows only frequencies below a certain value to get through, and the bandpass filter lets through only frequencies of a specified range. As mentioned previously, generating and altering sound is done with POKE commands. The filters give you another method of shaping the sound.

The Commodore 64 has an audio input line. You can take an audio signal from an electric guitar, for ex

ample, and process it through the 64. There the signal can be filtered or combined with one or more voices to create a unique sound. In effect, the 64 is both a synthesizer and processor. Using POKE commands is somewhat distracting but the 64's version of BASIC does not have any commands for controlling sound directly from within a BASIC program.

BASIC

It's a pity Commodore saddled such a fine computer with its inadequate Commodore BASIC 2.0. An 8K-byte interpreted BASIC, it is a subset of the standard Microsoft BASIC and uses its own commands for file handling and I/O. Most BASIC instructions can be abbreviated to just two letters. A program written using this abbreviated technique displays BASIC commands as a letter and graphics symbol. A Commodore 64 program may be difficult to understand unless you've memorized all the abbreviations. Program lines are limited to 80 characters. Only the first two letters in a variable name are used. Obviously, Commodore feels that most home users will be running prepackaged software—there is no provision for using graphics (or sound as mentioned above) from within a BASIC program except by means of POKE commands.

The one bright point in programming the Commodore 64 is its very powerful screen editor. Once you have written a BASIC program, you can move your cursor through the program and make corrections by typing over the previously entered characters. A modified line can be inserted into a program by simply positioning the cursor on that line and pressing the Enter key. You can use the Insert/Delete key to add or remove characters from a line.

In addition, the editor has a unique "quote mode." If the cursor is positioned to the right of an odd number of quote marks fri a program line, you can enter cursor control and color control codes within strings. When the text within the string is printed on the screen, the cursor and color con

240 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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trol codes automatically perform their tasks. This gives you another way to control screen displays.

Because the Commodore 64's version of BASIC makes extensive use of graphics and reverse-letter characters, you might have a problem when you want to print a program. Most printers can't handle Commodore graphics. Only the VIC-1525 Graphic Printer is designed explicitly for use with the Commodore 64. (If you are interested in connecting other printers to the Commodore 64, see "The Enhanced VIC-20, Part 3: Interfacing an MX-80 Printer," by Joel Swank, April 1983 BYTE, page 260.)

Data Storage

The Commodore 64 uses the VIC-1530 Datassette cassette recorder for data storage. The Datassette is adequate for someone who wants to load an occasional game or use a cas

Havfng the DOS in

ROM simplifies disk

operations and saves

computer memory and

space on the disk.

sette-based word-processing program. But for users who don't like the limitations of cassette storage, Commodore offers the VIC-1541 disk drive, a smart peripheral with its own 6502 microprocessor (to control I/O), 2K bytes of RAM, and a disk operating system (DOS) in 16K bytes of ROM. The drive uses standard 5Viinch single-density single-sided floppy disks for a storage capacity of 170K bytes per formatted disk.

Having the DOS in ROM simplifies disk operations and saves both the computer's memory and space on the disk. This means that every disk contains data only and that you never have to worry about accidentally destroying the DOS. Of course, you'll have to use Commodore's DOS unless you change the ROM.

The DOS commands are extensions of the same commands used with the Datassette recorder. For example, to load a disk program called SAMPLE, you would type the command

LOAD "SAMPLE",8

The 8 at the end of the command is the device number of the disk drive. This number is hard-wired into the disk drive, but it can be changed temporarily by a software command.

You must load a directory of the disk into the Commodore 64 as if it were a BASIC program. You use the command

LOAD "$",8

Then type LIST to see the directory display. The disk-drive manual lists some utility programs that will produce a directory with a little more ease. Or you can use the WEDGE program, included with the 1541 disk drive, that will allow you to use shorthand commands to load and save files, see a directory, etc. However, this is still an awkward way to access a disk when compared to commands used with disk operating systems such as TRSDOS or CP/M.

Files

The 64 supports sequential, random, and relative disk files. Sequential files are recorded serially on the disk as if they were being saved on a cassette tape. Random-access files are treated as one (or more) 256-byte blocks of data, with each block saved in a single disk sector. Relative files are organized into records that can be read or replaced within a file. They make use of what Commodore calls "side sectors," actually a series of indexes that act as pointers to the particular sectors associated with the file. Using this method, one file fills an entire disk.

The disk drive uses the 64's serial port. Because data is sent to the disk one bit at a time, disk operation is very slow. I found it to be even slower than the Atari 810 drive. Also, Commodore's method of writing 256byte blocks of data to the internal

242 July 1983 © BVTE Publicatiora Inc

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BYTE July 1983 243

RAM and then finally writing the data to disk slows down disk operation. Up to five drives may be chained together and used simultaneously. Disks created on the 1540 drive and the older CBM 4040 can be read by the 1541 drive.

Documentation

The User's Guide, which is heavy on programming, is a good introduction to the 64's features. It has all the essential information required for working with BASIC, graphics, and sound. But it doesn't contain enough information about working with peripherals or connecting the computer to an audio system or video monitor.

The optional Programmer's Reference Guide, a 487-page informative book, is essential for anyone serious about programming the 64. It covers the same material as does the User's Guide, but in greater depth and detail. Many sample programs are listed and discussed that help to explain the operation of the Commodore 64's special features. One sec

tion gives the specifications for each LSI (large-scale integration) chip used in the computer; it also includes a schematic of the Commodore 64, but it's not complete enough to use as a repair guide.

My only complaint about the Reference Guide is the lack of information on using disk drives for data

A great many PET

BASIC 2.0 programs can

be easily transferred to

the 64, and emulator

programs give you even

more software.

storage. Apparently Commodore believes that the manual included with the 1541 is sufficient (it's not), and that if you don't own a drive, you don't need the information. Another not-so-surprising omission is the lack of information on using CP/M with the Commodore 64. It was merely mentioned in several

pages. I expect more complete documentation to be included with the plug-in Z80 cartridge.

Software

The availability of software can make or break a computer. In this respect, Commodore 64 owners are fortunate. A great many PET BASIC 2.0 programs can be easily transferred to the 64. And Commodore offers the PET Emulator program that lets you load a substantial portion of PET programs into the 64. It converts memory addresses used with the PET to those used with the 64.

You can get also an Apple II emulator, a combination of software and hardware available from Home Computer Services, 2028 West Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85015. The company says the emulator allows you to load and run Apple II programs with your Commodore 64. I'll reserve judgment until I have a chance to work with the product.

The Commodore software catalog for the 64 has a listing for an Easydisk

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BYTE July 1983 245

64, a collection of utility programs and editors for sound and graphics, and Easygraphics 64, a utility program that extends BASIC by giving you several simple commands to control sound and graphics without the use of POKE commands. These programs were not available in April but should be by the time you read this. Although the 64 is essentially a home computer, Commodore is offering several business-oriented software packages for it. Designated as

part of the "Easy" group, they include Easycalc 64, an electronic spreadsheet program; Easyfile 64 for database management; Easyplot 64 for business graphics; and Easyschedule 64, a time-scheduling program.

Considering the sophistication of the 64's graphics, the one package I most want to try is Logo. As described by Commodore, its version of Logo will be similar to Terrapin Logo for the Apple II, except that it will take full advantage of sprite graphics

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and color. Logo on the Commodore 64 should be a natural for schools. (The August 1982 BYTE was devoted to the Logo language.)

Speaking of schools, Commodore has announced its version of PILOT, a language designed specifically for use in education. Commodore claims that its PILOT is based on a "common" version of the language. One hopes that this will allow many existing programs to be used with the 64.

Of course, the programs I have mentioned here represent just a small portion of the software available for the 64. A quick glance through BYTE and other magazines shows that software publishers recognize the significance of the machine.

Complaints

My biggest complaint is with Commodore's quality control. I had to return two computers before I got one that didn't have display problems. Evidently, the fault was in the video output or RF modulator circuitry. If I used a defective unit for more than 15 minutes, the display on the TV would begin to break up and distort. I know that early production models often have a few bugs, but it's discouraging to think of first-time computer users having to figure out what's wrong with their new system on top of learning how to use it.

Conclusions

The Commodore 64 is a good introductory machine. It has something for almost every type of user. Its range of features make it equally suitable for me and my 5-year-old daughter to use. The color and graphics make games and educational software interesting enough to hold a child's attention, yet it has enough sophisticated features to allow me to do productive work such as word processing and home finances.

With the right price, plenty of available software, and numerous desirable features, the Commodore 64 is an impressive machine. ■

About the Author

Stan Wszola is a technical editor of BYTE.

246 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Hardware Review

The Strobe Plotting System

by Jack Bishop

Business and scientific reports are not light reading. Long ago someone found that graphs and charts are less boring and more informative than long lists of numbers. This discovery was enthusiastically received by readers but not by authors, who were faced with choosing the format and plotting each point laboriously for every graph. As a result, the sales of graph paper must have soared as authors drew and redrew to make a graph that truly told a story. Artisans labored over each point, working with sheets of paper, tape, and a razor blade to improve the quality of the product. A chart or two per day was a reasonable standard of productivity.

Several years ago, powerful graphing program packages appeared for mainframe computers (e.g., Plot 10, Displa, Telegraph, SAS/Graph). With these packages, authors could create complex graphs quickly, easily, and accurately. They were still faced with spending $15,000 for a computer system to produce the graphs, but the quality and quantity of output justified the cost for many large companies.

The advent of the microcomputer with its ability to dump graphics to a low-cost dot-matrix printer or plotter brings efficient graphing power within the price range of a whole new set of users. The quality may fall short of the multicolor design and precise positioning available on the more expensive plotters but is far better than the crude, labor-intensive alternatives available to this point. The convenience of the new microcomputer software more than compensates for the lack of flexibility and power you get from a $50,000 plotting package. In fact, the plotting packages available for mainframes and timesharing systems could be improved with some of the convenient features (e.g., simple menu operation and heavy use of defaults for automatic scaling, labeling, etc.) found on inexpensive microcomputer plotting systems such as the Strobe Model 100 Computer Graphics Plotter.

Getting Started

The Strobe System consists of a drum plotter and software (graphing packages) for creating the graphs.

The Strobe Plotter is a unit about half the size of an Apple II Plus (see photo 1). The 20 inches or so of ribbon cable connecting the plotter to the Apple interface card gives some options on where the machine can be set. (By the time you configure your system with any plotter, you probably will be forced to add table space to your work area.) The power switch is behind the right side of the machine, and you can easily reach it, but a front placement wouldn't hurt at all.

The installation of the interface card in the Apple is relatively simple, provided you have the requisite empty slot. If you are like me, by the time you get around to the purchase of a plotter, empty slots are at as much of a premium as is table space. The choice of the slot is not as casual as might be expected. Most graphics software requires the plotter interface to be in a particular slot location; some programs are very particular. Check the software you plan to use to drive the plotter, and you may find that you have to put the Strobe interface in a slot that is dedicated to other uses most of the time. (For example, PFSrGraph, from Software Publishing Company, expects to see the plotter in slot 2 and will brook no substitutions.) With my system a bit of card swapping was necessary, and some users may find that the interface card will have to be shuffled around every time a graphmaking session is scheduled. Besides considering swapping an annoyance, I have concern for the life of an interface card pulled and inserted frequently.

The Strobe software enabled me to put the interface card in any slot, provided I ran the Configure program to set up the proper slot. When I ran the first program in the set of software, the Configure program ran fine. When I ran the second program in the set, I was puzzled to find

248 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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© Copyright 1983 by Cybernetics, Inc. all rights reserved.

Photo 1: Strobe Model 100 Computer Graphics Plotter.

that the system hung up when I started to plot the graph. After some thought, I realized that each program must be configured separately; no interprogram learning here.

The Basics

Paper loading involves sliding a sheet of paper under a bar, rotating the drum, and sliding the free end of the paper under the other side of the same bar. While the first few tries were a bit awkward, with practice I fitted the paper smoothly around the drum in a few seconds. The hardest part is remembering to turn the motor release switch. (The Release switch is labeled ON —surely a less confusing labeling is possible. How about LOAD in place of ON and RUN in place of OFF, and leave the technically correct and practically confusing labeling to the engineers in the crowd.)

The more I used the Strobe, the less satisfied I was with the procedure for securing the paper. Several graphs were spoiled when the action of the pen gradually worked the paper free from its restraints. This caused unwanted lines when the pen failed to clear the loose paper as it moved across the drum to plot a desired line. At other times, the loose paper was too unstable to make the lower part of the graph, and title or x-axis labels became unreadable. If I could redesign the Strobe, I would experiment to see if a small static charge could be drawn on the drum to help hold the paper in place. Or I would find some adhesive compound to put on the drum to overcome this problem.

The Strobe uses either Pilot Razor Point or Berol Spree

pens. The former is a felt tip, the latter is a roller ball pen. These specific pens work because their soft plastic shanks are the right size to be force-threaded into the pen holder. Inserting a pen is no more complicated than screwing it into the threaded bushing on the front of the plotter. I feared that I might break something, so I didn't thread the pen in far enough on my first try. Result: a mostly clean sheet of paper. Screwing up my courage and screwing the pen in tightly (33A turns by my count) produced a decentquality line; judge the figures that accompany this article for your assessment.

Multicolor graphs are possible only if the software you use can stop and allow time for a pen change. You could get around this limitation by producing several different graphs, each with only one color, and overprinting each, but I wouldn't want to try!

The Strobe instructions specify that the pen be mounted before the graph is formed. After trying that, I adopted a different procedure. I'd recommend not mounting the pen until the graph is to be printed. The pen point dries out during the construction of the graph, and a poor-quality line is produced for the first few inches of tracing.

A simple fact should be obvious but must be emphasized: the plotter creates no graphs on its own. Understanding this is essential to the whole process. The plotter takes the software commands and develops the graph from these commands. Therefore, the graph produced is no better than the software that is used to drive the

250 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Trademarks: CP/M, Digital Research; TRS-80, Tandy Corp.; TeleVideo. TeleVideo Systems. Inc ; Apple II, Apple Computer Inc.; Osborne 1, Osborne Computer Corp.; Xerox 820, Xerox Corp.; Kaypro, Non-Linear Sys.; Heath/Zenith, Heath Co.; IBM, International Business Machine, Corp. © 1983 Ellis Computing.

MAIL TODAY! To: Ellis Computing 3917 Noriega St. San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 753-0186

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BYTE July 1983 251

At a Glance

Name

Strobe Model 100 Computer Graphics Plotter

Manufacturer

Strobe Inc.

Building 5A

897 Independence Ave.

Mountain View. CA 94043

(415) 969-5130

Type

Drum-type plotter using 8V2- by 11-inch (maximum) sheets of paper, transparency sheets, or foil. Plotting area is 8 by 10 inches (20.3 by 25.4 cm)

Use

To create hard-copy graphics from digital data

Price

S785

Dimensions

Height 3/2 inches (8.9 cm); width \6'A inches (41.3 cm); depth 8'/2 inches (21.6 cm)

Documentation

16-page booklet

Computer Interfaces

TRS-80 Models I and III SI 10

Apple II and III 85

S-lOObus 145

Commodore CBM/PET I 19

RS-232C Serial 195

Osborne 90

Software

StrobeplotandBusgraph SI 45

Difplot 50

Strobe view 75

Screendump 75

Plot Applications Software: Plot 1.8; Plotsub; Draw8; Typer 70

(not all software packages are available for every computer interface)

Audience

Personal or business computer users who need to create graphs and charts from digital data

STROBE PLOTTING SYSTEM

BUSINESS. GRAPHING BUSGRAF

TEXT

I COMPOSING STROBEVIEVl

j!*VISICALC*l

|| INTERFACE

! DIFPLOT I

•UTILITY*

SCREEN

DUMP"

L

•UTILITY* [•ROUTINES* j PL0TAPPL

I APPLE

I APPLE 8f APPLE W

I APPLE j

-f OSBORNE \( OSBORNE j [ CBM/PET J

■f XEROX j

Figure 1: Strobe Plotting System. The various graphics packages available from Strobe for the plotter and the computer systems on which the packages run are illustrated in this chart created by the author with the Strobeview program.

Strobe plotter. If the software you choose produces a decent graph (you are the judge), then you can count on the Strobe to do its part, with some limitations.

Strobe Software

The Strobe Plotting System consists of five sets of software programs, separately priced, in addition to the plotter hardware (see figure 1). Not all of the software in the set is available for all microcomputers. The Strobe System is keyed to the Apple II and can be run with the Osborne. Other systems may be added.

Busgraf

The Busgraf set of programs is the key to the Strobe software, providing pie charts, as well as bar graphics— but no line graphs, a serious limitation to me. Sometimes a bar graph tells the story well; sometimes a line graph would be better. I need graphing software that does both.

Busgraf is composed of four programs: Bar Graph, Pie Chart, Bar Graph File Editor, and Pie Chart Editor.

When I initially went through the Bar Graph instructions, I followed a demonstration program to familiarize users with the operation of the software. The inclusion of such a program is a great help in understanding the intentions of the program authors and the instructions. However, small problems with the demonstration program, such as the disk catalog appearing one way in the text (two columns, side-by-side) and another way on the screen (one column), make this program unsatisfactory as a guide. In addition to inconsistencies, the screen "hangs up" at (or near) the end of the catalog. Have no fear, though. By pressing the return key, you can overcome the lack of care in the design and implementation of the software.

A second program in the Busgraph package, the Bar Graph File Editor, enables you to edit the titles and labels

252 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Figure 2: A side-by-side bar chart using the Busgraph set of programs.

(Main, x, y, and Legend), change the shading and pens, and vary the data values. The number of bars and subbars and scaling factor for the y-axis, and x-axis label option cannot be changed after the initial selection is made. Make a mistake in editing (like a repeating minus sign), and you may find yourself dumped out of the program into Applesoft.

On the bright side, Busgraf provides an x-axis that can be labeled with weekdays (5,10,15, 20), dates (7,14, 21), or months (3, 6, 12, 18, 24), as well as numbers. Very useful for business graphs, but years and quarters are needed to complete the set and the limits are pretty confining for the work that I do in economic planning.

Note, no opportunity exists to preview a graph on the monitor before plotting begins, a real waste of time and paper.

The graph I used to test the Busgraph package is designed as a line for the year-to-year percent changes and bar for the month-to-month precent changes at an annual rate. Busgraph couldn't duplicate this but instead implemented it as a side-by-side bar chart (see figure 2).

The overall layout of the graph is excellent. Legends are clear and well placed. (Shadow overprinting of titles is possible.) The x-axis labels are a tad jumbled by my eye but better than those on 80 percent of the graphs I have seen produced on microcomputers. Overall, a decent graph is possible with the Busgraph package in spite of all the problems.

The Strobe Plotter can be judged on the basis of the plot in figure 2. Close examination reveals that the y-axis doesn't quite line up with either the 0 line or the x-axis reference line (at —5). Most of the bars do not start at 0 but seem to start at about —0.1 or so. The bars overlap some, and the overlap increases toward the right side of the graph. The third striped bar from the left is mis

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254 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Figure 3: Pie chart produced with the Pie Chart program of the Busgraph software, which gives you the option of breaking out any section of the pie for emphasis.

-1 r 1 /

hs f \ ■ * i v f

S / \ ; V t /

';/ * ^

i i i

1381-82 U.S. MONEY SUPPLY GROWTH (M2 )

Figure 4: Line graph drawn using the Strobeplot programs.

aligned at the top. In short, the plotter produces a graph that is merely adequate.

The problems I had with the bar graphs should have warned me about the pie charts. As I created the chart under the Auto option, all went reasonably well until I entered the main title. At that point, the program indicated that the data was filed and dumped me out in the cold. The disk catalog revealed the filename (without an .xxx filename suffix), so I started the program again and directed the program to the existing file. The program reported the file couldn't be found, and—to maintain a weird sense of consistency—erased the file! My frustration mounted as I went through this process three times before I gave up and tried the Manual option; it worked—sort of. The data entry of my first graph was complete (again no preview on the monitor) up to the point of running it on the Strobe. On my first attempt, all the parts of the pie were made, the first title completed, the second title started, and then the program aborted. I finally succeeded in combining several segments to pro

duce an excellent chart, with the option of varying colors and shading (see figure 3). The capability to break out any or all segments and specify how much separation for each is a very good feature and seldom seen even on large systems.

[Editor's note: The Strobe software has recently been upgraded from the version reviewed here. One of the changes enables the various programs to interchange data so that the user can create different types of graphs using the same data. . . . S. J. W.]

The Strobe Plotter's performance generally was excellent. The registration (ability of the machine to keep within the lines) was somewhat uneven but not significantly. Several letters were "nervous"—not smoothly executed (e.g., in figure 3, S, C, U). My opinion is that Busgraf is better than a dot-matrix screen dump but not suited for high-quality graphs.

Strobeplot

To produce line charts, the Strobe System provides a second set of software, Strobeplot. The data goes in one file. The commands to turn the data into a graph go into a second (option) file. The chance to add grid lines with the option file caught my attention, but the program editor always skipped over that choice. The rest of the option file structure worked as advertised. On execution, the program asked me to put the data and option files in Dl (drive 1). After a few abortive attempts, I realized that Dl to this program meant the current drive (which was D2 the way my disk drive was set up, as the fates would have it).

The plotting, even without the ability to preview the results of my commands on the screen of the monitor, worked without incident. The pen stayed down at the end of the axis-drawing portion of the process, causing some small additional lines when the pen was switched to change colors. To overcome the problems of loose paper, I smoothed the graph down to provide a better-quality product (see figure 4). The Busgraf programs (and most other plotting programs I have seen) put the title at the top of the graph; Strobeplot doesn't. The quality of the plot was fine, but after three attempts, I stopped trying to get the data squared away as the negative number I was trying to plot was dropped, without even a warning.

Screendump

This is a hardworking program with no frills (such as the capability of scaling or rotating the image). The screen image is transferred to the paper one dot at a time. All the movement of the pen on the paper loosened the paper and produced, in spite of my attempts to hold the paper down, a less than satisfactory graph. With the wide spacing between the dots, I couldn't conceive of using the resulting graph at full size. In fact, I can't think of any way this process is preferable to a screen dump to my Epson. The plotting process with the Strobe software takes approximately half an hour (compared to a minute for my Epson), and the graph would need to be reduced to bring the points together before I would use the product.

256 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Figure 5: Examples of different type styles and sizes available with the Strobeview program.

Strobeview

With this program, you can make large slides for overhead transparency projectors. You can also use it to type large-size words in either regular, bold, or offset fonts (see figure 5). Strobeview permits a large variety of type sizes. Setting type at either margin and centering are possible.

You can create simple organizational charts with this powerful utility. I used it in setting the structure of the Strobe Plotting System illustrated in figure 1. Charts are restricted to the width shown in this example and can be longer by one additional level (e.g., an additional computer system). The procedure for making the chart is a little confusing at first, but I was able to master the process within a half hour. In keeping with the rest of the Strobe package, the instructions leave a great deal to be desired.

Of the software parts of the Strobe system, Strobeview comes closest to fulfilling the hopes I had when I opened the packages. The package would be more useful if it had the capability to autoscale each line (allowing manual overrides of course) and preview graphs on the screen. Because automatic scaling is not available, plotting off the edge of the page is very easy, resulting in a damaged pen point and shredded paper. The start position for printing is controlled by the cursor control keys, labeled as arrows, on the top right side of the machine. As it exists now, Strobeview is adequate as a simple first-generation text-plotting package.

Another program available from Strobe but not evaluated here is Difplot, which plots Visicalc (or presumably other) data saved in the DIF format.

Plot Applications Software Package

For those whose needs aren't supplied by the software reviewed so far, the Strobe folks have a Plot Applications Software Package that gives you greater control over the functions of the plotter. The package includes:

258 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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•Plotl.8: a machine-language driver to allow your software to control the drum and the pen to make a written copy of your plot. Variable names and hexadecimal/decimal addresses are provided in the instruction manual for plotting a vector, drawing an alphanumeric character, controlling pen motion with switches, and initializing variables and the input/output port. •Plotsub: this subroutine provides entry points for the vector (x and y coordinates), a switch for the position of the pen, and input for the string of alphanumeric characters to be plotted (including their position on the paper and whether to go up or down, or left or right). •Draw8: this subroutine plots a series of curves in a common format. Again, no previewing is included in the routine. Care must be taken to prevent parts of the graph from printing on top of other parts. The first time through the program, you need to use a instruction card (or "cheat sheet") so that you have the proper responses ready in the right order. If the title is too long to fit on the page, the plotting continues on the drum of the plotter off the edge of the paper. Without the ability to pause for change of pens, single-color graphs are the only choice. The title is set up at the bottom of the page as in Strobeplot, discussed previously. Data points are not saved by the routine, and legends are not available to identify the lines of the graph. Nothing to write home about here, but possibly something to build on.

•Typer: this utility plots strings of characters entered from the keyboard. The strings will be plotted either horizontally or vertically and may go off the page depending on the size of the type that is specified. I think less than 10 lines of code could be added to cause a warning to be printed, suggest alternative type size, and give you the opportunity to put fewer words on the line. Surely, this kind of change will be available before long.

Conclusion

My evaluation of the Strobe System is based on a comparison with the Tektronics system I have used for five years and several Hewlett-Packard plotters, all of which cost more (the Tektronics a great deal more) but produce better-quality graphs than Strobe Plotter. Without a doubt, at $785 the Strobe is an adequate plotter for the money, but it falls short of my expectations.

The Strobe software is an embarrassment and should be thrown out or redone. The basis for a decent plotting package could be built on the frame of the incomplete, poorly documented, and disjointed packages that are provided, but I wouldn't try.

I used other software packages (Apple Business Graphics and Graftalk) to drive the Strobe plotter to provide a fair test of the machine. Using another company's software proved to be a substantial advantage (see figures 6 and 7). I judged the quality of these graphs to be more than satisfactory. The registration is fine. The letters are sharp, lines clear, and a very good plot is developed. The plots made with non-Strobe software and with the Strobe plotter are better than those I am used to from an Epson.

< Circle 18 on inquiry card.

The IBM Personal ComputerW>rk Station. It's optional. (But essential.)

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BYTE July 1983 261

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Figure 6: Combination bar, line, and pie chart drawn with the Strobe Plotter driven by the Apple Graftalk program running on the Sony MBC-1000 computer. Multiple colors are achieved by stopping the program to change to different pens.

I think you will find the Strobe's strongest point is its price. Before the first month of your ownership of the Strobe ends, you should find some way to hold the paper down adequately. (Probably you will keep a screwdriver nearby to tighten and loosen the five small screws in the

GOV'T SPENDING, GOODS « SERVICES, 72$

-HILnHRY

Figure 7: A pie chart drawn with the Strobe Plotter driven by the Apple Business Graphics program.

hold-down bar for plotting each graph.) You may also find the slow speed of the Strobe not objectionable. Pen changing is time-consuming, and you will probably find one-color plots are preferable after a while.

When I first saw the advertisements, I yearned to hook the Strobe up to my computer. My expectations have decreased after living with the Strobe for several months. The plotter's usefulness depends On whether independent software houses include drives for it with their products.

The plotter is part of a plotting system; don't select the plotter (Strobe or any other) without selecting the software at the same time. Both plotter and software must be purchased together to avoid great disappointments on the way to an acceptable graph.

The Strobe certainly is a decent product. Whether it is worth the money for you will require a close look on your part. I cannot provide an overall "buy" recommendation, but you will find the Strobe an inexpensive alternative—and a long step forward from the dot-matrix screen dumps you may have used up to now. ■

About the Author

Jack Bishop (Bishop Associates, 916 Maple Ave., Evanston, 1L 60202) is a management consultant specializing in planning and economic issues. His article "Beyond the Peaks of Visicalc" appeared in BYTE in October 1982.

July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc 263

'% ' i" A

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My TeleVideo came with a big 14" screen that's easier to read, and it tilts for the extra comfort that's so important when you use a computer as much as I do. With IBM, you pay more for a smaller 12" screen that doesn't tilt at all.

Another thing I like. TeleVideo's keyboard is so lightweight and comfortable my fingers hardly know they're working. IBM's keyboard? It's a little behind the " times.

TeleVideo also gave me the choice of popular CP/M® or MS-DOS® operating systems—FREE—so I can pick from thousands of proven software programs. You can get the same option from IBM, but you have to pay for the privilege.

Last but not least, TeleVideo's network capabilities give me a real growth path

for the future, linking up to sixteen computers in one powerful network. You can't get that from IBM.

So before you choose any personal computer, do like I did and compare. You'll see that TeleVideo gives you a lot more computer for a lot less money And you'll buy TeleVideo because they didn't leave anything out.

For more information, write TeleVideo Systems, Inc., 1170 Morse Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086, call toll-free 800-5381780 (In California call 800-672-3470 Ext. 945), call one of our authorized distributors or dealers, or contact one of our regional sales offices, listed below.

Northeast Region, 617-369-9370 Eastern Region, 703-556-7764 Southeast Region, 404-447-1231 Midwest Region, 312-969-0112 South Central Region, 214-258-6776 Northwest Region, 408-745-7760 Southwest Region, 714-752-9488 European Sales (Holland), (31) 075-28-7461 UK/Scandinavia Sales, (44) 0908-668-778

TeleVideo Systems are fully serviced nationwide by TRW.

* Based on manufacturer's suggested retail prices for comparably equipped computer

®;iele\£deo Systems, Inc.

Circle 406 on Inquiry card.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc MS-DOS is a registered trademark of MicroSoft, Inc

The Touch of Color

An inexpensive way to add a high-quality keyboard

to the Color Computer

by David M. Dacus

Radio Shack's Color Computer has many things going for it, and low cost is chief among them. But when companies set out to build inexpensive computers, the keyboard is usually the first place they cut costs. I decided to give my Color Computer a new lease on life with an improved, detached keyboard. With a minimal investment ($30), I constructed the keyboard (see photo 1) and installed it without any permanent modifications to my computer.

The Problems

When we got our Color Computer way back in the winter of '80, the whole family was impressed with all its features and capabilities. As time passed, however, we became aware of a glaring imperfection—the keyboard. We were accustomed to the touch of an Olympia 77 typewriter, and the features of the keyboards of Wang, UNIVAC, and VAX equipment. The feel and layout of the Color Computer were inferior.

I discovered other problems when I

Photo 1: Keyboard in completed case. The 16-conductor ribbon cable, extending out the back, has a connector that allows plug-in replacements.

began developing a word-processing program for the Color Computer. There weren't enough keys to provide control commands without limiting text entry. In addition, we really needed a numeric keypad.

My search for a solution to these keyboard problems was complicated by my philosophy: I refuse to add costly items to the Color Computer because its inexpensive price was my main reason for buying it.

No one writing in BYTE or any of the other computer magazines I read

regularly was offering to solve my problems for me. In spite of my inexperience with hardware construction, I decided to do it myself.

Feasibility

The Radio Shack technical manual for the Color Computer provides the wiring diagram for the simple switchmatrix keyboard. I found that the only function the keyboard performs is the closing of the appropriate circuit. The pulse this produces is taken care of by the computer's printedcircuit (PC) board. The task of constructing a replacement keyboard seemed manageable.

I noticed that there were four slots on the keyboard matrix not being used by the Color Computer (see figure 1). If these unused circuits could be decoded as ASCII (American National Standard Code for Information Interchange) characters by the computer, perhaps I could use them.

Through experimentation, I found that the unused circuit combinations

266 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

• •

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We accept VISA, MasterCard or C.O.D. (add $3 for C.O.D.)Add a $3 shipping charge to prepaid orders; actual shipping charges will be added to non-prepaids. California residents, add appropriate sales tax.

Circle 17 on Inquiry card. BYT^ My "S3 267

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Graphics Plus

GRAPHICS-PLUS is a field installable enhancement board for the popular Zenith1 Z19 video terminal adding many powerful features found only on terminals costing much more. GRAPHICS-PLUS provides Tektronix2 4010 compatible vector drawing graphics. VT1003 compatible 80 and 132 column display formats, off-screen scrolling memory, programmable function keys, "Plain English" menu-driven Set-up mode, and a host of other enhancements. Installation can be accomplished within 15 minutes using only a screwdriver.

GRAPHICS-PLUS

an enhancement

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- 16 Programmable Keys-128 Chars Each

• Optional Hardcopy Port

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GP-19 Upgrade for Z19 Terminal S 84

Z19TerminalWithGP-19lnstalled S 149

Northwest Digital Systems P.O. Box 15288. Seattle, WA98115 (206) 362-6937

268 July 19»3 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 295 on inquiry card.

TOLL-FREE

ORDERING:

800-222-8686

FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT/

SERVICE / IN ARIZONA:

602-282-6299

CCT

CUSTOM COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

1 CRAFTSMAN COURT - BOX 4160 - SEDONA, ARIZONA 86340

Purchase your Hardware and Software directly from an OEM/Systems Integrator. Take advantage of our buying power! We stock a full line of Board Level Components, Software, and Peripherals. Call for your needs. We'll give you the Lowest Prices, and the Technical Support and Know-How we are quickly becoming well-known for. Satisfied Customers Nationwide! The Nations's Custom Systems House for Business, Education and Science. Call for a system quote.

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Our prime interest at CCT is service and support. We build and sell hundreds of systems per year to the serious computer market. We rigidly adhere to our strict policy of reliable machines, and reliable people behind them. We feel the CompuPro product line to be the state-of-the-art of the computer industry.

THE CCT EXCLUSIVE WARRANTY

With any system we build, we provide, in writing, an unconditional 12 month direct warranty on the entire system, including mainframe, boards, drives, power supplies, cabling and peripherals! We offer guaranteed 24 hour in-house repair and/or replacement with just a toll-free phone call. We can offer this, since we are so sure of our level of quality and reliability. It's great to know that in the event of a problem, you're not out of business waiting on service turnaround. We deliver!

Our various OEM contracts with all the manufacturers of the components we integrate, allow us this unprecedented flexibility. No factory O.K.'s necessary — just get it running — NOW!

Wyse 100 terminal $769.

Mitsubishi 8" DSDD drives, full or half height $449.

Okidata 82 $419/83 $679

84 . . $1029/92 . . $559/93 .. $930

Ashton-Tate dBASE II $459

Hays Modem-$259 • Diablo 620-$1029

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Enclosure 2-Desk-20 Slot Mainframe CPU 8085/88 - 6Mhz 8085/8Mhz 8088 Disk 1 - DMA Floppy Disk Controller RAM 17-64K Static RAM-12 Mhz Interfacer 4 - 3 Serial/2 Parallel I/O

CCT Dual 8" Mitsubishi

DSDD Drive System - 2.4 Megabytes

CP/M 80 - 2.2 LD/M - CCT Modified

All Cabling, Complete CCT Assembly,

Testing, and minimum 20 Hour Burn-in

INTRODUCTORY PRICE:

$3,650

RUNS ALL STANDARD 8" CP/M SOFTWARE - INCLUDES OUR EXCLUSIVE 12 MONTH DIRECT WARRANTY

CP/ M MP/ M NOTE: Each copy we furnish is CCT modified for the target system. M-Drive/H and hard disk drivers are furnished, and the BIOS optimized for the fastest disk step rate, as well as terminal and printer compatibility.

* * CCT-2* • COMING SOON • * WATCH THE FAST LANE FOR THIS ONE * •

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We are the largest in the custom configuration of complete state-of-the-art S-100 systems, at package pricing, with integration, burn-in and programming. We custom build CompuPro systems / hard disk systems for business applications. Call for CompuPro literature, CCT system configuration data and technical information.

COMPUPRO COMPONENTS

LIMITED SPECIALS: System 816A-S4395 System 816B-S5595 System 816C-S7195 Call for other systems

M-DriveCP/M-64K-$429 • Disk 1w/CP/M-$489 • M-Drive/H-512K-$1399

CPU 8085/88-$379 • CPU 8086/87-$579 • CPU68K-$519 • CPU-Z-$249

Disk 1-$369 • Disk 2-$599 • Disk ZBE-CALL! • Disk 3-SOON!

RAM17(12MHZ)-$359 • RAM 16(12MHZ)-$399 • RAM 21 (128K)-$849 • RAM 22(256K)-$1899

Interfacer 1-$229 • Interfacer 2-$249 • Interfacer 3-5-$459/3-8-$539 • Interfacer 4-$349

System Support 1-$349 • Enclosure 2-Desk-$659/Rack-$699

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Call for CSC Boards — New Releases — Operating System Mods/Updates

? ?

24 Megabyte hard/floppy

CCT/ Fujitsu/ Mitsubishi ultra-system: 23 meg. hard disk next to 1.2 meg. 8" DSDD floppy drive. Includes disk 2 board set, all cabling, A&T, formatting, burn-in. Will stand alone in any CompuPro system. $3699

HARD DISK DECISIONS ? ?

23 Megabyte subsystem 2.4 Megabyte floppy system

CCT/Fujitsu 23 megabyte hard disk sub- CCT/Mitsubishi 2.4 megabyte dual DSDD

system. Includes disk 2 board set, all 8" system. Includes all cabling, A&T,

cabling, A&T, formatting, burn-in. Ready burn-in. This is the fastest system available: for any CompuPro system:

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Prices & availability subject to change. All products new, and carry full manufacturer's warranties. Call for catalog. Free technical help to anyone. We can configure boards & software for your system. Plug-in and go. Arizona Residents add sales tax. CompuPro* Trademark-W.J. Godbout; CP/M" MP/M* Trademarks - Digital Research

Circle 120 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 269

Yesterday's most up-to-date

source of career opportunities 4

looked like this.

Today's technical career market changes fast. But now there's a way to keep up with it. This new key to career opportunity is your personal computer. And the cost is nothing but a phone call. ,!" ■_

Just call CLEO. That stands for Computer Listings of Employment Opportunities

Unlike a newspaper, CLEO responds to your commands. You specify what job categories, companies, or geographic 'nations interest you. CLEO calls up the appropriate ads right on your screen. At every step, you're guided by explicit online instructions. .

Daily updates keep CLEO job listings current. You can even apply for positions right from your own terminal. For a detailed job search, or just an idea of what's available, CLEO is waiting for vour call today. With today's opportunities. CLEO access. (213) 618-8800 300 BAUD, full duplex, standard ASCII code. Access assistance: (213) 618-1525. An electronic publishing activity of The Copley Press, Inc.

Today,

it looks like this.

Recruitment advertisers - call (213) «8-0MO collect to find out how you can place your ad on CLEO.

rat

I ■

"J

Circle 478 on inquiry card.

do indeed work as follows:

• Lead 8 connected to lead 12 sends an @ (ASCII code 64) and nothing while the shift key is pressed.

• Lead 8 connected to lead 13 sends a graphic symbol (ASCII code 189) and an SOH (start of header, ASCII code 1) when shifted.

• Lead 8 connected to lead 14 sends g (ASCII code 103) whether shifted or not.

• Lead 8 connected to lead 15 sends EOT (end of text, ASCII code 4) and a graphics character when shifted.

The circuits 8 connected to 12 and 8 connected to 14 were not unique on the keyboard and so could not be used for control of word processing: but 8 connected to 13 and 8 connected to 15 were exactly what I needed.

I obtained a Key Tronic 66-key keyboard from Poly Paks of Wakefield, Massachusetts (see photo 2) and ran a test to determine if I could use the existing printed circuits. The keyboard has a 20-lead matrix that appears to be set up for a dedicated word processor. I was able to use a few of the leads on the board, but most had to be cut.

The key contacts are easily accessible from the bottom of the circuit board. The contacts are two wires soldered to traces on the circuit board (see photo 2b). This arrangement pro

vides a simple means of connecting the key to the appropriate leads of the wiring matrix. I suggest the following procedure for construction of the new Color Computer keyboard.

Circuit Board Preparation

Determine from the keyboard matrix (see figure 1) which keys must be connected to which leads. Use the following protocol: Connect the vertical leads (lines 1 through 8, except line 3, which is used only as a ground

Photo 2a and b: Two sides of the Key Tronic replacement keyboard.

on the main circuit board) to the top lead of appropriate keys, and the horizontal leads (lines 9 through 16) to the bottom lead of the appropriate keys. Select nonalphanumeric keys to

connect to leads 8 connected to 12 through 8 connected to 15.

Once you determine which keys to interconnect (see table 1), study the printed circuits of the keyboard. Use a felt-tip pen to mark the appropriate PCs that will connect the keys. You must remove the keys to reach the circuits printed on the top of the board. Remove and replace the keys with a small Phillips screwdriver.

After marking all of the circuits you need, use a high-speed grinder with a round burr to cut all unwanted traces. Carefully remove all debris from the board to prevent short circuits; then reinstall the keys.

Rewiring the Keyboard

Use a 30-watt pencil-type soldering iron and 30 AWG insulated wirewrap wire to connect each lead to the keys as indicated in table 1. Solder quicjdy to avoid loosening key switches or melting insulation. Make your connections as direct as possible without bridging unconnected solder points.

Cut a wire-wrap female header so that you have a 16-pin single-inline connector. Then use a wire-wrap tool to attach wire to pins 1, 2, and 4 through 16. Solder these if you want extra security. If you hold the header with the wire-wrap pins pointing at you, the pins are numbered from left to right. Solder each numbered wire

a message to our subscribers

From time to time we make the BYTE subscriber list available to other companies who wish to send our subscribers material about their products. We take great care to screen these companies, choosing only those who are reputable, and whose products, services, or information we feel would be of interest to you. Direct mail is an efficient medium for presenting the latest personal computer goods and services to our subscribers.

Many BYTE subscribers appreciate this controlled use of our mailing list, and look forward to finding information of interest to them in the mail. Used are our subscribers' names and addresses only (no other information we may have is ever given).

While we believe the distribution of this information is of benefit to our subscribers, we firmly respect the wishes of any subscriber who does not want to receive such promotional literature. Should you wish to restrict the use of your name, simply send your request to the following address.

BYTE Publications Inc

Attn: Circulation Department

70 Main St

Peterborough NH

03458

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 271

THE PERSONAL

COMPUTERS DESIGNED FOR

PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW

TO USE ONE.

DECmota H The fully supported office and small business system.

Until now there were only two ways most people could learn to use a personal computer. Struggle through a manual. Or somehow push buttons until you get the hang of it. The first way could take several months. The second, several years.

So Digital Equipment Corporation, the world's second largest computer company, perfected a third way. It's called Computer-Based Instruction: the personal computer, itself, teaches you. The program lasts about an hour. And, when you're finished, you know how to operate Digital's personal computer.

We didn't stop there, though. We designed a keyboard that makes sense the first time you use it. We also put in a "Help" key with all kinds of aids and prompts to guide you along as you work.

P Chances are there are millions of

people who'd like to learn to use a personal , computer but don't have the time or the patience. / ^^B^^ Now you don't need either.

For a brochure on our i three new personal computers, call 1-800-DIGITAL. Or write: Digital Equipment Corporation, 200 Baker Avenue, Concord, MA 01742.

• ''.''.''''.''.',.''.''.''.',.''. i

PROFESSIONAL 300 SERIES The minicomputer of personal computers.

RAINBOW 100 The low-cost, high-performance machine.

Professional <5U. DECmale. and Rainbow IIH) art' trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation © Digital Equipment Corporation BbB

BDBDDSD

Circle 140 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 273

Circle 318 on Inquiry card.

P&TCP/M@2is GROWING a

O MOO^

'* $«*«

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80

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\ocW

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Start with a Model II floppy system and grow into a hard disk. Since all P&T CP/M 2 systems are fully compatible, you will have no conversion worries. Special note: P&T hard disk systems allow you the user to configure logical drive assignments to your specifications. Write for more details.

Prepaid VISA, M/C, or COD orders accepted. All prices FOB Goleta and subject to change. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research. TRS-80 is atrademark of Tandy Corp.

PICKLES T)JCKLE< & TROUT

P.O. BOX 1206

GOLETA, CA 93116

(805) 685-4641

TrouT

Line

Connect to top

ead

wire of the following keys:

1

@

A

B

C D

E

F

G

2

H

1

J

K L

M

N

0

3

no connection

4

P

Q

R

S T

U

V

W

5

X

Y

Z

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—

—

Space

6

0

1

2

3 4

5

6

7

7

8

9

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Clear

Break

F1 F2

F3

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9

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P

X 0

8

Enter

10

A

I

Q

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9

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11

B

J

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12

C

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13

D

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1 4

,

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14

E

M

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5

F3

15

F

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6

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16

G

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/

Shift

Table 1:

Key connections.

By

modifying the keyboard sc

that

it matches these

specifications, the Color Computer can

access the keys just

as

it does its

standard

keyboard

to the key closest to the top of the board in the appropriately numbered line (see photo 3).

Constructing the Cable

Connect a 16-pin male header to one end of a 16-conductor ribbon cable, and a 16-pin female connector to the other end. The numbering scheme for the header connectors and ribbon cable must be identical to that used for the header connector attached to the keyboard (see photo 3b). Do not connect conductor number 3 on either end.

If you have difficulty locating

Photo 3a, b, and c: Major components required for installing the replacement keyboard. Photo 3a shows the modified Key Tronic keyboard with its 16-pin connector that mates with the ribbon cable in photo 3b. The other end of the cable is connected in place of the Color Computer's standard keyboard as shown in photo 3c.

16-conductor ribbon cable, you can split either 20- or 40-conductor cable if necessary (Radio Shack sells both). I used a 5-foot length because that is the length Radio Shack sells and because with that length I can place my computer at the rear of my table, freeing plenty of space around my workstation.

Checking for Errors

Use an ohmmeter with small probes to check all circuits. Refer to figure 1 for the appropriate leads for each character. If you connect the probes to the appropriate leads for a Text continued on page 279

274 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! lnc

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Circle 333 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 275

Your IBM PC Source

PROGRAMMING INTERNATIONAL

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LIST SALE Advanced Operating Systems

The Programmer... 200 150 Alpha Software

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Database Manager. 245 169

MailList 95 67

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Versaform 389 259

Aptek

Epson to Prism 38

PC Ticker Tape 22

Rainbow Writer .... 125

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Powertext 399 369

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Personal Financial

pgm 95 66

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THE WORD

Processor 146

Byrom Software

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Cavalier

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PCTutor 80 60

Comshare

Financial Modeling 325 264 Conceptual Instruments

Desk Organizer 245

Condor

Condorl 295 189

Condor3 650 398

Continental Software

FCM (First Class

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Home Accountant

Plus 150 99

Property

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Denver Software

Easy 750 562

Eagle

Money Decisions

VoM 199 129

Money Decisions

Vol2 230 169

Money Pack Vol 1

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Emerging Technology

Edix 195 149

WORDIX 195 149

EDIX + WORDIX .. 390 279

Fox&Geller

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dUTIL 99 59

Quickcode 295 185

Friendly Software Friendlyware 50 38

Hayes Smartcom2 119 90

Howard Sams Programmer 200 150

Howard Software Real Estate

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Tax Preparer 1983 . 250 185

Information Solutions, Inc. 25:01 The 25th Hour 100 74

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Easy Speller 2 225 135

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Financial Mgmt

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TIM lit 495 279

Insoft DataDesign 225 169

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Metasoft Benchmark Mail

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Benchmark Word

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Micro Pro

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Reportstar 350

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Wordstar 1/41 495

Microcraft Legal Billing/

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Professional Billing/Time 750

Microsoft Flight Simulator.... 50

M-Lisp/nStart 250

Multiplan 275

(iMath/fiSimp 300

Microstuf Crosstalk/ Smartmodem 195

North American «ANSWER» ... 250

Northwest Analytical Statpak 495

Oasis Punctuation &

Style

TheWordPlus 150

PBL Corporation Personal Investor.. 145

PC Software Creatabase 75

Peachtree Series 4 Pak(GL/ AR/AP) 595

Peter Norton Utilities 80

Ryan-McFarland RM/Cobol Full

DevSystem 950

RM/Cobol Runtime Only 250

Scripps Data Job Cost system ... 495

Select Information Systems Select Wordprocessor .... 595

Softward Wordmak 500

Software Arts TKISolver

Software Products International

Logicalc 190

Logiquestll 250

LogiquestIII 550

Procalc 350

Software Publishers

PFS: File 140

PFS:Report 125

Software Technology TheCreator 300

Sorcim

Supercalc 195

Supercalc2 295

Superspellguard ... 195 Superwriter 295

Southeastern

327 165 231 165 426 426

558 327

385

385

38 188 189 225

159

369

109 112

98

349

371

356

224

I

142

188

412

262

105 94

224

129 185 129 179

PRoqRAMMii\q IinternatjonaI (800)222-8811

Inside California: (415)324-3730

DataCapture 120 90

Supersoft

Optimizer 200 149

Personal Data Base 125 93

Synapse Video

FileManager 150 112

Synergistic

DataReporter 250 169

Texasoft

Thinker 75 56

Versatext 200 172

Versa Computing

Graphics Hardcopy 25 19 Versawriter

Graphics Tablet .... 299 249

Vlsicorp Business

Forecasting Model . 100 78

Desktop Plan 300 229

Visicalc 250 169

Visidex 250 189

Visifile 300 219

Visischedule 300 234

Visispell 225 183

Visitrend/plot 300 215

Visiword 375 298

Wool)

Movelt 150 99

PC SOFTWARE—CP/M 86

AshtonTate LIST SALE

dBASEII 700 398

Byrom Software

BSTAM 200 149

BSTMS 200 149

Comshare Financial Modeling 325 264

Dictronics Random House Thesaurus 150 113

Digital Research

CBASIC86 200 150

CIS COBOL 86 800 600

Concurrent

CP/M-86 350 264

CP/M-86 60 45

Level 2 COBOL 86. 1600 1200

Pascal MT + 86 400 300

Pascal MT + 86

withSPP-86 600 450

SID86 150 94

Metasoft Benchmark Mail

List 250 184

Benchmark Word

Processor 500 367

Micro Focus CIS COBOL 8086... 850 637

Organic Software

Datebook 395 331

Milestone 395 269

Ryan-McFarlandCorp RM/COBOL Full

DevSystem 950 713

RM/COBOL

Runtime Only 250 188

Structured Systems

Analyst 250 188

AP 1250 790

AR 1250 790

GL 1250 790

Inventory 1250 790

Letteright 200 150

NAD 100 75

OrderEntry 1250 790

PR 1250 790

QSort 100 75

Woolf Movelt 150 99

PC GAMES

Acorn Software LIST SALE

LostColony 30 22

Automated Simulations/EPYX

CurseofRa 20 15

Temple of Apshai... 40 30

Upper Reaches

ofApshai 20 15

Avalon Hill Andromeda

Conquest 23 17

Computer Stocks

8iBonds 25 19

Draw Poker 21 16

Galaxy 25 19

Midway Campaign .21 16

Voyager 25 19

Blue Chip

Millionaire 100 75

Broderbund Software

ApplePanic 30 22

Datamost

PigPen 30 22

Space Strike 30 22

Infocom

Deadline 50 37

Starcross 40 30

Suspended 50 38

Zorkl 40 30

Zorkll 40 30

Zorklll 40 30

Omrlc

Blingsplats 35 26

Championship

Draughts 35 26

Space Guardian .... 30 22

Sierra On Line

Crossfire 30 22

Frogger 35 26

Ulysses & Golden

Fleece 40 29

Sirius Conquest (Call to

Arms) 30 22

Strategic Simulations

Warp Factor 40 30

PC HARDWARE

PI LIST SALE

PC-Hayes Cable .... 35 29 AST Research

Combo + 64K 595 429

Mega + 64K 595 429

Corvus PC Interface, Cable, Man 300 239

Kraft Joystick 70 52

Microsolt

64KRAM 350 249

64K RAM Chip Set . 175 139

128KRAM 525 379

192K RAM card .... 700 499 256K RAM card .... 875 624

QCS Big Blue 595 449

Quadram 64KQuadboard .... 395 289 256KQuadboard... 595 435

Symtec LightPen 150 126

Tandon TM100-2 Drive (5VVDS) [5] 650 249

TG

Joystick 65 49

Trackball 65 49

276 BYTE July 1983

Circle 334 on inquiry card.

Your APPLE Source

APPLE 11/11+ DOS

Applied Software

Technology

LIST

SALE

Versaform

389

269

Versaform-Pascal

245

180

Versatorm/Corvus

HrdDisk

495

360

ARTSCI

Magic Mailer

70

49

Magic Pack Combo

225

156

Magic Window

100

75

MagicWindowll ...

150

109

Magic Words

70

49

AvantGarde

Ultra Plot/DIF/

Datagraph

99

71

Beagle Brothers

Apple Mechanic ....

30

22

30

23

DOS Boss

24

17

Flex Text

30

23

ProntoDOS

30

23

UtilityCity

30

22

Broderbund Software

Bank Street Writer

70

53

General Ledger

w/AP

495

305

Payroll

395

275

Compoter Station

Combined

Enhanced Graphics

55

40

Station Master

175

136

Comshare

Image Maker

175

126

Continental Software

CPA#1.2,3,4

(all 4) [5]

1000

609

CPA#1-GL

250

159

CPA#2-AR

250 250

159

CPA#3-AP

159

CPA#4-Payroll ...

250

159

CPA #5-Property

Management

495

352

FCM (First Class

Mail)

100

75

Home Accountant..

75

52

Crane

Menu Generator....

40

29

Creative Curriculum

Speed Reading

Courseware

99

n

Dakin5

Business Book

keeping System ....

395

299

Budget Planner ....

150

112

Depreciation

395

299

Datamost

Reap (Real Estate) .

130

90

130

90

WriteOn

130

99

Datasoft

BASICCompiler...

100

75

Lisp Interpreter ....

125

94

Micropainter

35

25

Decision Software

Accountant

129

97

Accountant with

DBCalc

149

112

DBCalc

20

Delta Software

Bookkeeper Check

Writer

40

29

Bookkeeper Master

90

68

Denver

Financial Partner ...

250

188

Pascal Programmer

296 125

223

Pascal Tutor

97

Eduware

40

30

40

30

Algebra 3

40

30

Compu-Math/

Arithmetic Ski

50

37

Compu-Read

30

22

Compu-Spell/

Data Disk 4-8 (ea) .

20

15

Compu-Spell/

System

30

22

Counting Bee

30

22

49 49

37

Fractions

37

Metri-Vert 16

Perception 25

PSAT Word Attack 49

Rendezvous 40

SAT Word Attack ... 49 Spell Bee w/

Reading Primer ... 40

Statistics 30

Hayden

Piewriter/Multi

80Column 150

Piewriter/Standard 150

Hayes Micromodem II

w/TermPgm 409

Terminal Program . 100

Highlands

CRAE 40

EZLedger 60

MCAT 25

Howard Creative Financing

1983 195

Real Estate

Analyzer 195

Tax Preparer 1983 . 225

IUS

Datadex 150

Datadex/Hard Disk . 300

Easy Mover 100

Forth Development

System 140

Tellstar Level 1 40

TellstarLevel2 80

Insoft

ALD System II 75

Electric Duet 30

Graforthll 75

Transforthll 125

ISM

Graphmagic 90

Mathemagic 90

Kensington

Formatll 150

Lightning

Master Type 40

Link Systems

DataFax 199

DataLink 100

LinkDisk 70

Linklndex 195

I i-k Sampler 60

LinkVideo 55

UK Enterprises

Data Perfect 100

Edit6502 100

Lettr Pefct HI

MailMerge 150

Lotus Executive Briefing

System 199

Micro Lab

Asset Manager 200

Data Factory 300

English SAT #1 .... 30

Invoice Factory 200

Learning System... 150

Merger 50

Painter Power 40

Payroll Manager ... 300

TaxManager 180

US Constitution

Tutor 30

Visiblend 50

Visifactory 75

WallStreeter 300

Microsoft Applesoft Compiler

(TASC) 175

Multiplan 275

n.MathVSimp

(ADIOS) 250

Time Manager 150

Typing Tutor II 25

Muse

Address Book 50

Dataplot 60

Elementary math ... 40 Form Letter Module

100

Supertext Home

Office 125

Supertext

Professional 99

The Voice 40

12

Omega

19

Inspector

60

49

37

Locksmith

100

lb

30

Optimized System Software,

Inc.

37

Speed Read Plus... PBL

60

43

30

Personal Investor..

145

99

22

Penguin

Additional Fonts

CharSet

20

15

108

Comp Graphics/

108

Apple Tablet

Complete Graphics

120

86

System

70

50

289

Graphics Magician .

60

45

75

Special Effects Special Effects

40

30

30

Apple Tablet

70

50

37

Phoenix

19

Zoom Graphics Program Design

50

38

New Step-By-Step

bU

58

149

Quality Software

Bag of Tricks

40

30

146

GBS—DBAppI

179

Dev Program

Sensible

650

488

108

Applesoft +

216

Struc. BASIC

40

30

75

Best

40

30

Bug,The

50

32

101

30

23

30

Disk Organizer

30

23

58

Disk Recovery

30

23

DOS Plus

25

19

56

EditSoft

40

30

23

Image Printer

56

Epson

40

30

94

Image Printer

40

Ml

65

Image Prtr NEC/

65

40

go

Multi Disk Catalog .

25

19

113

Quadrant6112

30

23

Quickloader

25

19

30

Sensible Speller.... Sensible Speller

125

94

149

Pascal

125

94

75

Sens.Speller

51

WordHandler

125

94

149

Super Disk Copy ...

35

26

45

Sierra On Line

42

100

70

EPFIV

80

56

78

General Manager II

230

168

78

Screenwriter II Screenwriter

130

85

112

Professional

Silicon Valley

200

149

Dictionary

125

94

149

List Handler

90

68

WordHandler

199

145

144

Sirlus

216

Pascal Graphics

22

Editor

100

/5

144

SOF/SYS

37

250

188

30

Executive Speller ..

75

56

216

Softech

129

BASICCompiler

& Runtime [5]

225

169

22

Sof teach

125

94

37

UCSD p-System

54

Set

625

469

216

Xenofile

Software Dimensions Accounting + II

50

39

119

AP

395

289

198

•AR

395

289

•GL

395

289

194

• Inventory

395

289

116

• Payroll

395

289

19

• POE

395

289

•POS

395

289

36

•SOE

395

289

43

Software Publishers

29

PFS: File

125

94

PFS:Graph

125

94

75

PFS: Report Southeastern

125

94

94

Data Capture Data Capture/

65

49

/4

Smarterm

90

65

29

DataCapture/Videx

90

65

Data Capture/

Super Serial 90 65

Data Capture/

Superterm 90 65

Southwestern

ASCII Express

Professionl 130 89

Merlin 65 49

Printographer 50 38

Stoneware

Compucube 30 23

DBMaster 229 148

DBMaster/Hard

Disk 499 359

Electronic Price

Sheet 100 75

Graphics Proc

Sys(Prof) 179 129

Graphics Proc.

Sys(Std) 69 52

Micro Memo

Statpak 99 71

Utility Pak1 99 65

Utility Pak2 99 65

Synergistic

Data Reporter 220 158

Data Reporter/

HardDisk 220 158

Global Pgm Line

Editor 65 49

Higher Graphics II . 3 26

HigherTextll 40 30

Integer BASIC

Compiler 150 108

Mailing List

Database 50 38

Modifiable

Database 80 59

Program Line

Editor 40 30

Stargazer's Guide 30 23 Versa Computing

AXE-Apple

Extended Editor.... 70 53

Versawriter Exp.

Pak1 40 30

Versawriter Exp.

Pak2 40 30

Videx

80ColPreboot

Applewriter 19 15

80 Co! Preboot

Visicalc 49 37

Videoterm Utilities

Disk 37 28

Visicalc Mem Ex

w/Preboot 89 67

Visicorp

Business

Forecasting Model. 100 78

Desktop Plan 250 194

Visicalc 250 169

Visidex 250 194

Visifile 250 169

Visilink 250 194

Visiplot 200 156

Visischedule 300 234

Visiterm 100 79

Visitrend/Plot 300 234

Winner's Circle

Disk Encryption .... 60 45

APPLE lie SOFTWARE

Most Apple II products also run on the lie (call for details). Products below are specially designed for the lie.

Software Dimensions LIST SALE

Accounting + lie

AP 395 289

•AR 395 289

•GL 395 289

• Inventor 395

• Payroll 395

•POE 395

•POS 395

•SOE 395

Software Publishers

PFS: File 125

PFS:Graph 125

PFS:Report 125

Visicorp

Visicalc 250

289 289 289 289 289

94 94 94

189

APPLE /// SOFTWARE

Applied Software

Technology LIST SALE

Versaform 495 371

Datamost

WriteOn 130 99

Denver Software

EASY 750 562

Insoft

ALD System III 75 56

Transforthlll 125 94

Link Systems

DataFax 249 187

Linklndex 195 149

Link Sampler I 60 45

LinkVideo 55 42

Software Publishers

PFS: File 175 129

PFS:Graph 175 129

PFS:Report 125 94

Visicorp Business

Forecasting Model. 100 78

Desktop Plan 300 234

Visicalc Advanced . 400 312

Visischedule 300 234

APPLE HARDWARE

Eastslde LIST SALE

Wildcard 130 109

Hayes

Micromodem II [5] 379 259 Kensington

System Saver Fan .. 90 69 Kraft

Joystick 65 49

LJK

Lower Case Char

Gen 25 19

Micro-SCI

A2 35T Disk Drive .. 479 329 Microsoft

16KRamCard 100 69

Premium System [5] 695 489

Softcard 345 219

Personal Computer

Applicard6MHz ... 595 449 TG Products

Joystick 60 45

Selectaport 60 45

Trackball 65 49

Versa Computing

Versawriter

Graphics Tablet .... 299 249 Videx

Enhancerll 149 119

Function Strip 79 65

InverseCharacter

Set 29 24

Lower Case Chip ... 29 24

Lower Case Chip

(Rev0-6) 35 29

Micromodem

Firmware 29 24

Soft Video Switch . 35 29

Videoterm

Switchplate 19 16

Videoterm with

Softswitch 375 239

PRoqRAMiwiNq InternatjonaI (800)222-8811

Inside California: (415)324-3730

Circle 335 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 277

Your CP/M & Hardware Source

CP/M-80

LIST SALE Adventure International

Adventures

1-12(ReqZ80) 129 97

ATI Power for CP/M .... 75 54

Anderson-Bell ABSTAT 359

Artificial Intelligence

Dental (PAS-3) 995 749

Medical(PAS-3) ... 995 749

Ashton-Tate Bottom Line

Strategist 400 279

dBASEII 700 398

dBASE II w/User's

Guide 729 419

Aspen Software

Grammatik 75 56

Proofreader 50 38

Balcones BOSS Fin. Acctg System 2495 1496

Byrom Software

BSTAM 200 149

BSTMS 200 149

Caxton Cardbox 245 177

Commsoft Roots/M 195 142

Computer Control FABS-BTree File

Access 195 146

Ultrasortll 195 146

Computer development Image 495 356

Comshare

Planner Calc 99 74

Target Application

Guide 50 38

ComboPak 125 94

Condor

Condon 295 189

Condor3 650 398

Designer Software Palantir 425 319

Dictronics Random House Thesaurus 150 113

Digital Research Access Manager ... 300 225

CB80 500 395

CBasic 150 94

CISCobol 800 595

Despool 50 38

Display Manager ... 400 295

MAC 90 75

PascalMT+ 350 262

Pascal MT+ with

SPP 500 395

PL/180 500 375

SID 75 63

SPP 200 150

ZSID 100 88

DJR Associates, Inc.

FMS80 995 625

FMS80-1 495 312

FMS80-2 495 312

Ecosolt

Microstat 295 248

Microstat3.0 395 320

Epic Supervyz 150 94

Faircom Micro B+(CBasic) 260 211 Micro B+ (Other) . 260 211

Fox & Geller

dGRAPH 295 195

dUTIL 99 59

Quickcode 295 195

Quickscreen/

CBasic 149 125

Quickscreen/

dBASEII 149 125

Quickscreen/

FMS-80 149 125

Quickscreen/

MBasiC 149 125

FYl.lnc. Superfile 195 129

Human Soft dBPIus 125 95

Inlocom

Deadline 60 43

Starcross 50 38

Suspended 50 38

Zorkl 50 38

Zorkll 50 38

Zorklll 50 38

ISM Mathemagic 100 72

Ithaca Intersystems

PascalBZ 450 375

PascalZ 450 375

PascalZ8tBZ 650 542

Lexisott Spellbinder 495 281

Mark of The Unicorn

FinalWord 300 223

Mince 175 139

Metasoft Benchmark Mail

List 250 184

Benchmark

Wordprocessor .... 500 367

Micro Pro

Calcstar 145

Datastar 295

Infostar 495

Mailmerge 250

Reportsrar 350

Spellstar 250

Supersort 250

Word/Mail 695

Word/Spell 695

Word/Spell/Mail ... 845

Wordmaster 150

Wordstar 495

Microsoft

BASIC80 350

BASIC Compiler ... 395

COBOL80 750

FORTRAN 80 500

MACRO80 200

n Lisp i. Star 200

Multiplan 275

M.Math/nSimp 250

Sorting Facility

(MSORT) 195

TextEditor 120

Microstul Crosstalk/

Smartmodem 195

Northwest Analytical

Statpak 495

Oasis

TheWordPlus 150

Organic Software

Datebook 295

Milestone 295

Peachtree Series 4 Pak

(GL.AR.AP) 595

•AP 600

•AR 600

•GL 600

• Inventory 600

Series8AP 750

•AR 750

•GL 750

• Inventory 750

• Payroll 750

• Sales Inv 750

Peachpak Series 9 . 500

•MailingList 375

• Peachcalc 375

• Peachtext 500

• Proofreader 300

•Telecom 375

Series 40 Pak

(GL.AR.AP)t 595

•APt 400

96 195 327 165 231 165 165 426 426 558

99 327

252 296 562 360 150 156 198 194

151 94

135

369

229

299

398 398 398 398 398 515 515 515 515 515 515 345 258 258 345 206 258

398 275

•ARf 400

•GLt 400

Series 80 Pak

(GL,AR.AP)t 595

•APt 400

•ARt 400

• GLt 400

• Inventoryt 400

Pearl Soft

Personal Pearl 295

Quality

GBS—DBAppI

DevProg 650

Select

Select Word

Processor 595

Sensible

Sensible Spellert .. 125 Soltware Dimensions

Accounting + AP.. 645

•AR 645

• GL 645

• Inventory 645

645 645 645 645

> Payroll •POE •POS •SOE

Sorcim

ACT65 175

ACT68 175

ACT69 175

ACT80 175

ACT86/88 175

Pascal/m-80 395

Pascal/m-86/88.... 495

Supercalc 195

Supercalc2 295

Superspellguard ... 195

Superwriter 295

Trans 86 175

Southwestern

Z-Termt 100

Z-Term Professional

Supersolt Ada Compiler

Analizall

C Compiler 250

DiskDoctor 100

Dungeon Master ... 40

Nemesis 45

Scratchpad 295

TMaker Co T/Maker III 275

Woolf Software Systems Movelt 125

t Apple. CP/M only

300 50

275 275

398 275 275 275 275

184

356

94

398 398 398 398 398 398 398 398

126

126 126 126 126 284 356 129 179 129 185 126

150 109

225 38

188 75 30 34

221

215

CP/M-86(8")

Ashton-Tate LIST SALE

dBASEII 700 398

dBASE II w/User's

Guide 729 419

Digital Research

Pascal MT+86

w/SPP-86 800 600

XLT86 150 132

Woolf

Movelt 150 99

HARDWARE

(not machine specific)

Amdek LIST SALE

300

(12"Green) ....[10] 200 157

300A

(12"Amber) ...[10] 210 167

Colorll (RGB) [10] 899 645 Corvus Systems

6MB Hard

Disk [10)2295 1895

11 MB Hard

Disk [10J3295 2695

20MB Hard

Disk [10)4295 3495

Daisywrlter

Printer [10] 1395 1235

Hayes

Chronograph...[5] 249 199

Smartmodem

1200 [5] 699 509

Smartmodem

300 [5] 279 209

NEC

3530

Spinwriter [10)2190 1735

7710

Spinwriter [10)3085 2295

8023 Dot

Matrix [10] 695 495

Monitor 12" Green

Hi. Res [10] 285 167

Novation

JCat 149 119

Smart Cat 103 259 207

Smart Cat 103/212. 595 476

Orders must be PAID by JULY 31 to qualify for these special prices

PRoqRAMiwiNq InternatIonaI

TELEPHONE ORDERS

Outside Calif.: (800) 222-8811

Inside Calif.: (415) 324-3730

Order lines are manned 6:30-6 Monday thru Friday and 9-5 Saturday. Other lines are open 9-5 Monday thru Friday

Technical Support Order Status Safes Manager

(415)324-0311 (415)324-0306 (415)324-0305

More CP/M', APPLE -, IBM PC -. UNIX", UCSD pSystem " software, hardware, etc: call for quote.

505 HAMILTON AVE. • Suite 301 PALO ALTO, CA 94301

(800)222-8811

Inside California: (415)324-3730

TERMS: All prices subject to change without notice and availability. Cashier's check MO bank transfer. Allow time for company or personal checks to clear. Prices reflect cash prepaid discount. VISA MASTERCARD COD POs -I- 3%. CA residents add sales tax. All sales final for games & special orders.

RETURNS: Must have authorization number, obtained at 415-324-0305. Unauthorized returns will be refused; damaged goods will be refused. All returns subject to 15% restocking fee. No return after 30 days.

SHIPPING: S3 per Item for UPS surface ($6 for Blue Label) within Continental USA, except where shipping cost is specified in square brackets. UPS does not go to Canada, Alaska, APO's. FPO's, call tor ship charge or add 15%-we will refund/credit difference.

278 BYTE July 1983

Circle 336 on inquiry card.

Circle 321 on inquiry card.

particular key and then depress that key, the meter deflection should indicate a completed circuit.

If the circuit is complete, you next check for shorts by depressing all other keys one at a time. Any movement of the needle indicates a short in the circuit. If this occurs, make sure you cut all unneeded PCs. Also look for melted insulation between two overlapping wires. Make any necessary corrections before moving on.

After you are Satisfied1 that the circuits are correct, plug the cable into the keyboard connector and repeat all the tests. This double-checks your work on the keyboard and assures you that you built the connector cable correctly as well.

Take a deep breath and exhale. It's time for the real test with the computer. Unplug everything and place a bath towel or other suitable padding on your work surface to prevent scratching the case. Be sure that you are not carrying a static charge. You aren't going to touch anything critical, but it pays to be careful.

Turn your computer over and unscrew the seven screws in the case with a Phillips screwdriver. (This voids your warranty if you still have one.) Turn the computer over, being careful to catch the seven screws, and put them in a safe place until reassembly time. Lift off the top of the case and set it aside ."Lift the keyboard off the four posts on which it rests, and locate the short 16-conductor cable attached to 16 pins on the computer circuit board. Gently slide the female connector off the pins on the circuit board and set the keyboard aside.

The pins on the new keyboard are numbered 1 to 16 from left to right as you face them. Gently slide the female connector of your new ribbon cable over the pins on the circuit board (photo 3c) and set the case top loosely back in place on the computer.

Make certain that connectors 1 through 16 of your cable match pins 1 through 16 of the computer. Check your entire work area for shorts and hazards such as stray screwdrivers lying in the wrong place. When you are sure that you have removed all

The Bell 212 Modem for the S-100 Bus has Arrived

PMMI & Racal Vadic joined forces to bring you the first Bell 212A-compatible modem for the S-100 bus. The MM-212 is a top quality modem designed to meet all physical, electrical & timing requirements of the IEEE B9B/S-1DD specification. FCC registered for direct connection to the telephone line.

UNBEATABLE FEATURES:

• Bell 21 2A C1 20D baud) or Bell 1 D3 C45.5-3QD baud) modes

• 1 2DD baud synchronous & asynchronous

• Access to PMMI's 24 hour a day test center

• Microprocessor based design • Full or half duplex

• Auto answer and auto dial • Maskable interrupts

• Five year limited warranty • Self test modes

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, call or write for free brochure or send $10°° Crefundable w/purchase] for MM-212 Owner's Manual.

<$F§^

DEALER & OEM OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

COMMUNICATIONS

52D1 Leesburg Pike. Suite BD4 Falls Church, VA E2041 (7D31 379-9BBO

ALL MODEMS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL

INTRODUCES: PC-VSAM

TM

TM

• one of the most comprehensive and versatile I/O programs available with power and performance to match that of the IBM-PC.®

• uses sophisticated and easy command language that allows flexible and efficient storage of information.

• meets the challenge of today's complex system and application needs while saving time and money in development.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: IBM-PC™ , DOS, 64K RAM, ONE DISK DRIVE-5V4", 80 COLUMN DISPLAY, OPTIONAL PRINTER

INTRODUCTORY PRICE: $155.00

(Offer good through Sept. 7, 2983) In order to enable us to market the most economically prices software we use functionally-inexpensive packaging™ . Thus, passing the savings on to you.

PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS SPECIALISTS,™ INC.

P.O. Box 026005

Miami, Florida 33102-6005

Call Collect (305) 545-7077

For Information and Specifications.

Method of Payment: Check, Money Order.

Terms: All Handling and Shipping are included in Software price. Allow 2-4 weeks delivery. Trademark: IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Corp. PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS SPECIALISTS, FUNCTIONALLY-INEXPENSIVE PACKAGING, PCVSAM, PBS are Trademarks Pending of PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS SPECIALISTS, INC.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 279

Circle 138 on Inquiry card.

MMFANTASTIC PRICES!!!! FROM DIGITAL DIMENSIONS

OKIDATA

ML-80.,80 COL„ 80 CPS $317

ML-82A..80 COL, 120 CPS $395

'ML-83A..136COL.120CPS $639

•ML-84..PARALLEL, 136 COL., 200 CPS....$969 'ML-84..SERIAL, 136 COL., 200 CPS $1,083

"ML-92..80 COL.,

160 CPS PARALLEL $509

''ML-93..136 COL..

160 CPS PARALLEL $832

SERIAL INTERFACE FOR ML92&ML93... $99

PACEMARK2410..350CPS CALL

PACEMARK 2350..SERIAL, 350 CPS CALL

'Includes TRACTOR FEED "lnc.,OKIGRAPH ™ DOTADDRESSABLEGRAPHICS

SEIKOSHA DOT MATRIX, PARALLEL 50 CPS PLUS GRAPHICS $269

IDS

PRISM 80..3.4K & 200 Sprint $1,036

Inc. sheet feed, color & graphics $1,429

PRISM 132..3.4K & 200 Sprint $1,195

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MICROPRISM 480 $569

STAR MICRONICS GEMINI-10..10O CPS, 2.3K BUFFER $329 GEMINI-15 $519

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RIXON PC-212A Modem Card For the IBM PC CALL

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AMDEK Color I $309

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Quadram Quadboard w/64K $320

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Quadram Quadboard W/192K $430

Quadram Quadboard w 256K $490

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Figure 2: Keyboard case frame. Dimensions for the various pieces are provided in inches. Most pieces can probably be cut from scrap lumber.

hazards, cross your fingers, plug the computer in, and turn it on.

If the wrong letter appears when you press a key, or if two or more letters appear for one keystroke, you have a short or have missed cutting a trace on the printed circuit. The following program will assist you in your debugging efforts:

1 A$ = INKEY$ : IF A$ = " " THEN 1

2 A = ASC(A$): PRINT A,A$ : GOTO 1

This program shows you what code a particular key transmits even if the key does not normally print a character to the screen (such as the down arrow). You will be able to tell if a key that does not produce a character on the screen is actually transmitting a wrong character or sending nothing at all.

When you complete your checkout, leave the cable in place, reinstall the old keyboard (to keep out dust and dirt), and put the case back together, allowing the ribbon cable to protrude through the case seam on the side next to the expansion port. Remember that the two short screws fit in the keyboard end of the case.

Building the Keyboard Case

Now that the keyboard is functional, you need a case to keep out dust, coffee, and stray fingers. This part of the project costs little or nothing if you have a few woodworking scraps around the house. (I found all the materials for my case in my woodworking scrap bin and workbench.)

Cut two wedges of 2 by 4 scrap 7 inches long, 3A inch thick at one end, and 13A inches thick at the other (see figure 2). The width of the wedges is the short dimension of the 2 by 4. These wedges form the left and right frame of the case and provide the anchor points for the keyboard.

Cut two pieces of 1- by 1-inch board 13V* inches long. These are the stringers between the two wedges. Attach the wedges to the stringers at the front and rear with 2V2-inch, number 10, flathead wood screws and wood glue (see photo 4). Countersink the screw heads so that they can be covered by paneling. Use a chisel or router to countersink the keyboardmounting brackets flush with the sloped faces of the two wedges (photo 4b).

Attach paneling to the bottom and

280 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

incubation Compl

A Third Generation is Born

WrM

m

(Pictured above)

A Z80 based microcomputer board with memory and I /0 functions

• Fully complies with ieee 696 Standard

• 4/6/8 MHZ Z80A/B/H*

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ExpandORAM IV—Random access memory board utilizing 64K or 256K NMOS RAM chips

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SD300—A new series of compact yet expandable S-100 microcomputers.

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OEM Version: Designed for ease of Integration and maximum flexibility

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asv

CP/M* 2.2 and CP/M Plus™ are registered trademarkes of Digital Research, Inc. *Z80 product of Zilog Corp

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Circle 362 on inquiry card.

four sides of the case with paneling nails and glue. Next, cut a template out of paper to fit the top of the case and to just fit over the keys. Use this template to transfer the outline of the keys to a piece of paneling. Use a saber saw to cut the hole for the keys.

Drive 1-inch finishing nails partway into the locations for the holddown screws for the keyboard. Cut the heads off the nails leaving sharp points. Fit the cover over the keys, position it correctly, and tap the paneling over the nails with a mallet or hammer. Remove the top, pull the nails with a pair of pliers, and drill the holes for screws.

Cut a hole in the back panel for cable access and mount the female plug of the keyboard to the stringer with double-stick foam tape. Attach the keyboard cover. Turn the keyboard over and attach four rubber skids to the bottom of the case.

Changing the Key Faces

The final step is to give some of the keys a face-lift. For this you will need bottles of black, gray, and white

(4a)

(4b)

Photo 4a and b: Final stages of construction. The frame for the case in photo 4a is made from scrap lumber, then the keyboard in photo 4b is mounted within; later, paneling may be added for appearance's sake.

model-airplane high-gloss enamel; medium and very fine artists brushes; and steady hands. Simply obliterate all the incorrect characters on the

keyboard with black or gray paint as appropriate and then use a very fine tipped brush and white enamel to paint on the correct characters.

Summary

My total construction time, nights and weekends, amounted to six or seven days. It is probably a one- or two-day job for people who know what they are doing and can sit down and work straight through.

Was it worth the time and effort to install a new keyboard? Definitely. We now have a keyboard with a more comfortable touch for word processing, as well as three additional keys with five usable control characters. Plus, we enjoy the advantages of a numeric keypad when we enter data in our check register and statistical programs.!

About the Author

David M. Dacus, (1670 Valencia, Las Cruces, NM 88001) is an operations research analyst for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Systems Analysis Activity (TRASANA) at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

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282 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Now your computer can say anything and say it well. Introducing the Votrax Personal Speech System.

Quite articulate.

Friendly to humans.

The unlimited vocabulary Votrax Personal Speech System is the most sophisticated, low cost voice synthesizer available today. Its highly articulate text-to-speech translator lets your computer properly pronounce conversational words at least 95% of the time.

^For all those unusual words and

44

Designed to look like a printer to your computer, the Votrax PS System is extremely easy to use. It can be used in tandem with your printer without an additional interface card. Both serial and parallel ports come standard, allowing you to connect the Votrax PS System to virtually any computer. Speech, music and sound effects are

only a PRINT statement away.

proper names, you can define an exception word table and store your own translations. And remember, the entirely self-contained Votrax PS System gets your computer talking without using any valuable computer memory.

Built-in versatility.

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The Votrax PS System offers user expandable ROM for custom applications, user downloadable software capability and sound effects subroutines for easy user programming. Its programmable speech rate provides more natural rhythm, while 16 programmable amplitude levels give you greater control of word emphasis.

Actual size: 12.2" x 4.5" x 2.6"

What to say after "Hello".

Businesses will appreciate spoken data transmission, narration of graphic displays and unmanned, oral product demonstrations. Spoken verification of data input will make computers much easier for the blind to use. School chil-' dren can receive comprehensive

The Votrax Personal Speech System

is covered by a limited warranty.

Write Votrax for a free copy.

500 Stephenson Highway, Troy, MI 4808+

computer instruction with voice textbooks as well as spoken drills and testing. And then, late at night, you can make those adventure games explode.

A quick list.

n Highly articulate Votrax text-tospeech translator.

0 255 programmable frequencies for speech/sound effects.

a 16 amplitude levels.

□ Simultaneous speech and sound effects or speech and music.

D 8 octave, 3 note music synthesis.

□ Serial and parallel interface standard. □ User programmable master clock.

□ User defined exception word table.

□ User programmable speech rate, amplitude and inflection. □ User expandable ROM

for custom applications.

□ User downloadable software capability. D 3,500 character input buffer: subdivisible for a printer buffer.

□ Internal speaker and external speaker jack.

□ Real time clock and 8 user defined alarms.

□ Oral power up and error prompting.

□ X-on/X-off and RTS-CTS handshaking.

□ Programmable Baud settings (75-9600).

□ Interrupt driven Z-80 microprocessor.

□ Parallel/Serial interconnect modes.

Q Proper number string translation: the number " 154" is pronounced "one hundred fifty four".

To order, see your local computer retailer or call toll-free

1-800-521-1350

Michigan residents, please call (313)588-0341. MasterCard, VISA or personal check accepted. The price is $395 plus $4 for delivery. Educational discount available. Add sales tax in Michigan and California.

©VOTRAX 1982

Circle 436 on inquiry card

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BYTE West Coast

Improving the User Interface at Digital Research

by Phil Lemmons and Barbara Robertson

"We were very open about it for a while," Gordon Eubanks says, speaking about an iconic user-interface project that is now top secret at Digital Research Inc. "In fact, one version of the interface was shown on a national television program in 1982—fortunately, no one seems to have watched it." But opening its research and development project to visitors did cause Digital Research some confusion. Different visitors at different times saw different versions of an evolving project. Those visitors, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and others, went away with different expectations of the project. And once conflicting accounts started to circulate, confusion developed about the real nature of the project. Digital Research finally decided to cloak the project in the darkest secrecy until the time came to announce a product. Even the code name of the project is under wraps today.

Recently a different and perhaps more serious kind of confusion has become apparent: the mistaken view that Digital Research is not making efforts to improve user interfaces for software products because the company fails to see the need. BYTE West Coast Editors Phil Lemmons and Barbara Robertson visited Digital Research headquarters in Pacific Grove, California, to meet with Eubanks, vice-president of the company's Commercial Systems Division. What follows is Eubanks's discussion of the work DRI is doing on user interfaces.

Digital Research's efforts to improve the user interface in software involve three broad areas. First, historically, there's the "A>" approach, the programmer's interface. Programmers don't really have much trouble with that. When CP/M was developed, minicomputer operators and programmers were the predominant users of computers. To the people writing software, that A> interface was totally familiar, so it was natural that when CP/M and other systems were developed, that interface was used.

If we'd done something like Apple's Lisa then, people not only would have thought it was strange but probably wouldn't have liked it. It's more verbose, in a sense, and it would have slowed programmers down.

We will not totally abandon the programmer's interface. We will conAbout the Authors

Phil Lemmons and Barbara Robertson can be reached at BYTE/McGraw-Hill, 4th Floor, 425 Battery St., San Francisco, CA 94111.

Gordon Eubanks of Digital Research Inc.

286 July 1983 © BYTE Publication. Inc

Modem, schmodem.

If you're thinking about getting a modem, you're thinking about getting information.

Dow Jones. THE SOURCE™ CompuServe™ You want to access a computerized data base, and you think you need a computer to do it.

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Get Scanset XL,™ the Personal Information Terminal.

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Scanset and Scanset XL are trademarks of Tymshare, Inc.

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tinue to improve it. But there are two other areas that are becoming important now—the bit-mapped approach and the character I/O (input/output) approach. In the character I/O approach, you use the screen as a full screen, but you put only characters on it. You use highlighting and blinking and all the features of a typical video display, but you don't use graphics in the bit-mapped form.

Apple's Lisa and Visicorp's Visi On come under the bit-mapped approach. Digital Research is active in all three categories: the programmer's interface, the character I/O approach, and the bit-mapped I/O approach.

The advantage of the bit-mapped approach is that you can get optimum resolution and do very symbolic things like getting a trash can to symbolize dumping a file. However, if we have a bit-mapped screen with a bunch of windows and we're running different applications concurrently, it's not clear that the 8086 has enough power to update the screen in each

window concurrently. It's my understanding that Visi On has all the hooks for concurrency built into it, but they're not implemented in the 8086 version because of that processor's inability to support those windows and concurrent processes at sufficient speed.

On the other hand, if we use character I/O rather than bit-mapped screens, there's no question we can swap screens out with an 8086 while running different programs concurrently. We've demonstrated that. The advantage of the character I/O approach is that you can get a lot of functionality and ease of use and still run the cheaper hardware and get good performance. So right now we're working predominantly on character I/O.

It's not common knowledge, but we're working very closely with Visicorp and selected OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in the bitmapped area to be sure that Visi On works correctly. Digital Research will help OEMs adapt Visi On to CP/M.

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In fact, DRI will help with the writing of Visihost for a particular machine. We also have our own projects in the area of visual user interfaces, but that's all I can say about that for now. We're experimenting. We're trying to solve different problems of the user interface because we want to give the operating system an integrated look.

Operating System Markets

Look at how our operating system strategy is set up for the 8080 family and the 8086 family. The single user has a single-tasking or multiple-tasking operating system; larger, multiuser systems are achieved with multiple tasking on one central processor or networking on multiple central processors.

I've categorized the different operating systems by market segments. In the single-user, single-tasking segment, we have CP/M Plus for 8080s and CP/M-86 for the 8086 family. In the single-user, multitasking segment, we have MP/M II for 8080s and Concurrent CP/M for the 8086 family. For the multiuser, multitasking segment, we have MP/M II for 8080s and MP/M-86 for the 8086 family. In the multiuser, local-area network segment, we have CP/Net and CP/ Net-86. Digital Research's strategy is to interface these operating systems through the user interface.

The segment that includes multiuser, multitasking systems is the traditional minicomputer market because minicomputers traditionally work in those environments. The segment that includes single-user systems, whether single- or multitasking, is the professional and small-business market. And the third segment is the local-area network.

We look at our competitors, MSDOS and Xenix, and see them positioned in an area that really doesn't hit the marketplace. Microsoft is trying to stretch from MS-DOS, a singleuser, single-tasking system, to Xenix, a multiuser, multitasking system, which is a totally different segment of the market. In other words, while it's technically good to say you'll migrate from MS-DOS to Xenix, that doesn't make sense from the marketing side. One of the principles of marketing is

288 July 1983 © BYTE Publication* Inc

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to look at the market segments you're in and then try to understand how your products fit in other segments. Well, moving Xenix into other segments doesn't make sense. It doesn't work in real time, it doesn't work on floppy disks right now, and it doesn't have file protection—not that you couldn't fix all these things.

In addition, I claim that people move from the single-user systems into networking rather than into the classic multiuser area. I see multiuser

local-area networks of multitasking single-user systems developing rather than systems of many users on a single central processing unit. With this in mind, when we look at where we really think the appropriate products are, we think that CP/M Plus is the cornerstone product on the 8-bit. We don't think that the MP/M, 8-bit multiuser system is the predominant choice for the majority of users. We think that single-user single-tasking in the 8-bit world and single-user multi

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tasking in the 16-bit world are the main areas, and networking between the two is crucial. And while we have systems for all market segments, we think that on the 8086 and 8088 concurrency is what will satisfy most of the professional and small-business users.

Of course there's the home segment and the industrial segment—all kinds of segments in which operating systems fit in. But right now we're concentrating on the professional/smallbusiness segment.

Our experimenting with user interfaces applies here. Now when we go into a visual CCP (Console Command Processor), we-don't just say we're going to put it on this one product. We've got to talk about putting it on at least all the CP/M market segments. Perhaps MP/M II could live without upgrades, although there is no problem integrating a visual CCP. The strategy is to have a uniform interface and perhaps alternate interfaces. As we develop more experience in that area, maybe we can come up with a different approach.

The 3.1 File System

The thing that's nice about our new products is that they all have what we call the 3.1 file system. It has protection, works in real time, and offers file and record-locking commercial features. (Of course, a single-tasking operating system, by definition, can't be a real-time system.) When you write programs in this environment, you can actually port them into the networking system; you can network. You could start with CP/M Plus, then get a DEC Rainbow and run Concurrent CP/M-86 on it, and then get the networking and network the 8-bit system. They'd all talk together. When we talk about a user interface, we're talking about putting it across a family of products. We're working on both approaches—bitmapping and character I/O. It's not really complicated.

Pointing Devices

Some people ask us what we think of having a mouse. What we think isn't really the issue. What the public thinks is the issue. It will be in

290 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 440 on Inquiry card.

teresting to watch what happens if we get the mouse into the schools. The kids get so good at these things, they just develop a capability.

Have you played video games? You get to where you just develop a feel for the joystick and how to do the game. If kids grow up learning how to use these things in school, mice will be second nature to them. The experts tell me that you can be very proficient with them.

I think touch screens and voice will be as big a factor as mice. One of the reasons we chose the virtual device interface (VDI) approach to graphics was that it's both an output and an input system. The definition allows input devices, so things like mice and joysticks become an integral part of the system that has GSX (an implementation of the graphics kernel standard that includes a virtual-device interface). There are two fundamental reasons why GSX or VDI is superior to, say, NAPLPS (North American Presentation-Level Protocol Standard) in the business segment. It's important not to confuse segments. GSX accepts input devices that are going to be important in the professional workstations, and it has a two-way communication with the interface. In other words, I don't just say "draw a line." I can ask how many colors and line styles are supported, get that input from the system, and make a decision on how to present the graph.

This leads to more portable software. If you're really going to talk about object-code portability and about supporting a number of machines, there are two ways of doing it. At present, the programmer sits down each time and makes a separate version of the program. Just feeding in the measurements and having the product come out would be an easier way. Now there is a little bit of a trade-off. You're never going to get the optimum custom fit that you get by writing new code for each machine, but how many of us have shirts made any more? I think it's going to be the same way with software. Things like GSX lend themselves to this type of portability.

Hardware manufacturers can design a program that runs on the

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July 19S3 © BYTE Publication. Inc 291

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machine now, and when they do a new graphics board the program will still run. You write one driver and all the other programs run on it. In software I think it's important to get that kind of portability across a large number of machines, to last through two or three generations of machines, get good value for the money, and benefit the end user. Having this kind of portability is going to bring about low-cost software.

The Office Metaphor

I think people confuse ease of learning and ease of use. Someone really has to make it clear that those are different concepts. Wordstar is a great example. I hear people blast Wordstar all the time because it's hard to use. But it's really only hard to learn; once you learn it, it's not that hard to use. I think people are really big on ease of learning because it helps sell products. They blast Wordstar's Control C or Control F. I know where the keys are, but I don't think it's any easier to use some function keys. Especially on the IBM PC, where you get the first 10 by using Fl to 10 and others with combinations like Shift Fl. How is that easier? I think function keys promote ease of learning but not ease of use, particularly for high-proficiency people who don't want to move their hands off the keyboard.

I also think that we spend a lot of time talking about control keys rather than talking about the keyboards themselves. Somebody ought to look at a Displaywriter keyboard and then a PC and analyze the difference in terms of ease of use for someone who has to type for eight hours a day. I've never typed all day, but I do spend three or four hours at a keyboard. Except for top-of-the-line word processors like Displaywriter, most keyboards are fatiguing. There's a big difference between the Displaywriter keyboard and, say, the PC keyboard. The PC is a nice keyboard—I don't think it's the best keyboard on the market, but it's okay.

The office metaphor—with filing cabinets, in-baskets, and so on—is very easy to learn because of the analogy. But once you have a com

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puter, you probably find new ways of thinking about and doing things, ways that were never possible in an old office. In the same way, when IBM brought in all the tab machines and NCR brought in all its equipment back in the 1920s and 1930s, people developed new ways of doing things in the office. They had to. Without a typewriter and a Xerox machine, I don't know how we would function. With word processors, people learned to take a different approach. Word processors make it a simple matter to work on rough drafts much more than you ever did before. You feel free at any point to mark things up, change one or two words. Before word processing if you had a 20-page document and you changed three or four words, you would have had a rebellion. You just couldn't do that.

Video Game Metaphors

One interesting thing we're looking at from video games is the attract mode, where you get a feel for the system by seeing it go through all the things it can do. Gary Kildall has two kids. Scotty, the teenager, is an ace at video games. He's really good at Donkey Kong. I can never get into the elevator part. I think that the influence of Scotty and his friends and other kids who like video games is showing up in the design of our software.

We have some really talented people trying to design different interfaces that work. There's definitely a commitment at DRI to the user interface both in bit-mapped and character I/O approaches. At the same time, we work with Visicorp very closely, and its interface will be available for CP/M-86 systems. The character I/O interfaces from Digital Research will be available by the end of 1983, and Visi On will be available in the middle of 1983.

I think that all these things will tie in to make available very good interfaces on CP/M operating systems. We have maintained very good working relationships with a large number of software houses, and cooperation among companies will make improvements in the user interface widely available.■

294 July 1983 © BYTE Publicadora Inc

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Continued from page 8

distance between any two stations is 20,000 feet.

SSM Microcomputer Products Inc., San Jose, CA, is distributing Transend PC, a $189 icon-based, user-friendly electronic-mail program for the IBM PC developed by Small World Communications of Menlo Park, CA. One of the program's authors, Richard Moore, worked on Smalltalk-based computers at Xerox PARC and on the Apple Lisa computer; both make heavy use of icons and emphasize ease of use.

VICTOR INTRODUCES LOCAL AREA NETWORK AND DISKLESS COMPUTER WORKSTATION

Victor Technologies has announced a local area network that allows hard-disk sharing and supports up to three printers, plotters, or other peripherals. The company will also offer a low-cost diskless computer workstation that can be combined with microcomputers on the network. Based on Corvus's Omninet, the network supports 54 workstations and 10 file servers at a speed of 1 megabit per second. The file servers offer a 10-megabyte hard disk, a floppy-disk system storing 1.2 megabytes, and 256K bytes of RAM for $5495.

MICROSOFT, SUMMAGRAPHICS. AND MOUSE SYSTEMS DISPLAY THREE NEW MICE

Microsoft announced its two-button mechanical mouse, which will work with Multiplan and Microsoft's new word processor, Multi-Tool Word. The mouse will sell for $195 with two educational programs and Multi-Tool Notepad, a simple text processor. Summagraphics, the bitpad manufacturer, displayed the Summa Mouse, a three-button optical device, to be used with Visi On. It will sell for $300. Mouse Systems, Santa Clara, CA, has created a mouse for the IBM PC that can be used with existing commercial software, translating mouse movements and button presses into user-definable code

I sequences.

KODAK PRESENTS ULTRA HIGH-DENSITY FLOPPY DISKS

Eastman Kodak's Spin Physics division, San Diego, CA, showed samples of its new Isomax ultra-highdensity floppy disks. Cobalt-doped isotropic magnetic particles allow vertical recording (using small-gap recording heads) with each disk, potentially storing 5 megabytes at 96 tracks per inch. The most interest, Kodak reports, has been in 5% -inch disks, which have sold for under $30 each in small sample quantities, but samples have also been produced in three microfloppy sizes. Full production is scheduled by the end of 1983.

GREAT LAKES COMPUTER PERIPHERALS CO. OFFERS 10 MEGABYTES FOR LESS THAN $1000

The Great Lakes Computer Peripherals Co., Schaumberg, IL, announced the availability of its Magnabyte-10, a 10-megabyte hard-disk unit for the IBM PC and PC-bus compatible systems running under PC-DOS 2.0. An enclosed unit, the Magnabyte-10 comes with power supply, disk-controller card, and cables. It also has room for another 10-megabyte hard disk in the case. Price of the single-drive unit is $995; the dual-drive unit sells for $1795.

AML YN AND SONY ANNOUNCE HIGH-DENSITY DISK DRIVES

Amlyn Corp. announced 5%-inch floppy-disk drives that can store 3.3 megabytes of data using doublesided recording at a density of 9500 bits per inch at 1 70 tracks per inch. The drives use an Intel 8051 microprocessor to handle real-time control functions, including the ability to read disks recorded at standard track densities such as 48, 96, or 100 tpi. Sony introduced another entry in the "smaller is larger" category with a double-sided version of the 3%-inch microfloppy disk drive that can store 1 megabyte of data.

CONTROL DATA'S CRICKET' WINCHESTER STORES 6 MILLION BYTES

Control Data Corp. introduced several OEM disk-drive products at the show, including the CDC 9270-6 "Cricket," a 3V2-inch Winchester hard-disk drive that uses thin-film heads and nickel-cobalt-plated disks to provide personal computer users with 6.38 million bytes of unformatted data storage. The Cricket is compatible in timing and format with the industry-standard Seagate ST506 interface, which transfers data at 5 megabits per second. The complete disk drive, which incorporates a band-stepper positioning technique, is 1.63 inches high, 4 inches wide, and 6.37 inches deep. Linear recording densities are 1 5,390 bits per inch and 450 tracks per inch. Developed by the technology division of Magnetic Peripherals Inc., a CDC subsidiary, the Cricket will be available for OEMs in evaluation quantities in the third quarter for $465.

296 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

MANNESMANN TALLY INTRODUCES THE SPRITE, A MEW LOW-COST PRINTER

Mannesmann Tally, Kent, WA, has introduced a low-cost printer, the Sprite, for $399 and has reduced the price of its MT 160 printer by 25 percent, to $698. Both printers emulate the popular Epson MX-80 in character and graphics modes. The Sprite is an 80-cps printer with a full-spaced 9 by 8 dot matrix, a parallel interface, and friction and tractor feed. The MT 160, when combined with a $100 option, produces near-typewriter quality printing in a two-pass mode with various text-formatting capabilities. Both versions of the MT 1 60 print at 1 60 cps.

DEC DEMONSTRATES AN INTERACTIVE VIDEO INFORMATION SYSTEM

Digital Equipment Corp. showed an optional enhancement to the Professional 350 computers: IVIS, the Interactive Video Information System. Still-frame or dynamic video signals from either of two NTSC (National Television System Committee) sources can be superimposed or intermixed with bit-mapped 960- by 240-pixel text and color graphics on a 1 3-inch RGB monitor, accompanied by two audio channels. Education and video production are two expected applications for the system. An IVISequipped Professional sells for $12,624.

MYSTERY GAME PUTS DETECTIVES ON RUMP

Murder on the Zinderneuf, a video game from Electronic Arts, lets amateur sleuths assume the role of their favorite detective to solve a new mystery with each game. Game players uncover clues by questioning the other passengers on the Zinderneuf, a dirigible. Answers vary with the detective and style of questioning the player chooses. The game sells for $40 and is available for Atari 400, 800, and 1 200 XL.

IBM OFFERS PLASMA DISPLA Y AND 4 INCH DISK DRIVE

IBM showed two interesting, if curious, products. One, a plasma display running on an IBM PC, measures 16 by 1 2 by 2Vi inches and has a resolution of 960 by 768 pixels (about 71 dots per inch). The display is bright red, and it can produce some striking graphics. The display is being offered to manufacturers at about $3400 in single-unit quantities. The other IBM product is a 4-inch floppy-disk drive. The drive uses a French-curve shaped cam to position the recording head and uses no track sensors to position the head. The speed changes for each track so that the medium passes the head at the same speed for each track. The drive can store 250K bytes on a single-density single-sided disk at 68 tracks per inch and 6865 bits per inch. The disk looks like the 5%-inch variety except that the disk envelope and sleeve are made of hardened plastic.

CANON UNVEILS A SEVEN-COLOR INKJET PRINTER

Canon displayed a seven-color ink-jet printer, the A-1 210, which sells for about $795. The print head for the Canon uses four nozzles and prints 40 characters per second. Graphics resolution is 640 dots per line. The printer uses plain roll paper, 8V2 inches wide.

NANOBYTES

Epson announced three additions for the portable HX-20 Notebook Computer: The Skiwriter wordprocessing software, a microcassette drive, and Typing Tutor. The word-processing package is available in ROM format and features a context-sensitive HELP facility. . . . Hewlett-Packard is offering four new plug-in software packages for its HP-75C portable computer, giving users a full-featured Visicalc, Text Formatter, Math Pac, and Surveying Pac. . . . Micropro is giving away a CP/M board for the Apple II and lie with the purchase of Wordstar or Infostar. . . . Seeq Technology of San Jose, CA, will announce this month that its EEROMs (electrically erasable read-only memories) can be rewritten 100,000 times. In effect, this provides reprogrammable nonvolatile semiconductor memory. . . . The Alien Group, New York, NY, has created the Sprinter, a $580 62K-byte intelligent buffer that allows users to dump a document to the buffer and interactively display it on a video monitor. A 1 2-key keypad allows scrolling within the stored document to print selected portions. . . . Polaroid announced a low-cost interactive film recorder that produces 35mm slides and instant photos of personal computer screen graphics. The Polaroid palette will be available later this year in Apple and IBM PC versions for $1 300. . . . Both Tecmar and Persyst, makers of add-on boards for the IBM PC, announced versions of their products for the Texas Instruments Professional Computer. . . . Koala Technologies Corp., Los Altos, CA, introduced an IBM PC version of its Koalapad nonkeyboard input device and Koalaware graphics software.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 297

TO YOUR APPLE n,PORONLY$19S.

WTO

If you like "talking" to your Apple by pushing keys and looking at a screen, you'll like the j real thing — computer-generated speech—even more.

For home use, there's nothing like the friendliness of the spoken word for learning languages, teaching children to read, or playing video games. And around the office, you'll appreciate the convenience of synthesized speech for announcing important messages you may miss on the screen, relaying status information, answering telephone inquiries, and a host of other routine tasks.

Now you can do all these things-and more—with our new SSB-APPLE Speech Synthesis Board. All at a price that won't leave you speechless: $195.

At a fraction of the price of other speech synthesizers, the SSB-APPLE features the largest vocabulary available today for the Apple II: 1200 words, enabling

\\ I

you to create virtually any message you want. And because we use Texas Instruments' high-performance TMS5220 speech chip-coupled with an on-board amplifier and external high-quality speaker -you also get the most natural sounding voice quality around. But don't take our word for it. Take your Apple's. To order, call toll-free (800) 5381542; in California, (408) 773-8400 Or write us today.

Easy to install ant) to activate from any BASIC pn-\~ gram, the SSB-APPLE kit comes complete with every! thing you need to make a dumb Apple articulate: board, high-quality speaker and cable, digitized dictionary (on 5V4-inch floppies), and handy reference manual.

MULTITECH ELECTRONICS

Muititech Electronics, Inc., 195 West El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Apple II is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Dealer inquiries welcome.

Circle 289 on Inquiry card.

The 8086—An Architecture

for the Future

Part 2: Instruction Set

The 8086 lets you easily construct compact programs

High-level languages have been introduced over the years to ease the burden of programming. These languages consist of statements in a form more understandable by humans, as opposed to assembly language and machine code. But these statements still must be translated into machine code—the language the computer understands. For most high-level languages, the translation process involves the use of a compiler.

A compiler's code should be efficiently produced so that it doesn't occupy a large amount of memory space and executes quickly. Depending on the machine code needed by the microprocessor, this translation might or might not be an easy task for the compiler.

In part 1, I discussed how the method of addressing memory to access variables, using a segment and an offset, supported the high-level-language needs for memory-based variables. Table 1 reviews the 8086 addressing modes. The 8086 16-bit data structure and registers fulfill the larger data-type needs. In this part, I will explore how the instruction set assists high-level-language compilers in their task.

Instructions

Instructions can have no operands, one operand, or two operands. Most two-operand instructions follow the convention of the destination followed by the source, as used in the

by Stephen A. Hey wood

8080 microprocessor. For example, the instruction ADD BX,AX means add the source and destination together (AX and BX) and place the result in the destination (BX).

Most instructions in the 8086 set operate on either bytes or words. Registers, immediate data, and memory contents can be designated as the source or destination in many operations; however, immediate data can only be the source. This capability lets you add 5 to the contents of a memory location and store the result back in memory. It also aids you in manipulating variables in high-level languages. Instead of having to write the intermediate steps to bring a memory variable into a register for manipulation and then storage, you can accomplish it in one instruction.

The 8086 uses general-purpose mnemonics, instead of one for each op code, with the operands defining the type of operation. For example, the 8086 mnemonic MOV (move) replaces such 8080 mnemonics as LDA, STA, LXI, MVI, and STAX, among others. This replacement means fewer mnemonics for you to remember and lets you concentrate on the program itself.

Many 8086 instruction mnemonics resemble those of the 8080, but with increased capabilities. This similarity permits easy conversion of 8080 assembler code to that of the 8086. Conversion programs take 8080 assembler code and convert it to 8086

assembler code for reassembly. The converted programs are larger and do not take full advantage of the 8086's instruction set, but do allow a quick way to upgrade 8080 software to the 8086.

Several new operations in the 8086 instruction set achieve the following added capabilities:

• multiplication and division of signed, unsigned, and unpacked decimal numbers

• string operations such as moves, scans, and compares

• byte translations using tables

• software interrupts

• program-loop instructions

• multiprocessor and coprocessor coordination

• nondestructive bit testing

The various addressing modes and instruction types combine to make a large number of distinct instructions. It would be tedious to program in machine language, which requires us to manually combine addressing mode and instruction type for each instruction we use. Because computers excel at tedious tasks, assemblers and high-level-language compilers are recommended programming tools.

Data-Transfer Instructions

The data-transfer instructions, as listed in table 2, provide the means to

July 19»3 © BYTE Publications Inc 299

Circle 460 on inquiry card.

All equipment is in factory cartons with manufacturers' warranty. Prices subject to change without notice. Most items in stock or shipped as received.

1

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Mode

Location of Data

Examples Using Add

Immediate

Within instruction

ADDCH.5F

Register

In register

ADD BX.DX

Direct

At memory location pointed to by offset contained in instruction

ADD WVAR.BX

Register Indirect

At memory location pointed to by offset contained in register

ADD CX,[BX]

Indexed or Based

At memory location pointed to by sum of index or base register contents and displacement in instruction

Memory address is sum of base

ADD[SI + 6],AL

Based and Indexed

ADD[BX+DI + 5],DX

with Displacement

register contents and index register contents and displacement

Table 1: The 8086 addressing modes supply the operands for the instructions. To access variables for instructions, the 8086 uses its addressing modes to generate the offset for memory variables. The full address for memory variables consists of the contents of a segment register plus the addressing mode.

Mnemonic

Description of Operation

MOV dest, source

Move byte or word

PUSH source

Push word onto stack

POP dest

Pop word off stack

PUSHF

Push flags onto stack

POPF

Pop flags off stack

XCHG op1, op2

Exchange operand 1 with operand 2

LAHF

Load AH register from flags

SAHF

Store AH register in flags

IN ace, port

Input byte or word to accumulator

OUT port, ace

Output byte or word in accumulator

LEA dest, source

Load effective address

LDS dest, source

Load pointer into destination and DS

LES dest, source

Load pointer into destination and ES

XLAT

Translate byte

Table 2: The data-transfer instructions set up registers or memory locations, communicate between the 8086 and input/output devices, save to the stack and retrieve that information, and translate data from one form to another.

set up registers or memory locations, communicate between the 8086 and I/O (input/output) devices, save to the stack and retrieve that information, and translate data from one form to another. Only the POPF (pop flags off stack) and SAHF (store AH register in flags) instructions affect the flag register; the remaining datatransfer instructions have no effect on the flags.

The MOV instruction is a nondestructive copy of the source operand (the second operand) to the destination operand. The source and destination are either bytes or words and can be register or memory contents using the addressing modes, but both cannot be memory contents. The source can also be immediate data, which

satisfies the need to set up registers and variables in memory. For example, you might want to set up a variable in memory called HOUR with a value of 5. The instruction would then look like this in the program:

MOV HOUR,5

with the offset in memory in place of HOUR.

The PUSH (push word onto stack) and POP (pop word off stack) instructions provide a way of saving and restoring the contents of a register, the contents of a memory location using the addressing modes (not immediate data), or the contents of the flag register (using the PUSHF

300 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Printers

Software compatability is crucial in choosing any printer, so before you decide, check that your software can work with a given printer. This is your responsibility, not ours.

Interfacing with most micros is a choice between parallel or RS-232C (serial). Be sure you know which type your computer handles. Wherever possible, use the parallel option. It's easier to use & it cost less too.

C. ITOH

Prowriter

Reviewers laud the Prowriter s speed (120 cps), the buffer (1.5K), character sets (5 fonts) and graphics (160x144 dpi). The Prowriter 2 has the same specs, but in a 132 column format. Because delivery is slow nationwide, the Prowriter has become "The Printer Worth Waiting For..."

Prowriter $399.88

Prowriter 2 $734.88

STARMICRONICS

Gemini 10X/15

Gemini 10X (a new version) features 120 cps, 120 x 144 dpi, 5 fonts (w/italics) and a 2.2K buffer. It's Epson code compatible too. Gemini comes with tractors & uses plain spool ribbons. The Gemini 1S is the 132 column version. Call for the lates & greatest prices

OKIDATA

Microline Series

Microline 82As & 83As are data crunchers with 120 cps and optional dot-addressable graphics ROM. They come with both parallel & RS-232C interface (up to 1200 baud).

The Microline 92 & 93 are text processors with 160 cps draft mode, a 40cps correspondence mode & the graphics included.

Microline 82A $419.88

82A/92 Tractor $59.88

Microline 83A $679.88

Microline 92 $524.88

W/RS-232C $834.88

Microline 93 $884.88

W/RS-232C $994.88

US Robotics Password

$379.88 UPS DELIVERED

An exceptional value for a 1200 baud modem. The Password is a direct connect originate/answertype modem with 0-300 & 1200 baud capability (Bell 212A compatible). Features include auto dial, auto answer, auto mode and auto speed select, full & half duplex (local echo), DTR override, RS-232C pins 2 & 3 reversible S audio phone line monitor. Single button operation makes the Password very easy to use. Comes with an RS-232C cable, power supply & modulartelephone cable.

We sell other dot matrix printers, including the Anadex Series, Centronics Series, the Epson Series, the IDS Prism Series & the Mannesmann Tally 160-L.

Letter-Quality

C. ITOH

Starwriter

The Starwriter uses Diablo code, wheels & ribbons, has 132 columns, a 40 cps print speed, 1 /48" line space & 1/120" horizontal spacing—ideal for proportional modes. Parallel or RS-232C interfacing. (For real speed freaks, there's the Printmaster, at 55 cps. Same specs as above.)

Starwriter $1379.88

Printmaster $1679.88

SILVER REED

EXP-550

WhybuyaTranstarwhenyoucan buy from the guys who make them? The Silver Reed EXP-550 is a 16 cps, 132 column letter-quality printer with true Diablo emulation, making it compatible with most word processing software. It's ideal for medium duty office work. The EXP500 is the 12 cps version.

EXP-550 (Parallel) $719.88

EXP-550 (RS-232C) $759.88

EXP-500 (Parallel) SCALL

We sell a variety of other letterquality printers, including the Comrex ComRiter, the Diablo 620 A 630, the DTC 380Z, the NEC 3530 A 7730 Spinwriters, the Qume Sprint 11 + & many others.

USI

Pi Series

We're still using our Pi 3 amber monitor advertised last year. The concensus is yes, amber is easier on the eye. So is the Pi-3's 20M Hz bandwidth and sharp, clear phosphor. Comes in 9 or 12", & in green for you stubborn types.

Pi 2(12" green) $159.88

Pi 3 (12" amber) $189.88

Pi 4 (9" amber) $159.88

Amdek

Color 1 $339.88

300A $159.88

300G $149.88

PRINCETON GRAPHICS

HX-12

The HX-12 is, without dispute, the highest resolution RGB available for the PC. 16 colors (using NEC's tube), 690 dots by 240 lines, 15MHz bandwidth & more. The HX-12's case styling is identical to IBM's. It comes with its own cable. PGS HX-12 (RGB) $529.88

DC HAYES

Smartmodem

The Smartmodem is an originate/ answer, auto dial/answer, full/half duplex internal. It comes complete with all hardware (except RS-232C cable). It's available in 300 or 1200 baud version.

Smartmodem (300 baud) $219.88

Smartmodem (1200 baud)... $539.88

NOVATION

SmartCat (300 baud) $199.88

SmartCat (1200 baud) $499.88

Apple Cat 11 $319.88

D-Cat (300 baud) $159.88

J-Cat (300 baud) $139.88

AutoCat (300 baud) $229.88

AutoCat (1200 baud) $629.88

QUADRAM

Quadboards

We sell Quadboards because they consistantly perform better than any other board we've seen. They come with 64K & 256K on-board, a parallel port, a RS-232C port, a clock & the software (QuadDrive/Spooler). The Quad 512+ is a memory board with a RS-232C port. Single function boards are also available. Quadram products are warrantied for a full year.

64K Quadboard $279.88

256KQuadboard $429.88

512+Expansion

Quad 512+ (64K) $239.88

Quad 512+ (256K) $399.88

Quad 512+(512K) $599.88

QUADRAM

QuadLink

A real breakthrough! QuadLink lets you run Apple ll/ll+/lle software in the IBM PC. It's like having a 64K Apple computer installed in your PC. QuadLink uses standard PC orinter ports, monitors, etc. No disk conversion or reformatting required. Takes up only one slot. QuadLink $549.88

IBM PC COMPATIBLE

Disk Drives

Single-sided $229.88

Double-sided $279.88

Information/Orders:

(603)881-9855

Orders Only: (800) 343-0726

No Hidden Charges:

We pay UPS ground shipping on all our orders, and we never charge extra for credit cards. We accept CODs & add a $10 fee per order. We have a $50 minimum order. Personal checks are cleared in 3 weeks.

All our equipment is shipped factory-fresh, with full warranties. We're authorized for warranty work onanumberof printers, & we also offer extended warranty plans for those printers.

Sorry, we cannot accept open POs or extend credit/terms at these prices. APO and foreign orders are not accepted.

We prepared this ad in May, & prices do change, so call to verify them.

B^B|!!3 Circle 54 on inquiry card.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY AT AFFORDABLE PRICES

THE BOTTOM LINE

IMILFORD, NH 03055-0423 □ TELEPHONE (603) 881-98551

Circle 484 on Inquiry card.

Need More Serial Ports?

Price

$249.00

• Add a BTA smart multiport controller to your C.P.U.

• The MODEL 524 expands a single RS232 port to four individual ports with port selection and baud rate controlled by user software.

• Buffered inputs permit simultaneous operation increasing data exchange rate.

• 62K spooler model also available.

Bay Technical Associates

P.O. Box 387, Bay St. Louis, MS. 39520 601-467-8231

—

SYSTEM 83

What's your problem?

Software development; color graphics; high speed communications; industrial control & robotics (FORTH); word processing/document formatting; computer time-sharing; timing of Hawaiian marathon; farm management; CAD/CAM, laboratory control; CAT scan, dermatology graphics; medical analysis; pattern recognition (music/speech); relational database; telecommunications; mobile geophysical studies; data copying; automatic typesetting; data processing security.

What is your need? Let DUAL SYSTEMS be the solution.

IEEE-696/S-100 based, 68000/UNIX,™ multi-user/multitasking, 20/80M byte.

Call today for information

DUAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION

2530 San Pablo Avenue • Berkeley • CA 94702 (415) 549-3854 • 172029 SPX

[push flags onto stack] and the POPF instructions). These operations use the stack. The stack is pointed to by the SS (stack segment) register; the SP (stack pointer) register points to the top of the stack (the last word placed on the stack). All stack operations must consist of 16-bit words. In figure 1, a PUSH operation decrements the SP register by 2 and then writes the word; a POP operation reads the word from the stack and increments the SP by 2. Words are written in memory by the standard Intel convention of the low byte in the lower address and the high byte in the higher address. Being able to use PUSH to place memory contents on the stack proves useful when we later look at passing parameters to procedures.

Operations PUSH, POP, and MOV let you use a segment register as one of the operands. For MOV, you can employ any of the addressing modes, except immediate, for the source, with the destination as a segment register. This permits you to set up the segment registers at the start of the program.

Because you would want to only set up the registers and then leave them alone, data transfers are the only instructions allowed to change DS (data segment), ES (extra data segment), and SS. Because CS (code segment) is the segment register for accessing instructions with the IP (instruction pointer) register supplying the offset, you would not want to change CS alone. Therefore, the datatransfer instructions cannot use the CS register as the destination; instead, you would use program transfers, such as JMP (jump) or CALL (call), to change CS and IP together.

Figure 2 shows a sample program that sets up the segment registers to point to certain locations. Recall from part 1 that the contents of the segment registers are the most significant 16 bits of the absolute 20-bit address. To set up the segment register, you would either use MOV to transfer an immediate value to a general register and then move that value into the segment register, as shown in the example, or have that value in a memory table. Notice that the SP

Text continued on page 307

302 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 461 on Inquiry card.

More documentation? Go to a book store."

"Training? Call a computer school."

Technical support? Call the publisher."

Interested in dBASE ir or 1-2-3"? Beware The Dreaded Finger Pointers!

Sound familiar? Does your dealer turn into a "finger pointer" when you need help? At Software Banc we offer a complete system that doesn't stop when your software is delivered.

Do you get bewildered by the endless lists of software you find in most ads? Let us be your quality control department.

We only sell the best programs on the market. After a thorough evaluation we chose dBASE H,M for data processing, and 1-2-3,M for financial management.

Our complete line of add-on products help you to continue to get the most from your software.

When you buy software from us, you can rest assured that help is only a phone call away. Just call us at (617) 641-1235 for all the free support you need.

Order dBASE 11™ from us, and you'll receive a free copy of our dBASE II™ User's Guide. You can also buy the User's Guide first for only $29, and then receive a full credit when you buy dBASE 11.,M

French Translation

La Commande Electronique

5 Villa Des Entrepreneurs

75015 Paris, France

Japanese Translation

JSEInt'l

9F Toyo Bldg. 6-12-20 Jingmae

Shibuya-ku Tokyo, Japan 150

Want more in-depth information about dBASE IIT" or 1-2-3™? Attend a SoftwareBanc Seminar near you. Each session runs from 9 to 5, and costs $175. Seminars are in lecture format with a custom sound & video system which is used to display taped interviews with prominent software personalities and sessions with various software programs.

tl-2-3" ..$399

tdBASEH'" ..$479

tABSTAT". . .$379

dBASE II" User's Guide $29

DBPIus" .. ...$95

dGRAPH'" ..$199

dUTIL" ...$69

dNAMES'" ..$109

QUICKCODE" ..$199

TEXTRA" . .$60*

tNo-risk 60 day money back guarantee 'Only available for IBM PC with MS-DOS.

If you want to learn more about SoftwareBanc, call or write for our free product catalog.

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September 19-23

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/IST Quality Add-On

Communications

Async #1

Printer

^■■

Advanced Comm. Cord (CC-232)

• Programmable to communicate in Bisync, SDLC, HDLC, and Async protocols. . Two Ports of RS 232

AST products are available from Computerland, Entre, ComputerMart and selected dealers worldwide. Call factory if your dealer does not have the AST products you want.

IBM is the registered trademark ot International Business Machines.

For use with

AST-3780

. An IBM 2780/3780 RJE Emulator • Supports Bisync

I point-to-point communications protocol • Allows file transfer between Host& IBM PC • Ideal for IBM System 34, 38, 4300

. Emulates IBM 3274 Model 51C Control Unit . Emulates 3278 Display Station • Emulates 3278 Type Printer • Optional 3770 Emulation • Cluster Controller Operation • Protocol Con

64-256K_L^ Memory » ;

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Standard Features:

> 64K-256K Memory

• One Battery BackedupClock* One IBM Compatible Async Port

• One IBM Compatible Printer Port • SuperDrive™ • SuperSpool™

• From $395

verter Support

„• i. the registered trademark o.Orchid T.chnCogy. AST-3780 isde.eioped by WMmo. Systems ,nc. and AST Resea,

oducts for

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Circle 4 on Inquiry card.

Does it really work... prove it to yourself...

MICRO-TAX

Post Taxseason

SALE

Order the 1982 Micro-Tax* personal computer tax preparation system and prove-it-yourself that it can increase your client volume and A:, profits in 1984! Regularly $1000 ea (if current tax year) full ^k federal systems (not a sample) for only S58 ea. Jm

A post-taxseason sale? That's right! We decided to have a clearance sale for all you tax professionals out there who need to be convinced that a Micro-Tax* personal computer tax preparation system can make life a lot easier for you, and produce more profits for your business. For only $58 (the cost of processing and handling) we'll send you a full 1982 federal (regularly $1000 ea., if current tax year) Micro-Tax* system that computes and prints over 30 schedules and forms.

Test it on your own computer (Apple, IBM PC, IBM XT, or any other personal computer with CP/M, PC DOS, or MS DOS*) and you'll be convinced that you no longer need to prepare tax forms manually or use a computer service bureau. Then, with complete confidence, you can order your 1983 systems.

MICRO-TAX* IS VERSATILE AND FLEXIBLE—With Micro-Tax* you can input client tax information at the time of interview and produce the forms immediately or enter data at one time and print at another.

The data entry is organized in a sequence very similar to manual tax preparation. If you're looking for a bargain, the Micro-Tax* system is it.. .and especially during the "Does it work... prove it to yourself... POST TAXSEASON SALE!" Go ahead... send in the order blank now and get ready for bigger profits in 1984.

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6203 Variel Avenue, Suite A

Woodland Hills, California 91367 Phone (213) 704-7800

Please send me the full federal system (Reg. $1000 ea.) 1982 Micro-Tax* personal computer tax preparation package (or integrated state program) checked below for $58 ea., Calif, residents add 61/2% sales tax.

□ Level 2, Professional Individual Package $58.00

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□ State Package $58.00

Name of State Total. . .

□ CP/M □ PC DOS □ MS DOS

Make of your computer Disk size

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Signature

ORDER BY MAIL OR CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL SOFTWARE DEALER

306 BYTE July 1983

1 AS5

FULL FEDERAL MICRO-TAXPERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS

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or yearly update packages

MICROCOMPUTER TAXSYSTEMS, INC.

6203 Variel Avenue, Suite A

Woodland Hills, California 91367 Phone (213) 704-7800

'C/PM, trademark of Digital Research. 'Micro-Tax, trademark of Microcomputer Taxsystems, Inc. 'MS DOS. Trademark of Microsoft Corporation. "IBM. IBM PC. IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER. IBM XT, trademarks of IBM, 'Apple, trademark of Apple.

Circle 279 on inquiry card.

(la)

SI

2B21

SP

OOOA

ss

0300

hL

(lb)

Dl

2B21

SI

3C44

SP

OOOE

ss

0300

3012 3010 300E 300C 300A 3008 3006 3004 3002 3000

3012 3010

»300E 300C 300A 3008 3006 3004 3002

• 3000

F E

4 2

0 0

E 3

3 3

0 D

4 4

3 C

2 1

2 B

9 3

1 1

6 2

c c

5 2

3 8

3 A

2 A

B E

A 4

F E

4 2

0 0

E 3

3 3

0 D

4 4

3 C

2 1

2 B

9 3

1 1

6 2

C C

5 2

3 8

3 A

2 A

B E

A 4

TOP OF STACK

CONTENTS OF STACK AFTER PUSH SI

TOP OF STACK

CONTENTS OF STACK AFTER POP Dl POP SI

Figure 1: PUSH and POP on the 8086. Given that the stack pointer (SP) points to location 3008 hexadecimal, figure la shows the status of the processor after the execution of PUSH SI. Figure lb shows the processor after the additional instructions POP Dl and POP SI are executed. In stack operation, the PUSH instruction decrements the stack pointer by 2 and then writes the word on the stack. The POP instruction reads the word from the stack and then increments the stack pointer by 2. Words are written low byte first. Note also that the SS register does not point to the "bottom" of the stack.

register is loaded immediately following the loading of the SS register. (You should follow this example in your 8086 programming.) The 8086 disables interrupts for one instruction following any move into the SS register. If you follow these steps, the stack will not be pointed to incorrectly in case an interrupt occurs. Most segment setups would be done in a small program by itself, like the example, and that program would jump to the beginning of the actual code. Therefore, programs can be loaded anywhere in memory.

The instructions PUSH and POP can also be used to save and restore segment registers, as well as make them point to the same location. For example, to make the ES register point to the same memory area as the DS register, you could do this:

PUSH DS POP ES

Also recall from part 1 that the low byte of the 8086 flag register is a bitfor-bit copy of the 8080 flag register. In addition, the 8086 allows easy conversion of 8080 assembler code to 8086 assembler code. To accommodate some of the instructions that affect flags differently, LAHF and SAHF are provided. The LAHF instruction loads the lower byte of the flags into the AH register, and the SAHF instruction stores the AH register into the flag register's lower byte. Figure 3 depicts this operation.

Figure 4 illustrates how the 8086 registers are used by conversion programs. For example, the 8080 instruction DCX D decrements register pair DE but does not affect the flags. By contrast, the 8086 equivalent DCR

MOV AX.2000 MOV DS.AX MOV AX.6534 MOV SS.AX MOV SP.0200 JMP BEGIN

;Most significant 16 bits ;of data area in DS ;Same for stack ;Follow move to SS with ;move to SP

;This will load CS and IP ;with the start of first Instruction

BEGIN (CS:IP) »

SP

SS

DS

CODE

STACK

DATA

HIGH MEMORY

FC200 65540 65340

20000

LOW MEMORY

Figure 2: This is an example of segmentregister initialization. The SP register should be loaded directly after the SS register to make sure that the stack is pointed to correctly.

DX instruction does affect the flags. A conversion program would change the 8080 DCX D instruction to an LAHF, followed by a DCR DX and then an SAHF. When this new assembler code is reassembled with an 8086 assembler and run on an 8086 system, the flags would appear unaffected after execution of these three instructions.

To deal with I/O devices, you could address them like memory devices and use MOV instructions to transfer data to and from them. But this would detract from the 1 megabyte of available memory space.

8080 FLAGS

1 1 1 lor

DF

IF

TF

SF

ZF

AF

|PF|

CF

The XCHG (exchange) instruction swaps the contents of the two operands, which can be general registers or memory contents (but both cannot be memory contents). Furthermore, XCHG cannot specify a segment register as an operand.

SF

ZF

AF

PF

1 cp | | | | |

8086 ACCUMULATOR

Figure 3: LAHF loads the AH register with the low byte of the flags, and SAHF loads the low byte of the flag register with the contents of AH. These instructions are included in the 8086 instruction set to accommodate conversion programs from 8080 to 8086.

July 1983 © BYTE Publication. Inc 307

8086

AX BX CX DX

GENERAL REGISTERS DATA GROUP 7 017 i

AH

AL

BH

BL

CH

CL

DH

DL

15

POINTER AND INDEX GROUP

0

SP

BP

SI

Dl

8080/8085

A HL BC DE

SP

SEGMENT REGISTERS IS 0

CS DS SS ES

IP

F

PC

S.Z.AC.P.CY

FLAGS

Figure 4: Shown is the 8080/8085 register subset of the 8086. The nonshaded registers are those used by conversion programs when converting programs from the 8080 to the 8086.

Therefore, provided in the 8086 instruction set are the IN and OUT instructions, which give I/O devices their own special addressing space separate from memory.

You call each address a port to clarify the difference between memory addresses and I/O device addresses. The IN and OUT instructions let you talk to 65,536 ports. The AL register transfers bytes using the upper or lower 8 bits of the data bus. The AX register transfers words that occupy the entire 16-bit data bus and take two consecutive port locations. You can use only these registers to do transfers with these instructions. No segment register is used in port addressing, and a special 8086 pin designates a memory access or an IN/OUT instruction port access.

The two types of IN/OUT instructions are direct and indirect. The direct instructions supply a 1-byte port address. This gives you the capability to access ports at I/O addresses 0 through 255. The indirect instructions employ the DX register to hold the port address of the I/O device. Using DX gives you the capability of addressing the 65,536

ports. The ability to manipulate DX with arithmetic instructions enables you to communicate with several consecutive I/O ports. The IN/OUT instructions are the only instructions that use the DX register as a pointer.

The address-object data-transfer instructions (LEA, LDS, and LES) load addresses into registers. However, the source operand must be in memory, and the destination must be a general register. The LEA (load effective address) instruction loads a general register with the offset of a variable instead of its contents. Because you can use the memory addressing modes, you could have the sum of calculations made on a base register and an index register with a given displacement. Instructions LDS (load pointer into DS) and LES (load pointer into ES) load a general register and either the DS or ES register with a 32-bit pointer found in two consecutive memory words. String operations and procedures make use of LDS and LES to set up pointers to a working area.

Often you need to translate data in a computer from one form to another, for example, converting ASCII to EBCDIC, Fahrenheit to Celsius temperature, etc. Included in the 8086 instruction set is a translate instruction, XLAT, which simplifies

:This program will input a value from

;a keypad at port 0100 and convert the

;values from 0-F to the ASCII representation

;of that value

LEA BX.TABLE ;Offset of table in BX

MOV DX.0100 ;DX contains port

;number IN AL.DX ;Get data from keypad

;using indirect INput XLAT ;Using data input to AL

;as displacement get

ASCII data and place

;back in AL

the job. XLAT replaces a byte of data in AL with a byte from a table. The table starting location is pointed at by the BX register, and the contents of AL are the displacement into the table. Figure 5 describes an example program with a diagram of how the XLAT instruction works. You load BX, using the LEA instruction, with the starting location of the table and the DX register with the port address to input the data. The data brought in is then translated to the data needed.

Arithmetic Instructions

The 8086 arithmetic instructions, as listed in table 3, can operate on signed numbers, where the most significant bit represents whether the number is a two's-complement negative or positive, unsigned numbers, and decimal numbers. Most arithmetic instructions affect the flags as follows:

CF (Carry flag): If set, indicates a carry out of, or a borrow into, the high-order bit of the result. AF (Auxiliary Carry flag): If set, indicates a carry out of, or a borrow into, the low-order half-byte of the result. It is used for the decimaladjustment instructions. SF (Sign flag): This flag is a copy of the most significant bit of the result.

3

0

0

BX !

3

1

1

AL

3

2

2

I

3

3

3

3

4

4

AH AL

3

5

5

3

6

6

3

7

7

3

8

8

3

9

9

4

1

A

4

2

B

4

3

C

4

4

D

4

5

E

4

6

F

P

p

10

p

p

11

Figure 5: This program uses the XLAT instruction to convert a single hexadecimal digit to its ASCII equivalent (e.g., to convert the value 04 into 34 hexadecimal, which is the ASCII code for the character "4"). XLAT uses the contents of the AL register as a displacement into a lookup table pointed to by the BX register. The contents of the location then replace the contents of the AL register. The values in the table are in hexadecimal.

308 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Mnemonic

Description of Operation

ADD dest, source

Add byte or word

ADC dest, source

Add byte or word with carry

SUB dest, source

Subtract byte or word

SBB dest, source

Subtract byte or word with borrow

INC dest

Increment byte or word by 1

DEC dest

Decrement byte or word by 1

NEG dest

Negate byte or word (two's complement)

CMP dest, source

Compare byte or word

MUL source

Multiply byte or word unsigned

IMUL source

Integer multiply byte or word

DIV source

Divide byte or word unsigned

IDIV source

Integer divide byte or word

CBW

Convert byte to word

CWD

Convert word to double word

DAA

Decimal adjust for addition

DAS

Decimal adjust for subtraction

AAA

ASCII adjust for addition

AAS

ASCII adjust for subtraction

AAM

ASCII adjust for multiplication

AAD

ASCII adjust for division

Table 3: The 8086 arithmetic instructions operate on signed, unsigned, and binary

coded-decimal numbers.

ZF (Zero flag): This flag is set if the

result is equal to 0.

PF (Parity flag): This flag is set if the

low-order 8 bits of the result contain

an even number of Is. It is kept in the

8086 for 8080 compatibility.

OF (Overflow flag): This flag is set if

the result is too large a positive or too

small a negative value to fit into the

destination without changing the sign

incorrectly.

The ADD (add), ADC (add with carry), SUB (subtract), and SBB (subtract with borrow) instructions are the standard addition and subtraction instructions that add and subtract bytes or words for multiple precision. Any general register, memory location, or immediate data can be the source added with, or subtracted from, the destination, with the result placed back in memory or in a general register designated as the destination.

Instructions INC (increment) and DEC (decrement) have only one operand, which can be a general register or memory contents; they are the same as adding or subtracting 1, but with no effect on carry.

Instruction NEG (negate) subtracts the operand from 0. This is the same as taking the two's complement of a number, i.e., changing it from

positive to negative. If the byte to be negated is equal to —128 (80 hexadecimal) or the word is —32,768 (8000 hexadecimal), then the result shows no change, but the Overflow flag is set.

Instruction CMP (compare) is the same as SUB except that the result is not placed anywhere. Instead, the flags reflect the same result as if a subtraction had taken place. After a CMP operation has been performed, you would use a conditional jump, which checks the flags to determine whether the destination operand is larger, smaller, or equal to the source.

With earlier microprocessors, programmers had to write or use algorithms, or miniprograms, to perform a function, in order to perform multiplication and division. The 8086 has multiply and divide instructions built into its instruction set to make programming easier.

The multiply and divide instructions employ dedicated registers for their destination register, as shown in figure 6. To multiply by a byte, the AL register must hold one of the operands, with the result placed in AX. AX is used to hold the result because it may be larger than one byte can hold. To multiply by a word, you would use the AX register

310 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

THIS IS ALL IT TAKES TO RUN OUR HARD DISK.

Compatibility. A lot of manufacturers talk about it. Mostly, compatibility is defined as something that almost works like the original. Our hard disk sub-system for the IBM PC runs on 2.0 without modifications, patches or use of device drivers. Just boot 2.0 and run.

And we haven't cut back on reliability either. The Apparat hard disk uses the Xebec controller and connects via a host interface module to one of the slots in your PC. The HIM also contains an RS-232 serial

async port for use with a mouse, modem, etc. Even with compatibility and reliability built in, we've managed to provide some very competitive pricing. The 10 and 30 megabyte drives are priced at $1,995 and $3,395 respectively. When you use a multifunction RAM Card, such as the Apparat Combo II (with up to 512K of RAM, RS232, parallel printer, clock calendar, and game adapter) along with the HIM, floppy disk controller and CRT monitor adapter cards in your

PC, you still have one slot available for future expansion.

If you're considering a fixed disk for your IBM PC, look at all the systems available. Look for compatibility. Look for reliability. Look for value. We think you'll pick ours.

For more information or to order yours call 800/525-7674 or write Apparat, Inc., 4401 S. Tamarac Parkway, Denver, CO 80237, 303/741-1778.

IBM PC Is a registered trademark of International

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Prices and specifications subject to change without

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B-BI

T

1

| SOURCE

16

-BIT

| AL

r~*

AX |

* 1

* LZ

1 SOU

1

8-BIT

j AX

1 DX |

AX

c

AL |

R | AH |

SOURCF

\

1 1

) 1 AX

1

1 AX | R |

DX |

SOURCE

\

LZ

ill ox

1 AX |

;This

orogram will

perform the formula

;AX =

(BH x BL)

+ (CH/CL) with

;BH =

= FB(-5), BL =

FE(-2)

;CH =

= EC (-20),

andCL = 05 ( + 5)

MOV

AL.BH

;AX

= ??FB—note only AL loaded

IMUL

BL

;AX

= 000A(+10) =

•5 X -2

MOV

DX.AX

;Temporary save result

MOV

AL.CH

;AX

= 00EC(-20)

CBW

;AX

= FFEC—converted to word

IDIV

CL

;AX

= 00FC(-4) in AL

CBW

;AX

= FFFC—converted to word

ADD

AX.DX

;AX

= 0006 (+ 6)

Figure 6: The 8086 multiply and divide instructions use dedicated registers for one of the operands and to hold the results of the operation.

to hold one of the operands, with the double-word result placed in registers DX,AX and the most significant word in DX. Division operates the opposite, with the double-word divisor in DX,AX for division by a word, the quotient in AX, and the remainder in DX. Byte division places the divisor in AX, the quotient in AL, and the remainder in AH. The source operand specified in the instruction can be a general register or memory location using the addressing modes, but you cannot use immediate data.

Two types of multiply and divide instructions are available: MUL (multiply) and DIV (divide) for unsigned and IMUL (integer multiply) and IDIV (integer divide) for signed. Because the results are different for signed and unsigned, i.e., a negative times a negative is a positive, these four operations are included to cover each type.

The flags react differently for multiplication and division than they do for other arithmetic operations. For multiplication instructions, status flags CF and OF are set if the upper half of the result (AH for byte or DX for word) contains part of the result. This means that AH or DX is nonzero

for unsigned or not just the sign extension of the lower half of the result for signed. The remaining status flags are undefined after a multiplication, and all the status flags are undefined after a division.

If a division result has more bits than the quotient (it can't fit in the AL register for a byte or in the AX register for a word), an automatic type 0 interrupt is generated. The quotient is undefined when this interrupt occurs. This saves you from checking the operands to be divided so that a division by 0 or dividing a very large number by 1 will not occur.

If the two operands do not evenly divide, then the quotient is rounded toward 0, and the remainder has the same sign as the quotient. In other words, if you divide a — 5 by 2, then the quotient is —2 with a remainder of —1; likewise, dividing 5 by 2 equals 2 with a remainder of 1.

Division works fine after a multiplication because the AX or DX,AX registers contain the operands needed to divide by a byte or a word. But if you need to divide a byte by a byte or a word by a word, you begin to have problems. If you are using unsigned

312 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

It's a jungle out there.

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The Enhanced Star Integrated Accounting System. We've made many changes to our best selling system. Including the ability to handle all the new payroll deductions. Departmentalized sales analysis and purchasing analysis. Plus adding the facility to handle an unlimited number of General Ledger accounts. And a lot more.

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Circle 384 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 313

CP/M givesyou a new world of PC power

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Circle 143 on inquiry card.

division, then AH or DX is zeroed before the division to extend the dividend to the proper size. Signed division is a different story. If the number you're dividing by is positive, then AH or DX has to be zeroed; if the number you're dividing by is negative, then AH or DX has to be all Is to get the proper word or double word.

Added to the instruction set are two instructions, CBW (convert byte to word) and CWD (convert word to double word), to take care of this decision making. Instruction CBW extends the sign of the AL register to the AH register, which effectively converts a byte to a word. Instruction CWD extends the sign of the AX register to the DX register or converts a word to a double word. Neither instruction affects the flags. The sample program in figure 6 demonstrates how signed multiplication and division operate with the contents of the AX register. Notice that CBW and CWD are not reserved only for division. In the program, CBW is used a second time to extend the sign of the byte in the AL register so that you can add the DX register to the AX register. If this wasn't done, the result would be 0106 hexadecimal instead of 0006 hexadecimal.

The 8086 can also perform decimal arithmetic. These numbers can be packed BCD (binary-coded decimal) numbers for addition or subtraction or unpacked BCD numbers for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Packed BCD numbers are two BCD digits, hexadecimal representations of 0-9, contained in one byte. Unpacked BCD numbers contain one BCD digit in the lower halfbyte with the upper half-byte zeroed. Unpacked BCD numbers are similar to the ASCII (American National Standard Code for Information Interchange) representations of numbers, except that ASCII numbers have a hexadecimal 3 in their upper half-byte instead of 0. To use ASCII numbers as unpacked BCD numbers, you must zero the upper half-byte and then set the upper half-byte to a hexadecimal 3 after the arithmetic operation and adjustment to get a valid ASCII number again.

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 315

Mnemonic

Description of Operation

NOT dest

"Not" byte or word (one's complement)

AND dest, source

"And" byte or word

OR dest, source

"Inclusive-OR" byte or word

XOR dest, source

"Exclusive-OR" byte or word

TEST dest, source

"Test" byte or word

SHR dest, count

Shift logical right byte or word

SAR dest, count

Shift arithmetic right byte or word

SHL/SAL dest, count

Shift left byte or word

ROR dest, count

Rotate right byte or word

RCR dest, count

Rotate through carry right byte or word

ROL dest, count

Rotate left byte or word

RCL dest, count

Rotate through carry left byte or word

Table 4

: These 8086 bit-manipuh

ition instructions perform the logical operations as

well as

the shifts and rotations c

f bytes or words in memory or registers.

Called the decimal-adjust instructions, DAA (decimal adjust for addition) and DAS (decimal adjust for subtraction) work with packed BCD numbers. The DAA instruction adjusts the contents of the AL register after the addition of two packed BCD numbers; the AL register must be the destination of the addition. The DAS instruction works the same way after the subtraction of two packed BCD numbers. All the status flags are updated, except for the OF flag, which is left undefined.

The ASCII adjust instructions work with unpacked BCD numbers. Instruction AAA (ASCII adjust for addition) changes the contents of AL to a valid unpacked decimal number, with the upper half-byte zeroed, after the addition of two unpacked BCD numbers. Instruction AAS (ASCII adjust for subtraction) works the same for subtraction. The AF and CF flags are updated after these instructions, but the remaining flags are left undefined.

Instruction AAM (ASCII adjust for multiplication) corrects after the multiplication of two valid unpacked BCD numbers, with the result in AH and AL. After AAM, the high-order unpacked BCD number is in AH and the low-order unpacked BCD number is in AL. Status flags PF, SF, and ZF are updated after this instruction, but the remaining flags are left undefined. Instruction AAD (ASCII adjust for division) modifies the contents of the AL register before a division takes

316 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

place. The flags are affected the same way as for AAM. However, you must do an AAD first to ensure that, after the division is done, the result is a valid unpacked BCD quotient and remainder.

Bit-Manipulation Instructions

Table 4 lists the 8086 bit-manipulation instructions. These instructions perform the logical operations as well as the shifts and rotations of bytes or words in memory or in registers.

The logical instructions perform the Boolean operations. These operations are NOT, AND, Inclusive-OR, and Exclusive-OR (XOR). You can use the AND instruction to clear or mask out certain bits, the OR instruction to set certain bits, the XOR instruction to complement certain bits, and the NOT instruction to complement all the bits. The XOR instruction can also clear a register simply by Exclusive OR-ing the register with itself (i.e., XOR SI,SI).

The AND, OR, XOR, and TEST instructions affect the flags as follows: OF and CF are cleared; AF is undefined; SF, ZF, and PF reflect the result and can be tested by conditional jumps. The NOT instruction has no effect on the flags.

The TEST instruction is a nondestructive AND, which means it performs the AND operation but with no result. Only the flags are affected by this instruction. This lets you check for certain bits to be set or cleared in memory or in registers. For example,

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Circle 53 on inquiry card.

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While printing, your regular programs won't stop processing, waiting for the printer to finish. SPL will store the information to be printed in internal or external (disk drives) memory until the printer is ready to receive the data. Result: your programs will run at full speed.

As SPL can use up to the full capacity of your disks for temporary storage, it's much more powerful than hardware spoolers, which are limited to 64k memory or less.

SPL is an advanced product with several modes of operation. In addition to intercepting the output to the printer, SPL can print your existing text files, or those that your programs will create from now on. SPL will even take care of tab expansion. As an added bonus, SPL needs no installation on most CP/M 2.x computers.

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the worn

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if you want to test a particular word in memory for a 1 in the most significant bit position, using the BX register to contain the offset of the location, the instruction would look like this:

TEST [BX],8000

If the most significant bit of the memory location tested is a 1, the Zero flag is cleared. On the other hand, the Zero flag is set if the most significant bit of the location tested is 0. You could then use a conditional jump on the Zero flag to check for a certain bit, or group of bits, being set or cleared. You could program a jump on a zero condition to look for the cleared bit and a jump on a nonzero condition to look for the set bit.

The shift and rotation instructions are shown in figure 7. Each of these instructions has two forms: single-bit and variable-bit. The single-bit shifts or rotations execute only one shift or rotation. The variable-bit shifts or rotations utilize the contents of the CL register to hold the variable shift or rotation count. Because CL is a byte register, you can do as many as 255 shifts or rotations with one instruction. The 8086 takes a copy of the CL register internally and decrements the copy so that the CL register contains the same data after the variable shift or rotation as it did before.

The variable count itself does not affect the flags, but the instructions do. Flag CF contains the last bit shifted or rotated out. The OF flag is undefined after a variable shift or rotation and is set if the most significant bit changes in the single-bit form. Flag AF is undefined; flags PF, SF, and ZF are updated after a shift, but are not affected by rotations.

The shift instructions have an added capability besides manipulating bits as the rotation instructions do. Shift instructions allow a quick way to multiply and divide numbers by powers of 2. For signed operations, you would use the arithmetic shifts; for unsigned operations, the logical shifts. The SHR (shift right) instruction shifts the operand right, filling in

318 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 51 on inquiry card.

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Q313©@llflUUl) computer corporation

P.O. Box 240947 • Charlotte, NC 28224 • 704/523-8500 Telex: 6843018 DASOU UW

BEFORE

C !

AFTER

0-H 1000000000000010 [—fi"l j |oioooooooooooooi| fo"]

SHR Sl.l

Q

oooooooooooooioh—fil ! Ilioooooooooooooi 1 fol

SAR Sl.l

c I c

[TTH lioooooooooooooi \— o • [TJ |ioooooooooooooio[

SHL Sl.l

SAL Sl.l

H oiooiioo i—L»|T|

i looiooiiol [o]

ROR BH.l

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RCR BH.l

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ROL BH.l

I

i [o] I lOOllOOll RCL BH.l

Figure 7: The shift and rotation instructions work on bytes or words. The two forms of shifts and rotations are single-bit, as shown, and a variable-bit form.

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on the left with 0s to divide unsigned numbers. In contrast, signed numbers need to retain the sign. Therefore, the SAR (shift arithmetic right) instruction shifts in a 1 if the number is negative and a 0 if the number is positive. This instruction performs the same as SHR, but instead of filling in with 0s, the sign bit is used to fill in on the left.

The result from an SAR might not equal the result from an IDIV (integer divide) instruction, though. An IDIV rounds the number toward 0 if it is not evenly divisible. An SAR instruction, on the other hand, rounds a positive number toward 0 and a negative number toward negative. In this case, dividing — 5 by 2 with IDIV yields —2; with SAR, it yields —3.

To multiply by 2, both the SAL (shift arithmetic left) and SHL (shift left) arithmetic and logic instructions perform the same operation of shifting left and filling in on the right with 0s. These two mnemonics suit the same instruction. This capability was provided for documentation purposes; it reminds you to check the Overflow flag for a signed operation. For example, if you shift left a byte value of 40 hexadecimal (64 decimal) using SHL/ SAL during an unsigned operation, the result (80 hexadecimal) is interpreted as 128 (decimal). But if you treat the number as signed, then the result is interpreted as an incorrect — 128 (decimal). You might follow this instruction with a conditional jump on the Overflow flag if it is treated as a signed number.

In this part, I introduced the 8086 data-transfer instructions, arithmetic instructions, and logic instructions. I also described how the 8086 allows memory to be an operand, which makes programs easier to build and more compact.

In part 3, I will finish the instruction set discussion with the jumps, procedures, interrupts, string instructions, and control instructions.!

About the Author

Stephen Heywood is an instructor with Intel Customer Training and is involved with preparation of the 8086 course. He can be contacted at Intel Corporation, 27 Industrial Ave., Chelmsford, MA 01824.

320 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 287 on Inquiry card.

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322 BYTE July 1983

Circle 204 on inquiry card.

User's Column

Interstellar Drives, Osborne

Accessories, DEDICATE/32,

and Death Valley

Though you won't see this until summer, it is being written in February, an absolutely frantic month at Chaos Manor. First, of course, April 15 is rapidly approaching. Then too, this year, the newest novel by Niven and Pournelle had a March deadline. (Larry and I spent some time in Death Valley, where there are no telephones and no computers except for Adelle, my Otrona Attache, which we used to generate about 50,000 needed words.)

Also, preparations were being made for the West Coast Computer Faire.

The upshot is that although some hardware, and a ton of software, have arrived at Chaos Manor, there's not been as much testing of new stuff as I'd like, so this month's column will be a mixed bag.

DBMS Explained

More years ago than I care to remember I worked in the aerospace industry as a systems analyst. That's a strange job title: it means you don't necessarily know anything, but you're supposed to be a troubleshooter, meaning that you're expected to tool up on any subject at a moment's notice. I can recall a time when I was an expert on inertial guidance systems, a subject about which I remember nothing at all.

I bring this up because I thought I was going to have to do it again: learn database management systems (DBMS), at least well enough to explain the subject. Fortunately, before

by Jerry Pournelle

I put a lot of serious effort into the work, I discovered David Kruglinski's excellent Data Base Management Systems, a new book from Osborne/ McGraw-Hill. Reading this book may not make you an expert, but it'll sure teach you a lot about DBMS.

The book has chapters on dBASE II, Condor, MDBS, FMS-80, and a couple of others. It also includes chapters on general aspects of the subject of database management. The book is well done. It begins at a reasonable level—an absolute novice at microcomputing would have to work pretty hard, but anyone moderately familiar with the subject will be okay.

Databases come in three major flavors: hierarchical, network (or CODASYL—from the Conference on DAta SYstem languages, the people who brought you COBOL), and relational. Hierarchical and network databases have inherent structures built into the database itself. Given structured data they can be quite efficient, but there are also limitations inherent in the system design. They tend to be very poor at handling exceptional cases that don't quite fit the predesigned structure.

Relational databases look like tables. There is no implied order to the data. If each row of the table is an employee record and each column is an item in that record (clock number, salary, hours worked last year, length of hair, age at last equinox, etc.), then the records can be ordered according to any column—or not ordered at all.

All this and more is explained in Kruglinski's book, which also goes into what you can do with popular database management system programs, and explains why you might want to pay several thousand dollars for MDBS. (He warns that if you aren't a programmer, the chapter on MDBS may be too technical, and that "While MDBS III may meet your needs, you will require the services of a programmer to evaluate and implement it.")

Anyone interested in database management systems should find this book interesting, and those about to buy such programs would be well advised to read the book first. It could save you a lot of money.

In addition, Jeff Cohen sent me a useful discourse on the subject. Alas, he sent it over the net, and it turns out there's at least one other person using the name JEFFC, so I haven't been able to thank him. If anyone who knows JEFFC@E.CC sees this, please convey my thanks and ask him to send me his address.

Interstellar Drive

First it was Warp Drive from Compupro. Then Semidisk. Then MDrive/H and RAM Disk in the Sage. Now comes Pion's Interstellar Drive. One of these days I'll devise a suitable test for comparing these things.

The Interstellar Drive differs from the others in that it's a separate box with its own power supply. Interstellar Drives are available for the IBM PC, TRS-80, Apple, S-100, STD

July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc 323

For everyone who's tried to top the MX-80, bad news. We just did.

Epson.

The Epson MX-80 is the best-selling dot matrix impact printer in the world. It has been since its introduction. And despite the host of imitators it spawned, no one has been able to top it. Until now.

FX-80: Son of a legend.

The new Epson FX-80 is far more than just doo-dads added on to last year's model. It's the most astonishing collection of features ever assembled in a personal printer.

For starters, it's fast: 160 CPS. And clean. All the print quality Epson is famous for in a tack-sharp 9x9 matrix.

But that hardly scratches the surface. Create your own alphabet. With the new FX-80, you aren't limited to ASCII characters. You can create your own. Any character or symbol that can be defined in a 9x11 matrix can be added to the FX-80's already impressive library of type styles and stored in its integral 2K RAM.

So you can create "Sally's Gothic" or "Tom's Roman" just by downloading and modifying standard characters. Or you can create a custom set from scratch. Either way, you can store up to 256 new characters. And if you don't need a new alphabet, the RAM functions as a 2K data input buffer. Who knows graphics better than Epson? Nobody, that's who. And if you don't believe it, witness the FX-80.

With a 12K ROM capacity, the FX-80 gives you a few things the others don't. For example, not one, not two, but seven different dot addressable graphic modes are program

selectable. And can be mixed in the same print line. Everything from 72 DPI (dotsper-inch) Plotter Graphics to the 640 dots per line resolution designed to match the remarkable monitor clarity of the Epson QX-10 personal computer.

And that is in addition to an astonishing array of 136 different user-selectable type styles including Proportional, Elite and Italic as well as the more conventional faces you get on other printers.

Hard-to-beat hardware.

The FX-80 has all the hardware features you've come to know and love on the MX Series: logic seeking, bidirectional printing, the by-now-famous disposable printhead, and more.

The FX-80 features an adjustable pin platen or optional friction/tractor feed, so you can use fanfold, roll or sheet paper ... backwards or forwards. The FX-80 even gives you reverse paper feed.

And if you're printing forms, the FX-80 has a feature you're gonna love: a function that allows you to tear off the paper within one inch of the last print position.

Be the first on your block.

We'd be willing to bet that the FX-80 — like the MX-80 — will have its share of imitators. Don't be fooled. To make sure you get the genuine article, rush down to your local computer store right now and let them show you everything the FX-80 can do.

And while you're there ... ask them to show you how it works with our computers.

EPSON

EPSON AMERICA, INC.

COMPUTER PRODUCTS DIVISION

3415 Kashiwa Street Torrance, California 90505 (213)539-9140. Outside California, phone (800) 421-5426 for the Epson dealer nearest you.

Circle 162 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 325

bus, and heaven knows what else. The box remains the same in each case; only the interface changes. Thus you can upgrade your system, or change it entirely, and still have the benefits of RAM disk or silicon disk. (We need a good untrademarked name for this kind of system. I used to call it pseudo disk, but that doesn't seem right. Any suggestions?)

Interstellar Drive has battery backup, which means that it's about as safe as disks themselves. Ours came

with interfaces for the Apple and the S-100; Alex snarfed it off for Helen, his CCS S-100 machine, where it runs happily. I've been thinking about that battery backup, though, and I may grab it back; that's a pretty attractive feature.

Those who've never tried a pseudo disk generally don't understand what all the excitement is about; but anyone who's used one will find it very hard to do without. These memory disks are so fast they're

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almost instantaneous; faster than even a hard disk, and much faster than a floppy. The result is that programs that used to take forever now run at lightning speed.

They make Wordstar pretty endurable; no more waiting while it accesses the disk between parts of a command. Also, you'll save your work much more often, because it takes so little time. With a memory disk I can save this entire article in less time than it took to write this sentence. The problem, of course, is that you haven't really "saved" the work; it's still just in memory.

Adding battery backup could change all that. However, battery backup doesn't absolutely prevent loss of data. When you power down, it's possible for the machine to get random instructions, one of which could be to write garbage all over the RAM disk. (This is one reason we're taught to open the drive doors on floppy disks before turning the power on and off.)

There are ways to prevent this. The Compupro System Support board has a power-down detector that could be used to disable the write-to-thememory-disk capability. I don't know of anyone who's actually done that, so there's always a theoretical possibility that on power-down the RAM disks will contain garbage.

Pion's product has some nifty features. It sports 256K bytes of RAM and includes the interface and software. It also has read and write lights, so that you can tell when something is happening. With the other RAM disk systems, you can't be sure anything is going on because you can't hear the disks clunk; moving electrons don't make noises.

The power source connects directly to the wall (not through your machine) so that the Pion Interstellar Drive can be left on, with your compilers and whatnot intact, after you've turned your system off. You don't have to initialize each time. The battery backup system works for half an hour; there's provision for more batteries, and it wouldn't really be hard to run it off a car battery.

The Interstellar Drive's major defect is identical to one of its virtues:

326 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 412 on Inquiry card.

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heads actually glide across the surface with optimum head-to-surface interface. That means precise recording, total system reliability, and protection of your floppy investment.

The true cost of a diskette is not just the purchase price, but the purchase priceplus the time you spend to fully load the disc. That's a big investment and that's why Dysan goes a bit further to make diskettes which are the finest that money can buy.

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Circle 148 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 327

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it's a separate box with a power supply, a cord to the wall, and another cable to your machine; more clutter at the computer table. On the other hand, when you change machines you get to move up the Interstellar Drive as well. If you have several machines and not much money, the Interstellar Drive may be the way to go.

Cache System

Another approach to speeding things up is to use extra memory not as a memory disk but as a cache.

Caching is a technique in which frequently used instructions and data are brought up to a more easily accessed area of memory and kept— cached—there until needed. This process is accomplished while the machine is otherwise idle, for example, while waiting for input.

I saw Peter Cheesewright of the British firm Microcosm Research demonstrate his Microcache, and I was impressed. While Cheesewright was in the United States on a tour to

demonstrate his product, he worked in a visit to Chaos Manor.

Alas, I've received little information on dealerships. I know that Barry Workman was sufficiently impressed to put Microcache into his inventory. His Lobo, Ralph, came with an extra 64K bytes of memory, and Microcache has no trouble making use of that.

The nice thing about Microcache is that you don't need much memory to make it useful. As little as 16K bytes—even as little as 4K—can make dramatic changes in program speeds; whereas memory disk systems need a lot more. Microcache can make use of any bank-switched memory you don't need.

Microcache can help with only a small amount of memory because it stores those items most often called in from the disk. There's a leastused/first-out algorithm to decide what's kept and what's replaced in the cache. The result is that the disk directory and bit map are stored and kept, and that speeds up disk opera

tions something wonderful.

Because things are actually written to the disk as well as cached, battery backup isn't needed with Microcache, which makes it reasonable for a word processor. I haven't installed mine in Zeke II (the writing machine) due to pure sloth; next month for surel Meanwhile, I know it works because I've seen it working.

Osborne Add-ons

One reason why the Osborne 1 is such a strong competitor is the full line of accessories available. There's the Power-Pac, a battery pack that lets you run the machine for three or four hours (depending on how many disk accesses you do). It's heavy and bulky, and takes too long to charge; but it works, and if you're headed for the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, you'll be darned glad to have it.

Then there's Comm-Pac, a tiny 300-bps acoustic modem that plugs into the Osborne. It comes with full instructions and is quite handy. Better, of course, would be one built in.

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July 1963 © BYTE Publintioiu Inc 329

■ :< f^^BI

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BOREXCO finds oil. It sounds simple but Borehole Exploration Corporation relies heavily on a sophisticated system of computer-generated, two- and three-dimensional magnetic models.

Another state-of-the-art system — from CompuPro — digests the megabytes of sensitive measurements that are recorded during BOREXCO's

survey flights over hundreds of miles of terrain.

CompuPro's speed, reliability and cost-effectiveness won the respect of BOREXCO's engineering director, Dr. Brad Rehm. "I looked at others and I could not get this level of performance at several times the price," Dr. Rehm said.

Also, the CompuPro has trimmed BOREXCO's timesharing costs on a big

minicomputer by as much as $7,000 a month. All of that without a single breakdown in two years.

in a complex world, CompuPro delivers performance, quality and reliability. For business, scientific and industrial computing solutions, contact a Full Service CompuPro System Center; call (415) 562-0636 for location.

Circle 89 on inquiry card.

CompuPro, a Godbout Company, Box 2355, Oakland, Airport, CA 94614

CompuPro Spoken Here...

8 and lor 16 Bits.

A Full Service CompuPro System Center is much more than a computer store: It is the first place to look for business, scientific and industrial computing solutions. When you're ready for professional level, state-of-the-art microcomputing, turn to the professionals listed below ... they're ready for you.

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(Please turn the page)

CompuPro, a Godbout Company, Box 2355, Oakland Airport, CA 94614

BYTE July 1983 331

...And Here.

Key Micro Systems

822 Boylston St. Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 (617)738-7306

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CompuPro, a Godbout Company, Box 2355, Oakland Airport, CA 94614

Finally there's my favorite, the Start-Pac. This is a box of flip charts and cassette tapes that explain in detail how to use the Osborne and how to get Wordstar running. The instructions assume very little; we were able to hand the Osborne and the Start-Pac to Boy Scouts and let them work on their own, and soon enough they were writing with Wordstar and copying their disks.

Other companies also make stuff for the Osborne. For instance, the Osborne screen is a bit small for everyday use. Apparently, it's not as bad for me as for some; I hunch down close to it and it's just about right— seen through the lower half of my bifocals. Some, though, find it maddening.

One remedy is the Osborne large screen. That works fine, but it's both expensive and bulky. There are considerably better and smaller monitors, like the Zenith, but the Osborne's video format is such that you can't feed it to a normal monitor.

Comes now: JMM Enterprises with Ex-Mon. Ex-Mon plugs into the Osborne and converts the video output to something displayable by a normal monitor. It does it without shutting off the little 5-inch screen, too. Recommended.

It's Mysterious All Right

I see that Tandy has finally authorized a book, TRSDOS 2.3 Decoded & Other Mysteries, explaining TRSDOS for the Model I. It's published by IJG, which originally published the first—very much unauthorized—sensible book on the TRS-80 operating system, TRS-80 Disk & Other Mysteries. The publisher tells us that Tandy "authorized" the book but doesn't say whether Fort Worth gets part of the $29.95 list price.

The publisher claims that this book "Marks a major breakthrough in the exchange of information between users and the manufacturer." The breakthrough comes now that the TRS-80 Model I is no longer manufactured and Tandy is phasing out its support of Model I TRSDOS. Some breakthrough.

I'm a little bitter about my ex

periences with Tandy. I had genuinely thought that the Model I was the machine of the future: an inexpensive home computer that could be expanded by stages until it would do professional work. Of course it was never that. First, Tandy tried to fence in Model I users through that goofy operating system, and then it wouldn't let Radio Shack stores sell non-Tandy software.

Details of TRSDOS were very hard to come by. There sprang up substitutes like NEWDOS by Apparat, which published a "zap" a week (fixes to TRSDOS), LDOS, and DOSPLUS. Eventually, the hobbyists figured out ways to make TRSDOS work (more or less); by then, though, the Model I was on its way out. It had never been all that well designed, and when sales took off much faster than anticipated, the quality control system couldn't cope.

It's mysterious, but I'm just not as impressed as I could be by this major information exchange breakthrough.

Free Software

The CP/M User's Group supplies about a hundred disks of publicdomain software. A catalog is available for $10 ($15 overseas). The price is $12 for a single-sided single-density 8-inch disk (240K bytes) pretty well packed with programs.

What you get is a mixed bag. Some of the disks have terrific stuff. Others have boring games in BASIC. One has an air search and rescue simulation/game that might be interesting. Another has a pretty good mailing list program. Others have Pascal/Z programs, some of which accomplish feats that no human has ever wanted accomplished. And again, scattered among all this will be real gems, worth more than a lot of programs sold for stiff prices. (Incidentally, probably 50 percent of the really good programs were written by Ward Christensen, a public benefactor.)

Every time I mention the CP/M User's Group in this column two things happen: one, the address is given in the Items Reviewed box that always accompanies the column, and two, up to a dozen people write and ask me for the address. That used to

332 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Can you tell the IBM from the Transtar 130?

Letter quality standard of the industry

5x magnification

One of these two print samples was generated by an IBM Selectric II: the letter quality standard of the industry.

The other was generated by the new Transtar 130 letterquality printer.

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Quietly producing copy at 18 cps Shannon text speed, the Transtar 130 also features a unique autoload button to make printing on letterheads a breeze! Three new daisy wheels have just been made available for the 130 from your dealer: letter gothic (shown), script, and a 15-pitch "gothic mini"—perfect for printing spreadsheets to fit on one page!

Offering an end-user warranty period of a full six months, the Transtar 130 is an extraordinarily reliable machine. Its minimal failure rate runs less than 1%, but if your 130 should ever need repair, a nationwide network of authorized Transtar service centers stands ready.

Have you decided yet whose type is whose? If you picked A...You picked Transtar. The new standard for letter quality printing.

IBM is a regisiert'd trademark u* International Business Machin

Circle 418 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 333

bother me more than it does now. Anyway, the address of the CPMUG

is

CP/M User's Group 1651 Third Ave. New York, NY 10028

Don't try to telephone them. There's no one to take your call. You can connect to a computerized bulletin board system (CBBS) operated by Christensen by calling (312) 849-1132. This is a single-user system, so don't be a hog. I haven't used it myself, so I can't supply details. The CP/M User's Group disk catalogs are filed on this CBBS.

Ward Christensen is the author of MODEM7, probably the most popular microcomputer communications program in existence. MODEM7 is available from the CP/M User's Group. It isn't particularly easy to use or install but given familiarity with your system and assembly-language programming it can be done.

Once armed with MODEM7, you

can go hunting for free software. Plenty of it is available, both in the public domain and an increasingly popular variant that has no name, but works thus: "If you like this, send me (the author) some money. I prefer cash."

Linking Up

One perennial problem is how to get .COM files from one machine to another. With any luck, you can transfer them on floppy disks, which are quick and efficient—after all, that's why floppies were invented in the first place. Unfortunately, all too many machines can't read each other's disks. In those cases you must transfer the files "port to port."

Even when both machines have apparently identical RS-232C serial I/O (input/output) ports, the problem is nontrivial. Not all RS-232C ports are the same. When ports are the same, data rates can differ. In your CBIOS (customized basic input/output system), there's special code to tell your machine how to send informa

tion to, and get it from, those ports; and the methods used are not always obvious. A full discussion of the hardware options would run longer than this entire column.

Once you've got the hardware hookup taken care of, it's a fairly simple matter to send short—20K bytes and under—text files from one machine to another using PIP (although sometimes, for no reason Tony Pietsch or I can predict, even short text files come across garbled). Longer files, and binary files (such as COMmand files, like BASIC or a text editor), are a more difficult matter. If you have MODEM7 up and running on both the sending and the receiving machine, there's no problem; but suppose you don't? How can you get MODEM7 over to the receiving machine in the first place?

There are other communication programs (e.g., SOFTCOM), but many of them will not work with some advanced microcomputers because they were written some years ago. Text continued on page 339

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Supply. Mounting Hardware. Cables & Instruction Manuals $230.00

Dual 8" Slim Line -$180.00 Dual 5'/<" -$ 90.00 Single 5'/," -1 69.00

DUAL DRIVE SUDSYSTEM FOR IDM $725.00

POWER SUPPLIES AND CAOINETS

VISA, MASTERCARD «lOO Mm Add 2%)

Or Certified Check

90 Day Warranty (Parts & Labor)

TRS 80 is a Registered Trademark. Tandy Corp. Prices Subject to Change Without Notice

334 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

DATA— MAIL

P.O. Box818. Reseda. CA91 335 1-800-635-5555

FREE SHIPPING IN CONTINENTAL U.S.

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4

Circle 207 on inquiry card.

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Xerox Service Centers. The personal computer back-up system you've been looking for.

Unfortunately, most people find out the hard way that theres one question even a personal computer can't answer.

Where can you take it for service?

We have a suggestion. Come to one of our

new Xerox Service Centers. We have 82 nationwide. And we're multiplying faster than software programs.

Right now we're equipped to handle Osborne™ Computers, Epson™ MX Series Printers, Pied Piper™ Computers, Morrow Designs Micro Decision™ Computers, Corona Data Systems Computers, Enter Sweet Pea™ Color Plotters, Cameo Electronics Winchester Disk Drives, Okidata Microline™ and Pacemark,™ and Amdek™ products. In addition to a number of Xerox products like the 820 Personal Computer and Diablo Printers. But in the future, we'll be servicing even more brands of personal computers and related items.

Our service people have to undergo one of the toughest training programs in the industry. Including plenty of

336 BYTE July 1983

hands-on experience and intensive study of computer technology.

Then we put them through the specialized courses on other brands.

WeVe even provided a back-up system to our back-up system with a nationwide "hot line" to our Xerox Technical Support Centers. So in the unlikely event your bugaboo baffles our local whiz, theres extra help close at hand.

And we keep our parts departments well stocked. Which means your problem can be fixed a lot faster than you'd imagine.

But one of the best things about bringing* your equipment to us is that you get Xerox quality service at a very affordable price.

So come in and see us. Or contact the Xerox Five Star Service Dealer in your area for more information.

Because 82 new Xerox Service Centers are not only a nice step forward for us. They're a great system for you to fall back on.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express Cards accepted.

*Pick-up and delivery available.

Xerox Service Centers.

Alabama: Birmingham, 167-A Citation Court, (205) 945-1280. Arizona: Tempe, Suite 101, 2109 S. 48th St., (602) 967-1922. California: Alhambra, 614 South Marengo, (213) 289v V 0m; Anaheim, 232 W Cerritos Ave., (714) 776

8143; Carson, Suite E, 20630 Leapwood, (213) 516-6650; Chatsworth, 20802 Plummer St., (213) 709-0226; Sacramento, 4247 S. Market Court, (916) 920-2275; San Diego, Suite N, 7343 Ronson Rd., (619) 5691212; San Francisco,

XEROX

Suite B, 1555 Burke Ave., (415) 821-7719; San Leandro, 1981 Adams, (415) 635-9300; Sunnyvale, #6,540 Weddell Drive, (408) 734-2540. Colorado: Denver, Suite 201,8200 E. Pacific Place, (303) 6968966. Connecticut: Hartford, 593 Farmington Ave., (203) 236-2381. Delaware Area: Westchester, Pa., 301 Wil lowbrook Lane, (215) 431-0533. Florida: AltamonteSprings, 716 North Lake Blvd., (305) 830-8109; Ft. Lauderdale, #502,1500 N.W 62nd St., (305) 491-3202; Jacksonville, Unit #4, 3035 Powers Ave., (904) 731-7218; Miami, 6908 N.W 72nd Ave., (305) 887-2711; Tampa, Suite 6,6201 Johns Rd., (813) 886-0779. Georgia: Atlanta, Suite 10,2215 Perimeter Park Drive, (404) 458-1016. Hawaii: Honolulu, Suite 104,627 South St., (808) 526-0885. Illinois: Chicago, 165 N. Canal St., (312) 559-9440; Elk Grove Village, 2216 Landmeier Rd., (312) 437-3180; Lombard, 436A Eisenhower Lane, (312) 9531113; Springfield, 2036 S. MacArthur, (217) 523-1007. Indiana: Indianapolis, 5335 W Minnesota St., (317) 241-2888. Iowa: Des Moines, 700 E. 4th St., (515) 282-8700. Kansas: Overland Parle, 6383 WHO St., (913) 381-9819; Wichita, 7804 E. Funston, (316) 685-4731. Kentucky: Louisville, 10308 Bluegrass Parkway, (502) 499-7224. Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Suite K, 10466 Airline Highway, (504) 291-5974; Harahan, Suite F, 550 Wholesalers Parkway, (504) 733-1201. Maryland: Hunt Valley, 100 Lakefront Drive, (301) 667-8711; Lanham, 9730A-1 George Palmer Highway, (301) 459-3973; Rockville, 12288 H. Wilkens Ave., (301) 468-8870. Massachusetts: Braintree, 190 Forbes Rd., (617) 848-5750; Wbburn, 248 W Cummings Park, (617) 938-0845. Michigan: Lansing, Suite 7,6810 South Cedar, (517) 694-3350; Troy, Suite 7,1270 Rankin, (313) 583-2935. Minnesota: Edina, 3650 Hazelton Rd., (612) 9204472. Mississippi: Jackson, 870 Foley St., (601) 948-6302. Missouri: 5/. Louis, 11984 Dorsett Rd., (314) 991-2106. Nebraska: Omaha, 11129 Mill Valley Rd., (402) 493-0387. New Jersey: Lodi, 300-1B Rt. 17, (201) 777-4441; Monmouth Junction, Bldg. 1, 248 U.S. Rt. 1, (201) 329-2050; Whippany, 145 Algonquin Parkway, (201) 428-1275. New Mexico: Albuquerque, Suite D, 5659 Kircher Blvd., (505) 344-3563. New York: Albany, Pine West XEROX®, 820 and Diablo" are trademarks of XEROX CORPORATION.

Plaza One, Washington Ave Ext., (518) 869-9082; Cheektowaga, 198 Sugg Rd., (716) 634-2993; Elmsford, 5 Westchester Plaza, (914) 592-4454; Lake Success, Suite 1-E8,3000 Marcus Ave., (516) 437-1134; Liverpool, 7150 Henry Clay Blvd., (315) 451-7420; New York, 405 Lexington Ave., (212) 697-2190; Rochester, 333 Metro Park, (716) 424-4010. North Carolina: Charlotte, 2838 G Interstate 85 S., Carolina Center, (704) 399-1523; Raleigh, 5225 North Blvd., #1N. Commerce Center, (919) 876-1610. Ohio: Akron, 2650 S. Arlington Rd., (216) 6443251; Cincinnati, 4814 Interstate Drive, (513) 874-0884; Cleveland, Technology Plaza, 5267 E. 98th St., (216) 587-1546; Columbus, 3711 Corporate Drive, (614) 895-3033. Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, 2122 South Meridian, (405) 682-5030; Tulsa, 4725A South Memorial Drive, (918) 665-0811. Oregon: Tigard, 10110 S.W Nimbus Ave., B-9, (503) 684-1152. Pennsylvania: Harrisburg, 806 S. 29th St., (717) 564-2602; King of Prussia, Suite C, 1006 W 8th Ave., (215) 337-4486; Philadelphia, Suite H&I, 9140 Academy Rd., (215) 33\-0999;Pittsburgh, 601 Holiday Drive, (412) 921-8202. Tennessee: Memphis, Suite 143,1835 Nonconnah Blvd., (901) 346-2211; Nashville, 1854 Airlane Drive, (615) 8835102. Texas: Austin, #112,7950 Anderson Square, (512) 451-6263; Dallas, Suite 104,1625 W Mockingbird Lane, (214) 6306647; Fort Worth, 3273 Crabtree St., (817) 6268243; Houston, Suite 220, 7280 Wynnwood, (713) 862-1784; Houston, 3642 Westchase Drive, (713) 7893070; San Antonio, Suite 112,2411 Northeast Loop 410, (512) 655-0085. Utah: Salt Lake City, 3697 W 1987 S., (801) 973-7316. Virginia: Fairfax, 2731B Prosperity Ave., (703) 698-7477; Richmond, 8707 W Broad St., (804) 747-0275; Virginia Beach, 1448 Air Rail Ave., (804) 464-4752. Washington: Renton, 266 S.W 43rd St., (206) 251-9155. West Virginia: Charleston, 523 Central Ave., (304) 342-8015. Wisconsin: New Berlin, 2995 South Moreland, (414) 784-3690.|

Circle 452 on Inquiry card.

Nine Thousand Nine Hundred & Ninety Dollars,

3 USERS. 21 MBYTES WINCHESTER. 320K RAM.

AND YOU CAN ONLY GET IT FROM GIFFORD.

Look at that price again. We were a little skeptical at first, too. But after checking our totals we knew we'd finally done it: developed a multi-user, 8-16 bit obsolescence-proof hard-disk computer system, complete with dBase II,™ SuperCalc-86,™ and MP/M-86™ for under $10,000.Expandability's a breakthrough, too. You can add four additional users for just $600 each, plus terminal.

IS IT 8 BIT OR 16 BIT? YES.

Like you would expect of a Gifford computer system, it can run any combination of 8 and 16 bit CP/M programs simultaneously. So, on top of all the thousands of 8 bit CP/M programs available, you'll also be able

to take advantage of any of the more powerful 16 bit programs... and run them at the same time. And when we say it works, it really works. After all, we were the folks who invented 8-16 bit operating systems.

STOP LOOKING. AND START CUTTING.

Send us the coupon and we'll send you a brochure detailing all the advantages of going with Gifford. Such as, our exclusive networking and multi-tasking telecommunications packages, our two year warranty and the benefits of selecting an IEEE 696/S-100 bus-based system.

There's lots more to tell, but if you're a business or technical professional looking for an obsolescenceproof, multi- user hard-disk computer system that features expandability and dependability, plus complete service and support at an incredibly low price, stop looking and cut the coupon. And by all means, wait for our brochure before jj you make any investment.

Gifford Computer System 321 Includes:

320K Static RAM Memory

Two 8" DS/DD Floppies 2.4Mb Formatted

Gifford F5-21 Winchester Drive 21Mb Formatted (27 Mb Unformatted)

CompuPro Enclosure 2 With: IEEE 696/S-100 bus 9 I/O Ports 20 bus Slots

dBASE II

SuperCalc-86

MP/M-86

Terminals not included. Compatible with all standard RS-232 terminals and printers.

MP/M 8-16 is a proprietary implementation of MP/M-86 and was configured for CompuPro by Gifford Computer Systems. CP/M and MP/M are registered trademarks of Digital Research. SuperCalc is a trademark of Sorcim. dBase II is a trademark of Ashton-Tate. CompuPro is a trademark of Godbout Electronics. Prices and specifications subject to change.

Gifford Computer Systems is an authorized CompuPro Systems Center.

(415) 895-07

I'D LIKE THE WHOLE STORY.

Please send me your brochure.

Name Title.

Organization ; ^: :?: ■V' ^ ■;:;:-; :':;;

Address ':::^:,i> " v:::--: : v ».: : : :

City

Phone; ' ;,, ,1.~..

-State—

Please have a representative call trie.

BY

GIFFORD COMPUTER SYSTEMS □ SAN LEANDRO, CA (415) 895-0798 □ SAN FRANCISCO, CA (415) 391-4570 □ LOS ANGELES, CA (213) 477-3921 □ MIAMI, FL (305) 665-9212 □ HOUSTON, TX (713) 877-1212 □ AMHERST, NY (716) 833-4758 □ FARMINGTON HILLS, MI (313) 471-5854 □

Circle 176 on inquiry card.

Tony decided to do something about this problem. He wrote a program called SEND-HEX, which converts files into Intel hexadecimal format and then transfers them. Once received, the files can be converted back to their original format, whether text, .COM, .REL, or whatever.

SEND-HEX works like a charm. We used it to transfer WRITE (our snazzy text editor) and XD (an enhanced DIR command) over to Adelle, my Otrona Attache portable computer. Then we used SEND-HEX to transfer files from the Otrona to the Kaypro. Indeed, whenever we get a new CP/M machine, or there's any kind of file-transfer problem, we haul out SEND-HEX.

Barry Workman wanted to publish the program, but Tony's documentation, though good enough to let me use his program, said far too little about file transfers in general and had a number of "you know what I mean" loose ends.

I had made some notes on file transfer for my own reference; by judicious application of slivovitz, Barry talked me into polishing up those notes as the documentation for SEND-HEX, which he's marketing under the name The Transporter.

I decided to write everything I could think of about file transfer: hardware, software; the difference between physical and logical devices; data terminal equipment and data communications equipment; RS232C ports, the kinds of RS-232C cables; and more. The theory was that I'd make it do double duty by putting it into this column.

Hah. The result was more than 8000 words. Linking computer systems isn't really all that complicated, but there's just a lot of detailed stuff you must be familiar with. I ended up going to about nine books, each of which has some of the information needed. As Alex puts it, we scoured the earth.

There's no chance I'm going to get all that in the column, and I find nothing I can cut and still make it complete and self-contained. Barry is including it as part of The Transporter package. I'm not getting royalties on it.

Bits, Bytes, and Buzzwords

Not long ago, Federal Express delivered a thick sheaf of galley proofs. It turned out to be Bits, Bytes, and Buzzwords: Understanding Small Business Computers by Mark Garetz. Mark is president of the Compupro Division of Godbout Electronics, and he's written one heck of a book. It's the kind of introduction to small computers that this field has always needed, and which, I confess, I was tempted to write myself.

I won't have to just yet. Garetz's book isn't as good on software as I'd like to see, but it's as good an intro to hardware as I've come across.

That's not just my opinion. My son Alex is a senior in computer science. Jennifer, his young lady friend, weary of innumerable conversations of which she understood not a word, decided to learn something of computers in self-defense.

Tonight, while browsing through Garetz's book, Jennifer learned that the goofy numbers like 6502 refer to computer chips.

Included are chapters on computer systems (CPU, memory, input/output, etc.); peripherals (terminals, disk drives, and printers); and software. The latter part of the book isn't quite as good as the rest, but it does give a good discussion of what an operating system is and why you need one.

There's a good discussion of 8-bit versus 16-bit machines, and which are useful for what. Not surprisingly, Garetz recommends microcomputers using the S-100 bus—a conclusion I completely agree with.

Understand, the book is introductory. Hackers with several years' experience won't find anything new. Beginners, though, should find it a godsend. Highly recommended. Jennifer was impressed.

Drop Dead, Twice

Many a year ago, I wrote a science column for the late, lamented Galaxy science-fiction magazine. For one issue, I had to calculate spaceship orbits with a slide rule and log tables, and I almost went out of my mind. I desperately needed a scientific digital calculator. Alas, at the time there existed Hewlett-Packard scientific

Circle 462 on inquiry card.

StarLogic

Announces More

Disk Drive

Savings

TANDON DRIVES FOR IBM AND OTHER PERSONAL COMPUTERS

These basic drives can be mounted internally on IBM and other personal computers. Both full-size and the new ThinLine models are available.

TANDON TM100-1 $165.00

TANDON TM50-1 $145.00

TANDON TM100-2 . $235.00

TANDON TM55-2 $215.00

TANDON TM-100-4 $295.00

TANDON TM55-4 , $275.00

TANDON TM101-4 $295.00

TANDON TM848-1 $350.00

TANDON TM848-2 $425.00

APPLE II-C0MPATIBLE DISK DRIVES FROM INTERFACE INC Includes drive, cable and cabinet (also compatible with Apple look-alikes) 5W standard drive $205.00

ThinLine drive $185.00

Dual ThinLine drives , $335.00

EXTERNAL DRIVES FOR IBM PC FROM INTERFACE INC Price includes drive, power supply, cable and cabinet.

100-1 with 160K IBM format $235.00

100-2 with 320K IBM format $305.00

55-2 with 320K IBM format $285.00

100-4 with 650K IBM format $385.00

(includes software patch to DOS 1.1) 55-4 with 650K IBM format $365.00

(includes software patch to DOS 1.1)

WINCHESTER SUBSYSTEMS FOR IBM PC FROM INTERFACE INC

Includes Winchester disk drive, cabinet, power supply, cable, controller, I/O adaptor and software (JEL) for 1.1 DOS 5 Megabyte $1375.00

10 Megabyte $1575.00

15 Megabyte $1775.00

IBM PC XT DISK DRIVES FROM INTERFACE INC Dual floppy disk drives each with 362K bytes storage; both drives mount in "A" position $ 450.00

10 Megabyte Winchester Subsystem, Slave compatible with IBM DOS 2.0 $1095.00

External floppy disk drives from Interface Inc are also available for the TRS-80 Model III, the Tandy Color Computer, and other personal computers.

All drives and peripherals have our standard warranty which includes 90 days parts and labor.

TELEPHONE ORDERS ONLY Only phone orders will be accepted. Master Card, VISA, Cashier's Check, COD accepted. (213) 883-0587

StarLogic

20932 Cantara St. Canoga Park, CA 91301

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM and IBM PC are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. TRS-80 is a registered trademark of Tandy Corporation. ThinLine is a registered trademark of Tandon Corporation. JEL is a product of Tall Tree Systems.

Prices subject to change without notice.

Prices do not include shipping charges which will be

added to billing. i

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 339

calculators, but they were priced far out of my reach.

Then came the Texas Instruments TI-50, which cost about $150, less than half what HP wanted for its machine. The TI-50 had logs, and trig, and fractional exponents— everything I needed. I hung my Pickett Log-log Decitrig slide rule on the wall, gulped hard, and wrote a check. I've never regretted it, and the Pickett is still on the wall.

Thus, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for TI. When my mad friend got me involved with small computers, both of us thought our second machine would probably come from Texas Instruments. We were sure that, as with scientific calculators, TI would lay back until it could deliver a machine that did more for half the cost.

We expected that right up to the time when TI came out with its personal computer, the TI-99/4. Then we knew better. Not only was the TI-99/4 slow, but you couldn't get into it. TI published almost nothing

about its innards, nor was there the kind of software, such as assembler and debugger, that encouraged tinkering.

TI's message was loud and clear: "Drop dead, hobbyists!"

Last year at the West Coast Computer Faire, I talked to a number of TI people and was convinced that TI had reformed—that it would encourage outsiders to write software for its machines.

Today I learned better. According to the Wall Street Journal, TI is using ROM-based hardware to ensure that unlicensed software cartridges won't work on the TI-99/4A. Anyone who wants to write programs for the TI99/4A must sell all rights to TI, who will be the sole software supplier. It will, it says, pay royalties to the authors.

I haven't seen the contracts TI offers, but if they at all resemble those IBM tried to foist off on authors, it shouldn't have many takers. TI is altering its computers so that only software making use of a GROM

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(graphics read-only memory) can work in the 99/4A. TI owns exclusive rights to the GROM, and it won't license it to anyone else. That way, TI keeps a monopoly on software that runs in its computers.

A number of software designers have decided that they'd rather work with other machines; and according to the Journal, Charles LaFara, president of the TI Users' Group, says, 'TI hasn't given us enough quality software itself, and now it is stifling the efforts of others."

I've always thought the TI machine had more potential than it ever showed. When TI told me that it was going to encourage hobbyists to write software for its machines, I predicted that TI was still a company to watch. Hobbyists are an insignificant part of the market, but having them working on software is like having a large unpaid R&D department—it takes only one Visicalc to make a computer successful.

Now, TI once again tells the hobbyists to drop dead. That may be good strategy, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Using the Otrona

Because Larry Niven and I hadn't got as much done on our Footfall book as we should have, last week we piled our stuff in my International Scout and took off for the desert. We ended up in Death Valley.

We bounced over many an unpaved mountain and desert road, crossed the Amargosa River, and did a bit of off-roading on the side. Each night we checked into a motel, and the first thing we did was set up Adelle.

I'm pleased to report that there were no glitches whatever. Adelle performed flawlessly.

Larry found the small screen annoying. Because he had to take his glasses off and get very close to read the screen, he was never happy with it. No matter. The Otrona has a builtin video-output jack, and next time I travel with Larry I'll take a good monitor.

Meanwhile, Adelle, protected only by a large padded bag, jounced around in the back of my truck, en

340 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 182 on inquiry card.

THE FORTH SOURCE

TM

MVP-FORTH - A Public Domain Product

MVP Forth is fig-FORTH updated to the FORTH-79 Standard Required Word Set. The source is public domain. Included are an editor, FORTH assembler, tools and utilities, making it compatible with the instructional book, Starting FORTH. Except for hardware dependencies, all high level FORTH is transportable between all systems. Modifications and extensions can be simplified through the use of MVP-FORTH Programming Aids and Meta and Cross Compilers.

MVP FORTH Books - A Series

□ Volume 1, All about FORTH by Haydon. MVP-FORTH glossary with cross references to fig-FORTH, Starting FORTH and FORTH-79 Standard. 2nd Ed. $25

□ Volume 2, MVP-FORTH Assembly Source Code. Includes CP/M15 , IBM-PC® , and APPLE® listing for kernel $20

□ Volume 3, MVP-FORTH Math & Floating Point Extensions by Koopman. $25

MORE COMING!

MVP-FORTH Software - A Transportable FORTH

□ MVP-FORTH Programmer's Kit including disk, documentation, Volumes 1 & 2 of MVP-FORTH Series (All About FORTH. 2nd Ed. & Assembly Source Code), and Starting FORTH. Specify CP/M, CP/M 86, MSDOS IBM-PC, TRS-80/1® or 3. TRS Color Computer or APPLE. $150

□ MVP-FORTH Cross Compiler for CP/M Programmer's Kit. Can also generate headerless code for ROM or target

CPU $300

□ MVP-FORTH Meta Compiler for CP/M Programmer's kit. Use for applicatons on CP/M based computer. Includes public domain source $150

□ MVP-FORTH Fast Floating Point for APPLE Programmer's Kit. Includes 9511 math chip on board with disk and documentation. $400

□ MVP-FORTH Programming Aids for CP/M, IBM or APPLE Programmer's Kit. Extremely useful tool for decompiling, callfinding, and translating. $150

□ MVP-FORTH by ECS Software for IBM-PC or ATARI® 400/800. Standalone with screen editor. License required. Upgradeable $100

D MVP-FORTH by ECS Software for IBM-PC or ATARI 400/800. Enhanced with color animation, multitasking sound, utilities, and unlimited run time license. $175

□ MVP-FORTH Professional Application Development System (PADS) for CP/M, IBM-PC, or APPLE. A three level integrated system with complete documentation. Complete system for IBM, CP/M, or APPLE Includes 3 below $400

□ MVP-FORTH PADS enhanced virtual system $150 D MVP-FORTH PADS Programming Aids $150

□ MVP-FORTH PADS Meta Compiler $150

• •• MVP-FORTH operates under a variety of CPU's, computers, and operating systems. CP/M® disks can be supplied 8", SS/SD, 3740 format or 5Va for Osborne® Northstar® Micro Decisions® Kaypro® or H89/Z89® . Specify your computer and operating system. ***

$60

FORTH DISKS

FORTH with editor, assembler, and manual.

□ APPLE by MM $100 D IBM-PC® by LM $100 D APPLE by Kuntze $90 □ NOVA by CCI 8" DS/DD$150 D ATARI® valFORTH $60 D Z80 by LM $50 D CP/M® by MM $100 □ 8086/88 by LM $100

□ HP-85 by Lange $90 P VIC FORTH byHES, VIC20

cartridge

Enhanced FORTH with: F-Floating Point, G-Graphics, T-Tutorial, S-Stand Alone, M-Math Chip Support, MT-Multi-Tasking, X-Other Extras, 79-FORTH-79. D APPLE by MM D Extensions for LM Specify

F, G, &79 " $140 IBM, Z80, or 8086

□ ATARI by PNS, F,G, & X. $90 □ Software Floating

_ Point $100

D CP/M by MM, F & 79 $1 40 n 8087 Support

□ Apple, GraFORTH by I $75 (IBM-PC or 8086) $100 D Multi-Tasking FORTH by SL, □ 9511 Support

CP/M, X& 79 $395 (Z80 or 8086) $100

□ TRS-80/1 or III by MMS n Color <3raPhics F, X, &79 $130

□ Timex by FD, tape G.X, & 79 $45

$100

(IBM-PC) □ Data Base

Management $200

Requires LM FORTH disk. Iude|g5 C Victor 9000 by DE, G.X

Starting FORTH

$150

CROSS COMPILERS Allow extending, modifying and compiling for speed and memory savings, can also produce ROMable code. •Requires FORTH disk.

D CP/M $300 D IBM' $300

□ 8086* $300 □ Z80« $300

□ Northstar® $300 □ Apple II/II+ $300 □ fig-FORTH Programming Aids for decompiling, callfinding,

and translating. CP/M, IBM-PC, Z80, or Apple $150

Key to vendors:

CCI Capstone Computing Inc.

DE Dal-E Systems

FD Forth Dimension

I Insoft

LH Laxen and Harris

LM Laboratory Microsystems

MM MIcroMotion

MMS Miller Microcomputer Services

NS Nautilus Systems

PNS Pink Noise Studio

SL Shaw Labs

□

FORTH Computer - Jupiter Ace

□ 16K RAM Pack O 48K RAM Pack

□ Par/Sec Interface

$150

$50

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$100

FORTH MANUALS, GUIDES & DOCUMENTS

□ ALL ABOUT FORTH by D 1982 Rochester FORTH

Haydon. See above. $25 Proc. $25

Q FORTH Encyclopedia by DA FORTH Primer $25

Derick & Baker. rj Threaded Interpretive

Programmer's manual to fig- Languages $21

FORTH with FORTH-79 □ AIM FORTH User Man $12

references. Flow charted, 2nd _ _,, , ..

CH „t D APPLE User's Manual

Ed $25 MM $20

□ FORTH Encyclopedia _ „_.._„__,.

Pocket Guide $7 ° METAFORTH by

□ And So FORTH by Huang. A ^assady $30 college level text. $25 rj f JLs'?ms Gu,de t0 ,ig_

□ FORTH Programming by _ F°*" c„DTlJ ... . **Z Scanlon $17 D Caltech FORTH Manual $12

□ FORTH on the ATARI by E a Invitation to FORTH $20

Floegel $8 □ PDP-11 User Man. $20

□ Starting FORTH by Brodie. □ CP/M User's Manual,

Best instructional manual MM $20

available, (soft cover) $18 P FORTH-79 Standard $15

□ Starting FORTH (hard □ FORTH-79 Standard cover) $22 Conversion $10

□ 1980 FORML Proc. $25 □ Tiny Pascal fig-FORTH $10

□ 1981 FORML Proc 2 Vol $40 p NOVA fig-FORTH by CCI

□ 1982 FORML Proc. $25 Source Listing $15 D 1981 Rochester FORTH □ NOVA by CCI User's Manual

Proc. $25 includes editor, assembler,

and utilities $25

D Installation Manual for fig-FORTH, $15

Source Listings of fig-FORTH, for specific CPU's and computers. The Installation Manual is required for implementation. Each $15

D 1802 P 6502 P 6800 P AlphaMicro

P 8080 P 8086/88 P 9900 P APPLE II

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BYTE July 1983 341

during cold and humid weather as well as excessive jolt and vibration; and she still runs perfectly. My earlier conviction that 8-inch disks are more reliable than 5Vi-inch disks is fast being overcome by experience. What could we do to those disk drives that we haven't done?

Idiot Proofing

When Tony Pietsch was over to install Zeke II, he asked for a big cardboard box. I went up to the attic and fished one out. It turned out that he wanted to make a cardboard modification for the Compupro "box."

(Incidentally, we need a good term for the box that contains a microcomputer's bus and power supply. It has become traditional to call it "the mainframe," which seems a bit silly because it's the name we also give to computers that are much larger than minicomputers. "Box," however, seems irreverent. Ah well.)

Anyway, the Compupro box (case? enclosure?) has the bus along one side, then a barrier strip, and the

power supply along the other side. Many other computers are built along more or less the same lines.

There's considerable juice in a computer power supply. It is not a good place to put your fingers. It is also not a good place to drop tools, unless you like sparks.

There's another potential problem when you open a computer box (at least for S-100 bus systems)—airflow. The Compupro is typical enough: it has a fan that blows over the power supply. The barrier between power supply and the card cage is perforated, and the normal air path is along the power supply elements, through the holes in the barrier, and thence across the components. If, however, the lid is taken off the box, the air is not confined and instead of taking a circuitous route out to the boards, simply goes up, not cooling the boards at all. This can cause concern on hot days.

The problems, then, are exposed source of heat and excessive opportunity to contact unhealthy voltages.

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The remedy is simplicity itself.

First cut a length of cardboard sized to fit the area over the power supply—that portion of the system to the right of the barrier strip. Now put the cardboard over the system. If you've measured just right, it will stay there. (You may have to cut out a slot for the top of the fan.)

The result is what Tony calls idiot proofing: the cardboard keeps dropped screws and tools, and your fingers, out of the power supply; it also forces the air to circulate properly even with the case opened, resulting in cooler and thus more reliable components.

I expect this kind of tip is more in Ciarcia's line than mine, but I have to woo his readers somehow . . .

Trapdoors

I have a program that would have excited my mad friend no end.

I've never known MacLean's exact connection with the U.S. government, but he does seem to have done some intelligence work. One thing that very much interested him was ciphers and codes. He obviously knew a lot about them.

I say obviously, because he was fond of disassembling programs. Disassembly is the process of taking object code and turning it into source code. Given the source code, you can modify the program, Programmers go to great lengths to protect their source code. In one case, all the English-language text messages in the program had been encrypted in an attempt to ward off disassemblers.

That might have worked for most, but it hardly slowed my mad friend at all. It took him about an hour to figure out what the programmer had done, and another two hours to solve the cipher.

He was always interested in anything published about codes and ciphers. I particularly remember his excitement when the science magazines began publishing articles about public key cryptography systems (also known as trapdoor functions).

Probably the simplest way to describe what public key systems do is to quote from the manual of a software package called DEDICATE/32:

Continued on page 347

342 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Before public key cryptograph}/ was invented all crypto systems were of the "single key" type. A key was chosen to encode a message. The sender of the message had to communicate that key to the receiver of the message so that the receiver could decode the message. This meant that the key had to he transmitted over a secure channel, or that the two parties communicating had to make prior arrangements about the key.

Public key cryptography can be called two key cryptography. The idea is that two different key pairs are generated by each user of a system. Out of each pair one key is selected as the public key (it could be either one) and the other key is the secret key.

The public key is indeed published. Anyone can use it. I have included my public key in this article (see listing 1). Anyone wishing to send me a secure message can, supposedly, use this published key to encode the message, after which the message can be sent in a letter, broadcast, sent by signal flags, or otherwise published without danger of compromise.

The mathematical underpinnings to this kind of encryption are known as trapdoor functions. They're called that because the keys act like a trapdoor: you can encode the message with the public key, but once you've done so, you cannot decode the message. Only the possessor of the secret key can decode.

It works the other way, too: you can encode a message using your secret key. Now anyone can decode it, using your public key; but the fact that it decodes into a message is proof that the possessor of the secret key actually sent it. Thus messages can be sent with a very secure signature.

Now we have what seems to be a public key cryptography system. I say "seems to be," not because I have any reason whatever to doubt the claims of Charlie Merrit and the other authors of DEDICATE/32, but because I have no means of evaluating the truth of their claims.

Certainly DEDICATE/32 "works" in the sense that it apparently does what it is supposed to do. It generates both public and secret keys; and when you apply the keys, encrypted messages result. When you use the decode program, the original message

comes back completely unaltered; even the formfeeds and control characters are intact.

DEDICATE/32 has splendid documentation. That, incidentally, wasn't always true: the preliminary document told me more about the theory of public key encryption (and might profitably be included as an appendix to the new manual), but it was very confusing on how to use the system.

The new manual has only about 500 words in it. It tells you exactly what the program does and how to accomplish it. A 12-year-old can use this program. I know, because I had one of the Boy Scouts try it without help from me.

The messages that the program gives you are so clear and complete that it must have taken me about five seconds to get past the only minor omission in the manual. Hear and believe: this program is easy to use.

DEDICATE/32 took about 44 seconds to encode a 37-word message. The encoded message (shown in listing 2) takes 2K bytes of file space. It took 40 seconds to decode.

I then used the program to encode an 8K-byte text file (my vita if you must know). There are 1028 words in the file; it took 1 minute and 4 seconds to encode, and the resulting encrypted file was 17K bytes long. Decoding that took 1 minute and 10 seconds. In both cases, the decoded files are byte-by-byte identical with the original.

In other words, this program works splendidly. MacLean had thought that any such system would be quite slow; I am very pleasantly surprised. Indeed, that's my only grounds for misgivings: it just seems so darned easy and simple! I thought "unbreakable codes" would have to be a hell of a lot more complicated.

I am not a cryptography expert. Thus my evaluation is necessarily incomplete because I can't tell you whether DEDICATE/32 actually generates an "unbreakable" code.

I am doing two things about that. First, I'm publishing a message encrypted with my public key (see listing 2), and I'm providing the public key. There will be a reward —value not to exceed the price of a

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 347

Listing 1: My public key as generated by DEDICATE/32.

PKSKEY(tm) 032

AA JC NE FJ EP HN EH BG BF

FB DB DL DE MH PB EO MH BD

PF BB MI LO OM OG IB DK BP

JD LF FG ME EK OF KC IB AJ

AA PF GP KD CC KF MG GG AJ

MP FL MH GJ JE BL LA MP AO

KL JD AB AD LH KL PN LA BP

MN JE MB DH HF HD PG EH BH

good dinner, the next time I'm in the winner's city (or when the winner comes to a computer show I'm at)—for the first person to send me the plaintext of the message.

Second, I'm putting both the public key and a longer message (my vita) onto a net that includes my friends Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, and a whole host of top graduate students in computer science. If anyone can break this, they can; and if anyone does, I'll let you know what resources were required to do it! More than that I can't do.

Understand: I have no reason whatever to suspect that DEDICATE/ 32 does not do precisely what it says it will do, and I have a number of reasons, including my general impressions of Charlie Merrit, whom I met at Comdex, to believe that it does work. It's just that for once I'm over my head. I guess it won't be the last time I wish I had MacLean's advice, but he's on another assignment.

Things My Postman Brings Me

I have an unusual poison-pen letter: it is signed, but there's no return address. Usually there's no name.

Apparently my columns really vex Paul Cystime of Colorado Springs. He tells me that he generally doesn't "have the time to respond to authors (and their inevitable 'articles')," and confesses that he has nightmares about this column, greatly fearing

Listing 2: Secret message (37 words) encrypted using my public key.

THIS IS AN ENCODED FILE

FORMAT PKS032AXPAND00001

ORIGINAL FILE NAME SECMSG2.TXT

AAAJOMIMCIIAFIAHKGIHABOFJFODLDALLFGPLIJIGHHMOLLHFLHIFINONCAGHHPG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LPLLDNKCPCOHJOKCOLFMCLNCPCIJIIKHFCHNJOODIKNPIODPJFJJHMJNGCOBBDLH IBHAMHIEEMMJGCLPPDBPAEHCIEJBLMHLFNLAOGIOCPHDOBCMKNHKJIGJJAEBOMIH CECGMOJGJKBMOCHMOEGKKMCCLHGGCOGAOPAMCDDAEKHOPIEFGCOGAGJLJGIHKOBL NJLOOEFJMHCPEKJICFAPBEMENCHOFEFIPAGDNEECPIAJOEBHDOCCNHGIEHKOOFBE GMFMDIDDKKNAEKNOJBGKNHAABAALPOOIPOBMPNANMPAFKACDGDEIJJKGNEJHEDKE NOPAKDKHBOMNFFOMNDNLDNCMLPEJNCMECCICCJAAEHCDHHKCKADKOLIFCFIBDFLN JJGMCFNHJCPEDKBGIJNPOHAHLIKENPGNCGFJDOIOOOFMDINBNOLBFMALNKOGBGNI HALBFGCONKMFMHNOEBJPNFNKDMHHLFFAHMOONIPPBFLNEKDOFBJNOMFHEMFDFCDO

that he "will be forced to read all your whinning [sic] articles." He then asks advice.

"Me and another feller," he says, "want to publish a book containing the usual drivel. . . . Can we get paid for it?" The letter is printed in dot matrix with a well-used ribbon; but Mr. Cystime found it necessary to

I really hate to

think of someone being

"forced to read" my

columns, only to

be upset by them.

add in neat handwriting that he has been wanting to get this off his chest for months.

I fear I can't help him get published. Writer's Digest contains articles that might be of use.

As to his other difficulties: my partner Larry Niven sometimes gets letters like this. Larry's reply is, "Reading Niven is a privilege, not a right. Therefore I have instructed my publishers not to allow you to buy any of my books ever again. Every bookstore in the country will be notified."

I suppose something of the sort should be arranged here. Perhaps the subscription people could scissor my article out of Mr. Cystime's copy. I really hate to think of him being "forced to read" my columns when they so obviously upset him . . .

Fortunately, most of my mail is far more interesting (at least to me). For all those who sent Get Well Soon cards to Ezekial, and condolence cards to me in commemoration of his demise, my sincere thanks. Zeke has, alas, been dismembered; but crucial portions have been combined with MacLean's Alice to become the new computer for the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society Inc., so that the story has an almost happy ending.

Thomas Goodey writes from Japan: "You blew your Otrona using a hair dryer converter to go from 225 to 110. I did exactly the same thing to my Osborne in Thailand. Fortunately it was just the fuse in the power supply.

"I expect it was one of those very light converters that don't contain a transformer. They perform a peculiar chopping action on the 250 volts AC to produce a wave that acts like 110 for some devices, but isn't reliable for delicate electronics ..."

348 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Three functions In one card slot— Modem, Calendar clock. Serial port I

The PConnection is a premium telecommunications card for the IBM PC with a direct connect Bell I03/II3 modem, a real time clock, and a serial I/O port for expanded communications capabilities. The PConnection gives you all three functions in a single card sloti

The PConnection has autodial (Touch Tone or pulse] and autoanswer, plus a built-in speaker for line status monitoring. Software selectable protocol and modes The real time clock can be used to autodial predetermined phone numbers at preset times Excellent for polling and remote monitoring applications. PConnection (plug-in modem) - S250 Enhanced PConnection with real time clock and additional RS-232 - S300 Another quality modem from

thm micropmrlpborml corporation

2565 I52nd Avenue N E. Redmond. WA 98052

(206) 881-7544

» Corporation

Circle 351 on Inquiry can

Circle 276 on inquiry ca

He is right of course. Be warned: the usual traveler's power converter will not work with your portable computer. If you don't know quite a lot about power conversion, get expert advice before going overseas.

My Otrona has on-board conversion for almost any conceivable power supply; my problem was that in one Roman pensione the wall socket was very nonstandard, and the only thing I had that would plug into it was that wretched converter. It's a mistake I won't make again, and one very much worth avoiding.

D. L. Bailey of Mitre Corporation informs me of a book by J. G. P. Barnes, entitled Programming in Ada. According to Mr. Bailey it is better organized and more readable than the I. Pyle book (The Ada Programming Language) I've previously recommended.

I don't yet have a copy, but Mr. Bailey's letter is pretty convincing.

On the subject of Ada, Marin David Condic of Chicago asks if there's an Ada compiler for microcomputers that can make use of generic procedures and packages. The Janus compiler from R&R Software won't compile his programs because he makes extensive use of that feature. He asks, "Are you aware of any Ada compiler, for any small machine, that will handle generics?"

I fear I don't know of any now; I invite reader comments.

Fred Willink of San Jose, California, comments: 'Tour column in the January issue was of interest because you mentioned that Target Plannercalc and the CCS computers won't work together. I had the same problem.

"Both Target Plannercalc and the CCS BIOS use the same reserved but unused area of CP/M page zero from 50 to 5B hexadecimal. CCS uses the area for storage of SECTOR ID starting at 4E hexadecimal. Target Plannercalc's use of this area is unknown. Since source code for the CCS BIOS (basic input/output system for the CCS computer) is provided for customizing, this is the easiest fix.

"The label IDSV in the DEBLOCK PARAMETERS at the beginning of the CBIOS can be deleted and moved

Circle 108 on inquiry card. »

20/20

Right in any light. Comrex word processing monitors.

Fluorescent. Incandescent. Natural. Artificial. Comrex has word processing monitors for any kind of light. The CR-5400: a compact nine-inch diagonal screen; the CR-5600: a twelve-inch screen. Both available in green, yellow green or amber displays with tack-sharp

resolution. Easy on the eyes. Both so affordable they could only come from Comrex. Easy on the wallet. The CR-5400. The CR 5600. The monitors for your eyes, your lighting, your wallet, you.

■ (213) 373 0Z80

HHM

:xon has the information processor.

that really can be the start of something big.

At Exxon Office Systems, we're bringing the hightech office down to earth, by designing office automation to grow the way you grow.

You can start an office automation system simply with just one of our remarkable EXXON 500 Series Information Processors.

Then as you grow, we can grow with you, right into our snared resource office automation system ... The EXXON 8400 Series System.

As a fully functioned system its capability is awe some. Operators can create, edit, reformat, file, share

E^ON

Hie future..without the shock.

and retrieve documents, all with the touch of a key.

There's a dictionary, an electronic mailbox, a program for keeping calendars and scheduling meetings, a tickler file and more.

Start automating your office now with one of our EXXON 500 Series Information Processors. And step into the future without the shock of unnecessary costs from expanding inefficiently.

For more information on the EXXON 500 or our new office automation system, just send in the coupon below. Or call 800-327-6666.

r-——————i

OFFICE SYSTEMS

Circle 166 on Inquiry card.

luen Offlc* Sy ttwm

P.O. Box 10184, Stamford, CT 06904

I'd like to know more about

Q the EXXON 8400 Series System

□ the EXXON 500 Series Information Processor

Please have your representative call.

Name

CompanyAddress

.Title.

City

Telephone.

. State

. Zip.

800-327-6666. mi in

■ a IN CONNECTICUT. 800-843-2!

Items Reviewed

Catalog

CP/M User's Group 1651 Third Ave. New York, NY 10028

Comm-Pac Power-Pac Start-Pac

Osborne Computer Corporation

26500 Corporate Ave.

Hayward, CA 94545

(800) 772-3545, ext. 905 (California)

(800) 227-1617, ext. 905 (outside California)

DEDICATE/32

Digital Marketing 2670 Cherry Lane Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (415) 938-2880

also available from

Public Key Systems POB 1130

Fayetteville, AR 72702 (501) 442-0914

Ex-Mon

JMM Enterprises Inc. 115 Battersby St. Enumclaw, WA 98022 (206) 825-1637

Interstellar Drive

Pion Inc. 101R Walnut St. Watertown, MA 02172 (617) 923-8009

$10

$265

$345

$49.95

$250

$39.95

$1095

16-bit 8-bit

$150 $250

2400 sheets (includes shipping) $41.95

$69.50

Microcache

Microcosm Research 26 Danbury St. London Nl 8JU, England 01-226-9092

also available from Workman and Associates

Smooth Edge Paper

Bob's Charts 405 East Third St. #206 Long Beach, CA 90802 (213) 435-3492

The Transporter

Workman and Associates 112 Marion St. Pasadena, CA 91106 (213) 796-4401

Books Reviewed

Bits, Bytes, and Buzzwords:

Understanding Small Business Computers $7.95

Mark Garetz. Beaverton, OR: Dilithium Press, 1983, 110 pages

(800) 547-1842

(503) 646-2713

Data Base Management Systems $16.95

David Kruglinski. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1983, 260 pages (800) 227-2895 (415) 548-2805

TRSDOS 2.3 Decoded & Other Mysteries $29.95

James Farvour. Upland, CA: IJG Inc., 1983, 304 pages (714) 946-5805

to the BEGDAT area at the end, as follows. First find

; DEBLOCK PARAMETERS

WRALL: EQU 0

and delete IDSV:

EQU 4EH ;Sector ID Save area

Then find

BEGDAT EQU $ and add IDSV:

DS 8 ; Sector ID

Save area

Assemble and install as in the CCS manual."

CCS people I've consulted tell me

this should work just fine and may prevent problems with other CP/M programs.

Mr. Willink has been using Target Plannercalc 1.01 for some time. In general he likes it, but finds a few problems. "If you should create a model and run out of memory, that model becomes useless even after you have deleted portions to decrease the size. Also I have found that there can be letter combinations in the heading of the model that cause the system to reboot instead of saving changes. . . . Otherwise, I find it well worth the $50 price." (I understand that the price has been increased to $99.)

I'm sending a copy of his letter to Comshare Target.

Really Great Paper

One problem with text printed by computer is that it has those telltale featheredges. I remember MacLean trying all kinds of gimmicks, in

cluding a terribly expensive bone paper separator, but nothing worked.

That's no longer true. I've been sent a sample of smooth-edge 20-pound bond that has perforations so fine I wouldn't have believed it came from tractor-fed fanfold if I hadn't torn it apart myself. I expect this to catch on; I may even have my letterhead printed on it.

Of course it costs about twice what regular fanfold costs.

Things My Postman . . ., Part 2

I do read all my mail, and I try to answer it. However, it's getting beyond my capabilities.

I'm attacking the problem in several ways. First: we're adding a microcomputer intern to the staff. That will let us get at a lot more software.

Second: I enjoy letters and most of them contain really valuable information. Reading the mail isn't the problem, it's answering it. You can help

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 353

by enclosing a self-addressed stamped envelope, and please leave room on your original letter for a reply. It's comparatively easy to write an answer on the bottom of your letter and put the whole thing back in an envelope; while if we have to fire up the machines to write an answer, it may not get done at all.

Third: make sure your address is on the letter itself, not just the envelope. Envelopes often vanish.

Fourth: if you have information and questions, it helps a lot if you put them on separate sheets of paper. That way I can send you back the sheet with your questions and keep the one with the information. This is particularly important if what you've sent me is a complaint that you want sent to someone whose products I have favorably reviewed.

Fifth: I don't mind being warned about defective products; indeed, if I've recommended them I very much want to hear. But I can't solve the problems of the world. If you bought something I haven't recommended,

I'll be glad to hear from you, but I'm unlikely to do anything about it.

Finally: those who have products they want reviewed should make it clear that's what you have in mind. Please don't send me long brochures and complicated order forms. I am not likely to buy your products, and if I were to buy them, it would most likely be at a computer show.

Regarding review items: I am not an agent or employee of BYTE. Materials sent to me through BYTE are forwarded; but review materials simply sent to BYTE aren't likely to reach me. If you want a BYTE review of your product, please direct your inquiries to the editorial staff. If you want my evaluation, your best route is to send me a letter describing what your product does, making it clear what I should do and what conditions you expect me to accept. We will then make direct contact and send you a statement of policy.

If you're interested in both formal review by the BYTE staff and my evaluation, do both of the above.

The Future

Coming soon: a big roundup of C compilers. I have almost a dozen, and some are excellent.

Also, a great number of you have taken the trouble to use my "benchmark" program with a number of languages and systems. I've made a few more tests myself. It's time to collect all those times into one monster chart. I'd have done it for this month, but Larry and I had to go to the desert. ■

Jerry Pournelle welcomes readers' comments and opinions. Send a selfaddressed stamped envelope to ferry Pournelle, c/o BYTE Publications, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. Please put your address on the letter as well as on the envelope. Due to the high volume of letters, Jerry cannot guarantee a personal reply.

About the Author

Jerry Pournelle is a former aerospace engineer and current science-fiction writer who loves to play with computers.

CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE

CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE WRITTEN BY A GENERAL CONTRACTOR

ACCOUNTING: PRICE NONUNION PAYROLL.. $75.00 UNION PAYROLL 375.00

WfUNION REPORTS ACCOUNTS PAYABLE. .75.00 ACCOUNTS PAYABLE...89.00

W/SLECT PAY GENERAL JOURNAL &. .89.00

WfGENERAL LEDGER J0BC0ST REPORTING. .89.00

100-500 JOBS

UTILITIES: PRICE

PAYMENT REQUEST... $75.00 ESTIMATION EXTEN.. . .75.00

BIO ITEM FILE 499.00

QUANTITY ESTIMATE... 75.00 C.P.M. SCHEDULER... 49.00 W0RKITEM COSTING. .85.00

EQUIPMENT MAINT 85.00

TRUCK COSTING 49.00

THE ABOVE RUN ON ANY CP/M SYSTEM WITH BASIC-80 DISK FORMATS AVAILABLE ARE: OSBORNE, XEROX, IBM, CP/M-86 8 OR 5'/i INCH DISK: TWO DRIVES REQUIRED AND 62K

CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE COMPANY

1014 EAST GEORGIA ST. RUSTON, LOUISIANA 71270

LA. RESID. ADD 5% SALES TAX ADD $4 SHIPPING PER PACKAGE

CPIM TRADEMARK OF DIGITAL RESEARCH, INC AND BASIC 80 TRADEMARK OF MICROSOFT INC.

ORDER LINE NUMBER (318) 251-0810

354 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 111 on inquiry card.

Circle 446 on inquiry card.

■Bil«l

11 •('.'«•« ii-ik't

The MfcmOne is a professional computer that takes advantage of the CP/M® 2 2 Operating System to give the user access to thousands of business programs. Its excellent hardware capabilities are matched only by its outstanding software package valued alone at more then $1600.

All these features, coupled with its remarkable size of 2.75"x8"xl2" and light weight of only 5 lbs makes it an offer hard to beat.

One Hardware Features

4MHZZ80A® CPU 64K bytes RAM memory 500K bytes 3W disk drive Two RS-232 serial ports Centronics parallel printer port Hard disk interface port

One Software Features

CP/M® 2.2 DOS

Perfect Writer™ word processor program Perfect Speller™ spelling chekcer program Perfect Calc™ spread sheet program Perfect FilerTM information filing program

Optional Features

• Additional disk drives

• 6MHZZ80B® CPU operation

• Additional serial port

• Additional modem port

• Additional software

• CRT Terminal (available soon)

• Hard disk drive (available soon)

EMS

Educational

Microcomputer

Systems

P.O. Box 16115 • Irvine, CA 92713 • (714) 553-0133

CP/M Registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc. Z80 is a trademark of Zilog, Inc.

Perfect Writer, Perfect Speller, Perfect Calc, Perfect Filer are trademarks of Perfect Software, Inc.

Circle 153 on inquiry card.

Game Contest #*

After reviewing the 77 entries we received for the second BYTE game contest, we think it's safe to draw the inference that Apple owners are enthusiastic game players. Of the total number of entries, 26 were written for the Apple II. The remaining two-thirds break down this way: 16 for the TRS-80 Color Computer, 10 for the IBM Personal Computer, and the other 25 are divided among the TRS-80 Models I, II, and III, the Commodore VIC-20, and the Atari 400 and 800.

We will have a pictorial essay on the winning games in the September 1983 issue of BYTE. It will include details on ordering selected games in disk format. Look for us then.

Given the preponderance of Apple-based entries, it should come as no surprise that the majority of the winning games are for the Apple II. Here are this year's winners:

¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

Second place ($300 and a jacket) goes to Shawn Day of British Columbia for a simple but professional-looking Apple assembly-language arcade game called Sizzle. As alien invaders drop to the ground, you push a barbecue cart across the bottom of the screen trying to catch as many as possible. Other factors complicate the game.

First place ($500 cash

prize plus a custom BYTE jacket) goes to Aaron Pratt of Ypsilanti, Ml, for his two-player twocomputer tank warfare game called Dual Duel. Reminiscent of the Atari arcade game Battlezone, it places you inside a tank driving around a plain containing several obstacles such as two pyramids and two blocks, and an enemy tank. As you move, the three-dimensional scenery changes in real time. The object of the game is to be the first to "kill" the enemy tank 10 times; it runs on two Apple Ms, two Atari 800s, or one of each.

t

Third place ($150 and a

jacket) goes to William P. Porter of Coral Springs, FL, for his TRS-80 Model I game, Juggle. Playing against yourself in real time, you try to keep as many video "balls" as possible in the air at one time.

*¥■¥•*¥•¥-*¥-*¥-¥•¥-¥**¥

*■

Fourth Place ($ 100 and a

jacket) goes to C. Anthony Ray of Urbana, IL, (second-place winner of last year's contest) for an interesting arcade-type Apple II game called It's the Pits. You maneuver an animated Grimpit through a maze in search of nutritious yumyums. Several complications make the game more interesting; one such complication is that the maze "walls" are actually pits—one false move, and you've "killed" one of your three Grimpits.

Fifth place ($100 and a jacket) goes to William Hubbard of Tuscon, AZ, who wrote an Applesoft strategy game for the Apple II called Rescue. To play, you fly a rescue helicopter over islands in the Pacific Ocean in search of stranded ocean-liner passengers.

356 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Introducing a sensible solution to the problems of dBASE II

dBASE II

The Sensible Solution

Records Per File

65,535

999,999

Maximum Record Size

1,024 bytes

1,536 bytes

Fields Per Record

32

384

Key Fields Per File

7

10

Number of Files Simultaneously Accessible

2

10

Number of Screens Per Program

Limited by system memory

Limited only by system storage

Data Dictionary

No

Yes

We don't mean to debase dBASE II, but if you're looking for a data base manager that's long on features, dBASE II can come up a little short.

For instance, a single dBASE II record can only contain 32 fields. And when you need to share information between one file and another, you can only access two at a time.

So, as good as dBASE II is, its limitations can quickly paint you into an electronic corner.

And that's why we created The Sensible Solution.

Finally A sensational relational.

Along with all the usual things you expect from a data base manager, The Sensible Solution lets you handle the kind of tough assignments that dBASE II can't:

You can design data files with more than 300 variables. You can create reports using 10 different files at once. You can even set up file locking for multi-user computers.

Ready to get down to business.

A data base manager without ready-to-run application programs is hardly worth the disk it's copied on.

So, along with The Sensible Solution, you can also add The Sensible Solution Bookkeeper"* or Sensible Management™ our complete one-entry accounting and management system.

They're both affordable. Business-tested. And supplied with source code so you can make your own modifications.

A sensible trial offer

When you purchase The Sensible Solution, we'll send along a special trial disk that lets you create forms and enter a limited number of records. If, after 30 days, you're not satisfied, just return the unopened master system disk for a full refund.

So why not take us up on our trial offer? You've got nothing to lose.

Except the problems of dBASE II.

The Sensible Solution

To order, write or call: O'Hanlon Computer Systems, 11058 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98004 USA,

Phone (206) 454-2261. Prices: The Sensible Solution-$695, Sensible Solution Bookkeeper-$495, Sensible

Management—$895. In Washington, add 6.5% state tax. VISA, Mastercard and dealer inquiries welcome.

dBASE 11 is a registered trademark of AshtonTate. Sensible Solution, Sensible Solution Bookkeeper and Sensible Solution Management are trademarks of O'Hanlon Computer Systems, Inc

Circle 479 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 357

No two businesses are alike either.

Your business is unique.

And your problems are unique.

So, if you want to buy a small business computer, where can you go to get some understanding and help?

IBM.

We have a range of small business computers starting at under $4,000. There's one that can be tailored to fit your unique needs and grow as your business grows.

Thousands of software programs are written for IBM. So whether your business is agriculture or zoology, you can find the right software, right away.

If you ever need help, IBM has the most experienced and widely skilled service organization in the business.

If you didn't think IBM offered so much to solve your unique problems, think of it this way:

We're unique too.

For a free brochure or demonstration of IBM's small business computers call your local IBM sales office or our toll-free number below. "Z"Z"L^ sr

Call IBM Direct 1800 631-5582 Ext. 119. In Hawaii/Alaska 1800 526-2484 Ext. 119. (Or write IBM, DRM, Dept. 1K3106, 400 Parson's Pond Drive, Franklin Lakes, N.J. 07417)

Circle 195 on inquiry card.

Software Review

CP/M Plus

This new disk operating system is faster and more efficient than CP/M

by Mark Dahmke

CP/M Plus is an advanced disk operating system for 8-bit microcomputers, the latest in a series of systems from Digital Research. CP/M Plus includes all the familiar features of its predecessor, CP/M version 2.2, but it is much faster and much more efficient. For example, it automatically logs in new disks whenever they are inserted into the disk drives. And, with certain disk drives, it can even let you know when the disk drive door is open.

At a Glance

Name

CP/M Plus

Type

Operating system

Manufacturer

Digital Research

POB 579

Pacific Grove, CA 93950

|408) 649-3896

Format

8-inch floppy disk (CP/M format); other formats available from various manufacturers

Computer

Most computers that use one of the 8080 family of microprocessors [8080, 8085, or Z80)

Programs and Utilities Included

DATE, COPYSYS, DEVICE, DIR, DUMP, ED, ERASE, GENCOM, GET, HELP, HEXCOM, INITDIR, LIB, LINK, MAC, RMAC, PATCH, PIP, PUT, RENAME, SAVE, SET, SETDEF, SHOW, SID, SUBMIT

Price

S350

Before we discuss CP/M Plus, however, I'd like to give some background information on CP/M itself. CP/M stands for Control Program for Microcomputers. Developed by Digital Research for the 8080 microprocessor, it is now widely used on 8085-, Z80-, and 8080-based machines as well as on the newer 16-bit microcomputers, such as those based on the 8086 and 8088. (CP/M-86, for example, runs on the IBM Personal Computer.) It is also available for the Motorola 68000 in the form of CP/M68K. People often find the name CP/M confusing because it doesn't adequately describe the program's purpose. CP/M is actually a DOS (disk operating system), as are Apple's DOS 3.3 and Radio Shack's TRSDOS.

CP/M was developed in 1973 by Gary Kildall, then a consultant to Intel, who wrote it for use on his own Intel development system. Many microcomputer manufacturers later decided to adapt CP/M to their hardware rather than develop their own operating systems. Consequently, a large user base began developing as early as 1975. CP/M experienced several revisions—from a version that could run only on the Intel MDS development system to a more flexible version that could be adapted to other computers in a hardware mix-and-match style. As more manufacturers decided to use CP/M, more software was written for and adapted to it. Although CP/M has its faults, the microcomputer industry has made that program its de facto standard.

Why CP/M?

CP/M is included as the standard operating system on many 8080 and Z80 computers, such as the Osborne 1. It is also available for such computers as the TRS-80 Model II and the Apple II. The former machine comes with a Z80 microprocessor and readily adapts to CP/M.

360 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 477 on Inquiry card.

Presenting Hyperion™, the world's most powerful, portable computer developed tor the busy professional.

xx\ ^

Standard Features

Hyperion is a true portable, weighing in at only 18 pounds. It is light on the eyes with its European amber screen and styling. But heavy on performance with many standard features which are expensive necessities for other personal computers. And all for a price that's less than you'd expect.

Hyperion is bright. Communicating with the world is easy with our integrated voice and data package. Standard is our 256K RAM memory, essential for the new generation of application programs.

Hyperion has the same processor, graphics and operating system as the IBM P.C. However, an improved keyboard ties the function keys to our screen soft keys. All this means Hyperion can run popular IBM software right off the shelf - Visi Calcf, Word Star*, Data Base II* and many, many others.

Hyperion is the rising star in personal computers. Catch a rising star today.

Optional Extras

Processor

Intel 8088 Drive Additional 5V 320K drive

Software

MS DOS

Advanced Basic (Microsoft) Advanced User Interface*

Communication

Memory 256K User Bam*

Drives 51/4", 320K bytes, IBM compatible

Virtual Ram Disk (Up to 1MK)'

... INJOUCH telephone

management system

Built in 300 baud modem (103J)

Direct connect

Acoustic Cups Uses internal modem

Expansion Chassis

Display System T Non-glare amber

Graphics - IBM PC compatible

Full 80 x 25 character format

Auto screen off for prolonged life

,5 or 10 MB of hard disk

...Up to 7 slots for IBM

compatible cards

Carrying Case

Attractive case with accessory pockets

Serial Port....

... . RS232C*

...RS423*

Parallel Port..

.. Centronics/IBM compatible'

Other Features..,, Time and date clock with battery back-up'

Additional video output for external

monrtor*

•These extras worth over $1000.

I III HI II T

11.3" (28.8 cm)

Mufripkuv Hyperion enhanced

1»t

Hyperion enhanced

INSCRIBE .....

Word processor

I I

I Jl I

——————

I

♦Vlsl Calc Is a trademark of Vlsicorp fWord Star is a trademark of Micropro International Corp.

'Data Base II Is a trademark of Ashton Tate 'Multiplan is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. '123 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corp.

T

8.8" (22.3 cm)

■18.3"(46.4cm)

nyi^Gni pwi i

M I the world's most powerful portable computer

The Bytec Group North America: (613) 226-7255; Telex 053-3358 Europe: U.K. 04026 4926; Telex 894222

(TRSDOS, Radio Shack's standard operating system, is similar to CP/M, but not sufficiently similar to permit it to run CP/M programs directly.) Running CP/M on the Apple II requires the addition of a Softcard from Microsoft. Although using a Softcard lets you run CP/M-based applications programs on an Apple II, that approach might not be the best way to gain access to the wide range of CP/M-compatible software on the market. One problem arises because many CP/M business software packages require 8-inch disk drives with 240K bytes of disk space on each drive. You can provide this capacity on an Apple II with add-on boards; however, your total investment to upgrade that system would cost you approximately as much as a new CP/M-compatible system would.

What Do You Get When You Run CP/M?

CP/M consists of several subsections. The first one is the basic disk operating system, or BDOS, the coordinating entity that accepts commands in the form of a code number and optional data or address values that specify the action to be performed. It then calls on the basic input/output system, or BIOS, for help in carrying out your instructions. The BIOS is customized to a computer system. It has device drivers coded in assembly language that perform such functions as disk read/write, console-input, console-output, and printer-output operations.

Another important part of CP/M is the console command processor, or CCP. The command processor runs

HIGH-MEMORY FFFF

TPA-TOP

BUFFERS

BIOS

BDOS

LOADER (RSX)

TPA

0100 0000

CCP

PAGE ZERO

V AVAILABLE 'TPA

LOW-MEMORY

Figure 1: The CP/M Plus nonbanked-memory organization. As in CP/M 2.2, the first page (256 bytes) of memory is reserved for the operating system. The TPA (transient program area) starts at location 0100 hexadecimal and extends to the bottom of the BDOS (basic disk operating system). The BIOS (basic input/ output system) starts at the top of the BDOS and extends to the top of available memory. The LOADER is a resident system extension used by the CCP (console command processor) to load programs; it can also be called by a user program. The CCP is treated like any other program in CP/M Plus; in contrast, it's loaded at the top of the TPA in CP/M 2.2.

EXTRA BANKS DON'T HAVE TO FILL THE \ ENTIRE ADDRESS SPACE

LRU DATA BUFFERS

RESIDENT BIOS (IK BYTES)

i COMMON (NONBANKED) 'MEMORY 4K TO 16K BYTES

RESIDENT BDOS (1.5 KBYTES)

"

LOADER

TPA i

^—> ^w

TPA

IF PRESENT, BANKS 2-15 MAY BE USED FOR ADDITIONAL TABLES AND BUFFERS.

ALLOCATION AND CHECKSUM VECTORS

BANKED BIOS ( ±3 KBYTES)

BANKED BDOS (11KBYTES)

LRV

DIRECTORY BUFFERS

HASHED DIRECTORY TABLES

COPY OF CCP FOR WARM START (OPTIONAL)

CCP

PAGE ZERO

BANK 0

BANK 1

BANK 2 (OPTIONAL)

Figure 2: The CP/M Plus banked-memory organization. Up to 16 banks can be supported, although only two are required for operation of the banked version. Bank 0 contains the bulk of the BDOS and BIOS as well as all the extra buffers. Bank 1 is used to run programs and contains a small part of the BIOS and BDOS in common memory. The block of common memory must be at least 4K bytes long and must reside at the top of the address space.

362 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

THE MICRO COMPUTER BUSINESS

WILL GROW FROM $10 TO $100 BILLION

IN THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS!

ARE YOU READY TO CASH IN?

The micro computer business is predicted to grow from its present $10 billion to $100 billion before 1990' Imagine the possibilities this opens for you! No matter where you live, if you're starting up or presently in business, no other industry offers you more opportunities!

Now, finally, all the inside information you need to secure a prosperous future in this dynamic industry is available in one place - THE COMPUTER ENTREPRENEUR MANUAL! An immense information source, compiled by our inquisitive research team, aided by a panel of experts and business people from all areas of the computer industry!

We present the inside story of more than 100 lucrative computer businesses you can enter, where you'll find the real opportunities for the eighties: from one man operations like Programming Author, Word Processing Center or Consulting, to Systems House, Service Bureau, Computer Store etc! Many at little or no investment! All the invaluable facts and figures: How to start, Capital needs, Profit estimates and Margins, How to Sell and Market, How missing technical or business experience need not stand in your way, Source of Suppliers, etc! Details that could take years to find out on your own!

We'll show you inside tricks, like how to never again pay retail for computer products and consumer electronics, even for one item - right now, while you re starting your business! How to get free merchandise and trade show invitations, etc. This alone will more than pay for the manual! You'll read actual case histories of other computer entrepreneurs, so you can learn from their mistakes, and profit from their success stories! Where you'll be one year from now depends on your actions today! Let us show you how to take the first crucial steps!

Order now and take advantage of our limited introduction special, THE COMPUTER ENTREPRENEUR MANUAL, and a six month subscription to THE COMPUTER ENTREPRENEUR REPORT/NEWSLETTER ( so you're always up-to-date with the industry ). both for only $29.95! You must be convinced on how easy you can strike it rich in the micro computer business - or you may return the manual for a full refund within thirty days! USE OUR TOLL FREE NUMBER TO ORDER!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

TO SUCCEED IN THE COMPUTER BUSINESS

IS ALL IN THIS MANUAL!

THE COMPUTER ENTREPRENEUR MANUAL has the answers to all your questions about selecting, starting and succesfully running a computer business! There has never been such a comprehensive collection of know-how and information about this business in one place! All the facts you need to plan and acheive your goals in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions!

These are some of the 100-plus businesses covered in PART ONE of the manual, with the facts on How to start and run, Start-up Cost ( Even how to operate on a shoestring ). What profits to expect. Wholesale prices. Mark-ups, Suppliers, future outlook, case histories for each, etc: Systems House, Software Author ( who to sell to and who to avoid ), Service Bureau, SoftI ware Publisher ( How to find programs that sell. Word Processing Service. Consulting and Con"sultant Broker I use your skills or those of others, make $150 - $1000 a day!), The incredible Games Business. Computer Store ( Franchises Pro and Contra, or a low inventory store in your home! ). OEM, Hardware Mfg, Data base and Teletext Service ( big prospects! ). Used Computers, Repairs. Rent-A-Computer, Promote Fests and Trade Shows. Turnkey Systems. Bartering, Mail Order. Compile and rent mailing lists. Specialized Data Headhunting and Temp Help Service, Tech Writer Shop. Custom Engineering. The highly profitable Seminars and Training Business, and many more!

Many new ideas and ground floor opportunities! Interviews and success stories on companies of all sizes! Privy info on the profits made: How some computer store operators net $100 - $250,000! Little known outfits that made their owners millionaires, one of these low-key companies, making simple boards, went from nil to $20,000,000 and 100 employees in four years! Programmers that make $300,000. Thousands of micro millionaires in the making etc1

Whatever your goal is - Silicon Valley Tycoon, or |ust a business at home - we guarantee you II find a business to suit you - or your money back!

PART TWO of the manual is loaded with the know-how and "streetfighting" savvy you need, both as a novice or business veteran, to get started, to stay and to prosper in the micro computer business1 A goldmine of information in clear and easy-to-use instructions: How to prepare your Business Plan, Outside financing, The mistakes you must avoid. How to hire and manage employees. Incorporation ( when, and how to do it cheaply ), Surviving bad times. Record Keeping, how to estimate your market before you start, Use multiple locations to maximize profits, how to promote and stay steps ahead of the competition! How to get free advertising, free merchandise, free advice. Power negotiating with suppliers to double your profit margins, etc! Even how to keep a present job while starting a business part time!

Don't miss this opportunity to be part of this great industry - the next success story could be your own! Order the manual today! Part one and two. bound in a deluxe ring binder, where you can also collect our newsletter ( free for six months with the manual - a $32.50 value! ) - all for only $29.95!

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atalog \

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DEVELOPMENT HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

GTEK MODEL 7128 EPROM PROGRAMMER

EEPROM

MPU'S

5213

8748

5213H

8748H

X2816

8749

48016

8741

I2S16A

8742

8751

Microprocessor based intelligence for ease of use and interface. You send the data, the 7128 takes care of the rest. RS-232 interface and ASCII data formats make the 7128 compatible with virtually any computer with an RS 232 serial interface port.

Auto-select baud rate. Use with or without handshaking. Bidirectional Xon/Xoff supported. CTS/DTR supported. Devices supported as of DEC 82. NMOS NMOS CMOS 2758 2508 27C16 2716 2516 27C32 2732 2532 C6716 2732A 2564 27C64 2764 68766 27128 8755 27256

Read pin compatible ROMS also. Automatic use of proper program voltage based on type selected.

Menu driven eprom type selection, no personality modules required.

(40 pin devices require adapter) INTEL. Motorola and MCS-86, Hex formats Split facility for 16 bit data-paths. Read, program, and formatted list commanas also. Interupt driven type ahead, program and verify real time while sending data. Program single byte, block, or whole eprom. Intelligent diagnostics discern between eprom which is bad and one which merely needs erasing.

Gtek

INC.

• Verify erasure and compare commands.

• Busy light indicates when power is being applies to program socket.

• Complete with TEXTOOL zero insertion force socket and integral 120 VAC power supply. <240 VAC/50HZ available also)

• High Performance/Cost ratio.

• •• Model 7128 PRICE $389.00 •••

MODEL 7128 SOCKET ADAPTERS

MODEL 481 allows programming of 8748.

8749, 8741, 8742 single chip processors.

Price $98.00

MODEL 511 allows programming the 8751, Intel's high powered single chip processor. Price S174.00 MODEL 755 allows programming the 8755 EPROM/IO chip

Price $135.00 MODEL 7128/24 - budget version of the 7128. Supports 24 pin parts thru 32K only. Upgradable to full 7128 capacity.

Price $289.00

Non-expandable, very low cost models available for specific devices. MODEL 7128-L1 for 2716 only $179.00 MODEL 7128-L2 for 2732 only $209.00

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Avocet Systems Cross Assemblers $200.00

RS-232 Cable Assemblies $25.00

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when no other program is running. When you see "A>" on your terminal, for instance, the command processor is in control and the default disk drive is drive A. The rightpointing arrow means that the computer is ready for your next command.

CP/M was designed to fulfill a need in the microcomputer industry. Although not the last word in operating systems, it is an optimal design that has proven portable over a wide variety of microcomputer systems.

System Organization

The new CP/M Plus has the same basic memory organization as the older CP/M 2.2 (see figure 1). Page zero is reserved for system use, and the TPA (transient program area) begins at location 0100 hexadecimal, as it does in earlier CP/M versions. The BDOS resides above the TPA, and the BIOS is loaded at the top of memory. In CP/M 2.2, the CCP, which accepts and processes systemlevel commands, always resides in the TPA just under the BDOS; in CP/M Plus, however, it is loaded at location 0100 hexadecimal and treated just like any other program. To facilitate loading programs into memory, a module called the LOADER resides just below the BDOS and remains there permanently. When you request that a program be loaded into the TPA, the CCP calls the LOADER, which in turn gets the program from disk and places it in memory on top of the CCP (at 0100); the program can extend up to the bottom of the BDOS, if necessary.

CP/M Plus can manage from 2 to 16 banks of memory. Figure 2 shows the organization of a typical banked system. At least the top 4K bytes of one bank must be common to all banks; usually, the top of bank 1 serves as the common (nonbanked) memory and the top locations of all other banks are disabled. Therefore, although many 64K-byte S-100 memory boards allow individual bank selection of each 16K-byte segment, CP/M Plus permits banking of the bottom 48K bytes of all boards while requiring that one of the 16K-byte banks, at the top of memory, be resident at all times. The TPA can extend up into the common bank, and the resident portions of the BIOS and BDOS must lie entirely within the common bank.

File-System Features

The CP/M Plus file system has been greatly improved compared with CP/M 2.2. CP/M Plus supports files up to 32 megabytes long, as opposed to an 8-megabyte limit with CP/M 2.2, and it supports disk capacities to 512 megabytes, contrasted with 8 megabytes for CP/M 2.2. As does CP/M 2.2, CP/M Plus supports as many as 16 logical disk drives.

The major throughput improvements of CP/M Plus stem from directory hashing and an LRU (least recently used) buffering technique. In the former procedure, available using both banked and nonbanked versions, the BDOS creates a hashing table of directory entries for a disk when that disk is logged in. Therefore, when a file is opened or closed or when a new extent is selected, the

364 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 183 on inquiry card.

The most comprehensive statistics and graphics ever developed for

and sophisticated database workstation the personal computer.

Years of research, development, and field testing have resulted in the most extensive statistics and graphics database program specifically designed forthepersonalcomputing environment. STATPRO'" provides the data analysis capabilities and flexibility previously available only on a large computer. Researchers, business professionals, and other data analysts will welcome the breadth vet simplicity of this program! STATPRO requires no previous computer experience, no special command language. Single keystrokes access all of the data manipulation, statistics, and graphics power of STATPRO.

STATPRO allows easy access to its extensive numerical data capabilities.

The strength of STATPRO is found in the functions of its user friendly, menu-driven database. You can easily learn to enter and edit, manipulate, transform, and print out data. STATPRO's searching capabilities allow these functions to be performed on all your data or a user defined subset of your data.

Statistics Modules Menu

A) DESCRIPTION

B) REGRESSION

C) ANOVA

D) TIME SERIES

E) MULTIVAR

(ESC)) Exit to Master Menu Choice-H 1

Transformations and over 400 conversions are available. You can place the results of these transformations into the same field or any other field in STATPRO's database.

STATPRO offers a comprehensive collection of statistical procedures.

The statistics component of STATPRO contains a multitude of procedures, grouped into the following modules:

Descriptive: Contingency analysis, cross tabulation, normality tests; descriptive, comparative, range and non-parametric statistics.

Regression: Linear, non-linear, stepwise, and multiple regressions; residual analysis and statistical matrices.

Analysis of Variance: Single and nested classifications, two and three way equal and unequal sample size and non-parametric ANOVA.

Time Series: Moving averages, multi-stage least squares, fitted polynomials and trig functions, additive and multiply forecasting. Multivariate: Principal components, factor, orthogonal factor, oblique factor, pair-weighted cluster, discriminant function, multiple contingency, and canonical correlation analysis.

STATPRO provides graphic representation of your data in minutes.

STATPRO graphics plot all the results of your STATPRO statistical analyses including scatter, triangle regression, and box plots; pie

charts, histograms, and dendograms. Further, with STATPRO you can custom edit with any of four character sets from the keyboard. You can also edit using paddles, joystick or special graphics commands. Mix text with data fields. Place multiple plots on each screen. Define your axis limits.

You can save your graphics on a disk for a multiple color "slide show" presentation, or print them out through a variety of compatible printers.

STATPRO documentation wraps up the package.

Although STATPRO software is essentially self-documenting, complete print documentation is provided. This includes a walk-through Introductory Tutorial, a Menu Chart, and a comprehensive User's Guide for each STATPRO component.

STATPRO currently runs on all versions of the Apple® II personal computers. It will be available for the IBM* PC in September.

To find out more about Statpro: The Statistics and Graphics Database Workstation, contact your local dealer, or

Call us toll-free at

800-322-2208

In Massachusetts call (617) 423-0420.

You can also call us toll-free for information on corporate purchase through our National Account Program.

Wadsworth Electronic Publishing Company

Statler Office Building

20 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

STATPRO is a trademark of Wadsworth Electronic Publishing Company. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark

oflnternational Business Machines, Corp.

Circle 438 on Inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 365

The Best In Price, Selection and Delivery

Professional Qualify

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AMPEX'INTERTEOTEXAS INSTRUMENTS'GENERAL DATA COMM.'ANDERSON JACOBSON'C. ITOH'QUME • BEEHIVE* DATASOUTH'DIABLOCENTRONICS • NEC • PRENTICE

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(WS, SS, MM, SI) .... $ 399

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171

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256K RAM Bd $ 256

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In addition, we can make El A RS 232 or RS 449 cables to your order, and supply you with ribbons, printer stands, print wheels, thimbles for all printers listed. And many, many more items. CALL NOW.

All items shipped freight collect either motor freight or UPS unless otherwise specified All prices already include 3% cash discount Purchase with credit card does not include discount Virginia residents, add 4% Sales Tax For fastest delivery send certified check, money order or bank-wire transfer Sorry, no COD orders All equipment is in factory cartons with manufacturers warranty (honored at our depot) Prices sub|ect to change without notice Most items in stock :BBBBi /"^^Sl

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BDOS need only consult the hashing table; it need not perform a linear search of the disk directory, a step required in earlier CP/M versions. This one feature is responsible for the greatest improvement in CP/M Plus's file-system response time.

The LRU technique, supported by the CP/M Plus banked version, speeds access to files by storing as many records in main memory as possible. Multiple recordstoring buffers can be allocated in any bank except bank 1; buffers are allocated and deallocated as required by the BDOS. When a user program requests a record not in main memory, the BDOS throws away the least recently used record, thus freeing that buffer for the requested record. When a file must be written to memory, the BDOS writes existing records to disk, thus freeing a buffer to accept the new record. Such techniques are used on large computers to speed file I/O (input/output) operations and to implement virtual-memory schemes.

Multisector I/O

CP/M Plus includes a multisector I/O capability that allows efficient loading of a large block of records. Setting the multisector count value informs the BDOS that n records are to be read or written when the next BDOS Read or Write function is encountered. This feature has two advantages. First, in a computer system that supports a high-speed data-transfer capability such as DMA (direct memory access), a large block of data can be loaded without the inefficiencies involved in reading a record at a time from disk. For example, when reading from a hard disk, it might be possible to load an entire track at once, store the data in a large buffer, and then sort the records into order. (This sorting gets around problems related to sector skewing, a method of staggering sectors around the disk to take advantage of the disk's rotational delay when reading or writing a disk.)

The other advantage to multisector I/O is that it simplifies programming. A single command can be used to load an entire program or block of data, avoiding the need to process sectors and keep track of pointers in an assembly-language program.

Automatic Disk Logging

Perhaps CP/M Plus's greatest advantage is its ability to automatically log in disks whenever a new disk is read. Actually, CP/M Plus doesn't notice a change in disks until it tries to read the disk directory; it does eliminate the old "BDOS ERR R/O" error message. CP/M Plus also supports disk drives that have a door-open status bit. If this door-open bit is used to generate a hardware interrupt, then CP/M Plus can force the Media Flag, which in turn informs the BDOS that there might be a new disk in the drive. Before performing any input or output operations on the disk, it relogs the disk.

Time/Date Stamps

CP/M Plus supports time and date stamping of files by reformatting the disk's directory. Every fourth directory entry is used to keep track of the stamps for three files.

Continued on page 371

366 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 407 on inquiry card.

A flawless future is in sight with 3M diskettes.

When it comes to keeping track of precious data, predictable

m™s re .iaJ?!,e- Bein9 able to count on every diskette, every time At 3M, reliability is built into every diskette. We've been in the computer media business for over 30 years. And we've never settled in. We re constantly improving and perfecting our product line from computer tape and data cartridges to floppy disks. 3M diskettes are made at 3M. That way, we have complete control over the entire manufacturing process. And you can have complete confidence in the reliability of every 3M diskette you buy.

L00o^n$2 ^llow Pages under Computer Supplies and Parts for the 3M distributor nearest you. In Canada, write 3M Canada Inc London, Ontario. If it's worth remembering, it's worth 3M diskettes.

Circle 410 on inquiry card.

3M hears you.

Quark introduces

A deceptively simple solution to your word processing dilemma.

If you're serious about word processing on your Apple*lle, you may be bewildered by the sheer number of programs available. And a tad perplexed by their claims and promises. After all, a glamorous package that says "easy to use," may not even be easy to open.

The dilemma is real. And Quark is happy to provide the solution.

A proven program for serious word processing.

Quark's new Word Juggler lie turns your computer into a dedicated word processor. You get the extraordinary ease of use, sophisticated capabilities and straightforward documentation that make our original Word Juggler a best seller on the Apple III.

For example, there's virtually nothing to memorize. Because principal editing functions are identified on a unique keyboard template

— and nineteen, easy-to-install, replacemen keycaps.

Changing keys is quick and simple, too. Just slide our special keycap remover over the key

— twist — and pull. Your new keycaps can be in place in less than two minutes.

A flexible tool to increase your productivity.

But don't be deceived by Word Juggler lie's disarming simplicity. The program packs the powerful features you need to quickly perform the most complex editing tasks.

Characters, words, even entire paragraphs can be deleted with a single keystroke. There are search and replace keys. Block move and copy keys. And you always have instant control over page length, margins and any other formatting parameters.

Document display and print out are easy, also. One keystroke displays your document on the screen. Another prints it. And whether

■

* ¥ -Tm

Word Juggler lie.

you need to print only specific pages, multiple copies, or even documents too large to fit in memory, Word Juggler lie can easily accommodate you.

A clever way to foil Mr. Murphy.

Even the best of us occasionally forgets when "i" does not come before "e" — and even the most agile fingers can press the wrong key. So you should also give serious consideration to Quark's new Lexicheck® He—a spelling checker with a highly compressed, 50,000 word dictionary.

Accessed from within the word processor, this program lets you virtually eliminate typographical errors and common misspellings. Lexicheck lie will scan your document at up to 8,000 wpm — then highlight, in context, the first occurrence of any word it does not recognize.

If the word is correct, as in the case of industry jargon or abbreviations, you can simply add it to your personal dictionary. If the word is actually misspelled, you can swiftly correct it.

'Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer. Inc.

Quark, Word Juggler and Lexicheck are trademarks of Quark. Incorporated. Denver. Colorado

A lot more.

These are only some of the ways Word Juggler lie and Lexicheck He can help solve your word processing dilemma. Your Quark dealer has even more details, as well as complete information on our line of office automation tools for the Apple III.

Ask for a demonstration today.

Quark

^mmmmmmmmm INCORPORATED

Office Automation Tools

2525 West Evans Avenue Suite 220 Denver, CO 80219

Word Juggler lie $239. sug. U.S. retail price Lexicheck He $129. sug. U.S. retail price

Circle 344 on inquiry card.

NEPTUNE

EXTENDED 80-COLUMN CARD FOR APPLER lie

. . . 64K to 192K memory ... 80 - Column display . . . Upgradable . . . FULLY SOFTWARE SUPPORTED.

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You can activate time/date stamps for files when updated, created, or accessed. Because only two stamps can be kept for each file, you must choose between stamping files on creation or on access. The update stamp is always available and need only be enabled by the SET command. Before time/date stamping can be used on a disk, the utility INITDIR must be run to reformat the directory. Because the stamps take up every fourth directory entry, some directory space is lost on the disk.

Password Protection

Files can be password protected in the banked version of CP/M Plus. The password-protection mechanism is identical to that used in the MP/M operating system. Floating directory entries keep track of a file's password, and CP/M Plus must search through the directory to find the password entry for a file. A default password can be set for all files created on a disk.

I/O Redirection

CP/M Plus supports a more generalized character I/O redirection scheme than do previous versions of CP/M. Each of five logical device names (CONIN, CONOUT, AUXIN, AUXOUT, LST) can be assigned to one or more physical devices. Up to 12 physical devices can be defined, and all logical devices have access to all physical devices. The DEVICE command lets you reassign physical devices, change device characteristics, and determine current assignments.

Many operating systems, such as Unix, allow disk files to be treated as character I/O devices. CP/M Plus supports a GET and PUT facility that allows console input and output and printer output to be redirected to or from a disk file. The command "GET CONSOLE INPUT FROM FILE filename.typ" causes all subsequent console input to come from the file specified in the command. If the SYSTEM option is added after the file name, even system-level CCP commands come from the file, thus allowing the GET facility to function as a batchcommand execution system similar to that of the SUBMIT command.

System Utilities

CP/M Plus provides some new utilities not available on previous CP/M versions. For example, the HELP command lets you request information about CP/M Plus and its commands by entering the name of the command or program. One or more screens full of information then appear on the desired subject. Because CP/M Plus knows the screen size (number of rows and columns), it can paginate the display so that you can read it comfortably without having to manually start and stop scrolling. Most HELP topics include subtopics, such as lists of options or examples. If you are interested in the DIR (directory) command, for example, you can enter HELP DIR. At the end of the DIR display, a list of subtopic headings appears, including EXAMPLES. You can at that point just type .EXAMPLES to go to the subtopic. The period

Colonial Data SB-88

16 BIT —IBM PC® COMPATIBLE „

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Nationwide on-site and depot repair service through the professionals at INDESERV.

• IBM PC Is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation.

• MS-DOS is a registered trademark of MICROSOFT.

• CP/M is a registered trademark ol Digital Research, Inc.

• TurboDOS is a registered trademark ol Software 2000, Inc.

Colonial Data Services Corp.,105 Sanford Street, Hamden, Conn. 06514*(203) 288-2524«Telex:956014

Circle 78 on inquiry card.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 371

before the subtopic name specifies a subtopic of the last topic rather than a new major topic. From the CP/M Plus prompt level you can enter HELP DIR EXAMPLES to go directly to the subtopic. If you just type HELP at the CP/M Plus level, you get a list of available topics.

The HELP command even lets you edit the HELP.HLP file that contains all the text for the help messages. The command HELP [EXTRACT] converts the HELP.HLP file into a HELP.DAT file so that you can edit it with a word processor. The HELP [CREATE] command converts your edited text file back into a HELP.HLP file so that it can be accessed by the HELP command. By employing these commands, a vendor with special utility programs or special hardware can add personalized help messages to the system.

CP/M Plus still has many of the familiar built-in commands of version 2.2: DIR, REN, ERA, TYPE, and USER. The only one not included is SAVE, which has been converted into a transient command. Most of the built-in commands operate similarly to their CP/M 2.2 counterparts. However, in CP/M Plus all of them have transient-command versions as well, a feature that keeps the CCP small enough to fit in the system tracks, as it does in CP/M 2.2, despite CP/M Plus's enhancements. The extra features of these commands are handled by transient versions (DIR.COM, ERASE.COM, etc.). For example, the DIR transient command has extra options that can be listed in square brackets after the normal command tail of the DIR built-in command. The CCP recognizes that the transient version is required and loads it. If it isn't found on the disk, the CCP issues an error message. Some of the options provided in the enhanced DIR command include DRIVE = ALL, which causes all files on all drives to be listed; EXCLUDE, which displays all files not specified in the DIR command tail; SIZE, which displays the size in kilobytes of all files; and FULL, which displays all information about all files on the disk (similar to the old STAT command).

The TYPE command in CP/M Plus has a page mode (the default mode) that causes text to be displayed screen page by screen page, with a prompt appearing at the bottom of the screen that tells you to press Return to see the next page. This avoids the old problem of having to use Control-S to start and stop scrolling.

The PIP (peripheral interchange program) is a generalized file-copy program that lets you transfer files from one disk to another, from disk to a character device (such as the printer), or from a character device to a disk file. It also lets you concatenate files and perform other text-formatting functions. In CP/M Plus, PIP operates in the same manner as does the CP/M 2.2 version.

In CP/M 2.2 the STAT command performs a wide variety of functions. In CP/M Plus the display- and system-alteration commands have been separated into different utility programs. SETDEF lets you change the drive search order, the file-type search order, and the temporary drive. The drive search order is another new feature of CP/M Plus. When set, CP/M Plus automatically searches other disk drives for a file if the file can't

372 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 480 on Inquiry card.

APPLE • ALTOS • ATARI • MAXELL • DYSAN • EPSON • CCS • SHARP • CASIO • HP • VERBATIM • MEMOREX • SOROC • CORVUS • ADDS

MICRO

TO ORDER OR INFORMATION LINE

(213) 704-6895

IT3S1 SPECIAL OF THE MON 1H IM~

DISK DRIVES FOR THE PC AND PC COMPATIBLES DOUBLE SIDED/DOUBLE DENSITY 320K

MSL OUR ONE YEAR WARRANTY

$525.00 price $199.00

MICRO-SCI A2

W/CONTROLLER W/OUT CONTROLLER

MSL OUR PRICE I msl OUR PRICE

^19.00 379.00 |409.00 299.00 i

APPLE II PLUS

PLUG-COMPATIBLE DRIVES RANA ELITF I

W/CONTROLLER W/OUT CONTROLLER MSL OUR PRICE I MSL OUR PRICE 549.00 399.00 449.00 329.00

PERSONAL COMPUTER

INCLUDES:

2 Drives OS/DD Color Graphic Board 64K Memory

MONITOR NOT INCLUDED

MSL OUR PRICE s<u* 2995.00 $2499.00 496.00

'Subject to availability

EXPAND YOUR IBM PC MEMORY:

MSL FROM 64K TO 128K 108.00 FROM 64X TO 192K 21600 FROM S4K TO 256K 324.00

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APPLE PERSONAI COMPUTER

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MSL PRICE S*"*

495.00 369.00 126.00

DAVONG MSL Prfce

OSI 501 Hard Disk 5M 995.00 1415.00

10M 2495.00 1195.00

MICROSOFT

64K Ram Card w/panly 350.00 249.00

128K Ram Card w/parity 525.00 375.00

256K Ram Card w/parity 175.00 649.00

XEDEX BABY BLUE

64K plus 600.00 439.00 CP/M 2.2

PERIPHERALS AMD SOFTWARE

HAROHARE MSL

Videx Combo Package 375.00

Videx Videoterm Card 345.00

Videx Keyboard Enhancer II 149.00

Microsoft Softcard with CP/M 345.00

Microsoft Premium Pak 695.00

Microsoft 16K Card 99.95 PCP Appl I Card 14 MH2 version) 445.00 PCP Appl I Card (6 MHZ version) 595.00

Corvus Winchester 5MB 2.495.00

Corvus Winchester 10MB 3.495.00

Corvus Winchester 20MB 4.495.00

Saturn Systems 32K 249.00

Saturn Systems 64K 425.00

Saturn Systems 128K 599.00

Hays Micromodem II 379.00

Hays Smartmodem 279.00

Kensington System Saver 90.00

M S R RF Modulator 30.00

MSB Super Fan 50.00

Grappler + 175.00 Practical Peripherals

Microbufler II16K Practical Peripherals

Microbufler II32K 299.00

Prometheus Versa Card 199.00

SVA Disk 2+2 Controller DSSD 395.00

SVA Disk 2+2 Controller DSDD 595.00

SVA Appl Cache 256 K Memory 1.200.00

Our Price 259.00 239.00 115.00 235.00 499.00 72.50 339.00 449.00 1,949.00 2,849.00 3.69900 165.00 312.00 452.00 285.00 22500 68 00 22.00 37.00 135.00

25900 225.00

TG Joystick TG Select A Port Wesper Micro Wizard 80 Wesper Micro BPO 16K Wesper Micro BPO 32K Wesper Micro SOB 16K Wesper Micro SOB 32K BMC 1401 w/RGB Interlace ,AISZ Card w/CPM tor Apple

59.95 59.95 249.00 179.00 219.00 249.00 279.00 595.00 349.00

239.00 149.00 335.00 419.00 1.049.00 42.00 42.00 179.00 139.00 159.00 119.00 229.00 319.00 2W.0flj

SOFTWARE MSL Price

CHOPLIFTER by Broderband 34.95 26.20

Frogger by Sierra Online 34.95 26.20

Canyon Climber by Datasoft 29.95 22.50

Wizardry by Sir Tech 49.95 37.50

Zork by Intocom 39.95 29.95

Snooper Troops HI by Spinnaker 44.95 33.75

Deadline by Intocom 49.95 37.50

Apple Panie by Broderband 29.95 22.50

Master Type by Lightning 39.95 29.95

Typing Tator II by Microsoft 24.95 11.75

Story Machine by Spinnaker 34.95 29.95 The Home Accountant

by Continental 74.95 56.50

PFS: File by Software Publishing 175.00 131.25

VisiCalc by VisiCorp 250.00 119.00

PFS: Report by Software Publishing 95.00 71.25

Screenwriter II by Sierra On Line 129.95 97.50

'BM

PERSONAL f0ijl< COMPUTER*^

PERIPHERALS & SOFTWARE

HARDWARE MSL QUADRAM Quadboard. 4 function brd

with 64 K 595.00 349.00

with 256 K 995.00 549.00 Quad Color II

With 640x240 Resolution 575.00 439.00 Quad Color III

With 640x400 Resolution 850.00 669.00

Printer Card w/cable (parallel) 159.00 109.00

Printer Card w/cable (serial) 179.00 139.00

Davong Hard Disks CALL

Our Price

H33S]

SOFTWARE

Zorklbylnfocom

Zork II by Infocom

Zork Itl by Infocom

Snooper Troops #1 by Spinnaker

Snooper Trcps #2 by Spinnaker

Deadline by Infocom

Flight Simulator by Microsoft

Starcross by Infocom

Story Machine by Spinnaker

The Home Accountant

by Continental VisiCalc by VisiCorp Wordstar by Micropro The Tax Manager by Microlab Visifile by VisiCorp Super caIc by Sorcim dBase II by AshtonTate Personal Investor by PBL

rM0NIT0RS^ I

TAXAN *5?MPSP

MSL

39.95 39.95 39.95 44.95 44.95 49.95 49.95 39.95 34.95

150.00 250.00 41500 250.00 300.00 295.00 700.00 145.00

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Price 2850 21.50 21.50 33.50 33.50 37.50 37.50 28.50 26.50

111.00 119.00 369.00 189.00 229.00 229.00 489 00 119.00

TAXAN

12-Grit. Pits 182 MHZ

BMC

12-Grn Phsl5MHZ

NEC

JB 12" Green

JC 12" Color

USI

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AMDEK

300 12" Green

Color I

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ELECTROHOME

[CM 1302 1 13- RGB Hires

ECM-1302-2 13- RGB Hires

Xolor Board lor Apple II

195.00

125.00

249.00 495.00

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Our

Price 109.00

175.00 345.00

155.00

is: oo

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395.00 595.00 195.00

THE IBM PC WITH 12BK, 10 MB WINCHESTER ON UNE, DOS 2.0. ASYNCHRONOUS INTERFACE

OUR LOW PRICE $4595.00

KAYPRO II

PROFOUNDLY

PORTABLE

WITH 9" MONITOR, CP/M, Perfect Writer, Perfect Calc, Perfect Filer, Perfect Speller S BASIC

MSL V 1795.00 CALL FOR PRICE

Tp| SMITH CORONi

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OUR

E $599.00

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CPfM is a registered trademark ol Digital Research, Inc.

LOTUS 1-2-3

A POWERFUL. FAST AND MOST PRODUCTIVE SOFTWARE FOB TOUR MONET: INTEGRATED SPREAD SHEET, DATA BASE AND GRAPHICS our

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ALTERNATIVE with

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SYSTEM

Franklin Ace 1000 system • 64K • Disk Drive with controller card • 12" green phs. video monitor.

$1395.00

J5AVE S10O0 COMPARED TO APPLE SYSTEM m

ill

OSBORNE

PERSONAL COMPUTER

INCLUDES SOFTWARE

•CPM • MAIL MERGE

• WORDSTAR • CB BASIC

• SUPERCALC • M BASIC

OUR PRICE

1795.00

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Auto-Cat 212 Auto Cat Super Mike Apple Cat II 212 Apple Cat

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Hays Stack Smartmodem 289.00

Smart Modem 1200 699.00

Micromodem 100 399.00 ANCHOR AUTOMATION

Signalman Modem MKI 99.00

JA»r> VII (Auto Answer/Dial) 159.00

Uur Price 149.00 159.00 209.00 629.00 12.95 219.00 619.00

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When in LA please visit our showroom MS 10-6.

MICRO

vVe reserve the ngni iu uuiieci ryjjograLinic.il errors. This ad supercedes all previous ads. 20929 Ventura Brvd Prices subject to change without notice. BUSINESS WORLD WoDdtand Hilts,CA91364 -California residents add Ltthtt sales tax

OUTSIDE CA CALL TOLL FREE 1 (800) 423 5886 IN CA (213) 996-2252 "Add 3% Shipping & Handling - AdCI 3%

surcharge for credit cards. No C.O.D. s.

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VISA

MAXELL • DYSAN • EPSON • CCS • SHARP • CASIO • HP • VERBATIM • MEMOREX • SOROC • CORVUS • PERSONAL SOFTWARE • CCS

Circle 262 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 373

Circle 25 on inquiry card.

m&

'ftwofe

; tot* K Byl

sfeae**

•«

^

**

■'ffiSfi

tffcKJpt

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be found on the default or requested drive. The temporary-drive specification lets you select the drive where temporary files (created by text editors and various utility programs) are created. SETDEF also lets you turn the page-display mode on or off.

The SET command affects the disk directory, the drive, or one or more disk files. It lets you initiate password protection (on a banked system) and time and date stamping of files. It also lets you set file and drive attributes such as SYS (system files) or read-only. You can also use it to label a disk and password-protect the label.

In CP/M Plus you can assign a label to a disk to make cataloging it easier. The label can be password protected. If it isn't protected, anyone with access to the SET command can alter the attributes of a disk and make it inaccessible to you. The SET command can also be used to set passwords for individual files on a disk. Four levels of protection are available: none, read, write, and delete. If read is set, a password is needed for all actions such as reading, copying, writing, deleting, or renaming a file. If write protection is set, you need to enter a password only to write, delete, or rename the file, not to read it. The delete level lets you write or read but not delete the file. To set the password for a file, you enter the following command:

SET MYFILE.TXT [PASSWORD = SECRET, PROTECT=WRITE]

This command sets the password and protects the file against writing—but not against reading. SET also lets you set a default password for the entire time you are using the computer (until you restart CP/M Plus or hit Reset).

CP/M Plus supports an expanded group of file attributes. CP/M 2.2 allows the attributes RO, SYS, DIR, and RW. CP/M Plus uses some of the remaining bits in the file-control block to implement an archive feature and four user-definable attributes. The archive attribute works with PIP when the PIP "A" option is set. PIP can be given an ambiguous file specification (such as *.*, meaning "copy all files"); it then copies only the files that have the archive-attribute bit turned off. Thus, only files that have not been backed up are copied. As the files are copied, PIP turns on the archive bit, indicating that the file has been backed up. Therefore, all files that have been created or changed since the last PIP archive are backed up automatically.

The 4 user-definable bits in the file-control block can be used under program control for any purpose. The SET command can be used to change their values, or they can be changed under program control through the BDOS.

The SHOW command displays information about a disk drive. This information includes the disk label, access mode, free space, current user number, number of files for each user number on the disk, number of free directory entries on the disk, and the disk-drive characteristics. SHOW takes over many of the status-display

Continued on page 378

374 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 14 on inquiry card.

The IMS Computer Family

In^HHnM J 1MB I

All IMS systems can be configured with 8 bit or 16 bit microprocessors.

O© 5000SX/8000SX

The SX table top computer systems are the ideal choice for

companies with expansion in mind. These systems are

easily expandable from one to eight users, each having his

own Microprocessor, 64K of memory, and local peripheral

control.

© The 5000SX chassis has three full width 5V4 inch Floppy/ Winchester slots available. Winchesters from 6.3 MByte to 19.2 MByte require one full width slot each. Floppies from 500 KBytes to 1.0 MBytes of storage require lA slot per drive.

©The 8000SX chassis has two full width 8 inch Floppy/ Winchester slots available with the added capacity to house a magnetic tape bulk memory subsystem. Winchesters from 6.3 to 85 MByte storage require one full width slot each and 1.6 MByte Floppies require Vt slot per drive.

O 8000S "MAXIMA"

The IMS 8000S "MAXIMA" Computer system is designed for the company where many people must have access to a large common pool of information. Basically the system configuration of the 8000S is similar to that of the SX Table Top system with the added capability to support up to 16 users each with his own Microprocessor and 64K of memory. The 8000S has five full width 8" Floppy/Winchester slots available supporting any combination of full width Winchesters and xh width Floppies plus a magnetic tape bulk memory subsystem.

Circle 198 on inquiry card.

© 5000IS - "The Desktop Mainframe" From the crystal clear monitor with a true typist keyboard to the high performance power supply—the 5000IS is the most versatile integrated system available—best of all, the 5000IS can serve as the host processor of a multi-user, multiprocessing system supporting four users.

© IMS "ULTIMA" Terminal

The "ULTIMA" CRT Terminal has a separate microprocessor for each of its major functions: Local Intelligence, Screen and Keyboard Control. It can be customized to perform functions the others don't even talk about. The contoured keyboard has a touch the best typist will really appreciate.

O Portable Cartridge Tape Back Up Unit

The IMS Stand Alone Tape Data Storage and Retrieval

Subsystem may be added to any IMS system.

To compliment the best microcomputers available, IMS supplies a complete and comprehensive set of business application software.

For complete information and specifications

plus the location of your nearby IMS

international dealer, call or write today!

(702)883-7611 INTERNATIONAL

2800 Lockheed Way, Carson City, Nevada 89701 • Telex 910-395-6051

BYTE July 1983 375

Business at Bundtweiller Brass Beds is booming! And now that Friday's here to help out, I've got everything under control.

Friday's the revolutionary new microcomputer information management system from Ashton-Tate, the people who invented dB ASEII™

It came in Tuesday, and it took me almost no time at all to get the hang of it because Friday works with me, not against me. I've already turned stacks and stacks of paper files into much more efficient "electronic files!' And it's so easy to use that even Mr. Bundtweiller can do it.

So now, no matter what Mr. Bundtweiller needs to know—no matter when he needs it— he or I can find it in seconds.

The names and commissions earned by our top 25 salesmen since January 1st.

The total number of #3455 Brass Beds sold year-to-date, by region.

A quick report on our cash receivables.

Or the special report for the Board of Directors meeting this afternoon. Mr. Bundtweiller forgot to tell me about it until just before lunch, but Friday and I got it done in no time at all. It looks gorgeous!

Friday even knows how to keep private

or confidential information to itself unless I ask for it using a special password.

Friday's helped me say goodbye to paper shuffling forever. It's terrific for inventory and invoices and paychecks and input screens and reports. It works with dBASE II™ and 1-2-31 and Wordstar2 files. And the way it handles mailing lists and labels is just fantastic.

All for just $295. It's worth it for the mailing lists alone.

376 BYTE July 1983

it's Fri<

So if you need some good, reliable help to handle just about everything that needs handling around your office, for my money it's Friday any day of the week.

For the name and location of the Friday dealer nearest you, contact Ashton-Tate, 10150 W. Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230.

Or better yet, just call (213) 204-5570 today and find out why so many people are saying: T.G. I.F.

Circle 38 on inquiry card.

ASHTON -TOE

Friday! runs under CP/M-80, CP/M-86, PC-DOS

and MS-DOS.

Friday! and dBASE 11 are trademarks of Ashton-Tate.

1—TM Lotus Corp.

2—TM Micropro.

© 1983 Ashton-Tate

BYTE July 1983 377

functions of the old STAT command. For example:

SHOW B:

displays the following:

B: RW, Space: 240k

This tells you that the B drive is set to read/write mode and has 240K bytes of remaining space.

Another useful feature of SHOW is similar to the STAT DSK: command on CP/M 2.2. SHOW [DRIVE] displays the following information:

A

1944

243

64

64

128

8

26

128

Drive Characteristics 128-Byte Record Capacity Kilobyte Drive Capacity 32-Byte Directory Entries Checked Directory Entries Records/Directory Entry Records/Block Records/Track Bytes/Physical Record

The Symbolic Instruction Debugger

Previous versions of CP/M included a debugger/tracer program called DDT (dynamic debugging tool, or a certain pesticide). It lets a programmer disassemble, trace,

and test programs on an assembly- or machine-code level. CP/M Plus comes with SID, a symbolic instruction debugger, which performs all the functions of DDT, but also lets programs be debugged symbolically. This means that if a compiler or assembler is used that generates a symbol table (a list of symbols and labels and their hexadecimal machine addresses), the symbol table can be read into SID and used to display the original symbols at appropriate locations in memory. This feature greatly simplifies the debugging process because the programmer can see exactly where he or she is when stepping through the program, because the original references are preserved. SID also has improved numeric-expressionevaluation capabilities and some additional trace commands for single-stepping through programs.

Two other useful programs are included with CP/M Plus. MAC and RMAC are powerful macro assemblers that can be used for program development. Previous versions of CP/M came only with ASM, an absolute assembler with no macros and few other features. MAC has macros but generates absolute code, while RMAC produces relocatable code. RMAC is required if you intend to write or modify the BIOS or write resident system extensions (to be discussed later). Both MAC and RMAC come with macro libraries that simulate all Z80 instructions that are not part of the standard Intel 8080 instruction set. This lets the programmer take advantage of the powerful Z80 instructions while still using the assembler

VERSATILE DATA REDUCTION,

DISPLAY AND PLOTTING SOFTWARE

FOR YOUR APPLE* II

STRIPCH ARTER — Turns your APPLE and Epson MX series printer into an economical 4-pen chart recorder. Prints and displays continuous 1 to 4-channel stripcharts of any length. Ideal for large data sets. Numerous user-selectable graphics options enhance output quality. Includes 5 demos on disk with 37-page manual $100

VIDICHART — Proven tool for lab data management. Fasf plots of 4 data sets with scrolling in 4 directions, zoom scaling on X and Y axes, 2 types of graphic cursors and on-screen STATUS REPORT, even plots A/D input while sampling. ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, DIVIDE, INTEGRATE, DIFFERENTIATE, AVERAGE or NORMALIZE data sets with SIMPLE COMMANDS. Ideal for spectra, chromatograms, rate curves, etc. Includes SAMPLE DATA on disk with 28-page manual $75

SCIENTIFIC PLOTTER — Draws professional-looking graphs of your data. You choose data format, length and position of axes, 20 symbols, error bars, labels anywhere in 4 orientations. Includes 5 demos on disk plus 30-page manual $25

(For DIF file and Houston Instrument or H-P 7470A plotter adaptations, add $25 for each option selected.)

CURVE FITTER — Select the best curve to fit your data. Scale, transform, average, smooth, interpolate (3 types), LEAST SQUARES fit (3 types). Evaluate unknowns from fitted curve. Includes 5 demos on disk with 33-page manual $35

SPECIAL: VIDICHART, SCIENTIFIC PLOTTER, CURVE FITTER on 1 disk $120

A'V^vv

Add $1.50 shipping on all US orders, VISA or MASTERCARD orders accepted

'Trademark of Apple Computer. Inc.

INTERACTIVE MICROWARE, INC. P.O. Box 771, Dept. 3 State College, PA 16801 CALL (814) 238-8294 for IMMEDIATE ACTION

iffii

And then there

were none.

The list of already extinct animals grows . . . the great auk, the Texas gray wolf, the Badlands bighorn,the sea mink, the passenger pigeon . . .

What happens if civilization continues to slowly choke out wildlife species by species?

Man cannot live on a planet unfit for animals.

Join an organization that's doing something about preserving our endangered species. Get involved. Write -■»A the (National Wildlife Federation, MMffo Department 105, 1412 16th S^PaS Street, MW. Washington,

msn dc 2o°36

It's not too late.

378 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 208 on Inquiry card.

FOR IBM PC

##

AST I/O+ 11 Serial, Game, Clock $149

AST ComboPlus with 64K. serial, parallel, clock ,. .$257

AST MegaPlus 64K. serial, parallel, clock $292

AST MegaPak 256K for Megaplus $245

Davong 10MByte Hard Disk $1735

Oavong 18MBYTE TAPE (PC or XT) $1650

dBase II—for PC-DOS $429

Lotus 1-2-3 $335

Keytronics keyboard $195

RAM SETS (64K with parity)-EXPANDS ALL IBM .. $50

RIXON PC212A MODEM $375

TandonTM100-2 $245

Tartdon TM100-4-with DOS-FIX $335

TEAC 320K Half-Height .$285

IT'S IN STOCK"

FOR ATARI

Printer Cable . Rana Elite 1000Serial Cable ..

....$35

-single/double density floppy

$385 $35

FOR COMMODORE 64

DATA 20 VideoPak80-80 column display $165

Z-80 VideoPak-CP/M and 80 column $275

Serial to Parallel Printer Cable $75

CORONA DATA SYSTEMS

Systems include half-height 320K drives, 128K RAM expandable to 512K on-board, 640 x 325 graphics, green monitor with 16 x 13 matrix characters, serial port, parallel port, DOS, Basic, and spreadsheet software.

PC-11 drive-list $2595 $2095

PC-2 2 drives-list 2995 $2375

PC-HD 10MByte hard disk-list $4495 $3495

PPC-1 Portable/1 drive-list $2395 $1950

PPC-2 Portable/2 drives-list $2795 $2250

WABASH DISKETTES

Single Side Single Density 5 boxes at $17.50/box

Single Side Double Density 5 boxes at $21 /box

Double Side Double Density 5 boxes at $32/box

Chameleon "The Compatible Computer"

LOCAL SALES ONLY

$1995

FREEdBASE II TUTORIAL

FOR OSBORNE

Corvus 6MB hard disk $1975

OSMOS1-double density mod $175

OSMOS 2-370K drives-compatible with software ... $855

OSMOS 3-750K drives $999

OSMOS 4-Disk Format/Convert

read< write 20 formats $215

OSMOS 5-80 Column-select 52/80 display $235

OSMOS 6-Drive Diagnostics $29

TELEVIDEO TERMINALS

TV-910-Plus

....$565

TV-910

$565

TV-925

$725

TV-950

$915

TV-970

$1095

VIDEO MONITORS

Amdek 300G $142

Amdek300A $165

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BYTE July 1983 379

provided with the operating system. Including MAC and RMAC is a major step forward for CP/M Plus and is an important selling point.

To modify the BIOS or write some system extensions, it is necessary to link assembler modules together. LINK version 1.3A is included with CP/M Plus for this reason. This version of LINK has an extra option, B, which is used to.link the BIOS for a banked CP/M Plus system. Earlier versions of LINK do not accept this command. LIB, a library-manager program, is included to let you develop and maintain libraries of linkable routines to be used by many programs.

Another major advance in the design of CP/M Plus is the GENCPM program. Previous versions of CP/M require that you follow a complicated and confusing sequence of steps to assemble and load a new BIOS and install a new version of CP/M. With CP/M Plus, you need only reassemble the modified part of the BIOS, relink it, and run GENCPM. GENCPM asks you a series of questions about how the system should be configured (for example, top of memory, whether hashing is used, whether you are installing a banked or nonbanked version, etc.) and generates a new CPM3.SYS system file for you. GENCPM is an incredible program in itself. It performs the same kinds of functions as a linker and handles all the configuration details as well. It even lets you create a GENCPM.DAT file that has the entire sequence of configuration questions in it. After you have gone through

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the generation process once, you simply type GENCPM AUTO and the entire process repeats automatically.

For example, if you have a working BIOS and wish to change the number of buffers, the top of memory, or the size of the console display (in rows and columns), you only have to rerun GENCPM and answer the questions differently. The BIOS need not be modified.

Batch Facility

As in CP/M 2.2, the SUBMIT command lets you execute a sequence of commands in unattended operation. This version of SUBMIT can also contain program input lines. Any line preceded by a " < " character is used as input to a program rather than as a command sent to CP/M Plus itself.

CP/M Plus lets you change the file search order (when you type in the name of a program to be executed). Normally, if you type in a command such as MBASIC, you are really telling CP/M Plus to search the directory for a file called MBASIC.COM and if found, to load and execute it as a program. CP/M Plus also (if you desire) searches for files with a file type of .SUB. The SETDEF command lets you select the desired search order: COM, or COM - SUB, SUB - COM, or just SUB. Thus, CP/M Plus might first search for a file called MBASIC (in this example) with a file type of COM. If it isn't found, the CCP tries to find a file of type SUB. If a submit file is found, it invokes the submit program and executes the entire sequence of commands found in the file.

For example, if you have a sequence of commands that you enter each time you load MBASIC, you can change the search order to SUB - COM, then create a file named MBASIC.SUB that contains the desired sequence. When you type MBASIC, CP/M Plus executes the submit file instead of the COM file. By changing the name of the actual MBASIC program to something else (MBAS, for example), you can then include the command in the submit file and have SUBMIT execute it for you.

Another nice feature of CP/M Plus is that, upon loading, it executes a file called PROFILE.SUB if one is found on disk. This capability allows a more straightforward means of executing a series of start-up commands than is available in previous versions of CP/M. For example, you can create a profile file that contains these commands:

DATE SET

SETDEF *,B: [ORDER

(COM,SUB)]

CP/M Plus first asks you to enter the date and time, and then it invokes the SETDEF utility to set the drive search order (default drive, then B: drive) and the search order for command and submit files.

Resident System Extensions

Many programs written for CP/M 2.2 automatically relocate themselves to the top of the TPA and change the top-of-memory pointer at location 0005 hexadecimal in

380 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 469 on inquiry card.

memory. This is often done to free up the bottom of the TPA for other programs. Both DDT and SID work this way because the program to be debugged loads at location 0100 hexadecimal. To make everything work right, the program must first make sure that when the BDOS is called at location 0005 hexadecimal, control properly transfers to the BDOS. If desired, the program can intercept BDOS calls and check for a function that it is to perform. Some manufacturers implement RAM (randomaccess read/write memory) disks or hard disks this way to avoid having to modify the BIOS (see figure 3).

Digital Research has formalized this approach in the form of the RSX (resident system extension). RSX modules can be stacked from the top of the TPA down, theoretically, to the bottom of the TPA. Each RSX entry point must check for a BDOS call that it is supposed to handle and, if found, transfer control to that part of itself. If the BDOS call is to be handled by the BDOS or some higher RSX, it must pass it through to the next higher level. CP/M Plus includes a utility that creates an RSX and converts one to an executable COM file. This way, you can load an RSX by typing its name. The BDOS transfers control to it and causes it to relocate at the top of the TPA.

The RSX is a useful concept for vendors trying to support specialized hardware such as a RAM disk, hard disk, or some other I/O card or modification to a standard per

NEXT-RSX

RSX

LOADER FLAG

8 CHARACTER RSX NAME

PREVIOUS- RSX

• I = 0005H IF THIS IS THE FIRST RSX )

JMP NEXT-RSX

JMP RSX-START

6-BYTE SERIAL NUMBER ]

PREVIOUS-RSX

Figure 3: The RSX (resident system extension) is a module loaded just under the top of the TPA that intercepts all BDOS calls from a program. If the BDOS call is one that the RSX should handle, it performs the desired function and returns to the caller. If the RSX doesn't recognize the function requested, it simply passes it on to the BDOS. An RSX can be used to implement extended hardware support for a computer (such as a RAM disk or hard disk), thus avoiding having to rewrite the BIOS to support new hardware.

Func

Function Name

Comments

03

Auxiliary Input

Replaces Reader Input

04

Auxiliary Output

Replaces Punch Output

07

Auxiliary Input Status

08

Auxiliary Output Status

41

Test and Write Record

MP/M compatibility

42

Lock Record

MP/M compatibility

43

Unlock Record

MP/M compatibility

44

Set Multisector count

45

Set BDOS error mode

46

Get Disk free space

47

Chain to program

48

Flush buffers

49

Get/Set system control block

50

Direct BIOS calls

59

Load overlay

60

Call resident system extension

98

Free blocks

99

Truncate file

100

Set directory label

'

101

Return directory label data

102

Read file date stamps and password mode

103

Write file XFCB

104

Set date and time

105

Get date and time

106

Set default password

107

Return serial number

108

Get/Set program return code

109

Get/Set console mode

110

Get/Set Output delimiter

111

Print block

112

List block

152

Parse Filename

Table 1: New BDOS functions.

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 381

BDOS Function 109 input parameter in registers DE:

Bit 0: 1 = Control-C only status for BDOS function 11. 0 = Normal status for function 11.

Bit 1: 1 = Disable stop scroll, Control-S, start scroll, Control-Q support. 0 = Enable stop and start scroll support.

Bit 2: 1 = Raw console output mode. Disable tab expansion for BDOS functions 2, 9, and 111. Disable printer echo, Control-P support. 0 = Normal console output mode.

Bit 3: 1 = Disable Control-C program termination. 0 = Enable Control-C program termination.

Bits 8, 9: Set console status mode for RSXs that perform console input redirection from a file.

Bit 8 Bit 9 Action

0

0

conditional status

0

1

false status

1

0

true status

1

1

bypass redirection

Table 2: CP/M Plus lets you change the way the console responds to Control-C and other Control keys.

sonal computer. For example, a disk containing the RSX can be shipped with the specialized hardware, eliminating the need for custom interface software or user modification of the BIOS source code (which may not come with the computer in the first place).

BDOS Enhancements

As discussed earlier, the BDOS has new features such as directory hashing, internal blocking and deblocking, and banked-memory support. It also supports RSX modules, time and date stamping, and password protection. Some new BDOS function calls have been added to make these features accessible. Table 1 lists some of the new functions.

CP/M Plus supports three error modes: Default, Return Error, and Return and Display. The Default mode simply displays an error message on the console device and terminates the program. The Return Error mode sets the A register to 255 (OFF hexadecimal) and places the error code in the H register, then returns to the program. The Return and Display mode first displays the error message on the console, then returns the error code to the program.

In previous versions of CP/M, some programmers were not happy going through the BDOS to perform such functions as console I/O. CP/M Plus includes BDOS function number 50 for direct BIOS calls. This lets the programmer set up registers and access the BIOS directly for special applications. Although the old method of locating the BIOS and calling it still works in CP/M Plus, it is not recommended for compatibility reasons.

Function number 107 will be praised by software vendors and despised by many users. When called, it returns the 6-byte serial number of the copy of CP/M Plus currently running.

It is now possible to read and set a program return code from within a program. This lets a series of programs being chained into memory read the return code of the previous program to determine if it terminated normally or not. The program return code is also used to pass an abnormal end code to subsequent batch jobs in a submit file. Thus, you can set up a batch job stream to compile, link, and execute a program without intervention. If the first or second steps of the sequence aren't completed properly, the remaining steps won't execute.

In CP/M Plus the mode of the console can be queried and altered using function 109. Table 2 shows the console-mode bits and their values. One useful mode control lets the Control-C key be deactivated during program execution to prevent you from terminating a program with files still open.

Finally, most specialized MP/M functions such as Lock and Unlock Record are included in CP/M Plus for program-level compatibility, although these functions do nothing in CP/M. Also, the Parse Filename function is included to simplify decoding of file specifications (file name, file type, drive, and password). Because this function is used by some high-level languages, Digital Research decided to include it in CP/M Plus.

Modular BIOS Concept

The CP/M Plus BIOS is similar in many ways to CP/M 2.2's BIOS and in some ways is easier to implement. The disk blocking and deblocking function has been removed from the BIOS and placed in the BDOS to improve performance. However, many other features of the new BIOS make it considerably more difficult to install; the banked-memory-support feature proves the most difficult.

The CP/M Plus BIOS can be developed in one huge

382 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Figure 4: The linkable modular BIOS can be broken into several easy-to-maintain segments, as shown here, allowing a manufacturer to supply a disk I/O module with its disk-controller board without having to worry about making the rest of the BIOS compatible. In the same way, character I/O devices can be separated into modules to simplify system integration. Furthermore, breaking the BIOS into logical sections makes it easier to maintain and modify.

source file, as can the 2.2 BIOS. Because you must use the linker program to generate an SPR (system page relocatable) file, however, you might as well break up the BIOS into manageable pieces. Digital Research provides the assembler source file for a BIOS kernel, which is not to be modified under any circumstances. It contains the jump vectors that the BDOS interfaces with and supports the disk modules and character I/O modules. The manual lists a series of subroutines that must be written by the systems programmer to interface with the BIOS kernel. These routines include Load CCP, Reload CCP, disk init, character device init, read character, write character, and so on. This level of organization actually makes the BIOS easier to write once you get out of the habit of writing actual BIOS subroutines, as was done in CP/M 2.2 (see figure 4).

All the modules of the BIOS—bioskrnl, chario, diskio, boot, move, scb, and drvtbl—can be assembled with RMAC and linked together using the supplied LINK version 1.3A. You must specify the "OS" option in the linker to generate an SPR file (called BIOS3.SPR).

Conclusions

CP/M Plus turns CP/M into a professional operating system that makes up for many mistakes of the past. It supports the automatic log in of disks, which in the end may be its most significant selling point. In benchmark tests, it performs disk data transfers from 4 to 10 times faster than CP/M 2.2, depending on the hardware of the system and the way the BIOS is written. It supports banked memory, which allows for larger buffers, more BDOS functions, and a larger TPA for user programs.

The nonbanked version of CP/M Plus is slightly larger than CP/M 2.2; therefore, about 2K bytes of TPA are lost. This really isn't a problem with most software packages because few require all that space to operate.

CP/M Plus is not without its problems. I have been writing and modifying BlOSes for CP/M for several years and it took about one full-time week to make CP/M Plus work. This was primarily due to the problem of extricating the disk read/write routines from the blocking/deblocking source code of my CP/M 2.2 BIOS. The rest of the nonbanked BIOS was easy. The banked BIOS was considerably more difficult because, when debugging it, you can't see into the other bank to find out what is happening. Digital Research doesn't plan to offer CP/M Plus directly to end users because of the problems of implementing the BIOS. It will be up to hardware/ software vendors to support BIOS modules for their products. I personally don't recommend writing a BIOS unless you have written one from the ground up or have had that level of systems-programming experience. ■

Please direct all requests for information about CP/M Plus to Digital Research.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Kathy Strutynski, Tom Mason, and Susan Raab at Digital Research for their assistance.

About the Author

Mark Dahmke is a consulting editor for BYTE.

384 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Hardware Review

Quadram Corporation's MX700

A two-page video-display terminal

by Curtis P. Feigel

Quadram's MX700 is a microprocessor-based video terminal that uses sophisticated technology to provide features not available on other terminals. The unit's display is capable of showing the equivalent of two typewritten pages, side by side, on a single screen. The detached keyboard is a popular model that has its own microprocessor and incorporates software-controllable indicators and special-function keys. These features make the MX700 an excellent video terminal for use with word processors and spreadsheet programs (see photo 1).

Why So Big?

As computer interfaces go, video terminals are the largest. They are capable of communicating more information at a time than any other peripheral. True, we don't normally think of video terminals as interfaces, but rather as output devices; perhaps this is an aspect of human/computer interaction that ought to be more carefully considered. In fact, if you think of a video terminal as a parallel port to the human brain, then the MX700 is close to ideal: it is just large enough to fill your main field of view when you're seated at the keyboard, but not so large as to be overwhelming.

This means that when you're editing text, for example, you can more easily see the relationship between the piece of text you're modifying and the context that surrounds it than you can on a display showing less text. The terminal takes over part of the editing burden by making organization obvious and allows you to devote your brain power to being creative.

Where the MX700 really shines is with software that employs windows. Using the terminal's ability to display two whole pages—each from a different file, if you like—is just like working at a desk. You can be typing on one page while referring to a whole page of notes.

It's unfortunate that the technology making this possible is expensive (list price of the unit is $2395), but an

Photo 1: Quadram's MX700, a two-page video-display terminal.

extremely high bandwidth video monitor is required, along with special electronics to drive it. And to display so much information as quickly as it does, the unit must employ memory that is 36 bits wide rather than the usual 8 bits.

The Display

The outstanding feature of the MX700—the whole reason for its existence—is its enormous screen, but the terminal has other screen attributes to recommend it. It has a combination of features rarely found in one unit and can display in a variety of formats and character sizes.

The video monitor, a 17-inch (diagonal measure) Ball Brothers unit, can display over half a million pixels (picture elements). Its screen area measures 13 inches wide by 10 inches high (by comparison, the screen area of a standard 12-inch video monitor is 9 inches by 6V2 inches). In its densest format, the MX700 can show over 10,500

388 July 19S3 © BYTE Publications Inc

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At a Glance

Name

MX700

Manufacturer

Quadram Corporation 4357 Park Dr. Norcross, GA 30093 (404) 923-6666

Price

S2395

Components

Separate keyboard unit and display unit, each with its own microprocessor

Keyboard: 3 inches high, 18 inches wide, 7 inches deep: 82 keys including a QWERTY typewriter layout section, a numeric keypad, and four special-function keys

Display: 16 inches high, 16 inches wide, 20 inches deep:

can display the following formats: 66 lines by 160 small characters 2 pages of 66 lines by 78 small characters 66 lines by 80 wide characters 33 lines by 160 high characters 33 lines by 80 large characters

characters; a standard video terminal (24 lines of 80 characters) shows only 1920 characters, 18 percent of what the MX700 is capable of.

Besides the size of the screen, the MX700 has several display features not always found on video terminals. Smooth scroll is a sophisticated technique that allows displayed characters to be scrolled a single pixel row at a time (as opposed to scrolling by whole characters—8 or 10 pixel rows). This makes a quickly scrolling display easier to read. The page-split feature allows the display to be viewed as two side-by-side pages of text, and the reverse-background capability shows black characters on a white background. Character sizes may be doubled in either or both dimensions. Small characters are 5 by 7 pixels, wide characters are 10 by 7 pixels, high characters are 5 by 14 pixels, and large characters are 10 by 14 pixels.

A variety of character sizes and screen formats may be selected (see the "At a Glance" box for a complete list), but these combinations seem to be the most useful:

• 33 lines of 80 large characters: this produces a display that is easy to read (see photo 2a). It seems suitable for a classroom and would allow 8 to 10 people to view the same screen; it might also be used by individuals with poor eyesight.

• 66 lines of 160 small characters: the breadth of this format makes it ideal for displaying spreadsheet programs.

• 132 lines of 78 small characters: this format uses special hardware to split the screen vertically, producing a display equivalent to two typewritten pages placed side by side (the similarity to two sheets of paper can be heightened by configuring the terminal to show black

390 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

(tm smc mm mmm

S-100 STATIC MEMORY BREAKTHROUGH

1

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■ 1

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• A 2K window which can be placed anywhere in the 64K memory map

• Four independently addressable 16K blocks organized as:

— Two independent 32K banks or

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— One 48K and one 16K bank for use in MP/M1 (option)

• Each 32K bank responds independently to phantom

• 2716 (5V) EPROMS may replace any or all of the RAM

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Circle 257 on inquiry card.

3

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Shipped direct from stock.

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16K RAM, Model MM16K14

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blocks One 4K segment equipped with 1K

windows Uses field-proven 2114 (1K x 4) RAMS Low Power (less than 1.2 Amps) Runs on any S-100 8080, 4 MHz Z-80 or

5 MHz 8085 system.

Prices, terms, specifications subject to change without notice.

•Cromix and CDOS are trademarks of CROMEMCO ' MP/M is a trademark of Digital Research

Circle 237 on inquiry card.

UV EPROM ERASERx

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392 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

ZIP

(2a)

(2b)

Photo 2: The range of the MX700's display capabilities. Photo 2a shows a full-screen display using large characters in black-onwhite mode (there are 33 lines of 80 characters). Photo 2b shows a split screen of small characters in black-on-white mode (each of the two pages has 66 lines of 78 characters).

characters against a white background; see photo 2b). In this mode, new lines of characters enter the display at the bottom of the right-hand page and scroll up; when lines scroll off the top of the right-hand page, they reappear at the bottom of the left-hand page and scroll up. This format is the obvious choice for word processing.

The Keyboard

The MX700's keyboard is a recent design manufactured by Key Tronic (of Spokane, Washington). It employs an Intel 8048 microprocessor to do away with much of the circuitry found in older designs. Its 82 keys are divided into a typewriter-like main section and a numeric keypad. The main section of the keyboard has two keys not commonly found on video terminals: Set-Up, which pro

107120 ■

Circle 202 on inquiry card.

EXTRA

EXTRA

S-100 World News

MACROTECH International Corporation

20630 Lassen Street, Chatsworth, California • 213-700-1501

NOW 1 MEGABYTE MAX FOR ALPHA MICRO

CHATSWORTH-June 30, 1983-Mike Pelkey, Macrotech International President, announced today that a special version of MAX is now running in Alpha Micro Systems.

This special version is available only through Soft Machines of Champaign, IL. (217) 351-7199. Howard Ogle of Soft Machines stated, "The new AM-MAX1 runs full speed with all three Alpha S100 machines'.' Ogle also said, "The AMrMAXl is not only the most economical memory for Alpha, but the most versatile as well. The system is even faster with Soft Machines' 'GO FAST' disk cache utilities'.'

Bob Rubendunst of Soft Machines reports, "Every MAX is shipped with software that greatly simplifies implementation on bank switched systems. Also included are detailed installation instructions and diagnostic programs'.'

Dealer inquiries and orders should be directed to Bob at Soft Machines. nil

: only through Soft Ma

HOWARD OGLE

VIRTUAL DISK NOW NONVOLATILE

CHATSWORTH-June 30,1983-Mike Pelkey announced today the release of the latest addition to the Macrotech product family. The li-Board is a multifunction system support board, for use with MAXmA 128ST memories. Used with the 128ST, this combination creates a complete disk emulation, including nonvolatility. The B-Board features include battery backup, power fail monitor, and charging circuitry for on or off board batteries.

The B-Board functions also include a timeof-day clock, using a National Semi device for hassle free operation. It also gets early warning at power down, so the time-of-day can't suddenly get creative. An interrupt is available which can be used to turn the system on or off at a preset time.

On board ROM space accepts the users'

EPROM based program storage. It can be configured to accept one or a pair of any EPROM type from 2716 to 27256, in 8 or 16 bit format. It supports a wake up jump option with full or shadowed phantom overlay.

The ERROR TRAP feature is designed to support the parity error detection feature of the AtilYseries dynamic memories. Any activity on the system's ERROR line causes the trap to record the extended address and data busses and 20 bits of bus status information. Up to 16 events can be trapped; the trap issues an interrupt when it's full.

The B-Board is a logical addition to the growing family of Macrotech International's no-compromise S100 boards for no-compromise users. M

MAX Split Personality

BURBANK-June 30,1983-"Many current operating systems permit MAXto double as both virtual disk and system memory," stated Dan West of Westcom Systems. As an example, an MP/M 2.1* system using MAX-M could be configured as a 512K system memory and a 512K Vdisk. A typical CP/M 3.0* configuration could be 256K of system memory and up to 768K Vdisk. CP/M 2.2? of course, only permits a 64K system memory, leaving the balance for a virtual disk. With MAX, or the 128ST, both functions can run simultaneously in a single memory board. M

MACROTECH Moves

CHATSWORTH-June 30,1983-Macrotech has moved to larger facilities located at 20630 Lassen St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. The new phone number is (213) 700-1501. "Due to a healthier marketplace and a phenomenal demand for the MAX series, larger facilities were necessary. This permits additional staffing, increased production, and customer support levels',' said Mike Pelkey, President of Macrotech. M

©1983 Macrotech International Corporation.

Virtual Disk for CP/M 86*

Dan West, Westcom Systems

BURBANK-June 30,1983-Most of the CP/M 86* application programs available today fail to take advantage of the possible one megabyte address space. Virtual Disk for CP/M 86* will convert this unused space into RAM resident disk capacity for greatly improved disk access processing. The easily installed Virtual Disk 86 software module has been added to Macrotech's applications software available to owners of MAX series and 128ST memory boards, nil Circle 245 on inquiry card.

PRICE INDEX

SIZE P/N

PRICE

Static Memory

128K 128-ST

$1232

Dynamic Memory

256K MAX-256

$1108

24-bit

384K MAX-384

1292

Addressing

512K MAX-512

1647

640K MAX-640

1737

768K MAX-768

1815

896K MAX-896

1899

1M MAX-M

1983

With 16-bit M3 Addressing option, add $91

Software (provided

on 8" disk)

Virtual Disk for MP/M 2.1* and CP/M 2.2*

CP/M 3.0* Bios moc

lutes,

CP/M memory tests

$ 25

Manuals (sold separately)

128/ST

$ 15

MAX Technical Manual

15

• CP/M 2.2, CP/M 3.0, CP/M 86 and MP/M 2.1 are registered trademarks of Digital Research Inc.

SETUP

S — SAVE

3 — PARITY (ODD, EVEN, NONE)

R — RECALL

4 — CHARSIZE (LARGE, SMALL, WIDE

HIGH)

0 — RESET

5 — PAGE (SPLIT, FULL)

1 —LINE MODE (ONLINE,

6 — SCREEN (NORMAL, REVERSE)

LOCAL)

2 —BAUD RATE

7 — SCROLL (SMOOTH, JUMP)

8 — WRAP (ON, OFF)

9 — NLM (LINE FEED, NEW LINE)

X — HS MODE (XON/XOFF, DTR/CTS)

Table 1: Arrangement of the menu produced when the MX700's Set-Up key is pressed. The terminal displays its present settings (optional settings are shown here in parentheses). You can change any setting simply by repeatedly pressing the proper item number or letter to cycle through all the possible settings for that item. For example, pressing the 6 key twice would change item number 6 from "screen normal" to "screen reverse" and back again. (The abbreviation NLM in item 9 stands for "new line mode." In item X, HS stands for "high speed"; XON and XOFF are ASCII [American National Standard Code for Information Interchange] control codes, and DTR and CTS are abbreviations for the RS-232C signals Data Terminal Ready and Clear to Send.)

duces a menu for configuring the terminal's options, and No Scroll, which uses handshaking protocol to tell the host computer to stop sending data. Each printable character repeats when its key is held down for more than Yi second.

The keypad section has four special-function keys that each transmit a unique character sequence for your program to interpret. There are eight LEDs (light-emitting diodes) on the keyboard; three are used to indicate the conditions online, local, and locked, while the other five can be controlled by signals from the host computer.

The key tops are more deeply dished than usual, and the home-row keys are recessed slightly so that the keyboard has a sculpted look and is easy to type on, but there is almost no tactile feedback from a pressed key. All the keys are in the common positions except for the cursor-control keys, which are arranged in a horizontal line above the Return key and just outside the boundary of the main keyboard section. The easiest way to use them seems to be to jab the appropriate key with your right index finger while glancing down at the keyboard to make sure you get the right one.

Operation

Installing and using the terminal is a simple matter. There are no switches to set, no adjustments to make. Once the MX700 is connected to the host computer via an RS-232C cable, all you need do is press the Set-Up key to see a menu of the terminal's current settings (see table 1). Repeatedly pressing the X key or any of the numeral keys 0 through 9 will cause the corresponding menu item to display, one at a time, each of its possible settings.

Once the proper data rate, parity, and handshaking protocol are selected, the terminal is ready to use. Settings can be saved in battery-powered memory within the terminal and loaded automatically when the unit is turned on; they can also be altered by code sequences from the host computer. This provides a great amount of

flexibility when used with word-processing software that is capable of handling function keys.

Conclusions

Using the MX700 terminal is a revelation. I found that the increased viewing area helps planning by giving a more complete, overall view than is possible with a normal video terminal. The time I would have otherwise spent scrolling back and forth between sections of text was instead spent more productively. In short, it makes word processors far easier to use because the terminal display does some of the work of "remembering" the arrangement of information. One side effect of having such a large screen in a serial video terminal is that it takes a lot of time to update; I would not consider using a data rate of less than 9600 bps (bits per second); 19,200 bps is preferable. (Item 2 of the Set-Up menu shown in table 1 gives the data-rate setting, here labeled "baud rate"; you can choose from 10 common rates between 75 and 19,200 bps.)

After using the MX700 with my favorite word processor for several months, going back to a standard terminal was a frustrating experience. Looking at a terminal that displayed only 24 lines of 80 columns was like wearing glasses with two thirds of one lens blocked and the other lens completely opaque. However, if you use the MX700 with a word processor that requires Control keys as commands, you may be irritated by the fact that the MX700's Control keys don't repeat when held down.

In this era of user friendliness, Quadram's MX700 comes close to the state of the art. Its large display makes it easy to maintain an overall view of word-processing and spreadsheet projects and provides a powerful interface for humans to communicate with and control computers. ■

About the Author

Curtis P. Feigel is a technical editor for BYTE.

394 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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THE CREATOR FOR IBM 224

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0UADB0ARD64K $459

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Call Toll-Free: 1-800-523-9511

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In Pennsylvania: 1- 215-868-8219

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^^F*i

B

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:your Apple or Franklin isn't giving you all the power you need, it's not rotten. It just needs to be juiced up. With a Starfire™ Winchester hard disk drive from Corona.

It leaves Apple DOS in the dust.

For starters, the Starfire gives you all the power inherent in a hard disk drive. Lightning speed (up to 10 times faster than a floppy), enormous storage capacity (5 and 10 megabytes), and superb data reliability.

With none of the bottlenecks, headaches and hassles of floppy drives.

But even better, it makes Apple DOS infinitely friendlier, faster and more powerful.

A lot more slices from the pie.

Our version of Apple DOS is so powerful and friendly, it's like getting a whole new computer. You can work with files up to 400K. Boot into any program from the hard disk. And run programs with a single keystroke.

We've added other features from the Corona PC, our own 16-bit desktop and personal computers. You can automatically selectively backup your volumes. Partition the disk and run up to 16 different operating systems, including Apple DOS, Pascal and CP/M.1

And depend on our DataGuard™ and FailSafe™ data protection systems for the disk reliability and data integrity you need.

t'Mm

■ ■

Your saving grace.

And if you're running programs that use a lot of K's, you're still okay because we don't use any of your main memory.

The Corona Starfire is softwarecompatible with industry-standard packages likeVisiCalc?

DBMaster,3 dBASE II4 and many others.

So if your Apple is being squeezed, juice it up with the Corona Starfire hard disk.

For the name of your nearest Corona dealer, just call us toll-free at 800-621-6746. Or write Corona Data Systems, 31324 Via Colinas, Westlake Village, CA 91361. (213) 991-1144.

FEEL THE POWER.

Circle 114 on inquiry card.

© Corona Data Systems 1963.1: tm Digital Research. 2: tm Vlsicorp (needs Transporter from Omega Microwave). 3: tm Stoneware. 4: tm Ashton Tate

The 8088 Connection

Interfacing IBM PC BASIC to Machine-Language Programs

Why would anyone bother with assembly language when BASIC is available? BASIC is a rich and flexible language; however, it has its drawbacks. You may want to add assembler code to a BASIC program in order to perform a function that is not part of the standard BASIC library. Or, even more likely, you may need something done faster than is possible with interpreted BASIC. You may also want to experiment with the microprocessor instruction set. In this article, I'll describe a method of adding 8088 machine-language subroutines to BASIC on the IBM Personal Computer (PC).

The technique involves five subtasks: creation and assembling of a source file, using the linker to create an executable (.EXE) file, converting the executable file to a memory-image file able to be loaded by the BASIC BLOAD command, bringing the file into protected memory, and testing and debugging the routine.

8088 Coding

To create a machine-language program, you'll need to master the instruction set of the 8088, the pro

by Dan Rollins

cessor that drives the IBM PC. The 8088 is an exciting microprocessor. Its instruction set includes hardware multiply and divide (both 8- and 16-bit) operations, sign-extension for arithmetic operations between 8- and 16-bit operands, several memoryindexing modes, automatic looping instructions, string-handling op codes, and the ability to work in con

Mastering the Instruction set of the 8088

can be difficult even

for an experienced

programmer.

junction with other coprocessor chips such as the 8087 math chip.

Branch and call instructions are all relative; you have to work hard to write a program that is not relocatable. And the 8088 can access as many as a million bytes of memory. But learning the 8088 can be difficult even for an experienced programmer. The concept of memory segments and the abundance of ad

dressing modes and op codes are confusing.

To learn the 8088, or its work-alike brother the 8086,1 recommend studying Stephen Morse's The 8086 Primer (Hayden Book Company Inc., 1980). Morse, the chip's architect, gives clear explanations and offers insights not found elsewhere. Other necessary texts include The 8086 Book by Russell Rector and George Alexy (Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1980) and the IBM PC Macro Assembler manual. The fully documented IBM BIOS (basic input/ output system) listing in the Technical Reference Manual will give you excellent examples of real-life 8088 code for study.

Once you have written an 8088 program, you will need an assembler to translate it. IBM offers two assemblers: The Macro Assembler requires 96K bytes of memory. It supports macro definitions and data-structure definitions and gives verbose error messages. The smaller version, ASM, will assemble only short programs but works in 64K bytes of memory. It does not support macroinstructions or data structures and gives only a

398 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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number when it encounters an error.

Here are some tips on coding 8088 programs for the IBM Macro Assembler: Tell the assembler what segments are active. Use the ASSUME pseudo-op to resolve ambiguity. Always specify the type of data and addresses to avoid ambiguity in instructions. For example, "MUL [BX]" is ambiguous; it can mean "multiply the AX register with the word pointed to by the BX register" or "multiply the AL register with the byte at that address." The instruction "MUL byte ptr [BX]" is clear; it means "multiply the byte at the address pointed to by BX with AL, leaving the result in AX."

Remember that labels refer to data and not addresses. For example, "ADD AX,MY_VARJABLE" means "add the 16-bit value of the data at the memory location specified by the label MY_VARIABLE (as offset from the DS segment register) to the AX register, leaving the result in AX." If you need to access the address of a variable, use the OFFSET operator, e.g., "MOV SI, offset MY_TABLE." Stick to one of the many methods provided by the assembler for specifying an indexed address to avoid confusion.

When writing your assembly language, you will need a good program editor. It is possible to write source code with EDLIN, the primitive line editor that comes with PC-DOS and other disk operating systems, but this will make assembly programming even more frustrating than necessary. I recommend Volkswriter by Lifetree Software Inc. for both word processing and program editing.

Special Considerations

The IBM BASIC manual describes a rather complicated method of loading an assembled program into BASIC memory and saving it with BASIC'S BSAVE command. After some months of using this technique, I hit upon a simpler method: to create a file that I could load with BLOAD directly. This imposes requirements that you should keep in mind when writing a program for use with BASIC. A group of seven "header" bytes must precede the program (see

listing 1). The BASIC BLOAD command uses these bytes to identify a module on which BLOAD can be used and to give it a default load address. Also the programs must fit within one memory segment. Finally, the assembler END pseudo-op must specify the address of the first header byte.

Linking the File

The assembler creates an object (.OBJ) file that must be converted to an executable (.EXE) file in which all external and internal references are resolved. The DOS linker program performs this task. Start the linker as described in the DOS manual, specifying only the file to be linked.

Because the file does not specify a stack segment, the linker will display "Warning: no stack segment" and indicate that an error occurred. This is exactly as expected—no cause for alarm. The .EXE files created by the linker contain a block of load and relocation data, which the DOS loader uses as it prepares to execute the program.

The BASIC program loader (BLOAD) does not require this information because it is designed for use with binary-image programs. These .EXE files are loaded into memory as a continuous block of code and data and must reside in 64K bytes or less of memory. Fortunately, DOS provides EXE2BIN, a utility to convert the file from the .EXE to the .BIN (or .COM) format.

The BASIC BLOAD command works only with programs in the nonrelocatable format. Because my example .EXE file already contains the header bytes that BASIC needs, I can use this utility to create a module that can be loaded with BLOAD. Simply invoke EXE2BIN, specifying the name of the file that was just linked. BASIC will load the resulting .BIN file at the segment specified by the DEF SEG function (BASIC'S default segment) at the offset specified in the BLOAD command.

Listing 2 shows a batch file that will assemble, link, convert, and test programs. This file saves a lot of typing and assures that no step is missed. If the batch file is invoked with two

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Listing 1: Simple assembly-language programs can be loaded directly with the BASIC BLOAD command. This example demonstrates how a program must be preceded by a group of seven header bytes and must end with the END pseudo-op in order to be used with BLOAD.

1

page i

132

2

title UPSHIFT - BASIC USR routine Dan Rollins

3

COM*

I * This routine changes all lowercase characters

4

in a BASIC string to UPPERCASE.

5 i 7

It is called fro* BASIC via!

UPCASEt = USRn(L0VCASEt)

8

where*.

1

LOtCASEJ is a string variable nate or a

10 11 12

string expression.

All characters in loucaset that were between

13

'a' and 'i' will be converted to 'A' to T.

14

t

15

OOOO

cses segment

14 17 IS

HUM

CSIcsegi DSInothing

t

idefine the file header so that the BASIC

1?

iBLOAD file loader will know what to do.

20

0000

header!

21

0000

FB

*

0FDH .indicate BLOAD file

22

0001

OOOO

dv

0 isegaent—BASIC will use default

23

0003

0000

dv

0 i off set—specifs in BLOAD coeaand

24 25 24

0005

0023

dw

rln.len ilength of the routine

0007

upshift proc

far ifar proc insures inlersegKnt RETurn

27

0007

3C 03

C1P

ali3 iwst be string arguvnt

a

000?

75 IE

Jne

exit i exit if not

2?

0OOB

33 C?

>;or

cxicx ipre-set the length to 0

30

iBX => 3-oate descriptor bloct

31

O0OD

8B DA

■OV

bxidx iuse base register for mora wort

32

0OOF

8A OF

■ov

cl»[bx] igel the length

33

0011

80F?00

C»P

cliO iis it a null string?

34

0014

74 13

Je

exit t wesi exit, elsei gel ptr to characters

35

34 37

0014

8B 77 01

tov

siiCbxtll i SI => first character of string

=

char eau

bale ptr Csi] ire-define a useful opcode

33

001?

each-char!

3?

001?

80 3C41

tv

chari'a' ibelow 'a' ?

40

001C

72 08

Jt>

no-change i sesi leave it alone

41

001E

80 3C7A

CtP

chari'r' iabove 'z'»

42 43 44

0021

77 03

Ja

no.change i ski leave it

0023

80 24 5F

and

charilOlllllB itast the lowercase bit

45

0024

no_changet

44

0024

44

inc

si ipoint to next character

47

0027

E2 FO

loop

each-char idee CX and loop till done

48

002?

exit!

4?

002?

B

ret

ilong RET to BASIC

50

002A

upshift endp

51

= 0023

rtn.len eou

$ - upshift ilength of routine fx header

52

002A

cseS ends

53

end

header ineeded for .BIN file

Listing 2: A batch file that aids in assembling, linking, conversion, and testing of programs.

REH «ALB.BAT —

REH Use to assenblei linKf convert to

REN binary iiiaSet and test an .ASH file

REH that is to be interfaced with BASIC

REH

REH reauires 1 arsueent ! filename

REH optional argument ! list file

tiftit)

REH

b:

Alas* ZlfiZ2>

AtlinK XIi A!exe2bin II A'basic test REH «ALB end of JCL

parameters ($ALB QPRINT,CON:), the assembler will generate a listing. Otherwise, the listing file will default to NUL (null).

The BASIC Interface

Once the file is in BLOAD format, it must be loaded into memory at an address protected from BASIC. In a 64K-byte IBM, this means that you must clear some memory using the BASIC CLEAR instruction as shown in listing 3. You can determine the amount to clear by looking at the screen when BASIC first starts up.

Subtract the amount of memory used by the 8088 subroutine from the amount of available memory displayed. My 64K-byte machine displays "38907 BYTES FREE". To interface the UPSHIFT routine (listing 1), which is 35 bytes long, you could have line 10 of listing 3 CLEAR 38871. Then you would set the variable UPSHIFT.ADDR to that number. If you are running with more than 64K bytes of RAM (random-access, read/write memory), you will not need to clear any memory. In that case, use the DEF SEG function to point to an area outside of BASIC'S domain and define UPSHIFT.ADDR as an offset within that segment. For example:

10 DEFSEG = &H1700 •UPSHIFT.ADDR=0

specifies that the routine be loaded at a point in the top 4K bytes of a 96K-byte IBM PC.

With the BLOAD command the programs could also be loaded into the BASIC string variable, the elements of an integer array, or an unused input buffer. The VARPTR function can be used to determine the offset for the BLOAD.

Debugging

Placing an extra byte, OCC hexadecimal (INT 3), temporarily at the start of executable code is a handy aid to debugging the 8088 program when used in conjunction with DEBUG, the IBM machine-language monitor. To debug a program, write a BASIC test program (listing 4) then type DEBUG BASIC.COM and use DEBUG's G command to execute BASIC. Run the BASIC testing program to load and invoke your 8088 subroutine. When control is passed to the routine, the first byte will act as a DEBUG breakpoint. You'll be able to Unassemble, Dump, and Trace (single-step through) the subroutine.

Change the INT 3 to a NOP (90 hexadecimal) with the E (edit) command. As you trace the execution, watch to make certain that the parameters are being used in the right order and that the stack is cleared and the segment registers are restored

402 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Listing 3: Program to test the UPSHIFT program in listing 1.

0 '** UPTEST.BAS Dan Rollins 12/28/82

1 '« tests the UPSHIFT USR routine

2 '**

10 CLEAR.30000 tUPSHIFT.ADDR=30000

20 BLOAD'btupshift.bin'.UPSHIFT.ADDR

30 DEF USR0=UPSHIFT.ADDR

40 CLS

50 INPUT "enter so«e lowercase characters'!A$

60 PRINT USR0<A$>

70 A*="This pro3ra» line is lowercase."

80 UU*=USR0< At >

90 PRINT !LIST 'M show that line 70 has been altered

Listing 4: A BASIC test program to load and invoke UPSHIFT.

1 '** QPTEST.BAS Dan Rollins 12/

3 '« Tests the (PRINT 8088 subroutine

4 'tt and compares time with BASIC.

5 '»*

10 CLEAR.30000 '**

20 QPRINT=30000 '**

30 BL0AD"B!QPRINT.BIN".QPRINT '** 40 T1«=TIHE* '**

50 G0SUB 1000 '**

60 CLSt PRINT TIME* {PRINT Tl* '** 70 END

990 '** subroutine fills the screen.

991 '** to conpare BASIC'S speed.

992 '**

1000 CLf«=l !CLS tKEY OFF 1010 FOR JX=32 TO 100 1020 A*=STRING*(80»J7.) 1030 FOR R0UZ=1 TO 24 1040 CALL QPRINT(At.R0«X.CLM7.) 1050 'LOCATE R0W7..CLMX IPRINT Mi 1060 NEXT 1070 NEXT 1080 RETURN

upon exit. Incidentally, you may trace execution right into ROM (readonly memory) BASIC and glean some valuable information as to how BASIC operates.

User Service Routines

Once a program has been loaded, it may be invoked by either a User Service Routine (USR) function or a call statement. BASIC treats the USR function just like an ASC (string expression), SIN (numeric expression), or any other one-argument function. It evaluates the expression between the parentheses and then takes the indicated action. The function gives the programmer some flexibility in how the routine is invoked. For example:

PRINT USR0(A$)

LSET B$=USR0 (A$)

B$=MID$(USR0(A$),12,2)

A$=USR0(LAST.NAME$ + ", " + FIRST.NAMES)

!0/8!

protect mesory above 30000 define load, call address load routine into me»or« get starting tine test the routine compare start & end tises

Use line 1050

IF USR0(INPUT$(1)) = "Y'THEN . . .

are all valid ways to invoke the UPSHIFT function. The drawback of using the USR function is that only one value may be passed to the 8088 subroutine.

Before BASIC hands control to your code, it places the address of the evaluated argument in the DX register and a variable type-code in the AL register. Listing 1 shows how to manipulate a value passed to the USR subroutine. Notice in line 27 that the AL register is compared to 3, the type-code for string-variable arguments. If the variable is not a string, then the routine is exited with no action taken.

When UPSHIFT is sure it's working with a string, it must determine the string's length and location. Line 31 places the value in DX into the base register BX and uses the parameter as a pointer to a string descriptor block. The first byte of this descriptor block

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STACK AFTER CALL QPRINTt VAR$, ROW%, CLM%) RETURN ADDRESS OFFSET RETURN ADDRESS SEGMENT CLM% ARGUMENT ADDRESS ROW% ARGUMENT ADDRESS VAR$ DESCRIPTOR ADDRESS

SP

SP+2

SP+4 —^

CLM% DATA (WORD)

SP + 6—>

ROW% DATA (WORD)

SP+8 —^

VAR$ LENGTH (BYTE)

VAR$ ADDRESS 1

f

L->

...

VAR$ DATA (BYTES)

Figure 1: A stack model showing how BASIC passes 2-byte addresses to a called routine.

defines the length of the string as between 0 and 255 inclusive. If the value is 0 (a null string was passed as the argument), the routine is aborted and no action is taken. Otherwise this length is placed in the CX register and used as a counter. The second and third bytes of the string descriptor block identify the location of the characters of the string data. Line 35 points SI, an index register, at the first character of the string. The loop beginning at line 38 and ending at line 47 checks each character to see if it is lowercase and masks the lowercase bit if so.

Because line 26 defined UPSHIFT as a FAR procedure, the RET (return) at line 49 has been assembled as an inf tersegment return, as required by BASIC. Notice that UPSHIFT makes no effort to save and restore the registers it uses. BASIC only gets confused when the routine alters any of the segment registers or the stack pointer.

Listing 3 illustrates an interesting facet of the BASIC/8088 connection. When a machine-code subroutine alters a BASIC string, it may alter program text. If the string is a literal in a program line, the string descriptor block will point to that program line. The same is true for strings that have been read from DATA lines. If such an alteration occurs and you later save the BASIC program, the changes will be permanent.

The CALL Statement

The CALL statement is less flexible

in the way it may be invoked but will pass more than one argument to an 8088 subroutine. It also may be used to return more than one value to the calling BASIC program.

Appendix C of the BASIC manual goes into some detail as to how to access an argument passed to a called routine (figure 1). BASIC passes a 2-byte address to the routine for each variable in the argument list. BASIC pushes these addresses onto the stack in the order in which they occur in the CALL statement. The address of the last variable in the list will be closest to the stack pointer when the routine takes control.

After BASIC pushes these addresses on the stack, it makes a FAR call to the offset (within the currently defined segment) specified in the CALL command. Because a FAR call saves both the CS (code segment) and IP (instruction pointer) register values on the stack, the argument addresses will be offset from the SP (stack pointer) by exactly 4 bytes.

Page C-ll of the BASIC manual gives a formula for calculating the locations, of the argument addresses. The formula assumes that you will first push BP (base pointer) onto the stack, thereby making the closest argument address 6 bytes away from the stack pointer. The argument addresses may then be accessed as pointers to the actual data by determining their position in the stack and using BP as an index register to set the address into BX. If the variable is numeric, BX points to the numeric

data. If the variable is a string, then BX points to the string descriptor block, and the data there will point to the actual characters of the string.

After diligent research and experimentation, I could find no reason to push BP before using it to reference the parameters. The manual clearly states that only segment registers need to be saved. You can use other methods to access the arguments. The routine could, for example, just move the addresses from the stack into the available registers through the POP function—as long as the return address (the top 4 bytes on the stack) is saved, then restored upon exit.

Quick PRINT

IBM PC BASIC is disappointingly slow. It is obvious that much of the code is a direct translation from an 8080 version of Microsoft BASIC. Perhaps the most distressing point is the sluggish PRINT command. It takes nearly 4 seconds to fill the 80 by 25 screen with characters.

Mother Necessity prompted me to write an 8088 subroutine to shorten the delay. The results were astounding. QPRINT (in listing 5) will display an 80-character line in the blink of an eye and fill the screen in one-tenth the time required by BASIC. The program avoids the character-by-character processing that typifies the BASIC PRINT command. It displays the entire string in a tight loop. Also, because QPRINT ignores the attribute byte that normally accompanies a printed character, it makes half as many screen memory accesses. Functionally, QPRINT combines the LOCATE command with PRINT, thereby saving more BASIC overhead.

A call to QPRINT displays characters of an argument string starting at the horizontal and vertical screen coordinates specified in two integer arguments. It does not update the cursor position or specify any color for the characters printed. The characters take on the color, blink, and underline attributes of whatever characters were previously there. If a string will not fit on one screen line, it will wrap around to the next.

The QPRINT routine also includes

406 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 407

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the logic for determining which type of display card is being used (color or monochrome). The row and column arguments are correct for either 40or 80-column displays.

The comments in listing 5 explain the inner workings of the program.

However, two points need clarification. Lines 27 to 34 define a segment that is outside of the program segment. No code is generated for this definition; it is used only to set up the labels used in lines 68, 71, 75, and 82. This does not violate EXE2BIN's

Listing 5: This streamlined output routine displays strings on the video monitor 10 times faster than BASIC.

Circle 48 on Inquiry card.

page 1132

Lille (FRUIT - 8088 routine CALLed frot BASIC

Baa Rollins

0000 0010 0010

004A 0O4A 00&3

0063

0043

0000

coetenl t This routine prints 3 siring to the video display si 10 liies the speed of BASIC. Vorts for color or tonochrote in 80 x 40 eolutn TEXT todes (no rarities). Characters are displayed with the existing colon blinti and underline attributes.

Called fro* BASIC via!

CALL QPRIimVARtiROIRiCLia)

tfctrti

OJff is m integer variable nate (1-80) Rttff is an integer variable nate (1-25) VARI is a sirins" variable nate.

VARt is displayed beginning at position CUB of line ROW. If loo longi it will trap around to the next line.

note: Color card pases 1-7 lay be accessed by selling

ROW above 25. t

bios.dala segtenl at 40H 'set up labels to deleriine

org 10H i color or tonochrote card ewip.flag label yard

org 4AH i 40 x 80 colutn display crLclts label wrd

org 63K adx-6845 label word i points to video card ports bios-daU ends

cseg

segment

assute CS'cseg) BS!nothing> ESinolhing

Define the file header so that the BASIC

BUMS file loader will Know uhal to do.

— these bytes are not executed —

MM

headert

0000 FD

d>

OFDH

indicate BL0A8 file

0001 OOOO

<Jy

0

segaenl—BASIC will use default

0003 OOOO

d-j

0

offset—specify in BL0AB cottand

0005 0042

* page

rln.les

length of the routine

0007

sprint proc

far

0007 06

push

es

itust save fx BASIC

0008 88 EC

tov

OPlSP

'point to argutents on start

0OOA 8B5E06

tov

bx.Cbpt&J 'gel addr of CUtt storage

0000 88 3F

«ov

di-Cbx]

i gel the colutn value

00OF 4F

dec

di

i adjust fx LOCATE fxtat

0010 SB 5E 09

tov

bxiCtartei 'Set addr of R0IR storage

0013 88 07

tov

3X»tbx]

i get the screen line value

0015 48

dec

ax

i adjust fx LOCATE fxtat

0016 8B 5E OA

tov

bxiCbp+10] 'get Plr to siring descriptor

0019 32 ED

xor

cbich

i zero the high byte

001B 8ft OF

tov

cl.tbx]

iget length of string

001D 80 F? 00

CtP

cl.O

"null string7

0020 74 32

Je

exit

i if sot do nothing. Elsei

0022 88 77 01

tov

siitbx+1] ! SI => lsl character of VARt

0025 BB R

i

tov

bxibios-dala iget ready to delertine card type

0028 8E C3

tov

esibx

i and nutber of colutns

Listing 5 continued on page 410

DRls

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BYTE July 1983 409

Listing 5 continued:

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9

*

<n

17

ft

?5

ft It ft ft

1W 101 102 IK 104 US IN »7 IN

in

lit

111

112 U! 114 US 114 117 Ul M 121 121 122 121 124 OS 124 127 121 12!

n in

132 IS

002A 24! F7 24 004A R

002F 03 F8

0431 tl E7

0033 261 88 14 0043 R

0038 83 C2 M

0038 HB800

003E 241 88 IE 0010 f.

0043 81 E3 0030

0047 83 F8 30

004A 7S03

004C 18 8000

Mil es!crt_cl»s iAX « CLnT t word; per line add diux ill » words fro» start of screen

sol diil ! adjust for attribute by'.ps

•ov dxies!addr_4845 ipoinl to 4845 base port add dxi4 ipoinl to status port

CX has.the count of characters to write*

SI (Source Index) points to the steins' daiai

II (Destination Index) points to a screen position

004F

004F 8EC0

0051 EB005BR 0054

0054 07

0055 U 0004

■ov

3XiOB300H

fdefault to color card

■ov

bxiesteouip

.flag

and

bxi30H

cte

bxi30H

iis it MnchroK?

JM

cardjot

i noi so

•07

ax.OBOOOH

i yesi set for lonocftroae

■OV

esiax

i point ES to video

0058

carrLoK!

i IS (Data Sedkenl) points to BASIC variables area i ES (Extra SeSnenl) points to video card *eMr« • Hoy display VARI on the screen>

exit:

oprinl

this procedure displays a string of characters

expects!

IStSI -> first character of string ES'.M »> screen »eiory to display it CX = ninoer of characters to display

i BX => status port of video card

call

print-string

POP

es

irestore sedtenl register

ret

4

iinterseStent relurm

i clearing stact of 3 ergs

endp

pa*

0058

0058

test-low!

0058 EC

in

alidx

iset status

005? m 01

test

alii

i is it lou?

005B 75FB

JBZ

lesl.low

i noi Keep cheeliinS

005D FA

cli

iturn off interrupts

005E

test-hi!

005E EC

in

alidx

iset status

005F AB01

test

alii

i is it high?

0061 74 FB

jl

testJii

i noi Keep checking

0043 A4

0044 47

0045 E2F1

0067 FB

0068 a 006?

= 0062 006?

inc loop

di test-low

sti ret print-string endp

isKip the attribute bale idn till end of string

iturn interrupts haet on ibacK to oprinl proc

idefine length for BLOAB head*?

rln.len eau I - oprinl cseS ends

end header ineeded fx .BIN file conversion

rule of having only one segment. Because the ES (extra segment) register will be destroyed by the program, it is saved at the beginning. The PUSH in line 50 means that the argument addresses must be calculated keeping this in mind.

The RET op code in line 97 is one of the refreshing innovations of the 8088 microprocessor. When executed, the 4-byte address on the top of the stack

is loaded into the CS and IP registers, but before execution resumes at the return address, 6 is added to the stack pointer. This effectively pops the argument addresses off the stack, clearing it. The constant specified in this RET instruction must be 2 times the number of arguments passed from BASIC.

Lines 110 through 120 are a late addition to my original version. This

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code is copied verbatim from the ROM BIOS listing in the Technical Reference Manual. It ensures that screen memory is modified only while it is not being examined by the display hardware, thereby avoiding irritating "hash" streaks that result from modifying memory while it is being displayed on the screen. The result is a fractional lost in speed and a substantial gain in usability.

Compiler BASIC

The IBM BASIC compiler may be the answer to some BASIC speed problems, but it does not solve the PRINT problem. A compiled version of the timing test in listing 4 performed only 20 percent faster than the interpreted BASIC version. Using the call to QPRINT still speeds the test up by a factor of eight. Thus, there are good reasons to interface assembler code to compiled BASIC.

Several changes need to be made to 8088 subroutines that are used with compiled BASIC. The USR command is all but useless. It does not pass an argument to the called routine. How

ever, there are two forms of the CALL statement available in the compiler.

CALL SUBRTNAME [(VARIABLE!,variable] . . .)]

is a call to an external .OBJ module. The module subrtname must have been assembled previously with a PUBLIC statement identifying the indicated procedure. It must be linked with the .OBJ module created by the compiler. The header bytes used in listing 5 must not be included in this type of module.

CALL ABSOLUTE ([VARIABLE [.variable] . . .,] INTVAR

calls a routine in memory in the currently defined segment at an offset specified by INTVAR. This form of the CALL statement assumes that an 8088 subroutine was loaded with BLOAD or inserted with the POKE command into memory beforehand. The arguments of either CALL statement are accessed exactly as de

scribed for interpreter BASIC. The lone major difference is in accessing string data. Compiler strings can be as long as 32767 bytes. Therefore, the string descriptor block for compiled BASIC is 4 bytes instead of 3. The first 2 bytes specify the length of the string, and the next 2 point to the address of the first character of the string.

Conclusions

Since the 8088/8086 processor has been blessed by IBM, it is bound to be around a long time. By interfacing BASIC with 8088 machine code, it is possible to create useful extensions to the BASIC language and realize enormous gains in execution speed. Learning how to code with the IBM macro assembler is both fruitful and enjoyable. ■

About the Author

Dan Rollins (Unique Software, 134 Olive, Suite §C, Clendale, CA 91206) is a freelance programmer and technical writer. He is currently working on IBM-PC: 8088 Macro Assembler Programming to be published by Macmillan in 1984.

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Circle 151 on Inquiry card.

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%/////0 LI

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ZENITH

IBM

Squeezing Memory from the Apple with Pascal

Using Apple Pascals segmentation facilities

and a few other techniques, you can write bigger programs

than you might have thought possible.

Segmentation is one memory-management technique used to implement virtual memory, itself a concept that has only recently entered the world of microcomputers. With virtual memory, disk storage is employed in a manner that creates the illusion that more main memory is available than actually exists.

Virtual memory was invented by mainframe computer designers, but some of the more sophisticated microcomputer operating systems, such as Apple/UCSD Pascal, can perform segmentation and are therefore well suited to implement virtual memory. Proper use of UCSD Pascal's virtual memory and other resident facilities allows you to write much larger programs than would otherwise be possible.

With segmentation, a program is broken up into chunks (segments) of which only a few are actually in memory at a given time. If a segment not in memory (nonresident) is called (demanded), it is loaded into memory from disk. This technique is possible because all of a program's instructions cannot be executed simulta

by Jill David

neously, so there is no need to have an entire program in memory at once. Segmentation and other memorymanagement techniques, such as paging, allow maximum exploitation of virtual memory. Importantly, the process is efficient enough so that the time delay of swapping program portions in and out of memory is barely noticeable to the user.

Among its other

benefits, segmentation

induces better program

organization.

Besides allowing you to write larger programs, segmentation has other advantages. It favors the logical grouping of related routines (procedures or functions) in one unit, called a segment, thus encouraging you to write well-organized code and to keep track of the relationships among the routines and the frequency with which they call each other.

Segmentation also allows more efficient memory use by requiring a

program segment to be in memory only when it is called. As a result, routines used infrequently—or only once—do not take up memory space when not being used. Initialization routines or procedures, which are often quite large, are prime candidates for segmenting; they are executed once at the start of a program and usually are not needed again.

Segmentation does have some disadvantages, such as a time/space trade-off—a program segment must be loaded into memory from disk when it is called, causing a slight delay in program execution. Under the older version of Apple/UCSD Pascal, the time delay was intolerable; in the newer version (1.1) disk accessing is considerably faster, with the delay while loading a new segment taking only a few seconds.

Further, the operating system must be more complex to keep track of which segments are where, but this complexity is transparent to the user, and the capability for segmentation exists whether you choose to use it or not.

With the standard version of the

July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc 417

(la)

(lb)

(lc)

USER MAIN PROGRAM

USER MAIN PROGRAM

USER MAIN PROGRAM

(1) LIST

(2) SEARCH

(3) SORT

(4) SAVE

(5) ENTER

(6) CHANGE OR DELETE

UNSEGMENTED PROCEDURES

UNSEGMENTED PROCEDURES

(5) ENTER

(8) NEW OPTION

DATA FILE RECORDS

DATA FILE RECORDS

DATA FILE RECORDS

WITHOUT SEGMENTAT

ON

WITH SEGMENTATION

WITH SEGMENTATION

Figure 1: With segmentation, not only can more records be included, but the application program can be expanded to include more capabilities.

Apple II and lie, you are limited to 16 segments per program (this figure is not exactly correct but I'll explain this later). Because a segment is designed for a large section of a program, rather than for a single small procedure, this 16-segment limit is hardly a handicap for Apple Pascal programs if segmentation is used properly. In fact, the entire operating system of UCSD Pascal never exceeded this limit even though it used segmentation extensively in many of its programs, such as the Compiler.

(The filer was intentionally not segmented so that you could remove the system disk on which the filer resides, yet maintain access to the filer commands. If the filer had been segmented, that system disk would have had to remain in a drive so the filer could be called into memory when the filer's commands were needed. Similarly, the code file for segmented programs must remain online on a disk drive unit throughout execution.)

Are you convinced in favor of segmentation yet7 If not, consider how it would affect a hypothetical database application with a menu of the following options:

Select:

1. list records

2. search for record

3. sort file

4. save file

5. enter a new record

6. change or delete a record

7. quit

Figure 1 shows a bird's-eye view of memory at a point during execution of this program. Figure la shows memory without segmentation; figure lb shows what memory might look like if segmentation were used.

As the figure illustrates, segmentation makes more room available for records of the hypothetical database file.

To create segment

procedures and

segment functions, you

simply place the

keyword SEGMENT in

front of the keyword

PROCEDURE or

FUNCTION.

Figures lb and lc indicate a space for unsegmented procedures/functions—frequently used procedures that will remain in memory at all times, such as a procedure to print one record (on screen or printer) that may be called from the ENTER, CHANGE or DELETE, LIST, and SEARCH routines. In addition to increased space for data structures, expanding the program to include more options may not be possible without segmentation, unless the number of database records is decreased (figures la and lc).

What happens to a segment when its execution terminates? The calling routine continues executing, pretend

ing that the old segment in memory doesn't exist; or if another segment procedure is called, then the new one is loaded into memory from disk, perhaps overwriting the old one. (For more information about program stack management during execution, see the Apple Pascal Operating System Reference Manual [Cupertino, CA: Apple Computer Inc., 1980], pages 248-264.)

Three Varieties

There are three kinds of segments: (1) your main program itself is a segment; (2) segment procedures and segment functions are segments; and (3) regular units are segments. The first category is self-explanatory. Segment procedures and segment functions are simply procedures and functions that you have specified as separate segments by adding the keyword SEGMENT in front of the keyword PROCEDURE or FUNCTION (as in the statement SEGMENT PROCEDURE SEARCH(ITEM: DATATYPE); or SEGMENT FUNCTION SEARCH(ITEM: DATATYPE)BOOLEAN;).

Only a few rules need to be followed when using segment procedures or functions:

Rule 1: Segment procedures (or functions) must be the first definitions after the variable declaration (VAR) section of the main program. Because some segment procedures (or functions) may call procedures or functions that are unsegmented (i.e., in memory all the time), FORWARD references must be declared for these unsegmented procedures after the VAR section. Otherwise the Compiler will mark the procedure calls within the segmented procedure as undeclared identifiers and issue a compile-time error.

The skeleton program in listing 1 includes a FORWARD reference. The parameters of the procedure (or function) are declared in the FORWARD reference, but they are not repeated in the actual definition of the procedure, which appears after all segment-procedure definitions. FORWARD references may be used in any program, segmented or unsegmented.

418 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Listing 1: // using segment procedures or functions, other procedures and functions must be declared with FORWARD references to avoid errors at compile-time.

PROGRAM DATABASE;

USES APPLESTUFF, TURTLEGRAPHICS;

TYPE

VARS

PRODECURE PRINTRECCI: INTEGER); FORWARD; t* <a) PROCEDURE SAVEFILE; FORWARD;

SEGMENT PROCEDURE INITVARS;

END; C end seg-proc initvars > SEGMENT PROCEDURE ENTERDATA;

PRINTREC(K); < call to printrec > END; i end seg-proc initvars > SEGMENT PROCEDURE SEARCH;

PRINTREC<K>; t call to printrec > END; <. end seg-proc search >

< remaining segment procedures or -functions > PROCEDURE PRINTREC; C no parameters here > ** Cb)

END; < end printrec > PROCEDURE SAVEFILE;

END; { end save-file >

BEGIN

<. main program begins here >

END.

Rule 2: Calls to segment procedures or functions within a loop of another procedure may cause excessive swapping of segments in and out of memory and should be avoided. For example, the program excerpt FOR I: = 1 TO N DO ENTERDATA; would be very inefficient.

If ENTERDATA were a segment procedure, the system would load the ENTERDATA segment into memory from disk N times. It is far more efficient (whether ENTERDATA is a segment procedure or not) to incorporate the loop within the procedure ENTERDATA, perhaps like this:

SEGMENT PROCEDURE ENTERDATA:

TYPE

VAR ; CH: CHAR;

BEGIN REPEAT

<body of ENTERDATA > WRITECENTER MORE DATA?'); READLN(CH) UNTIL CH IN ['N'/n'l

END;

Not only are the disk accesses avoided, but the procedure is more general, and the segment ENTERDATA will remain in memory as long as needed. REPEAT or WHILE loops could be used for this purpose. (REPEAT loops are used for executing a group of statements one or more times; WHILE loops are used for zero or more repetitions.)

Rule 3: Only 16 segment procedures, segment functions, and regular units can be declared. Regular units will be treated in the next section. All code segments (a compiled or assembled program) contain a table called the segment dictionary for that code file. (Pages 266-270 of the operating system reference manual list all the information in the segment dictionary.) This table is referenced by the operating system during program execution and contains information about the different segments within a program, including name, location on disk, length, and type of code file. Only 16 slots

have been provided in this table for segment information; thus, only 16 segments are allowed to be incorporated in a program. (By executing APPLE3:LIBMAP and entering the name of any code file, you can see what segments a code file contains. Try this on the SYSTEM.COMPILER for an eye-opener.) For more information on this, see pages 194-198 in the operating system reference manual.

When a code file is executed, the Pascal system maintains a run-time segment table in memory into which it loads the information from the executing program's segment dictionary. The run-time segment table has slots for 32 entries. Slots 0 and 2 through 6 are reserved for system use, slot 1 is reserved for your main program, and slot numbers from 7 on are assigned in ascending order to segment procedures and regular units used in the program. Sixteen slots are available for your program and 6 slots for the Pascal system. The remaining 10 may be filled by another type of unit, an intrinsic unit. Thus, your program may actually have up to 26 slots filled by a combination of segment procedures or functions, regular units, and intrinsic units. Table 1 illustrates the contents of the run-time segment table for the hypothetical database program.

Regular and Intrinsic Units

Besides conventional and segmented procedures and functions, you can define sections of code to be regular units or intrinsic units. Unlike segment procedures and functions, units are kept in memory throughout execution of the entire program. Thus, units are suitable only for frequently used routines.

Regular units are distinguished from intrinsic units (for example, TURTLEGRAPHICS or APPLESTUFF) by the fact that the code for regular units is physically inserted into your program and occupies a slot in the program's segment dictionary. The code for intrinsic units actually resides in the SYSTEM.LIBRARY on APPLEl (the disk containing a major part of Apple Pascal and some of the system tables) and occupies a slot in the SYSTEM.LIBRARY's segment die

BYTE July 1983 419

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420 BYTE July 1983

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BYTE July 1983 421

Slot(s) Program

0 (operating system use)

1 DATABASE

2-6 (operating system use)

7 INITVARS

8 ENTERDATA

9 SEARCH 10-19 (empty)

20 TURTLEGRAPHICS

21 TURTLEGRAPHICS (data seg)

22 APPLESTUFF 23-28 (empty)

29 TRANSCEND

30 LONGINTIO

31 PASCALIO

Table 1: Run-time segment table for a hypothetical database program.

tionary. If the executing program uses any intrinsic units—as declared by a USES statement—then segment information from both the SYSTEM.LIBRARY's segment dictionary and your program's segment dictionary is read into the run-time segment table for use during execution. Intrinsic units are similar to libraries of built-in functions or procedures that may be shared by many programs but whose code is not inserted into the executing program's code file.

If you specify a regular unit, you must manually link it, using the Linker, to your program after it is compiled and before it is run. Using an intrinsic unit instead of a regular unit saves space in the program's code file on disk and saves you this task—the linking is done automatically if the units reside in the SYSTEM.LIBRARY. Why, then, you may be wondering, would anyone use regular units?

If the intrinsic units used in a program are your own creations, your program will not run on any other Apple Pascal system without installing these same units in that system's SYSTEM.LIBRARY. But if the units were created as regular units, the program is portable because the code for the unit resides in the program code file.

(Some intrinsic units occupy two slots in the segment dictionary of the SYSTEM.LIBRARY code file and subsequently in the run-time segment table. For example, intrinsic unit

Listing 2: The no-load option is specified in the body of the main program (*$N+ *). Using the resident option (*$R APPLESTUFF*) keeps the unit containing the RANDOM function, which is called by RAND, in memory. In the procedure NTABLE, TRANSCEND, which contains the LOG function, is swapped in and out of memory on every function call.

(**S+*> <: must use swapping option when compiling USES units statements >

PROGRAM UNITDEMO;

USES APPLESTUFF, TRANSCEND; t must be first statement >

PROCEDURE RANDOMN;

VAR low,hi,I: INTEGER;

A: ARRAYC1..10D OF INTEGER;

FUNCTION RAND<L,H: INTEGER):INTEGER; VAR max,C,D: INTEGER;

BEGIN

RAND:=0;

IF <L>H) OR (L<=0) THEN EXIT(RAND); C error condition >

IF L=H THEN RAND:=L

ELSE BEGIN

C:=H-L+1; max:=(MAXINT-H+L) DIV C+l; max:-max*(H-L) + (max—1); REPEAT D:=RANDOM UNTIL D<=max; RAND:=L+D MOD C END END; I end rand...from p 102 language ref manual >

BEGIN

(*«R APPLESTUFF *) < keeps unit APPLESTUFF in memory during this procedure >

WRITELNCENTER RANGE OF RANDOM NUMBERS TO GENERATE:');

WRITECENTER low: '); READLN(low);

WRITE CENTER hi: '); READLN(hi);

FOR I:=l TO 10 DO

BEGIN ACI]:=RAND(low.hi); WRITE(AC I 3:5) END:

WRITELN; WRITELN END;

PROCEDURE NTABLE;

VAR realnum,logbase2, nlogn, square: REAL:

precision,colwidth,i: INTEGER; BEGIN

I use resident option here to keep TRANSCEND in memory, otherwise this { unit will be reloaded 20 times in loop & disk runs continuously 1

precision:-l; colwidth:=10;

WRITECN':colwidth,'N**2':colwidth,'L0G2 N':colwidth); WRITE CN L0G2 N' : col width) ; WRITELN; FOR i:=l TO 20 DO BEGIN

realnum:=i*10; logbase2:=LOG(realnum)/LOG(2);

square:=realnumtrealnun) nlogn:=realnumtlogbase2; WRITE(realnum:colwi dth:preci si on,square:colwi dth:preci si on); WRITE(1ogbase2:colwidth:precision,nlogn:colwidth:preci si on); WRITELN END END;

BEGIN

(**N+«) t noload option: keeps units out of memory until used >

RANDOMN; NTABLE { calls to two procedures > END.

TURTLEGRAPHICS occupies two slots, one for its code segment and the other for its associated data segment.) A unit can interact with code outside it only through identifiers (variables, procedures, and functions) declared in its interface part. Identifiers declared there are considered global identifiers and occupy space in memory until the entire program is finished. If a unit uses any variables of type FILE, they must be

declared within the unit's interface section even if they are referenced only within the implementation part of the unit (a part not accessible to the main program except through interface identifiers).

Thus, a file buffer of approximately 600 bytes will remain allocated throughout execution of your program. If memory space needs to be conserved, change units using variables of type FILE into segment

422 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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procedures so that the file buffer space will be deallocated when the segment procedure finishes executing. The no-load Compiler option (*$N + *) placed at the beginning of the main program body after the BEGIN allows units to be treated exactly like segment procedures, which are loaded into memory only when called. Regard this option as a mixed blessing because units usually consist of frequently used routines or routines that are used in many different programs (i.e., compiled and installed in a library for use by other programs). Once the no-load option is used, it applies to all units used within one program, and it may cause excessive swapping of unit segments in and out of memory.

The program given in listing 2 illustrates problems created by using the no-load option without also using the resident option. The no-load option is inserted at the beginning of the main program so that units will be loaded only when needed, thus conserving memory space in return for increased execution time. APPLESTUFF, the first intrinsic unit declared, contains the random-number generator RANDOM, which the procedure RANDOMN uses to produce 10 random numbers in the range (low, high) that you set. TRANSCEND, the other intrinsic unit, contains the LOG function, which is used by procedure NT ABLE to produce a table containing a number N, its square, its log base 2, and the number multiplied by its log base 2.

The resident option (*$R APPLESTUFF*) is placed at the beginning of RANDOMN (after the BEGIN) so that unit APPLESTUFF will remain in memory throughout execution of procedure RANDOMN. However, the resident option is not used in procedure NTABLE, causing the disk drive to run continuously while NTABLE is executing because it is continually reloading unit segment TRANSCEND. The resident option should be used at the beginning of NTABLE just as it is in the RANDOMN procedure when the noload option is implemented. Thus, these options are frequently used together if the program incorporates

Listing 3: The include-file option allows compilation of programs too large to fit into the Editor.

<*$S-*-*> ( compiler swapping option > PROGRAM DATABASE;

TYPE VAR .

(**I APPLE2:ENTER.TEXT *)

t file that holds enterdata and other routines J

(**I APPLE2:SEARCH.TEXT *)

{ file that holds search an rest of procedures >

BEGIN

C main program goes here > END.

more than one unit. Under ordinary circumstances, neither is necessary until all other ways to conserve memory are exhausted. (Details of these options are found in the Apple Pascal Language Reference Manual [Cupertino, CA: Apple Computer Inc., 1980], chapter 4 and the addendum.)

Compiler and Command-Level Options

There are a few additional methods of squeezing more from the available memory. By typing "S" from the highest command level, you can provide about 1100 more words (2200 bytes) of space for a code file at execution time. Actually, the "S" toggles the swapping option, which specifies whether part of SYSTEM.PASCAL will be swapped in and out of memory as needed. When the system is booted, this swapping option is automatically set to off.

The swapping option available from the command level also allows larger text files to be used in the Editor. Without this option, the maximum size file the Editor can handle without buffer overflow is about 36 blocks; with swapping on, about 40 blocks. (A block contains 512 bytes.)

The Compiler option (*$S + *), where S stands for swapping, has already been mentioned in connection with compiling programs that use units. This option slows the compilation process but allows the extra memory needed for symbol-table generation when very large programs are compiled. Have you ever compiled a program that appeared to blow up in the middle of the compiling process (i.e., the screen became

filled with inverse, normal, and flashing characters or produced a stack-overflow message during compilation)? The "S" swapping option can correct this problem (see the first line in listings 2 and 3). Even more swapping will be done by specifying (*$S+ + *) at the beginning of a program text file; you'll notice an appropriate decrease in speed of compilation.

The include-file option, (*$I filename*), enables compilation of programs too large to fit in the Editor. The size of text file that the Editor can handle is limited. You can, however, have several text files in one program by using the include-file option(s) to instruct the Compiler to insert the text file named in the option into the compilation process at that point, as illustrated in listing 3.

Summary

Although it is quite useful, knowledge of how to use regular or intrinsic units is not required in order to enjoy the benefits of segmentation. These techniques, along with the Compiler and command-level options allow not only maximum use of internal memory but also maximum use of the limited amount of secondary storage on disk. Even with an increase in main memory, as in the Apple III, memory conservation soon becomes necessary as programmers think of bigger and better programs. ■

About the Author

Jill David (221 Woodcrest, Richardson, TX 75080) has a master's degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas. She currently teaches Pascal programming there.

424 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Control Your Environment with the Atari 400/800

A combination of hardware and software enables your computer to monitor and influence your surroundings.

Imagine that your computer turns on the lights and flashes a welcoming message on its display screen the instant you walk into a room. It's not a far-off possibility. With the right equipment, your Atari 400 or 800 can sense your (or anyone's) presence and control AC-powered devices such as lamps, household appliances, and even burglar alarms.

Some Software Techniques

A great deal of information can be determined about the world by sim

Photo 1: The MOC3031 is the heart and brains of the solid-state relay described in the text. Don't let its small size fool you; it can protect a computer from voltage spikes up to 7500 V. It costs about $2 from any Motorola distributor.

by David Alan Hayes

ply monitoring switches. An open switch on a window could indicate that a thief is entering your home. A closed switch might indicate that someone is standing on a concealed switch mat (like those at supermarket exits). Wouldn't it be nice if a lamp came on automatically if a lightsensitive switch indicated that room lighting was too dim? An electronic sound switch could monitor a sleeping baby. If you do the work yourself, you can install an elaborate system of switches throughout your home for a few hundred dollars. You can then turn your Atari computer into a powerful energy-management and burglar-alarm system. All of this can be done through the peripheral interface adapter (PIA) in your Atari computer.

The PIA (figure 1) is a large-scale integrated circuit whose primary function in the Atari is to link the joystick to the computer. It monitors the four normally open switches that indicate the direction the joystick has been tilted (see figure 2 and listing 1).

The PIA monitors the joysticks input via two 8-bit ports labeled PORTA and PORTB. Because these ports are bidirectional, they can also be used to set switches. PORTA and PORTB can be reset as outputs easily

via the PIA's two 8-bit data-direction registers (DDRA and DDRB). Placing a 0 in a bit position in DDRA or DDRB causes the corresponding controller jack pin to act as an input; a 1 causes it to act as an output (figure 2). DDRA has the same address as PORTA (hexadecimal D300, decimal 54016). Similarly, DDRB has the same address as PORTB (hexadecimal D301, decimal 54017). Therefore, a control program has to tell the PIA which register it wishes to address before addressing 54016 or 54017. The program can do this by using two

Photo 2: The chassis of the four-channel SSR prototype the author built contains a control cable, which plugs into any Atari 400/800 controller jack and a power cord.

428 July 1983 © BYTE Publication! Inc

The Well-Tempered Cross-Assembler

Before Johann Sebastian Bach developed a new method of tuning, you had to change instruments practically every time you wanted to change keys. Very difficult.

Before Avocet introduced its family of cross-assemblers, developing micro-processor software was much the same. You needed a separate development system for practically every type of processor. Very difficult and very expensive.

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Avocet cross-assemblers are easy to use. They run on any computer with CP/M* and process assembly language for the most popular microprocessor families.

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BYTE July 1983 429

PORT A

CONTROLLER

JACKS PIN 7

__^,PIN 1

CONTROLLER JACK 1

^^^ PIN 2 ^^^ PIN 3

^~~"PIN 4

^^-PIN 1

CONTROLLER JACK 2

-^^^ PIN 2

^^^ PIN 3

^^PIN 4

^^PIN 1

CONTROLLER JACK 3

-^"^ PIN 2

>^ PIN 3

^^^PIN 4

PIN 1

CONTROLLER JACK 4

^--''PIN 2 "N^^ PIN 3

^^ PIN 4

ALL CONTROLLER JACKS PIN 8

Figure 1: The peripheral interface adapter. Pins 2 through 17 connect indirectly through a 220-ohm resistor to the controller jack pins shown. These pins can be used as input or output.

f Ol 02 03 04 05^ V 06 07. 08 09 /

Figure 2a: Subminiature D-type jack on Atari chassis for joystick.

1010 (10L

TOP

1110(14)

i >

„0110(6)

1011 (ll)-« 1111 »»-0111(7)

1001 (9)

♦ 1101(13)

0101 (5)

Figure 2b: Joystick positions and their corresponding digital codes (decimal value in parentheses).

PIN #:

4

3

2

1

4

3

2

1

4

3

2 1

4

3

2

1

BIT#:

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

7

6

5 | 4

3

2

1

0

^

J \

J

^

JACK #:

2

=OR

rA

540

] 16)

t

PORTB

(54

017

1

Figure 2c: I/O ports used to access joysticks.

other 8-bit registers called Port A Control (PACTL, 54018) and Port B Control (PBCTL, 54019). Setting bit 2 of these registers to 1 causes the computer to address PORTA or PORTB. All other bits of PACTL and PBCTL should be left as the operating system set them up. Listing 2 demonstrates how to set up pins 1 through 4 of controller jack 1 (farthest left) as an output. These pins can control up to four solid-state relays. It also sets up pins 1 through 4 of controller jacks 2, 3, and 4 as inputs to monitor up to 12 switches.

The Hardware Problem

How can a computer, which operates on little power, control the raw energy from electrical outlets without endangering people and machines? An integrated circuit (IC) called an optoisolator offers a surprisingly simple and inexpensive solution. The IC is so named because its input is electrically isolated from its output. This circuit uses low-level computer signals to drive an LED (lightemitting diode) that in turn controls a solid-state relay (triac).

Motorola has developed an optoisolator, called the MOC3031, that will protect a computer from powerline transients as high as 7500 volts (V). In addition, the MOC3031 has a zero-crossing switch that switches power on or off only when the power-line voltage is at ground potential (figure 3). This prevents the electromagnetic interference (EMI) that usually occurs whenever electrical power is turned on or off rapidly. EMI can cause snow-storm effects on a video screen and popping sounds from speakers. It may even cause your computer to malfunction.

Figure 4 shows a typical solidstate relay circuit employing an MOC3031. You should consider three important specifications when selecting a triac for the circuit (see table 1). The repetitive peak off-state voltage (VDROM) specifies the amount of voltage that the triac will block when switched off. For home power control, VDROM must be greater than 200 V.

The triac's on-state RMS (root mean square) current (IQ) specifies the

430 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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PINS 1-4) CONTROL REGISTER. PINS 1-4) CONTROL REGISTER.

START VALUE FOR DDRA TO START VALUE BE ADDRESSED SINCE BIT 2 = O

START VALUE FOR DDRB TO START VALUE

■(THIS MEANS THAT ALL PINS ARE SETUP

Listing 1: This program reads the joystick controller jacks directly through the PIA.

0 REM LISTING 1

10 DIM DIRECTION*(2):REM DIMENSION STRING

20 REM PIA READ DEMONSTRATION

25 REM USING JOYSTICK.

30 REM YOU CAN SAVE SOME TYPING IF YOU

40 REM LEAVE OUT THE REM COMMENTS.

50 ? "}":REM CLEAR SCREEN

60 PACTL=54018:REM PORT A <JS PORTS 1 8< 2,

70 PBCTL=54019:REM PORT B <JS PORTS 3 Sc 4,

SO P0RTA=54O16:REM PORT A I/O REGISTER

90 P0RTB=54017:REM PORT B I/O REGISTER

100 DDRA=PORTA:REM 0=INPUT. l=OUTPUT FOR EACH OF EIGHT BITS IN PORT A.

110 DDRB=PORTB:REM 0=INPUT. 1=0UTPUT FOR EACH OF EIGHT BITS IN PORT B.

115 ? "OS INITIALIZED VALUES":?

120 ? "PACTL= "1 PEEK(PACTL):REM PRINT START VALUE FOR PACTL

130 ? "PBCTL= ";PEEK(PBCTL):REM PRINT START VALUE FOR PBCTL

140 POKE PACTL,56:REM- ALLOWS DDRA TO BE ADDRESSED SINCE BIT 2 ■ O

150 ? "DDRA= ";PEEK(DDRA):REM PRINT

160 POKE PACTL,60:REM SET PACTL BACK

170 POKE PBCTL, 56: REM ALLOWS DDRB TO

180 ? "DDRB= "iPEEK(DDRB):REM PRINT

190 POKE PBCTL,60:REM SET PBCTL BACK

200 ? "NOTICE THAT BOTH DDRA/B ARE ZERO"

AS INPUT BY THE OS. ) "

210 ? :? " USE ONLY ONE JOYSTICK"

215 OLDSTICKA=-l:OLDSTICKB=-l:REM SET UP DUMMY VARIABLES

220 FINDSTICKA=230:REM INITIALIZE LINENUMBER VARIABLE

230 STICKA=PEEK(PORTA):REM GET VALUE AT PORT A FROM PIA

240 IF STICKA=OLDSTICKA THEN GOTO FINDSTICKA:REM GET STICKA VALUE UNTIL STICKA V

ALUE CHANGES

250 FINDPORT=1000:REM FIND PORT SUBROUTINE NUMBER

260 IF STICKA<255 THEN GOSUB FINDPORT:REM FIND THE INPUT PORT # IF STICKA INPUT

FOUND

270 FINDDIRECTION=2000:REM FIND DIRECTION OF JS TILT SUBROUTINE LINE NUMBER

2B0 IF STICKA<255 THEN GOSUB FINDDIRECTION: REM FIND DIRECTION OF JS TILT IF STIC

KA INPUT FOUND

290 FINDSTICKB=340:REM INITIALIZE FINDSTICKB LINE NUMBER VARIABLE

295 OLDSTICKA=STICKA:REM SET UP OLD STICKA VALUE

300 IF STICKA=255 THEN 0LDSTICKA=-1:GOTO FINDSTICKB:REM CHECK PORT B INPUT

310 ? :? "PORTA ■ ";STICKA,"JS PORT * ";PORT,"DIRECTION IS ";DIRECTION*:REM PRIN

T INFORMATION FROM PIA

320 OLDSTICKA=STICKA:REM OLD STICK WILL BE USED TO SEE IF STICKA INPUT HAS CHANG

ED

330 GOTO FINDSTICKA

340 STICKB=PEEK(PORTB>:REM GET VALUE AT PORT B FROM PIA

3SO IF STICKB=OLDSTICKB THEN GOTO FINDSTICKB:REM GET STICKB VALUE UNTIL STICKB V

ALUE CHANGES

360 FINDP0RT=10OO:REM FIND PORT # SUBROUTINE NUMBER

370 IF STICKB<255 THEN GOSUB FINDPORT:REM FIND INPUT PORT * IF STICKB INPUT FOUN

D

380 FINDDIRECTI0N=2000:REM FIND DIRECTION OF JS TILT SUBROUTINE NUMBER

390 IF STICKB<255 THEN GOSUB FINDDIRECTION:REM FIND DIRECTION OF JS TILT IF STIC

KB INPUT FOUND

400 OLDSTICKB=STICKB:R£M OLD STICK WILL BE USED TO SEE IF STICKB INPUT HAS CHANG

ED

410 IF STICKB=255 THEN OLDSTICKB=-l:GOTO FINDSTICKA:REM CHECK INPUT AT STICKA

430 ? :? "PORTB = "ISTICKB,"JS PORT # ";PORT,"DIRECTION IS "SDIRECTION*:REM PRIN

T INFORMATION FOUND

440 GOTO FINDSTICKB

1000 REM FIND PORT #

1010 IF STICKA<255 AND STICKA>240 THEN PORT=l:REM IF ANY OF LOW NIBBLE BITS IN S

TICKA ARE O THEN PORT 1 HAS INPUT

1020 IF STICKA<240 THEN P0RT=2:REM IF ANY OF HIGH NIBBLE BITS OF STICKA ARE 0 TH

EN PORT 2 HAS INPUT

1030 IF STICKB<255 AND STICKA>240 THEN P0RT=3:REM IF ANY OF LOW NIBBLE BITS IN S

TICKA ARE 0 THEN PORT 3 HAS INPUT

1040 IF STICKB<240 THEN P0RT=4:REM IF ANY OF HIGH NIBBLE BITS OF STICKB ARE 0 TH

EN PORT 4 HAS INPUT

RETURN

2000 REM FIND DIRECTION OF JS TILT (ALL NUMBERS ARE IN DECIMAL)

2010 IF P0RT=1 OR P0RT=3 THEN 2500:REM GOTO LOW NIBBLE CHECK REM HIGH NIBBLE CHECK :>30 IF STICKA=239 OR STICKB=239 THEN DIRECTION*«"N" :>40 IF STICKA=223 OR STICKB=223 THEN DIRECTION*="S" IF STICKA=191 OR STICKB=191 THEN DIRECTION*="W" IF STICKA=127 OR STICKB=127 THEN DIRECTION*="E" IF STICKA=175 OR STICKB=175 THEN DIRECTION*="NW":REM 175 IF STICKA=159 OR STICKB=159 THEN DIRECTION*="SW"

2090 IF STICKA=111 OR STICKB=111 THEN DIRECTION*="NE"

2100 IF STICKA=95 OR STICKB=95 THEN DIRECTION*="SE"

2110 RETURN

REM LOW NIBBLE CHECK

IF STICKA=254 OR STICKB-234 THEN DIRECTI0N4="N":REM 254 IS NORTH TILT

2520 IF STICKA=253 OR STICKB=253 THEN DIRECTION*" "S": REM 253 IS SOUTH TILT

2530 IF STICKA=251 OR STICKB=251 THEN DIRECTION*="W": REM 251 IS WEST TILT IF STICKA=247 OR STICKB=247 THEN DIRECTION*="E":REM 247 IS EAST TILT IF STICKA=250 OR STICKB=250 THEN DIRECTION*="NW": REM 250 IS NW TILT IF STICKA=249 OR STICKB=249 THEN DIRECTION*="SW":REM 249 IS SW TILT IF STICKA=246 OR STICKB=246 THEN DIRECTION*="NE": REM 246 IS NE TILT IF STICKA=245 OR STICKB=245 THEN DIRECTION*="SE":REM 245 IS SE TILT RETURN

io:

202

2050 206C 2070 208C

2510

2S4C

2560 2570

258'::

IREM 239 IS NORTH TILT

:REM 223 IS SOUTH TILT

:REM 191 IS WEST TILT

:REM 127 IS EAST TILT

IS NW TILT

:REM 159 IS SW TILT

:REM 111 IS NE TILT

:REM 95 IS SE TILT

Circle 304 on inquiry card.

OF ALL THE THINGS YOU BUY,

HOW MANY ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO BE WARRANTED 5 YEARS?

Few disks stand the test of time. Because few are built to the precision standards or certified to the critical levels of Omni's complete line.

Each Omni disk is rated for 12 million passes without diskrelated errors or significant wear. Each is certified error-free at a minimum of twice the error

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THE DISK GOOD ENOUGH TO BE WARRANTED 5 YEARS

Listing 2: This program sets up controller jack 1 (farthest left) as an output jack and the others as input jacks.

0 REM LISTING 2

1 DIM A*<3)

10 FOR ADDRESS=1536 TO 1571:READ INSTRUCTION:POKE ADDRESS,INSTRUCTION:NEXT ADDRE

SS:REM LOAD ASM PROSRAM

20 DATA 104,104,133.205,104,133,204,104,5.205,133,213,104,5,204,133,212,96

25 REM LOGICAL OR ROUTINE (1536)

30 DATA 104,104,133,205,104,133,204.104,37,205,133,213,104.37,204,133,212,96

31 REM LOGICAL AND ROUTINE (1554)

40 PACTL=54018:PORTA=54016:PORTB=54017:REM ASSIGN ADDRESS NUMBERS

50 POKE PACTL,56:P0KE PORTA,15:REM SET UP CONROLLER JACK #1 (CJ1) AS OUTPUT, DDR

A « 00001111

55 REM DDRB IS SET UP AS O, 00000000 (ALL INPUT) BY THE OPERATING SYSTEM

60 POKE PACTL,60:REM ALLOW PORTA TO BE ADDRESSED

70 POKE PORTA.0:REM SET OUTPUT (CJ1, PIN 1-4) TO ZERO

80 REM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE

POSITION 8,5

? "CONTROLLER JACK MENU":

? " 1) JACK 1'

10

11

120 ? "

130 ? "

140 ? "

150 ? "

160 TRAP 400:?

170 IF JACKNUM

180 IF JACKNUM=1

185 GOTO 290

190 GOSUB 1000

210

2) 3)

JACK 2' JACK 3' JACK 4'

:? !? " WHICH JACK";:INPUT JACKNUM

1 OR JACKNUM>4 THEN 400

N ? "J":? "CONTROLLER JACK #1 IS THE OUTPUT JACK.":GOTO 190

230 240

260

1)

3) 4)

PIN

1

LOW"

PIN

2

LOW"

PIN

3

LOW"

PIN

4

LOW"

PTION

';:TRAP

400

INPUT

ANS

OUTPUT MENU"

PIN 1 HIGH 5)

PIN 2 HIGH 6)

PIN 3 HIGH 7)

PIN 4 HIGH B)

SELECT 0 270 IF ANS<1 OR ANS>8 THEN 400

280 ON ANS GOSUB 500,550,600.650. 700,750,BOO,850 283 POSITION 0.3 2B5 GOSUB 1000

288 FOR WT-0 TO 1500:NEXT WT:GOTO 90 290 ? "}"

300 POSITION 2,7:7 "CONTROLLER JACK #";JACKNUM!" IS AN INPUT JACK." 310 IF JACKNUM=2 THEN JACKVAL=USR(1554,PEEK(PORTA),240):GOTO 320:REM 11110000 AN D XXXXXXXX = JACKVAL ■ XXXXOOOO 315 GOTO 340

320 ? :? "THE VALUE AT JACK tl"; JACKNUM; " IS "5JACKVAL 330 GOTO 385

340 IF JACKNUM=3 THEN JACKVAL=USR<1554,PEEK(PORTB),15):GOTO 320:REM JACKVAL = 00 OOXXXX

370 JACKVAL=USR(1554.PEEK(PORTS).240):GOTO 320:REM JACKVAL = XXXXOOOO 385 ? :? :? :? " TO CONTINUE PRESS RETURN ":TRAP 90:INPUT DUMMY 390 GOTO 90 4O0 ? "I"

410 POSITION 12.12 420 ? "WHAT'S WRONG" 430 FOR WT=0 TO 500:NEXT WT 440 GOTO 90

500 REM TURN PIN ONE ON (HIGH) 510 VAL=USR(1536,PEEK(PORTA),1) 520 POKE PORTA,VAL 530 RETURN

550 REM TURN PIN TWO ON (HIGH) 560 VAL=USR(1536,PEEK(PORTA),2) 570 POKE PORTA, VAL 580 RETURN

600 REM TURN PIN THREE ON (HIGH) 610 VAL=USR<1536,PEEK(PORTA),4) 620 POKE PORTA,VAL 630 RETURN

650 REM TURN PIN FOUR ON (HIGH) 660 VAL=USR(1536.PEEK(PORTA),8) 670 POKE PORTA.VAL 6B0 RETURN

700 REM TURN PIN ONE OFF (LOW) 710 VAL-USR(1554,PEEK(PORTA),254) 720 POKE PORTA, VAL 730 RETURN

750 REM TURN PIN TWO OFF (LOW) 760 VAL=USR(1554,PEEK(PORTA),253) 770 POKE PORTA,VAL 7B0 RETURN

800 REM TURN PIN THREE OFF (LOW) 810 VAL=USR(1554,PEEK(PORTA),251) 820 POKE PORTA,VAL 830 RETURN

850 REM TURN PIN FOUR OFF (LOW) 860 VAL-USR (1554, PEEK (PORTA) , 247) 870 POKE PORTA,VAL B80 RETURN

1000 JACK1VAL=USR(1554.PEEK(PORTA),15):REM 00001111 AND XXXXXXXX = JACK1VAL = 00 OOXXXX

1010 ? :? "THE PRESENT VALUE AT CONTROLLER JACK #1 IS "SJACK1VAL 1020 RETURN

+ PEAK

■1 CYCLE

-PEAK

Figure 3: Switching power on and off at the zero-crossing points of the AC cycle. The circuit shown in figure 4 uses this technique to prevent production of electromagnetic interference.

amount of current that can flow through the triac. Usually IQ is determined by the manufacturer at near ideal conditions. Therefore, IQ should not be exceeded unless you use a Sherman tank as a heat sink. I must be greater than the expected load current. Keep in mind that your home's circuit breakers will blow when load currents exceed about 20 amps (A).

The triac's gate turn-on current UCTO) specifies the amount of gate current required to turn on the triac. The / must be less than 0.1 A to work with the MOC3031.

All power triacs should be mounted on heat sinks for best results. The metal case of a power triac is usually one of its main power terminals also. Therefore, the triac and its heat sink must be electrically insulated from all other hardware to prevent short circuits.

Resistor Rl in figure 4 allows about 18 milliamps (mA) to flow into pin 1 of the MOC3031. This current energizes an infrared diode, which in turn activates the triac driver inside the MOC 3031. The TTL (transistortransistor logic) levels in an Atari's controller jacks will not provide the 18 mA needed, so the 7400 NAND gate (ICl) acts as a current buffer. Switch Si allows you to disconnect the computer from the relay circuit as a safety measure (see photo 2).

The value of resistor R2 will vary depending on the I of Tl and the desired turn-on voltage. Table 1 lists the value in ohms (0) of R2 for several solid-state relays.

434 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

YOU WANTED TO BE THE BOSS.

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Today, even the greatest entrepreneur can feel that he works for everybody but himself—the IRS, the landlord, the banker, even the janitor.

WITH THE BOSS, YOU'RE THE BOSS AGAIN.

Business and computer experts agree the key to solving your business problems is the choice of software. Hardware equipment selection is second.

To be competitive today means handling large amounts of information quickly. To be on top tomorrow means managing much, much more.

The Boss Business Software Products are comprehensive business software programs which get you information you need, as you need it, when you need it and the way you need it. You know your financial picture at every moment. You don't have to wait to close out the books at the end of every month.

The Boss takes care of all your business needs, your financial accounting, payroll, inventory and time billing.

WITH THE BOSS, YOU'RE THE BOSS AGAIN.

The Boss Business Software Products are compatible with most hardware systems. Call Balcones Computer Corporation to learn more about making yourself the Boss again.

□ YES, Send me more in NAME

ormation on The

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ZIP

PHONE

TYPE OF BUSINESS

For more information call toll free: 1-800-531-5483

Balcones Computer Corporation

5910 Courtyard

Austin, Texas 78731

THE BOSS BUSINESS SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

Circle 42 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 435

JOYSTICK CONTROLLER PIN 1, 2, 3 OR 4

n>

♦SEE text for component values

Figure 4: This solid-state relay isolates a computer from up to 7500 V, produces no EMI when switching, runs quietly because it has no moving parts, and connects directly to an Atari 400/800.

Triac

DROM

Motorola SC 245B

Radio Shack 276-1001

276-1000

RCA T2700B

Texas Instruments TIC-246B

200 V

200 V

400 V

200 V

200 V

Typical

!o

gto

10 A

25 mA

6 A

50 mA

6 A

50 mA

6 A

15 mA

15 A

50 mA

Maximum

Power Delivered

P = VL

R2

1200 W

700 W

700 W

700 W

1800 W

600 O.

300 B

300 a 1000 0

300 fi

Table 1: Some common triacs and their specifications.

Power and Corruption

This circuit has two limits to the amount of power it can control—the J of the triac (see table 1 for maximum triac currents, and hence the

maximum power that can be delivered) and the amount of power an outlet can deliver. The current rating of most outlets is 15 A. Therefore, the maximum safe power delivered from

your receptacle (calculated as V X A or 120 X 15) is 1800 watts.

Building the Future

Here are some suggestions for those of you who build this circuit. Make sure you build it exactly as shown in figure 4. If necessary, find someone who can help you. Do not connect pins 3 and 5 of the MOC3031 to anything. Remember you are dealing with lethal voltages, so be careful.

Your Atari computer can do a lot more than play games. You can control and monitor the environment to the limits of your imagination. I recommend that you experiment with the hardware and software presented here and build your own custom system. ■

The MOC3031 optoisolator can be purchased from any Motorola distributor, such as Hall-Mark Electronics or Hamilton/ Avnet. Their price for small quantities is about $2 each. If you wish to order by phone, call (800) 555-1212 and ask for the 800 number of the nearest Hall-Mark or Hamilton/Avnet distributor.

The author will supply a cassette or disk with the programs listed in this article plus a universal output controller program if you send your name and address with $8 for cassette or $9 for disk to David Alan Hayes, 3205 Lewisburg Dr., Huntsville, AL 35810. An instruction sheet will be included.

McGraw-Hill Bookstore

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"Data-base technology... essential for the computerized corporation of the future..."

— James Martin, author of 28 books and high-level advisor to several governments

MANAGING THE

DATA-BASE ENVIRONMENT

by James Martin

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"How well the data-base environment is managed will effect the profitability of many corporations in the future." Here's the information you need now! 766 pp. $49.95

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MasterCard

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436 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 470 on inquiry card.

Why it's worth every nickel.

If you laid every nickel this terminal cost end to end, it would lead to a real bargain.

Because if you're the kind of professional who buys an Ann Arbor terminal, you put the emphasis on what you get out of it. Not what it costs to get into it.

The best way to explain that is by telling you about one of our best-selling terminals: the Ann Arbor Ambassador™.

The Ambassador offers incredible value for the money.

■OF

Starting with a full 15-incli$creen —portrait or landscape. A 60-line display with vertical zoom. (You won't find that anywhere else.) A hard-working keyboard with dozens of programmable keys.

Then there's the fully buffered peripheral port with separate, user-settable baud rate. ANSI-standard coding. Multiple page and window capability. Pause and Meta functions. Tiltswivel or rack mounted frame. And dozens of other ergonomic features that have made the Ambassador a favorite among

value-minded professionals nationwide.

Now that you know all that, take another look at the nickels on this page and ask yourself this:

Is it really true that money can't buy happiness?

For more information about the Ambassador and our other fine terminals, write Ann Arbor Terminals, Inc. at 6175 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103. Or call us at 313/663-8000. You'll find it worthwhile.

nnn arbor

TERMINALS Once you've worked with them, you won't work without them.

Circle 26 on inquiry card.

SEE US AT SIGGRAPH '83 BOOTH #1343.

Send us your game and THO

i

■ 8

mr lb*

imp* ^BP>

. : ■ f: ■■..:■ ■ ■ .

Gof a greaf home computer game you've programmed? Working on one? We'd like to hear about it. Play it. And if we like it, we want to help you sell it to the world.

We're THORN EMI Video, the worldwide entertainment/ electronics company. One of the giants in home computer software. We market a full line of computer games to the world. So, if your computer game meets our own high standards, it means people all over the world could be buying it, playing it.

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Programming Quickies

Redefining the Apple Keyboard

With minor software modifications, you can rearrange the keyboard on the Apple II into a Dvorak layout.

by Bob Wiseman

Photo 1: The standard Apple II keyboard with the QWERTY key arrangement. Note that many frequently used keys (E, T, R, etc.) are not on the row where the fingers normally rest.

The familiar QWERTY-style key layout, a boon to touch-typists trained on it but a bane to almost everyone else, stares up from the keyboard of most microcomputers (photo 1). Alternative arrangements have drifted in and out of the picture but none has really caught on. Recently, however, the Dvorak simplified keyboard (DSK) has been gaining the attention of human-factors engineers. Proponents of the Dvorak layout believe that it's easier to learn and that a typist trained on that keyboard can achieve higher speeds. On the Dvorak layout, the most-used letters are on the middle row, the home keys, where the fingers usually rest (photo 2).

440 July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc

Photo 2: After gently prying the key caps off and rearranging them, you have the Dvorak simplified keyboard. The arrangement of the numerals shown here is the classic Dvorak arrangement. The recently approved American National Standards Institute Dvorak-layout keyboard standard (X4.22-1983) specifies that the numerals be in ascending order, as in the common QWERTY arrangement.

Apple II owners dissatisfied with the QWERTY layout or eager to experiment can redefine the meaning of any key without resorting to soldering. They can even assign a sequence of characters (macro) to a key. The programs that accomplish this rearrangement are as follows:

• KEYDEF: Written in Applesoft BASIC, this routine (see listings 1 and 2) creates a keyboard table with two parts. The first part is a keyboard-translation table; the second

Text continued on page 446

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SOFTWARE

dBase II Ashton-Tate 489

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Async micro to mainframe 100

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Crosstalk Microstuf. . . , 160

Prices subject to change. American Express, Visa/ Mastercard add 3%. F.O.B. point of shipment. 20% restocking fee for returned merchandise. Personal checks take 3 weeks to clear. COD on certified check only. N.Y. residents add sales tax. Manufacturers' warranty only. International customers, please confirm price before order. Accept P.O. from Fortune 500 & schools.

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55 725

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Circle 92 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983

441

Listing 1: KEYDEF is an Applesoft BASIC program that simplifies the creation of the keyboard lookup and macroinstruction tables. It will prompt you through the reassignment of the keys and the creation of keyboard-character macroinstructions.

HIMEM: 38144 GOSUB 9000: R'EM

INSTRUCTIONS

28 GOSUB SOO0: REM INITIALIZE

S8 QOSUB 2000: REM ASSIGN KBV8

QOSUB 3000: REM ASSIGN MACRO

"E KEVBOAR

40

50 qosub 4000: rem :• thBLE

60 END

2000 HOME

2010 RRINT "HERE VOU MAV REDEFIN

E THE KEYS TO" 2O20 RRINT "REPRESENT NEW CHARAC

TEF'S. FOR INSTANCE" 2030 PRINT "VOU MAV DEFINE THE

A- KEV SO THAT IT" 2040 PRINT "MILL INPUT THE -B- C

HaRaCTER." 2050 PRINT 2060 PRINT "TO MAKE THESE CHANGE

S, DO THE FOLLOWING" 2070 PRINT " 1) FIRST PUSH THE K

EV THAT VOU WANT" 208O PRINT " TO RE-ASSIGN." 2O90 PRINT " 2.) THEN ENTER THE C

HARACIER THAT VOU" 2100 PRINT " WANT TO ASSIGN f

0 THE KEY IN 1>." 2110 PR I NT 2120 PRINT "PUSH THE SPACE BAR T

0 QUIT." 2130 PRINT

2140 PRINT "READ1. PRINT

2150 PR INT "KEV "S 2160 GET A*

2165 IF At = " " THEN PRINT : PRINT : RETURN

2166 A* = At + CHRt '0' 2170 PRINT" A*: " CI

:HARACIER

(Hi '

>b*:j

2180 PRINT "

2190 GET B*

2196 Bt = B* + CHR* <8>

2200 PRINT B*:" <#": AS

2210 POKE LOOK + ASC <A*>, ASC

■BtJ * 12S 2220 GOTO 2150 3000 HOME 3010 PRINT "HERE VOU MAV DEFINE

A KEV SO THAT WHEN" 3020 PRINT "IT IS PRESSED, AN EN

TIRE WORD OR " 3030 PRINT "PHRASE WILL BE PRODU

CED. THESE ARE" 3040 PRINT "CALLED MACROS." 3050 PR I NT 3060 PR I NT " 1 ,' FIRST PUSH THE 1

EV" 30SO PRINT " 2!) THEN ENTER THE M

mlRO. END I HE MACRO" 3090 PRINT " WITH A RETURN." 3100 PRINT 3102 PRINT "QUIT BV ENTERING A S

PACE FUR THE KEV." 3104 PRINT 5110 PRINT 12S - FSET:" MACRO PO

SIT IONS AVAILABLE" 3120 PRINT "KEV " : 3130 GET A* 3140 IF A» = " " I HEN PRINT : PR IN I

: RETURN 3150 H* - At + CHRt ':.0 ' 3155 RRINT A*:" 'tt": ASC •: A* > : " '

3160 POKE LOOK + ASC

3170 PRINT "- MACRO "!

320O GET Bt

3205 PRIN1 Bt:

3210 IF B* - CHR* ' 13>

3400

3220 IF B* = "" 1HEN B*

PO* E HACR + FSEL t * B«

A*!,FSEI

THEN SOTC CHR*

■:.Bt ' +

325L

3260 FSET - FSEI • 1

3 280 GOTO 3200

3400 POKE MaCP * FSE T

3430

RETURN

4000

HOME

4010

PRINT "BEFORE WE SaUE THE T

ABLE THAT HAS BEEN"

4020

PRINT "CREATED, HERE IS ONE

FINAL OPPORTUNITY''

4030

PRINT "TO MAKE A CHANGE. A

NSWER WITH V OR N. "

4040

PRINT

4050

PRINT "WOULD VOU LIKE TO AS

SIGN MORE KEYS?"

4O60

GET A*: PRINT A*

4070

IF A* = "V" THEN QOSUB 200

0: GOTO 4000

4075

IF A* < > "N" THEN GOTO 4

050

4080

PRINT

4090

PRINT "WOULD VOU LIKE TO AS

SIGN MOPE MACROS?"

4100

GET A*: PRINT A*

41 10

IF At = "V" THEN GOSUB 300

0: GOTO 4000

4115

IF A* < > "N" THEN GOTO 4

090

4120

PRINT

4130

PRINT "WOULD VOU LIKE TO SA

OE THE KEYBOARD"

4140

PRINT "TABLE THAT VOU HAUE

CREA TED?"

4150

GET At

4160

IF At = "N" THEN PRINT "FI

LE NOT SAUED": RETURN

4170

IF A* < > "V" THEN GO10 4

130

4180

PR I NT

4190

PRINT "PLEASE ENTER A NAME

FOR THE FILE!"

4200

INPUT "FILE NAME? ": A*

4300

IF A* - "" OR At - " " THEN

GOTO 4130

4310

REM HERE IS DOS BIHAR'.' FI

LE SAUE

4320

PRINT

4330

PRINT Dt;"BSHME "SA*;",A*95

00. L* 108"

IS NOW S

4 340 PRINT D* 4350 RRINT "FILE

AUED." 4960 RETURN 8000 HOME

8018 LOOK = 38144

8020 MACR - LOOK » 95

8030 FSET = 1 8040 REM INITIALIZE TABLE WITH

REGULAR KEYBOARD 805O FOR !<: = O TO 93 8060 POKE LOOK + K*X + 128 8070 NEKT X 8080 POKE LOOK + 94, O 8090 POKE LOOK + 95,8

3100 Dt « CHRt C4> 8908 RETURN 9008 HOME 9010 PRINT "****+*******+**+****

**** + + + **:**:*:♦:**:+* + +"

9820 PRINT "*

*" 9030 PRINT "* KEVDEF PROGRAM —

BV BOB WISEMAN *" 9035 PRINT "* <C> 198

2 WISEMAN *"

9O40 PRINT "*

*"

9050 PRINT "*

ALLOW VOU

9060 PRINT "*

VS OH 1HE

9670 PRINT "*

CHARACTERS *" 9080 PRINT "* 2> ASSIGN 10 m KEY

A WORD TIP PHRASE.*" 9090 PRINT "*

4 " 91 00 PRINT "*+*********+**♦* + +* *

+ + ****** + ** + + * + + * t *" 9120 PRINT 9130 PRINT " - PUSH Hi IV ITS' ID

CCIHT I HI IE " 9 140 8ET At 9150 RETURN

THIS PROGRAM WN I TO : *" 1 • REASSIGN 1HE KE *" KEYBOARD TO NEW

Listing 2: KEYDEF sample run. The example shows the changes necessary to convert the middle row of keys from QWERTY to DSK (Dvorak simplified keyboard) format. In addition, two macroinstructions are entered. The first causes CTRL-C to produce CATALOG; the second changes CTRL-P to PRINT. The new keyboard table is stored on disk with the filename DSK.

TFR#0

IRON KEVDEF

+ + +:+■ :*+* + + * + *** + * + * + + * + + *:♦: + + * + **:*** + **:*:*

* *

* KEVDEF PROGRAM -- BV BOB WISEMAN *

* •::« 1982 WISEMAN *

* *

* THIS PROGRAM WILL ALLOW VOU TO : *

* 1.) REASSIGN THE KEVS ON THE *

* KEYBOARD TO NEW CHARACTERS *

* 2> ASSIGN TO A KEV A WORD OR PHRASE.*

* * *+++******************************+****

— > push anv kev to continue here vou mav redefine the kevs to represent hew characters. for instance vou mav define the -a- kev so that it will input the -b- character.

tci make these changes, do the following 1) first push the kev that vou waht

to re-assign. 2.) then enter the character that vol! want to assign to the key in i:>.

push the space bar to quit.

READV:

KEV s <»83:> -> CHARACTER 0 •:tt79:>.

KEV D <*68j -> CHARACTER E <:#69:>.

KEV F <»?&> -> CHARACTER U C#6S>.

KEV Q <:#7i:> -> CHARACTER I C*73>.

KEV H t«72.) -> CHARACTER D t:#68>.

KEV .3 <:#74:> -> CHARACTER H <:#72>.

KEV K ■:#75> -> CHARACTER T '.:#S4,>.

KEV L <#76:> -> CHARACTER N <#78>.

KEV : <#59:> -> CHARACTER S <:#S3:>. KEV

HERE VOU MAV DEFINE A KEV SO THAT WHEN IT IS PRESSED, AN ENTIRE WORD OR PHRASE WILL BE PRODUCED. THESE ARE CALLEI) MACROS.

1! FIRST PUSH THE KEV

2> THEN EHTER THE MACRO. END THE MACRO WITH A RETURN.

QUIT BV ENTERING

SPACE FOR THE KEV

127 MACRO POSITIONS AUAILABLE

KEV t*3.> -> MACRO CATALOG

120 MACRO POSITIONS AUAILABLE

KEV <:ttl6.. -> MACRO PRINT

115 MACRO POSITIONS AUAILABLE KEV

BEFORE WE SAME THE TABLE THAT HAS BEEN CREATED, HERE IS ONE FINAL OPPORTUNITV TO MAKE A CHANGE. ANSWER WITH V OR N.

WOULD VOU LIKE TO ASSIGN MuRE MACROS?

WOULD VOU LIKE TO SAME THE KEYBOARD TABLE THAT VOU HAUE CREATED?

PLEASE ENTER A HaME FOR THE I- ILL: FILE HAME? DSK

FILE DSK IS NOW SAUED.

54 1 6

IF FSET

1, ASC ' 12S THEN GOTO 31

PRINT "MAC SORRY. "

VhBLE FULL

442 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

■WWW"

rmrmnrrnrmm iwwntmnm«-.T-T-: nMranirawniwimw!

\

WE'RE TRADING APPLES FOR PROGRAMS.

Programmers, man your keyboards. Earn a new Apple He system by helping us build the most comprehensive collection of instrumentation applications software in the industry.

What we need is your input. Quality programs written for any of our personal computer compatible instruments, including the aScope"(digital memory oscilloscope), aSource(arbitrary wave

form generator), aGeif (function generator), and Model 2100 (logic state analyzer).

For details and instrument specifications, simply circle the number below on the inquiry card and drop it in the mail. Also, to help get you cracking, you might want to program B^* a few reminders to yourself that Apple Q^P Season ends December 31, 1983.

NORTHWEST INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS, INC.

RO. Box 1309, Beaverton, Oregon 97075 PERSONAL INSTRUMENTS. BRINGING YOU CLOSER.

Circle 297 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 443

Listing 3: DSK-MACRO-KEYIN is a 6502 assembler program that replaces the Apple's normal KEYIN routine. It can be entered into an assembler but is short enough to be entered directly into memory from the Apple monitor. After entering the code, type in BSAVE DSK-MACRO-KEYIN,A$300,L$54 to save this file on disk.

it****************************

f I FYhi ml I- I 'F I1 'PR l-i iui tut*.

111 11

* FY

BM

■i WISEMAN

1040

*

JUL'.' 7, 1982

1050

*

1060

*****************************

1070

*

1080

■ OR

*0300

1090

*

1HIS PROGRAM MILL LOAD AT *380.

1180

*

IT REPLACES THE KEVIN ROUTINE

1110

*

ON A 48K APPL E I I + .

1120

*

1130

IHH00K

EQ *38

1140

KEVBOAR

EQ *C080

1150

KEVS

RB

EQ *C818

1160

ASHIMEM

EQ *74

1170

RNDL

EQ *4E

1 180

RNDH

EQ *4F

1190

BASL

EQ *2S

1200

LOOK

EQ *9588

1210

XSTOR

EQ *955E

1220

MPOI NT

EQ *955F

1230

MACR

EQ *955F

1250

*

1260

*****************************

1270

*

1280

STAR

1290

*

BRANCH TO STARTUP

1300

*

ALLOWS FILE TO BE BRUN

8380

13

1310

CLC

8301

90

3B

1320 I 330

*

BCC

STROP

1340

****************************

1 358

+

1 360

DRIU

1370

*

THIS IS THE NORMAL ENTRV

1388

*

POINT. FIRST SAUE THE X

1390

*

REGISTER. THEN FIND

1400

*

THE CHARACTER IN THE LOOK

1410

+

IABLE. IF Bit 7 IS ON,

1428

*

SEND THAT TABLE ENTRV.

1430

*

0383

3E

5E

95

1440

SIX

XSTOR SAUE X REQIStER

036&

AE

5F

95

1450

ldx

MPOINT CHECK FOR MACRO MODE

0309

D0

IF

1460

BNE

GETMAC BRACH 11 IN MACRO

030B

48

1465

PHA

SAME CURSOR CHARACTER

1470

KEVIN

838C

E6

4E

1488

INC

RNDL 1NCP RANDOM NUMBER

038E

DO

02

1498

BNE

KEV 1112

0310

E6

4F

1500

11 li

RNDH

1518

KEVIH2

0312

AD

00

CO

1528

LDA

KEVBOAR KEV DOWN?

8315

10

F5

1538

BPL

KEVIN .NO INI R PND AGAIN

8317

2C

10

00

1540

BIT

KEYSTRB RESE1 STROBE

031 ft

29

7F

1560

AND

#*7F Bl 1 7 OFF

03 It

AA

15 70

tax

03 ID

68

15 75

PEA

QE1 OLD CURSOR

031E

91

28

1S 76

St A

■;BASL>,V REPLACE FLASH I US SCREEN

0320

BD

00

95

1580

El'A

look , ;■: 061 chhral i er

0323

10

04

1590 1608 1610

ex i i *

BPL

hMai. R lilns 1 1 l-IAl Ri i ?

NORMAL EXIT ROUTINE

0325

HE

SE

95

1628

LDX

XSTOR RESTORE X REGISTER

0323

60

1640

*

**+*

RTS

RETURN

1658 1668

******************************

1670

*

1680

AMACR

1690

*

USE THE LOOK TABLE RESULT

1780

*

AS A POINTER TO THE MACR

1710

*

table, send characters

1720

:*

UNTIL BIT 7 IS OFF.

1730

*

0329

AA

1740

TAX

1758

SETMAC

1768

*

GETMAC IS THE ENTRV POINT

1778

*

FOR A MACRO THAT IS NOT

1780

*

FINISHED.

1790

+

032A

BD

5F

95

1810

LDA

MACR.X GET NEXT CHARACTER

0320

10

06

1828

BPL

LASMAC LAST CHAR IN MACRO?

032F

ES

1830

INK

0330

8E

5F

95

1840

SIX

MPOINT NO SET FOR NEXT

0333

10

F0

1868

BPL

EXIT GET OUT

1378

LASMAC

1330

*

THIS IS LAST CHAR

0335

09

30

1885

ORA

#*S8 TURN ON BIT 7

0337

A2

00

1890

LDX

#*0O ZERO OUT POINTER

8339

SE

5F

95

1988

STX

MPOINT

033C

F0

E7

1918

BEQ

EXIT GET OUT

1920

*

1938

**********************************

1940

*

1950

STRUP

1968

*

THIS CODE PLUGS THE KEYBOARD

1 970

*

DRIOER ROUTINE INTO DOS 3.3

1988

*

IT,IS ONLV RUN TO INTIALIZE

1990

*

THE KEYBOARD DRIOER PROGRAM

2880

*

033E- A9 95

2818

LDA

#*95

8348- 85 74

2828

STA

ASHIMEM SET HIMEM

0342- A9 00

2838

LDA

#*08 RESET OARIABLES

0344- 3D 5F

95 2848

STA

MPOINT

0347- 85 73

2858

STA

ASHIMEM-1

0349- A9 03

2868

LDA

#DRIU GET DRIOER ADDRESS

034B- A0 03

2878

LDV

.DRIU

034D- 85 38

2888

STA

IHHOOK PUT INTO HOOK

034F- 84 39

2890

STV

INHOOK+1

8351- 20 EA

03 2180

JSR

*3EA CONNECT TO DOS

0354- 60

2118

RTS

END IT

2128

*********************************

2138

* *9588

LOCAL OARIABLES

2148

*.**********■**************+*******

2158

*

2168

* LOOK

2178

*

THIS IS UHERE THE LOOKUP

2138

*

TABLE BEGINS. ENTRIES

2198

*

WITH BIT 7 ON ARE REAL

2288

*

CHARACTERS FOR OUTPUT.

2210

*

IF BIT 7 IS OFF, THIS IS

2220

*

AN INDEX INTO THE MACRO

2230

*

TABLE.

2270

*

2280

****************************

2298

*

2300

* MACR

2310

*

MACRO KEV DEFINITIONS

2320

*

ARE STORED HERE BV TABLE

2330

*

BUILD PROGRAM. IF THE

2340

*

LOOK TABLE ENTRV DOES NOT

2358

+

HAOE BIT 7 ON, THEN IT IS

2355

*

AN INDEX TO THE MACR ThBLE.

2368

*

LAST CHARACTER IN MACRO

2378

*

WILL HAOE BIT 7 OFF.

2380

*******************+***********

Listing 4: KEYSTART

is a short program written in Applesoft

BASIC. Its function is to initial

e the system with the new key

board table. It asks for

the name of the keyboard table and then

loads this from

disk. Finally, it activates a BRUN of the new

KEYIN routine

: PR#0

ILIST

1 HIMEM: 38

144

5 HOME

10 PR INT "

THIS PROGRAM WILL

LOA

D AND INITIALIZ

E"

28 PRINT "THE DSK-MACRO-KEVIN RO

UTI HE"

38 PRINT

40 D* = CHR* C4>

SO INPUT "ENTER THE

KEVBOARC

FIL

E NAME

'IB*

6€t PRINT. D*

:"BLOAD

"; A*

78 PRINT D*

:"BRUN t

SK-MACRO

KEV I

N"

444 July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc

The New Rixon Intelligent R212A Modem...

The Intelligent R212A has literally leap-frogged the competition and revolutionized the 212A modem market. All beta site customers report that the Intelligent R212A is the most amazing 1200 BPS full duplex modem with an integral automatic dialer they have ever seen. Installation is the simplest of any modem ever because all options are soft (programmed from the keyboard) no screw drivers or tools required, just plug it in.

The Intelligent R212A features:

• Automatic log on to databases with a single key stroke

• User friendly HELP list menu

• Store up to 10 numbers and alpha descriptions

• Automatically sets parity

• Automatically selects tone or pulse dial

• Dial stored numbers with a single key stroke or other numbers from the keyboard

' Initiate modem tests from the

keyboard and review results on

the CRT screen ' Battery backup protects all

memory ' Link to another number if first

number busy • Redial selected numbers 1 to 99

times » An unprecedented low price of

$495.00

The Intelligent R212A continuously monitors the progress

of each call and reports its status by displaying — "Dialing

Number", "Waiting", "Ringing", "Busy", "No

Answer", "Linking" and "On Line".

The Intelligent R212A is so small it stands to reason the circuit card is very popular with OEM's. The OEM card is .5" x 5.4"x 8.8" (47 sq. inches).

Call Bill Vance today, at RIXON Inc., at

(301) 622-2121, ext. 431. Bill can explain

to you how the RIXON Intelligent

R212A has revolutionized the 212A

modem market.

RIXON

INC. 2120 Industrial Pky., Silver Spring, Md. 20904 301-622-2121 TWX 710-825-0071 TLX 89-8347

#3044 ©RIXON INC., 1983

Circle 350 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 445

Circle 199 on Inquiry card.

MODEMS/CRTS/ PRINTERS/SWITCHES/MICRO COMPUTERS/CABLES

—

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

LIST

YOUR COST

H

UDS 103LP, 300 bps. Modem

145

130

K UOS 202LP 1200 bos. Half Duplex Modem

195

150 ^B

■ UDS 212LP, 1200 bps. Full Duplex (212A) Modem

445

CAI 1 ^B

B U.S. Robotics Auto Dial 212A, 300/1200 Hull Duplex Modem

599

■S

pi Incomm Auto Dial 212A, 300/1200 Full Duplex Modem

599

450 f^J

LI Cermetec Auto Dial 212A. 300/1200 Full Duplex Modem

595

495 [3

1^1 Microband Auto Dial 212A, 300/1200 Full Duplex Modem

695

495 lnJ

Hi Rixon Intelligent Modem, 300/1200 (10 Number)

495

CALL Kj

f| Rixon PC 212A (IBM PC Modem Card) 300/1200

495

CALL Kj

■I Incomm Mutti Dial 300/1200 (10 Number)

795

550 mtk

H U.S. Robotics Password 300/1200 (Auto Dial) Modem

495

i ^B'

Hi UK Robotics Courier, Osborne 300/1200 Modem

518

cai i iBH

-.

U.S. Robotics S-100, 300/1200 Auto Dial Modem

495

CALL

J

Visual 50 CRT

695

550

M Freedom 100 CRT, w/20 F, keys & Editing

595

550 M

Incomm Remote Station 1, w/lntegrated 300/1200 Modem

1295

995

*\

Epson MX80/Graftrax +

650

399

Epson MX80 FT/Graftrax +

700

498

Epson MXIOO/Graftrax +

900

700

Epson FX-80

750

656

Star Micronics Gemini 10

399

350

Star Micronics Gemini 15

649

548

AJ Letter Quality Printer, 30 CPS (KSR)

1450

1250

Incomm AB Switch, 8 Pin

120

84

Sm

Incomm AB Switch, 25 Pin

159

98

fc

Incomm ABC Switch, 25 Pin

198

138

CD

IDS Breakout Box (Blue Box)

159

140

1

03

Incomm Breakout Box (Bob)

150

120

J

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Epson, HX-20-AA

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CALL

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is

Epson QX-10/256K

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CALL

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Zenith Z-100

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CALL

T-7MM, 7 Pin, 4 Wire, Telephone Cable (Modular Plugs)

10

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7

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15

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El EIA 25/5, RS232, 25 Pin Cable, 25 FT MM/FF/MF

22

14 1£1

Fl EIA 50/5, Centronics Parallel Cable, 5 FT (36 Pin)

30

21 F,l

LI MC 0050/10, Centronics 10 Ft. MM Cable, 36 Pin (10 FTI

38

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LjJ 7010/5, IBM PC Printer Cable w/36 Pin

40

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IB 8010/5 Apple II Printer Cable w/36 Pin

27

18 ^B

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30

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We Welcome: •Visa, Mastercharge •Checks •Company P.O. •C.O.D. (Add. $1 50/Shipment)

OFFLINE

DATA

ENTRY

Perform data entry on microcomputers - free your mainframe for more important work:

RADAR data entry software runs on almost any microcomputer, including DEC VT-180 and Rainbow 100, HP 125, Xerox 820, Zenith Z100, Apple. TRS80, most others.

Call Paul Scatise at 205-9.-53-1659 for

more information.

Southern

2304 12th AVE

jvstems Inc.

MHbiHAM, AL 35234

]

part stores macroinstructions. Once this table is created, the program will save it on disk. A sample run is included. The program logic is easy to follow; the only unusual feature is that the program adds a 0 character to the null string that the Applesoft GET statement returns for the SHIFT-CTRL-P key.

• DSK-MACRO-KEYIN: This machine-language routine (see listing 3) replaces the Apple's normal KEYIN routine in page three of memory. It receives values from the keyboard and looks up their replacements in the translation table. If the translation table indicates that a particular key has been assigned a macroinstruction, the new KEYIN routine sends the characters from the macroinstruction table.

• KEYSTART: This routine (see listing 4) loads the translation table and then activates the new KEYIN routine. This could be stored as a HELLO program on the boot disk.

It's easy to rearrange the key caps

on the Apple to match new key

assignments.

While experimenting with new key definitions, you may find it odd to be pressing a key marked with one character and have another character appear on the video screen. However, it is quite easy to rearrange the key caps on the Apple to match new key assignments. I discovered this recently after my 3-year-old had eaten a popsicle while playing typewriter—I had to pry off the key caps to rinse them. Only gentle pressure was required.

Both those who hunt and peck and trained keyboard artists will find the macroinstructions helpful. Wouldn't it be nice to hit CTRL-C and have the word CATALOG show up on the screen? Think how fast you could program in Applesoft BASIC if the CTRL-P combination produced the keyword PRINT and CTRL-I produced the word INPUT. ■

References

ANSI X4.22-1983: American National Standard for Office

Machines and Supplies—Alphanumeric Machines—Alternate

Keyboard Arrangement. New York: American National Standards

Institute, 1983.

Glasco, David B., and Murray Sargent III. "Using IBM's Marvelous

Keyboard." May 1983 BYTE, page 402.

Lemmons, Phil. "A Short History of the Keyboard." November

1982 BYTE, page 386.

About the Author

Bob Wiseman (1899 Muskegon Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45230) designs financial modeling/information systems at Cincinnati Milacron and teaches microcomputing classes. He owns an Apple II Plus and is active in the Cincinnati Applesiders.

446 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 382 on inquiry card.

■

BIT Powerhouse

;-4;*l;i

V

The "SLICER" is a HIGH PERFORMANCE single board computer based on the new, highly advanced Intel 80186 CPU. The board has these advanced features:

Full 8MHz 16-bit microprocessor having complete software compatibility with the 8086 and 8088

Two full function RS232C serial ports with baud rates individually controlled by software.

Baud rate for console port is acquired automatically.

Floppy disk controller allows the combination of 5 'A and 8" disk drives, single or double sided, single or double density.

SASI port for hard disk controller with data transfer rate of up to 2Mb per second.

Memory capacity of 256KB ram on board plus up to 32KB of EPROM.

90 line expansion interface with 20 bit latched address bus, 16 bit data bus and all important 80186 control signals.

Available Now!

This system is marketed and supported exclusively by: Note: New name, address and telephone number. ]:|l

CI irCD SLICER COMPUTER INC. 2543 Marshall St. N.E. til

OLI V-LlY Minneapolis, MN 55418 phone (612) 788-9481

Mastercard. Visa, check, money order or C.O.D. orders accepted. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. *CP/M a trademark ol Digital Research Inc.

A high performance ROM monitor is included with all systems.

BIOS for CP/M86* operating system included.

Power requirements: iBiS

+ 5 volt, ± 5% at 3 ampere max. + 12 volt, ± 10% at 60milliampere

max- " ~zr2±—\ _j»5Sp"

- 12 volt, ± 10% at 50milliampere max. ]wM ...1

All this on a board the width of a 51A " drive and only 11 Vz inches long.

Sold in various kit forms from $140-$895. Assembled and tested $1,075. Quantity discounts available. Prices valid through July.

Complete documentation included.

Circle 371 on inquiry card.

' ' 1

„-t^T""" ]

computer mail order

PRINTERS

SMITH CORONA Call on $50.00 Factory Rebate?

TP-1 $499.00

Tractor Feed $129.00

Ultrasonic I Typewriter $439.00

C. ITOH (TEC)

Gorilla $209.00

Ptownter 8510P $379 0O

Prowr.ter 851 OS $579.00

Prowriter IIP $699.00

Prowr.ter IIS $749.00

Starvvnter F10-40 $1259.00

Printmaster F10-55 $1649 00

OKIOATA

Call for price and information of

OKIDATA B2A, 83A. 84(Parallel).

84(Senal). 92 a 93

EPSON

Call tor price and information on EPSON RX80. MX80. MXBOFT. FX80A MXIOO.

IDS

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Book Reviews

The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence, Volume 1

Avron Barr and Edward Feigenbaum, eds. William Kaufman Inc. Los Altos, CA, 1981 409 pages, $30

Reviewed by Henry W. Davis Computer Science Dept. Wright State University Dayton, OH 45435

The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence is a monumental compendium of information that will be a basic reference for people in artificial intelligence (AI) and related fields for some time to come. This three-volume series, more than six years in the making, combines contributions from over a hundred researchers in AI. Yet the style of editing provides a cohesiveness and homogeneity that make for fascinating cover-to-cover reading.

The stated goals of the treatise are "to present jargon-free explanations of AI programming techniques and concepts" as they were motivated historically and scientifically. It attempts to address professionals who are not specialists in AI nor even necessarily in computing. In the first volume, at least, these goals have been achieved.

Volume 1 covers search routines, knowledge representation, and understanding natural language—written and spoken. Volumes 2 and 3, which will be reviewed in future issues, cover the other main divisions of AI.

Organization within the chapters is "top-down." Each chapter starts with an article giving an overview of a ma

jor topic. Follow-up articles focus on key aspects of the problem. Most chapters conclude with several articles describing particular AI projects in detail, bringing the whole discussion down to earth. The articles naturally connect if you read the book from beginning to end—a fine way to obtain a general understanding of AI.

An important aspect of this series is the system of references and cross-references. You may go directly to a chapter of interest, where you will find references to other Handbook articles that clarify or elaborate on the topic at hand. Annotated references to outside literature cite sources that enlarge on basic ideas and research papers (up to 1980).

The list of chapter editors, contributors, and reviewers reads like a who's who in AI. Editor Edward Feigenbaum has pioneered in AI projects since the mid-1960s and is chairman of the Stanford Computer Science Department. Co-editor Avron Barr is a research associate in computer science at Stanford; he is involved in intelligent, computer-based instructional systems and the use of "meta-knowledge" in AI systems.

The Handbook editors have given careful attention to uniformity and comprehensibility. Overall, the quality and style are even. However, in a few places articles are not well connected. For example, articles II.Dl and II.D2 discuss automatic proving in propositional calculus in such a way that it's hard to relate them to each other. The articles are not equally easy to read; some of the overviews will be hard firstreading for the novice. At times the technology is so sophisticated that only its flavor can be given.

Search

Search routines, described in Chapter II of the Handbook, are often a major component of AI problem-solving systems. For example, search techniques are used to look for the best move in skill games like chess or checkers. They are also used to prove theorems, to generate robot plans, and in a host of scientific applications.

State space searching is best described in terms of a simple puzzle. The Handbook uses a classic example—the 8-puzzle, shown in figure 1. The square array has eight numbered tiles and one vacant space. By sliding the tiles vertically or horizontally into the vacant space, you get different configurations or stores of the puzzle. Figure 2 shows a typical start state and a number of states that can be obtained from it. Figure 3 shows a possible goal state. In working the puzzle, you search for the goal by moving the puzzle from the start state through a number of intermediate states. The moves, represented by the descending lines in figure 2, are called operators.

In the general situation, a problem is viewed as having a start state, a goal state, and a number of operators that are used to move the problem from one state to another. A search program attempts to move from the start state to the goal state by successive applications of the operators. In blind searches, the order in which potential solution paths are explored is independent of the problem domain. Such routines are not useful for hard problems due to a combinatorial explosion: they use up computer time and space resources before they find a solution. The most effective search techniques use domain-specific information in a heuristic fashion: the

program compares intermediate states with the goal state and makes an informed guess as to which state is nearest. Paths passing through this conjectured near state are explored first. For example, in the 8-puzzle the program might conjecture that states with the fewest number of tiles out of place are the least number of moves away from the goal.

Another important search technique is problem reduction, in which problems are decomposed via operators into more easily solved subproblems. It is understood that, in order to solve the original problem, each of the subproblems must be solved. Subproblems are themselves further decomposed and the process continues until a solution situation is found. As before, blind searching is not effective, and heuristic methods have been developed. Several programs exemplify these techniques: Slagle's SAINT performs symbolic integration; Gelernter's geometry machine proves theorems in high school geometry; and Nilsson, Fike, and Sacerdoti have achieved impressive success in the area of robot planning.

Searching is the major component in current programs that play games like checkers, chess, or go. Such programs perform about as well as skilled humans in checkers, close but not as well in chess, and much worse in go. Moves are determined by searching part of a game tree, a structure that keeps track of potential future moves by the computer and its opponent. If the whole game tree were expanded, the computer could see all possible moves and would always win. However, for interesting games this is not feasible because it would result in a combinatorial ex

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plosion. Successful gameplaying programs perform a search that involves many heuristics. One important area for heuristics concerns what portion of the game tree should be generated. Another concerns how to evaluate the board positions on the tree and translate this into a good move choice.

Knowledge Representation

Search strategies are a part of many problem-solving systems. But how does one represent the basic knowledge needed to implement these strategies? This is the concern of knowledge representation, the most active area of AI research.

A variety of knowledgerepresentation techniques is surveyed in Chapter III. Although parts of this material are available in other sources,

no other current AI text has isolated and presented this information as a single coherent topic.

An early and still used method of representing knowledge in AI uses a language called first-order predicate calculus. Invented by logicians and mathematicians, this is a formal, flexible language ideal for representing precise information. Predicate calculus has several advantages. Automatic deduction mechanisms exist for information expressed in the calculus; AI systems using the calculus usually contain such "theorem provers." Other advantages are its clarity and the modularity of facts contained in a predicate calculus database. A big problem is that a combinatorial explosion occurs when today's theorem provers work with a large calculus database.

Production systems are a

method of representing knowledge that has been very successful in scientific and engineering applications. Knowledge is represented via "situation-action" rules. These rules, or productions, have the form "if this condition is true, then take this action." A modern AI system using this approach may have hundreds of such rules in its database. A control system determines which rules are applicable to a problem state and chooses from among them. Essentially, productions act like operators. AI researchers have found that large amounts of useful human knowledge can be put into this IF. . .THEN format. Successful rule-based systems have been written in such diverse areas as medical diagnostics, mathematical discovery, and computer configuration design. Current research focuses on questions

of rule structure and proper control design.

A number of fascinating knowledge representation constructs are illustrated in the work of Roger Schank and his colleagues. Articles in Chapters III and IV of the Handbook describe different aspects of Schank's research. His programs process sentences and stories written in "natural language" (the language people use when communicating to each other; for example, English or Chinese). His programs demonstrate understanding of what they have read by paraphrasing it, answering questions about it, or translating it into another natural language. For example, a program called SAM was presented with these sentences:

John went to a restaurant. He sat down. He got mad. He left.

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452 July 1«»3 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Book Reviews.

SAM paraphrased the story as follows:

John was hungry. He decided to go to a restaurant. He went to one. He sat down in a chair. A waiter did not go to the table. John became upset. He decided he was going to leave the restaurant. He left it.

Notice that SAM has made a lot of inferences.

Schank's programs first translate the input into conceptual dependency (CD), a symbolism that represents the semantic content of the original sentence or story. CD represents concepts in a fashion independent of their various natural-language descriptions. Reasoning about stories is done from their CD representation. Translating is done by first going to CD and then to the target language. CD is built from a small number of semantic primitives, symbols that represent only the most basic notions. The problem of finding appropriate primitives is a common one in knowledge-representation schemes.

One knowledge-representation device used by Schank's programs is called a script. This is a standardized sequence of events that describe some stereotypical human activity, such as going to a restaurant or visiting a doctor. The program tries to match a story fragment with a script, filling in script details from the story and defaulting information not in the story from the script itself. SAM used a restaurant script to help it "understand" and make inferences in the previous example. A variation of scripts, called frames, has been used by other researchers.

Scripts are not always adequate to understand stories. Schank has introduced other knowledge-representation structures called goals, plans,

and themes. These help a program better understand a story by analyzing the motivations of its characters.

Natural Language

Writing programs that respond correctly to written natural language has been a goal of AI researchers since the early 1960s. The view is that such programs will be practical and, in addition, their development will lead to better understanding of both language and the nature of intelligence. Current naturallanguage (NL) programs perform acceptably, at their best, in limited domain situations. For example, programs that translate from one natural language to another produce mostly correct, but not elegant, output when the subject domain is restricted to one in which the program has been well briefed. Useful natural-language front-ends for such purposes as database interaction exist. They work best when both the allowed grammatical constructs and the domain of discourse are limited.

Parsing, or analyzing the grammatical construct of the input, is a basic aspect of NL processing. Input sentences are broken into such units as nouns, verbs, prepositional phrases, etc. This enables the semantics (i.e. meaning) of the sentences to be more transparent. The syntax, or grammatically allowed form of the input language, is specified by a set of rules called a grammar. There are many grammars, some suitable for natural languages and others only for programming languages, and many approaches to parsing. A very readable overview of this subject is presented in Chapter IV of the Handbook.

Approaches to NL processing are evolving rapidly. The first systems that could handle genuinely flexible English

454 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 455

Book Reviews.

in a limited domain were the LUNAR system of William Woods and SHRDLU by Terry Winograd, both developed in the early 1970s. In SHRDLU, for example, a number of features combined for success and pointed the direction for further research: parsing emphasized semantically meaningful units rather than the traditional grammatical ones, the parsing process itself manipulated data structures additional to the grammatical rules normally manipulated, and semantic routines aided in parsing so that syntax and semantics were no longer separate. SHRDLU had a great deal of knowledge about the discourse domain and used this knowledge during all phases of input processing. Separate articles in the Handbook detail SHRDLU, LUNAR, and other important NL systems.

Current directions in NL processing are described in the Handbook and illustrated by several systems. Semantic and syntactic analysis are increasingly merged. For example, in "semantic grammars" the semantic entities are moved directly into the grammar. LIFER, Hendrix's ver

satile system that provides natural-language front-ends for software packages, uses this. In Roger Schank's programs the traditional parser is replaced by a routine that converts the input directly into a semantic structure (CD) without using the usual theory of grammars. Knowledge-representation structures like frames and scripts make it possible for a program to use expectations in its processing of sentences. Knowing what is likely to be said, in light of what is being talked about and what has already been said, greatly reduces the number of possible meanings of a sentence. This is called expectationdriven processing.

Spoken Language

The Handbook describes major speech-understanding systems that came out during the mid-1970 s. Many of the concepts of these programs are illustrated by the HARPY and HEARSAY systems, both written at CarnegieMellon University. In processing spoken language, a major problem is identifying words; connected speech signals do not look at all like

the concatenation of signals of the individual words.

In HARPY, a network was precompiled with "sounds" at each node connected to all the sounds that can follow it in any of the legal sentences in the language. Interpreting an utterance corresponds to finding a path through the network representing a sequence of sounds that most closely matches the sounds in the utterance. The problem of finding the optimal path is a search problem to which heuristics were applied. HARPY worked fast and quite reliably but did pose problems: the precompiled network may require vast computer resources when the vocabulary is large; HARPY is relatively sensitive to missing acoustical segments and words because it does not take account of meaning to constrain search.

In HEARSAY, independent knowledge sources (KSs), routines that analyze phonetics, syntax, semantics and the like, looked at the speech signal and posted hypotheses about likely syllables, words and phrases on a global data structure called the blackboard. Hypotheses from lower-level KSs,

about syllables and words, were examined for syntactic and semantic feasibility by upper-level KSs. Upper-level knowledge sources could also post on the blackboard suggestions about what words might be expected. Hypotheses were scored, and a scheduling routine expanded highscoring hypotheses before low-scoring ones. Much of the processing is expectationdriven. This approach has proven fruitful.

HEARSAY has been a very influential program in AI due to its architecture. Its modularity allows different KSs and control strategies to be easily tested. The independence of the KSs allows for a parallel-processing version to be designed. The architecture has been used for several programs outside of speech understanding, for example crystallography, signal interpretation, and vision.

Conclusion

The AI community has been carrying on a dialogue with itself for 25 years. This needed book presents AI in perspective and makes it accessible to others in computing. ■

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The Practical EEPROM

For less than the price of an EPROM eraser, you can buy an EEPROM that doesn't need one

ROMs, PROMs, and EPROMs are quite satisfactory for many applications requiring nonvolatile memory. They perform best in those areas where the information they store is never, or almost never, changed. When the data must be revised, however, problems begin to arise. Because ROMs (read-only memories) and PROMs (programmable ROMs) cannot be reprogrammed, the old ones must be discarded and new ones programmed to replace them. EPROMs (erasable PROMs) such as the popular 2716 can be erased and then reprogrammed; however, the process is not as fast, easy, or inexpensive as one might wish.

For example, erasing the 2716 requires an ultraviolet light, and although really nothing more than a hopped-up fluorescent light bulb, it costs at least $70; fancy features such as timers increase the price. Considering the price of EPROMs on today's market—about $5—this eraser hardly seems like a wise investment unless you intend to reprogram a lot of EPROMs or make a lot of changes.

Then there's the cost of the EPROM programmer, a complicated piece of equipment that sometimes in

by Louis Wheeler

corporates a microprocessor. Prices for this little gadget start at around $280. The total cost comes to about $355 just to put your system monitor in nonvolatile memory. And you must also consider software costs: special software is almost always required to program and verify EPROMs.

EPROM programming also takes time—a lot of time: time to create the software (or data) that goes into the EPROM and time to program the EPROM. It is also likely that you will need time to erase the EPROM (about half an hour), because it is inevitable that there will be a bug. After all, "to err is human," and programmers are only human. I have a monitor that I've used for several years that still has a bug in it. A small one, only one byte needs changing, but I don't have an eraser.

If costs, time, or complex circuits have kept you away from EPROM programming, hang tight, help is here in the form of an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable readonly memory). An EEPROM (also abbreviated E2PROM) can be erased without the hopped-up fluorescent light bulb; it doesn't even have to be

removed from the circuit.

On-chip Timing

EEPROMs have been around for a number of years; however, the early ones were expensive, required a lot of trick circuitry, were slow for both read and write operations, and had other problems that prevented them from becoming a general replacement for the more popular 2716 EPROM. Now things are changing. Intel has introduced a new type-28XX family of EEPROMs. All of them feature fast access times of 250 nanoseconds (ns), which means they run at 4 MHz without the so-called wait states, plus improved erase and write times on the order of 10 to 50 milliseconds (ms). And like the 2716, they hold 2K bytes. However, all except one member of the family still require a great deal of support circuitry, some of it tricky. That one shining star in the family is the 2817 (see figure 1).

The 2817 stands out because the write-timing and pulse-shaping circuitry required by the others have been placed on-chip. The only external timing component is a single capacitor. And VPP (programming voltage) is static, not pulsed by exter

460 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 461

vpp

RDY/BUSY A7 A6 A5 AA A3 A2 A! AO [ DO [ Dl[ D2[ GND [

2817 EZ PROM

]VCC ] WE ]TC ]A8 ]A9 ] NX. J 61 ] AlO

15e

]D7 ] DS

J 05

]04

303

Figure 1: Pinout specifications of the type-2817 EEPROM integrated-circuit package.

nal circuitry. This feature cuts the support circuit requirements 70 to 80 percent.

Simplifying things further is the automatic-erase feature. No longer is it necessary to erase either the entire chip or a single byte before writing. The 2817 also has on-chip data verification to ensure correct programming. As a result, the software to program the 2817 is extremely simple—a move memory block does it. If you wish, you can program or reprogram a single byte, thus making patching that small bug a snap. Recently I completed a new system monitor. When the inevitable bug appeared, I was able to use the monitor's edit facility (while running in the EEPROM) to patch the monitor itself. Try that with a 2716 EPROM!

It's Not Perfect

If I sound enthusiastic about the 2817, it's because I am. However, there are a few things I don't especially care for: it uses a 28-pin package, which means you cannot simply rewire the old EPROM socket to accept the 2817. Write speed is quite slow compared to read; if write were as fast as read, the 2817 would more properly be called a RAM (randomaccess read/write memory), not a PROM. Also, there is a limitation on the number of times it can be

reprogrammed: 10,000 times, meaning that your clock can't use it to store the time of day, but you certainly can maintain the current date. Entering the date once a day would take more than 27 years to exceed the reprogramming limitation. (The 2716 can be reprogrammed only 30 to 40 times.)

The limitation that bothers me most is the requirement for a + 21-volt (V) static VPP, a new voltage for most microcomputer systems. Fortunately, +21 V can be derived from the + 5-V supply using a DC-to-DC converter. Several options for producing +21 V are discussed later.

The Circuit

The support requirements for a 2817 EEPROM are similar to those of the byte-wide static-memory chips. The S-100 design presented here (see figure 2) is slightly more complicated because of the added power-on/resetjump circuit. The unit I constructed was an addition to an existing wirewrapping board (containing two serial I/O [input/output] ports), thus simplifying construction through the use of existing power, bus buffers, and some spare gates. You might choose a similar approach or build the circuit from scratch using a prototype wire-wrapping board. While intended for the S-100 bus, it could be easily modified to accommodate other bus systems. All bus signals used are standard, with the possible exception of PHANTOM*. Some older memory boards do not have a PHANTOM* capability.

If the use of PHANTOM* is not possible in your system, or if the EEPROM is to be used for something other than a system monitor, the power-on/reset-jump portion of the circuit can be eliminated (IC6 and IC5A). The power-on/reset-jump can similarly be deactivated by removing IC6 from its socket. No switch has been provided. This deactivation is necessary until the EEPROM has been programmed with a monitor or boot loader. With IC6 installed, the power-on/reset-jump is enabled by a RESET* and disabled when the first I/O instruction is executed. There

fore, an I/O instruction, such as I/O port initialization, should appear early in the monitor program.

The location of the 2817 in memory has been set at hexadecimal F000 through F7FF. Other starting locations, although possible, would require some revision of the deviceselect circuit, IC7. The SINTA signal is required only if interrupts are used. If not, IC4B can be eliminated.

The RDY/BUSY* signal (IC8, pin 2) is an unusual one for a memory device. And it has nothing to do with reading data; it's used only during write operations. When commanded to write, the 2817 latches the address, data, and control signals. Then the RDY/BUSY* line goes low, pulling PRDY low, which causes the processor to enter a wait state until completion of the write operation. The time that the RDY/BUSY* signal is held low (typically 10 ms) depends on the external TC (timing capacitor), 5600 picofarad (pF) ± 10 percent, as specified by the manufacturer.

Producing +21 V

During write operations, the static VPP is first used to erase the byte addressed and then to write the new data. The term static refers to the fact that VpP is not pulsed as it is with EPROMs and other members of the EEPROM family. Although used only for write operations, chip logic requires that VPP be held steady at +21 V during both read and write operations.

VpP is specified at +21 V ± 1 V. If Vpp drops below +20 V, data retention is not assured; if it rises above + 22 V, the EEPROM may be damaged. Being a nonstandard voltage, + 21 V presents a problem. However, some microcomputer systems do have a +24-V supply, which with further regulation can be used to supply VpP. If a +24-V supply is available, Intel suggests using a dropping resistor, a 22-V zener, and a 1N914 diode to derive the +21 V (see figure 3). Because my system does not have a +24-V supply, prior to constructing a more permanent +21-V source I used the zener-diode circuit (with a 330(2 resistor) and three 9-V transistor batteries connected in series

462 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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464 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Circle 395 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 465

82n 1N9M vPP

-W—0*21V

SUPPLY

^-'lN«7«8 ^(22V ZENERI

Figure 3: The manufacturer's suggested circuit to adapt + 24-V power supplies to provide the +21 V needed for VPP (programming voltage).

330ft ->Wv

1N9U

-w

-o

+ 21V SUPPLY

-Ogno

(see figure 4). The current drawn by the 2817 is typically 8 milliamperes (mA) for read and 15 mA for write. The value of the dropping resistor can be computed using the following formula:

Figure 4: A battery power supply for VPP (+21 V) can be used for testing or until a permanent supply is constructed.

R

22

0.0165

where Es is the supply voltage. For example, if E* = 27 V, then R = (27-22)/0.0165 = 303fl.

A careful check of the regulator output voltage would be a wise move because the 2817 can be damaged by overvoltage. Also, check to see that the 22-V zener is not overheating—if the value of the dropping resistor is too low, this condition can occur.

One other word of caution (here I quote the manufacturer's literature): "VPP can only be applied after Vcc ( + 5 volts) is valid and WE* and CE* have been set to V,„ (high). While powering down, VCc should remain valid and WE* and CE* remain at Vm (high) until VPP is less than VccFailure to follow this sequence may result in data loss or device damage." This should not present a problem if the +21-V supply is derived from the + 5-V supply. If you try the battery trick, however, do not forget to switch it off, or better yet, disconnect the battery prior to powering down tne system. I forgot once and got away with it, but it could have been a costly mistake.

Converting +5 V into +21 V is not too difficult. My old Cromemco 8K-byte Bytesaver does it with three transistors and a few other components. Intel suggests a more modern approach using a switching regulator (TL497 in figure 5) that produces + 21 V at 75 mA, more than

0.5fl

+ 21V -f—I >SUPPLY ® 75mA

22MF

Figure 5: A DC-to-DC switching-regulator power supply provides the +22-V programming voltage suggested by the EEPROM's manufacturer.

enough for this project. For more information on DC-to-DC converters, see references 2 and 4.

Construction of the EEPROM circuit is not difficult; using wirewrapping techniques, it should take only a few evenings of effort for those with previous experience. Parts layout is not critical. The use of bypass capacitors (not shown on the schematic) near power connections is recommended. If the leads to the timing capacitor are small enough, one lead can be wrapped directly onto the socket pin and the other to any convenient ground pin.

Programming the 2817

Programming the 2817 is simple. I used my disk operating system to transfer the data (the previously assembled monitor) from disk to an

unused area of memory. Then I used the operating system command MOVE to put the data into the 2817. It is not possible to make a direct disk-to-EEPROM transfer with most disk systems because of the device's relatively slow write speed. A simple BASIC program using PEEK and POKE commands also can do the job. Listing 1 is an example of such a program. Before beginning the write operation, turn SW1 on; after writing, turn SWl off. When in the off position, SWl prevents inadvertent writing into the EEPROM. For example, my system monitor searches for top of memory by rewriting every possible memory location; leaving SWl on could cause rewriting of the EEPROM every time I power up. Most BASICs do the same thing. If allowed to happen, this rewriting

466 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Listing 1: A simple BASIC routine programs the figure 1 EEPROM by moving data from RAM to the EEPROM.

100

110

128 130 140 158 160 170 180 190 280 210 220 238 240 250 268

238 290

REM REM REM REM REM REM REM LET LET LET REM FOR

»* EEPROM PROGRAMMER

D ■

N = P =

D=32888 N=2048

P=61448

Star-tins! address of data to be pr osSr-ainmed. Number- of" bytes to moue. EEPROM start-insi address.

REM For example only. REM A full 2K. REM F888 Hex.

R=D TO D+N B=PEEK<fl> POKE P,B P-^P+1

NEXT fi

REM

PRINT "DONE"

STOP

END

would unnecessarily shorten the life expectancy of the device.

Conclusion

Although my objective in this project was to provide nonvolatile storage for my system monitor, the 2817 is also ideal for storing price lists, accumulated totals, frequently used functions, keyboard character codes, printer/video display character fonts and graphics symbols, data-logging results, or any other infrequently changed data you want to maintain in high-speed nonvolatile memory.

The price of the 2817 might be considered somewhat high at $62.75. When you subtract the cost of an EPROM eraser, however, the price becomes a bit more palatable. The estimated cost of this project is around $110. To construct a similar circuit using a 2716, plus the cost of an EPROM eraser, would come to roughly $125. (A comparison of commercially available products is not possible because no 2817 boards are yet available.) Use of the 2817 then results in a net savings of about 10 percent over the 2716. However, more important than the monetary

consideration are the savings in time and frustration. The 2817 has made EEPROM circuit design, construction, and usage simple, easy, and practical.!

References

1. Ciarcia, Steve. "Add Nonvolatile Memory to Your Computer." BYTE, December 1979, p. 36.

2. Ciarcia, Steve. "Switching Power Supplies: An Introduction." BYTE, November 1981, p. 36.

3. PPROM Family Applications Handbook. Santa Clara, CA: Intel Corporation, November 1981.

4. Morales, Arnold J. and David Ruhberg. "Let the MC68701 Program Itself." BYTE, August 1982, p. 380.

5. Osborne, Adam and Jerry Kane. An Introduction to Microcomputers, vol. 3. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1975.

6. 2817— 16K (2Kx8) Electrically Erasable PROM (data sheet). Santa Clara, CA: Intel Corporation, December 1981.

About the Author

Louis Wheeler is a retired federal government employee. He spent 14 years as a programmer, teacher, and manager of minicomputer systems. His special interest is data processing, in which he has an associate degree. He can he contacted at 1323 Tamera Dr., Oceano, CA 93445.

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BYTE July 1983 469

Software Review

Alcor Pascal and Advanced Development Package

by Rowland Archer Jr.

TRS-80 owners now have a choice between two fine implementations of Pascal: Pascal-80, which I reviewed for BYTE in the December 1981 issue ("Pascal-80," page 304), and Alcor Pascal, the subject of this review. In addition to running on the TRS-80 Models I and III, Alcor Pascal runs under CP/M. (I did not test the CP/M version, but most of the comments in this review should also apply to it.)

System Overview

Alcor Pascal for the Model I comes on three singledensity, 35-track disks with no operating system. The Model III version fits on two double-density disks. Two disk drives and 48K bytes of RAM (random-access read/ write memory) are recommended. Limited use could be made of Alcor Pascal with one drive, but I think you would find this too restrictive.

Alcor Pascal owners may also purchase the Advanced Development Package (ADP). Supplied on a single disk, the programs in this package can make a compiled Pascal program smaller and sometimes faster.

Table 1 lists and describes the files you get with both Alcor Pascal and the ADP. Disk 1 also includes PATCH/ CMD, a utility program supplied by Alcor. You need to install some patches before using Alcor Pascal with Apparat's NEWDOS/80 disk operating system on the Model I. Model III users get a set of patches for Logical Systems' LDOS disk operating system.

I used Alcor Pascal successfully with NEWDOS/80,

LDOS, and TRSDOS on the Model I.

The Alcor system has four main components: a fullscreen text editor, a Pascal compiler, a stand-alone runtime system, and a linking loader. The linking loader lets you construct a program in small modules that can be compiled separately. When you modify a program, only the changed modules have to be recompiled. The linking loader combines all the modules into one command file (with a /CMD filename extension) that can be run directly from the TRSDOS READY prompt.

Alcor does not demand a royalty for the sale of compiled programs, a welcome departure from the policy taken by many compiler vendors. Programs compiled by Alcor Pascal are portable from one type of computer to another: the same program will run on the Model I, III, and CP/M systems. You must use the run-time system for the target machine, but you do not have to make any changes to your source code. If your programs use specific hardware features of one system, they may need to be modified to run on another. One likely problem is the conversion of the TRS-80's 64-column by 16-line screen format to the 80-column by 24-line screen format of many terminals used with CP/M.

Language Features and Restrictions

Alcor's implementation of Pascal is complete. The only omissions from "standard Pascal" (as defined by K. Jensen and N. Wirth's Pascal User Manual and Report, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1975) are the GET and PUT

470 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 471

Alcor Pascal Development System Disk 1: File Size* Description

CMD/HELP

1

ED/CM D

20

ERRORS/DAT

3

HELP/HLP

1

KEY/HLP

2

PASCAL/CM D

28

RUN/CM D

12

Editor command-help messages Full-screen text editor Error messages for compiler Editor summary-help messages Editor control-key-help messages Pascal compiler (nonoverlaid) Run-time software

*Size in grans, one gran = 1280 bytes

Alcor Pascal Development System Disk 2: File Size Description

LINKLOAD/CMD

9

Linking loader program

PASCAUOV1

3

Compiler overlay

PASCAL/OV2

6

Compiler overlay

PASCAL/OV3

5

Compiler overlay

PASCAL/OV4

10

Compiler overlay

PASCALB/CMD

8

Overlayed Pascal compiler executive

STRINGS/OBJ

6

String library, object code

STRINGS/PCL

2

String library, declarations

TRSLIB/OBJ

4

TRS-80 library, object code

TRSLIB/PCL

2

TRS-80 library, declarations

Alcor Pascal Development System Disk 3:

Fi|e Size Description

DATABASE/PCL 12 Example Pascal program

PATCH/CMD 9 System patch program for updates

Txx/PCL 29 24 files with example Pascal

programs from the tutorial manual (xx = manual page number)

Advanced Development Package Disk: File Size Description

ADP/PAT 1

BENCHMK/PCL 1

CODEGEN/CMD 18

CODEINIT/DAT 5

OPTIMIZE/CMD 14

ADP patches for NEWDOS Example benchmark program Z80-code generator Data used by CODEGEN/CMD Pascal p-code optimizer

Table 1: Files included with Alcor Pascal for the TRS-80 Model I and with the Advanced Development Package option.

file buffer procedures and the capability to pass procedures and functions as parameters to other procedures or functions. Alcor Systems has done a fine job in implementing this complete version of Pascal in only 48K bytes of memory. Even better, everything seems to work.

Alcor supplements standard Pascal with a comprehensive library of functions (written in Pascal) for creating and manipulating character strings (table 2). Although the functions are quite powerful, I found them somewhat awkward to use. You can declare a variable to be of type STRING, but you must use the string library functions for everything, even simple operations such as assigning a value to a string and comparing two strings for equality. For example, suppose you have a string variable named REPLY that contains a user's keyboard response, and you want to see whether the user typed "QUIT." You must code:

Function Description

LEN Length of a string

LEFTS Left-hand portion of a string

RIGHTS Right-hand portion of a string

MID$ Any portion of a string

STRS Fill a string with specified character

ENCODEI Convert integer to a string

ENCODER Convert real number to a string

ENCODED Convert double-precision number to a string

DECODEI Convert string to an integer

DECODER Convert string to a real number

DECODED Convert string to a double-precision number

CHARACTER Extract character from a string

CMPSTR Compare two strings

CONC Concatenate two strings

CPYSTR Copy a string

DELETE Delete characters from a string

FIND Locate one string within another

INSERT Insert one string into another

REPLACE Overlay part of one string with another

Table 2: String library functions included with Alcor Pascal.

QSTRING := BLDSTR('QUIT'); IF CMPSTR(QSTRING,REPLY) =

WRITELN ('Goodbye!'); DISPOSE(QSTRING)

EQUAL THEN

Compare this to the equivalent BASIC code:

IF REPLY = "QUIT" THEN PRINT "Goodbye!"

Alcor Pascal strings are built in a part of memory called the "heap." Every string has a current length associated with it, as many as 32,767 characters (this maximum is unusually large—many languages limit you to 255-character strings). When you create a string using the BLDSTR (build string) function, space for the string is allocated in the heap. If you do not call the DISPOSE function after you are finished with the string, the heap space is never recovered.

Alcor Pascal provides a good interface between machine-language routines and Pascal programs. A CALLS function lets you load initial values into any of the Z80 registers and then pass control to a machinelanguage routine at a fixed address. Machine-language routines can be loaded into high memory, and all parts of the Alcor system honor the reserved high-memory pointer maintained by the disk operating system. Functions are available to get the address of any Pascal variable at run time, and details about their internal storage structure are provided so your machine-language routines can manipulate Pascal variables.

Alcor Systems included a set of functions to let TRS-80 users take advantage of specific hardware features (see table 3). Pascal programs using these functions may not be compatible with non-TRS-80 Alcor Pascal environments.

472 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 473

At a Glance

Name

Alcor Pascal and Advanced Development Package

Type

Pascal language-development system

Distributor

Alcor Systems

800 West Garland Ave., #204

Garland, TX 75040

(214) 226-4476

Price

Pascal development system (includes text editor), SI99; text editor alone, $60; Advanced Development Package (requires development system), S 125

Software

Development system includes a full-screen text editor, Pascal compiler, run-time software, linking loader, and example programs. Advanced Development Package contains a p-code optimizer and a Z80 native-code generator

Format

For TRS-80 Model I and III; 5 'A -inch floppy disks, single density, no disk operating system; for CP/M: contact Alcor for available disk formats

Computer

TRS-80 Model I or III, or Z80-based CP/M system; at least 48K bytes of RAM and one disk drive, two recommended

Documentation

245-page manual in three-ring loose-leaf notebook; contains comprehensive discussion of language details and system operation. Also includes a beginner's guide and a tutorial; some familiarity with programming is expected

Audience

Programmers in need of a Pascal language-development system for the TRS-80 Model I or III or a Z80-based CP/M computer

Disk Data Files

One of standard Pascal's widely acknowledged limitations is the restriction of data-file access to sequential I/O (input/output). Most Pascal implementations extend the language with some mechanism for random file access. Alcor has recently updated its Pascal with procedures to support random file access in addition to sequential-file access.

Alcor Pascal lets you specify filenames at run time. When a program starts, you are prompted to supply a filename for each file used by that program. You can link any file to the screen, printer, a disk file, or a "dummy" file. Output to the dummy file is simply discarded. If you don't want the system to prompt for filenames in this fashion, you can handle the process from within your Pascal program.

Another convenient feature is the ability to handle disk I/O errors in your program. For example, if a program tries to open a nonexistent file, you can catch this error within the program and continue processing. One thing missing in the file area is the ability to delete a file from within a program.

Procedure

or Function

Description

CLEARGRAPHICS Clear screen with graphics blank

(80 hexadecimal)

SETPOINT

Turn on graphics pixel

RSETPOINT

Turn off graphics pixel

TESTPOINT

Test if graphics pixel is on or off

PEEK

Read 1 byte of memory

POKE

Write 1 byte of memory

GOTOXY

Position cursor on screen

NOBLANK

Control blanking of next screen line when

printing a carriage return

READCURSOR

Return current cursor position

(row, column)

WRITECH

Write single character at cursor

WRITESTRING

Write portion of string at cursor

CLEARSCREEN

Clear screen with blanks

INKEY

Strobe keyboard, return key if pressed

GETKEY

Return key when pressed

INP

Read a Z80 port

OUT

Write to a Z80 port

USER

Call a machine-language routine, pass one

16-bit integer in HL register pair

CALLS

Call a machine-language routine, pass

values in all registers

TIME

Return time of day

DATE

Return date

Table 3: TRS-80 library functions included with Alcor

Pascal.

Command

Description

APPEND

Read text from file into memory buffer

EXIT

Save file and end edit session

FIND

Search for string

HELP

List editor instructions

HSCROLL

Control horizontal scrolling

INSFILE

Insert lines from a file at the cursor

QUIT

Discard changes and end edit session

QUOTE

Insert nonprintable character(s)

REPLACE

Find string and replace with new one

ROLL

Set page size for vertical scrolling

SHOWFILE

List portion of any disk file

SHOWLINE

Move cursor to specified line number

TABS

Set tab stops

WRITE

Write text from buffer to disk file

+

Move cursor ahead specified number of lines

Move cursor back specified number of lines

Single keystroke commands are available to:

Move

cursor anywhere on screen

Scroll back and forth a page at a time

Delete and insert characters and lines

Set automatic indenting

Set and clear tabs, tab backward or forward

Split, merge, and duplicate lines

Repeat last FIND or REPLACE command

Show amount of memory available

Table 4: Commands provided by the Blaise full-screen text

editor.

Full-Screen Editor

The Alcor system includes a full-screen text editor (which may be purchased separately), called Blaise after Blaise Pascal. Although this editor has a number of powerful features, it has some annoying aspects that kept me from using it. Fortunately, Alcor Pascal source files

474 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Ire

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are in the normal TRS-80 ASCII (American National Standard Code for Information Interchange) file format. You can use any editor that lets you create and modify such files.

The Blaise editor does have some useful functions: a HELP command, a fast string-search command, the ability to list one file while editing another, the ability to insert a file (or portion thereof) into the file you are editing, and automatic tabbing to help enter properly indented Pascal programs (table 4).

My dissatisfaction with Blaise stems from Alcor's decision to make this editor independent of TRS-80 hardware characteristics so that it can run on CP/M systems as well as the TRS-80. This is a fine goal, but a side effect is that Blaise does not fit the TRS-80 hardware very well. For example, it uses the Model I Clear key as a control key. But you cannot hold Clear down to repeat a command. Therefore, to tab forward twice, you must press Clear-TClear-T. This problem occurs with many other control key functions, and I found it maddening enough to keep me from using Blaise.

Blaise allows you to edit a file too large to fit in memory all at once. To do this, you must use explicit commands to write some of the front of the file out to disk and append more of the file from disk to the memory buffer. Once you have written part of a file out to disk, you cannot return to editing that part of the file without finishing the edit session and starting over from the beginning.

The CP/M version of Alcor Pascal comes with Blaise II, a more sophisticated editor that includes wordprocessing features such as justify, fill, cut, paste, and a complete macroinstruction language capability. I did not have an opportunity to test this version of Blaise.

Using the Compiler

Alcor supplies two versions of the compiler: one that loads into memory all at once and one that loads several overlays from disk as it compiles. The overlaid version runs more slowly but takes up less room in memory and thus compiles larger programs. Alcor claims that on a 48K-byte TRS-80, the nonoverlaid compiler can handle around 1000 lines of Pascal, whereas the overlaid compiler can process 4000-line programs. These numbers are only approximate and are highly dependent on what the lines contain.

The compiler reads its source code from disk and creates an object-code file on disk. The nonoverlaid compiler runs at around 100 lines per minute. It generates a program listing that can go to the screen, printer, or a disk file. Source-code errors are flagged with an arrow and one or more error numbers. Messages corresponding to the error numbers are printed at the end of the listing. Most of the error messages effectively point out the problem. Compiler options include:

•Conditional compilation. Any section of source code can be bracketed by conditional statements. If a statement is true, the bracketed code is compiled; otherwise it

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is ignored.

•Separate compilation. A "nullbody" declarative, which takes the place of the main program statement, is used to create separately compiled procedures and functions that can be linked to form an executable program. One limitation is that separately compiled modules cannot access global variables unless all such modules have completely identical global variable declarations. In a big program, this can mean a lot of duplicate source code, slowing down the compilation process and defeating the purpose of separately compiled modules. •Double-precision variables. A "double" declaration makes all REAL-type variables double precision. The default is single precision. The disadvantage with this is that you may frequently want to choose double precision for only selected variables. The TRS-80 version of Alcor Pascal saves some space in generated code by using the BASIC ROM (read-only memory) routines to do arithmetic.

Linking Loader

Of the two ways to run your program, the easier approach is to type "RUN filename," where filename is the name of your program. You can use this only if your program was compiled in one piece. The Alcor RUN program interprets p-code (pseudocode), the output of the Pascal compiler. P-code is the machine language for an imaginary machine, designed specifically to execute Pascal programs. A p-code interpreter is a program that runs on your hardware and simulates the operation of the imaginary p-code machine.

If your program contains separately compiled modules, you must run the linking loader utility. The loader requests the names of all separately compiled modules. It reads them into memory one at a time and produces a single /CMD file, which contains all the modules' code plus the p-code interpreter. You can then run your program by typing the name of the /CMD file from the TRSDOS READY prompt.

Advanced Development Package

The optional Advanced Development Package helps make Pascal programs more compact and/or faster (see table 1). ADP includes a p-code optimizer that transforms the code generated by the compiler into a smaller, equivalent program. According to Alcor, the optimizer usually reduces a program in size by 10 to 30 percent. Most of the programs I tried it on were reduced by about 20 percent, which can be a critical savings if you are pushing the limits of program size. An optimized program is sometimes faster too, but the increase in speed depends on the specific program. To achieve its aims, the optimizer does several things to a p-code file, including:

•replacing 2-byte addresses with 1-byte addresses where

possible

•eliminating instructions that cancel each other out, such

as increment followed by decrement

•replacing constant expressions with constants

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Alcor Pascal Optimized Z80 Code

Pascal-80

Compile Time

0:45 0:31 1:03 0:08

Run Time

6:39

6:43

1:54

23:34

Code File Stand-alone Size /CMD Size

1019 832

2677 512

11307 11269 11865 11776

•Times are minutes : seconds; file sizes are in bytes

Table 5: Benchmark comparison of Alcor Pascal with Pascal-80. Also listed are the compile times for optimized and code-generated Alcor Pascal.

The ADP also includes a code generator that produces optimized Z80 code from a p-code file. Actually, the generator does not produce pure Z80 code; it leaves as p-code functions that will not benefit much from conversion. You still need to link the run-time package with the generated code to get an executable program. The code generator produces a Z80-code file that is typically 2 to 3 times larger than the corresponding p-code file but runs 3 to 5 times faster.

The ADP is noteworthy for its flexibility. A single program can contain all three types of code files: normal p-code files produced by the compiler, optimized p-code files, and Z80-code files from the code generator. The linking loader combines all three file types into a single /CMD file. This feature lets you select those parts of a program that will most benefit from increase in speed and run the code generator on them.

Performance

I ran several benchmark programs comparing Alcor Pascal and Pascal-80 on the TRS-80. In general, Pascal-80 compiles programs faster, but programs compiled by Alcor Pascal run faster. Listing 1 contains an example I borrowed from the article "A High-Level Language Benchmark" by Jim Gilbreath (September 1981, page 180).

Listing 1: Eratosthenes Sieve high-level language benchmark program.

PROGRAM prime;

8190;

CONST

size

VAR

flags : ARRAY!0..size] OF BOOLEAN; i,prime,k,count,iter : INTEGER;

BEGIN

WRITELNC'10 iterations'); FOR iter := 1 TO 10 DO BEGIN

count := 0; FOR i := 0 TO size DO flags! i] := TRUE; FOR i := 0 TO size DO IF flags[i] THEN BEGIN

prime := i + i + 3,lc := i + prime; WHILE k <= size DO BEGIN

flagstk] := FALSE; k := k + prime END; count := count + 1;

END;

WRITELNfcount, ' primes')

END.

Table 5 shows the results of the test. For each compiler, source code was read from disk, an object file was produced on disk, and a listing was produced on the screen. I used Alcor's nonoverlaid version of the compiler (the faster one). Pascal-80 took only 8 seconds to compile the benchmark compared to Alcor's 45 seconds. The Alcor compiler is not especially slow—it's just that Pascal-80 is very fast. Alcor said that its compiler is slower than Pascal-80 because it does more work to generate fasterrunning programs. The results in the rest of the table support this claim.

The benchmark ran 3.5 times faster under Alcor Pascal than under Pascal-80. The Alcor Z80-code generator

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BYTE July 1983 481

speeds this up by another factor of 3.5, for a total of 12.25 times faster than Pascal-80. For a reference point, Pascal-80 runs this benchmark about 3.33 times faster than Level II BASIC.

Documentation

Alcor Systems' manual is professional and a pleasure to use. In an industry in which most program documentation is barely adequate, Alcor has done a commendable job. Especially useful is the Quick Reference Guide that covers most aspects of system operation, including editor, compiler, and loader commands, error messages, the ASCII character set, and the Pascal language syntax.

The manual comes in a sturdy three-ring loose-leaf binder. It contains a Beginner's Guide, four main sections, and an index. The first section concisely describes the Blaise text editor. Although some familiarity with file-editing concepts is assumed, all of the editor commands are adequately described.

The second section is devoted to the use of Alcor Pascal with your hardware. Alcor included specifics of operating the compiler and linking loader, along with a description of internal number representation and details of the TRS-80 procedure, function, and string libraries.

A 71-page tutorial section is also included, which takes you through the elements of Pascal programming with lots of sample program fragments. The source code for the examples is included on disk. A tutorial quiz follows some of the chapters. Answers to the quizzes must be

found in the text, as separate answer keys are not supplied. The chapter ends with a 01/2-page sample database program, also included on disk.

A 103-page reference section follows the tutorial, with detailed descriptions of every aspect of Pascal syntax and semantics. Examples show the use of most keywords but are not always extensively explained. If you are already familiar with Pascal or a similar language, the tutorial and reference sections together are probably all you will need. If your experience is limited to BASIC, you may want to invest in a good Pascal textbook as well.

Conclusions

Alcor Pascal is a powerful language-development system for the TRS-80 and CP/M microcomputers. Nearly all of standard Pascal is implemented along with many useful extensions to the language. The performance of Alcor Pascal programs is usually much better than equivalent programs written in BASIC, and the Advanced Development Package Z80-code-generator option lets you produce even faster programs.

For a new product as complex as a compiler, the system is commendably reliable; I found only a few minor bugs. Alcor has produced a significant piece of software that I can recommend without reservation.■

Rowland Archer (5420 Loyal Place, Durham, NC 27713) is manager of software development for a minicomputer company. He has been working with TRSSOs for four years.

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482 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 483

Add High-Level Logical

Structure to Your

FORTH Assembler

Some extensions to your FORTH assembler package

can make your assembly-language programs

more readable and easier to write

by Victor Joseph Grazi

[Editor's Note: Although this article directly applies to FORTH users who already have a FORTH 8080 assembler, I hope that all assembly-language FORTH users will read it. Most of the ideas contained here can be easily transferred to other microprocessors. In addition, the set of FORTH words described at the end of the article removes one of the main objections to using assembly language with FORTH, the inability to mix high-level FORTH words and assembly-language words in the same definition. This supports my view of FORTH, that you can have anything you want in it, but you have to be willing to implement it yourself. . . .G. W.]

We all know the advantages of assembly-language programming. Unfortunately, we also are intimately aware of its disadvantages. (Mr. Murphy encapsulated the problem quite snugly in his ubiquitous law.) The source of the difficulty is that assembly language lacks the fundamental structures we have come to rely on in the higher-level languages. Included among these structures are variables, variable operators, logical structures, and logical connectives.

The FORTH assembler (being a simple one-pass assem

bler) compounds the problem by not allowing forward references. It alleviates the tension somewhat, however, by having several logical structuring constructs that, in principle, remove the need for explicit forward references. These structures are

• BEGIN, ... AGAIN,

• BEGIN, ... UNTIL,

• BEGIN, ... WHILE, ... REPEAT,

• IF, ... ELSE THEN,

The purpose of this article is twofold: to extend the list of logical constructs by defining a set of FORTH words that allows the programmer to think in terms of highlevel language while programming in assembly language and to explain the method used so that more words can be defined at will by the programmer as needed.

For the benefit of those who have never seen FORTH assembly language, I must add that FORTH assemblers use reverse Polish (postfix) notation (RPN). For example, JMP LABEL in traditional assembly language is tran

484 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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scribed as { LABEL JMP, } in FORTH assembly language. [The braces are the BYTE standard notation for isolating FORTH phrases and FORTH words that include punctuation. . . .G. W. ] Where one would load a register by MOV A,B in the traditional version, the FORTH user would write { B A MOV, } (the comma in { MOV, } is part of the word). MVI H OFFH becomes { FF H MVI, } and PUSH H is now { H PUSH, }. Note the FORTH convention of ending all words that assemble code into the FORTH dictionary with a comma.

One other important implementational difference between traditional assembly language and FORTH structured assembly language is the use of compound conditional branch notation, in which the status flag is treated as an operand. For example, RC (return on carry) in traditional assembly language becomes { CY RETC, } (carry, return on condition) in FORTH; JNZ LABEL in assembly language becomes { LABEL < > 0 JMPC, } (not zero, jump on condition to LABEL).

The status-flag operands are

< >0 (not zero) = 0 (zero) NC (not carry) CY (carry) PO (parity odd) PE (parity even) > =0 (positive) <0 (negative)

The test and branch words are

• CALLC, (call on condition)

• RETC, (return on condition)

• JMPC, (jump on condition)

as well as the standard structure words listed at the beginning of the article. You are now initiated.

Let us examine the { BEGIN, ... WHILE, ... REPEAT, } construct. This construct assembles the appropriate jumps so that, when executed, the code that occurs between { BEGIN, } and { WHILE, } is executed. If the test condition is true at that point, the code between { WHILE, } and { REPEAT, } is executed. This is followed by another round starting back at { BEGIN, }. The cycle continues until the { WHILE, } condition becomes false.

But format does not make the intended meaning as obvious as possible. For example:

WHILE( B ORA, <>0 )W M B MOV, HINX,

REPEAT,

and the difference is even more dramatic when variables are introduced.

In this trivial case, the words { WHILE( } and { )W } are simply pseudonyms for { BEGIN, } and { WHILE, } respectively:

: WHILE( BEGIN, ; : )W WHILE, ;

Variables

A variable is a 16-bit location in memory with a label initially assigned by the FORTH word VARIABLE . For example, { 0 VARIABLE TEST-VAR } creates a variable named TEST-VAR and assigns it an initial value of 0. The phrase { TEST-VAR LHLD, } picks up the value of TEST-VAR and loads it into the HL register pair. And { TEST-VAR SHLD, } assigns the value in the HL register pair to the variable named TEST-VAR . Suppose we have two variables named P and Q . To assign the value of Q to P we could write { Q LHLD, P SHLD, }. [Remember that P and Q are addresses, the values of which are placed on the stack and used by { LHLD, } and { SHLD, }. . . G. W.] This is short, but it is not as elegant as { P Q < — }, where the word < — is defined by

: < - LHLD, SHLD, ;

Immediate assignment is similar. To assign the variable P the value 3, we could write { 3 H LXI, P SHLD, }, but { P 3 < — # } has obvious advantages where the new word < — # is defined by

: < -# H LXI, SHLD, ;

To increment the variable P by 1, we are no longer bound by{ P LHLD, H INX, P SHLD, }, for we can now do the same thing with { P + + }, where + + is defined as

+ + DUP LHLD, H INX, SHLD,

Similarly:

- - DUP LHLD, H DCX, SHLD,

BEGIN,

<>0 WHILE,

BORA,

M B MOV, HINX, REPEAT,

becomes somewhat clearer with a little grooming:

Keep in mind that these words do not assemble any obscure code; they are merely handy macro abbreviations for the desired assembly-language code.

For comparison of variables, a subroutine called { (COMPARE) } is in order (its definition is given in listing 1). Now we can define

: COMPARE CALL, ;

LHLD, XCHG, LHLD, (COMPARE)

486 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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BYTE July 1983 487

Listing 1: A FORTH 8080 assembly-language word called { (COMPARE) }. This word is used to create the word COMPARE ; see the text for details.

LABEL (COMPARE) ( compare HL and DE Leave CARRY flag and zero flag appropriately set by the result. Don't modify HL or DE I B PUSH, A B MOV. B PUSH. ( save BC and A ) H A MOV, D CMP, ( compare high bytes ) =*0 IF, ( if equal, compare low bytes > L A MOV, E CMP, THEN, B POP, B A MOV, B POP, ( restore BC and A, don't touch flags! RET,

Listing 2: The FORTH definitions of the words { RETURN( } and { )R }, which allow an assembly-language definition to return to FORTH, depositing set variables onto the stack. See the text for details.

: RETURN( CSP e !CSP ,

)R SPe >R CSP e R> - -DUP ( get stack depth ) IF

2 =

IF ( if 2 bytes, i e. one single precision number,

LHLD, HPUSH ( assemble HPUSH ) ELSE ( otherwise, assemble DPUSH ) LHLD, XCHG. LHLD, XCHG. DPUSH THEN ELSE ( no parameters )

NEXT ( assemble jump to NEXT ) THEN CSP ! ; ( reset CSP )

so that the code to compare P and Q can be assembled by { P Q COMPARE }, leaving the status flags appropriately affected by the result of P — Q. (The value of P remains in HL and the value of Q remains in DE.)

To assemble an exit back to FORTH from the word being defined, we would normally end the assembly-language definition with NEXT to exit with no output parameters, HPUSH to exit with the value of the HL register pair returned on the stack, or DPUSH to exit with the value of the HL register pair returned on the top of the stack and the value of the DE register pair returned beneath it. [These words evidently compile ]MPs to routines named NEXT, HPUSH, and DPUSH, all of which are special entry points to the FORTH interpreter. . . .G. W.] The two FORTH words { RETURN( } and { )R } simplify this arrangement. The phrase { RETURN( P )R } assembles a return to FORTH with the value of the variable P left on top of the stack, and the phrase { RETURN( P Q )R } assembles the exit with the value of Q on top of the stack and the value of P beneath it. Note that P and Q must be variables and, as such, must point to their respective values. For example, to return with 2 and 1 on the stack, the desirable { RETURN( 2 1 )R } will fail. You could use

2 VARIABLE TWO 1 VARIABLE ONE RETURN( TWO ONE )R

to accomplish the desired result. The phrase { RETURN( )R } with no output parameters is a pseudonym for NEXT .

The definition of the { RETURN( ... )R } construct, shown in listing 2, is the most complex. Note that { IF ... ELSE ... THEN } is the high-level FORTH counterpart of the { IF, ... ELSE, ... THEN, } assembly-language construct. Its usage is proper in the definition of this macro rather than the assembly-language

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BYTE July 1983

489

Circle 43 on Inquiry card.

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form because the decision to be made is which code to assemble during assembly time as opposed to which branch to take during run time.

While we're on the subject of variables, let's see how we might access the members of a one-dimensional character array residing in memory. Normally, if STRADDR were the location of the first element of the array and we wanted the Nth item in the array (both STRADDR and N are variables), we would write

N LHLD, XCHG, STRADDR LHLD, D DAD,

which would leave the HL register pair pointing to the desired element. But we can define a word that will assemble all the messy stuff for us:

: [] LHLD, XCHG, LHLD, D DAD, ;

Now, if we want to get the Nth element of STRADDR into the A register, for example, we would write

STRADDR N[]MA MOV,

Other niceties include the following definitions:

< COMPARE <0 ; = COMPARE =0 ; > = COMPARE > =0 ;

These definitions allow us to write

P Q < RETC, ( return if P less than Q)

or

P Q = IF, H INX, THEN, ( if P = Q, then increment HL)

Other variations include < f , which compares a variable on the left with an immediate number on the right. The definition

: <# LXI, XCHG, LHLD, (COMPARE) CALL, <0 ;

allows us to do the following:

P 0 <# RETC, ( return if value of P is negative).

A significant source of frustration in assembly language, particularly FORTH assembly language, is the lack of a convenient way to branch based on the results of two or more independent tests. For example, in any high-level structured language, you can write something such as

WHILE (P = Q AND N < 3 )

REPEAT

490 July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc

Circle 152 on Inquiry card.

Listing 3: These FORTH words allow compound logical tests to be carried out in assembly-language definitions. See the text for details.

Listing 4: The FORTH definitions of the words ASM< and FORTH< , which allow you to mix high-level and assemblylanguage words in the same definition. See the text for details.

; LOGICAL STC IF, CMC, THEN. CMC- PSW PUSH, . I set or r CARRY flag based on truth of condition, push PSW ) : L. . . XTHL. XCHG, ( PSW in DE. HL to stack )

LOGICAL ( set CARRY, push PSW )

XTHL, ( PSW in HL, DE to stack >

L A MOV, , ( get flags into A ) • ...L A L MOV, H PUSH, PSW POP, ( new flags and A into PSW )

D POP, H POP, ( restore registers )

CY ( ready for test of CARRY flag ) I ( end of macro ) : AND, L. E ANA, ! perform AND, on CARRY flags ) . . , L f : OR, L. . . E ORA, ( perform OR, on CARRY flags ) . . . L ; XOR, L. , . E XRA, ( perform XOR, on CARRY flags ) . . . L I

A convenient facsimile for our structured assembler would be used as follows:

WHILE( P Q = LOGICAL N 3 <# AND, )W

REPEAT

The word LOGICAL assembles code that sets or resets the carry flag based on the truth of the condition (in this case, equality). Then it saves the program status word on the stack until a connective word ({ AND, }, { OR, }, or { XOR, }) is reached. The connective word then assembles code that sets or resets the carry flag based on the truth of the condition (in this case, <# ) and performs the appropriate and, or, or exclusive-or operation on the current carry flag with the value of the carry flag as it was at the time it was saved by LOGICAL. Effectively, the LOGICAL construct applies the appropriate logical connective word ({ AND, }, { OR, }, or { XOR, }) to the expression up to the word LOGICAL, with the expression between LOGICAL and the connective. LOGICAL, { AND, }, { OR, }, and { XOR, } are defined so that they do not modify any of the machine registers; see listing 3.

Mixing High- and Low-Level Words in FORTH

If you have made it this far, I have a special surprise for you. I will now define a word that will allow you to mix high-level FORTH words with low-level assembly-language words, back and forth as often as you like, right in the same word definition. The word ASM< is actually an in-line assembler that is used as follows:

: ASM-TEST ... (FORTH words) ... ASM< ... (assembly-language words) ... FORTH< ... (FORTH words) ... (etc.)

The definitions of ASM < and FORTH < are given in listing 4. The word ASM< saves the current base and CONTEXT vocabulary. It also compiles a mock CFA (codefield address) pointer, which appears to the interpreter as

: ASM< BASE @ CONTEXT @ @ ( save base and CONTEXT vocabulary on stack )

HERE 6 * , ( compile mock CFA pointer )

COMPILE BRANCH HERE 0 , ( compile branch around code, offset to be filled in by FORTH< )

HERE 2+ , ( compile mock CFA )

[COMPILE] ASSEMBLER ( set ASSEMBLER vocabulary ) [COMPILE] I ; ( enter execution mode for assembly ) IMMEDIATE ( to be executed in compile mode ) : FORTH< HERE OVER - SWAP ! ( fill in offset of branch ) NEXT ( assemble jump to next )

CONTEXT 9 i BASE ! ( restore vocabulary and base; r«set c omp i1e mode )

] , < resume compilation mode )

a standard FORTH CFA pointer as compiled into a standard FORTH word. This pointer indicates the address where the code is to be assembled. It then compiles a FORTH branch around the code, so that when the code is done executing, control passes back to FORTH beginning with the word following the assembled code (see figure

1).

The word FORTH< assembles a jump to the FORTH

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc 491

(la)

HERE (BEFORE) i

MOCK WORD

-> POINTS TO

ONE BYTE

y ONE 16-BIT WORD

HERE (AFTER)

~^\

BRANCH I

HIGH-LEVEL FORTH WORDS

T

MOCK CFA I

'1

POINTS TO

(lb)

HIGH-LEVEL FORTH WORDS

MOCK WORD I

r

HERE (8EFORE)

POINTS TO

BRANCH

I

OFFSET

MOCK CFA I

POINTS TO

CAUSES JUMP TO

"1

HERE (AFTER)

CAUSES JUMP TO

\l

I NEXT JMP,

'

ASSEMBLY-LANGUAGE CODE

HIGH-LEVEL FORTH WORDS

Figure 1: Operation of the FORTH words ASM< and FORTH< . In la and lb, the condition of the dictionary is shown after the words ASM< and FORTH< , respectively, have executed. The words HERE (BEFORE) and HERE (AFTER) show the positions of the dictionary pointer before and after the given word has executed. See listing 4 and the text for details.

flag, offset )

Listing 5: An 8080 assembly-language definition that uses some of the words defined in this article. The word MATCH does a substring search as defined in the text.

0 VARIABLE I 0 VARIABLE J 0 VARIABLE K

0 VARIABLE FALSE

1 VARIABLE TRUE

CODE MATCH < TXTAD, CNT, STRAD. LEN H POP. LEN SHLD,

H POP. STRAD SHLD. H POP. CNT SHLD, H POP. TXTAD SHLD, I 0 <-»

WHILEI I CNT < )U

J I <- K 0 <-«

WHILEt K LEN < LOGICAL TXTAD J C3 MA MOV, STRAD KM M CMP, =0 AND, )U U ++ K ++ REPEAT. LEN K ■= IF,

RETURN< TRUE I >R THEN, I ♦ + REPEAT, RETURN! FALSE I )R

inner interpreter routine NEXT and restores the base and vocabulary as it was before ASM< . Note that all this occurs during compilation time. At run time, the code appears to be a standard FORTH word, with all the jumps and branches already having been assembled and compiled during compile time.

None of the machine registers are preserved across FORTH words except for the BC register pair, which contains the FORTH interpretive pointer (which is similar to the machine's program counter) and must always be preserved.

The scope of these methods is endless. Using them, you can define arithmetic operators, 1-byte compare operators, DO loops, FOR ... NEXT loops, or any structures you want from your favorite languages.

I will conclude with an example. Suppose you want to code a program that is to search CNT bytes of text beginning at TXTAD for occurrences of the string of length LEN at STRAD , where TXTAD , CNT , STRAD , and LEN are variables. The program in listing 5 will load the initial values from the stack as indicated and then perform the search. The number of bytes searched will be returned on top of the stack and a true flag beneath it if the string was found, or a false flag otherwise. .

The listing 5 program is strictly FORTH-structured 8080 assembly language. Any similarity to popular highlevel languages is purely intentional. ■

About the Author

Victor Joseph Grazi, who has a master's degree in math, can be reached at 220 Elberon Blvd., Oakhurst, N] 07755. He is offering copies of his implementation of fig-FORTH, available for $50 on North Star double-density CP/M disks, with the source and users manual included.

492 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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Ask BYTE

Conducted by Steve Clarcla

Getting a Handle on Disk Removal

Dear Steve,

My new IBM Personal Computer was just delivered and I have a problem with the disk drives: there are no ejectors, which makes removal of a disk a delicate operation. It is a special problem for me because I am disabled and my manual dexterity is poor.

Do you have any suggestions for disk removal? Perhaps a tool of suitable material is what's needed, but so far I've had no luck finding such an instrument. Bob Hayes Dallas, TX

The IBM's 5'A-inch disk drives do not include an ejector mechanism to facilitate disk removal. Because the door on the disk drive only covers the center position of the disk, it would be possible to tape a handle to each disk. This could be a string or a semicircular piece of thin plastic that would extend or hang out of the drive when the disk is inserted. Removal would be simplified because your capture range would be significantly increased. I am not aware of any tool designed for such a purpose, but there are some disk drives that have a full-width door (e. g., Siemens makes one). . . .Steve

Signal Conversions

Dear Steve,

For several years I have been using Michael Shrayer's Electric Pencil with my North Star computer for word processing in my law practice. As you probably know, that program does not work with conventional terminals. I am

using a Polymorphic VTI video board with an RF (radio frequency) interface and an old television set; the resolution of that setup leaves something to be desired.

I have put together a Heath H-19A terminal for my other programs and with the hope of modifying it to act as a video monitor as well as a terminal. Alas, the Heath terminal video section does not use the composite-video signal of the sort generated by the Polymorphic board; it uses separate horizontal and video synchronization signals. Perhaps I can pick off those signals on the Polymorphic board, but I would prefer to modify the Heath terminal with a gizmo that converts the composite-video signal to that accepted by the Heath video section, with a switch to go from the terminal mode to the monitor mode. Do you know of such a unit?

Michael Downey Rice Port Washington, NY

The gizmo that you require is called a sync separator. Its function is to pick off the horizontal and vertical synchronizing pulses contained in the composite-video signal and provide separate outputs. A suitable circuit appeared in the January 6, 1982 issue of EDN magazine on page 207. . . . Steve

Capacitors Improve

Response, Prevent

Oscillation

Dear Steve,

In trying to build a new' power supply for a pair of 8-inch Shugart floppy-disk drives, I somehow came up with the schematic in figure 1 for a 24-V (volt) regulator. After building the supply, I

found a problem in the 24-V portion. It provides a steady 24 V DC as long as there is a load across it (the head-load solenoid in this case). When the head unloads, the output voltage starts to oscillate between 7 and 37 V. It continues to oscillate until the AC power to the supply is switched off and on, at which time the voltage goes back to 24 V until the supply is loaded then unloaded again. What is causing this problem? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thank you. Mike Minter Denton, TX

Ql

MJ2955

It's a good design practice to place small-value capacitors on the input and output of three-terminal regulators to improve transient response and prevent oscillation. The input capacitor C, can be anything from about 0.33 to 1.0 fiF (microfarad). Tantalum capacitors are recommended for their highfrequency bypass characteristics, but disk ceramics will suffice. The output capacitor C0 should be from 0.01 to 0.20 /iF and disk ceramic is acceptable. The actual values are not critical, but they should not be omitted. . . . Steve

vt9

4©

Q2

MJ2955

CI lOO^F '.

II 7824

R2

750ft

1W

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Conversions and Interfaces

Dear Steve,

I would like to build a data-acquisition system for use in a biomedical research laboratory. The system must be able to sample and store 1000 samples for each of two analog signals, have 8-bit accuracy, and be able to sample at rates from 1 kHz to 1 MHz.

Is the Z8-based computer described in BYTE fast enough to handle these sampling rates? (See "Build a Z8-Based Control Computer with BASIC," Part 1, July 1981 BYTE, page 38; Part 2, August 1981 BYTE, page 50.) Could you suggest an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter that can handle these sampling rates? The voltages sampled would range be

498 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

jr«I:a<i(;l:!I»!l«rt::»

Itfe got all the bases covered.

HP-16C. DECREASE YOUR PROGRAMMING TIME. INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY. Now software engineers and logic designers can spend less time on bit-manipulation, Boolean and baseconversion functions and more time on more productive tasks. Like expanding your own creative potential.

How? Easy. The HP-16C programmable calculator is

Personal computers and calculators for professionals on the move.

PG02315 276R

capable of converting across four number bases, not only hexidecimal, octal, and decimal but binary as well. And it has the most powerful combination of bit manipulation, variable word size, and programming capabilities of any pocket calculator in the marketplace to date.

For the authorized HP dealer or HP sales office nearest you, call TOLL-FREE 800547-3400 and ask for operator #70 (Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii: 503-758-1010).

Circle 187 on inquiry card.

HEWLETT PACKARD

ra

Ask BYTE.

tween +5 and — 5V.

Also, I would like to build the color-graphics interface you described for use with a Sinclair ZX81 computer, but am unsure as to what control signals I should use to control the TMS9918ANL VDP (video display processor). (See "High-Resolution SpriteOriented Color Graphics," August 1982 BYTE, page 57.) I have interfaced my ZX81 to parallel I/O ports, so I am familiar with simple interfacing. Can you tell me which control signals I should use? Can you also give me the approximate price of the TMS9918ANL VDP and a source for this chip7 Dr. Bill Jackson Charlottesville, VA

Because the Z8 BASIC computer runs a BASIC interpreter, its execution of instructions is slower than the 7-MHz clock rate might imply. The system actually executes much less than 100,000 average BASIC instructions per second, so this would not meet the upper limit of your requirements. The problem here is that the processor must execute tens of machine-level instructions for each interpreted BASIC instruction.

In fact, it would take a pretty fast microcomputer to take 8-bit samples at a 1-MHz rate, especially if the system must save them in mass storage (floppy disk) at the same time. Even if the software to process the samples was written in machine code, there would only be enough time for the system to save them in memory. Because 8-bit microprocessors can only address a maximum of 64K-byte memory locations, you would be limited to less than 66 ms (milliseconds) of recording time at a 1-MHz rate. The only solution is to reduce the sampling rate or resort to

some method of direct memory access for your A/D converter.

If you can live with a 10-kHz sample rate, National Semiconductor's MM5357 A/D converter is easy to interface to 8-bit microcomputers. I suggest you see James Cameron's "A HighResolution Analog-to-Digital Converter" (February 1983 BYTE, page 378). His article contains information on the MM5357, as well as a schematic diagram showing how to interface it to a Radio Shack TRS-80.

The control signals necessary for the E-Z Color board are the R/W line, a DeviceSelect line, Reset, one address line, and eight data lines. All of these signals can be obtained from the expansion connector on the rear of the Sinclair ZX81.

The TMS9918ANL VDP is available from the Micro Mint (561 Willow Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516, (800) 645-3479; in New York, (516) 374-6793). It comes with the 10.7386-MHz crystal and a comprehensive 114-page data manual published by Texas Instruments. It costs $50, plus $2 for shipping. . . .Steve

CP/M Offers Machine Independence

Dear Steve,

I would like to know of any books or articles that deal with making a program machine-independent. I am particularly interested in programming Intel's 8080 and Zilog's Z80 microprocessors. Specifically, I would like to know how to query a disk drive to determine record size, number of records per side, single- or double-density, and single- or doublesided. Are there any short cuts to finding which port the

video-display console is connected to7

I would appreciate references you could provide. James Bingham Phoenix, AZ

The fact that there are so many computers on the market with incompatible software testifies to the lack of machine-independent programs. Even if the programs were written for one processor, there is no standard for I/O locations.

The CP/M operating system is designed for 8080 and Z80 microprocessors and has been adapted for many computers. Programs written under CP/M are essentially machine-independent because a program written on one system can be run on another. CP/M has commands that let you query a disk drive for file status and record size and to send data to the console, the printer, and other I/O devices.

Information about CP/M can be obtained from Digital Research (POB 579, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, (408) 649-3896) or from the many books written on the subject, such as the Osborne CP/M User Guide by Thorn Hogan (Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 630 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94710). . . . Steve

Phony Specs

Dear Steve,

I heard that a major semiconductor manufacturer once put out a specification sheet for a "write-only" memory. Apparently the company got orders for it and sent out a rather caustic letter to those who had been taken in.

Do you have any knowledge of this? I'd like to hear about it—I'd also like a copy of the specs! Joe Pollack Buffalo, NY

/ came across the "writeonly" memory that you referred to in the April 1977 issue of Kilobaud (now Microcomputing) in an article by Peter A. Stark entitled "Everything about Semiconductor Memory." The specification sheet was published by Signetics and was obviously a spoof on a typical memory specification sheet. . . . Steve

Remote Control Feedback

Dear Steve,

I'm gradually converting many of my home's lights and appliances to remote control via the BSR/10X systems. I have a problem getting feedback to determine whether a motor is actually running or a light is actually on or off. One night I had an outside light (on a wallswitch control) blinking on and off randomly until a neighbor called to see if everything was okay.

Is there a cheap way to sense the flow of a 1-amp, 60-Hz current in a wire without connecting to it electronically? I've tried small coils with diodes but can't get a usable voltage. R. S. Peterson Nashville, TN

The problem of monitoring computer-controlled devices is formidable. A simple way is to insert a 1- to 2-ohm resistor in the line feeding the controlled device and measure the voltage drop. When current is flowing, the AC voltage can be rectified to DC and used as a status signal. An optoisolator is highly recommended in such an application.

Because you don't want an electrical connection to monitor the status, an inductive pick-up coil will give the

500 July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc

necessary information. The output voltage from a coil around the current-carrying wire will be very small and must be fed to a high-gain amplifier to obtain a usable signal. You mentioned that you tried small coils with diodes, but did you include the amplifier? Another approach is to

have a sensing device, such as a photodiode, at the controlled end to provide a feedback signal. This may require additional wires to carry the sensing signal or the use of another receiver-transmitter pair that operates through the power lines (on different frequencies, of course). . . . Steve

Follow-up Information

Dear Steve,

I certainly enjoyed your article "Make Liquid-Crystal Displays Work for You" (October 1980 BYTE, page 24). It's unfortunate that you could not adapt one of the matrix-type devices for a

microcomputer peripheral.

Thank you for the information you supplied in reply to my previous letter ("Liquid-Crystal Displays," August 1980 BYTE, page 234). I wrote Texas Instruments for information on the 28-pin, 4-bit TMSlOOO-series microprocessor that you identified for me. In return, I received a

Serlal-to-Parallel Output Conversion

Dear Steve,

About two weeks before your article "Add Progiammable Sound Effects to Your Computer" came out (July 1982 BYTE, page 60), I

bought an I/O board. I was elated that I could finally interface your projects with my Apple II Plus. I then bought BYTE and there glaring out at me was "A sound synthesizer that can be interfaced with any computer . . . with a parallel interface." Oh well.

Can this project be converted for use with serial 1/07 Scott Seller Bronx, NY

The easiest method of driving the programmable sound generator described in that article is to use a parallel port

such as a Centronics port or equivalent. Lacking such a parallel port, the next easiest method is to convert the serial output to parallel by means of a UART (universal asychronous receiver/transmitter). A suitable circuit is shown in figure 2. . . . Steve

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 501

Ask BYTE.

TMS1000 CMOS Family Data Manual. The unit has four input lines, eight parallel-latched output lines, ten separately latched output lines, two clock connections, one initialize, one halt, and two power connections. I cannot, however, find a means of reading out the lK-byte by 8-bit instruction ROM (read-only memory). When you mentioned disassembling the game program, were you referring to the Intel/NEC 8048 chip in your Mego Mini-Vid, or do you know some secret of the TMS1000 series?

I detected some differences between the custom-display driver circuits in the two games. The Microvision unit has 6 pins connected to the microprocessor and 32 connected to the matrix display, as compared to the 4 and 32 division you reported for Mini-Vid. Perhaps the different display qualities are not entirely due to signal timing. Could you please tell me the name and address of the display-driver manufacturer?

Finally, your description of the inexpensive University Kits prompted me to write Motorola for information on 6800 microprocessor kits. (See "Quick and Cheap," December 1980 BYTE, page 320.) I hope that the company is feeling generous, because these are the first microcomputers that are in my price range. Daniel Q. Dye Jr. Denver, CO

The internal program in the Intel 8048 can be read by external interrogation. At one time, NEC (Nippon Electric Company) invited you to send it your Intel 8048 and in exchange you would receive an NEC 8048 with your original program blown onto the new device.

An LCD matrix is expen

sive. One manufacturer of them is UCE, 24G Fitch St., Norwalk, CT 06855. For the experimenter, buying one of the games and disassembling it for the display is much less expensive than buying a single LCD directly from a manufacturer. The 40-pin driver circuit for the matrix displays is either the HLDC0540 or the HLCD0548 made by Hughes Aircraft. It is available in single-piece quantities for under $6. For specification sheets and a list of distributors, write to Hughes Aircraft Co., Solid State Products, 500 Superior Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92663.

I'm glad that you are trying to take advantage of the university kits. I am not sure how Motorola approaches this matter, but Intel has always been very attentive to students and colleges. In fact, in response to all the reader queries as a result of my December 1980 note, Intel has expanded the program and is trying to include some of the 8088 devices in it as well. . . .Steve

Placing Capacitors Correctly

Dear Steve,

In Micromint's Z8 microcomputer, various capacitors are placed throughout the circuitry. I understand that capacitors are used to smooth the voltage in a circuit, but exactly what rules are used to determine their placement? John Buckley Bronxville, NY

Transistor-transistor logic (TTL) devices generate a lot of noise due to the changing of states of their totem-pole outputs. During this transition, large spikes of current are drawn from the supply

voltages. To keep these spikes from interfering with other circuits, bypass capacitors are added between the power-supply line and ground. Capacitors have the property that they pass highfrequency voltages while blocking direct current. When they are placed across the power supply, they provide a path for voltage spikes (high-frequency noise) to get to ground, without actually shorting the supply. These capacitors serve to "despike" the power lines.

A good rule of thumb is to use one disk-ceramic capacitor in the 0.01 to 0.1 pF (microfarad) range for every four TTL packages. Also, if the power-supply lines are

very long, additional capacitors should be used. Use a small tantalum capacitor in the 1 to 10 fiF range where the power lines enter the board.

It is better to have a lot of small-value capacitors spread around the board than one large-value capacitor at any particular location. Using very large capacitors on the supply lines (several hundred /iF) can be catastrophic in some computers. Dynamic memories, such as the 4116, must have sequenced voltage application and removal to prevent destruction. Large capacitors alter the time constants of the built-in power supply and increase the potential for damage. . . . Steve ■

In "Ask BYTE," Steve Ciarcia answers questions on any area of microcomputing. The most representative questions received each month will be answered and published. Do you have a nagging problem? Send your inquiry to:

Ask BYTE

c/o Steve Ciarcia

POB 582

Glastonbury CT 06033 If you are a subscriber to The Source, chat with Steve (TCE317) directly. Due to the high volume of inquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Be sure to include "Ask BYTE" in the address.

BYTE's Bits

Broadcast Satellite System Passes Test

Last March, International Phasor Telecom Ltd. and Norsat International Inc., two Canadian high-technology companies, deemed their direct-broadcast encryption system completely compatible with the Anik D Satellite after a series of tests. The tests were part of an ongoing examination of the Phasorlink Encryption System's capabilities. Phasorlink is intended to become an in

tegral part of the broadcast satellite television industry.

The 90-minute test program sent Phasorlink through 14 different operating modes, including direct-broadcast satellite addressability, picture and sound quality control, encryption/decryption algorithms, and Telidon and AT&T videotex transmission. The test was emitted from BCTV facilities in Burnaby, British Columbia, and monitored by satellite broadcasting companies in the U.S. and Canada.■

502 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Books Received

The Apple Connection, James W. Coffron. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1982; 263 pages, 42 by 54 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89588-085-7, $12.95.

Apple II Programmer's Handbook, Richard C. Vile Jr. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982; 276 pages, 21.5 by 27.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-O39198-0, $16.95.

The Art of Programming the ZX Spectrum, M. James. London, England: Bernard Babani Ltd., 1983; 138 pages, 11 by 17.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-85934-094-5, £2.50.

Armchair BASIC, Annie Fox and David Fox. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1983; 180 pages, 18.5 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-931988-92-6, $11.95.

Basic APPLE BASIC, James S. Coan. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden Book Co., 1982; 237 pages, 17.8 by 24.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-81045626-5, $12.95.

BASIC For the Apple II, Jerald R. Brown, Leroy Finkel, and Bob Albrecht. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1982; 410 pages, 17 by 15.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0471-86596-6, $12.95.

Byteing Deeper Into Your Timex Sinclair 1000, Mark Harrison. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1982; 160 pages, 17 by 25.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0471-89888-0, $12.95.

The Computer Coloring Book, Alan Freedman, Irma Lee Morrison, and Eric Jon Nones. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983; 60 pages, 23 by 30.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-164632-X, $6.95.

Computer Programming For Kids and Other Beginners, Royal Van Horn. Austin, TX: Sterling Swift Publishing Co. (1600 Fortview Rd.), 1982; 144 pages, 21 by 28 cm, spiral bound, ISBN 0-88408-151-6, $9.95. A

Complete Guide For Teachers and Parents, 141 pages, 26 by 29 cm, loose-leaf bound, ISBN 0-88408-154-0, $9.95.

Courseware in the Classroom: Selecting, Organizing, and Using Educational Software, Ann Lathrop and Bobby Goodson. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1983; 195 pages, 15.8 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-201-20007, $10.

Create Word Puzzles With Your Microcomputer, Ernest E. Mau. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden Book Co., 1982; 304 pages, 17.7 by 24.6 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8104-6251-6, $14.95.

Data Base Management Systems, David Kruglinski. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/ McGraw-Hill, 1983; 256 pages, 18.5 by 23.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-931988-84-5, $16.95.

Digital Integrated Circuits, Joseph Kasper and Steven Feller. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982; 200 pages, 17.3 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-213579-5, $12.95.

Discrete-Time Signals and Systems, Nasir Ahmed and T. Natarajan. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co., 1983; 398 pages, 18.5 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-83591375-9, $25.95.

Doing Business with Supercalc, Stanley R. Trost. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1983; 270 pages, 17.8 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89588-095-4, $12.95.

Electronically Speaking: Computer Speech Generation, John P. Cater. Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams & Co., 1983; 230 pages, 13.5 by 21.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-672-21947-6, $14.95.

Foundations of Computer Technology, Joseph C. Giarratano. Indianapolis, IN: Howard W. Sams & Co., 1982; 240 pages, 21.2 by 28

cm, softcover, ISBN 0-67221814-3, $22.95.

The Genie In the Computer, Rachel Kohl, Laura Karp, and Ethan Signer. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1982; 169 pages, 21.3 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-471-87049-8, $12.95.

The HHC User Guide, Jonathan Sachs, Sand River Software, with Rick Meyer. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/ McGraw-Hill, 1983; 200 pages, 16.5 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-931988-87-X, $14.95.

How To Buy A Word Processor, Steven Manus and Michael Scriven. Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred Publishing Co. Inc. (POB 5964), 1982; 62 pages, 25.6 by 66 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-88284-222-6, $2.95.

How to Cope With Com

puters, Tom Logsdon. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden Book Co., 1982; 131 pages, 15 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 08104-5193-X, $7.95.

IBM BASIC for Business and Home, Robert Funkhouser. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co., 1983; 204 pages, 15 by 23 cm, softcover, 0-8359-3018-1, $14.95.

Introduction to Pascal and Structured Design, Nell Dale and David Orshalick. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Co., 1983; 575 pages, 17.3 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-669-04797-X, $17.95.

Legal Care for Your Software, Daniel Remer. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1982; 247 pages, 21.5 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-201-06272-0, $19.95.

LOCATE: A Directory for

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July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 503

Books Received.

Purchasers of Law-Office Computer Applications and Software, Bruce D. Heintz, ed. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association Press (1155 East 60th St.), 1982; 74pages, 21.6 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89707-O78-X, $28.

Machine-Independent Organic Software Tools (MINT), 2nd ed., M.D. Godfrey, D.F. Hendry, H.J. Hermans, and R.K. Hessenberg. New York: Academic Press, 1982; 370 pages, 15.5 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-12286982-6, $25.

Mastering Visicalc, Douglas Hergert. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1983; 240 pages, 17.5 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89588-090-3, $11.95.

Mathematics for Data Processing, 2nd ed., Frank J. Clark. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co., 1983; 332 pages, hardcover, ISBN 08359-4263-5, $21.95.

Microcomputer Interfacing, Harold S. Stone. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1982; 383 pages, 16.5 by 24 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-201-07403-6, $32.95.

New Directions in Computer Design, vol. 1, Saul B. Dinman. Tulsa, OK: Pennwell Books (POB 21288), 1982; 127 pages, 21.5 by 27.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 087814-209-6, $19.95.

1982 Semiconductor Memories: An Update, Eugene R. Hnatek. Tulsa, OK: Pennwell Books (POB 21288), 1982; 132 pages, 21.5 by 28 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-87814197-9, $23.95.

Pocket Computer Primer, Hank Librach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982; 96 pages, 36 by 54 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13-683854, $9.95.

Principles of Fortran 77

RacfioShackTRSOTs

Full Line

YOU CAN SAVE money when you buy Radio Shack TRS-80 Computers from Pan American Electronics. Pan American Electronics went into business in 1976 and led the way in bringing consumers original Radio Shack TRS-80 Computers at reduced prices. NO other company has done it longer. NO other company has done It better and NO other company sells them for less.

Pan American Electronics

TOLL FREE NUMBER 800/531-7466

1117 Conway Avenue • Department B Mission, Texas 78572 Phone: 512/581-2766 Telex Number 767339

tm — Trademark of Tandy Corporation

Programming, Jerrold L. Wagener. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1980; 370 pages, 50.6 by 66 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-471-04474-1, $19.95.

The Small Computer Connection: Telecommunications for the Home & Office, Neil L. Shapiro. New York: Micro Text/McGraw-Hill, 1983; 190 pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-07056412-4, $15.95.

Some Common Pascal Programs, Greg Davidson. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1982; 235 pages, 50 by 65 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-981988-73-X, $14.99.

Timex Sinclair 1000, Robin Jones and Ian Stewart. Cambridge, MA: Birkhauser Boston Inc. (380 Green St.), 1982; 156 pages, 15.2 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 37643-3080-5, $10.95.

TRS-80 Programmer's Sourcebook, J. Bradley Hippin, ed. Springfield, VA: OCEAN, 1983; 80 pages, 21.5 by 27.8 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-912043-00-8, $4.95.

The TRS-80 Model III User's Guide, Tony Bove and Leroy Finkel. Somerset, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1983; 266 pages, 17 by 25.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-471-86242-8, $12.95.

Tools of the Mind, V. Stibic. New York: North

Holland Publishing Co., 1982; 297 pages, 16 by 23 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-44486444-X, $35.

Trade Secrets, James Pooley. Berkeley, CA: Osborne /McGraw-Hill, 1982; 145 pages, 16.5 by 23 cm, softcover, ISBN 0931988-93-4, $11.95.

Understanding Pascal, George Ledin Jr. Sherman Oaks, CA: Alfred Publishing Co Inc. (POB 5964), 1981; 63 pages, 25.6 by 66 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-88284-149-1, $2.95.

Verbal Control with Microcomputers, Mike Rigsby. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1982; 304 pages, 13 by 21 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-1468-0, $11.95.

The Visicalc Applications Book, Jack Grushcow. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co., 1983; 286 pages, 15.5 by 23.5 cm, hardcover, ISBN 0-8359-8390-0, $19.95.

Your Timex Sinclair 1000 and ZX81, Douglas Hergert. Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1983; 175 pages, 13.8 by 21 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89588-O997, $6.95.

Writing in the Computer Age, Andrew Huegelman and Jeremy Joan Hewes. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/ Doubleday, 1983; 254 pages, 15 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-385-18125-6, $10.95. ■

This is a list of books received at BYTE Publications during this past month. Although the list is not meant to be exhaustive, its purpose is to acquaint BYTE readers with recently published titles in computer science and related fields. We regret that we cannot review or comment on all the books we receive; instead, this list is meant to be a monthly acknowledgment of these books and the publishers who sent them.

504 July 1983 © BYTE Publications lnc

Circle 311 on inquiry card.

Software Received

Apple

Address/Dialer, an address, phone-number, and appointment-management program that automatically dials phone numbers, redials busy numbers, keeps track of appointments, and can print a mailing list of selected names. For the Apple II Plus; floppy disk, $79. Christopher Systems Corp., 2775 Glendower Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027.

Alybadix, a chess-solving program that includes operation instructions, a simplified version of the Matebadix Intelligent program, and is ideal for solving one to two players' chess problems. For the Apple II; floppy disk. Price not available. Ilkka Blom, Palosaarentie 13-17 C 27, SF-65200 Vaasa 20, Finland.

Apple Typewriter Word Processor, a utility package. A full-function word processor requiring no additional hardware that features unlimited document size, wordwrap and right justification options, mnemonic editing commands, and more. For the Apple II Plus and He, floppy disk, Ultra Software Applications, 900 Bellewood Dr. SE, Kentwood, MI 49508.

Bulk Mailer, a direct-marketing program that features mailing-list management with a 32,000-name capacity, duplication search, and other options. For the Apple II; floppy disk, $125. Satori Software, 5507 Woodlawn Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98103.

Crime Wave, a fast-action chase game. Lawlessness runs rampant in this city. Hop into your trusty cruiser and round up would-be bank robbers before their Robot Rammers turn traffic into a demolition

derby. For the Apple II; floppy disk, $19.95. Penguin Software, 830 4th Ave., Geneva, IL 60134.

The Golf Handicapper, a program that keeps track of a golfer's overall handicap and stroke and putting averages. For the Apple II Plus and liefloppy disk, $19.95. Sunshine Productions, 108 Courtright, San Rafael, CA 94901.

Golfsoft Statistician, a golfanalysis program that lowers the golfer's score by evaluating each stroke on the basis of impact feel, initial and resultant directions, trajectory, and relative distance. For the Apple II Plus; floppy disk, $34.95. Golfsoft Inc., 10333 Balsam Lane, Eden Prairie, MN 55344.

IDS (Integrated Development System). This utility package provides sets of screen management, disk file I/O, and Printline formatting subroutines. For the Apple II Plus and He; floppy disk, $85. R.R. Michaels Inc., POB 2712, Reston, VA 22090.

Keyshoppe, a grocery-shopping program. Make your weekly grocery shopping more efficient with accurate lists that can save time and money. For the Apple II Plus and He; floppy disk, $39.95. Universal Instrumentation, POB 5254, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.

Menu Builder, a menuwriting program. You enter menu titles and file names and the program writes a menu program in Applesoft. It also allows screen formatting and editing and can build a menu directly from the disk catalog. For the Apple II; floppy disk, $9.95. Jim's Software, 384 The Great Road, Bedford, MA 01730.

The Menu Writer, a utility program that lets you execute a file on disk by typing a single keystroke instead of the whole filename. Menus are written in Applesoft BASIC or Integer BASIC. For the Apple II, II Plus, and He; floppy disk, $29.95. Micro Unicorn Co., 2156 Mendota Way, San Jose, CA 95113.

New World, a multiplayer educational game for all ages. The year is 1495 and you are in the race for supremacy of the New World. Raise your flag in many colonies, recruit large armies, and return to your country with gold. For the Apple II; floppy disk, $29.95. Automated Simulations/EPYX, 1043 Kiel Court, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Quick File II, a utility package that manages files of 150 to 250 records. It allows you to turn your receipts, lists, and schedules into coherent, accessible reports and can print tables, mailing labels, and index cards. For the Apple He; floppy disk, $100. Apple Computer Inc., 20525 Mariani Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014.

Softsight, a comprehensive machine-language debugging tool. You can observe, analyze, and control the execution of machine-language programs to understand how they work, optimize them, or locate problems. For the Apple II and He; floppy disk, $40. Overdrive Computer Corp., Suite 2102, 1131 University Blvd., Silver Spring, MD 20902.

Speedstat 1, a statisticalanalysis system that produces presentation-quality printed reports applicable to all types of research. You can gain immediate access to statistical information without any pre

vious computer experience. For the Apple II; floppy disk, $250. Softcorp International, 229 Huber Village Blvd., Westerville, OH 43081.

Thunderbombs, a fast-action arcade-type game. Out for a cruise in your interstellar cloudship, you are suddenly trapped in a deadly crossfire of alien dronebombs. To destroy the attacking aliens, you must first eliminate their supply ships. For the Apple II; floppy disk, $19.95. Penguin Software (see address above).

Atari

Brain Boggier. Music, sound, and color add to the challenge of unraveling a mysterious color code hidden in the computer's memory. Find it before time runs out. For the Atari 400/800; floppy disk, $16.95. Educational Software Inc., 4565 Cherryvale Ave., Soquel, CA 95073.

The Blade of Blackpoole, an

adventure-type game. Recover the magical sword Myraglym from a dangerous, underwater cavern and return it to the altar it was stolen from. For the Atari 800; floppy disk, $39.95. Sirius Software Inc., 10364 Rockingham Dr., Sacramento, CA 95827.

Graphics Machine, a program that allows you to create high-resolution graphics by typing in simple commands such as line, box, circle, polygon, fill, and savescreen. You can retrieve them within five seconds. For the Atari 800; floppy disk, $19.95. Educational Software Inc. (see address above).

Space Games, three arcadetype games. If you are successful in Aliens, Survive,

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 505

Software Received.

and Robot Attack, you can become a member of the Videowiz Patrol. Requires a joystick. For the Atari 800; floppy disk, $24.95. Educational Software Inc. (see address above).

Spy's Demise, an arcade-type game. Your mission is to reach the top floor of an embassy, avoiding guards in the elevators, and gather pieces of an encoded message strategically hidden on each floor. For the Atari 400/800; floppy disk, $19.95. Penguin Software, 830 4th Ave., Geneva, IL 60134.

Tricky Tutorial #2: Horizontal & Vertical Scrolling, an

educational program that teaches you how to scroll text and graphics horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or even partially. Requires a joystick. For the Atari 400/800; floppy disk, $19.95. Educational Software Inc. (see address above).

Twerps, an arcade-type game. As Captain Twerp, you must rescue nine fellow twerps stranded on an asteroid. In your Twerp-Craft, shoot Orbiters, avoid Glingas and Gleepnoks, and land before running out of fuel. For the Atari 800; floppy disk, $34.95. Sirius Software Inc. (see address above).

CP/M

C Compiler, a language-compiler program designed to operate as either a native or cross compiler. It allows C programs to be transported, without change, within a group of Unix-compatible systems. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $350. Telecon Systems, Suite 218, 1155 Meridian Ave., San Jose, CA 95125.

CBASIC Compiler, a utility package of a compiler, link

editor, and library that contains features such as structured control statements, functions, and a variety of data types. Other features include parameter passing, local and global variables, and chaining between programs. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $500. Digital Research Inc., 160 Central Ave., POB 579, Pacific Grove, CA 93950.

CP/M Plus, an advanced version of CP/M that manages and supervises a computer's resources, including memory and disk storage, screen, keyboard, printer, and communications devices. It also handles information stored magnetically on disk and can copy files from disk to memory or a printer. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $350. Digital Research Inc. (see address above).

dBRx, machine-language routines that add several mathematical functions such as sine, cosine, arc tangent, and others to enhance dBASE II. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $150. Gryphon Microproducts, FOB 6543, Silver Spring, MD 20906.

Display Manager, a utility program that helps programmers and independent software vendors save time by creating and modifying CRT (cathode ray tube) screen displays. Application programs written in a Digital Research language can later reference these screen displays. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $400. Digital Research Inc. (see address above).

General Ledger, an assemblylanguage program designed for business use. This menudriven program contains six reports and a breakdown of accounts by departments. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $99.95. Sunflower Software, 13915 Midland Dr.,

Shawnee, KS 66216.

ICE80 Utility Library, a collection of programming tools that contains character manipulations and scanning, text parsing and stringing, disk input/output, and other functions used when writing assembly language. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $40. Industrial Computing Equipment Corp., Suite B-3, 100 Timber Oak Court, Lynchburg, VA 24502.

Labelpro, a label-printing program that prints up to 100 labels in a variety of sizes. Companies can be selected by customer name, city, state, zip code, lead source, and customer comment. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $175. Compugreen, 3095 D South Peoria #275, Aurora, CO 80014.

Leadpro, a customer/prospect list that can record an unlimited number of comments for each company listed. Most messages can be answered with a single keystroke on this menu-driven program. For CP/M version 2.2-based systems; floppy disk, $195. Compugreen (see address above).

Questext HI, a general-purpose system for organizing, storing, and communicating textual information. You can edit from menu prompts without learning command syntax. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $299.95. Information Reduction Research, 1538 Main St., Concord, MA 01742.

Relocation Utility Package,

an assembly-language toolkit consisting of four programs for examining the contents of a relocatable module. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $99.95. Microsmith Computer Technology, POB 1473, Elkhart, IN 46515.

Versa-flle, a file-management system that creates, edits, and prints key-accessed files. Multiple and customized forms can be created for printing each file and records of files can be sorted before printing. For CP/M-based systems; floppy disk, $69. Analytic Management Systems, 247 High St., Palo Alto, CA 94301.

Commodore

Collision, an arcade-type game in which you maneuver a growing line on the screen, avoiding walls and obstacles while making your opponent crash. Nine levels of difficulty; requires a joystick. For the Commodore 64; floppy disk, $15.95. Topologic, POB 752, Burlington, IA 52601.

Deadly Skies, an arcade-type game. Equipped with a squadron of five helicopters, you must destroy an enemy military base. Action increases with each of 32 play levels. For the Commodore VIC-20, cassette, $39.95. Tronix Publishing Inc., 8295 South La Cienega, Inglewood, CA 90301.

Gold Fever. You assume the role of a gold miner who must gather all the gold in a mine shaft while avoiding runaway box cars, boulders, and claim jumpers. And you must do all this before the oxygen in the mine runs out. For the Commodore VIC-20; cassette, $39.95. Tronix Publishing Inc. (see address above).

MAS-64 Accounting System,

an accounting-systems package containing three modules: General Ledger, Accounts Payable/Checkwriting, and Accounts Receivable/Billing. For the Commodore 64; floppy disk, $199 per module. Infodesigns Inc., 6905 Telegraph Rd., Birming

506 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

ham, MI 48010.

Scorpion, a game in which a scorpion struggles against dragons, frogs, Venus's-flytraps, stalkers, worms, and pods. To survive, the scorpion must gather eggs and stunned frogs for food. For the Commodore VIC-20; cassette, $39.95. Tronix Publishing Inc. (see address above).

Secure, a program that produces 256 encryptions of single programs at random and is compatible with composite, BASIC, and machine codes. Use one key to encrypt many programs or original keys can be created for each piece of software. For the CBM 4000/8000; floppy disk, $100. Distribution Unlimited, Department B, POB 81702, San Diego, CA 92138.

IBM

Personal Computer

CP/M-86, an operating system that manages information stored magnetically on disk by grouping it into files of programs and data. This program can copy files from a disk to memory or to a printer. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $60. Digital Research Inc., POB 579, 160 Central Ave., Pacific Grove, CA 93950.

Concurrent CP/M-86, a single-user, multitasking operating system that lets you run multiple programs simultaneously by dividing tasks between virtual consoles. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $350. Digital Research Inc. (see address above).

Cyborg, a science-fiction adventure game. With half of your body transformed into a machine, you might as well accept the mission you are offered, rather than endure being ostracized by friends and

family. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $34.95. Sentient Software Inc., POB 4929, Aspen, CO 81612.

The Executive Package, a

collection of more than 50 BASIC and Visicalc spreadsheet programs and tables to help executives exercise their problem-solving capabilities. The programs analyze productivity, corporate growth, and other aspects of your business. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $145. Alpha Software Corp., 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803.

FCpak, an engineering program. This fuel-cell library is used to compute the exit conditions of acid, alkaline, and molten carbonate fuel cells. It also computes the cell current density at the system-design point. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $375. Physical Sciences Inc., Research Park, POB 3100, Andover, MA 01810.

Graphics Utility, a graphicsgenerator/editor program. You can create character sets, shapes for animation, and games for display on your graphics monitor. Characters and pictures can be stored on disk and printed. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $55. Savant Software Inc., POB 440278, Houston, TX 77244.

Lazycoder Screen, an electronic-blackboard program. Move the cursor to any position and type what you want—where you want it. Thirty-five built-in functions will help you design images or data-entry screens. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $125. Nelson Data Resources Inc., Suite 118, 900 South 74th Plaza, Omaha, NE 68114.

Circle 253 on inquiry card.

"the price war is still on" "McNeill opens new front" "800 software in retreat"

800's Price

Our Price

Spellbinder

$259

$239

d Base II

489

469

Microsoft Premium Pack

509

479

The Word Plus

129

119

Infostar

299

289

Wordstar

269

259

These are a few examples of our low prices. We carry all major software programs.

10 Free Diskettes on all orders over $600. All orders placed in July Ship UPS FREE. We sell computers, subsystems, printers, media and accessories. Call for our low price.

Special Department for Universities. We accept purchase orders. All prices are subject to change. (They usually are lower!) So call before placing your order. All prices are F.O.B. El Toro, CA.

714-768-8114 McNeill 714-768-8114

Suite 186 • 25422 TrabucoRd.* 105, El Toro, CA 92630 In Europe: McNeill, 138 University St., Belfast, Northern Ireland BT7 IJH TELEX 74351

NEW! M-68OOO SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER

FEATURES:

16 bit Motorola 68000 CPU operating at 5 MHz or 10 MHz. 20K of on board fast static RAM. 16K bytes of on board EPROM space, 7 autovectored interrupts, 3 memory /device expansion buses, 2 serial communication ports (RS-232 C). 16 bit bidirectional parallel port. 5-16 bit counter/timers with vectored interrupt and time of the day clock. On board monitor allows to download and debug programs generated on APPLE II, TRS-80 and CP/M using our M68000 Cross Assembler.

PRICE:

M68K Bare board with documentation $ 99.95

M68MON monitor & mapping PROM's $135.00

M68000-6CPU $ 95.00

M68K Parts Kit $249.00

M68000 Cross Assembler $125.00

M68K Documentation only $ 15.00

Shipping & handling (Domestic)....$ 3.50

(foreign)....$ 15.00

CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ADD 6% TAX

¥JL|v|S "«~™P«.r BOX 16115 IRVINE. CA927i:S611S

•■■#«»▼• ^^ Sy«t«mi (714) .¥>:! 111.«

Circle 154 on inquiry card.

July 19»3 © BYTE Publications Inc 507

Circle 373 on inquiry card.

COMPETITIVE EDGE

ANNOUNCING OUR EXPANSION

AND RELOCATION

SLUDERwill close July 1 and reopen expanded headquarters July

15, 1983 in the GREAT LAKES AREA under their new name

COMPETITIVE EDGE.

We will be offering the same excellent quality service and support

from the same friendly people you've grown to depend on over the

last three years.

PARTICIPATE IN OUR "WELCOME TO THE GREAT LAKES

EXPANSION CELBRATION." See details in our full page ad in

August BYTE under COMPETITIVE EDGE.

For all those placing orders between July 15 and July 31, 1983 we

have the following special offer:

Lomas 8mHz 8086 system (2) 8" DSDD & 256K

at 128K price $2895.

Teletek Systemaster Z80A, 64K (2) 8" DSDD ($200 off) $2295.

System with Godbout 85/88, 64K, (2) 8" DSDD Floppys

($200 off) $2895.

CompuPRO" 816.C system with free 20 MB Hard Disk $8995.

10 MB Hard Disk Sub-system for all Z80 systems $1795.

20 MB Hard Disk Sub-system for all Z80 systems $2295.

Qume 102 Terminal $525. Televideo 950 $875.

Lomas LDP72 Disk Cont & CP/M86 $399. Disk 1 CP/M $445.

Lomas 286 CPU ... CALL Godbout 286 CPU $1164.

Some of our regular low prices:

Lomas 10 MHZ Lightning $520. CP/M 2.2 Emulator-8086 $50.

Lomas RAM 67 128K $875. Teletek SBC-1 Slave $650.

Teletek Systemaster $609. Teletek CP/M 2.2 $165.

Teletek HD/CTC $596. Godbout RAM 21 $799.

Godbout RAM 17 64K $359. Godbout CPUZ 6MHZ $238.

Godbout 8085/8088 A&T $362. Godbout Interfacer 4 $329.

Godbout CPUZ 68000 $489. Dual 8" floppy disk

EPSON FX 80 $539. subsystem $1095.

Seattle CPU 8086 SET $671. Seattle Gazelle $4695.

Lomas Hazitall $260.

CompuPro is registered trademark of Godbout Electronics. All

prices subject to change

Competitive Edge • P.O. Box 556 • Plymouth MI 48170 • (313) 451-0665

Continuous

CHECKS

for Desk-Top Computers

for 280 checks printed with your name and hank information

• Statements, invoices, other forms compatible with software from over 300 sources.

• Or program to NEBS standard forms yourself.

• Quality products in small quantities shipped direct to you. Fast service, low prices, money-back guarantee.

FREE one-stop catalog of computer forms, stationery, supplies and accessories.

Write or phone for your copy Today. I

TOLL FREE 1 -l- 800-225-9550 .

(Mass. residents 1 + 800-922-8560) f

CODE 11005

Computojrwns „,

■■^^ffECSSSBS I

A division of I

New England | Business

Service, Inc. ■

Software Received.

Memory Shift, a utility package that transforms your IBM Personal Computer into two separate computers, providing instant access to multiple programs. You can shift from task to task with parallel residency. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $99. North American Business Systems Inc., Suite 202, 677 Craig Rd., St. Louis, MO 63141.

Optioncalc, a financial/investment program. When you input current financial data, you can calculate the theoretical value for call-andput options based on the Black and Scholes model, call price, and an efficient marketplace. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $65. Savant Software Inc. (see address above).

Pdrop, an engineering program designed to calculate the pressure drop of fluids in circular pipes. The program treats liquids as incompressible fluids, gases as compressible fluids, and contains builtin viscosity and density properties for water, steam, and air. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $75. Physical Sciences Inc. (see address above).

Pascal/MT+86, a version of the language that supports the International Standards Organization (ISO) standard DPS/7185, including variant records, sets, typed and text files, passing procedures, and functions as parameters. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $400. Digital Research Inc. (see address above).

The Permanent Portfolio Analyzer, a utility program that lets you enter a large portfolio of investments and analyze them over a ten-year period. Choose from level inflation, rising inflation, runaway inflation, and more.

For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $295. C.R. Hunter & Associates, 1527 Northwood Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45237.

Reacpak, an engineering program containing several modules used to compute the exit conditions from such combustibles as methanol reformers, burners, and shift converters. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $325. Physical Sciences Inc. (see address above).

Speed Programming Package, a set of software tools that helps you enter Pascal/ MT+86 programs efficiently and catch syntax errors before sending them to the compiler. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $200. Digital Research Inc. (see address above.)

The Thinker, an electronicspreadsheet program that is straightforward enough for the novice to learn to use in less than one hour. You create tables of text and numeric relations that can be used for anything from household budgets to complex mathematical or scientific models. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $75. Texasoft, 3415 Westminster, Dallas, TX 75225.

Versatext, a word-processing/database program. Features include full cursor control, discretionary formatting, prompting, updating, editing, and other capabilities. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $199.95. Texasoft (see address above).

Wordflex, a word-processing/text-editing package. User instructions contain 12 chapters describing its functions and options. A reference section summarizes all the commands alphabeti

508 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 292 on inquiry card.

cally. For the IBM Personal Computer; floppy disk, $100. NEMCO, 9 Walnut St., Rutherford, NJ 07070.

TRS-80

EDM, an editing program. A full-screen, wide-range file editor that can be customized to an assembly-language editor, a high-level language editor, or a word-processing system. For the TRS-80 Models I and III; floppy disk, $149. The Alternate Source, 704 North Pennsylvania Ave., Lansing, MI 48906.

Enigma, a file-encryption program. A combinaton machine-language program and BASIC driver that will encrypt any disk file so that only those with a pass key can reconstruct the file. For the TRS-80 Models I and III; floppy disk, $59.95. Casler Computing, 2929 El Paso Ave., Simi Valley, CA 93063.

FORTRAN Utilities, a utility program that provides the FORTRAN programmer with library subroutines and functions permitting the use of cursor addressing for screen input and output. Other routines include program chaining and system-date access. For the TRS-80 Model II; floppy disk, $70. David Ray CPA, Software Products, 605 Caravaca Dr., Garland, TX 75043.

General Ledger, an accounting package containing programs such as password protection, direct posting, cash journal, transactions by month or year to date, budget files, amortization, and more. It can hold up to 700 accounts. For the TRS-80 Model II; floppy disk, $600. International Software Sales Inc., POB 223, Newtonville, NY 12128.

Matrix Subroutines, educational and engineering subroutines that extend ROM by allowing you to call the standard matrix operations from BASIC: regular mathematical functions, transpose, inverse, and more. For the TRS-80 Models I and III; floppy disk, $19.95. PAB Software Inc., POB 15397, Fort Wayne, IN 46885.

New World, a multiplayer educational game (see description under Apple). For the TRS-80 Models I and III; floppy disk, $29.95. Automated Simulations/EPYX, 1043 Kiel Court, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

RSCOBOL Utilities, a utility program that supplies library routines to COBOL programmers. It implements useful supervisor calls such as file copy/rename/delete, CRTCathode ray tube) and printer-control capabilities. For the TRS-80 Model II; floppy disk, $120. David Ray CPA, Software Products (see address above).

Stockline, a technical-analysis package for the stockmarket trader. This package concentrates on the tedious task of analytical charting. Your time is saved for reading and interpreting the charts. For the TRS-80 Models I and HI; floppy disk, $149.95. Think Software Inc., 572-810 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4C9, Canada.

Wall Street TAP, a communications package designed to complement stock-market analysis programs and Stockline. It gathers and stores stock-index data obtained via CompuServe. For the TRS-80 Models I and III; floppy disk, $59.95. Think Software Inc. (see address above).

Texas Instruments

Chemtutor 1, an educational program containing a basic chemistry quiz that runs with Extended BASIC. It is the first in a series of seven programs designed to cover a year of high school chemistry. For the Texas Instruments 99/4A; cassette, $10. Data Systems, 2214 West Iowa, Chicago, IL 60622.

Hobbyist Game Pac I. A collection of 12 inexpensive games written in BASIC and Extended BASIC, using sound, color, and graphics. Requires a joystick. For the Texas Instruments 99/4A; cassette, $9.95. Microworld, 145 East Norman Dr., Palatine, IL 60067.

Personal Tax Organizer, a

tool to record detailed, personal tax deductions for the 1040 Schedule A tax form. Deductions can be reviewed any time. For the Texas Instruments 99/4A; cassette, $12.98. Design Strategies, 69-B Bethel Church Rd., Jackson, NJ 08527.

Other Computers

XFORTH, an implementation of the FORTH-79 language that uses a simple one-word call to return to Sinclair BASIC. Requires 16K bytes of memory. For the Timex/ Sinclair 1000 and ZX81, cassette, $25. Hawg Wild Software, 7575 Cantrell/21, Little Rock, AR 72207. ■

This is a list of software packages that have been received by BYTE Publications during the past month. The list is correct to the best of our knowledge, but it is not meant to be a full description of the product or the forms in which the product is available In particular, some packages may be sold for several machines or in both cassette and floppy-disk format; the product listed here is the version received by BYTE Publications.

This is an all-inclusive list that makes no comment on the quality or usefulness of the software listed. We regret that we cannot review every software package we receive. Instead, this list is meant to be a monthly acknowledgment of these packages and the companies that sent them. All software received is considered to be on loan to BYTE and is returned to the manufacturer after a set period of time. Companies sending software packages should be sure to include the list price of the packages and (where appropriate) the alternate forms in which they are available

BYTE's Bits

Conference Proceedings Available

The conference proceedings from the Second Annual Penn State Microcomputer Information Exchange Conference have been made available. The papers that were presented during the conference concentrated on educational topics for kindergarten through college levels. Topics covered include Logo, computer-aided instruction,

teaching music, managing curricula with microcomputers, computer camps, and staff development for computer literacy.

The proceedings cost $10. Contact Dr. Michael J. Streibel, Instructional Systems Program, 179 Chambers Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.■

July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc 509

Event Queue

July 1983

July

Continuing Engineering Education Courses, George Washington University, Washington, DC. Among the courses offered are "Microcomputers in Control Systems Including Interfacing Methods," "Reliability of Computer Software and Computing Networks," and "Computer Memory Systems." Fees range from $685 to $855. For details, contact Douglas Green, Continuing Engineering Education, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, (800) 424-9773; in the District of Columbia, (202) 676-8512.

July

Software Workshops in MMSFORTH, Boston metropolitan area. These workshops are public versions of the professional training Miller Microcomputer Services (MMS) offers to client companies in support of its MMSFORTH product line. The fee for a one-day, beginner-level course is $150. Full details are available from Miller Microcomputer Services, 61 Lake Shore Rd., Natick, MA 01760, (617) 653-6136.

July

Technical Courses from Zilog, Campbell, CA. A wide variety of such courses as 'The Computer: A Survey," "C Programming," and "ZEUS/System 8000 User Course" are offered. Fees range from $525 to $875. For a complete schedule, contact Zilog Inc., Training and Education Department, 1315 Dell Ave., Campbell, CA 95008, (408) 370-8092.

July-August

Courses in C Language and Unix, various sites through

out the U.S. Three 5-day courses are offered by Plum Hall Inc. The "C Programming Workshop" is a handson course that covers all aspects of the C language for individuals able to program in another language. The "Advanced C Topics Seminar" covers efficiency, portability, readability, debugging, packaging, and interfacing. The "Unix Workshop" is an introductory course that focuses on software development. For further details, contact Joan Hall, Plum Hall Inc., 1 Spruce Ave., Cardiff, NJ 08232, (609) 927-3770.

July-August

Engineering Summer Conferences, Chrysler Center for Continuing Engineering Education, North Campus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. More than 25 courses are offered in aerospace, chemical, civil, environmental, electrical, fluid, computer, information, and control engineering. One-week course fees range from $550 to $775; two-week courses are $875. For course outlines and registration details, contact Engineering Summer Conferences, 200 Chrysler Center, North Campus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (313) 764-8490.

July-October

Courses from the AMA,

various sites throughout the U.S. The American Management Associations (AMA) offers an on-going series of seminars in such areas as human resources, information systems, and manufacturing and technology management. In-house development and multimedia training programs are offered. For information on AMA membership or seminar particulars in the Eastern U.S.: AMA, 135

West 50th St., New York, NY 10020, (212) 586-8100; in the Midwest or South: AMA, 8655 West Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631, (312) 693-5511; and on the West Coast: AMA, 177 Post St. #350, San Francisco, CA 94108, (415) 397-7610.

July-October

Repair of Microcomputerbased Equipment, various sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. This lecture/laboratory sequence is intended for field-service personnel, engineers, and technical writers. The seminar describes general servicing practices that are applied to the subsystems of any microprocessor family. For further information, contact the Registrar, Testek Consultants Inc., 1000 North Patton St., Arlington Heights, IL 60004, (312) 577-2134.

July-November

Courses from Integrated Computer Systems, various sites throughout the U.S. Course titles include "Computerized Robots," "Software Project Management," "Hands-On Pascal Workshop," "Defining Software Requirements, Specifications, and Tests," and "Structured Design and Programming." Fees range from $695 to $845. For information, contact Ruth Dordick, Integrated Computer Systems, 3304 Pico Blvd., POB 5339, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or call (213) 450-2060.

July-December

Intensive Two-Day Seminars for Professional Development, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Boston metropolitan area and Hartford and Stamford, CT. Among the seminars being offered are 'The Engineer as Manager," 'Inventory Control: Using

Computers," and "Fundamentals of Data Processing." For in-house seminar information, call Robert J. Hall at (617) 793-5574. For a seminar bulletin and registration information, contact Ginny Bazarian, Office of Continuing Education, Higgins House, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, (617) 793-5517.

July-December

Systems Development Documentation: Forms Method,

various sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. This oneday seminar is designed for data-processing managers, project leaders, programmers, and technical writers. Topics to be covered include system design documentation, format and style guidelines, and options for enddocument publication. The course fee is $155, which includes all materials. In-company presentations are available for groups of 10 or more. For details, contact Technical Communications Associates Inc., 1250 Oakmead Parkway #210, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (800) 227-3800, ext. 977; in California, (800) 792-0990, ext. 977, or (408) 737-2665.

July 10-11

The Role of Microcomputers in Music Education, Triton College, River Grove, IL. Seminars, workshops, demonstrations, and manufacturer displays will highlight this event. Topics of interest include ear training, improvisation, computer basics for the teacher, choosing the right computer, and using computers in music for the disabled. The fee is $25 a day; $40 for both days. For details, contact Michael Ferrelli, Triton College, 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove, IL 60171.

510 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

July 11-13

The 1983 Summer Computer Simulation Conference,

Hyatt Regency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Full details are available from the Society for Computer Simulation, POB 2228, La Jolla, CA 92038, (714) 459-3888.

July 11-15

Technology Opportunity Conference, Los Angeles, CA. This conference will focus on the convergence of optical-storage, videodisc, and computer technologies. For full details, contact Technology Opportunity Conference, POB 14817, San Francisco, CA 94114, (415) 626-1133.

July 12-14

Audio-Visual America,

Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chicago, IL. The second annual Audio-Visual America will feature hardware and software exhibits, screenings of shows, and approximately 60 workshops on planning, production, and management. For details, contact A-V America, IF Associates, 3150 Spring St., Fairfax, VA 22031, (703) 273-8272.

July 13-15

Personal Computers for Managers, San Francisco, CA. This seminar is designed for both technical and nontechnical managers involved with sales, marketing, production, personnel, or education. Topics to be addressed include electronic worksheets and spreadsheet reports, selecting a personal computer, and creating management graphs and charts. The fee is $695, which includes guide books and a Timex/Sinclair computer. For information, contact Personal Computer Management Association, 11928 North Earlham, Orange, CA 92669, (714) 532-6717.

July 14-15

Computer Graphics in Design, Seattle, WA. This seminar begins with the historical development of computer images and an introduction to graphics programming. It ends with participants using a digital-art system to create charts, graphs, and free-form art. It's sponsored by the Dynamic Graphics Educational Foundation (DGEF). For a catalog and registration details, contact DGEF, Department R, 6000 North Forest Park Dr., POB 1901, Peoria, IL 61656, (309) 688-8866, ext. 505.

July 14-16

Personal Computer Interfacing and Scientific Instrument Automation, Charleston, SC. This workshop provides each participant with hands-on experience in wiring and testing interfaces. The fee is $395. Call or write Dr. Linda Leffel, C.E.C., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, (703) 961-4848.

July 18-19

Fundamentals of Data Processing for the Non DataProcessing Executive, Chicago, IL. Major topics to be covered include computer technology, the functions of an information system, the development of applications software, and the costs and benefits of information systems. This seminar is presented by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The fee is $795. In-house programs are available. For details, contact Wharton FDP Seminar, Registrar-Processing Center, 30-30 Borden Ave., Long Island City, NY 11101, (212) 392-9441.

July 18-19

Productivity '83, Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA. HewlettPackard's hands-on showcase

of more than 32 computer products and 17 seminars is designed for both professionals and novices and aims to provide solutions to problems confronting the data processing industry. For details, call (800) 453-9500.

July 18-28

Microcomputer-based Instrumentation for Schools, Middletown, OH. This workshop is designed for science and mathematics teachers in both secondary and undergraduate levels. Participants will learn how to construct and use simple, low-cost analog-todigital and digital-to-analog converters for monitoring and controlling physical phenomena in classrooms and laboratories. Contact Bill Rouse, 301E McGuffey Hall, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, (513) 529-2141.

July 20-21

Token-based Local Networks, Washington, DC. This program is the second of four parts in the Architecture Technology Corporation's 1983 Forum Series. The series will bring together manufacturers and users of local network schemes to exchange information in an informal setting. The format includes presentations, panel discussions, and a technological summary. The fee is $395 per person. For details, contact the Architecture Technology Corp., POB 24344, Minneapolis, MN 55424, (612) 935-2035.

July 21-22

Shared Information Management Seminar, Hyatt Regency, Cambridge, MA. This seminar is designed for department heads, informationcenter managers, senior applications personnel, and data-processing support coordinators. It strives to explain how to manage the development of new systems with reduced risk and how to

introduce new flexibility into data processing. The fee is $455. Group discounts are available. For further information, contact Bob Mishler, Boeing Computer Services Co., Education and Training Division, POB 24346, Mail Stop 9A-90, Seattle, WA 98124, (800) 342-7700; in Washington, call collect, (206) 575-7700.

July 25-27

The 1983 Conference of the International Business Schools Computer Users Group (IBSCUG), University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Faculty, staff, and practitioners from business schools will investigate current developments in hardware, software, and the applications of computers to business education. For information, contact Anthony Wensley, Accounting Group, University of Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada, (519) 885-1211, ext 2755.

July 25-28

Softfair, Hyatt Regency, Crystal City, Arlington, VA. This seminar, sponsored by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, covers software development tools, techniques, and alternatives. For details, contact Softfair, POB 639, Silver Spring, MD 20901, or call (301) 589-8142.

July 25-28

The World of CAD/CAM,

Dunfey's Resort, Hyannis, MA. This seminar provides an overview of how manufacturing will change as the automated factory becomes a reality. It will consist of four one-day presentations in computer-aided engineering, design, manufacturing, and computer-integrated manufacturing. For a brochure, write or call the Center for Manufacturing Technology, 4170 Crossgate Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45236, (513) 791-8801.

July 19*3 © BYTE Publications Inc 511

Event Queue.

July 25-29

Robot Manipulators, Computer Vision, and Automated Assembly, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. The emphasis of this short course will be on developing strategies for the solution of problems that will arise in advanced automation: sensing, spatial reasoning, and manipulation. The use of current industrial robots and binary vision systems will be covered. For details, contact the Director of the Summer Session, Room E19-356, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.

July 25-29

SIGGRAPH '83, Detroit, MI. This is the tenth annual conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques sponsored by the SpecialInterest Group on Computer

Graphics of the Association for Computing Machinery (SIGGRAPH ACM). This show features tutorials, films and video tapes, exhibits of computing equipment, and a formal technical program. For full details, contact the SIGGRAPH '83 Conference Office, 111 East Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 644-6610.

July 26-29

The Third Computer-based Music Instruction Workshop,

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. This workshop serves as an introduction to the uses of computers in music instruction. Hardware, software, and teaching strategies appropriate to computer-based music instruction will be covered. The cost is $100. Contact Dale Kimpton, CEPS in Music, School of Music,

University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801.

July 27-29

Personal Computers for Managers, Boston, MA. For details, see July 13-15.

August 1983

August-December

IEEE Conferences and Meetings, various sites around the world. The Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sponsors conferences, meetings, and workshops covering high-technology issues. For details, contact the IEEE Computer Society, Suite 300, 1109 Spring St., Silver Spring, MD 20910, (301) 589-8142.

August 1-5

Logon '83, Montana State University, Bozeman. "Impli

cations, Not Applications" is the theme for this conference on computer technology, mythology, and literacy. Subjects to be explored include "Women and Technology," 'The Sacred Axis: Where Mythology Meets Technology," "Computers and the Disabled," and "The Inhuman Dimension of Computer Technology." For further details, contact Michael Sexson, English Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, (406) 994-3768.

August 1-19

International Program in Research and Development Management, Battelle Laboratories, Columbus, OH. This program is intended for middle-level managers responsible for research and development activities in industry and government. The principles and techniques of

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productive research and development management will be emphasized. Topics of interest include the philospohy of management, planning, staff development, and evaluating. Contact Dr. William Hitt, Battelle's Columbus Laboratories, 505 King Ave., Columbus, OH 43201, (614) 424-7176.

August 2-4

Microprocessor Background for Management Personnel,

University of California, Berkeley. The fee for this course is $565. Full details are available from Continuing Education in Engineering, Department 532N, University of California Extension, 2223 Fulton St., Berkeley, CA 94720, (415) 642-4151.

August 7-10

Computers in Chemical Education Workshop VI,

Richmond, KY and Law

rence, KS. Short courses and informal discussions in topics involving computers and chemical education for all levels of computer expertise are being offered with handson instruction. The fee is $115. Discounts are available. For details, write to Dr. Victor I. Bendall, Department of Chemistry, Moore 337, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475.

August 7-10

The 1983 International Computers in Engineering Conference and Exhibit, Chicago Marriott Hotel, Chicago, IL. The exhibit portion of this event is tailored for the mechanical engineer involved in computer applications and technology. In the conference portion, more than 60 technical sessions covering computer-aided design, engineering software and hardware,

and robotics and automation are planned. Contact the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 345 East 47th St., New York, NY 10017, (212) 705-7100 for exhibit information and (212) 705-7795 for conference information.

August S-12

Contemporary Data Communication Networks: Planning Analysis and Design,

Chrysler Center, North Campus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. This conference presents alternative networking strategies for computer systems that use data networks. The fee is $700. Contact Continuing Engineering Education, College of Engineering, 300 Chrysler Center, North Campus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (313) 764-8490.

August 8-12

The Eighth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence-IJCAI-83, Karlsruhe, West Germany. This conference seeks to promote scientific interchange within and among all subfields of artificial intelligence research. Papers will address such topics as automatic programming, expert systems, knowledge representation, planning and search, and system support. Contact Saul Amarel, Computer Science Department, Hill Center, Busch Campus, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, (201) 932-3546. In West Germany, contact Joerg Siekmann, Institut fuer Informatik, Universitaet Karlsruhe, Postfach 6380, D-7500 Karlsruhe 1, West Germany; tel: (49-721) 608-3977.

August 9-13

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Event Queue

Teaching through Microcomputer-assisted Instruction,

Boston, MA. This seminar will provide hands-on experience and will cover the theoretical background and uses of microcomputer-assisted language instruction. Contact Ms. Anita Mires, American Language Academy, Suite 200, 11426 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 984-3400.

August 10-12

Microcomputers and High Technology in Vocational Education Conference, Concourse Hotel, Madison, WI. Beginning and advanced classes on microcomputers, presentations on vocational education programs, and software exhibits will be featured. For details, contact Judy Rodenstein or Roger Lambert, Vocational Studies Center, 964 Educational Sciences Building, University of

Wisconsin, 1025 West Johnson St., Madison, WI 53706, (608) 263-4367 or 263-2704.

August 11-13

Personal Computer Interfacing and Scientific Instrument Automation, Williamsburg, VA. For details, see July 14-16.

August 16-19

Landsat: Sensor Design & Operation, University of California, Santa Barbara. This course is intended for users of remote-sensor data, including geographers, geologists, and engineers. It covers such topics as sensor requirements and user needs, sensor-design principles and tradeoffs, and multispectralscanner and thematic-mapper operation. It's cosponsored by the Santa Barbara Research Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The

fee is $450. For a brochure, contact J. Weisman, University of California Extension, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, (805) 961-3697.

August 18-19

Computer Literacy for Lawyers, Denver, CO. This seminar is intended to introduce attorneys to basic computer concepts and their application to the practice of law. Topics will include the specific uses, costs, and benefits of using computers in legal practice. The fee is $550, which includes reference materials. Group discounts are available. For further information, contact Kathryn Mann, Center for Legal Studies, 1926 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 732-6999.

August 21-26

The Fourth World Congress on Medical Informatics MEDINFO 83, RAI Interna

tional Congress and Exhibition Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This event combines scientific, technical, and social programs. Approximately 300 scientific papers will be presented on health and hospital systems, clinical laboratory systems, imaging, nursing applications, and preventive and occupational care. Demonstrations, product exhibits, film and video sessions, tours, workshops, and special-interest meetings will be held. The language throughout the conference will be English. Further details are available from the MEDINFO 83 Congress Office, Enschedepad 41-43, NL-1324 GB Almere-Stad, The Netherlands.

August 22-26

The National Conference on Artificial Intelligence AAAI-83, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC.

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This conference is sponsored by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Displays of computer hardware and software, formal presentations, and the Fredkin Chess Prize Competition highlight this conference. Contact Claudia Mazzetti, AAAI, 445 Burgess Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025, (415) 328-3123.

August 23-24

Indycon '83, Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN. This conference and exhibition features more than 35 technical sessions and 300 exhibition booths devoted to microcomputers and electronic components. Contact Indycon '83, POB 40312, Indianapolis, IN 46260, (317) 875-7711.

August 25-26

Fundamentals of Data Processing for the Non-DataProcessing Executive, Washington, DC. For details, see July 18-19.

August 26-28

The First IBM PC Faire, Civic Auditorium and Brooks Hall, San Francisco, CA. The focus of this fair will be on hardware, software, and applications for the IBM Personal Computer. Technical conferences, formal papers, product expositions, and special-interest group meetings will be held. For details, contact IBM PC Faire, 345 Swett Rd., Woodside, CA 94062, (415) 851-7077.

August 26-September 3

The International Telecommunications, Scientific, and Technical ExpoconferenceTelexpo China 1983, Foreign Trade Center, Guangzhou (Canton), Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. The theme of this show of communications equipment is "An Integrated Telecommunications System for China." Displays will include

aerospace equipment, computers, and peripherals. Additional information is available from AVP Expositions Co. Ltd., Suite 13, 13/F, Block A, Wahkai Industrial Center, 221 Texaco Rd., NT Hong Kong; tel: 0-239003; Telex: 40725 AVPEX HX.

August 29-31

DBMS-M4 Systems, Washington, DC. For details, contact the Continuing Education Institute, Oliver's Carriage House, 5410 Leaf Treader Way, Columbia, MD 21044, (301) 596-0111; on the West Coast, (213) 824-9545.

September 1983

September-November

Computer Showcase Expos,

various sites throughout the U.S. This popular show will bring together sellers and individual users of small computer systems. For details, contact The Interface Group, 160 Speen St., POB 927, Framingham, MA 01701, (800) 225-4620; in Massachusetts, (617) 879-4502.

September-December

Software Workshops in MMSFORTH, Boston metropolitan area. These workshops are public versions of the professional training Miller Microcomputer Services (MMS) offers to client companies in support of the MMSFORTH product line. A variety of topics and skill levels are covered. Full details are available from Miller Microcomputer Services, 61 Lake Shore Rd., Natick, MA 01760, (617) 653-6136.

September-January 1984

Technology Opportunity Conference, various sites throughout the U.S. This conference series focuses on the convergence of opticalstorage, videodisc, and computer technologies. For full

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details, contact Technology Opportunity Conference, POB 14817, San Francisco, CA 94114, (415) 626-1133.

September 1-2

The First Meeting of the European Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics, University of Pisa, Italy. A variety of formal papers will address such topics as syntax, parsing, and language generation; speech analysis and synthesis; and software tools and programming languages for computational linguistics. Contact Harold Somers, Centre for Computational Linguistics, UMIST, POB 88, Manchester M60 1QD, England.

September 6-10

Asian International Electricals, Electronics, and Communications Exhibition '83-Elecom Asia '83, Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This trade show serves as a showcase for a wide spectrum of high-technology equipment and materials. Government ministers from the five ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) will attend. For details, contact Technology Marketing Analysis Corp., Suite 428, 680 Beach St., San Francisco, CA 94109, (415) 474-3000. In Malaysia, contact ISE Management (M) SDN BHD, 3-A Jalan SS 24/8, Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia; tel: 749377; Telex: MA 37204 AKMISE.

September 8-10

Personal Computer Interfacing and Scientific Instrument Automation, Greensboro, NC. For details, see July 14-16.

September 13-15

AUTOFACT EUROPE Conference and Exhibition,

Palexpo Exhibition Center, Geneva, Switzerland. This conference, cosponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and the Institution of Production Engineers of London, England, will focus on the technologies of automated and computerintegrated manufacturing for European production. Technical sessions will discuss both theory and applications strategies. A complementary products display will be featured. Contact the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Public Relations Department, One SME Dr., POB 930, Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 271-0777.

September 13-15

Midcon/83 & Mini/MicroMidwest/83, Chicago, IL. Topics on the professional program include computer simulation, energy management, laser applications, and printed-circuit-board technology. An exhibit area is planned. For further information, contact Electronic Conventions Inc., 8110 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045, (213) 772-2965.

September 13-15

Peripherals '83, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA. Full details are available from Cahners Exposition Group, Cahners Plaza, 1350 East Touhy Ave., POB 5060, Des Plaines, IL 60018, (312) 299-9311.

September 14-16

Euromicro '83, Madrid, Spain. This ninth annual symposium will cover microprocessing and programming. Speeches will address economic and social aspects of microprocessors and trends in VLSI (very largescale integration) technology. Tutorials, seminars, and an

exhibition are planned. The highlight of this event is the Euromouse contest, in which mechanical mice from around the world race around a maze. A complete program is available from Euromicro, TH Twente, POB 217, Department INF, Room A312, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands; tel: (31) (53) 338799; Telex: 44200 Thes.

September 15-16

Ethernet-type Local Networks, San Francisco, CA. This is the third program in the four-part Architecture Technology Corporation 1983 Forum Series. The series will bring together manufacturers and users of local network schemes to exchange information in an informal setting. The format includes presentations, panel discussions, and a technological summary. The fee is $395. For further information, contact the Architecture Technology Corp., POB 24344, Minneapolis, MN 55424, (612) 935-2035.

September 15-16

The Second Annual Indiana Computer Expo, Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN. This exposition is designed for business end users interested in mini- and microcomputers, software, word processing, graphics, services, and peripherals. Contact Ernie Kerns & Associates, Trade Show Department, Suite 201, 2555 East 55th Place, Indianapolis, IN 46220, (317) 259-8111.

September 16-18

The First Annual Heart of Texas Computer Show, Convention Center, San Antonio, TX. This show will emphasize small-business systems for financial and inventory control, agri-business, education, and personal needs. More than 200 hard

ware, software, and peripheral vendors will display their wares. Show details are available from Robin G. Mann, Heart of Texas, POB 12094, San Antonio, TX 78212, (512) 226-4636.

September 19-23

The Ninth World Computer Congress - IFIP '83, Paris, France. This event, sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), is held in conjunction with SICOB, the major French computer exposition. Formal papers and panel sessions will cover such areas as computer hardware and software, theoretical foundations of information processing, networks, and communications. For full program details, contact the U.S. Committee for IFIP '83, Dorn Computer Consultants, 25 East 86th St., New York, NY 10028, (212) 427-7460.

September 20-21

Data Storage 83, Marriott Hotel, Santa Clara, CA. This international forum covers industry issues and areas of change in data-storage equipment and applications. The fee is $850. Contact Cartlidge & Associates Inc., Suite 205, 4030 Moorpark Ave., San Jose, CA 95117, (408) 554-6644.

■

September 21-22

Business-Expo, Boston, MA. This show serves as a showcase for office equipment ranging from computers to coffee machines. More than 20 seminars are presented. Address inquiries to Business-Expo, 702 East Northland Towers, 15565 Northland Dr., Southfield, MI 48075, (313) 569-8280.

September 26-28

Maecon/83, Kansas City, MO. This electronic show and convention explores such

516 July 1M3 © BYTE Publications Inc

topics as aerospace electronics, computer peripherals, laser technology, and personal computing. Contact Electronic Conventions Inc., 8110 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045, (213) 772-2965.

September 26-29

The World of CAD/CAM,

Boca Raton Resort Hotel, FL. For details, see July 25-28.

September 26-30

Compcon Fall '83, Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel, Arlington, VA. The theme of this show is "Delivering Computer Power to End Users." It features technical papers and panel sessions that address a variety of computer and computer-network issues. It is sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society. For more

information, contact Compcon Fall '83, POB 639, Silver Spring, MD 20901, (301) 589-8142.

September 26-30

Conference on Networks and Electronic Office Systems, University of Reading, Berkshire, England. This conference will provide a forum for the exchange of information and for discussion of recent and future developments relating to networks and electronic office systems. Further information is available from the Conference Secretariat, Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers, 99 Gower St., London WClE 6AZ, England; tel: 01-388 3071; Telex: Instrad London WCl.

September 26-30

Expo Beirut '83, Beirut, Lebanon. This is Lebanon's first international reconstruc

tion/development exposition and conference after eight years of civil war. Topics to be covered include contruction, transportation, communications, agriculture, computer hardware and software, metallurgy, textiles, and automated equipment. Further details are available from Show-Tech International Inc., 950 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022.

September 28-29

Ottawa Computer and Office Automation Show, Civic

Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. For details, contact Industrial Trade Shows of Canada, 20 Butterick Rd., Toronto, Ontario M8W 3Z8, Canada, (416) 252-7791.

September 29-October 1

CP/M '83 East, Hynes Auditorium, Boston, MA. For information on this conference and exposition, contact Northeast Expositions Inc., 826 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, MA 02167, (800) 343-2222; in Massachusetts, (617) 739-2000. ■

In order to gain optimal coverage of your organization's computer conferences, seminars, workshops, courses, etc, notice should reach our office at least three months in advance of the date of the event. Entries should be sent to: Event Queue, BYTE Publications, POB 372, Hancock NH 03449. Each month we publish the current contents of the queue for the month of the cover date and the two following calendar months. Thus a given event may appear as many as three times in this section if it is sent to us far enough in advance.

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Retailers interested in selling the Sourcepak can receive a free dealer sales kit by writing to Source Telecomputing Corp., Communications Marketing Depart

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Today for Videotex

Today magazine is for people and businesses in the personal computer and videotex industries. It examines how personal computers can be used to increase productivity, manage financial resources, communicate information, and educate. It provides news on the latest developments in videotex services and hardware, software, and communications technology. Today also probes the social and political issues of the industry.

Individual copies of Today magazine cost S2.50. It's published by CompuServe Inc., 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd., Columbus, OH 43220, (800) 848- 8199; in Ohio, (614)457-8650. Circle 551 on inquiry card.

Daily News Hotline

The Information Intelligence Online Hotline is a daily news service for online readers in the information-retrieval field. Each issue is said to contain up-to-theminute news concerning suppliers, vendors, producers, new and forthcoming databases, terminals, computers, modems, videodiscs, library and information networks, publications, and trends in the online field.

The Online Hotline can be accessed by 300- or 1200-bit-per-second Bell 103/212A-compatible terminals over ordinary telephone lines and many reduced-rate services. It's compatible with most terminals and microcomputers. X/On and X/Off protocol is supported. Subscriptions to the Hotline cost $100 per year, which includes unlimited access; there are no connect-time charges. For complete details, contact Information Intelligence Inc., POB 31098, Phoenix, AZ 85046, (602) 996-2283. Circle 552 on inquiry card.

Trade Newspaper for Videotex Industry

Videotex Products is a quarterly newspaper for the videotex/teletext industry. This tabloid covers all items being developed for and sold on the worldwide videotex market. Its publisher, Worldwide Videotex, also produces the monthly Worldwide Videotex Update, avail

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For a free sample issue of the newspaper, write to Videotex Products, POB 138, Babson Park, Boston, MA 02157. Circle 553 on inquiry card.

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General Videotex Corporation has introduced a national videotex system called Delphi. Delphi provides services and features for the entire family, including an online encyclopedia with up-to-the-minute entries; electronic banking and bill paying; searchable news, sports, and weather updates; shopping and travel information; games; online bulletin-board systems; and interactive community programs that allow users to converse. The Dialog Information Service database is also available through Delphi.

The Delphi videotex system is compatible with home computers that can be connected to telephone lines. Subscribers access information by means of simple steps rather than menus. Delphi adjusts its output to fit varying screen formats.

Future services will include a package designed for those with special needs, an expanded library of resource materials and educational tutorials, financial information, and an online interactive auction. A subscription to Delphi costs

518 July 19S3 © BYTE Publication Inc

What's New?

S49.95. User-time fees are S0.85 for ten minutes (i.e., $5 per hour). Business rates are $20 per hour (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Complete details are

available from General Videotex Corp., 377 Putnam Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, (617) 491-3393. Circle 554 on inquiry card.

RS-232C Telecomputing System

IXO Inc. has unveiled an RS-232C version of its handheld telecommunications terminal, designed for local-network applications. The Model TC 103 is said to be suitable for hard-wire installation in a fixed location or for portable use where it can be connected directly to a computer system. Possible applications include field service and local access to electronic message systems within an office.

The TC 103 has a QWERTY-style keyboard with control and shift functions that generate the full 128-character set of ASCII codes. English-language dialogue keys that facilitate the development of computer-initiated dialogue soft

ware for operator training are provided. The TC 103 features a 16-characterLCD (liquid-crystal display) that has such display-management functions as variable scroll rates ranging from 2 to 30 characters per second, automatic sound effects on grammatical constructions, and a repeat key that allows you to review the last 80 characters received.

In single units, the TC 103 costs S450. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) pricing as low as S250 per terminal is available. Corporate headquarters for IXO Inc. are located at 6041 Bristol Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230, (213) 417-8080. Circle 555 on inquiry card.

PERIPHERALS

Terminal Has 12 Programmable Keys

Visual Technology has extended the performance

of its Visual 50 terminal with the introduction of the Vi

sual 55. Among the enhancements built into this tilt-and-swivel terminal are 12 user-programmable nonvolatile function keys that can be dynamically allocated, extended editing with character insertion and deletion, selectable scrolling regions, and Visual 210 and Hazeltine 1510 emulation capabilities. Standard features include five attribute selections, a line-drawing character set, block mode, editing, a bidirectional auxiliary port, a 128-member uppercase and lowercase character set, columnar tabbing, and smooth orjump scrolling. The nonglare screen's dis

play format is 80 characters by 24 lines using a 7 by 9 dot-matrix grid, with a 25th status line. Menu-driven setup modes in nonvolatile memory are provided for easy selection of terminal parameters. The Visual 55 is code-for-code compatible with Hazeltine Espirit, Adds Viewpoint, Lear Siegler ADM 3A, and Digital Equipment Corporation VT-52.

The Visual 55 costs S 895. Quantity discounts are available. For complete details, contact Visual Technology Inc., 540 Main St., Tewksbury, MA 01876, (617) 851-5000. Circle 556 on inquiry card.

Energy Management Over Power Lines

Bi-Comm Systems' PC-1 combined with an Apple creates an efficient energy-management system. The PC-1 plugs directly into an Apple I/O slot and a standard wall socket. It communicates directly over power lines to operate as many as 256 Leviton/BSR remotecontrol units. With this arrangement, the Apple can control climate systems, appliances, lights, and other electrical devices for maximum energy efficiency. The

7-by 3-inch PC-1 is made up of a bidirectional carrier interface, a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) clock/calendar with battery backup, and a switch-selectable clock interrupt with rates of I hour, 1 minute, 1 second, and 1024 Hz. The battery backup offers 2 months of life and a full recharge capability in 16 hours.

The PC-1 comes with a demonstration disk that provides time scheduling, com

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mand console simulation, and utilities for initial powerup. A line-monitor program to detect power-line interference is provided. The PC-1 costs S265. Quantity dis

counts are available. Contact Bi-Comm Systems Inc., 10 Yorkton Industrial Court, St. Paul, MN 55117, (612) 481-0775. Circle 557 on inquiry card.

Accessories for IBM

Compu-Quote offers a line of accessories for the IBM Personal Computer. Qwik-Key is a plastic overlay card that fits around the function keys so that you can mark each key's usage for a given program. A pack of three is available for S4.25. Quik-Guide consists of a pair of reference cards that contain all DOS commands. A set of two costs S3.25. Qwik-Label is a set of 18 self-adhesive labels that

help you identify plug-in cards, knobs, and connectors on the front and rear panels of the IBM. Blanks for custom labels are included. A complete set costs SI.

Each item can be purchased separately or as part of a complete kit, which is S7.75. Contact CompuQuote, 6914 Berquist Ave., Canoga Park, CA 91307, (213) 348-3662. Circle 558 on inquiry card.

Processor Board with Diagnostics

The Z80 Smart Card, marketed by Forethought Products, is a combination processor and diagnostics unit for STD bus-based systems. This card has a 4-MHz Z80A processor with an onboard serial port, 2K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory), and diagnostic

firmware. When connected to a standard RS-232C terminal, this card can test any board or I/O device in the STD system with its built-in diagnostic functions. Additional commands such as Display/Alter memory and Read/ Write to an I/O device provide easy system de

bugging features. The Smart Card is equipped with a switch that lets it function as a standard Z80 processor card and performs a poweronjump to user PROM (programmable read-only memory). For easy system troubleshooting, you can instantly switch between Z80

and diagnostic modes.

The Z80 Smart Card costs S 245 (quantity two to nine). Full specifications are available from Forethought Products, 87070 Dukhobar Rd., Eugene, OR 97402, (503) 485-8575. Circle 559 on inquiry card.

Speech Module for Sinclairs

The Parrot from Research In Speech Technology Inc. is a plug-in speech-synthesis module for Timex/Sinclair computers. Capable of generating the 64 discrete sounds (allophones) of spoken English, the Parrot comes with cassette-based software that lets you combine allophones so thatyou can string together words, phrases, sentences, and sound effects. You can also use your own programs to tell the Parrot what to say. It plugs directly into the

ZX80/8I and the Timex/Sinclair 1000 and is piggyback expandable so that other modules can be attached to the computer. An audio output jack for either a 4- or 8-ohm speaker and a volume control are provided.

The Parrot costs S89.95. It's available factory-direct from Research In Speech Technology Inc., POB 499, Fort Hamilton Station, Brooklyn, NY 11209, (212) 259-4934. Circle 560 on inquiry card.

Osborne Expansion by Osmosis

Osmosis markets a line of Osborne 1 expansion equipment. The Osmos 1 is

a digital plug-in board that offers 184K bytes of storage per disk. It costs $195 and

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can be installed at home or by a dealer in less than 30 minutes. The Osmos 2 kit has two double-sided drives that replace the existing drives. It provides up to 370K bytes of storage per disk and costs S895. For $1050, the Osmos 3 gives the Osborne 1.5 megabytes of storage on double-sided doubletracked drives.

Available free with the disk upgrades, Osmos 4 allows the Osborne to read, write, and format floppy disks from more than 20 dif

ferent computers. Separately, it costs S225. The Osborne's screen format can be expanded from 52 to 80 columns with the Osmos 5, a $250 plug-in board.

Osmosis also markets Winchester disk drives, disk diagnostics, and analog-to-digital converters for the Osborne. For complete specifications, contact Osmosis, 430 Pacific Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133, (415) 864-6372. Circle 561 on inquiry card.

SYSTEMS

TRS-80 Model 4 Unveiled

Radio Shack's TRS-80 Model 4 features an 80-column display, a 4-MHz Z80A microprocessor, and 64K bytes of memory, expandable to 128K bytes. This desktop computer is compatible with all existing Model III programs and with such operating systems as CP/M Plus, LDOS, and TRSDOS. Standard features

include a job-control language, a print spooler, and a communications program. It comes with a 12-inch, highresolution black-and-white monitor and a 70-key typewriter-style keyboard. The keyboard has a 12-key numeric pad, uppercase and lowercase characters, and three programmable function keys.

Radio Shack is developing new software for the Model 4 that will take advantage of its 80-column screen capabilities. These packages will include a spreadsheet calculator and a word processor. With two 184K-byte floppy-disk drives, an RS-232C serial interface, and a parallel printer interface, the Model 4 costs $1999. Further details are available at local Radio Shack stores and Computer Centers. Radio Shack, 1800 One Tandy Center, Fort Worth, TX 76102. Circle 562 on inquiry card.

The Spirit of Victory

Victory Computer Systems' Spirit series of 16-bit small-business computers can be ordered with either Intel 80186 or Motorola MC68000 microprocessors. Operating system support is extended to CP/M-86, MP/M-86, CP/M-80, and Unix. The Spirit design employs VME bus architecture for peripheral expansion and up to 16 users. VME mixes 8- 16: and 32-bit microcomputers on a single system. Standard features include an advanced memory-management unit that allows addressing of up to 16 megabytes of memory, 256K bytes of dual-ported RAM (random-access read/ write memory), seven highspeed serial RS-232C ports, an RS-422A port, and a Centronics-type parallel port. The Spirit uses a Zilog Z80 processor for distributed computing and intelligent

I/O control and a 16-bitZilog Z8002 chip for Winchester hard-disk control. The basic Spirit comes with a 5 ]A -inch removable-cartridge Winchester unit, a single 5/4or 8-inch floppy-disk drive, and a fixed Winchester hard disk.

Memory options include 5lA-and8-inch Winchester disks with up to 120 megabytes of storage, 514 -inch removable disks with a 6megabyte capacity, and slimline 5]A- and 8-inch floppy-disk drives. System prices range from $ 16,000 to $26,000, depending on configuration. For complete specifications, contact Victory Computer Systems, 201 East Hamilton Ave., Campbell, CA 95008, (408) 379-6200. Circle 563 on inquiry card.

Low-Cost Computer for Novices

The VZ100 is an expandable system designed for the beginning computer user. This unit comes with 3K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory), built-in BASIC, and a full-size keyboard. The VZ100 can use any cassette-tape recorder for mass storage. Complete step-by-step instructions are provided.

Expansion equipment includes 16K- and 64K-byte memories, joysticks, a printer, light pen, modem, disk drives, bar-code reader, display monitor, and a full complement of software. The VZ100 costs less than $100. Forfull details, contact

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Video Technology (U.S.) Inc., 2633 Greenleaf Ave., Elk Grove Village, II60007, (312)

640-1776.

Circle 564 on inquiry card.

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Low-Cost Modular Computer

A Z80-based personal computer with a base price of S299.95, the Spectravideo offers such standard features as Microsoft's extended BASIC interpreter, CP/M 2.2 and CP/M Plus compatibility, 32K bytes of ROM (read-only memory), and 32K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory). Its input/output specifications include composite-video and audio output for a built-in TV modulator and a data-cassette interface. The display mode gives a 32-character by 24-line output using a 5- by 9-dot matrix and 16 keyboard-addressable colors. Each row of the display can be produced in different foreground and background colors. The SV-318's audio output capability provides three channels, each with an 8-octave range. The

ASCII keyboard has 71 uppercase and lowercase characters, 52 graphics symbols, and 10 user-definable function keys. The keyboard console also houses a builtin joystick and a separate game cartridge slot. Editing abilities such as cursor-control and insertion/deletion keys are provided.

More than 100 software packages, including a word processor, an electronic spreadsheet, and arcadetype video games, support the SV-318. A data-cassette drive, a floppy-disk drive unit, and a dot-matrix printer are among the 15 hardware accessories currently available. A complete SV-318 can be ordered for less than S1500. For full particulars, contact Spectravideo, 39 West 37th St., New York, NY 10018, (212) 869-7911. Circle 565 on inquiry card.

Bundle of Software Follows the Pied Piper

The Pied Piper I portable computer comes with four CP/M software programs: a word processor, an electronic spreadsheet, a 50,000-word dictionary, and a database filer. The 12/2-pound Pied Piper is built around the 4-MHz Z80A processor and offers 64K bytes of RAM (random-access read/write memory), 1 megabyte of 5!/4-inch floppy-disk storage, and an 80-character by 24-line video-display format. In addition, a full ASCII keyboard, a built-in Centronics

type parallel printer interface, and a video-monitor port are provided. The Pied Piper is supplied with a complement of communications utilities and the CP/M operating system.

Optional software for the Pied Piper includes dBASE II, Wordstar/Mailmerge, Supercalc, and MBASIC. It costs S1299. The Pied Piper is manufactured by STM Electronics Corp., Suite 130, 525 East Middlefield Rd„ Menlo Park, CA 94025, (415) 326-6226. Circle 566 on inquiry card.

Dual Drives Standard with SKS

Dual 560K-byte floppydisk drives come as standard equipment with the SKS 2000 personal computer, a modular machine running the 4-MHz Z80A processor. It comes with 64K bytes of RAM (random-access read/ write memory), a built-in monitor and keyboard controller, an RS-232C serial printer port, and the CP/M operating system. Its standard typewriter-style de

tachable keyboard has 13 word-processing keys, 5 cursor-control keys, 13 numeric keys, 8 function keys, and Nkey rollover. The 12-inch P-3I green-phosphor video monitor offers an 80 by 24 format in an 8-by 12-dotgrid and such attributes as reverse video and magnified character. The serial interface features half-duplex operation and transmission speeds up to 19,200 bits per

522 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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second. Standard software includes Wordstar and Mailmerge.

Winchester hard-disk drives, RS-422A interfaces, a magnetic card reader/encoder, and a real-time clock are available as options. The SKS 2000 costs S2995. A dual-processor model is priced at $3795. For complete details, contact SKS Computers Inc., 4091 Leap Rd., Hilliard. OH 43026, (614) 876-8668. Circle 567 on inquiry card.

PUBLICATIONS

Software Market Newsletter

The Software Market Letter is the monthly organ of the National Association of Free-Lance Programmers (NAFLP). This newsletter provides software-marketing information and advice, including the types of software in demand, how and where to sell programs, and how to get free-lance programming contracts. A unique feature of each issue is a complete directory of software buyers which is continually updated. The directory offers such information as the kind of software a buyer seeks, fees offered, terms and conditions, and how and where to contact the buyer. Each newsletter also has tutorial articles that provide examples and tips on negotiating contracts and selling software directly.

Membership in the NAFLP is open to all free

lance programmers. Annual dues are S48, which includes a subscription to the Software Market Letter. For further details, contact NAFLP, POB 813P, Vienna, VA 22180. Circle 568 on inquiry card

able for S4.95. A combined package costs S16. Address inquiries to Sin-Time Review, Subscription

Department, POB 742163, Houston, TX 77274. Circle 570 on inquiry card

Peek Inside Disk Drives

Inside Personal Computer Disk Storage Systems

is an easy-to-understand look at what's going on inside your personal computer's floppy- and hard-disk storage system. Complete with illustrations, this 3 2-page book provides a full introduction to disks, drives, controllers, and operating systems. It costs $5 and is available from Percom Data Corp., 11220 Pagemill Rd., Dallas, TX 75243. Circle 569 on inquiry card

Publication About Sinclair/Timex

Sin-Time Review is a bimonthly journal for owners of Sinclair/Timex computers. This publication has hardware and software reviews, articles, and programs written by Sinclair/Timex users. Other features include a consumer buying guide, book reviews, classified ads, and an index of periodicals and books.

Annual subscriptions to Sin-Time Review cost S12 (six issues). The Sin-Time Review Buyers Guide is avail

New Magazine to Focus on Computers in Elementary Schools

A magazine devoted to helping elementary school teachers understand and use microcomputers in the classroom will be released in September. Scholastic Inc.'s Teaching and Computers will offer first-person accounts of how teachers are successfully using computers in their classsrooms, nontechnical information about computers and how they work, and teacher-developed lesson ideas for all content areas. Also featured will be reproducible student-activity pages, recom

mended software for instruction or classroom management, and fresh information about free materials, new books, research, and conferences.

Teaching and Computers will be produced eight times during the school year. Subscriptions cost $15.95; bulk subscriptions of five or more are $9.95 each. Contact Scholastic Inc., 730 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, (212) 505-3000. Circle 571 on inquiry card

Developments in Computer Law Probed

The Computer/Law Journal recently published its third annual issue devoted to current developments in computer law. The first articles in this edition focus on trade secrets and patent protection for computer software, respectively. From there, the discussion shifts to the liability of architects and enginners in the computer age. The steps involved in the negotiation and procurement of major computer systems are then analyzed, and vendor fraud and litigation arising from negotiations and procurement are investigated. Contributing authors are Miles Gilbume, Ron Johnston,

Nelson Moskowitz, Paul Mathew, Duncan Davidson, and Craig Walker.

This special issue of the Computer/Law Journal costs $18; outside North America, it's $19. Contact the Center for Computer/ Law, POB 54308 T A., Los Angeles, CA 90054. Circle 572 on inquiry card

Unix/C Newsletter

Quarterly, multivendor news for users, owners, prospective owners, and manufacturers of Unix and C products is available through

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World Unix & C. Produced by Southwater Corporation, World Unix & C reports on mainframe, minicomputer, and microcomputer news and developments, and new Unix and C products. It has interviews with users and marketing personnel, company profiles, book and product reviews, -tutorials, and project notes. Unix-like systems are also covered.

Prepaid annual subscriptions to World Unix & C cost $12; invoiced subscriptions are $16. Contact World Unix & C, Southwater Corp., 30 Mowry St., POB 5314, Mount Carmel, CT 06518, (203) 288-0283. Circle 573 on inquiry card.

SOFTWARE

Child's Game Stresses Strategy

In Search of the Most Amazing Thing is a combination adventure, strategy and arcade-type game for children from Spinnaker Software. Placed in a fantasy world, children are challenged to use strategy and employ their learning skills to discover the location and identity of "the most amaz

ing thing." Children must negotiate economic and monetary situations with aliens, buy supplies, read maps, trade and bargain, write music, draw, take and write notes, organize materials, and make decisions. This program features color, sound effects, animation, and graphics.

In Search of the Most Amazing Thing runs on Apple, Atari, Commodore 64, and IBM Personal Computers. It costs $39.95 and comes with Jim Morrow's novel The Adventures of Smoke Bailey. It's available from Spinnaker Software, 215 First St., Cambridge, MA 02142, (617) 868-4700. Circle 574 on inquiry card.

Context MBA Available for HP 16

The Context MBA integrated management software program now runs on the Hewlett-Packard Series 200 Model 16 and the Model 36 microcomputers. A product of Context Management Systems, MBA offers spreadsheet, word processing, graphics, telecommunications, and database functions. When combined with the HP Series 200, MBA lets you handle five simultaneous functions with immediate feedback: spreadsheet modeling, memo writing, analytical and presentation graphics, telecommunications, and searching, sorting, organizing, and using information. Its windowing feature allows more than

one MBA function to appear onscreen, and any changes are automatically incorporated in other portions of a program. MBA uses a work space with 95 columns and 999 rows, and each MBA cell can hold up to 8000 characters.

Hewlett-Packard provides direct customer support for the MBA package, including 90 days of free telephone consultation. The suggested list price is $795. Contact Hewlett-Packard dealers for complete details. Circle 575 on inquiry card.

Error Handler for PC

Ultratrap, a parity errorhandling utility program from Daystar Systems, can be ordered through IBM Personal Computer dealers. This program intercepts and circumvents the PC's normal parity handler and resets the parity error-detection circuitry. Such occurrences are reported on the video monitor, which gives you the opportunity to ignore the error, abort the program and return to DOS, or reboot the system by means of a "warm-boot" seguence. It uses 8K bytes of memory and can be configured from the keyboard. No patches to PC-DOS 1.10 are required.

Ultratrap comes with a dynamic-memory allocation utility and a disk emulator. This package costs $39.95. It's available as standard equipment with the

purchase of the 512K-byte UltraRAM add-on memory board for the IBM, which sells for $895. For complete details, contact Daystar Systems Inc., Suite L, 10511 Church Rd.. Dallas, TX 75238, (214) 341-8136. Circle 576 on inquiry card.

Checker Eyes Misspelled Words

Western Software Development's Spellpack can check the spelling of up to 50,000 words in any UCSD p-System file. It ignores special characters inserted by a word processor and provides a means for developing and maintaining any number of auxiliary dictionaries, which can accommodate 450 to 1340 words (maximum), depending on your computer. Spellpack displays full lines of text that have an incorrectly spelled word, and it lets you print sections of the main dictionary containing any subset of characters. Properly spelled words to be substituted for misspellings can be directed to either the same text file in which the error was detected or to a new text file. Spellpack also supplies you with information on the number of lines and words processed.

Spellpack runs on the IBM Personal Computer (with or without an 8087 coprocessor) and the Sage II. It costs $125 and is available from Western Software Development, POB 953, Woodland Park, CO 80863. Circle 577 on inquiry card.

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Full-Function Relational Database

The Oracle Version 3 is a full-function relational database for 16-bit microcomputers, mainframes, and minicomputers. It has multiuser capabilities, automatic recovery from system failure, and in-batch and online environments involving databases as large as billions of characters of data. It's provided with a complete set of software-development tools that include an interactive application generator, a report writer, a word processing and documentation preparation system, and an integrated data dictionary. A

unique feature of Oracle 3 is its ability to accept data downloaded from a mainframe database for analysis and reporting on a microcomputer.

Oracle Version 3 currently works on Motorola 68000-based systems running Unix. The suggested retail price ranges from $600 to $2000, depending on the number of users. Contact Oracle Corp., Suite 180, Building 3, 3000 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025, (415) 854-7350. Circle 578 on inquiry card.

Integrated Management System

Metafile for the IBM Personal Computer creates a development and operational environment that includes integrated facilities for high-level programming, word processing, database management, report generation, modeling, forms data

entry communications, and mailing-list and spreadsheet creation. Metafile can be used as an interactive program with menus and help screens, or it can be programmed to generate sophisticated applications. Among Metafile's data

preparation capabilities are onscreen wordwrap, global text search and replace, relational database abilities, and an integrated data dictionary. For data processing, it offers 20-digit decimal precision, data-file recovery, keyed record access, and built-in syntax-parsing facilities. Other features include ascending and descending sort keys, a printer-control language, multiple-level sorts using any item, and screen windowing and partitioning. Online documentation and reference information is provided.

Metafile requires a monochrome or color graphics display, PC-DOS 1.1, 64K bytes of memory, a single 320Kbyte floppy-disk drive, and an additional disk drive. It supports both removable and fixed Winchester disks and such printers as IBM Epson, NEC 3550, Dataproducts M200, and Okidata 84. It costs $1995. A version of Metafile is available for the Vector Graphic Series 3. For complete details, contact Sensor-based Systems, Olmsted Federal Building, Chatfield, MN 55923. (507) 867-4440. Circle 579 on inquiry card.

User-friendly Risk Simulator

The Risk Simulator from Actuarial Microcomputer Software uses a Monte Carlo method to estimate probability distributions associated with various risk-in

volving situations. This program has user-friendly input formats and high-resolution graphics to make it easier to use and understand. Possible applications include the estimation of automobile maintenance expenses and employer self-funding of health-care benefits.

The Risk Simulator runs on 48K-byte Apple lis, with a printer optional. It costs $ 187.50 and is available from Actuarial Microcomputer Software, 3915A Valley Court, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, (919) 765-5588. Circle 580 on inquiry card.

Text Management Program

The Superfile System 3 text-management program from FYI Inc. automatically reindexes up to 65,000 records per database. Each freeformat variable-length record is easy to update and can have as many as 500 keyword descriptors (maximum 32,000 keywords per database). Superfile System 3 lets you cross-index and retrieve records by linking as many as 128 keywords with "and," "or," and "not." You can search up to 255 floppy or hard disks per database. It provides software prompts, and output to a printer, screen, disk file, or any combination of the three.

The Post Haste program comes with Superfile. It works with Superfile or Micropro's Mail Merge and

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gives you capabilities for formatting and printing envelopes and membership and directory listings. Post Haste sorts alphabetically or by zip code.

Superfile System 3 will run on Z80 systems with CP/M version 2 or IBM PC-DOS.

Two floppy-disk drives or a hard disk is required. The suggested retail price is S295. Contact FYI Inc., POB 26481, Austin, TX 78755, (800) 531-5033; in Texas, (512) 346-0133. Circle 581 on inquiry card.

Three Program Packs for Commodore 64

Computermat has introduced three programs for the Commodore 64 Color Computer: Arcade Pak, Game Pak, and Ed-U-Pak. Arcade Pak offers three high-resolution arcade-type games. The first, Alien Invasion, has 20 levels of play and can be enjoyed by 1 to 4 players. Head-on's race against time provides 9 difficulty levels. Target Command challenges you to protect your cities from attacks from space. Arcade Pak is available on floppy disk or cassette for S29.95 and $24.95, respectively.

Three games comprise the Game Pak: Dragon Chase, Flip-It, and Deflect. In Dragon Chase, you must race through a maze to escape the dragon that wants to broil you. Flip-It is a strategy game that can turn the tables on you. Deflect is a bumper car game. The Game Pak is available on cassette for $14.95.

The four Ed-U-Pak programs are supplied on cassette for $24.95. Ruler places you in charge of a country. Micro lets you make a million dollars running a computer manufacturing plant. Dungeon of Mathacos, an

adventure game, has you searching for treasures and answering mathematics questions. Geography lets you match names and locations around the world. For more information, call or write Computermat, 2984 Daytona, POB 1664, Lake Havasu, AZ 86403, (602) 855-3357. Circle 582 on inquiry card.

FOREIGN

Medical Simulation

You're the Doctor is a recreational/educational simulation of medical diagnosis and treatment from Simulations Software. This roleplaying game lets you examine and treat patients suffering illnesses ranging from skin rashes to abdominal pains (seven different problems in all). You must diagnose and treat your patients so that you can advance from the intern level to the chief of staff. Player options include lab tests, physical examinations, anesthesia, and surgery. Color graphics and sound effects are featured.

You're the Doctor runs on 48K-byte Apple lis with one disk drive and DOS 3.3. The suggested retail price is $17.95, which includes a tutorial on medical laboratory tests. Contact Simulations Software, POB 608, Station U, Toronto, Ontario, M8Z 5Y9, Canada. Circle 583 on inquiry card

Ready-made Enclosures

Industrial Design Consultancy distributes a range of off-the-shelf enclosures for computer systems. These enclosures, manufactured by Data Packaging Ltd. County Westmeath, Ireland, include 127 147 and 15-inch cathode-ray tube bezels, a disk-drive housing, highand low-profile keyboards, and a 19-inch control module. All enclosures are said to be flexible enough for end users to create their own product identity, and internal provisions allow various hardware options. For details, contact Industrial Design Consultancy, The Green, Datchet, Slough, Berkshire SL3 9EH, England; tel: Slough (0753) 47610. Circle 584 on inquiry card

CP/M File Mover

Elektrokonsult's CP/M-toCP/M file-transfer utility program File Mover can transfer any type of CP/M file from one computer to another by

means of a serial link. File Mover uses an error detection and correction protocol with check sums and automatic retries to ensure errorfree file transfer. File Mover runs on 8080: 8085; and Z80-based machines and can be used with data rates up to 9600 bits per second. File Mover is available in a variety of disk formats, including 8-inch single-sided single-density, Osborne, Rainbow, and hard- and soft-sectored Zenith formats. With documentation, it costs $59.95, plus $8 shipping and handling. For more information, contact Elektrokonsult, POB 846, N-3001, Drammen, Norway; tel: [03] 83 15 00. Circle 585 on inquiry card

Jet News from Japan

Jet News has up-tothe-minute reports on Japanese products, technology, and markets. This trade newsletter covers the Japanese consumer, component, computer, office equipment, communication, control instrumentation, and industrial/medical markets. Stories are filed from Japan and augmented with pictures and vital statistics. A recent issue focused on the Japanese government's voluntary offer to limit the number of VCRs (video-cassette recorders) exported to European Common Market member nations and what

526 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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this could mean to the ailing European VCR industry.

Annual subscriptions to Jet News are offered at a variety of international exchange rates, ranging from 1000 Yen to 10.24 Deutsche Marks. Jet News is pro

duced 24 times a year by Benn Electronics Publications Ltd., POB 28, Luton LU1 2NT, England; tel: Luton (0582) 417438; Telex: BUSAID 826314. Circle 586 on inquiry card

MISCELLANEOUS

Ergonomic Keyboard Rated for 100 Million Operations

Cherry Electrical Products markets a low-profile, capacitive keyboard that meets the ergonomic workstation standards to become effective in 1985. The new specifications call for a maximum keyboard height of 30 mm (millimeters) from the top of the workstation desk to the top of the home-row keys when the keyboard is mounted in its enclosure. The Cherry keyboard measures less than 18 mm from the top of its printed-circuit board to the home-row keycaps.

The Cherry keyboard module consists of five parts: keycap, snap-in housing, plunger, spring, and metalized Mylar pad. Life expectancy is 100 million operations.

The Cherry keyboard can be ordered with linear or pad tactile feel, both with a

positive stop. Sculptured or stepped spherical keycaps are offered. A fully encoded 83-key unit costs SI50. In volume quantities, the price is S0.65 per key position for a microprocessor-based serial output unit. Contact Cherry Electrical Products Corp., 3600 Sunset Ave., Waukegan, IL 60087, (312) 578-3500. Circle 587 on inquiry card.

Mouse for IBM PC

Microsoft is marketing a mouse for more than 25 MSDOS-based personal computers, including the IBM. The Microsoft mouse is equipped with two buttons for selecting commands from the screen. It does not

require a specially prepared surface. The mouse is supplied with a disk containing tutorial, practice application, and a text-editor program with insertion and deletion features.

The Microsoft mouse is available in two versions: the one for the IBM Personal Computer includes a plug-in board that fits into any slot on the PC's motherboard; the second version is designed for any MS-DOSbased computer. This unit works with a standard RS-232C interface and all its required hardware is built in. The Microsoft mouse costs S195, including software. Contact Microsoft Corp., 10700 Northup Way, Bellevue, WA 98004, (206) 828- 8080. Circle 589 on inquiry card.

Continuous Computer Forms

Micro Format, a mailorder company, offers a line of continuous computer forms, including letterhead with "clean edge" perforations on all four sides. Other products in the line include Rolodex cards, index cards, continuous envelopes, report papers, colored labels, post cards, and continuous checks.

A starter kit containing 500 blank letterheads, 500 labels, and 500 continuous 3- by 5-inch index cards is available for S24, postage paid. For a catalog, contact Micro Format, Suite 16 A,

1271 Dundee Rd., Buffalo

Grove, IL 60090, (312)

537-2426.

Circle 590 on inquiry card.

Computer Access for Visually Impaired

The Viewscan Text System from Sensory Aids Corporation is an informationhandling system for visually impaired individuals. With VTS, the sight-impaired can read printed text, type correspondence, store text on microcassettes, print out data, program computers, enter or read back data, and receive information from databases. System components include a personal computer using BASIC, a video screen capable of displaying characters 3 inches tall, a keyboard unit with a miniature printer, a handheld camera for scanning printed text, a calculator, clock/calendar, a full-size keyboard, and a communications interface. Each piece of the system can work independently.

A complete VTS system costs S5640, plus $40 shipping. The Viewscan display is $3500, and the computer is $2140. A tracking aid to guide a camera across reading material is available for $174, plus $10 shipping. For further information, contact Sensory Aids Corp., Suite 110, 205 West Grand Ave., Bensenville, IL 60106, (312) 766-3935. Circle 591 on inquiry card.

July 1983 © BYTE Publication. IlK 527

What's New?

Graphics-Display Controller

The iSBX 275 videographics controller is the latest addition to Intel's Multimodule line of circuit boards that plug into 8- or 16-bit Multibus buses. It's designed for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) applications such as process control, low-end workstations, and business presentation systems.

The iSBX 275 is a 3- by 7-inch device combining Intel's 82720 graphics-display controller with display memory. It can maintain and display data on a raster-scan screen and can connect to color or black-and-white monitors, with choice of 50or 60-Hz frame rate. The iSBX 275 has approximately 32K bytes of onboard dis

play memory that provides nominal resolution of 512 by 512 pixels for black-andwhite screens or 256 by 256 pixels in eight colors. The 82720 controller lets you draw lines, circles, arcs, and rectangles with a single command and one or more parameters. It also handles such picture-manipulation operations as zoom and pan and can horizontally or vertically output preprogrammed 8 by 8 character fonts to the screen.

The iSBX 275 costs S995. OEM prices are available. Contact Intel Corp., Literature Department SV3-3, 3065 Bowers Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051. Circle 592 on inquiry card.

Twlxtyper Upgrades Typewriters

An electronic typewriter can be upgraded to a wordprocessing system with Twixtyper. By means of a simple plug-in interface, Twixtyper provides up to 48K bytes of memory and a video monitor to the typewriter, which then func

tions as an I/O device. Interfaces are available for Adler, Royal, and Silver-Reed typewriters. For full particulars, contact Twix Inc., Suite 100, 10920 Switzer Ave., Dallas, TX 75238, (214) 349-0639. Circle 593 on inquiry card.

m

% ■- . , - - jH

w

■i

J^gjm^l

S-100 Weighing System

Scalar Electronix has introduced a load-cell digitizing card for S-100 computers. This card provides weigh platforms, hoppers, tanks, and truck scales with a direct interface to an S-100 computer using strain-gauge transducers. Overall accuracy is 0.01%. Other features include a damping filter and selectable vectored interrupts that allow simultaneous operation of sever

al cards, with each card having its own dead-load and span calibration settings. System hardware includes CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) circuitry.

The S-100 weighing system card costs S495. For more information, contact Scalar Electronix Inc., POB 0863, Champlain, NY 12919, (514) 634-7026. Circle 594 on inquiry card.

STD Bus Prototyping Board

Computer Dynamics' STD-WW1 prototyping wire-wrap board for the STD bus offers an interleaved powerplanefor +5-voltand ground power connections. Standard features include gold-plated edge card connectors, plated-through holes arranged for optimum DIP (dual inline package)

placement patterns, and patterns arranged on the card for placement of header connectors.

In single units, the STDWW1 costs SI0. Contact Computer Dynamics Inc., 105 South Main St., Greer, SC 29651. (803) 877-7471. Circle 595 on inquiry card.

Where Do New Products Items Come From?

The information printed in the new products pages of BYTE is obtained from "new product" or "press release" copy sent by the promoters of new products. If in our judgment the information might be of interest to the personal computing experimenters and homebrewers who read BYTE, we print it in some form. We openly solicit releases and photos from manufacturers and suppliers to this marketplace. The information is printed more or less as a first-in first-out queue, subject to occasional priority modifications. While we would not knowingly print untrue or inaccurate data, or data from unreliable companies, our capacity to evaluate the products and companies appearing in the "What's New?" feature is necessarily limited. We therefore cannot be responsible for product quality or company performance.

528 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

Circle 387 on Inquiry card.

SUNNY

LOW LOW COST

POWER SUPPLIES

(LINEAR & SWITCHING) FORS-100, DISK DRIVES

S-100 & DISK POWER SUPPLIES

ITEM + 5V OVP

~5^

12 SLOT & 2 FLOPPY

(1 Floppy & 1 Hard Disk)

6 SLOT & 2 FLOPPY

5A

NO. 806 & NO. 516 Mainframes Kit 1, 2 & 3 for S-100 n^.rtyor 2 Drives(Floppy&Hard)

OPEN FRAME, ASSY. & TESTED, 6 OUTPUTS, ADJU. & FUSES PROTECT. -5V +24V(OR -H2V) +8V ±16V SIZE W x D X H PRICE

5-7A PEAk

ITT

13A

3A

10" x 6" x 5"

102.95

3 S4 6 SLOT & 2 FLOPPY 4A 1A 4-5A PEAK 8A 3A 8%" x 5" X 4%" 92.9f

DISK POWER SUPPLIES: open frame, assy. & tested, regulated, adjustable & fuses protect

+24V (or + 12V) +8V Unreg

ITEM

IDEAL FOR

+ 5V OVP

-5V

"0 R1 R2

"3

2 x 8" SLIMLINE 2 x 8" or 2 x 5W DISK l~3x 8" (or 5V4") FLOPPY] [or 1x ~

2.5A 4A 6A 6A

1A 1A 1A

2.5A - 5A Peak 3A - 5A Peak 6A - 8A Peak 6A - 8A Peak

+ 12V SIZEWxDxH PRICE S3 S4forS-100&2Drives

2A

1A

x Floppy & 1x Hard] AC & DC POWER CABLES WITH CONNECTOR FOR 2 DRIVES 8.00

S-100 POWER SUPPLY KITS (open frame with base plate, 3 hrs. assy, time)

ITEM (IDEAL FOR) +8V -8V +16V -16V -J-28V SIZE: WxDxH PRICE

5" x 4" x4"

8" x 4" x 3%"

10" x 4%" x 3%"

9" x 6V4" x 4%"

49.95 54.95 69.95 81.95

KIT1

15 CARDS

15A

KIT 2

20 CARDS

25A

KIT 3

DISK SYSTEM

15A

1A

2.5A

25A

3A

3A

3A

3A

5A

12'x5"x4%"

12"x5"x47/s"

13V2"x5"x47/a"

54.95 61.95 69.95

6 SLOT MAINFRAME assy. & tested only $399.95 + shipping $is.oo

EACH MAINFRAME (ITEM NO 806 OR 516) CONTAINS: EMI FILTER • FUSE HOLDER • AC POWER CORD • POWER SWITCH & INDICATOR • RESET SWITCH • 4ft" COOLING FAN • S-100 BUS 6 SLOT CARD CAGE • (110/220 VAC, 50/60 HZ I POWER SUPPLY FOR DISK DRIVES & S-100 SLOTS • 2 EA DC POWER CABLES WITH CONNECTOR AND MOUNTING HARDWARE FOR DISK DRIVES • 9 EA CUT-OUTS; 7 FOR DB25 CONNECTOR. 1 FOR 50 PIN CONNECTOR X 1 FOR CENTRONICS • CUSTOM FINISH & LOGO-LESS • COMPACT SIZE • LIGHTWEIGHT, 28 LBS ITEM #806 FOR 2 EA 8 THINLINE FLOPPY (TANDON TM848-1 & 848-2 OR EQUIV.), OR ONE HARD DISK, POWER SUPPLY:+ 8V/8A, ± 16V/3A, f5V/5AOVP. -5V/1A & 24V/5A. SIZE: 12'{W) x 19.5"(D) x 9.8'(H).

ITEM #516 FOR 2 EA 514" FLOPPY (TANDON TM-100 - 1. 2. 3, 4 OR EQUIV), OR ONE 5%' FLOPPY & ONE 5V." WINCHESTER HARD DISK (TANDON TM 600-2, 3 OR EQUIV). POWER SUPPLY: +8V/8A, +16V/3AOVP, +5V/6AOVP, +12V/6A, 8A PEAK. SIZE: 13.75"(W) x 19.5 "(D) x 7"(H).

SHIPPING FOR EA. PWR SUPPLY: $5.50 IN CALIF.; $8.00 IN OTHER STATES;$18.00 IN CANADA. FOR EA. TRANSFORMER: $5.00 IN ALL STATES; $12.00 IN CANADA. CALIF. RESIDENTS ADD 6.5% SALES TAX.

DEALER

INQUIRIES

INVITED

No. 806 &

NO. 516 Mainframes

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. BOX 4296 TORRANCE, CA 90510

TELEX:182558

SUNNY INTERNATIONAL

(TRANSFORMERS MANUFACTURER)

(213) 328-2425 MON-SAT 9-6

SHIPPING ADDRESS: 221291-2 S. VERMONT AVE TORRANCE, CA 90502

CED.

MONITORS

AMDEK COLOR I PLUS AMDEK VIDEO 300 (GREEN) AMDEK VIDEO 300 (AMBER) AMDEK VIDEO 310 (GREEN) AMDEK VIDEO 310 (AMBER) AMDEK COLOR II AMDEK COLOR III BMC 13" COLOR MONITOR COMREX 13" COLOR W/SOUND COMREX 12" HI-RES AMBER NEC 12" GREEN SCREEN NEC 12" ECONO GREEN NEC 12" LO-RES COLOR PRINCETON GRAPHICS HX-12 ZENITH 12" GREEN USI 9" AMBER MONITOR USI 12" AMBER MONITOR

319.95 139.95 149.95 169.95 164.95 619.95 369.95 299.95 294.95 149.95 154.95

99.95 299.95 499.95

94.95 129.95 149.95

MODEMS

ANCHOR MARK I (RS-232) 79.95

ANCHOR MARK VII [RS-232) 109.95

NOVATION J-CAT 104.95

NOVATION 212 AUTO CAT 579.95

SMARTCAT 212 [1200 BAUD) 429.95

SMARTMODEM 300 BAUD 194.95

5MARTMODEM 1200 BAUD 499.95

VOURE GONNA LOVE THESE

BOCK BOTTOM PRICES!

PRINTERS COMPUTERS

EPSON FX-80 W/TRACTOR EPSON RX-80 EPSON FX-100 F/T GEMINI 10 GEMINI 10X GEMINI 15 GEMINI STX-80 STAR DP-8240 JUKI 6100 PRINTER (P) NEC 8023 PRINTER OKIDATA 82A W/GRAPHICS OKIDATA S3A W/GRAPHICS OKIDATA 84P OKIDATA 84S OKIDATA 92 OKIDATA 93P OKIDATA 93S C ITOH 8510 COLOR C ITOH 1550 COLOR C ITOH 8600 PRINTMASTER [DAISY) PROWRITER I PRINTER PROWRITER II PRINTER STARWRITER DAISY WHEEL TRANSTAR 315 COLOR TRANSTAR 130 1BCPS TRANSTAR 140 40CPS EPSON SERIAL (RS-232) GRAFITTI CARD GRAPPLER + MICROBUFFER II 16K PKASO INTERFACE WIZARD BPO 16K WIZARD SOB 16K

LOW1 I

LOW I 1 LOW! I LOW! I LOW! I LOW I 1 LOW! I LOWll 549.95 459.95 449.95 699.95 1049.95 1129.95 494.95 929.95 994.95 LOWll LOWI I 999.95 1549.95 374.95 669.95 1099.95 449.95 729.95 1229.95 134.95 84.95 119.95 194.95 129.95 129.95 179.95

COMMODORE 64 364.95

COMMODORE 1541 DRIVE 319.95

ATARI 800 479.9S-$100-$379.95 ATARI 1200 514.95-*100=(414.95 IBM PC LOWI!

COLUMBIA COMPLETE SYS. 3149.95

IBM-PC COMPATIBLE SYSTEM 128K, 2-DS/DD DRIVES, KEYBOARD AND COMPLETE SOFTWARE PACKAGE

CORVUS CONCEPT MC68000 $4999

256K, 8" FLOPPY DRIVE

COMPLETE SOFTWARE PACKAGE

BI-DIRECTIONAL B-1/2X11 SCREEN

CORVUS CONCEPT 512K J5B95

CORONA DESKTOP PC LOW!!

IBM-PC COMPATIBLE SYSTEM

128K 2-DS/DD DRIVES, KEYBOARD

COMPLETE SOFTWARE PACKAGE

CORONA PORTABLE PC LOWll

APPLE COMPATIBLE

SYSCOM II 729.95

FRANKLIN ACE 1000 W/COLOR LOWI! FRANKLIN ACE 1200 LOWll

ORANGE + TWO w/Z-80 CPU 999.95

SPECIAL SYSTEM PRICK 1499.95 ORAMGK ♦ TWO, 2 DISK DRIVES, BUILT IN z-80 CPU, SOFTWARE, 12" GREW MONITOR & VIDKK COMPATIBLE 80 COLUMN CARD.

EASY-80 80 COL, VIDEO CARD

POLLY VIDEZ COMPATIBLE:

WORKS WITH WORDSTAR, dBASB,

SUPKR-TKXT-PRO, BASIC, CP/H,

PASCAL. SPECIAL INTRO PRICK

SOFTWARE APPLE //

W9.9S

OTHER PRINTERS AVAILABLE

SANYO MBC-1000 SANYO PHC-20 SANYO PHC-25 EAGLE II XEROX 820-11 NEC APC-H01 NEC APC-H02 NEC APC-H03 NEC APC-WPS1 NEC APC-WPS2

1579.95

77.95

149.95

LOWI !

2899.00

2495.00

2995.00

3749.00

4995.00

5695.00

4TH DIMENSION DRIVE+CTRL 4TH DIMENSION DRIVE-ONLY HAYES MICROMODEM II KENSINGTON SYSTEM SAVER RANA ELITE I W/CTRL-CARD RANA ELITE II W/CTRL RANA ELITE III W/CTRL SOFTCARD (Z-80 CARD) MICRC-SCI A2 W/CTRL-CARD

289.95 199.95 259.95 64.95 359.95 509.95 649.95 234.95 319.95

DISKETTES

ELEPHANT DISKETTES SS/SD ELEPHANT DISKETTES SS/DD ELEPHANT DISKETTES DS/DD

16.95 19.95 25.95

ASCII EXPRESS PRO BPI GENERAL ACCOUNTING DATASTAR (REQ Z-80) dBASE II (REQ. Z-80) INFOSTAR (REQ Z-80) REPORTSTAH (REQ Z-80) SENSIBLE SPELLER SPELLSTAS (REQ Z-80) SUPERCALC (REQ Z-80) SUPER-TEXT PRO 40/80 VISICALC 3.3 WORDSTAR (REQ Z-80)

IBM

LOTUS 1-2-3

BPI PERSONAL ACCOUNTING

QUICK CODE (MS-DOS)

PIE WRITER

SMARTCOM II

BASIC COMPILER

PEACHTEXT 5000 SER.9

SUPERCALC II

VISICALC 2S6K

COMMODORE M

CHOPLIFTER

ROUNDABOUT

COCO

WAY OUT

JUMP MAN

GRIDRUNNER

PHAROH'S CURSE

HESMON

HOHETERM

89.95 294.95 194.95 449.95 319.95 239.95

84.95 164.95 189.95

69.95 174.95 319.95

LOWll 149.95 209.95 139.95

89.95 279.95 259.95 209.95 179.95

34.95 21.95 37.95 27.95 27.95 27.95 24.95 27.95 37.95

TKKMKi CASHIER'S CHECK OR VISA/MASTERCARD (NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR CARDS). PERSONAL CHECK (2 WEEKS TO CLEAR). PURCHASE ORDERS MUST INCLUDE CHECK. SHIPPING * HANDLING: 5% (*5 MINI; APO FPO ALASKA HAWAII f. MONITORS ADD 5% ($10 MINI; FOREIGN ORDERS ADD 15% ($15 MIN). ALL ITEMS ARE HEW WITH MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY. PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY fi CHANGE WITHOUT KOTICE. CALIFORNIA ADD 6» SALES TAX. SEND SI (GOOD TOWARD FIRST PURCHASE) FOR NEW FALL CATALOG. 7.1.83

APPLE COUNTRY, LTD. P.O. BOX 1099 r* n u i i//>-Ai^r/./%«« 2602 WASHINGTON

Call us... we can help! (619) 765-0239 JUL|AN> calif 92036

Circle 31 on Inquiry card.

DEC RAINBOW

MANAGER'S TOOLBOX

Software for the "Electronic Desk"!

* REMIND-Appointment calendar

and "tickle" file.

* PHONE Telephone list manager.

* CALC Desk calculator. *MEMO Simplified word processor

for writing memoranda.

Package Price: " 169 Call or Write for Free Brochure

fKcrfe

ssccixtcs

P.O. Box 19130 Minneapolis, MN 55419 (612) 825-5444

i""™ Heath Users

Double Your 5%" disk storage capacity without adding a drive.

Get twice as much from your H88 or H89 microcomputer. Our FDC-880H floppy disk controller, in conjunction with your 5%" drives, for example, expands memory capacity from 256 bytes to 512 bytes per sector.

And it handles single and doublesided, single and double-density. 8" and 5!4" drives — simultaneously.

Ol

C.D.R. Systems Inc.

Controlled Data Recording Systems Inc.

7210 Clairmont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92111

(619) 5*0-1272

maxell

Floppy Discs

CALL NOW-TOLL FREE

1-800-328-DISC

Dealer inquiries invited. C.O.D.'s and charge cards accepted. All orders shipped from stock, within 24 hours. Call toll FREE.

m

AJk\

North Hills Corporation

3564 Rolling View Dr.

White Bear Lake, MN 55110

1-800-328-DISC

MNCall Collect 1-612-770-0485

Circle 489 on inquiry card.

Circle 66 on inquiry card.

Circle 294 on Inquiry card.

Off*

IEEE-696 S-100 monochrome

hCS

IEEE-696 S-100

MONOCHROME / COLOR $895

IEEE-696 S-100

EIGHT COLOR

-3<5i2« 612 Pixel

- 8 Color ROB

- Two board system

MULTIBUS EIGHT COLOR

- 3 x 1024 x 1024 Pixel

- Eight color RGB

- Single board system

IBM-PC

MONOCHROME - 1 x 512 x 612 Pixel

- 1 x 1024 x 1024 Pixel COLOR - 3 x 512 x 512

- 3 x 1024 1 1024 Pixel

S496 $995

$1205 $1995

FEATURES

Software driver

Hardware zoom. Programmable uispiay Resolution. Windowing, Multi-Controller Capability, NEC UPD7220 Graphic Controller

ULTRA-RES Trademark CSD Incorporated Starting

MULTIBUS Trademark Intel Corporation

C.S.D. Incorporated

P.O. Box 253 Sudbury. Massachusetts 01776 (617) 443-2750

VOICE SYNTHESIZER

vocabulary Development System

Create custom vocabularies for TI-5220

or Gl SP-250 Speech Synthesizers

INCLUDES HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR:

• DMA Voice Digitizing and Playback

• Parameter extraction and coding

• Screen Oriented Parameter Editor

• Voice Synthesis

USE YOUR S-100 SYSTEM, OR BUY OUR

INTEGRATED SYSTEM BASED ON ZENITH Z-100

The Zenith Z-100 includes 8085/88 dual

processor, 128K memory, two 5 'A, 320K

byte drives, both CP/M80 and MS DOS and

bit-mapped graphics, with CRT and keyboard in a

convenient desktop model.

VPP-696: PC cards, software, speaker, cabling and documentation - $4100

VPP-696Z: Includes VP-696 fully integrated to Z-100 with all cabling, software and documentation - $8850 MULTIBUS VERSION FOR INTEL MDS AVAILABLE SOON

APPLIED DIGITAL SIGNAL ANALYSIS P.O. Box 1364 Palo Alto. CA 94301 (415) 326 7303

DISKETTES

maxell verbatim

100% ERROR FREE SV. SS/DD

28.95

(BOX 10)

CAPTAINS SPECIAL

, OBDtB OF DISKS

MX - 80 CARTRIDGE

ADD ZOO SHIP 5% TAX IN FLA.

800-327-1013

MEGA-BYTE

40M S.W. 4SO> STREET

FORT LAUD., FLA 33314

305-5*7-1 T30

Circle 62 on inquiry card.

Circle 8 on Inquiry card.

Circle 256 on inquiry card.

& Dysan

Solve your daac pnUom, buy 100% surface tested Dywan ih«B Ai order, shipped bom stock, wllhan 24 houra. Call toB FREE (800) 23S4137 for price, and tafarmatton. Vaw and Mater Card ■ccapaad

PACIFIC

EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd San Luis Obispo. CA 93401 (InCal. call (805)543-1037)

Business Systems Research A Development, Inc. P.O. Box 1253 / Tucker, 6a. 30085-1253 / 404-491-0864

"dBase-Doc it now available"

What is dBaaa-Doc? dBase-Doc is a completely mechanized tyttem documentation facility" for user-developed dBase-M application systems. Here is a partial list of dBaaa-Doc capabilities:

1. Logical Daslgn Specification* — interactive data entry and reporting Proceas Descriptions, and Data Dictionary object types.

2. Data Dictionary — interactive reporting of object-type cross reference, summary, and directory reports.

3 Block Diagram Ganarator — interactive entry of diagram specifications, and either interactive or "batch" block diagram reporting. May be used to draw Hierarchical Analyst* Diagrams, data base Hierarchical Diagrams, and Data Basa Linkage Diagram*.

4. Physical Design — interactive entry of program description and "statistics", and either batch or interactive reporting of program folder documentation, and program-to-program cross rat., program-to-data-base cross ref., and other valuable cross-reference and "summary" reports

5. Super-list — use this print utility to list dBase-11. assembler, PL/1, etc. program source files. Super-list allows you to "batch print one hundred (or fewer) programs per execution.

dBASE-ll is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate,

Inc.

dBASE-DOC is a registered trademark of Business

Systems Research and Development

Verbatim® Diskettes

Top-quality Verbatim® Diskettes from Tech'Data, your complete supply and peripheral wholesaler. Dealers only.

Call Toll Free

1-800-237-8931.

In Florida, call

813-577-2794.

S.

Tech*Data Corporation

3251 Tech Drive North St. Petersburg, FL 33702

Circle 310 on Inquiry card.

Circle 57 on Inquiry card.

Circle 401 on Inquiry card.

Super Prices - Quick Delivery

MINIMUM SHIPPING $3.00 - NO SURCHARGE ON VISA/MASTERCHARGE

1-800-545-2633 - Continental U.S.

DISK DRIVES

SHUGART

5Vt" SA400 (35) 150.00

5V<" SA400L (40) 175.00

5'/4" SA410L (40) 200.00

SW SA455L (40) 235.00

8" SA801R (SS/DD) 355.00

MITSUBISHI

5V4"M-4851 Vzsize

DS/DD 40Tr 295.00

51/4" M-4853 Vi size 410.00

96 7 PI same as TM100-4 SW M-4854 Vi size 439.00

7.5 MG w/8" electronics formats same as IBM 1&2D8" std 8" M-2894-63 409.00

Std8 "DS/DD 1.2 MG 8" M-2996-63 439.00

Thinline 8" DS/DD 1.2 MG

APPLE DISK DRIVES

Thinline II' - >/i size 163K 40TR 235.00

TEAC "Thinline - Vl size 163K 40TR . 275.00

Micro-SCI 239.00

Controller 79.00

Hana Elite I 275.00

Rana Elite II 439.00

Rana Elite III 569.00

Lemon (6AC outlets • 3 prong) 4600

Lime (5' - 3 prong pwr cord w/on-otf switch 69.00 Orange - AC surge • EMI filter (6 outlets) 119.00 Plum-EMI-RF filter 39.00

8" DSC 88-2SKT - for 2-8" drvs w/skt. conn 16.95 5'/4 ' DSC55-2SKT • for 1-5V." drvs w/sM conn. $15 RS232MM-5' (male to male) 16.00

DATA CABLES

SHUGART 800/801R RECONDITIONED

90 Day Warranty 160.00

TANDON

5'/4"TM100-1 SS/DD .... 195.00 5'/4"TM100-2(IBM)

DS/DD 239.00

PERTEC

5V4" FD200-S

SS/DD 40TR 139.00

51/4" FD250-5 DS/DD

40TR 195.00

MPI

5V4" B-51 40TR SS/DD . .. 230.00 5'/4" B-52 (IBM) 80TR DS/DD 250.00

All above drives SS/DD unless otherwise specified

DISKETTES

All diskettes have 1 yr. min to lifetime warranty. Prices are for package of 10 Call for qty pricing.

5*4" Sgl side/sgl den 19.00/10

514" Sgl side/dbl den 20.00/10

SW Dbl side/dbl den 26.00/10

5VV 10 sector 22.00/10

&W 16 sector 22.00/10

8" Sgl side/dbl den 29.00/10

8" Dbl side/dbl den 36.00/10

Hayes Smart Modern 300 209.00

E PROM ERASERS

QUV-T8/1 (hobby) 49.95

QUV-T8/2 (Industrial version) 68.95

QUV-T8/2 (w/timer & safety switch) 97.50

DISK DRIVE CABINETS

*NOTE - Power supply will accommodate hard disk

8" *DDC88V28 w/PS vertical - for 2-8" drives .... 300.00

8" DDC88T-1 w/PS vertical

For 2 or 4-8" thinline drives 300.00

8" DDC88T-2 w/PS vertical - inexpensive version for 2-8" thinline drives 225.00

8" *DDC8V w/PS vertical - for 1-8" drive 249.00

8" *DDC88H w/PS horizontal - for 2-8" drives 300.00

51/4" DDC5H w/PS horizontal - for 1 -$W drive ... 59.00

51/4" DDC55H w/PS vertical - for 2-51/4" drives ... 89.00

MONITORS/TERMINALS

Sanyo 2112 (15 MHZ) 80.00

BMC 12A(15MHZ)12'Grn 80.00

BMC 9191 color 12" 269.00

Amdek Color III 395.00

USI9" Grn (20 MHZ) 139.00

USI 12" Grn (20 MHZ) 139.00

USI 12" Amber (20 MHZ) 149.00

Televideo 910 560.00

Televideo 925 715.00

Televideo 950 899.00

Televideo 970 1095.00

PRINTERS

TMS2532 2716(5V)

S2.50M. TMS2716(5-t-12V) S3. 95m. S 1.50 m TMS2732 $4.95 M.

SS95M TMS4164(200NS) 5.BS M. $3.95 m TMS6116-4(20ONS) S4.7S M. MANY OTHERS IN STOCK

CONNECTORS

RS232 Connectors SOLDER TYPE FLAT RIBBON TYPE

OB25P 2.50 IDC25P 6.25

DB25S 3.00 IOC25S 6.60

DB25Hood 1.00 IDC25Hood 1.60

S-100 Connectors 10 lor 26.00

c. itoh

PrO-Wnterll85l0A) 120CPS Star-WnierFlO<Ltr quality)

STAR MICRO-TRONICS Gemini 10 MOO CPS) 80 Col Gemini 15 (100 CPS) 132 Col

OKI-DATA B2A Par * Ser 80 Col R3APar ■ Ser 132 Col 84BBer200CPS 132 Col 92A l60CPS-Par80Co' 93A 160 CPS- Par i32Co!

NEC NEC 8023 A

TOSHIBA P-1350 Llr quality ■ '20 CPS

Draft mode 192 CPS Par or Serial P-350 (100 CPS) Cenirontcs Par-15 MPI MPI99GI9 ) MPI 150A1 (15 )

EPSON

MXSOWGraphtra*

M80FT */Graphtrax

FX80

MX100

MX100FX

399.00 650.00 950.00 519.00 899 00

1500.00 429.00

399 00 449.00 549.00 629.00 CALL

S-100 PRODUCTS

GIGANTIC REDUCTIONS IN PRICE!

CARD CAGES/MOTHER BOARDS

*/f BE - 696 - No termination required

Slots Bare Bd A+T w/cardcage

4 15.00 40.00 60.00

6 20.00 48.00 70.00

8 25.00 69.00 100.00

12 30.00 99.00 140.00

18 45.00 150.00 200.00

22 60.00 185.00

All card cages will accommodate a 4" fan Add $20 00 for 1 fan - Add $30.00 for 2 fans

MAINFRAMES

For 2 Standard 8" Drives

MF+DD6 (6 slot M/B) 699.00

MF+DD8 (8 slot M/B) 749.00

MF + DD12 (12 slot M/B) 799.00

For 2 Thinline 8" Drives

IMF+DD6C (Cadillac version) 500.00

IMF+DD6F (Ford version) 350.00

For 2 - 5%" Disk Drives

MF + MD12 (12 Slot M/B) 575.00

Standard Plain Front

MF+12 (12 slot M/B) 500.00

MF+22 (22 slot M/B) 600.00

All mainframes except IMF+DD6F have EMI filter, 2 AC outlets, 15 ea. DB25,2 ea. 50 pin, 2 ea. 34 pin, 1 ea. Centronic cutouts, power supply for 8" MF (- 5 V1 A/+5V6A/+8V16A/ + 16V3A/+24V6A)

SIERRA DATA

SOS-SBC 100-Z80(4mni>

master 2 Mull 2 par/floppy coniro»o"64ii rn SDS-S8C l00S-4mhi slav*/; w*.ji

? par/e**. ram SDS-ZSIO'4 - 4 SBnai port I'O bd SOS-MUX - RS232 multipMMar nd SDS-HDi-M - Hart dis* bd lor m-cropoM SDS-CPW/B !0»- cp/m Hw SBC 100 *'BIOS SDS Turoodoa - Muld-usaf'or mastarA ilavas

BOARD SETS

Best Bare Board Set Available QTC-SBC2/4CPU QTC-EXP + III256K Memory bd. QTC-FDC 5/8 Floppy disk controller Bare Board Set $150.00 I

QT CLOCK/CALENDAR

COMPUPRO

S-100-allassembled and tested

System 816A 4000.00

20 Slot MB 210.00

CPU 8085/88 389.00

Ram17-64K 410.00

Ram21-128K 900.00

Disk II 610.00

System Support I 310.00

Interfacer 4 310.00

Active Teammates 50.00

Enclosure 2 (disk) 675.00

Call for others

CPU /MEM /I/O

S-100 or Appto • Tima m n<s Formal • Dale in Mo Day 1 recooniiion • * Hard inierrupi .On board tanary (wliiasl ' QTC-CCS-BBlS-100} QTC-CCS-K(ht1|for S-100 OTC-CCS-A(A.THofS-10> OTC-CCA-BBltorAppwl QTC CCA-A |(o> App*al

Day oi Waa« & Laap Year

It00 00 1125.00 S33.00 S10O.00

U49 00

(J7S0C «47S0C

Retail Sales

123 East 200 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

Computer Company,

1-801-363-3314

Mail Orders '—

P.O. Box 3150 Salt Lake City, Utah 84110

Circle 181 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 531

BATTERY BACKUP 32K

CMOS RAM/EPROM S-100 MEMORY BOARD 8 or 16 BIT DATA PATH $279 A&T .

* 6MHZ * bank select

* phaniom option * activity Indicator

* IEEE 696 (S-100) compatible

* extended addressing switch selectable

* all address and data lines are buttered

* window selection at 2K boundary

* EPROM can be mixed with RAM

Yang Electronic Systems, Inc.

307 Comoton Ave. Laurel. Maryland 20707

(301) 776-0076

Circle 453 on Inquiry card.

0k

BG BANK64S MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY!

64K CMOS STATIC RAM LlTHHiUM BATTERY BACKUP

MPM • CDOS • MULTI-USER

$399

EXTENDED TRACK BUFFERING

v/ SIMULTANEOUS MEMORY ACCESS FEATURES

. 8/16 BIT DATA TRANSFERS. 4 INDEPENDENT 16K X 8 (or 8K X 16) BANKS. ADDRESSABLE ON 16K BOUNDARIES. 2K DESELECTS FOR EACH BANK. 24-BIT EXTENDED ADDRESSING . PHANTOM- RESETON/OFF. 8 MHZ. IEEE696/S-100 • CROMEMCO COMPATIBLE * DEALER, OEM CALL! 5 BOARDS = 7 USERS

OPTION: LITHIUM BATTERY BACKUP: Unique POWERFAIL-SENSE circuit and Lithium battery allows processor to save register information and disable board before POWER FAILURE CRASHES memory ($39).

BG COMPUTER APPLICATIONS, 206 Brookside Bryan, Texas 77801. International Orders Add 30%

(409)-775-5009

Circle 49 on Inquiry card.

Become a quick change artist with a pair of these Light-weight, compact

RS-232 GENDER CHANGERS

DOUBLE FEMALE

DOUBLE MALE

S19.95 each S35/palr

• All 25 pins connected

• Gold plated contacts

• EMI shielded

• Hardware included

• Assembled & tested

• One year warranty

Personal Check/Cashier's Check/ Money Order

PREPAID includes shipping

ID residents add sales tax. DATA CABLE CO., Inc.

P.O. Box 7392 BOISE, IDAHO 83707

208-385-0096

Circle 124 on inquiry card.

i^i^i and more

Printers-Save 20-40%

CIDpkZ and more

' CALL '

Wordstar.^. 239

Software 30-50% Oft

Compatable Drives 219

Save on Compatables!

PORTABLES and more

Kayproll 1459

Pied Piper 1090

Osborne Exec. 1 1499

Corona ■ Chameleon e Zorba

For Complete Selection and ' yJ5l Lowest Prices — Free Catalog ■MM

COMPUTERS

and more

2420 University Ave., Suite 3, To Order San Diego, Ca. 92104 (619)291-1442

Smith-Corona TP-1 Daisy Wheel Printer

0^43 900

Includes $50.00 Rebate.

UNBELIEVABLE!

• fully-formed characters • serial or parallel interlace

Also for your TP-1 letter quality printer the Smith Corona Tractor Feed

• Ad|usiable tractor widrr § a| 3495 " F°r corMinuous forr

Circle 106 on inquiry card.

Circle 168 on inquiry card.

Circle 121 on inquiry card

0 TeleVideo DEALERS

• Fast Dump/Restore

over 600k per disk »B0

• Typeahead with Print Screen

64k Byte Type Buffer .060

• 3270 & 3780 Bisync Communications

from phone 1 & Betech (700 & (300

• Turbo Dos for televideo Start at 1225

• BIOS & Formatting for 802H

use all 20 MB * •/*C*r *1S0

• 8" Disk Drive for 802 Drive

Hdwr & Softwere $1,100

• RM Cobol for Turbo Dos

Full System... J%y. *525

RunTime 0175

• Standby Power System

200VA-400VA-700VA Aa low •• 0363

CP'M* is registered trademark of Digital Research, inc

TurboOQS is a registered trademark otSoftware 2000, Inc.

PLUS OTHER GOOD TELEVIDEO STUFF!

COGITATE, Inc.

SPECIALISTS IN UNIQUE TELEVIDEO SOFTWARE

24000 Telegraph Road, Soulhfield, Ml 48034 (313) 352-2345

VISA/MASTER CARD Accepted

NEW PRODUCT!

CP/M Z80-A

SINGLE BOARD C0MP0TER

• On board video • Wide line and thin line graphics • 12BK of RAM • Sasi interface • Floppy disk controller for up to four 5-1/4 or 8 inch drives, single/double density simultaneously • 4 serial ports •Full Centronics printer port • Expansion bus • Extended track buffer • 16K printer buffer • DMA • Compact size

$750.1

1 $10.00 shipping

/(if

INSIGHT ENTERPRISES, CORPORATION

3798. Western Ave., Suite 12,

lus Angeles, CA 90004, (213) 461-3262

Dealer. OEM. International Inquiries Welcome

Circle 77 on inauiry card.

Circle 203 on inquiry card.

/C\ Alspa Computer, Inc.

The price-perlormance leader Includes Z80A, 1 or 2 full 8" ds/ dd drives, 3 serial and 1 parallel port, Winchester port, networking Prices start at less than $2000, DEALER / OEM inquiries invited

SPECIALS on INTREGATED CIRCUITS

6502 7,45

6502A/6512A 8.40

6520 PIA 5.15

6522 VIA 645

6532 7,90

2114-L200

2716EPROM

2532 EPROM

6116 2KX8 CMOS RAM

4116 RAM

Zero Insertion Force 24 pin

50/6, 50/7 50/4 50/5 50/7. 25/2,

5/4.

5/7.

5/7. 8 tor 14 SocketJScanbe)

10/6.95

10/795

10/4.90

10/6.10

10/7 40

2.45

4.90

790

7 90

55 100/6.15

35 100/6.90

45 100/4.15

75 100/545

00 100/6.60

30 100/2.15

50 10/4.00

45 10/6.90

45 10/6.90

2.00

Hewlett Packard

Write or call for prices

Anchor Automation, Signalman Modems

FREE SOURCE MEMBERSHIP WITH SIGNALMAN

All Signalman Modems are Direct Connect, and include cables to connect to your computer and to the telephone Signalman Modems provide the best price-performance values, and start at less than $100 Dealer and OEM inquiries invited

Mark I RS232 (99) 79

Mark II for Atari 850 (99) 79

Mark IV for CBM/PET with software (169) 119

Mark V for Osborne (software available) (129) 93

Mark VI for IBM Personal Computer (279) 195

Mark VII Auto Dial/Auto Answer (179) 119

Mark VIII Bell 212 Auto Dial/Answer (399) 319

DC HAYES Smartmodem DC Hayes Smartmodem 1200

219

545

PROM QUEEN lor VIC Apple Emulator for Commodore 64 Screenmaker 80 COLUMN CARD for C64 Solid Oik 2 Level Stand for C64 or VIC

C64/VIC Switch (networking)

BACKUP VI.0 tape copier for C64 or VIC

CARDBOARD/6 Motherboard - VIC CARDAPTER/1 Atari VCS Adapter - VIC CARDPRINT Printer Interface - C64/VIC CARDBOARD/3S Motherboard - VIC CARDETTE/1 Cassette Interlace - C64/VIC CARDRITER Lightpen - C64/VIC CARDRAM/16 RAM Expansion - VIC Complete CARDCO Line in stock

170 89

155 29

135 20

79 69 64 32 32 32 64

APPLE FRANKLIN ITEMS

KRAFT Apple Joystick 43

16K RAM Card for Apple 59

Solid Oak 2 Level Stand for Apple 29

Super Serial Card 149

MPC RAM/80 column card for HE 139

Z80 Softcard and CP/M (Microsoft) 235

RANA Elite I with Controller 389

Parallel Printer Interface/Cable 79

Apple Dumpling (Microtek) Printer Interface 115

Apple Dumpling with 16K Buffer 160

Grappler + Interface 140 Kraft for Apple in stock

DC Hayes Micromodem II 299

Videx 80 Column Card 209 Hiyden Software for Apple 20% OFF

PIE Writer Word Processor 120

commodore

See us for Personal, Business, and Educational requirements. Educational Discounts available.

PETSCAN I $245 base price

Allows you to connect up to 30 CBM/PET Computers to shared disk drives and printers. Completely transparent to the user Perfect for schools or multiple word processing configurations. Base configuration supports 2 computers Additional computer hookups $100 each

COMPACK

$115

Intelligent Terminal Package for PET. CBM, C64

Includes AC IA Hardware / STCP Software

VE-2 IEEE to Parallel Interface 110

Includes case, power supply, full 8-bit transmission, and switch selectable character conversion to ASCII

VIDEO ENHANCER for Commodore 64 89

Realize video quality equal or better than composite monitor using standard color TV

SCREENMAKER 80 Column Adapter forC64 149

Provides big screen capability for business applications.

VIC 20 Products

BACKUP V1.0 2D

VIC RAM Cards in stock VIC SuperExpander 52 VIC 16KRAM Thorn EMI Software HES Software VIC Omega Race Spiders of Mars (UMI) Programmers Aid

95

VICTORY Software

Street Sweepers Night Rider Treasures of Bat Cave Games Pack I Victory Casino Adventure Pack II

12 11 12 12 8 12

VIC Sargon II Chess VIC GORF Meteor Run (UMI) VIC Radar Ratrace Amok (UMI) Snakman Rubik's Cube Programmers Reference FROGGER

VIC Adventure Series for VIC and C64 Maze in 3-D Cosmic Debris Grave Robbers Advent Games Pack II Adventure Pack I Trek

Commodore 64 Programmers Reference Guide 16

MicroChess for C64—8 levels of play 19

Compute's First Book of PET/CBM 11

C64 or VIC SWITCH 125

POWER ROM Utilities for PET/CBM 78

WordPro 3+/64 69

WordPro 4+ - 8032, disk, printer 295

SPELLMASTER spelling checker for WordPro 170

VISICALC for PET, ATARI, or Apple 189

PET-TRAX PET to Epson Graphics Software 40

SM-KIT enhanced PET/CBM ROM Utilities 40

Programmers Toolkit - PET ROM Utilities 35

CALC RESULT for C64 135

PET Spacemaker II ROM Switch 36

COPYWRITER Word Processor for C64 69

2 Meter PET to IEEE or IEEE to IEEE Cable 40

Dust Cover for PET, CBM, 4040, or 8050 8 CmC Interfaces (ADA1800. A0A1450. SAOI in stock)

ZRAM - CBM 64K RAM, Z80, CP/M 550

Programming the PET/CBM (Compute!) — R. West 20

Compute! First Book of VIC 11

HES MODEM with Software 65

HES Software and Hardware in stock

UMI products in stock

OMNICALC (HES) Spreadsheet for C64 79

FlexFiie fir PET/CBM/ CM $110

Database, Report Writer with calculations, Mailing Lists.

FORTH for PET/C64 full FIG model — Cargill/Riley $50 Metacompiler f or FO RTH for independent object code 30

KMMM PASCAL for PET/CBM/C64

EARL for PET/CBM Disk-based ASSEMBLER

85 65

Super Graphics — BASIC Language Extensions 45

Fast machine language graphics routines for PET/CBM

"ram/rom for pet/cbm " ""7k $75 _ 8K $90

"Disk JCU - Recovery System for PET/CBM 40

DISK SPECIALS

Scotch (3M) 5" SS/dd 10/2 20 50/2.00 1

Scotch (3M) 5" ds/dd 10/3.05 50/2.80 1

Scotch (3M) 8" ss/sd 10/2.30 50/2.10 1

Scotch (3M) 8" ss/dd 10/2.85 50/2.70

We stock VERBATIM DISKS

Write for Dealer and OEM prices.

BASF 5" or 8" 10/2.00 20/195 1

NEW BASF Qualimetric Disks also in stock, Wabash 5" ss/sd 10/1 80 50/1 75 1

Wabash 5" ss/dd 10/2.00 50/195 1

Wabash 8" ss/sd 10/2 00 50/195

00/1.95 00/ 2 75 00/ 2 06 00/ 2 65

00/185

00/1 70 00/190 00/ 1 90

We stock MAXELL DISKS

Write for dealer and OEM prices.

Disk Storage Pages 10 for $5 Hub Rings 50 tor $6 Disk Library Cases 8"—300 5"—225 Head Cleaning Kits 11

CASSETTES—AGFA PE-611 PREMIUM

C-10 10/61 50/ 58 100/ 50

C-30 10/85 50/82 100/70

DATASHIELD BACKUP POWER SOURCE 225

Battery back up Uninterruptible Power Supply with surge and noise filtering. The answer to your power problems

Zenith ZVM-121 Green Phosphor Monitor 98

BMC 12A 12" Green Monitor 80

VOTRAX Personal Speech System 280

VOTRAX Type-N-Talk 160 VOICE BOX Speech Synthesizer (Apple or Atari)

CompuServe Subscription (5 hours free) 32

Brother HR-15 Daisy Wheel Printer 475

Prowriter Parallel Printer 379

Panasonic 1090 Printer with Correspondence Mode 389

USI CompuMOD 4 R F Modulator 39

Daisywriter 2000 with 48K buffer + cable 1150 Many printers available (Gemini-Star. Brother, OKI. etc) We Stock AMDEK Monitors

AmdekDXY-100 Plotter 600 A P Products 15% OFF

Watanabe Intelligent Plotter 990 6-pen 1290

BROOKS 6 Outlet Surge Suppressor/Noise Filter 54 We stock Electrohome Monitors

Synertek SYM-1 Microcomputer 189

Panasonic TR-120M1P 12" Monitor (20 MHz) Panasonic CT-160 Dual Mode Color Monitor

149 285

USI Video Monitors—Green or AMBER 20 MHz ht-res. Dealer and OEM inquiries invited

Yemitm I data

I systems

Z29 Terminal (VT100. VT-52, ADM3A.

Hazl 500 compatible) 680

ZT-1 intelligent Communications Terminal 369

Z100 16-rjit/8-bit Systems in stock CALL

We stock entire Zenith line

ATARI"

SPECIALS

WE STOCK ENTIRE LINE—write for prices.

Atari 1200 Voice Box FROGGER

Thorn EMI Software EduFun Software

499 100 25

QIX

Anchor Modem—Atari Atari Graphics (Compute!) First Book of Atari APX Software

34 79 11 II

215-822-7727

252 Bethlehem Pike Colmar. PA 18915

A B Computers

WRITE FOR CATALOG. Add $1 50 per order for United Parcel We pay balance of UPS surface shipping charges on all prepaid orders (add extra for mail. APO/FPO. air) Prices include cash discount. Regular prices slightly higher Prices sub|ect to change

Circle 5 on Inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 533

S-100 COLOR

GRAPHICS CONTROLLER BOARD

Using NEC 7220 Graphics Display Controller

One board.single jumper configurable for 8-color mode or monochrome mode For color, configures to 3 planes of 32K bytes for output to R-G-B TTL monitors For monochrome to a single large 96K image plane

For use with standard TTL monitors with separate syncronization; R-G-B or monochrome. 15.75 KHz honz . 60 Hz vert. A composite output is available on the board for no-interlace monochrome monitors.

Select positive or negative sync - Each bit (pixel) is individually addressable - Built in algorithms for arcs, lines, rectangles, area fill - Light pen input - 1x to 16x zoom - Occupies two contiguous addresses on the system I/O bus - Interlace or non-interlace modes

Programmable display window: 640x408 interlaced color, or 512x512 interlaced color, or 640x240 non-inter laced color and monochrome, or 640x460 interlaced monochrome, and others

Using pan techniques enables viewing image areas larger than the display window most likely in non-mterlace or monochrome applications, or when zoomed

This is an extremely versatile, cost effective $580 graphics controller for personal, home, and small business computers.

S450 for partially stuffed board with less memory for monochrome - upgrade later.

PIXELTRONICS

1050 Tulip Way

Palatine. Illinois, 60074

(312)359-1442

FILE DIET

ARCHIVE

Archive files for long term storage. Simplify daily file back-up. Reduce file size. Shrink directory listings-ALL with ARCHIVE! Croup files together into ONE archive file and:

• Add or Delete files

• Extract copies of files

• Print files to screen or printer

• Table of Contents- by file name, by date, by order stored

Easy To Use. Two operating modes- menu OR single line command. Menu mode prompts for a selection. $65

COMPAC

Stop wasting file space! COMPAC reduces file

size 10-40%. Usable with any file type-ASCII

or binary. Store files in compacted form.

Decompact the file when ready to use. $35

Send for (ree brochure

" Please add S2.U0 for shipping and handling.

Forth? IBM-PC running PC-DOS or CP/M

ju

SEXTANT SYSTEMS

P.O. Box 251,Dept. B Holmdel NJ 07733 (201) 671-7670

PANNIVERSARY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

• DRAWING FOR A FREE •

grapple

m

^

GARDEN OF EDEN

COMPUTERS

13147 Cedar Streat

Westminster. CA92683

MAlt ORDERS ONLY

714-894-9528

24 Hours - ? Days

Hayes Smartmodem \^1200 BD RS 232 $479.00^1

FOR DETAILS& OUR FREE PRICE LIST CALL, WRITE OR USE R/S#

Circle 490 on Inquiry card.

Circle 491 on inquiry card.

Circle 173 on inquiry card.

ATTENTION DEALERS

Earn more profit with our professional accounting programs that operate on CP/M1 MP/M2, compatible systems including TurboDOS3 & MmmOST*

1. MULTIUSER w/record & File lock

2. MULTI-COMPANY w/G/L consolidation

3. MULTIPLEA/R, A/P, & Inv.

4. CATS-3 levels of User help

5. OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTATION

6. FULLY INTEGRATED w/single source entry, or stand alone.

COUGAR MOUNTAIN SOFTWARE, Inc.

10 S. Latah Box 6886

Boise, Idaho 83707

208-344-2540

TM: 1 & 2 Digital Research 3 Software 2000, 4 TelcVideo

RL1*

FAR THE DCOT

RELATIONAL

DATABASE

MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM FOR YOUR

MM 00 Vita, Matter Cent, Check, COD

JF ELECTRIC CO.

PO BOX 37236

OAK PARK Ml 48237

313 545 0335

PC

•TRADEMARK PC IS " OF IBM RL1 IS OF ABW

FOR YOUR

PC

THE RELATIONAL

DATABASE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM that's

BEST »™ *RL1

S-100 COLOR GRAPHICS

WQ(§R®35>BQffll

THE ORIGINAL TMS9918A GRAPHICS BOARD

• Field-proven board meets IEEE-696 standard; fully socketed with solder masks, silkscreen and gold contact fingers.

• Prioritized display with backdrop and pattern planes plus 32 sprite planes; each pixel in a plane can he colored or transparent.

• Three graphics and one text display mode; maximum graphics resolution is 256H x 192V in 16 colors.

• Composile video output

• On-hoard 16K RAM is separate from system memory

• Vertical retrace interrupt for real time clock capability.

• 0-4 wait states for use with fast MPUs

• All board options are DIP switch selectable.

• Professional quality documentation with BASIC demonstration programs and Tl's TMS9918A manual

• Exclusive Graphics Editor

available on 8" SSSO ,.,..,„ ooro .

CP/M-compatiDle diskette SUMMER SPECIAL!

$179.95*

(A & T) ORDER DESK

Corporation l-eoo-237-8400 t>t 440

6363 Poplar Ave • Suite 106 Technical Inquiries; Memphis. TN 38119 (90H-682-4054

•Price includes MICROSPRITE with documentation Graphics Editor diskette — 59 95 Manual-$19 95 Bare board -$59 95 UPS ground-$2.00, UPS air —S400. COD—$1 50 Foreign add $15 00, VISA S MC welcome, TN add 6%

DEALER AND OEM INQUIRIES INVITED

rUcfoDynamfct

Circle 492 on Inquiry card.

Circle 217 on inquiry card.

Circle 273 on inquiry card.

•^1 IBM PC > SOFTWARE

Let Your Computer...

Write Its Own Programs!

FAST FILE, an applications program generator, actually develops finished, usable application programs in a matter of minutes.

Simple to operate, FAST FILE can even be used by people who know very little about computers. No programming knowledge required!

iLi DHD.In?

W:\Wi\ 7777 Leesburg Pike g-ll ^gJ8j Falls Church, VA 22043 (703) 556-0950

FREE SOFTWARE for the KAYPRO 2 or VECTOR 3 & 4

Many games, and other program* are in public domain. We have 5 inch copies from 90 volume CPMUGt library. Many volumes have over 20 programs or 180 kilobytes! Kaypro 2 or Vector 314 DD dish copies just $12 per volume Osborne or Xerox S20 SD disk copies tor S16 per volume Price includes disk(s) postage. Calif add 6: ■, tax. (Asia. Europe air mail, include $1.60 plus $ 40 per disk.)

The 90 volume library includes:

"0 FIND.COM and CPMUG.ALL, catalog disk with title search

03 EBASIC games, 35 all-lime favorite BASIC programs

*5 EBASIC computer by Gordon Eubanks. use with =3 above

112 PILOT programming, early version

"21 Startrek and other games, requires MBASIC

>23 STOIC slack language, similiar to FORTH

"20 Simple ALGOL compiler with games

«37 Arithmetic CAI. games, requires CBASIC

«40 MASTER CATALOG program tor a disk library

"41 HAM radio programs, requires MBASIC

143. 044. and *45 Osborne business, requires CBASIC

"50 PASCAL compiler written in PASCAL

"55 or 057 Original or extended adventure game

M60 A 6502 simulator runs on Z80

=66 HELP for novices on BASIC. CPM, PASCAL, etc.

"79 SMODEM37 program tor telecommunications

«84 MODEM756 newest Ward Christensen MODEM 7

(includes patched M7K.COM for Kaypro 2 ready to go) (No representations implied on any public domain software )

Lisl of 90 volumes tor S2, or free with order of 3 volumes Check/MO/VISA/Maslercard. Specify which disk format' Phone orders 9 am to 9 pm PST Monday-Saturday.

Sheepshead Software™

P.O. Box 486

Boonville, CA 95415

(707)463-1833

•Trademark of the CP/M Users Group. New York. NY.

SUPER-FAST!

Relocating Macro

ASSEMBLER $169.95

Directly generates COM. HEX, or REL files. Flexible REL format allows external oytes and words with complete math operations on them (Microsoft format optional). Features Zilog mnemonics with nested macros, conditionals and include fifes. Unique one-pass design generates compact intermediate code which is then processed to resolve forward references. yielding tremendous time savings. Complete listing, symbol table and cross-reference output may be sent to any device. The perfect tool for assembly language programming. Linker included Manual only — $30 For Z80 CP/M and TRS-80

-S"L«_

Systems

1622 NORTH MAIN ST. • BUTLER, PA 16001 • (41!) 262-0864

Snipping 53 US Z80. CP M TRS

17 pa ■ 6% Ctaaek. mo. visa m c C o d

enter aria OEM inquiries iiwupQ

5 ol Zilog Digilal Research Tandy Coip

Circle 494 on Inquiry card.

Circle 367 on Inquiry card.

Circle 372 on Inquiry card

wabash

for as

low as

diskettes

$1.29 each!

Now get Wabash Quality at a CE Price

For over 17 years, Wabash has been making high quality and dependable computer products. Wabash diskettes are made to provide error-free performance on your computer system because every diskette has been totally and hypercritically tested. Since you can now buy Wabash computer products directly from CE, the world's largest distributor of magnetic media, you can now get maximum savings on every order. You can even order toll-free.

New Wabash Six Year Warranty

The quality of Wabash diskettes is stressed throughout the entire manufacturing process. After coating, all Wabash diskettes go through a unique burnishing process that gives each diskette a mirror-smooth appearance. Wabash then carefully applies a lubricant that is specially formulated to increase diskette life. Then, to keep out foreign particles, a unique heat seal bonds the jacket and liner together to help prevent contamination. After 100% hypercritical testing and certification, Wabash then packages each diskette, (except bulk pack) in a super strong and tear resistant Tyvek® evelope. The final Wabash product is then shrink-wrapped to insure cleanliness and reduce contamination during shipment. Wabash diskettes are so very reliable that Wabash now offers a six year warranty in case of defects in materials or workmanship on all diskettes purchased directly from Communications Electronics.

New...Wabash Diskette Duplication Services

Communications Electronics has teamed up with Wabash to provide a single-source solution for the diskette duplication requirements of software developers, OEM's and distributors. All service is in-house, to give you fast, dependable service. In most cases, delivery can be completed in five days. Whether you require 100, 1,000, or 10,000 copies per week, call CE first for a no obligation price quote. For additional information, please write us on your letterhead with your requirements.

SAVE ON WABASH DISKETTES

Product Description

8" SSSD IBM Compatible (128 B/S, 26 Sectors)

8" SSSD Shugart Compatible, 32 Hard Sector

8" SSDD IBM Compatible (128 B/S, 26 Sectors)

8" DSDD Soft Sector (Unformatted)

8" DSDD Soft Sector (256 B/S, 26 Sectors)

8" DSDD Soft Sector (512 B/S, 15 Sectors)

8" DSDD Soft Sector (1024 B/S, 8 Sectors)

5V«" SSSD Soft Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" Same as above, but bulk pack w/o envelope

5'A" SSSD 10 Hard Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" SSSD 16 Hard Sector w/Hub Ring

5'/4" SSDD Soft Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" Same as above, but bulk pack w/o envelope

5'A" SSDD 10 Hard Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" SSDD 16 Hard Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" DSDD Soft Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" Same as above, but bulk pack w/o envelope

5'A" DSDD 10 Hard Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" DSDD 16 Hard Sector w/Hub Ring

5'A" SSQD Soft Sector w/Hub Ring (96 TPI)

5'A" DSQD Soft Sector w/Hub Ring (96 TPI)

5'A" Tyvek Diskette Envelopes - Price per 100 Pack

SSSD = Single Sided Single Density; SSDD = Singlt DSDD = Double Sided Double Density; SSQD = Sini DSQD = Double Sided Quad Density; TPI = Tracks per inch.

Circle 82 on inquiry card.

Part*

CE quant. 100 price per disk (S)

F111

1.89

F31A

1.89

F131

2.39

F14A

2.99

F144

2.99

F145

2.99

F147

2.99

M11A

1.49

M11AB

1.29

M41A

1.49

M51A

1.49

M13A

1.79

M13AB

1.59

M43A

1.79

M53A

1.79

M14A

2.69

M14AB

2.49

M44A

2.69

M54A

2.69

M15A

2.59

M16A

3.69

TE5

12.00

Sided Double Density; e Sided Quad Density;

Quantity Discounts Available

Wabash diskettes are packed 10 disks to a carton and 10 cartons to a case. The economy bulk pack is packaged 100 disks to a case without envelopes or labels. Please order only in increments of 100 units for quantity 100 pricing. With the exception of bulk pack, we are also willing to accommodate your smaller orders. Quantities less than 100 units are available in increments of 10 units at a 20% surcharge above our 100 unit price. Quantity discounts are also available. Order 500 or more disks at the same time and deduct 1 %; 1,000 or more saves you 2%; 2,000 or more saves 3%; 5,000 or more saves 4%; 10,000 or more saves 5%; 25,000 or more saves 6%; 50,000 or more saves 7%, 100,000 or more saves 8%, 500,000 or more saves 9% and 1,000,000 or more disks earns you a 10% discount off our super low quantity 100 price. Almost all Wabash diskettes are immediately available from CE. Our efficient warehouse facilities are equipped to help us get you the quality product you need, when you need it. If you need further assistance to find the flexible disk that's right for you, call the Wabash compatibility hotline. Dial toll-free 800-323-9868 and askfor your compatibility representative. In Illinois or outside the U.S. dial 312-593-6363 between 9 AM to 4 PM Central time.

Buy Wabash Diskettes with Confidence

To get the fastest delivery from CE of your Wabash computer products, we recommend you phone your order directly to our Computer Products Division and charge it to your credit card. Be sure to calculate your price using the CE prices in this ad. Written purchase orders are accepted from approved government agencies and most well rated firms at a 30% surcharge for net 30 billing. For maximum savings, your order should be prepaid. All sales are subject to availability, acceptance and verification. All sales are final. All prices are in U.S. dollars. Prices, terms and specifications are subject to change without notice. Out of stock items will be be placed on backorder automatically unless CE is instructed differently. Minimum prepaid order is $50.00. Minimum purchase order$200.00. All shipments are F.O. B. Ann Arbor, Michigan U.S.A. No COD's please. Non-certified and foreign checks require bank clearance.

For shipping charges add $8.00 per case or partial case of 100 8-inch flexible disks or $6.00 per case or partial case of 100 51/4-inch mini-diskettes for U.P.S. ground shipping and handling in the continental U.S.A.

Mail orders to: Communications Electronics, Box 1002, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 U.S.A. If you have a Visa or Master Card, you may call and place a credit card order. Order toll-free in the U.S. Dial 800-521-4414. In Canada, order toll-free by calling 800-265-4828. If you are outside the U.S. or in Michigan dial 313-994-4444. Telex anytime 810-223-2422. Order your Wabash diskettes today.

Copyright e1983 Communications Electronics" Ad #1112483

(MasterCard]

Order Toll-Free! 800-521-4414

In Michigan 313-994-4444

TM

wabash

error-free diskettes

COMMUNICATIONS ELECTRONICS"

Computer Products Division

818 Phoenix □ Box 1002 □ Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 U.S.A. Order TOLL-FREE 800-521 -4414 or outside U.S.A. 313-994-4444

BYTE July 1983 535

FAST

Factory Floppy Disc Drive Repair

Specialists in the repair of:

Shugart Tandon PerSci

i. Inc.

12624 Daphne Avenue Hawthorne. CA 90250 (213)777-7536 TWX 910-321-4448

Maxell Floppy Disks

The Mini-Disks with maximum quality

Dealer inquiries invited CO.D's accepted. Call FREE (800) 235-4137.

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd.. San Luis San Luis Obispo. CA 93401 In Cal. call (800) 592-5935 or (805)543-1037.

EPSON®

RIBBON CARTRIDGES

MX 70/80

$5.25 „

$60.<"/ooi

MX 100

*9.95„

S108.°°/ m»

Circle 315 on Inquiry card.

Circle 310 on inquiry card.

EPSON

MX100-ZIP PACK-IRELOAD'

$6.50 EO

$72.00/doi.

PLUS OTHER MAJOR BRAND NAMES AVAILABLE

DWICHT COMPANY, INC.

15565 Northland Drive Suite 804 West Southfield, Ml 48075 (3131 569-3218

Circle 147 on Inquiry card.

680,00

W CROSS ASSEMBLER

FOR CP/M-80 $ 260

MOTOROLA SYNTAX MACHOS

LINKAGE EDITOR CONDITIONALS

STRUCTURED

Ouelo

843 NW 54lh

Stalllc, Wa. 98107

WRITTEN IN C

(20fi)784-8OI8

Circle 345 on inquiry card.

Wasting Money! We Have the World's Most Cost Effective Development System.

• Includes Hexklt 1.0, a powerful - 100% machine code editor/

- 'J:'Mm debugger utility program that

*■¥ £<*■' makes coding tor 8-blt Micros a

gsif r snap.

• Program from Commodore -asSSS*3 VIC-20 keyboard Into built-in >*"^ 4K ROM emulator

•" ■ Jumper to target ROM socket

• Test programs in circuit

• Built-in EPROM programmer and power supply

• Burns & runs EPROMS for the Commodore VIC-20, too

• Comprehensive manuals

• Fits EXPANSION PORT

PROMQUEEN CARTRIDGE ONLY $199

Send for Free Brochure

Distributed In U.S by ArbutuiTotal Soft, Int.. 4202 Meridian. Suite 214.

Bellingnam WA 98226 Phone 800-426-1253. in Washington 206-733-0404 Distributed in Canarjc by IBC/Dlitrluutlon Canada, 4047 Cambie St

Vancouver, BC V5Z 2x9 Pnone 604-879-7812

VISA AND MASTERCARD ACCEPTED

tt commodore approved product

Prices PROMQUEEN 64 8K board with 1 EPROM 16K board with 1 EPROM 8K board with 1 EPROM-C64

U.S. S2M.00

S29.SS

s.39.85 138.85

CAN 1398.00 S39.95

54985 $49.95

Now...You Can Monitor

7 Most Important RS-232 Interface Lines

Made in America

RS-232-INTERFACE TESTER

connects in series with any RS-232 interface. LED's clearly display status of 7 functions: transmit data, receive data, request lo send, clear to send, data set ready, carrier detect, data terminal ready. Requires no power; may be left in permanently Satisfaction guaranteed ORDER NOW! Only $39.95 plus $1.75 for postage and handling, (IL res. add 5% sales tax); we accept MC, Visa. FREE: illustrated catalog of problem detecting equipment. Phone 815/539-5827. Make checks payable to:

electronics

Box 475 B, MENDOTA, IL 61342

Circle 41 on inquiry card.

SHIELDED DATA CABLES

Help Protect Your Signals With Shielded Data Cable EIA RS 232 Shielded Cable Specify end gender, length & pm interconnects, up to 9 conductors S11.00 + .40/(1.

TERMINALS

Suggesien Sal* Hazeitine — Esprit Systems List Nh

ESPRIT I full fealured terminal w/green screen $595 $499 ESPRIT II terminal w/detachable keyboard $645 $565

ESPRIT III Televideo 950 emulator $895 $775

LOW SPEED MODEMS

"#• Novation "Call us about Appleeat modems" w

J-CAT 0-300 baud Direct connect modem $149 $109

ACOUSTIC 0-300 baud Acoustic conned modem $189 $135 AUTOCAT 0-300 baud Direct connect modem $249 $179

103 SMARTCAT 0-300 baud auto ans modem $249 $189

HIGH SPEED MODEMS

103/212 SMARTCAT 0-300/1200 baud modem $595 $449

212AUTOCAT 0-300 baud/1200 baud modem $695 $565

UNIVERSAL DATA SYSTEMS

212LP Telco powered 1200 baud modem $495 $395

PRINTERS

OKI-DATA uL82A9Vf'" carnage 120 cps printer

uL83A 15" carriage 120 cps printer uL92P (parallel) 9Vr " carnage near letter quality uL92S (senat) 97? carriage near letter quality uL93P (parallel) 15' carriage near teller quality U.L93S (serial) 15" carnage near letter quality Tractor for uL 82/92

CenilitM cfiecfc money arder COD postage a"0 nartrjirng - Add SIO 00

F 0 8 Ml Clemens Mrcn,gan 48044

$549 $399

S899 $640

$699 $525

$799 $599

$1249 $889

$1349 $969

$50

Mastercard Add ib 00 per orfler lor

" prices in U S dollars Micn.ga"

ELECTROSOMCS

P 0 Box 1141 • Ml Clemens Ml 48044 • (313) 286-6969 Monday-Friday 9 a m -5 o m EST* Saturday til Noon

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED E1/.II Specify Soft •# /•» 10 or 16 Sectors prices/10

MD525 1 side/dbl dens $24.90

MD550 2 sides/dbl dens 35.00

MD577 1 side/quad 96tpi 33.75

MD557 2 sides/quad 96tpi 44.50

8» Specify Soft or 32 Sector FD34-9000 1 side/sgl dens 30.00

FD34-8000 1 side/dbl dens 33.00

DD34-4001 2 sides/dbl dens 41.00

Checks-VISA-MC-C.O D./Add $2 Shipping Call or write for our discount catalog.

LYBEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

27204 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores. Ml 48081 Phone: (313) 777-7780

DATALIFE • THE NAME IS THE PROMISE THE WARRANTY IS THE PROOF

Circle 241 on inquiry card.

m

$$ Printers $$

EPSON

MX 80 CALL

MX 80 FT III CALL

MX 100 FT III CALL

FX 80 CALL

STAR MICRONICS

Gemini 10 329

Gemini 15 509

C. IOTH

8510 Prowriter Parallel 419

8510 Prowriter Serial 559

1550 Parallel 659

Letter Quality

Smith Corona TP-1 $549

Comrex CRI 825

"Other Printers Available"

Shipping and handling add 3%. CA residents add 6%.

THE COMPUTER STORE

3941-B S. Bristol St. Dept. 345

Santa Ana, CA 92704

714-662-1425

Circle 34 on inquiry card.

Circle 156 on inquiry card.

Circle 99 on inquiry card.

©BASIS

ACE 1000 $39900

With Color s94900

APPLE CAT II

295.00

APPLE CAT 212

295.00

J-CAT

149.00

AUTO CAT 212

599.00

D-CAT MODEM

179.00

CAT

169.00

SMART CAT 103/212

479.00

TWO DRIVES 128K; 3.0 CP/M

DIAGNOSTIC CONTROLLER CALL FOR LOWEST PRICES

SOFTWARE

MONITORS

PRINTERS

HARDWARE

ASCII EXPRESS II AZTEC

| BANK STREET WRITER (AP, AT)

I BEAGLE BROS BPI GL. AR. INV CP/M 3 0 (Basis) CYDEX D BASE II

FACEMAKER (AP, IBM) FLIGHT SIMULATOR (IBM) 39 00 HOME ACCOUNTANT

APPLE 49 00

IBM 109 00

INFOSTAR 289 00

LEARNING COMPANY $Call

MAILMERGE (APPLE) 99 00

PEACHTREE SCall

PASCAL/MT * 86 (IBM) 329 00 PFS (AP. IBM) SCall

SUPERCALC 199 00

ULTAMA II 47 00

VOLKSWRITER (IBM) 149 00

WORDHANDLER II 129.00

WORDSTAR 279 00

BMC 12" Green AU

88 00

BMC 12" Green EU

129 00

BMC 9191 Color

299 00

Quadchrom

Hi-Res RGB

499 00

Taxan 12"

Amber or Green

149 00

Taxan RGB III

549 00

USI Pi-3 12" Amber USI P1-1 9" Green

169 00 89 00

m MOUNTAIN

L—1 COMPUTER

A-D - D A

269 00

CPS CARD

159 00

CABLES

SCall

CLOCK

195 00

EXPANSION CHASSIS

559 00

MUSIC SYSTEM

299 00

RAMPLUS 32K

145 00

ROMWRITER

145 00

SUPERTALKER

149 00

BMC C-1TOH

Prowriter 8510AP

DTC 380Z EPSON GEMINI 10 GEMINI 15 OKIDATA SEIKOSHA GP100

459 00 | 1195.00

SCall 329 00 | 499 00

SCall 239 00

)COLUMN ENHANCER II FUNCTION STRIP INVERSE VIDEO ULTRATERM PSIO SOFTWARE

199 00 | 119 00 59 00 i 19 00 | SCall SCall SCall

APPLESURANCE DISPATCHER

(SERIAL INTERFACE) 119 00' HAYES

SMARTMODEM 1200 529 00

MICROMODEM II 269 00

LEGEND 64K 299 00

I EGEND 128K w'Software 359 00

MICROBUFFER II 16K 329 00 MICROSOFT

16K RAM CARD 59 00

SOFTCARD 239 00

| MX PLUS (Finger Print) 45 00

PAYMAR L CASE Rev 7 20.00

RIBBONS

EPSON MX 80 7 00

EPSON MX 100 11 00

OKI 82 83 GEMINI 3 95

SMARTERM II 149.00

SNAPSHOT 99 00

WIZARD HPO 16K 149 00 |

WILDCARD 119 00

SCARP II 149 00

KENSINGTON

MICROWARE

SYSTEM SAVER

• Surge Suppressic

• Dual Outlet

• UL. Listed

• Fits Apple Stand

$65

TJ Verbatim 16K RAM CARD game I/O

EH5

1 4" SS t)D SS (100)

239 00

B5

' 4" SS DD SS 110)

25 95

1

SS DD SS (101

39 00

i

DS DD SS 110]

45 00 |

II

DRIVES

1 4th DIMENSION 1 MICRO SCI A2 1 MICRO SCI A3

A40. A

70

249 00

249 00

SCall

Compatible with DOS 3 3. CP'M Visicalc PASCAL 2 YR WARRANTY

$39

00

[ 64K

S319 J

128K

459 1

V-C Expand 80

99 "I

TG

JOYSTICK (IBM]

JOYSTICK II ■

JOYSTICK III

PADDLES

SELECTA-PORT

TRACKBALL KRAFT

JOYSTICK (AP IBM TRSl

JOYSTICK (AT COM)

PADDLES 1 PARADISE PORT PADDLE-APPLE

45 00 40 00 45 00 29 00 47 00 59 00

47 00 15 00 | 35 00 24 95 24 95

SMITH CORONA

LETTER QUALITY DAISY WHEEL

'569

00

QUADRAMt

OUADBOARD 64K MICROFAZER QUAD 512 • (64K] OUADBOARD II 64K

299 00

SCall

229 00

299 00

POWER STRIP

W/SURGE PROTECTION

$2500

No Charge (or Credit Cards

|» Mm S4.00 Shipping Charge

I* Purchase Orders Welcome Call lor Terms First

HOURS. MON-FRI 8AM .

PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE-ALL ORDERS FOB SAN JOSE

COMPUTER

DISCOUNT

PRODUCTS

-5PM - SAT & SUN 10AM-4PM

MAIL ORDERS & RETAIL STORE

860 S Winchester Blvd San Jose. CA 95128

(408) 985-0400

Circle 93 on inquiry card.

5100 GRAPHIC5

GRAPH-10 IEEE/S-100 BOARD $4^9

* 6^0 X 480 monochrome pixels, read, write, complement operations, absolute & relative addressing modes, meet unit screen.

* 12k byte on board firmware provides more than 200 powreful commands including arc, cycle, vector, rectangle and dot lines.

* Full ASCII character set with different sizes and rotations.

* Build in light pen and screen hard copy interface (EPSON MX-80 printer).

* Only two i/O ports link to host computer.

* Composite and TTL video plus H.V.sync.

* Assembled and tested with full document.

GRAPH-101 DISK SOFTWARE

. - $39

* Complete package including line,bar, pie chart, 3D surface.

* Graph edit and save, load commands.

* Source files (X.C0M and X.BAS) provided.

* CP/M-80 8" SSSD disk.

GLO P.O.Box 8625

laboratories ROCKVILLE, KD 20856

Check or money order plus $5 shipping. CP/M is trademark of Digital Research.

Circle 261 on inquiry card.

Z8 PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER

16K Static Memory(6116)/(2716) 9 Parallel Ports (3-8255A)

Bare Board $50.00

Kit $224.00

A. & T $274.00

To Order (313) 525-1840

MICRO ADE

29554 Rosslyn Garden City. Ml 48135

STOt* LOSING MONEY OS IU1K-MURK SEHVICES!

» » » LOGICSIM « ♦ «

CP/M based professional logic simulator

* I nr i nymttimy work stations

* I or uaic-itrriii. custom and all other If designers

* lor digital system engineers

Nine logic stales, abilily lo simulate TTL/NMOS/CMOS/PMOS logic. ROM's and RAM's. Ihree-slaic and transfer gates, »ifed-or'ed nodes, propagation delays, spike and race analysis, expandable pin-number based TTL macro library plus numerous other features make LOGICSIM comparable to industry standard simulators.

Tr> it now. Send us a $30 check for LOGICSIM demo copy and I'ser's Manual.

Please specify 8" IBM 3740/ 5" APPLE II (13/16 lector I. CP/M based 56K tnWK systems (APPLE'S with CP/M card). Introductory price S276.

For more information, call |408) 578-80%, Or write:

E/Z ASSOCIATES. 5589 Siarcrest Dr., San Jose. CA 95123

Circle 149 on inquiry card.

BASF

DISKETTES

mi

BASF Diskettes at competitive price. Call TOLL FREE (800) 235-4137 for prices and information. Visa and Master Card accepted.

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd San Luis Obispo. CA 93401 (InCal call (80S) 543-1037 )

Powerful — Economical — Professional

Peripherals for your Apple II-"A/D 12-Bit. 16 Channel £450.00

• Simple CPU Selection of Channels AD 1216°2

• Range t 10. t 5, ± 2 5, * 5. + 10

• High-Speed 25 /j sec Conversion

• Full Software Support — Disk or PROM

• Adjustable Bipolar Reference

Ultra ROM Board/Editor

• 32K of Bank-Switchable ROM Space

• Powerful G.P L E (Global Program Line Editor! in Firmware

• Totally Transparent — Remove or reload with a few keystrokes — without Disk!

• Applesoft-)!* Extensions including "IF. THEN, ELSE."

6842 Vahean Ave VanNuys. CA 91406

01319B9-12M

$190 00

APB 102

r\

P

Circle 27 on Inquiry card.

B

Qc

%

Low, direct prices • Fast, direct service

2532-450 $4"

2716-450 369

2732-450 399

2764-250 979

2764-350 8"

4164-200 475

6116-P3 430

6116-LP-3 548

Add $2 95 shipping to oil orders

OEM • Quantity discounts available • PQs on

approval • CO. D. OK • Credit cards • FL residents

add 5% tax • All new, no surplus, no seconds

(Prices subject to change. )

4920 Cypress St., Suite 100, Tampa, FL 33607

In FL, and for info., call 813-875-0299

FOR ORDERS ONLY, 800-237-8910

■w 8AM 5PM EDT

Circle 259 on inquiry card.

Circle 310 on inquiry card.

Circle 167 on inquiry card.

Cables

EIA RS 232-C

Quality cables with immediate delivery and low prices.

Conductor

Price

1-4

$12.00 + .18/ft.

5-7

12.50 + ,27/ft.

8-12

13.50 + 33/ft.

13-16

14.75+ 44/ft

17-25

1 7.00 + .55/ft.

Specify: Male or female connectors, length of cable and pins to be connected. OEM & quantity discounts available to qualified customers. On prepaid orders add $5.00 for shipping/handling. We also supply connector parts, bulk cable, IBM, DECCompatable&Centronlc cables.

Communication Cable Company

319 Lcruella Ave. Wayne, PA 19087 215-964-9404

wabash

Flexible Diskettes

6 Year Warranty-100% Certified

DELIVERED PRICES

5V4" $175

SINGLE SIDE SINGLE DENSITY 48 TPI W/HUB RING

Picked lOparSotiPtct

r

5V4" $010

51/4" $010

DOUBLE SIDE ■■

DOUBLE DENSITY ^•▼eaCri 48 TPi W/HUB flINQ

p*c*»0 TO per Son Pick

BULK SSSD

1

40

BULK SSDD

W/HUB RING

1

70

BULK $«7Q DSDD *X

■ each

OO.'Case

White Envelope

WHUB PING

Free shipping in continental USA Call for

quantity discounts. We accept money orders,

certified checks, VISA and MasterCard. Personal

checks accepted, but take two weeks to clear bank

N. D- add 4%. VISA and MC add 3%.

Software Services'*

1326-25th St. S., Suite D Fargo, ND 58103 (701)280-0121

CHIPS.

&DALE T2

THE INFLATION FIGHTERSl

41 16 250ns 8/(9.50 100 + 1.05 ea.

4116 200ns 8/* 10.00 100+ $1.05 ea.

4116 150ns 8/111.50 I 00 + S1.25 ea.

41 16 120ns 8/$ 14.50 100+ $1.50 ea.

4116 120ns 8/915.50 100 + s 1.50 ea.

21 ML 300ns 6/110.50

2114L 200ns 8/U2.00 •4164 200ns 14.65 ea. •4164 150ns $5.10 ea. •6116 150ns $4.00 ea. •6116 200ns $3.85 ea. •6116LP 150ns $4.75 ea. •1791 Disk Controller $20.00

1777 Disk Controller »17.50

Z80A, ZBOACTC. Z0OA PIO $3.00 ea.

8253 S4.25

2716-1 5V 350ns 8/14.25 ea. $5.00 ea.

2716 5V 450ns $3.00 ea. •2732 5V 450ns $3.85 ea. •2532 5V 450ns $4.25 ea. •2764 5V 300ns 28 pin $9.00 ea. •2764 5V 24 pin CALL •2564 5V CALL

••8087 CALL

68000 CALL

Allow up to 3 wks. for personal checks to clear. Please include phone number. Prices subject to change without notice. Shipping & Handling for Chips $3.50, FOB Bellevue. WA. for all else. Wash, residents add 6.5% Sales Tax.

CHIPS 6 DALE 1-206-451-9770

10655 N.E. 4th St., Suite 400 Bellevue, WA 98004

True MAIL ORDER Prices

With so many so-called Mail Order establishments using toll free" lines, and grandiose advertising, how can you, the customer, expect to receive true mail order savings? We have done away with large ads, and free phone lines to offer comparable service passing on the savings to you. Our reputation for low prices and satisfaction is outstanding.

DISKETTES

'Kangaroo: (w/library case)

SS/DD $19.35

DS/DD $28.00

— 10 yr. Warranty —

Elephant:

SS/DD $21.95

DS/DD $28.95

Verbatim:

5%" SS/DD $22.95

5V4" DS/DD $38.95

Dysan:

5W SS/DD $29.95

5'/4"DS/DD $38.95

Library Case 5%" $1.75

MODEMS

Hayes:

MicroModem II

with Terminal Program $285.00

without Terminal Program $255.00

Hayes Smartmodem:

300 Baud $199.00

1200 Baud $505.00

Hayes Chronograph $179 00

Novation:

J-Cat $104.00

Applecal II $285.00

Smartcat 1200 Baud $440.00

U.S. Robotics:

300 Baud $165.00

1200 Baud $459.00

COMPUTER PRODUCTS FOR IBM

The Ultimate Peripheral MONTE CARLO " CARD

64K $295 00

$45 per 64K upgrade

T & G Products:

Joysticks $42.00

Trakball $49.00

BUSINESS Visicorp:

Visidex $180.00

Visifiles $180.00

256K Visicalc $180 00

Visitrend/Plot $225.00

ENTERTAINMENT: Infocom:

Zork I $27.00

Zork II $27.00

Zork III $27.00

PRINTERS

Okidata:

Microline 92 $565.00

Microline 93 $985.00

Pacemark 2350

Parallel $2100 00

Serial $2200.00

Pacemark 2410

Parallel $2400.00

Serial $2500.00

Call for prices on the entire line

of Okidata Printers.

Call for the New Epson FX Printers.

TEC/C.ITOH

Prowriter I Parallel $ 369.00

Prowriter II Parallel $ 639.00

F-10 Starwriter $1185.00

F-10 Printmaster $ CALL

Brother HRI: $ 795.00

Smith Corona TPI: $ 539.00

Star: "Gemini 10 and 15 . Call for low prices!

NEW PRODUCTS

Commodore 64 $ 374 00

Panasonic JR200 $ 299.00

Percom Hard Disk Drives:

(Apple/IBM/TRS-80)

5 Megabyte $ 995.00

10 Megabyte $1295.00

15 Megabyte $1695.00

20 Megabyte $2095.00

TANDON DISK DRIVE SPECIAL

TM-100-2 DS/DD 320K Bytes $245.00

TM-55 320K Bytes Half Height $239.00

QuadRam Quadboard

64K $285.00

128K $330.00

192K $375.00

256K $415.00

Kraft Products:

Joysticks $55.00

Game Paddle $29.00

Davong Hard Disks

5 Megabyte $1359.00

10 Megabyte $1759.00

15 Megabyte $2159.00

Maynard Electronics

Floppy Controllers w/Parallel .$209.00 Floppy Controllers w/Serial ... $239.00

Send orders and inquiries to:

Tlvl

Computer Apparatus

P.O. Box 32063 • Aurora, Colorado 80012 Telephone Inquiries: (303) 759-9251

Monday thru Friday — 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time)

We built our reputation on low prices for the informed computer user.

MONITORS

Amdek:

Color I $295.00

Color II $489.00

300G Green $145.00

300A Amber $155.00

310G Green $165.00

310A Amber $175.00

Zenith: 12" Green. $ 99 00

USI: 12" Amber $159.00

12" Green $155.00

"Taxan: Amber $139.00

PGS: RGB Monitor $ CALL

BMC: 12" Green $ 80.00

NEC 1203 Hi Res RGB $589.00

DISK DRIVES

Apple: Fourth Dimension:

w/o controller $250.00

w/ controller $319.00

Rana Elite I:

w/o controller $270.00

w/ controller $339 00

COMPUTER PRODUCTS FOR APPLE

MBI:

VIP Graphics Card $119 00

Appletime ClockCard $ 85 00

Silicon Valley Systems:

Final Analysis $149.00

Word Handler $115.00

Continental:

Home Acct $ 49.00

On-Line: Screenwriter II Pro $139.00

Visicorp:

Visidex $180.00

Visifiles $180.00

Visicalc $180.00

Visitrend/Plot $225.00

Stoneware:

DB Master $149.00

DB Utility Pak $ 65.00

T & G Products:

Joysticks $42.00

Select-a-Port $42.00

Game Paddles $28.00

Davong Hard Disks

5 Megabytes $1359.00

10 Megabytes $1759.00

15 Megabytes $2159.00

Ram Cards

Microsoft 16K $75.00

Generic 16K $60.00

CP/M Microsoft Z80 Card $249.00

80 Column Cards Videx w/soft . .$269.00

DELIVERIES; 2 - 4 weeks average PERSONAL CHECKS: Cashier's check and

money order will receive shipping preference VISA & MASTERCARD: Add 4% to total. CATALOG: Send for full pricing details.

Prices subject to change without notice. SHIPPING: UPS add $2 00 plus

2% of order total

Circle 91 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 539

JKl

Get

on the

STICK!

Forget that mickey mouse input device. The KA Stick is a professional microprocessor programmable joystick operating in ASCII at high speed 19.2K baud and up on either full RS232 or IEE 488. $479 complete. Send orders to:

KA Design Croup

6300 Telegraph Ave.

Oakland, CA 94609 (415) 654-6300

DOUBLE THE STORAGE CAPACITY OF YOUR SINGLE SIDED FLOPPY DISC DRIVE

FOR 83.95

Our innovative new disc will DOUBLE your current storage capabilities. Save money! Save space! Save time!

On 5Vt" discs, you can now get •COMMODORE-64--> 340K on one disc!

'APPLE II + > 286K oh one disc!

•ATARI 800 > 192K on one disc!

•IBM-PC > 320K on one disc!

•TRS-80 > 356K on one disc!

•NEC > 324K on one disc!

And all of this for less than the cost of two of your old discs. Mall or call In your order today while supplies last! $3.95 ea., $35/10, or $29.95 kit to modify your own. MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE!

SOFTECHNICS

3212 Beacon Av. S.

Seattle, Wa. 98144

(206) 723-4980

Minimum order $10, + SI 50 shipping. Washington residents please add 6% sales tax, Master card/Visa welcome.

5V4" DISK DRIVES

TANDON

• TIM 100-1

Single Sided. 40 IRK,

Single Or Double Density

• TM 100-2

Double Sided, 40 TRK/Side Single Or Double Density

CDC

• 9409

Double Sided. 40 TRK/Side Single Or Double Density

*17900

Free Shipping

$24900

Free Shipping

$24900

Free Shipping

Order Toll Free

1-800-531-5475 (Outside 01 Texas)

(512) 250-1523 (In Texas)

"II We Can'I Ship The Next Working Day.

We Won't Take The Order."

MasterCard * VISA * Check

Texas Residents Add 5% Sales Tax.

jCompuPdd

Corp.

13010 Research Blvd., Suite 101 Austin, Texas 78750

Circle 496 on Inquiry card.

Circle 376 on Inquiry card.

Circle 87 on inquiry card.

NEW! NAPLPS

A NAPLPS Graphics

Implementation

Assembler/Interpreter

* Implements NAPLPS, a powerful new sraphics standard

* Can create graphic figures and characters of any size, color and shape

* Easy to use

* Provides easy introduction to graphics, yet versatile in its applications

* Written in C

* Documentation and source code listing provided

* $119

CSC/1010 Turner Way, Seattle, WA 98112 (206) 328-0100

Circle 393 on Inquiry card.

I WILL BEAT ANY COMPETITOR'S PRICE

PROVIDED IT IS NOT BELOW MY COST.

TRY TO BEAT THESE IC PRICES:

DYNAMIC RAM

64K

200 ns

$5.25

64K

150 ns

5.35

64K

120 ns

5.90

16K

200 ns EPROM

1.35

2784

300 ns

$6.25

2732

450 ns

4.05

2716

450 ns

3.20

2532

450 ns STATIC RAM

4.60

6264LP-15 150 ns

$60.00

6116P-3

150 ns

4.10

2114

200 ns Z80A FAMILY

1.45

CPU, CTC, or PIO

$3.39

DART

7.99

DMA or

SIO/0

12.50 J

MasterCard'VISA or UPS CASH COO

Factory New, Prime Parts MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED

24.000 Soutti Peoria Ave SEGGS, OK 74421

(918) 267-4961

DiscMaster 1000 Videodisc Interface

• Enables computer control of laser videodisc players

• Works with any mainframe, mini, or microcomputer

• Standard RS-232C serial interface

• No modification required to player or computer

• Interactive playback for training, marketing, exhibition, and data retrieval

• All cables and connectors included

• Price: $395

New Media Graphics Corporation 139 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142 617-547-4344

Circle 277 on Inquiry card.

Circle 497 on Inquiry card.

HARD DISK ADD ON FOR

ALTOS SERIES 5 5-10-20 MB

Mm

■ Plug Compatible

■ Runs with existing Altos Software

■ *CPM, *MPM, *OASIS Operating Systems

■ No Software Modifications Required

•TM Altos, Digital Research

and Phase One Systems,

respectively. 5M —$1895.00

Tri Technology Systems Inc.

P.O. Box 388208

Chicago, IL 60638

(312) 442-0698

Circle 420 on Inquiry card.

wabash

When it comes to

Flexible Disks, nobody

does it better than

Wabash.

MasterCard, Visa Accepted. Call Free: (800)235-4137

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd San Luis Obispo. CA 93401 (InCal call (805)543-1037)

Circle 310 on Inquiry card.

8051-Based

Single-Board Computer with

Monitor/Debugger

• Versatile - 4 28-pin byte-wide sockets; monitor will program EEPROMs.

• Affordable - just $365.

• Perfect for System Development and Educational Applications

Binary Technology

P O BOX A-59 • HANOVER NH 03755 • 603 643-2881

Circle 52 on Inquiry card.

SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS

6502 MICROCOMPUTER

MINI VIDEO 40 X 24

81-260 "SLIM"

JBEs Speech Synthesizers use the Votrax SO01 Phoneme Synthesizer chip. The SC-01 phonetically synthesizes continuous speech of unlimited vocabulary. The SC-01 contains 64 different phonemes and 4 levels of inflection accessed by an 8 bit code. It requires 10 Bytes per second for continuous speech. Both boards have an audio amp for direct connection to an 8 ohm speaker.

Documentation includes basic user programs, a phoneme chart and listing of coded words to help you get started. Documentation for the Apple IIs Speech Synthesizer includes a disk with text to speech program.

81-088 Apple II Speech djj

Synthesizer $129.96

81-120 Parallel Input Speech Synthesizer $14938

Prices include the SC-01 Chip

SC-01 sold separately for $ K

AD & DA CONVERTB

JBE AD & DA Converter i with any system having pa

• Interfaces with JBE Parallel' 3 Card

• D-AConversion time — 5pS:» A-pcqnversion time — 20ms • Usepower supply • Parallel ttiputs & outputs include 8 data tjtJS»*!'o(A> lines A latches • Analog tnpu

medium impedance "

79-287 Bare Bo,

ASSM. $79.96

$38,85

SOLID STATE SWITCH

6502MPU, 6522 VIA, 2716EPROM, 2114 RAM single board computer. Single 5 volt power supply at 400 Ma. Two independent 8 bit I/O ports with handshake lines. RC controlled 1 MHz clock.

Complete documentation. I/O lines use 50 pin edge connector. Data and address lines are not accessible. Mod. for 2532 is included. EPROM ed. 1KRAM.2KEPROM,

80-153

Z-80 MICROCOMPUTErr

■ «tt«-4gia-*i<

Your computer can control power to your printer, lights, stereo & any 120VAC appliances up to 720 watts (6 amps at 120VAC). Input 3 to 15VDC • 2-14MA TTL compatible • Isolation — 1500V • Non zero crossing • Comes in 1 or 4 channel version

79-282-1 Bare Board 79-282-4 Bare Board

ASSM. $13.95

$6.95

ASSM. $49.95

$24.95

Z-80 MPU, Z-80 PK>, 2716 EPROM, 2114

SAM single Marc comouter. Single 5

supply !■: ■HP^T

8 bit I/O. ports with handi lines. RC cemrolled 2MHz clock.

Complete documentation. I/O lines use 50 pin edge connector. Data and address lines are not accessible. Mod. for 2532 Is included. EPROM is not included. 1K RAM, 2K EPROM, 2 I/O ports.

Assm. $129.95

This board can be used to add a video display to your AIM or other computer. It can also, with the addition of a parallel keyboard, 5V power supply and video monitor, be used as a home computer. It will run Tom Pittman's Tiny Basic. The 2716 character gen. will pro:8 characters, ASCII upper and graphic characters, mansion connector can be to 6K of memory or extra er requirements: 5 volts ratts

iX.K:!jsng!HJBLJncludes schematic,

ieo display and Monitor. Control character response:

H Backspace

I up one line ,' .eteed L clears M carriage n

space non c

The curser is flashing JH

82-140A assm. W/O EPROMS $149.95 Character Gen. A7 $ 19.95

Tiny Basic + Monitor $39.9

GPIO Parallel Input ' t#$

BareBoardwUhdoc. $ 79J6

11 El

Single board large scale integration Microcomputer. This 4.5 x 6.5 board usesthe 6502 Microcomputer, two 6522 VIA's four 2114 RAM's, 2516, 2716 or 2532 EPROM. The fully buffered 22/44 pin bus Is similar to the KIM", SYM■■, and AIM* expansion connector. The four 8 bit I/O ports connect through 16 pin dip sockets. This board was designed for control and is ideal for Personal and OEM use.

• 6502 MPU

• Two 6522 VIA's

• Four 2114 RAM's (2K bytes)

• One EPROM 2516 or 2532

• Crystal clock 1 MHz

• Requires 5V 1AMP power k» 4.5 x 6.5 card

^ Power on reset

■sully buffered-expandable

MBplder mask-both sides

': flpour Apple II CornouJajeTOE 6522

|el IntBEiMMMiH^PROM Pro

5ment system for

slimT~

Assm. $199.95

This la a complete stand alone Video Terminal board. All that is needed besides this board Is a parallel ASCII keyboard, standard NTSC monitor, and a power supply.

• 6502 Microprocessor

• 6545-1 CRT controller » 2716EPROM chars

• 4K RAM (6116)

• RS232 I/O for direct computer or modem W ■;

• 80 columns X 25 line dnHH

• Size 6.2" X 7.2"

• Output for speaker (bell)

• Power + 5 700 Ma.

+12 50 Ma.

-12 50 Ma. This board is available assembled and tested. 82-018A $199.95

Bare board with EPROMS and crystal. 82-018B $ 89.95

Both versions come with complete documentation.

JBE's 7.75x 11.756502base Microcomputer has k a « ; j; 18K of EPROM. 4K of RAM. 8 Parallel Ports and 1 Serial Port. Monitor and Tiny Basic are also available

Both versions Include sockets lor 2716s or 2532s, 8 16 pin sockets tor I/O

i «ino and a OB.

:RS:

RAM 8WII Mnfi'ory (OK) 81-330A Assm. W/O Memory 81-33IJB Bare Board

« Stat Mother Beard 81-320A Assembled

$99.95 $49.95

■fid data lines are brought HHothe50 pin edge connecHPto the Apple II bus.)

ird also features power on reset cassette interface.

81-030C Fully

Populated 81-030M Partially

Populated 2716 EPROM

(with Tiny Basic)

$399.95 $299.95

$ 19.95

24 Hour Real Time Clock

81-350A Assembled 81-350B Bare Board

Analog I/O Interlace

81-036A Assembled 81-036B Bare Board

$149.95 $ 49.95

$199.95 $ 49.95

12 Port Parallel I/O (6-6522'S) 82-036A Assembled $169.96

82-036B Bare Board $ 49.95

Tiny Basic + Monitor EPROM

$39.95

John Bell Engineering, Inc.

#245

ALL PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM JOHN BELL ENGINEERING, INC. • 1014 CENTER ST., SAN CARLOS, CA 94070 ADD SALES TAX IN CALIFORNIA • ADD 5% SHIPPING & HANDLING 3% FOR ORDERS OVER $100

(415)592-8411 l^SS^ft)

WILL CALL HOURS: 9am ■ 4pm ADD $1 -50 F0R C0D

Circle 466 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 541

DISKETTES

3M Scotch* BRAND

AT SUPER LOW PRICES

WE WILL SHIP YOUR

ORDER WITHIN 24 HOURS

AND WE PAY THE

SHIPPING CHARGES

I COD ACCEPTED

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

CALL TOLL FREE 800 922-8193

IN CALIFORNIA 800 468-1068

Tayco Busineas Forma Computer Suppllaa Post Office Box 605 Newbury Park, CA 91320

APPLE II COMPATIBLE DISK DRIVES

ONLY $209.00

CONTROLLER CARD $ ft&OO

JUST PLUG IN AND RUN

VERBATIM

SW DISKETTES SS DD SOFT

PERBOXOFW $23.99

EPSON PRINTERS

MX80FT $463 00

OTHERMODELS CALL

TELEVIDEO

910 $339.00

925 $719.00

950 $929.00

MONITORS

12" 20 MHZ

GREEN $129.00

AMBER $129.00

IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER

64K Combo Card $32.1.00

OZteeh, Inc.

14()<) Coleman Ave. Suite F.2S Santa Clara, CA 95050 (800) 222-M>77 in Calif. (40fi) 9SO-9W VISA MG Accepted

PC/FORTH™

Complete FORTH program development systems (or the IBM® Personal Computer. Packages include interpreter/compiler with virtual memory management, line editor, custom screen editor, assembler, decompiler, utilities, file and record access modules, and many demonstration programs. 150 page user manual $100.00

Software floating point, Intel 8087 support, color graphics extensions, and target compiler available at additional cost.

Specify PC-DOS or CP/M-86® One disk drive and 48 kbytes RAM required. Software supplied on 5Va inch single sided soft sectored double density diskettes.

Laboratory Microsystems

4147 Beethoven Stmt Los Angelet, CA 90066

(213)306-7412

Circle 399 on inquiry card.

Circle 23 on inquiry card.

Circle 231 on inquiry card.

scotch 3M

diskettes

SAVE SOX

on

Scotch

k Diskettes

Dealer Inquiries Invited

prices/10

51/i " sPecifv soft /•> 10 or 16 Sector 7440 1 side/dbl dens $22.so

745 2 sldes/dbl dens Ssroo

746 1 side/quad 96 tpi $33.80

747 2 sides/quad 96 tpi S«5.so

8

a

Specify Soft or 32 Sector

740 1 side sgl/dens S23.60

741 1 side/dbl dens $29.00

743 2 sides/dpi dens $37.80

Checks-VlSA-MC-C.O.D./Add S2 Shipping

Call or write for our complete list.

LYBEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

27204 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores, Ml 48081

Phone: (313) 777-7780

Authorized Distributor Information Processing Products ~

IBM PC, APPLE, etc.

SHARING AND SWITCHING PROBLEMS? GILTRONIX HAS THE SOLUTION!

Any CPU

S y ^3

Printer 1 Printer 2 Modem or

Dot Matrix Letter Quality Other Peripheral

MANUAL UNITS AUTOMATIC UNITS

2-6 Ports OR 2-7 Pons

Selecto-Switch Auto-Switch

Serial (RS 232)/Parallel (Centronics)

LOW COST ADD-ONS FROM THE MAIN r\S) MANUFACTURER

<<££Giltron.\

LAJ 3780 Fabian Way. Palo Alto. CA 94303 (415) 493-1300

Computer Sale

Franklin ACE 1000

w/Color SCALL

1000 System w/Monitor CALL

ACE 1200 w/Color CALL

Drives for Apple and Franklin

Ouentin 5% 249

Thin Line 279

Contr. Card 65

Contr. w/Diagnostics 95

Franklin Color Kit 39.95

(No Soldering)

Shipping and handling add 3%. CA residents add 6%

THE COMPUTER STORE

3941-BS. Bristol St. Dept. 345

Santa Ana, CA 92704

714-662-1425

Circle 242 on Inquiry card.

Circle 177 on inquiry card.

Circle 464 on Inquiry card.

MicroScripf" $99

State of the Art Text Formatter

» generic markup

• fully definable page with multiple columns » multiline headers, footers, and footnotes

» automatic widow and orphan suppression

• automatic section numbering

» automatic table of contents and index

• automatic bullet, number, and definition lists

• floating figures

• text alignment to lett, center, right, or justify

» left and right indention with delay and duration

• bold, underscore, and proportional spacing » macros and symbols

• multiple input files of unlimited size

• direct printer control

► IDS. Qume, Diablo. NEC. C.ITOH. and all TTY

MicroEd™ $49

Customizable Full Screen Editor » full cursor control by character, word, or line » position to top or bottom of window or file

• scroll by line, half window, or full window

• global or selective find and replace

► delete by character, word, line, or block

• read external files into current file

» copy, move, and write blocks of text » insert, overlay, or wordwrap text

• all cursor addressable VDTs

MicroType™

6531 Crown Blvd., Suite 3A, San Jose, CA 95120 (408) 997-5026

' CP'M-flO. CP/M-86 are trademarks ol Digital Research, PC-DOS k of IBM Corporation

\ferbatim

flexible disks

Call Free (800) 235-4137 for

prices and information. Dealer inquiries invited. C.O.D. and charge cards accepted.

VISA'

PACIFIC EXCHANGES

100 Foothill Blvd. San Luis Obispo. CA 93401. InCal. call (800) 592-5935 or (805) 543-1037.

Serial 4 ■ ■' ■'''' ■ t Parallel

PRINTERSI PLOTTERS! PUNCHES! ROBOTS!

Convert What You Have To What You Want I

' RS232 Serial * Centronics Parallel

' 8 Baud Rates * Handshake Signals

* Latched Outputs * Compact 3% x 4>, x ly,

No longer will your peripheral choices be limited by the type of port you have available! Our new High Performance 700 Series Converters provide the missing link. Based on the latest In CMOS technology, these units feature full baud rate selection to 19.2K, with handshake signals to maximize transfer efficiency. Detailed documentation allows simplified Installation. Order the Model 770 (Set/Par) or Model 775 (Par/Ser) Todayl

o«.,»89.9S

Connaotor Option $10.00 ,. CA flMKMni* B% tax

1501-B Pm. Straw UPS Shipping S3.00

Po» Oft** Box 2233 Oxnard. California 33030

^fr CALL (805) 487-1665 or 487-1666 For FAST Delivery

Circle 381 on inquiry card.

Circle 310 on Inquiry card.

Circle 160 on inquiry card.

ORDER WITH CONFIDENCE FROM

ONE OF THE NATIONS LARGEST

CONSUMER ELECTRONIC PARTS DISTRIBUTORS

APPLE COMPATIBLE KEYBOARD

Heavy duty error free switches, switchable N key rollover, last key repeat, upper/lower case capability, alpha lock. Complete with cable.

ORDER NO.

83-APL-KB-7

$79.95

ARCADE TYPE JOYSTICK

Atari ,

Commodore,

Sears compatible.

Heavy duty leaf switches. Long life.

order no. *mm r\t\

83-ATR-JY-1 $15.00

Unbelievable Discount!

APPLE II® COMPATIBLE SLIM DISK DRIVE

RUNS QUIETER THAN THE ORIGINAL!

New - not surplus - guaranteed! Only

6"w x 1-7/8"h x 10"d. Complete

with a 3' cable. Runs .~

with Apple controller ..~X

or our optional -^Sp

controller.

ORDER NO.

83-APL-DD

.1 *299.95

CONTROLLER CARD

ORDER NO. « VI ft OR

83-APL-CTL-1 *4y. °

PHMI IQ Buy two disk drives and get a free DWI'Uw controller card!

REPLACEMENT POWER SUPPLY FOR APPLE II

Fully Apple compatible. '^ 5A heavy duty switcher,110V or 220V input, +5V/5A, +12V/3A, -5V -12V full load outputs. Fits in an Apple II case. AC cord included.

ORDER NO.

83-APL-PS-51

$79.95

REPLACEMENT POWER SUPPLY FOR ATARI® 800 AND 400 MODELS. mm,

1° «5£ *4-f nr

83-ATR-PS-800 * $17.00

12" AMBER MONITORS.

Call for details.

orderno 83-APL-MON-1 $140.00

REPLACEMENT PADDLE SET

FOR ATARI .&

and OTHERS

order no. 83-ATR-PD-2

$12.00

REPLACEMENT RAM IC FOR ATARI 2600 VCS

10^

ORDER NO.

83-ATR-IC-3 $11.95

REPLACEMENT CPU IC FOR ATARI 2600 VCS ^^

$9.95

ORDER NO.

83-ATR-IC-2

APPLE COMPATIBLE JOYSTICK

Heavy duty.

ORDERNO. A-J» -

83-APL-XY-10 $16.50

£

REPLACEMENT JOYSTICK

Fits Atari, Commodore. Sears others. ORDER NO.

83-ATR-XY-4

REPLACEMENT

AC ADAPTOR

FOR ATARI 2600 VCS

9V 500mA. UL listed. ORDER NO.

83-ATR-PS-5 $5.00

ft*

REPLACEMENT R.F MODULATOR FOR ATARI 2600 VCS

Also compatible with other video games.

ORDER NO. 83-ATR-RF-1

$5.00

JOYSTICK EXTENSION CORDS

Works with Atari . Coleco, Commodore and other 9 pin plugs. Two popular lengths: 6' and 12'.

ORDER NO.

83-ATR-EX-6 $5.00 83-ATR-EX-12 6.50

i and other 9 pin

REPLACEMENT APPLE JOYSTICK CABLE

ORDER NO.

83-APL-X-1

REPLACEMENT ATARI JOYSTICK CABLE

ORDER NO.

83-ATR-X-1

v&

RF EXTENSION CORD

15' RCA Male to RCA Female.

$3.00

ORDER NO.

83-ATR-RG-15

$5.00

■■■■ ■» MINIMUM ORDER $25.00. VISA, MASTER CARD accepted. No surcharges. Exact UPS charges will be added. PREPAID: Certified checks and money orders, send exact amount. No shipping, handling or insurance charges in the continental USA. PERSONAL CHECKS: add 5% shipping charges, allow 3 weeks to clear. INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: US currency and 20% extra for shipping. CA Residents, add sales tax. OEM, DEALERS: send for special prices on your company letterhead. No purchase orders or open accounts-no exceptions.

ELECTRONICS

A DIVISION OF ALLIANCE RESEARCH CORPORATION

18215 PARTHENIA ST.* NORTHRIDGE, CA 91325

Call toll free: (800) 423-5336

In California: (800) 382-3663

Local: (213) 701 -5848

Telex 181011 ORAPARTS NTGE

BYTE July 1983 543

PERIPHERALS FOR APPLE

Quality Inexpensive Peripherals with a Full One Year Warranty

APPLE/SHLGART DRIVES (5'. ! DISK CONTROLLER |DOS 3.2-3.31

80 COLUMN CARD (VIDEX EQUIVALENT)

Z80 SOFTCARD (MICROSOFT EQUIVALENT)

PRINTER INTERFACE WITH 16K BUFFER AND GRAPHICS (APPLE DUMPLING EQUIVALENT)

MULTI-FUNCTION CARD (PARALLEL, SERIAL, BSR, CLOCK) (VERSA CARD EQUIV)

BARE EACH BOARD ~si99 69 149

S 21

29

APPLE lie BARE BOARD

175

80 COLUMN FOR lie WITH 64K RAM

129 28

5'/."FLOPPY DRIVE ENCLOSURE

17

68000 CO-PROCESSOR WITH

899 32

128K RAM AND SOFTWARE

(UCSD P-SYSTEM, CP/M)

PROWRITER I

369

EPSON FX80 (90 DAY WARRANTY)

549

USIGRN SCREEN 9 INCH MONITOR

99

COLORADO COMPUTER PERIPHERALS

R.R. 6, Box 7D

Golden, Colorado 80401 (303) 278-7172

INVENTORY REDUCTION

EAGLE III MICROCOMPUTER

64K, CP/M; includes spellbinder, ultracalc, CPM C basic $2,495.00'

MANNESMANN TALLY 1805 dual mode printer, 200 CPS draft mode/50LPS correspondence mode $1,395.00*

DATAVUE DISPLAY TERMINALS

132 & 80 column formats, soft keyboard

originally $1,995.00*

now $1,000.00

TELEVIDEO 950 demo units $ 850.00*

ECONOMY

PERIPHERALS, INC.

Call (404) 952-0213

• WHILE QUANTITIES LAST

*■■ 8" DISKETTES ALSO AVAILABLE

TOP QUALITY

5V* DISKETTES

SPECIFY SOFT. 10 or 16 SECTORS

• wabash ^1_

SSDDIM13A411X) 23.00

DSDD(M14A411X) 30.00

• control data

112.00 218.00 146,00 286.00

SSDD(CDC124200) 22.00 106.00 210.00

DSDD (CDC 1244-00) 30.50 147.00 290.00

• 3IM scotch

SSDD (3M 744D-0) 22.00 109.00

DSDD (3M 745-0) 3100 150.00

• verbatim

213.00 295.00

SSDD(MD525-01-18158) 25 20 124 00 245.00 DSDDIMD55O-0M8188) 36.50 180.00 355.00

• maxwell

SSDDIMAX-MD-1M) 28.95

DSDD (MAX-MDZ-DM) 39.00 >dysan

140.00 270.00 19200 380.00

SSDD(DYS 104-1D) 36.00 177.00 350.00

DSDDIDYS 104-2D) 41.00 202.00 400.00

CALL TOLL FREE 800-824-7888

(VISA. M.C.. COO. ORDERS ONLY) 0"""*">J*"»"

°~VnlUnlted

• CHECKS MO. VISA. M.C-ADD $2.00 SHIP P.O.BOX 3304

• CA. RESIDENTS ADD SUMTOGA, CH 95070, 6% SALES TAX (40B) 252 4210

• SURCHARGE ON ORDERS SHIPPED OUTSIDE USA

Circle 499 on inquiry card.

Circle 500 on Inquiry card.

Circle 116 on inquiry card.

FILE MANAGEMENT UTILITY

1. MULTI-USER

2. SUPPORTS RECORD & FILE LOCK

3. WRITTEN IN 8080 OBJECT CODE FOR FAST EXECUTION

4. UP TO 20 FILES OPEN AT ONE TIME

5. RANDOM FILE RECORD LENGTH to 500 bytes

6. B-Tree indexed files

7. KEY LENGTH FROM 1 to 80 bytes

Requires CP/M1, MP/M2, TurboDOS3, or MmmOST1.

COUGAR MOUNTAIN SOFTWARE, Inc.

10 S. Latah Box 6886

Boise, Idaho 83707

208-344-2540

TM: 1 & 2 Digital Research 3 Software 2000, 4 TelcVidco

C LANGUAGE PROGRAMMERS

c-systems C COMPILER c-wfindow™

The complete c language source level

program testing and debugging tool.

• Single step by c source line.

• Set breakpoints at line numbers.

■ Display and alter variables by symbol name, using c expression syntax.

• No more printf or assembler level debugging!

c-window™ is a support package tor the c-eysteme C COMPILER for 8086/8088 based systems.

Contact. c-eyetems

P.O. Box 3253

TM c-systems

Fuller-ton. CA 92634 714-637-5362

S-100

COLOR GRAPHICS $199

256H-192V • IMAGER-! • 16 COLORS

A • USES TMS 991SA FROM TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

P • 32 PRIORITIZED PLANES FOR 3D SIMULATION

B P • 3 GRAPHIC MODES

U L • TEXT MODE

Si • 32 Simultaneous fast moving SPRITES

I C ■ Sprite; coincidence detection

N A -ON BOARD JOYSTICK & PUSHBUTTON LOGIC

E T • COMPOSITE VIDEO OUTPUT |NTSC)

Si ■ ON BOARD RF MOD CONVERSION INSTRUCTIONS

SO • Meets IEEE 696 Specifications

N • HIGH QUALITY PC CONSTRUCTION

S • Sample programs included in manual

USER MUNUA1 ONlT - SKI DEMfl INQUIft'tS INVITED - CHECK <n MONEY ORDER » COD MASTERCARD. VISA - ADD i'% - ADD S3 SHIPPING & HAN0UHG MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS PlfASE ADD 54 SALES TAX ,^_

CALL (800)343-1292 *■;■

MASS (800) 322-0453 !^™

TechniGraphic Designs

P.O.BOXZ39-GRAFTON.MASSACHUSETTB01S19

Circle 493 on Inquiry card.

Circle 61 on inquiry card.

Circle 402 on inquiry card.

Scotch Diskettes

Rely on Scotch* diskettes to keep your valuable data safe. Dependable Scotch diskettes are tested and guaranteed error-free. The low abrasivity saves your read/write heads They're compatible with most diskette drives

(800)235-4137

Dealer Inquiries invited

TIME SAVING - MONEY SAVING

PRINTER BUFFER

SPOOL-Z-Q

Spool-Z-Q is perrV-a for use with all parallel (Centronics stanJard} printers including Radio Shack printers. Spool-Z-Q is stand-alone, it doesn't steal power from the computer or printer. The many advanced features include automatic internal space character compression, copy and self-test functions, and a special "Pause-on-Formfeed" mode.

SIZES AND EXPANSION Spool-Z-Q comes in )2K, 64K, and !28K character sizes. Anv Spool-Z-Q can he user expanded to 64 or 128K oy just plugging in chips — the sockets ore already installed. There are no jumpers to fool with either, Spool-Z-Q knows how much memory is installed without oeing told,

15 DAY TRIAL PERIOD You may try Spool-Z-Q with your system and. if you aren't completely satisfied, return it within 15 days for a no-hassle full refund.

FACTORY DIRECT PRICES (Shipping included) 32K - #219 64K - 1249 128K - $309 Cable to printer — $27 We eccept Master Card, Vies, AMEX, and C.O.D

JVB ELECTRONICS

1601 Fulton Ave.. Suite 1 Sacramento, CA 96826 (916) 483-0709

PRINTER-STILTS

TM

• SOLVE YOUR PAPER STORAGE PROBLEMS*

Elevate your Epson MX-70/80 or MX-1C3 Printer, e Precision Machined — natural finish aluminum.

• Tilted to Facilitate Viewing — soft rubber feet

• Easy to Install — no tools required. MX-70/80 style fits IBM, Tl and HP PC DOT PTRS. Give style and send $9.95 plus $2.00 P and H.

DATATEK INC.

J P.O. Box 5956 Dept 400 f,

" Shreveport, LA. 71135 '

(318) 868-2241 or 868-0068 til 10 pm CST

Circle 310 on inquiry card.

Circle 225 on inquiry card.

Circle 133 on inquiry card.

oft @cw [^©GanO 1-S®[p©@ ORDER TOLL FREE

& EAST ft ft WEST ft

1 (800) 854-8174

In Calif. 1 (714) 898-1492

1 (800) 435-9357

n III. (815) 485-4002

yR W 85* MICRO IV . 11. SALES

• MADE IN U.S.A. BY AMERICANS •

TERMS: We accept VISA/MC, prepay, check a money order. Please allow personal check two weeks to clear before shipment. $5.00 handling charge on all orders under $50.00 15% Restocking Fee All orders shipped via UPS unless otherwise specified All UPS C.O.D. orders over $100.00 require a Cashiers Check. *■ Our products carry a lull 6 months parts and labor wananty excluding drives, printers and terminals which cany the full OEM factory warranty. PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

• EAST • 11 Edison Drive, New Lenox, Illinois 60451

• WEST • 15392 Assembly Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92649

CUSTOMER SERVICE HOTLINE 1 ■ (714) 898-5525

XOR Z-80 CPU

* Two RS-232 Serial Ports

* Three 8-Bit Parallel Ports

* Powerful 2K Prom Monitor

* Extended Addressing

* On Board CTC Capability

Assembled and Tested $255.00

Order Part# S-1QOO-35

XOR DISK CONTROLLER

* Full 4MHZ Operation

* Multi-Sector Operation

* Mixed Density Operation

* Runs 8" and 5V Drives' ■*• Utilizes W D.'s 1395 Chir Set*

Assembled and Tested $275.00

Order ParU S-1000-36

XOR 64K RAM

* 4116 200NS Ram Chips

* I6K Banks - Selectable

* 4MHZZ-80 Operation

* Reset Enable/Disable

* No R'C Networks Tied to TTL

Assembled and Tested $259.00

Order Part# S-1000-37

UNIVERSAL POWER SUPPLY

For Big Board, Apple or Aim 65

+5VDC @ 3 Amps

+ 12VDC @ .750 Amps

-12VDC @ .750Amps

-5VDC @ .500 Amps

(fen Q*5 Dimensions:4"x4"x 11"

DISK DRIVE POWER SUPPLY

For 2 - 8" or 5" Drives

+ 5VDC £ 4 Amps

+24VDC @ 3 Amps

- 5VDC i 1 Amp

AC Cables tor 2 Drives $7.50

Dimensions: 4" x 4" x 11"

Jfattoi

$59.95

S-100 POWER SUPPLY

+8VDC @ 30 Amps + 16VDC <s> 6 Amps -16VDC @ 6 Amps

PC Board Design Dimensions: 5" x 6" x 11"

$89.50

12 Slot S1-M0D

by XOR

For test or systems applications Complete S-100 12 Slot Mainframe with Disk Drive Power Supply for 4 Drives.

SPECIFICATIONS

Regulated +5V <s> 5A +24V @3A -5V @ 1A $225.00 Kit with 12 S-100 Bus Connectors $255.00 Assem. and Tested with 1 2 Bus Connectors

$15.00 AC/DC Drive Cable Set for 2 Drives Dimensions 6" x 1 0" x 18" — Shipping Weight 25 lbs.

Unregulated +8V © 30A ±16V <s> 6A

Low Velocity Whisper' Fans 0n/y$18.00ea Finger Guards $2.50 each.

XOR

S-100 MOD

FLOPPY DRIVES

Buy a set at these reduced prices

DUAL DRIVE SUBSYSTEMS

771 *

i" Shugart 801R SS/DD $369.00

8" Shugart 851R DS/DD 495.00

8" Qume DT-8 DS/DD 519.00

8" Mitsubishi 2894 DS/DD 465.00

8" Mitsubishi Slimline DS/DD 465.00

8" Tandon 848-1 Thinline SS/DD 370.00

8" Tandon 848-2 Thinline DS/DD 470.00

8" Siemans 120-8 SS/DD 235.00

5'A" Mitsubishi 96 DS/DD Full 315.00

5'/4" Mitsubishi 96 DS/DD <k Height 315.00

All Shugart and Mitsubishi drives will have a 1 year parts and labor warranty. Qume drives — Full 6 months — All others 90 days.

HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL

Fully Assembled and Tested Units

ONE YEAR P + L WARRANTY

On Shugart and Mitsubishi Subsystems

w/two Mitsubishi DS/DD $1170.00

w/two Shugart 801R SS/DD 975.00

w/two Shugart 851R DS/DD 1225.00

w/two Siemans 120-8 SS/DD 675.00

w/two Qume DT-8 DS/DD 1250.00

Cabinet A & T w/Power Supply and Aces 235.00

Cabinet Top and Bottom Only - 69.50

All cabinets A & T and subsystems include all AC/DC wiring and 50 pin data cable except the horizontal model which includes the internal 50 pin cable and requires an external 50 pin cable part # C 6000-01 s 25.00

5V4" Subsystems

w/two 48TPI SS/DD 495.00

w/two 48TPI DS/DD 595.00

w/two 96TPI DS/DD 695.00

California Computer Systems

CCS SYSTEM 2410 $1995.00

* Includes CP/M'r 2.2 * 2-Seriat/1-Parallei Port

* DMA Disk Controller * Hardware Vectored Interrupts

* 2-Real Time Clocks * Supports CP/M»,MP/M« .OASIS

CCS 2300 System, A & T .$1695.00

* Includes CP/M' 2.2

* 2300 Mainframe

* 2810 2-80A CPU

* New 2066 64K Memory

* 2422 Disk Controller

* Complete A+T

* 2710 4 Port Serial $245.00

* 2719 2 Serial - 2 Parallel 245.00

* 2810 CPU On/y-255.00

* 2422 Disk Controller On/y-330.00

* 2066 64K On/y-360.00

* 2300A Mainframe On/y-455.00

* CCS Apple Boards Call Toll Free For Prices

TERMINALS

ADDS Viewpoint A2 Green Screen $585.00

ADDS Viewpoint 3A Plus Green Screen 519.00

Ampex Dialogue 80 Amber Screen 2-pg. Fund Keys 785.00 Ampex Dial 80 Green Screen 2-pg. Function Keys 785.00

Wyse Wy-100 Green Screen Detachable Keyboard ...„ 795.00 Televideo 910+ Green Screen - Block Mode 569 00

Televideo 925 Self Test - Time of Day 739.00

Televideo 950 Programmable Function Keys 945.00

Televideo 970 * NEW * Full Features * 1159.00

Zenith Z-19 Green Screen 695.00

PRINTERS

Diablo 620 Letter Quality 20 cps

Epson FX-80 Parallel 160 cps 2K Buffer I.D.S. Microprism Model 480 80 Column Mannesman Tally MT-180L 160 cps ..

(1195.00

599.00 565.00 $ CALL

Okidata 82A 80 Column 120 cps Serial + Parallel 465.00

Okidala 83A 132 Column 120 cps Serial+Parallel 745.00

Okidata ML92 Includes Tractor 160 cps 629.00

Okidata ML93 Includes Tractor 160 cps 965.00

Seikosha GP-100A 30 cps 80 Column 195.00

Seikosha GP-250X 50 cps 80 Column .: i 259.00

MODEMS

Hayes-Smartmodem 1200 Bell 212A Auto $559.00

Hayes-Smartmodem 300 Bell 103 0-300 Baud 259.00

Hayes-Smartmodem S-100 45-300 Baud Auto Dial 359.00

Novation - 103/212 Smart Cat 300 or 1200 Baud 479.00

Novation - D-Cat Direct Conn. 300 Baud Org/Ans 169.00

Novation - J-Cat Auto Search Self-Test-Pocket Size 129.00

PMMI - MM103 300/600 Baud S-100 359.00

U.S. Robotics - 1200 Baud Auto Dial Auto Org/Ans 495.00

U.S. Robotics - Micro link 1200 Baud Bell 212A 395.00

U.S. Robotics - Micro Link 0-300 Baud Bell 103 159.00

Circle 426 on inquiry card.

See Page 349 for Additional System Information

Programmable Communications Translator

The PCT-100 is a configurable in-line rs-232 protocol and data translator, the pct-100 can provide:

* Terminal or printer emulation

* dec or ibm system compatibility

* Macro-function keys

* "Type-ahead" and data buffering

* Baud rate conversion

* Handshake protocol translation (e.g. CTS/RTS, XON/XOFF)

The PCT-100 is configured using a built-in Communications Translation Language. Programs can be easily entered & edited from any asci i device.

pct-100-pcb (pcb only) $ 289

PCT-100-ASM (PCB w/ CASEJ..S 339 PCT-512-MCO (POWER SUPPLY).* 59

jw jy\so ~*±

Method Systems Incorporated

19751 South Lakeshore Boulevard

Euclid. Ohio 44119

(216) 531-0404

WANTED

Experienced hacker to work in development lab with every facility you can think of, located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The person we are looking for must:

Be familiar with CP/M at the BIOS Customization level.

Have some experience in microcommunications (programs like XMODEM and the like).

Be good at: - 8080 assembler

- Microsoft BASIC

- PASCAL

Hardware experience is desirable. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F Handicapped Please forward resumes to:

Personnel Head, CLI,

P.O. Box 821

Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Printer Cables

&

.oo*

*J5

,00*

— Parallel —

ALTOS

ATTACHE «}..

ATARI "*•

CENTRONICS

COLUMBIA

EAGLE

IBM-PC

KAYPRO

OSBORNE

SANYO

TI-99

00*

— SERIAL —

ATTACHE COM.

RS232 (DB25P)

(9 conductor 1-8, 20)

CABLES UNLIMITED

PO Box 93065

Pasadena, Calif.

91109

Circle 258 on Inquiry card.

Circle 72 on inquiry card.

Circle 448 on inquiry card.

9 -S>N

5015 Kanan Road

Agoura Hills, CA

91301

Circle 428 on Inquiry card.

MOVE YOUR MICRO

into the 3270 ENVIRONMENT

CLEO>

CLUSTER

ENVIRONMENT

OPERATOR

3270 Cluster Emulation Software, CLEO,

allowsasychronous ASCII Terminalsto communicate with a BSC port. These terminals may be CRTs and printers from various manufacturers. CLEO will handle up to eight ASCII terminals and may be multi-dropped with other cluster controllers from one port. The ASCII terminals may be on-site with CLEO or remote from it, over dedicated lines or dial-up.

distributed by CYBEH/SOUHCE

YOUR SOURCE FOR THINKING MACHINES

Call or Write for the Dealer Nearest You

24000 Telegraph Rd. 802 Burr Oak Dr.

Southfield. Ml 48034 Westmont, IL 60559

(313) 353-8660 (312) 789-3366

DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME

SAVE BIG $ $ $

APPLE HARDWARE

sieck

Ml ,oi

aKim.w.mm.i -„«=,„,

S47S

AW 102

Dish Onve w/out controller

249

AW 103

Gamim 10 Primer

3SS

aw 104

12" Green monrtor

105

AW 201

aOCCum.ca.d

;39

AW 202

Z-BOoero

129

AW 203

Dis*-ll controller

as

AW 204

Tel-moflam (HS-2321

75

W 05

16K BAM card .Lavage)

49

m joe

Parallel card

S3

.WW?

APLS Keyboard ,.,..

79

AW 208

Joystick deiu.

25

AW 209

SuD-R-Mod .,

25

w„™

/isa. Manor Charoe, check ana CO D CA residents add 6Wb ^i*

Sh.pDing: S3.00 lor first 3 lot 40C lor each a 00 it ion J1

GOODWILL ELECTRONICS CO.

18901 CHENSHAW BLVD.

TORRANCE, CABC503

{2131 532-9624

Circle 180 on inquiry card.

CB80*

Language Utilities

■f Directory display function, accepts CP/M* ambiguous file references f Drive select error recovery + Disk read/write error recovery •f Default drive finder function t All for only $99

These professional utilities are powerful yet easy to use. Complete documentation with many examples on how to use them is included. Call or send for complete description. Visa, MasterCharge, C.O.D. accepted.

Elite Software

421 Hwy 30, Suite 121 College Station, Texas 77840 409-696-3328 *CP/M & CB80TM of Digital Research

vrna

am.

Circle 119 on inquiry card.

wabash

Scotch

DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

MMtwCard.

FOR

ORDERS

CALL COLLECT (614) 866-3462

datamaster

A DIVISION OF

IKOP International Corp.l

L514S ZIMMER DR.,COLUMBUS, OHIO 43227J

Circle 122 on inquiry card.

Circle 157 on Inquiry card.

Circle 129 on inquiry card.

CHECK OUR NEW •LOW PRICES*

\|)j)le Compatible Products | General Products- cont.

kill !>ook

330

AFDC-1 Floppy Disk Drive Controller... OJ Runs DOS 3.3 with any standard Shugart compatible 5Va" Disk Drive. (2 Drives Each Card)

APPLE ADD-ON DISK 1

Includes: AFDC-1 (reads/writes 13 & 16 sector Apple Disks), (1) SA400 or TM100-1, VDC-55S Dual Cabinet $ w/Power Supply and Cables

APPLE ADD-ON DISK 2

Includes: AFDC-1 (reads/writes 13 & 16 sector Apple Disks), (2) SA400 or TM100-1, VDC-55S Dual Cabinet $ w/Power Supply and Cables

* *; «■ v'*:«;-#;V * I » * * v * »i t

95

00

465

00

$J

100

ASCII KEYBOARD A&T OS

Plug in compatible with Apple II, has shiftlock, underscore, [ ] and back slash characters.

Apple Prototype Board.

Double Sided glass with gold plated Apple and General Purpose terminals. Contains matrix of 17 x 63 solder plated donuts

on .15" x.1 "spacing. Great for 14,16, and 24 pin IC's.

SUN 722 12.99

General Product

Diskettes

5Vt" SS/DD Wabash 40 track w/hub rings . $24.00

5W SS/DD Soft with Library Case 24.00

8" DS/DD Soft Memorex, Box of 10 44.99

Video Monitors

SAMWOO GREEN 9" 18MHz $121.00

SAMWOO AMBER 9" 18MHz 125.00

SAMWOO GREEN 12" 12MHz 130.00

SAMWOO AMBER 12" 12MHz 134.00

Composite video I/O. 750 lines resolution. 75/10K ohm impedance. Note: Please add $7.50 shipping and handling for the video monitors.

Super Sale

P/N

2716(450nS) 2732(450nS) 2532 (450nS) 2764 128 pin)

J\

8-24 25up P/N 8-24 2Sup

3.80 3.55 6116P-3 (150nS) 6.10 5.75

4.15 3.98 2114L-2 (200nS) 1.62 1.62

5.95 5.95 4164 5.95 5.84

9.95 9.95 Z80A CPU 4.99 4.99

Disk Drive Subsystems

VDC-55S Dual S'/i" Cabinet w/5V @ 3A and 12V @ 3A Power Supply, and Fan

100

00

Assembled Connectors and Cables

Centronics Type Cable Assemblies 36 pin flat cable with male to male or male to female connectors.

4 ft—$24.95 6 ft.—$27.95 RS232 Cable Assemblies 25 pin flat cable with male to male or male to female connectors.

5 ft—$29.95 10 ft—$35.95

Assemble Your Own Cables

Ribbon Cable

Cond. Price/ft. 20 $0.50

26 0.65

34 0.83

40 1.00

50 1.30

Card Edge IDS Header

Connector Socket (w/w)

Price Price Price

$2.46 $3.06 $4.24

4.80 3.87 4.68

5.93 6.30 5.25

6.90 7.20 5.95

7.58 7.50 6.20

IDS DB-25P Connector $5.95

IDS DB-25S Connector $6.25

General Purpose Experimental Prototype Boards

(Solder Plated w/Double Sided Terminals on .156" Centers)

15/30 pin, 3Ms x 4M> board w/.1"x.2" hole spacing and power strip run every 1.2". Allows 6x7 8pin IC's or 2x3 24pin IC's. SUNIC-S $1.65

22/44 pin, 4% x 6Ms board w/.1" hole spacing. Contains 4 rows of 67 pins with power strips between rows. Pattern of 4columns of 67 pins. Takes all sizes of IC's. SUN U-75 $3.25

22/44pin,45/8x7 board w/.1"x .2" hole spacing and power strips every 1.2". Allows 10x10 8pin IC's or 3x7 24pin IC's. SUN IC-L $3.95

Full Size Keyboard Conversion

10% x 7V4 x 2Ms

Easy To Install

No Soldering — No Modifications

41 Keys with Full Size Space Bar • Allows Touch Typing

Same Key Layouts as Sinclair • Two Color Keytops

Keyboard Case Holds Both Keyboard and Computer

Commands and Graphics Spelled Out on Keytops

Rear Cutout for Any RAM or Expansion Modules

Note: Please add $4.00 shipping and handling for KD-81.

16K Piggyback RAM Module p/n mx 16 $49.95

64K Piggyback RAM Module p/n mx-64 $119.00

= SUNTRONICS CO., inc.

nimrai hooks

CP/M User's Guide $15.95

The CRT Contoller Handbook 9.95

MP Measurement & Control 15.99

4 & 8 Bit MP Handbook 19.95

16 Bit MP Handbook 19.95

6800 MP Handbook 9.95

8089 I/O Processor Handbook 9.95

Interfacing the S-100 Microcomputer 15.00

6502 Assembly Language Programming 16.99

6800 Assembly Language Programming .... 15.99

Z80 Assembly Language Programming 16.99

Z8000 Assembly Language Programming ... 15.99 68000 Assembly Language Programming ... 16.99 8085A Assembly Language Programming ... 15.99

The 8086 Book 16.99

The Business System Buyer's Guide 9.95

Some Common Basic Programs 14.99

12621 Crenshaw Blvd., Hawthorne, CA 90250

S-100 Product

64K 6MHz Static RAM/EPROM

STORE HOURS: MON.-FRI. SATURDAY

9:00am to 6:00pm 10:00am to 5:00pm

CAUFORNSA 213644-1149

(for Tech Info and Calif, orders)

Mall Order—Minimum Order: $10. Send Check 01 MasterCard (please include expiration date). Add pound to your order. California residents add 6r

siccoo

64KSM A&T without RAM 199

64KSM A&T with 64k RAM (32-6116's) 339.00

S-100 Board Uses 6MHz 6116's. ViA max. power. Bank Select plus Extended Addressing allow for multi-memory board set-up. 4 independant 16K Blocks make easy use with multi-user systems. Any 2K RAM may be replaced by 2716 EPROM.

256K/1M Byte Dynamic RAM

soon00

256KDM A&T without RAM £,9U

256KDM A&T with 64K RAM (8-4164's) 340.00

256KDM A&T W/256K RAM (32-4164's) 489.00

S-100 Board, 4 Banks uses either 64Kx1 or 256Kx1 RAMs. Allows for 64K to IM byte RAM on just one S-100 card. 24 Bit Addressing, Phantom Mode, Error Trap Opt., Parity Check, 4MHz Transparent Refresh, Front Panel Operation. Optional M1 Wait for 6MHz Operation.

S-100 Products

SBC-880 Z80A CPU, A&T $195.00

SBC-880 Z80A CPU, Kit 175.00

4MHz Z80A CPU boards with Serial/Parallel Ports

UFDC-1 Floppy Controller, A&T 245.00

UFDC-1 Floppy Controller, Kit 225.00

The UFDC-1 Floppy Controller uses the WD1795 chip which runs either and/or 8"/51/i" Disk Drives.

CLOCK CALENDAR A&T 115.00

CLOCK CALENDAR Kit 95.00

This S-100 Clock Calendar Board has 4 interrupts, Time, Day of Week and Battery Backup.

S-100 Prototype Board

Double Sided glass with gold plated, numbered S-100 terminals. Matrix of 25 x 78 solder plated donuts on .15" x.1 "spacing. Locations for headers and

regulators. Great for 14, 16, and 24 pin IC's.

SUN-721 17.85

Mother Boards & Card Cages

SLOTS Bare Bd KIT A&T w/CAGE

6 $12.00 $34.00 $49.00 $74.00

8 16.00 45.00 70.00 105.00

12 22.00 65.00 100.00 140.00

10MHz, No termination. Mother Board and Card Cage include power indicator, reset and provisions for wiring power supply and muffin fan.

OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA TOLL FREE I 800-421-5775

(Order Desk Only)

Money Order to: P.O. BOX 1957 Dept B, HAWTHORNE, CA 90250 Visa or $2.00 postage and handling for first 3 pounds plus .50 for each additional '/o sales tax.

Circle 388 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 547

WH9m

PirtNo.

CA3013H CA3023H

2.15 3.25

CA3035H

5.95

CA3039H

1.35

CA3046N

14

.89

CA3059N

14

3.25

CD4000

14

29

CO 4001

14

.29

C04002

14

.29

CD4006

14

89

CD40Q7

14

29

CD40XW

IS

.39

CD4010

IB

.39

CD4011

14

.29

CD4012

14

.IS

C04013

14

.39

CD4014

11

79

CD4015

16

.39

CD4016

14

39

CD4017

Id

75

CD4018

16

79

CD4019

16

.39

CD4020

16

75

CD4021

16

79

CD4022

16

79

CD4023

14

29

CD4024

14

.89

CD4025

14

23

CD4026

16

2.49

CD4027

16

.45

CD4028

16

69

CD4Q29

16

.79

CD4030

14

39

CD4034

?4

1 95

L CD4035

16

89

"Number of Plus ol each I.C, | lor uiy Socket purchase PirtNo. "Pins Price

MICROPROCESSOR COMPONENTS W\ Digitaiker

SN7472N 14

SN7473N 14

SN7474N 14

SN7475N 16

SN7476N 16

SN7479N 14

SN74B0N 14

SN7482N 14

SN7483N 18

SN7485N 18

SN7486N 14

SN74B9N 16

SN7490N 14

SN7491N 14

SN7492N 14

SN7493N 14

SN7494N 14

SN7495N 14

SN7496N 16

SN7497N 16

SN7410ON 24

SN74104N 14

SN74105N 14

SN74107N 14

SN74109N 16

SN74116N 24

SN74121N 14

SN74122N 14

SN74123N 16

SN74125N 14

SN74126N 14

SN74132N 14

SN74136N 14

SN74141N 16

SN74142N 16

SN74143N 24

SN74144N 24

SN74145N 16

SN74147N 16

SN74148N 18

SN74150N 24

SN.74151N 16

SN74152N 14

SN74153N 16

SN74154N 24

SN74155N 16

74LS92

74LS93

74LS95

74LS96

74LS107

74LS109

74LS112

74LS113

74LS114

74LS122

74LS123

74LS125

74LS126

74LS132

74LS133

74LS136

74LS138

74LS139

74LS151

74LS153

74LS154

74LS155

74LS156

74LS157

74LS156

74LS160

74LS161

74LS162

74LS163

74LS164

74LS165

74LS168

74LS169

74LS170

74LS173

74LS174

74LS175

74LS1B1

74LS190

74LS191

74S124 74S133 74S134 74S135 74S136 74S138 74S139 74S140 74S151 74S153 74S157 74S158 74S160 74S174 74S175 74S188* 74S194 74S195 74S196 74S240 74S241 74S242

CA3060N CA3080E CA3Q81N CA3082N

casqbsn

CA3086N

CD4040

CD4041

CD4042

CD4043

C04044

CD4046

CD4047

CD4048

CD4049

CD4050

CD4051

CD4052

CD4053

C04056

CD4059

C04060

CD4066

CD4068

CD4069

CD4070

CD4071

CD4072

CD4073

CD4075

CD4076

CD4078

CD4081

CD4082

C04093

SN74156N SN74157N SM74160N

SN74161N SN74162N SN74163N SN74164N SN74165M SN74166N SN74167N SN74170N SN74172N SN74173N SN74174N SN74175N SN74176N SN74177N SN74179N SN74180N SN74181N SN74182N SN74184N SN74185N SN74190N SN74191N SN74192N SN74193N SN74194N SN74195N SN74196N SN74197N SN74198N SN74199N SN74221N SN74251N SN74276N SN74279N SN74283N SN74284N SN74285N SN74365N SN74366N SN74367N SN74368N SN74390N SN74393N

16 279 16 129 24 4 95

74LS192 16

74LS193 16

74LS194 16

74LS195 16

74LS197 14

74LS221 16

74LS240 20

74LS241 20

74LS242 14

74LS243 14

74LS244 20

74LS245 20

74LS247 16

74LS248 16

74LS249 16

74LS251 16

74LS253 16

74LS257 16

74L5258 16

74LS260 14

74LS266 14

74LS273 20

74LS279 16

74LS283 16

74LE290 14

74LS293 14

74LS298 16

74LS352 16

74LS353 16

74LS365 16

74LS366 16

74LS367 16

74LS368 16

74LS373 20

74LS374 20

74LS375 16

74LS386 14

74LS393 14

74LS399 16

74LS670 16

81LS95 20

81LS97 20

74S243 74S244 74S251 74S253 74S257 74S258 74S260 74S2B0 74S2B7* 74S288' 74S373 74S374 74S387" 74S471* 74S472* 74S47374S474* 74S47574S570' 74S57T 74S572' 74S57374S940 74S941

CA3089N CA3096N CA3130E C A3 HOE CA3160H CA3401N CA36O0N

CD4098 16

C04506 16

CD4507 14

C0450B 24

CD4510 16

CD4511 16

CD4512 16

C04514 24

C04515 24

CD4516 18

CD4518 16

CD4519 16

CD4520 16

CD4526 16

CD4528 16

CD4529 16

CD4543 16

C04562 14

CD4566 16

CD4583 16

CD4584 14

CD4723 16

CD4724 16

MC144Q9 16

MC14410 16

MC14411 24

112 16

MC14

19 16

MC14433 24 MC1453B 16 MC14541 14

-MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS

Part No. "Pins Function

CDP1802 40 CPU !

2650 40 MPU

IDM2901ADC 40 CPU-4-bit slice (Com Temp. Gr ) ..'

MCS6502 40 MPU w/Clock (65K Dytesmem )

MC6802CP 40 MPU w/Clock and RAM

INS8Q35N-6 40 MPU-8-Dil(6MKz)

INS8039N-6 40 CPUSgl cnip8-bit( 128tJtS Rami

INS8040N-6 40 CPU (256 Dytes RAM)

INSB07QN 40 CPU (64 Oytes RAM)

IMS8073N 40 CPU w/Basic Micro Interpreter. . .

P8085A 40 CPU

Z80, Z80A, Z80B, Z8000 SERIES —

40 CPUiMK3880N|l780C}2MHz I

26 Counter Timer Circuit

40 Dual Asynchronous Rec /Trans

40 Direct Memory Access Circuit

40 Parallel I/O interlace Controller

40 Serial I/O [TxCB and RxCB Bonderj} .

40 Serial I/O (Lacks DTRB)

40 Serial 1/OiLacks SYNCB)

40 Serial I/O

40 CPU {MK388ON-4H780C-1) 4MH*

26 Courtier Timer Circuit

280-CTC

Z80-DART

Z80DMA

7.80-PIO

Z80-S10/Q

Z80-S10/1

Z80-SIO/2

Z80-S10/9

Z80A

280A-CTC

Z80A-DART

Z80A-DMA

Z8DAP10

Z80A-S1Q/0

Z80A-S10/1

Z80AS10/2

Z80A-S10/9

Z808

Z80B-CTC

Z80B-P10

Z8O01

Z8002

ZB030

Z8036

MC68O0

MC6802CP

MC6B1QAP;

MC6B21

MC6828

MC6830L8

MC6850

MC6852

MC6860

MC6862

MC6880A

MC6800OL8

MC68652P2 MC6866iPB SV6522

40 Direct Memory Access Circuit

40 Parallel I/O Interface Controller

40 Serial I/O (TxCB and RiCB bonded)

40 Serial I/O (Lacks DTRB) .

40 Serial I/O (Lacks SYNCB)

40 Serial i/O

40 CPU (MK3880N-6) 6MHz

28 Counter Timer Circuit , ,

40 Parallel I/O interlace Controller

48 CPU Segmented

40 CPU Non Segmented.

40 Serial Comm Controller

40 Counter/Timer& Parallel I/O Uml

-6800/68000 SERIES

40 MPU ...

40 MPU with clock and RAM

24 128*8 Static RAM

40 Peripheral Inter Adapt (MC6820)

24 Priority Inlerrupt Controller

24 1024x8-0i1 ROM (MC68A30-8)

24 Asynchronous Comm AOapier

24 Synchronous Serial Data Adapter

24 0-600Eps Digital MODEM . . .

24 2400bps Modulator . .

16 Quad 3-state Bus trans (MC8T26)

64 MPU 16-Bit (8MHz)

40 General Purpose Ini Adapter

40 Mum Protocol Comm Controller

26 Enhanced Prog Comm. Int

40 Peripheral Inter Adapter

,";iius:.'..

TMS5501

INS8154

INS82C06

DP8212

DP8214

DPB216

DP8224

DP8226

DPB228

DP8238

INSB243

1NSS24S

INS8246

INSB247

INS8248

lfJS8250N

DP8251

DPB253

DP8255

DP8257

DP8259

DP827i

DP8279

DP8303

DP8304

DP8307

-8080A SERIES

40 CPU

40 Synchronous Data Interlace (SIRC)

40 1288yleRAM 16-8HI/0

20 Octal 6 Flip Flop Tri-Stale (74C3741

24 8-bit Input/Output (74S412)

24 Priority Interrupt Control

16 Bi-Directional Bus Driver

16 Clock Generator/Driver

16 Bus Driver

28 System Cont /Bus Onver (74S428)

28 System Conlroller (74S438)

24 I/O Expander lor 48 Series

IB 16-Key KeyDoarfl Encoder (74C922}

20 20-Key Keyooard Encoder (74C923)

28 Display Controlter (74C911) . . .

28 Display Conlroller (74C912)

40 Asyn Comm Element

28 Prog Comm l/0(USART)

24 Prog Interval Timer

40 Prog Peripheral l/D(PPI)

40 Prog DMA Control

28 Prog. Interrupt Control . .

40 Prog CRT Conlroller

40 Prog Keyboard/Display Interface

20 8-Bit Tn-State Bi-Directional Trans

20 8-bu Bi Directional Receiver

20 8-hil Bi-Directional Receiver

20 8-Dit Bi Directional Receiver

20 Octal Latched Peripheral Driver

20 Octal Latched Peripheral Driver

"Pinj

-DYNAMIC RAMS

Price

4027

4116N-2

4116N-3

41I6N-4

4164N-150

4164N-200

MM 5261

MM5262

MM5270

MM5280

MM5290-2

MM529D-3

MM5290-4

MM529S-3

15 1024x1 (300ns) .99 18 4096x1 (250ns) 2.49

16 16.384x1 (150ns) . .1.3=1 8/14 y:> 16 16.384x1 (200ns) 1.69-8/12.95 16 1(5.384x1 (250ns) .1.49-8/10.95 16 65 536>1 1150ns) .7.95 - 6/59 95 16 65.536x1 (200ns) 749-8/5495 18 1024x1 (300ns) 49 8/1.95

22 2048x1 (365ns) 49 — 6/1.95

18 4096x1 (250ns)MK4Q96 4.95

22 4096x1 (200ns)2107

16 16,384x1 (150ns)

16 16,384x1 (200ns)

16 16.384x1 (250ns)

16 8192x1 (200ns)

STATIC RAMS

256x1 (650ns|

1.89-8/14.95 1 69-8/12.95 1 49 8/10 95

16 1024x1 18 256x4 16 256x4

2114L-2 2141-3 2147

2148

TMS4044

TMS4045

5101

MM 52 57

HM6115P-3

HM6116-4

HM6116LP-'

7489

74C920

74C921

74C929

74C930

MS 189

74S200

74S206

74S2B9

82S10

82S25

2.49 89 1.49 2 95 2.95

1 95-8/1395

2 25-8/15.95 2 25-8/15.95 2 49-8/1795

3.95 4 95 8.95 .395 395

MICROPROCESSOR MANUALS & DATA BOOKS

M-Z30

M-CDP1802

M-2650

30003

30008

30011

30013

Manual User Manual User Manual 1982 Nat Linear B

1983 Zilog Data Book (64ipg.) -SPECIAL FUNCTION

DSOQ25CN B Dual MOS Clock Driver {'Ml) 2 49

OS0026CN 8 Dual MOS Clock Driver (5MZ) .1.95

INS1771N-1 40 Floppy Disk Controller 16 95

INS265IN 28 CommunicalionChlp . . . ..8.95

MM58167N 24 Microprocessor Real Time Clock 8 95

MM58174N 16 Micro CompalibleTime Clock 7 95

COP402N 40 Microcontroller w/64-digit RAM . 5.95

and Direct LED Drive COP402MN 40 Microprocessor w/64-digit RAM 5 95

& Direct LED Drive w/N Buss Int COP470N 20 32seg VAC Fluor Drvr (20-pin pkg.) 3 25

MM5369EST 8 Prog Oscillator/Divider (100Hz) ... 1 19

22 256x4 (450ns)8101

16 1024x1 (350ns)

(450ns) L P (450ns)8111 (450ns) MOS

IB 1024x4 (450ns)

2114L 18 1024x4 (450ns)LP

2114-2 18 1024x4 (200ns)

18 1024x4 (200ns)L.P.

18 4096x1 (150ns)

18 4096x1 (70ns)

18 1024x4 (70ns)

IB 4096x1 (450ns)

18 1024x4 (450ns)

22 256x4 (450ns) CMOS .

IB 4096x1 (450ns) 4044 . .

24 3048x8 (150ns) CMOS .

24 ;WR>S (200ns)CM0S

24 204Bx8 (200ns) L P CMOS

16 16x4 (50ns)

22 256x4 (250ns| CMOS (6551)

18 256x4 (250ns)CM0S

16 1024x1 (250nsj CMOS (6501)

18 1024x1 (250ns) CMOS (6518)

16 16x4 (35ns)93405

16 256x1 (80ns)93410

16 256x1 (60ns)93411

16 16x4 (35ns)3101

16 1024x1 (50ns)OC (93415)

16 16x4 (50ns)OC (74S289)

EPROMS

24 256x8 (1US)

24 1024x8 (450ns)

24 1024x8 (550ns) SM00246

24 2048x8 (450ns)2716

24 4096x8 (450ns) NMC2532

28 8192x8 (450ns) .

24 2048xB (450ns) 3 voilage

24 2048x8 (450ns)

24 2048x8 (350ns)

24 4096x8 (450ns)

Z4 1024x8 (450ns) single +5V

28 8192x8 (450ns)

28 8192x8 (300ns)

24 8192x8 (450ns)

IE 32x8 PROMO C. (6330-1) PROMT S (6301-1) PROMTS (6331-1) PROMOC (6300-1) PROMT S (6309-1) PROMT S (6349-1) PROMOC (6348) PROMT S IDM87S296NI PROM O.C. (6340) PROMT S (IBPl'&ShhPROMOC. (6305) PROMT S (6306) PROM 0 C (6352) PROMT S (82S137) PROMO C (27S18) PROM T S (27S15) PROM IS (27S19) PRUM u C (27S20) . PROM1 S (27S21) PROMO C.(27S12j 2048x4 PROMT S (TBP24SB1) u 1024x8 PROMO C (82S180) 24 1024x8 PROM T.S.(82Siaii 16 2048x4 PROMOC (82S184I 18 2048x4 PROMT S (B2S185) 24 2048x4 PROMOC (82S190) 24 2048x8 PROMTS (82S191)

— OATA ACQUISITION

Mosien DC/DC Convert +5VIO-9V

3 95 2,25

.3.95 2.25

1702A

2708

2708-5

TMS2516

TMS2532

TMS2564

TMS2716

2716

2716-1

2732

27580

MM 2764

MM2764-3

M CM 68 764

74S1B8

74S287

74S28B

74S387

74S471

74S472

74S473

74S474

74S475

74S478

74S570

74S571

74S572

74S573

82S23

82S115

82S123

82S126

82S129

82S130

82S1B5

DM87S180N

|jMa.-G-l81N

DM87S1B4N

DM873185N

DM87S190N

DMB7S191N

256x4

16 32x8

16 256x4

20 256x8

20 512x8

20 512x8

24 512x8

24 512x8

24 1024x8

16 512x4

16 512x4

18 1024x4

18 1024x4

16 32x8

24 512x8

16 32x8

16 256x4

16 256x4

16 512x4

18 8-Dit D/A Converter (DAC0808LCN i

20 8t>it A/D Converter [1 LSB)

16 8-DU D/A Converter (0 78% Lin )

28 8-tHtA/DConverier(8-Cti. Muiti )

40 8-oiiA/DConvener|t6Xh Muiti )

24 10-5H D/AConv Micro Comp (0 05S

20 10-BitD/AConv Micro Comp (0 20"/!

16 10-DitD/AConv (0 05WLin )

16 10-bitD/AConv (0 20% Lin )

IB 12-DitD/AConu (0 20% Lin )

AF10O-1CN 16 Universal Active Filter 2 5%

AF121-1CJ 24 Touch Tone Low Band Filter

AF122-1CJ 24 Touch Tone High Band Filler

LM334Z Conslant Current Source

LM335Z Temperature Transducer

LM399H Temp Comp Prec Ret ( 5ppm/C")

AY-5-1013A 40 30K Baud Uart (TK1602)

MC1408L8

ADC0804

DAC0806

ADC0809

ADC0817

DAC1000

DAO008

DAC1020

DAC1022

DAC1222

QUALITY COMPONENTS AT AFFORDABLE PRICES!

LOW PROFILE (TIN) SOCKETS

14 pin LP 16 pin LP

18 pin LP

SOLDERTAIL (GOLD) STANDARD

16 pin SG 18 pin SG 24 pin SG

WW

SOLDERTAIL STANDARD (TIN)

DT1050 — Applications: Teaching aids, appliances, clocks, automotive, telecommunications, language translations, etc.

The DT1050 Is a standard D1GITALKER kit encoded with 137 separate and useful words, 2 tones, and 5 different silence durations. The words and tones have been assigned discrete addresses, making it possible to output single words or words concatenated into phrases or even sentences. The "voice" output of the DT1050 is a highly Intelligible male voice. Female and children's voices can be synthesized. The vocabulary Is chosen so thai It is applicable to many products and markets,

Th« DT105O consists of a Speech Professor Chip, MM54104 (40 pin) and two (2) Speech ROMs MM52164SSR1 and MM52164SSR2(24-pin) along with a Master Word list and a recommended schematic diagram on the application sheet.

DT1050 Digitaiker™ $34.95 ea.

DT1057 — Expands the DT1050 vocabulary from 137 to over 260 words. Incl. 2 ROMs and specs.

DT1057 $24.95 ea.

Si

PirtNo. "Pins Function

70451PI

7045EV/KI!

7106CPL

FE0203D

7106EV/KH"

7107CPL

7107EV/KI1

7116CPL

7117CPL

7201IUS

7205IP6

7205£V/Kif

7206CJPE

7206CEV/KH*

7207AIPD

72Q7AEV/KH*

7208IPI

7209IPA

7215IPG

721SEV/KH'

7216AIJI

7216CIJI

7216DIPI

7217IJT

7217AIPI

7224IPL

7226AIJL

7226AEV/KIP

CMOS Precision Timer

SlopwalchCnip.XTL

Vh Digit A/D (LCD Drive)

3V? Digit LCD Display tor 7106 & 711

IC. Circuit Board. Display

Z'h Digit A/D (LEO Drive)

IC. Circuit Board. Display

3Vi Oigit A/D LCDOis HLD

3Vj Digit A/DLED Dis.

Low Battery Volt Indicator

CMOS LED Stopwatch /Timer

SlopwalchCrtip.XTL

Tone Generator

Tone Generator Cnip, XTL

Oscillator Controller

Freq Counter Chip, XTL Seven Decade Counter

Clock Generator

4 Func. CMOS Stopwaich CKT 4 Func StoDwatcti Chip. XTL

6 Digit Untv Counter C.A

8 Digit Freq Counter C A

8 Digit Free;. Counter C.C. ..

4 Digit LED Up/Down Counter C A d Digit LED Up/Down Counter C.C. li",0 4,.': Digit Up Counter DRI

8 Digit Univ. Counter

5 Function Counter Cnip. XTL

9 95 19.95 34 95

130009 1983 INTERSIL Data Book ti356p) . . . $9.95 I

moucr, 74HC High Speed CMOS

.75

74HC138

16

1.49

74HC259

1B

1.49

75

74HC139

ID

1.49

74HC265

14

m

14

69

74HC147

16

1.19

74HC280

14

4 95

75

74HC151

16

1 19

74HC373

20

3Ub

75

74HC153

16

.99

74HC374

n

395

75

74HC157

16

1 19

74KC390

is

1 49

74HC158

16

1.59

74HC393

14

1.49

14

65

74HC160

16

1 79

74HC533

20

3.95

.75

74HC161

is

1 79

74HC534

75

74HC164

14

1 79

74HC595

375

14

.75

74HC165

16

2.39

74HC588

74HC173

16

1.59

74HC4002

14

79

14

75

74HC174

16

1.39

74HC4020

16

2 19

14

99

74HC175

16

1.39

74HC4024

14

74HC75

1ft

.99

74HCI92

16

1 39

74HC4040

.75

74HC193

16

1.39

If.

2,19

74HC194

ih

1.59

74HC4075

14

14

.99

74HC195

IS

1.49

74HC4078

14

.75

74HC242

14

279

74HC4511

IS

3.29

1 39

74HC243

14

2 79

74HC4514

16

75

74HC251

16

1 19

74HC453B

16

7 98

74HC113

14

75

74HC253

IS

99

74HC4543

/4hCU04

5 unO

j tiered

\\\ others are

Buffer

"d Se

nd £.30 for C

ata Sheet

^Programmable Array Logic (PALS)

Pari No.

'Pins Function

PAL10H8 20 Octal 10-lnput AND-OR Gate Array (High Outputl

PAL12H6 20 He* 12-lrtput AND-OR Gale Array |Hign0u1puI) .

PAL14H4 20 Quad 14-lnputAND(JR Gale Array (High Output) . . .

PAL10L8 20 Octal 10-lnput AND-OR invert Gate An ay (Low Output)

PAL12L6 20 He« 12-lnput AND-OH-Invert Gate Array [Low Output)

PAL14L4 20 Quad 14-lnpul AND-OR Invert Gate Array (Low Outputl

PAL16L8 20 OciaMb-lnpur ANDOR- invert Gate Array (Low Output)

PAL16B8 20 Oclal lb-Input Register AND-OR Gale Array

PAL16R6 20 Hex 16-lnpu! Register AND-OR Gate Array

i'AI 11:11.1 £0 U.l -A -.1, ,■■■;■:I..! ■■.,.i.".l. I Ail : 'jH !.,.■:> ,V .,

[30012 1982NATIONALPALDataBook(i76P) .$5.95!

WIRE WRAP SOCKETS (GOLD) LEVEL #3

8 pin WW 10 pin WW 14 pin WW 16 pin WW 18 pin WW 20 pin WW 22 pin WW 24 pin WW 26 pin WW 36 pin WW

40 pin WW

$10.00 Minimum Order — U.S. Funds Only California Residents Add 6'/i% Sales Tax Shipping — Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance Send S.A.S.E. tor Monthly Sales Flyer!

Spec Sheets — 30c each Send $1.00 Postage for your FREE 1983 JAMECO CATALOG Prices Subject to Change

MasterCard

VISA"

1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 7/83 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (475) 592-8097 Telex: 176043

74C00 74C02 74C04 74C0B 74C10 74C14 74C20 74C30 74C32 74C42 74C48 74C73 74C74 74C85 r4C86 74C89 74C90 74C93

14

74C95 74C107 74C15t 74C154 74C157 74C160 74C161 74C162 74C163 74C164 74C173 74C174 74C175 74C192 74C193 74C195

74C221 74C240 74C244 74C373 74C374 74C901 74C903 74C906 74C911 74C912 74C915 74C917 74C922 74C923 74C925 74C926 80C95 B0C97

TL071CP

TL072CP

TL074CN 1

1L081CP

TL082CP

TL084CN 1

LM301CN

LM302H

LM304H

LM305H

LM307CN

LM30BCN

LM309K

LM310CN

LM311CN

LM312M

LM317T

LM3I7K

LM318CN

LM319N

LM320K-5

LM320K-12

LM320K-15

LM320T-5

LM320I-12

LM320T-15

LM323K

LM324N

LM337T

LM338K

LM339N

LM340K-5

LM340K-12

LM340K-15

LM340T-5

LM3401 12

LM340T-15

LM348N 1

LM350K

LF355N

LF356N

LM370N 1

LM373N 1

LM377N

LM380N

LM3B1N

LM382N 1

LM384N :

LM386N-3

TL494CN

TL496CP

NE510A

NE529A

NES31V

NE536H

NE540H

NE544N

NE550A

NE555V

LM556N

NES64N

LM565N

LM566CN

LM56/V

NE570N

LM703CN

LM723N LM733N

14 14

55

i BO

LM739N

14

1 95

LM741CN

S

.35

LM747N

14

M

LM748N

s

59

LM1310N

14

1 49

LM145BCN

B

59

LM1488N

14

69

LM1489N

14

m

LM1496N

14

1 95

LM1800N

it>

1.49

LM1889N

IB

1 9t>

LM1896N

14

2 95

LM2002T

1 49

LM3189N

16

1 59

LM3900N

14

59

LM3905CN

B

1 19

LM3909N

S

99

LM3914N

18

3 49

LM3915N

11

3 49

LM3916N

IB

3 49

RC4136N

14

1.25

RC4151NB

8

1 95

NE5532

B

2 49

NE5534

8

1 fi9

ICL8038B

14

3.95

LM13080N

B

1 19

LM1360ON

18

1 19

MORE AVAILABLE

130003 1982 Nat. Linear Data Book i»M pgs) $11.9^

548 BYTE July 1983

Circle 220 on inquiry card.

Wall Transformers AC and DC Types

AC 250 (above) 117V/60H*

Output

AC 500 AC 1000 AC9004 DC 800 DC6912 DC5490 DC900 DC1200 DV9200

I17W60H* 117V(6QHz 117V(60Hz 120W60H7 120V/60HZ 117V(80Hz 120W60Hz 120VI60HZ 117V(60Hz

12VAC 250mA 12VAC 500mA

12VAC t amp

9.2VAC2.5amp BVDC 400mA 6.9.12VDC 300mA .

9.5VDC 275mA

9VDC 500mA . . . . 9.5VDC 300mA 9VDC 200mA

.S3.95 S4.95 S5.95 $3.95 $1.95 S8.95 $2.95 $3.95 S2.95 $3.25

A Breeze!

Lets you work with both hands. Sturdy alum

Clamp "3rd Hand" on edge of bench table or workboard. Insert circuit board, position components. Notice convenient working angle. Flip circuit board to Hat position tor soldering and clipping Reverse procedure tor double-sided boards. PCB-3 $13.95

Mostek DC/DC Converter + 5 VOLTS TO-9 VOLTS

Input. + 5V. Output: -9V (regulated) @ 30mA.

DC10 $2.95ea.or2/$4.95

ameco Digital Thermometer Kit

controls for indoor'outdoor or dual monitoring — can be extended to 500 feet. Continuous LED 8" tit. display Range -40°Fto 199°F, -40°C to 100 X. Accuracy ±1" nominal. Calibrate tor Fahrenheit/Ce

lated >

. AC

JE300 $39.95

I adapter included Size:

RADIO CONTROL CIRCUITS

Ideal to use for:

• Toys, hobby cralts, robots, train

• Burglar alarms • IH data link

■ Remote slide projector control

■ Consumer remote data links

« Energy-saving, remotely switched lighting systems I—.—' A complete c-channel digital encoder and RF transmitter; low power. at frequency of 27MHz or 49MHz, a Held strength of tO.OOOi/V meter at 3 meters. 9V operation on chip RF oscillatorMransmitter, on chip 4 6 regulator Up to 80MHz carrier frequency operation.

LM1871N RC Encoder/Transmitter Chip . $1.95

A complete RF receiverfdecoder. used at either 27MMz, 49MHz or 72MHz It provides 4 independent channels when used with LM1871 (2 analog, 2 dig.I operates from (our 1.5V cells, Crystal controlled.

LM1872N RC Receiver/Decoder Chip $2.49

SRX1504 SRX1505

49.435MHz Crystal (LM1872N) 49.890MHz Crystal (LM1871N) .

.$3.95 $3.95

ATARI PADDLES

JSP (2) $4.95 pair

ATARI DRIVER

JSD(1) $2.95 ea.

TV GAME SWITCH

Used on Atari. Cosmetically blemished. 100% functional.

TGS-1 . . . $2.95 ea.

$6.95 $9.95

BOOKS

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR - INTERSIL - INTI

National Linear Data Book (1982)

(1376 pages) LM, LF, ADC. DAC, LH Series

National Memory Data Book (1930)

(464 pages) RAMs. ROMs. PROMs, EPROMs Series

30010 National Audio/fladio Handbook (1980) $5.95 (240 pages) Pre-Amps, AM, FM & FM Stereo. Power Amps

30011 National Linear Application Handbook (1980) $15.95

(736 pages) Application Notes, Linear Briets, etc,

30012 National PAL Data Book (1982) . , . $5.95

(176 pages] Application Notes, Linear Briefs, etc.

30013 Zilog Data Book (1983) .. S7.B5

(641 pages] Microprocessors and Support Chips

210630 Intel Memory Components Handbook (1983) $14.95

Zilog Data Book (1963)

(641 pages] Microprocessors and Support Chips

Intel Memory Components Handbook (1983)

(793 pages) Contains all Application Notes, Article

Reprints, Data Sheets, and other design information

on Intel's RAMs, EPROMs. E'PROMs & Bubble Memories.

Intel Microprocessors! Peripheral Handbook(1983) . . $14.95 (1027 pages) Contains Data Sheets on all of Intel's Microprocessors and Peripherals.

Universal

Computer Keyboard Enclosures

DTE"' Blank Desk-Top tndosun

are designed for easy modification High strength epoxy molded end pieces in mocha Brown limsti Sliding rear/ bottom panel tor service/ ■*" component access'. Top/oott psnetB 080" thick alum aiodinetype 1200fbnish (gold linl color) tor besl paint adhesion after modification Vented top & Bottom panels so' iuoung tllicienty Rigid construction provides unlimited appttcations AssemOly instructions included.

DTE-8 Panel Width 7.5" $24.95

DTE-11 Panel Width 10.13" $27.95

DTE-14 Panel Width 13.5" $29.95

DTE-20 Panel Width 19.25" $34.95

U I c

L DTE

TIMEX

Sinclair- iddd

• Powerful - fully programmable 2K memory • Portable - 6'/a" x 6%" x IV - 12 oz. • Expandable - Optional 16K RAM module • Single-key entry commands

• Educational • Unique syntax-check report codes for error identity • Accurate to 9% decimal places for full range math and scientific functions • Graph drawing and animated display • Advanced 4-chip design combining power, portability and affordable price.

TS1000 $69.95

ACCESSORIES FOR Hl,',l=*:i Sinclair-' 1000 and ZXB1

■UT,M^:g~sinc:li3ir" 1016^1 Expansion trom2KU>16K. site: 3".

TS1016 $49.95

Sir" 80«10 32 column thermal primer (4 lbs)

TS2040 $99.95

Keyboard Mask for Your ZX81/1000* Computer

Dice ousr sy (..—-_

JE6B1 KEYBOARD MASK

ZX81/1000* Keyboard Conversion Kit

JE682-AK Keyboard Conversion Kit JE682 Keyboard Conversion Kit ... .

S99.95ea. $59.95 ea.

80-Key Keyboard

CA150C $69.95

84-Key Keyboard

CA153A.

$69.95

95-Key Keyboard

CA154A $79.95

CONTROL DATA KEYBOARDS

* Parallel ASCII

* SPST Switching

* FTZ Shielded Base

* N-Key Rollover

* 128 Character ASCII

* Non-Slip, Non-Glare Keycaps

* CDC752 Terminal Keyboards

* Attractive Case

These Control Data Keyboards consist of a base, cover, the keyboard assembly, and an interface cable. Color (case): Harvest gold and black. Color (keycaps): Black, blue, and red. Electrical requirements: +5V @ 600mA, -12V @ 50mA. Weight: 6 lbs. All units brand new in original boxes, specifications included.

Keytronics 90-Key Soft-Programmable Keyboard

WITH SECURITY KEYLOCK SWITCH

> RFI shielded ' Cursor controls ' Numeric keyboard i B-bil Parallel ' Capacitance keys

> 10 user-programmable keys ■ Positive TTL Logi

17"L »

W

Made for Visual Technology, (his keyboard features: a security Keylock (includes two keys) to guard again unauthorized use. an 11-key numeric keypad; cursor controls; and 10 user-programmable keys Electrical requirements: + 5VDC. Color (case): While Color (keycaps): Black. Complete with case, keyboard assembly, 40-inch interface cable, anrj schematics. Weight: 7 lbs.

Part No. KB270 $109.95 each

J

MICRO SWITCH B5-KEY KEYBOARD

word Processing Keyboard. 26 Pin Edge Card Connection Supply Voltage + 5vOC. Main Keyboard is QWERTY. Additional Key Pads for Cursor and word processing functions.

Part No. 85SD1B-1 ...$29.95 each

Hl-TEK 14-KEY NUMERIC KEYPAD

SPST switching. Charcoal grey keycaps Mounted o

PartNo.K-14

ALPS 29-KEY CALCULATOR KEYBOARD

Features one B-posrtion decimal select switch, one 3-position switch, and tv mechanical SPST switching, 22-pin edge card c Part NO. KB297040 (fit* DTfi-11 Enclosure

POWER SUPPLY + 5VDC @ 1 AMP REGULATED Transaction Tech

Output +5VDC[&-' IA (also +3uVSc|reg Input 115VAC 60Hz 2-tone (black/beige) sell-enclosed

!"W i 7"D > VU

I Wt. 3 lbs Data sheet trie I S14.95Bach

POWER SUPPLY + 5VDC & 3 AMP REGULATED

Input' 11SVAC. 47-440H; Oulpul 5Y0C Adjustable Q 3 amp. BVDC rent limit. Ripple & Noise 1MV rms. 5MV p-p - 2 mi 4'aV'L x Z-7/16"H - wt. 2 lbs Data sheet included Part No QPS-1

Deltton . . ip. Adjustable cur

irlaces. UL recognized Size:4"W<

POWER SUPPLY +5VDC @ 7.5 AMP, 12VDC @ 1.5 AMP SWITCHING

Input: 115VAC. 50-60HZ n 3 amp/230VAC. 50H.T (a 1.6 amp Fan volt./power supply select swit115/230VAC] Output 5V0C (a 7.6 amp, 12V0C?/ 1.6 amp. 8 ft blk. pow. card 1Vfe"Wx

539.95 each

13V*"Dx3J/i

Part No. PS94V0S

POWER SUPPLY 4-Channel Switching - Apple Compatible

Microprocessor mini-computer, terminal, medical equipment and process confrol applications Input 90-130VAC 47-440H; Output: +5VDC m 5A. -5VDC in 1A T12VDC ![,: 1A. -12VDC ,a 1A. Linereq ±0 2% Ripple: 30mv p-p Load reg . ±1% Overcurrent protection. Adj: 5V main output ±10%. 6-3/B"L x 1-7/B"Wx 4-1S/WH, Wt. IVt lbs.

Part No. FCS-604A SB9.95 each

$10.00 Minimum Order — U.S. Funds Only California Residents Add $Vt% Sales Tax Shipping — Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance Send S.A.S.E. for Monthly Sales Flyer!

Spec Sheets — 30c each Send $1.00 Postage tor your FREE 1983 JAMECO CATALOG Prices Subject to Change

SHE

ameco

ELECTRONICS

1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 7/83 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043

2708,2716,2732 & 2764 EPROM Programmer

JE664 EPROM PROGRAMMER

8K TO 64K EPROMS — 24 AND 28 PIN PACKAGES

— PROGRAMS 2716'S IN 16 SECONDS —

• Programs, validates, and checks lor properly erased EPROMs • Emulates PROMs or EPROMs ■ RS232C Computer Interface for editing/program loading • Loads data info HAM by keyboard • Changes data in RAM by keyboard • Loads RAM from an EPflOM • Compares EPHOMs for content differences • Copies EPROMs • Power Input: 115VAC. 60Hz •• I0W power consumption • Enclosure: Color-coordinated, light tan panels w/moldet) mocha brown end pieces • Size: 15-5/B"L x 8V0 < 3Vj"H ■ Wt : bit lbs.

JE664-A EPROM Programmer $995.OQ

A-iserr-rj CO & TeslcrJ (

les JMI6A Module;

JE665 - RS232C INTERFACE OPTION - n»*665fl^a?e'bttfirtaca

Oolii.n I't'ii-f'Ti-'ih, f.i:.|i-.[),irer JCijeSi iO ihf.,Lb>i'i ■■, HAM S.jinBic iOll'.v.lit: wpil^n in BASK pravMMI for TRS-80" Model I. Level II Computer Baud rate: 9600 Word Lgtn 8 hUS oorJ parity Slop Cits. 2 Option may be adapled 10 Other computers

JE664-ARS EPROM Prog. W/JE665 Option $1195.00

Asaen'D'tii: i'"id I uj>.i! in'■.!,:■:■. . V i'.A Modulei

EPROMJUMPER MODULES - The JLbS4-s JUMPER MODULE (Pt-rbiinali

!y Mc.'CL.ici ii ■! ;:lui!iii Mi;i:-ilr :h,il pn---eL, Jtiili4 I or :nopei [i'uqi,:i:i j uij!j>:5 '0

■iii:i ii-'HOM & configures EPROM socket connections, for that particulsr EPROM

Part

No. EPROM EPROM MANUFACTURER PRICE

JM08A JM16A JM16B JM32A JM32B JM32C JM64A

JM64B JM64C JM640

2700

2716.TMS2S16

TMS2716

TMS2b32

2732

373ZA(21V)

MCM68764,

MCM68L76'!

2764

TMS2b64

HN482764G-4

Motorola. II (+5.-1 Molorola, Tl AMO.Fuiifsu.MEC.H Fujitsu, Intel

S14.95 $14.95

EXPAND YOUR MEMORY

TRS-80 to 16K, 32K, or 48K

"-Mode! 1 = From 4K to 16K Requires (1) One Kit Model 3 = From 4K to 48K Requires (3) Three Kits Color = From 4K to 16K Requires (1) One Kit

"Model t equipped with Expansion Board up to 48K Two Kits Required — One Kit Required for each 16K of Expansion —

TRS-16K3 "200ns for Color & Model III $12.95

TRS-16K4*250ns for Mode! I $10.95

TRS-80 Color 32K or 64K Conversion Kit

Kit comes complete with 8 each 4164-2 (200ns) 64K dynamic RAMs and conversion documentation Converts TRS-80 color computers with D and E circuit boards, and all new coior computers to 32K Minor modifications of 32K memory will allow the use of all 64K of the dynamic RAM providing you have a FLEX DOS operating system

TRS-64K2 $54.95

IBM MEMORY EXPANSION KIT

SAVE HUNDREDS OF $$$ BY UPGRADING MEMORY BOARDS YOURSELF!

Most ol the popular memory boards allow you to arJ 64K, 12BK. 192K, or 2S6K. The IBM64K Kit will popula in 64K byte increments. The kit is simple to install

additional t insert the

I8M64K (Nine 200ns 64K RAMs) $59.95

SVa" Mini-Floppy Disk Drive

FOR TRS-80 MODEL I (Industry Standard)

Features Single or double density. Recording mode: FMsmglf; MFM duub'L- density. Power: + 12VDC(±0.6V) 1.6Amax, +5VDC I ± 0.25V) O.HA max. Unit as pic at right (does not incl. case, power supply, cables). 30-pg. data book incl. Wt. 31/? lbs. Size: 594"W « 8"D x 3V, "H. Part No. Limited Quantity! Price

FD200 $179.95

Single-sided, 40 tracks, 250K bytes capacity

FD250 $199.95

Double-sided. 35 tracks. 43BK bytes capacity

8" FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

Shugart 801R compatible

• Single-Sided

• 77 Tracks > 400/800K Bytes

Capacity

• Industry Standard

The FDD100-B 8" Floppy Disk Drive [Industry Standard) features single or double density. Recording mode: FM single, MFM double density. Transfer rate: 250K bits/sec single density: 500K bits/sec. double density. The FDD100-8 is designed to work with the singlesided soft sectored IBM Diskette I. or eq. disk cartridge Power: 115VAC @ 50-60HZ, + 24VDC @ 1.7 amps max., + 5VDC @ 1.2 amps max. Unit as pictured above (does not include case, power supply, or cables). Size: 8.55"W x 14"L x 4.5"H. Weighs 12 lbs. Incl. 96-pg. manual. Part No. Price

FDD100-8 . $169.95 ea.

UV-EPROM Eraser

8 Chips — 51 Minutes!

[ 1 Chip — 37 Minutes

Erases 2708, 2716, 2732. 2764, 2516, 2532. 2564. Erases up to 8 chips within 51 minutes (1 chip in 37 minutes). Maintains constant exposure distance of one inch. Special conductive foam liner eliminates static build-up. Built-in safety lock to prevent UV exposure. Compact — only 9.00" x 3.70" x 2.60". Complete with holding tray for 6 chips.

DE-4 UV-EPROM Eraser .. . S79.95 . UVS-11EL Replacement Bulb s16.95^/

Circle 220 on Inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 549

> Z>-CQMPUTER

MICROPROCESSORS

16K Apple™ Ramcard

LIST 195 ACP

95

$59

• Full 1 year warranty Top quality — gold fingers Expand Apple II 48K to 64K Compatible with Z-80 Softcard"

NOW AVAILABLE

Apple lie 64K Add-in Memory t __„

*1 AQ95

with 80 Columns

$1499

32K STATIC RAM

2 or 4 MHz Expandable

Uses 21141/s

16K4MHzKit $159 95

1BK4MH2AST ., „ „ 21795

32K 4 MHz Kit *n ^a-ao"28*06.

1 32K 4 MHZ A&T • 339.00

BARE BOARD 39.95

Bare Bdw/all parts less mem.

9.95

REPEAT OF SELL-OUT 58 Key Unencoded Keyboard

S199Se.

This is a new 58 key terminal Keyboard manufactured by a major manufacturer. It is uncoded with SPST keys unattached to any PC board. Solid molded plastic 11" x4" base.

Unencoded Key Pad

15 key Keypad with 1-10 keys and lab, return, (-), (;} and (.).

64K CMOS

nft6116IC's

00 5Volt Single Supply Assm and Tested

INTEL "''-'n!--'sc

RAMS

Super Fast!

Super Low Power*

Part No. 2147 $1.95 ea.

t^

%

UV "EPROM"

ERASER

Model

DE-4

$89.95

Holds 4 EPROM's at a time Model S-52T S325.00

16K Memory Expansion Kits

for Apple/TRS-80 $12.95

8 pcs4116 16K 200/250nS Specify computer CALL FOR VOLUME PRICING

CORCOM FILTER

Popular CORCOM 3* "tor

'eamPSS495 Compatible Line Cord Add ... $3.50

I

9 pes 4164

D-RAM

$

50

00

AMD MODEM IC

^^^f^P/N AM7910 ^g^SmSk !200Baud ^PPP 5 Volts

Special ACP Price

sggoo

STEPPER MOTOR

Operates by applying 12VDC in one direction and then reversing polarity (or square wave). Uses 12VDC, V^/ Clock Wise Rotation, ai~q Rated 3 RPM at 4

a £ PPS- With a 5 de9ree PRICE stepping angle.

$495

Oei

Ba. 10 for $34.95

RS232 SIGNAL TESTER

COEX RS232 Line Tester

(7) LED indicators

only £4

Other Styles Also Available

INTEL CODEC IC

P/N2910A For Digital

Voice SQ95

3 ea.

For Filter P/N 2912A $4.95 ea.

lUUCb lb

SURGE SUPPRESSOR

"Surgeonics" Power Sentry

15 Amps 250 Volts transient suppression ACP $,

Low Price

s399!

CONNECTORS

DB25P {RS232)

DB25S Female

Hood

Set with Hood, Sale

22/44 S/T, KIM

43/86 S/T, MOT

50/100 $-100 Connector W/W

50/100 S-100 Connector S/T

$3 25 3.75 1.25 7.50 2.95 6.50 4.95 3.95

PARALLEL ALPHA NUMERIC PRINTER

yJtw

(■f -TF^Hp 19 Column Printer prints 16 numerical columns plus 3 ^^3BH(^^ columns which have math, alpha and other notations. ^^^ Each wheel has 12 positions with position 12 blank.

Position 11 on numerical columns have decimal point or # Utilizes 2.75" wide adding machine tape and a dual color ink ribbon. Input data parallel withfourbitBCDcomparatorcircuit Print rate, 3 lines per second. Operating voltage 22-28VDC with typical cycle time of 340mS. Size 6V2"W x 3Vb"H x 5%"Dp. New. $8.95 ea. 3/J

zsoa

F-8 (3850) 2650

2901

2901A

9900JL

6502

6502A

IMS tOO 29.95

6800 11.75

6800B 19.95

9.95

6802P

8035 14.95

8039 12.95

8073N 34.95

8755 49.95 8748

9.95 30.00

68000 129.95

6116/2016 $7.95 -6-4K 5.95 4116-2 1.99

4116-2 8/12.95 2101 3.99

MOS PROMS

2764 (8Kx8) TS 2732 (4Kx8) TS 2716/2516; 5V (2Kx8) TS TMS2716. 5V, !2V 2758, 5V. (450nS)

7.95 17.95 3.50

270B(450nS) $5.75 2708 <650nS) 5.25 1702A 5.75

MM5203AQ 14.50 MM5204Q 9.95

l!l!..^!l

2513-001 (5V) Upper 2513-005 (5V) Lower 2513-ADM3(5V) Lower 1495 MCM66710ASCIIStll(terJ12.95 MCM6674Q Math Symbol 13.95 MCM66750 Alpha Control 1345 1771-01 8" S Minifloppy 24 95 1781 Dual Floppy 29.95

1791-01 DualFloppy 3695 1791-02 DualFloppy 44.95 1793 DD, OS Floppy 44.95 1797 DD, OS Floppy 54 95 1691 Dala Separator 18.95 2143 Clock Generator 18.95

8700 8 bit Binary 13.50

8701 10 bil Binary 22.00 8703 8 bit TS 13.50 9400 Volt 1o Freq Conv. 7.25 8750 31* Digit BCD 13.95 1408L6 6bil 3.95

$9.50 DAC08

DACO' ij !■■

DAC100

8038 Function Generator

MC4024 VC0

LM566VC0

XR22QB Function Generator

TR1602B(5V,12V)

AV510I3(5V, 12V)

AY51014A/1612(S-14V)

AV51015A/1863(5V)

IM6402

IM6403

2350 USHT

1671BAstro5 i

MC14411 1

4702 1

WD1941

CQM5Q16 1

INS825D 1

AV5-2376 1

AY5-36G0 1

MM5740AAC

E33aa

^n^

8 pin LP 14 pin LP 16 pin LP 18 pin LP 20 pin LP 22 pin LP 24 pin LP 28 pin LP 40 pin LP

3L WIREWRAP SOCKETS (GOLD)

LOW PROFILE SOCKETS (TIN)

1-24

25-49

50-100

.16

.15

.14

.20

.19

,18

.22

,21

.20

.29

.28

.27

.34

.32

30

8 pin WW .55

10 pin WW (Tin) .65 14 pin WW .75

16 pin WW .80

18 pin WW ok

20 pin WW 22 pin WW 24 pin WW 28 pin WW

1.15 1.45 1.35 1.60

40 pin WW

2.20

.54 .63

.90 1.08 1.35 1.26 1.53

.49 .56

.81 .99 1.23 1.14

78H05K

78M06

78M.G.

LM108AH

LM300H

LM301CN

LM304H

LM305H

LM306H

LM3Q7CN

LM308CN

LM309K

LM310CN

LM311D/CN

LM312H

LM317T

LM318CN

LM319N/H

LM320K-XX

LM320T-XX'

LM320H-XX*

LM323K

LM324N

LM337K

LM338K

LM339N

LM340K-XX*

LM340T-XX'

LM340H-XX*

LM344H

LM348N

LM350K

LM358CN

LM360N

LM372N

LM376N

LM377N

LM380CN/N

LM381 N

LM383T

LM386N

LM387N

LM390N

NE531V/T

NE555V

NE556N

NE561T

NE565N/H

NE566H/V

NE567V/H

NE592N

LM702H

LM709N/H

LM710N/H

LM711N/H

LM715N

LM723N/H

LM733N/H

LM739N

LM741CN/H

LM741CN-14

LM747N/H

LM748N/H

LM760CN

LM1310N

MC1330

MC1350

MC1358

1.75 1.25 1.25 1.95 1.20 5.60

3.75 2.75 1,25 1.79 1.95 1.25 1.40 1.95 3.75 .39 .98 19.95 1.25 1.75 1.50 2.75 1.99 .29 .75

2.95 1.90 1.95 1.95 1.75

LM1414N

LM1458CN/N

MC1488N

MC1489N

LM1496N

LM1556N

LM1B20N

LM1850N

LM1889N

LM2111N

LM2900N

LM2901 N

LM2917N

CA3013T

CA3018T

CA3021T

CA3023T

CA3035T

CA3039T

CA3046N

LM3053N

CA3059N

CA3060N

CA3062N

LM3065N

CA3080T

CA3081N

CA3082N

CA3083N

CA3086N

CA3089N

CA3096N

CA3097N

CA3130T

CA3140T

CA3146N

CA3160T

CA3190N

CA3410N

MC3423N

MC3460N

SG3524N

CA3600N

LM3900N

LM3905N

LM3909N

LM3914N

LM3915N

LM3916N

RC4131N

RC4136N

RC4t51N

RC4194TK

RC4195TK

ULN2O01

ULN2003

SN75450N

SN75451N

SN75452N

SN75453N

SN75454N

SN75491 N

SN75492N

SN75493N

SN75494N

TL494CN

TL496CP

2.50 2.95 2.19 1,99 3.49 2.99 2.75 1.29 1.29 1.49 3.19 3.19 4.95

1.19 2.49 1.19

1.49 3.95 3.95

3.75 3.95 3.75 2.95 1.10 3.70 4.95 5.40 1.25 1.50

74SO0S .39

74502 .43

74503 .45

74504 .52

74505 .52

74508 .49

74509 .49

74510 .42

74511 ,42 74S15 .42 74S20 .42 74S22 .42 74S30 .42 74S32 .49 74S38 1.19 74S40 .49 74S51 .42

74564 46

74565 .46 74S74 .69 74S86 .72

745112 .72

745113 .72

745114 .72

74S124 74S133 74S134 74S135 74S136 74S138 74S139 74S140 74S151 74S153 74S157 74S158 74S160 74S174 74S175 74S188 74S194 74S195 74S196 74S240 74S241 74S242 74S243

74S244 $2.99

74S251 1.35

74S253 1.35

745257 1.29

745258 1.29 74S260 .75 74S280 2.79

745287 2.99

745288 2.55

745373 310

745374 3.10 74S387 2.75

745471 7.95

745472 7.95

745473 7.95

745474 9.95

745475 9.95

745570 5.75

745571 5.75

745572 8.95

745573 8.95

745940 2.90

745941 2.90

DIP

SWITCHES

2 Position $ .99

4 Position 1.19

5 Position 1.29

6 Position 1.35

MUFFIN® FAN

The dependable, low cost, largest selling fan for commercial cooling applications.

• 105cfmfreeairdelivery

• 4.68" sq.x 1.50" deep. Weight- 17 oz.

SPECIAL PURCHASE *& $9.50ea

SUPER IC CLOSEOUT SPECIALS

14411

74LS668

74LS377

74LS241

8259

6561 RAM

LM733CN

LM323K

2/1.99 6.95 295

6571A SIG 2652 8253

2758 EPROM 1802

Z80A CPU 6522 6502 CPU

8080ACPU $2 95 5027 CRT $9.9

4.95 6.95 5.95

2102 RAM

4060 RAM

2732 6.95

UPD410 2.9S

UPD411 2.98

2708 EPROM 8/29.95

2114 8/14,50

3.95 3.95 5.99

2901

8039

MM5320

9131 RAM

EMM4402 1.99

10415 4.95

8700 A/D 2/16.95

TOLL FREE

800-854-8230

mx 010-595-1505

11

4012 4013 4014 4015 4016 4017 4018 4019 4020 4021 4022 4023 4024 4025 4027 4028

4029 1.29

4030 .45

4031 3.25

1.19

7402 7403 7404 7405 7406 7407 7408 7409 7410 7411 7412 7413 7414 7416 7417 7420 7421 7422 7423 7425 7426 7427 7429 7430 7432 7437 7438 7439 7440 7441 7442 7443 7444 7445 7446 7447 7448 7450 7451 7453 7454 7459 7460 7470 7472 7473 7474

74LS0OS .26

74LS01 ,28

74LS02 .28

74LS03 .28

74LS04 .35

74LS05 .28

74LS08 .28

74LS09 .35

74LS10 .28

74LS11 .39

74LS12 .33

74LS13 .47

74LS14 .95

74LS15 .33

74LS20 .26

74LS21 .33

74LS22 .33

74LS26 .33

74LS27 .33

74LS28 .33

74LS30 .26

74LS32 .33

74LS33 .55

74LS37 .45

74LS38 .39

74LS40 .26

74LS42 .79

74LS47 .79

74LS48 .95

74LS51 .26

74LS54 .29

74LS55 .29

74LS73 .45

74LS74 .42

74LS75 .59

74LS76 .45

74LS78 .45 74LS83A .79

74LS85 1.19

74LS86 .45

74LS90 .57

74LS92 .75

74LS93 .75

74LS95 .88

74LS96 .98

74LS107 .45

74LS109 .45

74LS112 .43

4007 4008 4009 4010

7475 7476 7479 7480 7482 7483 7485 7486 7489 7490 7491 7492 7493 7494 7495 7496 7497

74109 74116

74121 .29

74122 ,39

74123 .59

74125 .39

74126 .44 74128 ,59 74132 .69 74136 .75 74139 .95

74141 .79

74142 2.95

74143 2.95

74144 2.95

74145 .62 74147 1.95

.37

74161 $ .86

74162 .89

74163 .87

74164 .87

74165 .87

74166 1,20

74167 1.95 74170 1.69

74172 4.75

74173 .79

74174 .89

74175 .85

74176 .75

74177 .75

74179 1.34

74180 .75

74181 1.75

74182 .75 74184 2.25

7418

3.90

7414

1.20

74150

74151 .67

74152 .67

74153 .67

74154 1.19

74155 .78

74156 .78

74157 .69

74158 1.65

74159 2.49

74160 .88

74190

74191 1.15

74192 ,85

74193 .85

74194 ,85

74195 .68

74196 .85

74197 .85

74198 1,39

74199 1.39 74221 1.19 74251 .95 74273 1.05 74276 1.89 74279 .75

74283 1.40

74284 3.90

74285 3.90 74290 1.25 74298 .95

74365 .68

74366 ,68

74367 .68

74368 .68 74390 1.45 74393 1.90 74490 1.90

74LS113S 74LS114 74LS122 74LS123 1 74LS124 1 74LS125 74LS126 74LS132 74LS136 74LS138 74LS139 74LS145 1 74LS148 1 74LS151 74LS153 74LS154 1. 74LS155 1. 74LS156 . 74LS157 74LS158 . 74LS160 1. 74LS161 1. 74LS162 1. 74LS163 1. 74LS164 1. 74LS165 . 74LS166 2. 74LS168 1. 74LS169 1. 74LS170 1. 74LS173 . 74LS174 74LS175 . 74LS181 2. 74LS190 1. 74LS191 1. 74LS192 74LS193 74LS194 1. 74LS195 . 74LS196 74LS197 74LS221 1. 74LS240 1.i 74LS242 1.f 74LS243 1.i 74LS244 1,

43 74LS245$2.20

43 74LS247 1.10

55 74LS248 1.10

19 74LS249 1.19

35 74LS251 1.40

89 74LS253 1.40

52 74LS257 .85

79 74LS258 .98

49 74LS259 2.95

85 74LS260 .65

85 74LS261 2.49

25 74LS266 .59

49 74LS273 1.75

79 74LS275 4,40

79 74LS279 .59

70 74LS283 .99

19 74LS290 .99

99 74LS293 .99

B5 74LS295 1.10

75 74LS298 1.19

35 74LS324 1.75

15 74LS347 1.95

05 74LS348 1.95

35 74LS352 1.19

19 74LS353 1.19

39 74LS363 1.49

48 74LS365 .69

15 74LS366 .69

15 74LS367 .69

39 74LS368 .69

39 74LS373 1.89

39 74LS374 1.89

39 74LS375 .69

>0 74LS377 1.95

15 74LS385 1.95

15 74LS386 .65

98 74LS390 1.95

S8 74LS393 1.95

15 74LS395 1.70

B 74LS399 2,35

39 74LS424 2.95

39 74LS668 1.75

15 74LS670 2.29

39 81LS95 1.69

39 81LS96 1.69

39 81LS97 1.69

19 81LS98 1.69

VOLUME PRICING CALL TOLL FREE

4037 $1.95

4040 1.29

4041 1.25

4042 ,95

4043 .85

4044 .85 4046 1.75

4094 4098 4099

2.95 2.29 2.25

4050 4051 4052 4053

1.10 1.10 1.10

14408 12.95

14409 12.95

14410 12.95 14412 12.95 14415 8.95 14419 4.95 4501 .39

4059 9.25

4060 1.39 4066 .75

4069 .35

4070 ,49

4071 ,35

4072 .35

4073 .35

4075 .35

4076 1.29

4077 .35

4078 .35

4081 .35

4082 .35 4085 1 95

4502 4503 4505 4506 4507 4508 4510 4511 4512 4515 4516 4518 4520 4555 4556 4566

1.65

Mailorder P.O. Box 17329 Irvine, CA 92713

Retail: 131 OB E. Edlnger, Santa Ana CA 92705 (714) 559-9813 542 W Trimble, San Jose. CA 95131 (409) 946-7910

TERMS. MO Cashier's Check. Bank Wire Personal

License ana i _-J't card nsVisa 4MEX CF3 add 3% service 1 (large Add 1% ■stunning & handling or $2 50. whichever ■& greater Add 10% tor foreign orders or US Parcel Post incUtd*-Telephone number NOCODs s subject to change withoul notice Some items

subjec

urer Retail

f. W ,:..,-.

'nghl

550 BYTE July 1983

Circle 9 on inquiry card.

V-/\AIA8\NCED

T Z=—CQ/V\PUTEH

"Piemen's sale

HARDWARE

You can now purchase Shugart compatible 8" Disk Drives below your existing factory direct pricing!

These Prices are

the lowest ewer published.

•Siemen'sSSDD FDD100-8... $199.00

Also, with purchase ot Disk Drives you can buy the Vista V-1000 Dual Case with Power Supply and Cable

for only $375.00 Regular Pnce $495.00

OFFER LIMITED! SHIPPED IMMEDIATELY

FACTORY FROM STOCK'

WARRANTY 90 DAYS! -OEM QUAMTmtS

S-100 64K cMos RAMCARD

Unbelieveable Price!

$25900

Assembled and Tested

□ ACP has sold over 1000 of these IEEE compatible, low-priced, high-reliability 64K Static RAM Cards.

□ Single 5-Volt operation.

ABM List

BSR-X10 Interface $95

Color lo Mono I/O Module 95

Telephone Receptionist adapt 995

PS3276/Bisyn Emulator 1295

AMDEKDual3 Amdisk (2) Hitachi DS(250Kf 899

AST Megaplus" Card P/N MG-064, 64K. Ser, Clk 595

P/N MG-064SP. add'l Ser. Par 695

P/N MG-256, 256K, Ser. Clk 995

P/N MG-256SP adcfl Ser, Par 1095

AST I/O Plus' Card P/N l/O-SP. Clk, (2) Ser, Par 265

AST Combo Plus" Card P/N MC256SPC 256K. clk, P/S 995

AST PC Disk++" Card P/N MD-064. 64K. Host. Par 655

CACTUS TECHNOLOGY 300 Baud Direct Modum 349

COEX Extender Card 40

Prototype Card 69

37 Pin "D" Connector 19

Snap-in Card Guides (5) 8

CORONA Hard Disk System

CORVUS Hard Disk System

DAVONG

5Mb Hard Disk 1995

12Mb Hard Disk 2495

MAYNARD Disk Drive Card Floppy Card w/Parallel 295

Floppy Card w/Senal 325

MOUSE SYSTEMS Mouse w/Mousepad 332

Mouse RS232 I/O 40

ORCHID Ht-Res Graphics Adapter 495

PERSYST Spectrum (B4-256K) P/N SP64-CCP, 64K, S. S. P P/N SP64, 64K 64K Upgrade Kit (9 chips) 130

OUADRAM Quadboard (64-256K) P/N 064, 64K w/4 functions 595

TANDON TM 100-1 (160K) 295

TM 100-2 (320K) 395

TEAC FD55B(320K)Dlsk 395

TG PRODUCTS Joystick 65

Track Ball 65

VISTA MULTICARD w/64K SPC 529

MULTICARD w/256K SPC 829

64K Upgrade Kit {9 chips) "MAXICARD"' W/64K 376

"MAXICARD"' W/256K 676

"MAXICARD"" W/576K 11 76

■PC MASTER"" 7 Funcltons 590

DISKMASTER (5V.", 8") 379

ECONOCARD-SPC only 299

Apple ll/lle

Compatible Disk Drive

Totally compatible to Apple Drives.

only

$

249

00

Controller $99.00

Just plug in and run.

Vista Quartet

PRINTERS

^cPe$299°°

IBM LOW COST MEMORY

MEMORY PLUS AT LOW PRICES! Now! "Multieard" expandable

from 64 - 2S6K with

(1) PARALLEL (1) SERIAL

(1) CLOCK/CALENDAR

COEX 256 SOOQ00

with 64K 1.69

COEX 64 SPC SOQC00 with 256K WVW

COEX 80-FT

COEX 80F/T BOcps

STAR MICRONICS- NEW!

Gemini 10 100cps Gemini 15 15" EPSON MX80 w/Graftra* MX100 w/Grattrax FX80 w/Graftrax INTEGRAL DATA Microprism 480 Prism 80 Color (all) Pnsm 132 Color (all) BROTHER Hfl-1

Daisywhter IBM PC to EPSON Cable OKIDATA Mic<oline82A Microline 83A Microline 84AP Okidala 92

S499 S299

399 349

649 479

494 419

749 669

699 629

799 689

1795 1495

1995 1685

1195 895

1495 1295

60

45

599 489

899 729

1399 1099

699 549

MONITORS

799

-,. Add 8"

I I/I Disk

S\J^^T Drives «■ To Your Apple ll/lle Up To 2.4 Megabyte!

Now "TRIMLINE V1100" with Tandon Thinline DS DD Drives.

Tandon Dual DS DD $1895.00

Qume Dual DS DD 1690.00

Shugart Dual 801R 1295.00

Best of all, the price .

$1

only

Optional COEX Interface Card to Apple $4

AMDEKCORP

300 Green 12" 3l0AmbeM2" Color I Composite Color II RGB Hi-Res Color III RGBComm'l Color IV RGB Analog

NEC 12 Green-NEW

12' RGB (690 x230)

PRINCETON GRAPHICS RGB IBM Lookahke

S199 $155 210 175 399 299 899 790 Call

1299 1059 199 155 895 799

SPECIAL OFFER

(2) Siemen's 8" Disk Drives (1) Vista V-1000 Enclosure (1) Power Supply w/Fan, w/Cable

Surge Suppressor Fan.

Double Outlet Receptacle %1&*

FLOPPY DISK DRIVES

SINGLE SIDED 8

1 2 10 MFG P/N

$385 S379 $369 TandQfl 848-1 199 '99 Call

DOUBLE-SIDED 8

SINGLE SIDED 5V. 210 208 198 Tandon TM 100-1 20!

210 208 196 Pertec FD200 14!

DOUBLE-SIDED 6W 345 325 313 Tandon TM100-2 2

159 159 149

DOUBLE SIDED 5'A" Thinline ■inline 375 365 359 Qume 5'.' Thinline 37! DOUBLE-SIDED 3 Cat! Call Call

WINCHESTERS 5V4

16Mb; 699 679 599 Seagate ST512(12Mbl 9 1Mb) 865 850 819 IMI 5012|12Mbl 10

8Mn> 1313 1299 1225 .

SPECIAL LIQUIDATION - SMALL QTY

_ SHUGART4004

14 WINCHESTER

' SSSD DYSAN 5% DSSD IBM 5V," SSSD SSDD VERBATIM 525-01 SS VERBATIM 550-01 DS MAXELL MD1 SS MAXELL MD2 DS AMDEK Hllachi 3" DS Micro BULK SPECIAL SS With Sleeve and Box

10,$55 10/65 10/60 10/65 10(45 10/55 10/50 10/60 5/99 10/25

00/195

MORE IBM GOODIES

CURTIS PC Pedeslal

Extension Cable INTEL 8087 IC RAM EXPANSION

16K Motherboard f 16 IC's) 64K Memory Exp (9 IC's) KRAFT IBM Joystick IBM Paddles

MODEMS

SIGNALMAN Mark I (RS232I HAVES

Smartmodem(RS232)

Smarlmotte m 1200 IBM PC to Modem Cable SSM

AMC300 300 Baud

AMC 1200 1200 Baud

TRANSPAKI

TRANSPAK II

TRANSPAK III NOVATION

BUSINESS

Screen Writer Word Handler BD Master Visicalc" 3 3 Master Type Desk Top Plan II Desk Top Plan III V i si plot PFS. File II PFS. File III Vi si trend Visi plot PFS. Graph II PFS. Graph III Multiplan Versaform Wordstar Format II dBASE II Su percale PFS. Report II PFS. Repon III Acct Plus G/L G/L. A/P. A/R Above + Inventory Magic Window HOME

Home Accountant Transend I Transend II Data Capture 4 0 Visiterm

Per. Finance Mgr ASCII Exprs, Prof Electronic Duet Tax Prep 1983

HOBBY

$129 Bag ol Tricks $32

149 Graphics Magic'n 45

155 DOS Boss 19

185 Zoom Graphics 32

29 Utility City 22

179 Locksmith 4.0 90

225 Compl Graph Sys 55

159 Apple Mechanic 24

115 Nibbles Away II 49

155 GAMES

25 The Missing Ring 29

115 Chophtter 26

155 Frogger 24

199 Wizardy 39

279 Snack Attack 24

365 Castle Woltenstien 24

179 Arcade Machine 44

439 Canyon Climber 24

169 Aztec 29

95 Mask of the Sun 29

115 Cannonball Blitz 26

299 Knight Diamonds 26

599 Zork I 29

799 Zork III 29

115 Slarcross 29

Serpentine 25

59 Star Blazer 25

76 Deadline 39

119 Tubeway 25

49 Flight Simulalor 25

89 Space Vikings 43

85 Sargon II 29

99 Spitfire Simulator 29

25 Apple Panic 22

149 Olympic Decath 23

14.5 MEGABYTES

Special Sale Price... $995.00

TOLL FREE

800-854-8230

nun 910-595-1565

LIST

ACP

Apple lie w/64K S139

$1195.00

Apple Me System

1995 00

1695.00

Apple He Sys w/Ext Text

2195.00

1895.00

Disk II w/Controller

545.00

449.00

Disk II w/o Controller

395.00

359.00

Monitor III Green

249.00

189.00

Super Serial Card

195.00

169.00

Parallel Interlace Card

165.00

139.00

80 Column Text Card

125.00

109.00

Extended 80 Column Text

295.00

249.00

Dot Matrix Printer

695.00

529.OO

"Apple Products Available In store Only"

MORE HARDWARE

MICROSOFT

LIST

ACP

Z80 Softcard

$395.00

$249. OO

16K Ramcard

195.00

89.00

The Premium Package

685.00

654.00

SSM

AIO-II 4 Funclion Serial/

Parallel

225.00

179.00

AIO Sena 1/Parallel

195.00

165.00

EASTS IDE

Wildcard Apple II

149.00

115.00

KENSINGTON

Syslem Saver

89.95

74.95

KEYBOARD COMPANY

Numeric Keypad

149.95

124.95

Apple II Joystick

49.95

44.50

Apple II Handcontrollers

29.95

25.95

KRAFT (IBM also)

Joystick

49.00

Hand Cont roller

40.00

MPC

128K Bubble Memory

875.00

699.00

PROMETHEUS

VERSAbox Spool/ Buf r

249.00

199.00

VERSAcard Four-in-1

199.00

1 66.00

AUTO-DOC diagnostics

99.00

82.00

VISTA COMPUTER CO.

Vision 80 80x24 Card

395.00

219.00

Vision 80 Visicalc 80

Col Patch

69.00

49.00

A800 8" DiskContr

379.95

349.00

Quartet Disk Drive 5'/»"

849.00

799.00

Solo Disk Drive w/Contr

299.00

249.00

Solo Drive w/o Contr

379.00

319.00

Vista5'A" DiskContr

92.00

79.00

Typeahead Buffer

49.95

35.00

VIDEX

Videoterm 80x24 Card

345.00

279.00

Keyboard Enhancer II

149.00

129.00

Soft Switch

35.00

30.OO

Function Strip Keys

79.00

69.00

PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS

16KMicrobuffer

259.00

220.00

32 K Microbutfer

299.00

253.00

Snapshot Option

149.00

1O9.00

VOTRAX

Type n' Talk Speech

249.00

219.00

Personal System

395.00

339.00

VYNET

Apple II Voice Syn.

395.00

349.00

Apple II Telephone I/O

295.00

249.00

SCOTT INSTRUMENTS

Voice Recognif n VETBO

799.00

675.00

COEX

16K RAM Card

99.00

59.95

Parallel Card w/cable

99.00

49.95

Apple Protocard

29.00

19.95

Apple Extendercard

29.00

19.95

Apple lie Ext RAM Card

199.00

149.00

CORVUS

5 Mb Hard Disk

3750 00

Call

10 Mb Hard Disk

5350.00

Call

20 Mb Hard Disk

6450.00

Call

ORANGE MICRO

The Grappler I/O (Plus)

175.00

139.00

The Bufferboard

175 00

139.00

SATURN SYSTEMS

32K RAM Card

21900

179.00

128K RAM Card

499.00

439.00

SCOTT

ECHOH

149.00

129.00

STREET

ECHO II

149.00

129.00

LEGEND

64KC ll/lle

327.00

269.00

128KC ll/lle

599.00

499.00

18SRC 18K Static

149.00

1 35.00

MOUNTAIN COMPUTEF

CPS Multifunction

239.00

169.00

Music System

395 00

335.00

A/D plus D/A

350.00

299.00

ROM Plus

155.00

129.00

MAR ENTERPRISES

Sup'rterm 80x24 Card

395.00

269.00

Sup'rMod II

69.00

49.00

Sup'rMod V (IBM)

69.00

49.00

Sup'rAccess (New!)

Call

ALS

The CP/M Plus Z80 card

399.00

329.00

Smarterm 80x24 Card

349.00

279.00

The Synergizei Package

699.00

549.00

16K RAM CARD

Apple II16K

Compatible with Z80 Softcard ... PASCAL CP/M"

Full 1 year Warranty. Top Quality by COEX

new * low •>

PRICE

Also from COEX NEW EPSON

Parallel Interface for Apple.

With cable $49.95

59

95

Mailorder P.O. Box 17329 Irvine, CA 92713

Retail- 13108 E. Edlnger, Santa Ana CA 92705 (714) 558-8813

542 W. Trimble, Sin Jest, CA 95131 (400) 940-7010

TERMS: MO. Cashier's Check Bank Wire Personal checks allow 2 weeks for processing. Include Drivers License and credit card #s Visa, AMEX, CB add 3% service charge Add 3% shipping 8 handling or $2 50, whichever is greater Add 10% for foreign orders or US Parcel Post Include Telephone number NOCODs Prices subject lo change without nolice Some items subject (o prior sale We reserve the rtghl to substitute manufacturer Retail prices may vary

Circle 9 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 551

IBM Specials

Advanced Operating Systems

The Programmer $129

Applied Software

Versalorm $249

AshtonTate

sBase II (CP/M 86) $419

sBase II (MS Dos) $419

Continental Software

The Home Accountant Plus $ 95

1st Class Mall $ 79

Computer Sotware Technology

Word/PC $ 49

Davidson & Associates

Speed Reader $ 49

Datamost

Real Estate Investment Program $ 79

Write-On $85

Comprehensive Software

PCTutor $ 55

Denver Software

Executive Accounting System

(128K) $469

Eagle Software

Money Decisions $129

Howard Software

Real Estate Analyzer II $159

Tax Preparer 1983 $159

Information Solutions

25:01 $65

Innovative Software

T.I.M. Ill $299

IUS

Easy Filer $239

Easy Writer II $209

Easy Planner $159

Accounts Receivable $369

Accounts Payable $369

General Ledger $369

Financial Management Series $899

Micro Lab

The Tax Manager $159

Micro Pro

Wordstar $299

Mailmerge $159

Spellstar $109

Infostar $299

Reportstar $209

North American Business Systems

Answer $159

PBL Corporation

Personal Investor $ 89

Peachtree

General Ledger $329

Accounts Receivable $329

Accounts Payable $329

Peach Pak (GL/AR/AP) $329

Software Publishing

PFS Report $84

PFSFile $ 84

Digital Research

Concurrent CP/M 86 $209

C Basic 86 $125

Pasca/MT + 86 $239

Speed Programming Package 86 ... .$125 CISCobol86 $489

Peter Norton Computing

Norton Utilities $ 55

Select

Select Word Processing System $299

Softword Systems

Wordmaker $289

Sorcim/ISA

Supercalc $179

Superwriter $239

Spellguard $125

Southeastern

Data Capture $ 75

Visicorp

Visicalc (256K) $165

Desktop Plan 1 $199

Visitrend/Plot $199

Visifile $199

Visidex $165

Visischedule $199

Business Forecasting Model $ 69

Prices That Won't

of Your

New Products

• * Corona Desktop Computer • •

IBM COMPATIBLE Includes 2 320K drives, 128K memory. Graphics, serial/parallel ports, high resolution monitor, MD DOS, CPM-86, BASIC, Multimate wordprocessing.

Pkg $2595

• • Corona Desktop Computer • *

Same as above with one 320K floppy and one 10 megabyte hard drive.

$3995

• • Corona Portable Computer • •

IBM compatible/2 320 drives. Same components

as above.

$2395

With 1 320 drive & MG hard drive.

$4295

** Specials of the Month **

Corona Hard Disk Subsystem 5 MG $1399

Corona 5 MG External $1729

Corona 10 MG Internal $1819

Corona 10 MG External $2149

Verbatim Disks (S/D w/Library Case) $ 27

Box of Maxell Disks (D/D) $ 39

Flip n' Sort Diskette Box (Holds 50 Disks) $ 21

Elephant Disks $ 20

USI Amber Monitor $ 149

fcAH

%PUTER OUTljl

Call Toll Free

1-800-634-6766

Order Line Only Information & Order Inquiries (702) 369-5523

CP/M 8"

Monitors

Amdek

Color II $ 679

Color III $ 399

Color IV (RGB Analog Input) $1029

Amdisk3 $ 729

Amplot $ 769

Amdek V310 Green $ 179

NEC

NECJB1201M $ 169

Transtar

Transtar20 $ 139

Quadrant

Quadchrome

• Hi-Res RGB Monitor

• Non-Glare Screen

• 690 x 240 Resolution

CALL FOR PRICE!

Peripherals

Kraft Joystick 45

TG Joystick $ 39

TG Trackball $ 39

Microsoft 64K Ramcard $ 239

Microsoft 256K Ramcard $ 589

Hayes Smartmodem 300 $ 209

Hayes Smartmodem 1200 $ 499

Hayes Smartcom II Terminal Pk $ 72

Anchor Automation Mark VI Modem .$ 179 Quadram Microfazer w/Power

Supply ., $ 149

Trackball $ 59

Analog Joystick $ 49

IBM Interface Card $ 45

Versawriter Graphics Tablet $ 239

NEWLY ARRIVED

IBM

Personal Computer

Digital Research

CBasic $ 99

CB-80 $309

Pascal/MT+ $219

Speed Programming Package $129

CISCobol $499

Access Manager $189

Display Manager $253

Micropro International

WordStar $259

DataStar $179

MailMerge $139

SuperSort $145

SpellStar $145

WordMaster $ 95

CalcStar $ 89

3 Pak(Word/Mail/SpellStar) $489

2 Pak (WordStar and MailMerge) $369

2 Pak (WordStar and SpellStar) $369

InfoStar $289

Reportstar $209

Sorcim Corporation

SuperCalc $185

Spellguard $123

ftYYCTPrt

Wfo

Includes 64K IBM-PC

with two 320 KB floppy

disk drives, controller

color graphics card,

monochrome monitor

$2839

552 BYTE July 1983

Circle 98 on inquiry card.

Take A Byte Out Budget.

Printers

NEC

NEC8023A $ 439

NEC 3530 $1599

NEC 7710 $2059

NEC 7730 $2059

NEC 3550 $1899

Diablo

Diablo 620R(25CPS) $ 949

Diablo 630R (40CPS) $1729

Diablo 630KSR (40CPS) $2429

Epson

FX80 $ 599

FX100FT $ 799

Smith Corona

TP-1 Parallel $ 499

Okidata

MLB2A $ 439

ML83A $ 679

ML84P $1029

ML84S $1149

ML92 $ 539

ML93 $ 949

IDS

Microprism 80 $ 549

Prism 132 $1399

(with Sheetfeed & Graphics) Prism 132 $1589

(with Sheetfeed, Graphics & Color) Prism to IBM Cable $ 48

Citoh

8510Prowriter $ 369

F10Starwriter $1349

FlOPrintmaster $1599

Mannesmann Tally

MT160L $ 749

MT 1802 (Parallel) $1559

MT 1805 (Serial) $1559

Gemini

Gemini 10 $ 369

Gemini 15 _$ 499

Qume

Qume Sprint 11 + $1349

Tractor Feed $ 175

Printer Interface $ 75

We Carry the

Full Line of

AST Research

and

Quadrant

Multi-Function

Boards

CALL FOR

BEST PR1CMG

Jf^ Atari

1200 XL $519

with factory rebate

800 48K $389

with factory rebate

40016K $159

with factory rebate

1010 Recorder $ 72

410 Recorder $ 72

810 Disk Drive $419

1025 Printer $409

830 Modem $145

850 Interface $159

481 Entertainer $ 64

482 Educator $110

483 Programmer $ 52

484 Communicator $289

85316KRam $ 74

The Bookkeeper Kit $165

CX4104 Mailing List $ 19

CX404 Word Processor $102

CXL4007 Music Composer $ 42

Programming 2 & 3 $ 22

Conversational Languages $ 42

CX4018 Pilot $ 55

CX405 Pilot $ 92

CXL4003 Assembler Editor $ 42

CX8126 Microsoft Basic $ 62

Business & Utilities

Visicalc $169

Mail Merge $ 20

Data Perfect $ 75

Letter Perfect $105

Text Wizard $ 65

Datasm 65 2.0 $ 59

File Manager 800+ $65

Syn Assembler $ 34

Page 6 $ 20

Atari World $ 39

K-Dos $ 59

Micropainter $ 23

Color Print $ 27

Lisp Interpreter $ 79

Bishops Square $ 20

Graphic Master $ 27

Graphic Generator $ 17

Basic Compiler $ 65

Computari's Financial Wizard $ 45

Color Accountant $ 65

Datalink $ 27

File It 2 System $ 34

Diskette Inventory System $ 17

P.M.P. Property Management $179

Programming Techniques

Display Lists $ 17

Horiz/Vert Scroll $ 17

Page Flipping $ 17

Basics of Animation $ 17

Player Missile Graphics $ 24

Sound $ 24

Data Files $ 24

1095 E. Twain (702) 796-0296 Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

Call Toll Free

1-800-634 6766

Order Line Only Information & Order Inquiries (702) 369-5523

We accept VISA and MasterCard

Mon. — Fri. 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. — Sat. 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.

Dealers' Inquiries Invited

Apple Utilities & Business

Screenwriter II $82

Visicalc 3.3 $185

Vlsischedule $199

Vlsitrend/Vlsiplot $199

The Word Handler $129

Magic Window II $ 95

Magic Mailer $ 45

Magic Words $ 45

Real Estate Analyzer II $119

Supercalc $165

PFS: Report (New) $85

PFS: $ 85

PFS: Graph $ 85

The General Manager $ 97

D.B. Master $145

Pie Writer $ 95

Wordstar $299

Datafax $129

Datalink $ 65

The Home Accountant 48

Payroll Manager $199

Pie Writer/Multi 80 column $ 95

Pro-Easywriter/Mail Combo $209

Executive Briefing System $139

The Sensible Speller $ 79

Mail Merge $159

Spellstar $119

Calstar $119

First Class Mail $ 49

E-Z Ledger $ 45

The Dictionary $ 65

Versawriter Pak 1 $ 27

Versawriter Pak 2 $27

Personal Investor $ 95

General Ledger $239

Accounts Receivable $239

Accounts Payable $239

Executive Secretary $159

Executive Speller $ 55

TASC Compiler $119

Basic Compiler $ 65

Link Video Apple II $105

Link Video Apple Ml $139

Bag of Tricks $ 27

A.L.D.S $ 89

S.A.M $ 85

Super Disk Copy III $ 20

The Artist $ 65

3-D Supergraphics $ 27

Program Line Editor $ 27

Hit List

Cyborg $22

Crisis Mountain $23

Cytron Masters $27

S.EUI.S $27

Knight of Diamonds $23

Way Out $27

Zaxxon $27

SAGA Adventure Ea. $27

Serpentine $23

Choplifter $23

Frogger $23

Sea Fox $20

Temple of Apshai $27

Ultima $27

Zorkl $27

Zorkll $27

Zorklll $27

Castle Wolfenstein $20

Wiz & Princess $22

Ulysses & The Golden Fleece $23

Wizardy $34

Tigers In The Snow $27

Deadline $34

Bandits $23

Starcross $27

Aztec $27

Mask of the Sun $27

Pie Man $20

Miner 2049er $29

Wavy Navy $23

Ultima II $39

Dark Crystal $27

Millionaire $55

Hi Res Secret $79

Police Artist $23

Suspended $35

ORDERING INFORMATION AND TERMS:

For fast delivery send cashier checks, money orders or direct bank wire transfers. Personal and company checks allow 3 weeks to clear. C.O.D. orders ($3.00 minimum) and 1 % of all orders over $300. School purchase orders welcome. Prices reflect a cash discount only and are subject to change. Please enclose your phone number with any orders.

SHIPPING: Software ($2.50 minimum). Shipping — Hardware (please call). Foreign orders APO & FPO orders — $10 minimum and 15% of all orders over $100. Nevada residents add 5 3/4% sales tax. All goods are new and include factory warranty. Due to our low prices, all sales are final. All returns must have a return authorization number. Call 702-369-5523 to obtain one before returning goods for replacement. All returned merchandise is subject to a restocking fee and must come with their original packaging in order to be accepted. NO returns permitted after 21 days from shipping date.

Circle 98 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 553

DO IvOtU Computer

Products,

VISIT OUR RETAIL STORE

3250 KELLER STREET, »9 • SANTA CLARA, CA 95050

16K APPLE*!! RAM CARD

BARE BOARD

14.00

42.50

INTERFACE

8T26 1.65

8T28

8T95

8T96

8T97

8T98

DM8131

DP8304

DS8835

DS8836

1.95

.95

.95

.95

.95

2.90

2.25

1.89

99

1702

2708

2758

2716

2716-1

TMS2516

TMS2716

2532

2732

2764

MC68764

TMS 4027 UPD411 MM 5280 MK4108 MM 5298

4027 4116 4116 4164 4164

EPROMS

1ns 450ns 450ns 450ns 350ns 450ns 450ns 450ns 450ns 450ns 450ns DYNAMIC RAMS 250ns 300ns 300ns 200ns 250ns

250ns 200ns 150ns 200ns 150ns

2.95 2.98 5.89 3.25 4.69 5.49 7.89 4.69 4.15 CALL 34.95

.79 2.89 2.89

1.74 1.74

2.00 CALL CALL CALL CALL

2101

5101

2102-1

2102L-2

2111

2112

2114

2114L^1

2114L-3

2114L-2

2147

TMS4044-4

TMS4044-3

TMS4044-2

MK4118

TMM2016

TMM2016

HM6116-4

HM6116-3

HM6116-2

Z6132

STATIC RAMS

450ns

450ns

450ns

250nsLP

450ns

450ns

450ns

450nsLP

300nsLP

200nsLP

55ns 450ns 300ns 200ns 250ns 200ns 150ns 200ns 150ns 120ns 300ns LP = LOW POWER

1.80

3.89

.78

1.44

248

2.58

1.74

1.84

1.84

1.94

4.89

3.15

3.45

3.89

9.69

4.15

4.89

CALL

CALL

CALL

32.95

RESISTORS

% WATT 5% CARBON FILM

ALL STANDARD VALUES

FROM 1 OHM TO 10 MGE OHM

50 PCS. SAME VALUE .0200

100 PCS. SAME VALUE .0150

1000 PCS. SAME VALUE .0125

i4 .J 1 raden

We Will Beat

Any Competitors

Prices!

6500 1 MHz

6502 6504 6505 6507 6520 6522 6532 6545 6551

5.25 6.85 7.60 9.85 3.95 4.95 5.95 16.95 10.95

2 MHz

6502A 6522A 6532A 6545A 6551A

8.95 9.95 11.90 27.90 1190

3 MHz

6502B 11.90

74LS00 74LS01 74LS02 74LS03 74LS04 74LS05 74LS08 74LS10 74LS11 74LS12 74LS13 74LS14 74LS15 74LS20 74LS21 74LS22 74LS26 74LS27 74LS28 74LS30 74LS32 74LS33 74LS37 74LS38 74LS40 74LS42

.23 .23 .23 .23 .23 .23 .23 .23 .25 .25 .39 .39 29 .23 .23 .23 29 .23 .29 .23 .25 .49 .29 .29 .23 .43

74LS123 74LS124 74LS125 74LS126 74LS132 74LS136 74LS137 74LS138 74LS139 74LS145 74LS147 74LS148 74LS151 74LS153 74LS154 74LS155 74LS156 74LS157 74LS158 74LS160 74LS161 74LS162 74LS163 74LS164 74LS165 74LS166

.49 1.24 .44 .44 .54 .54 .89 .49 .49 1.19 2.39 1.29 .39 .39 1.89 .59 .69 .44 .49 .68 .64 .68 .64 .68 .79 1.69

74LS253 74LS257 74LS258 74LS259 74LS260 74LS266 74LS273 74LS275 74LS279 74LS280 74LS283 74LS290 74LS293 74LS295 74LS298 74LS324 74LS352 74LS353 74LS363 74LS364 74LS365 74LS366 74LS367 74LS368 74LS373 74LS374

3250 Keller Street, «9

Santa Clara, CA 95050

(800) 538-8800

Calif. Residents Local Phone

(800)848 8008 408)988 0697

554 BYTE July 1983

.58 .58 .58

1.19 .58 .58

1.48

3.20 .48

1.79 .68 .74 .78

1.74

1.28

1.28

1.34

1.89

.48

.48

.44

44

.98

74LS47

.49

74LS168

1.69

74LS377

1.24

74LS48

.74

74LS169

1.74

74LS378

1.15

74LS49

74

74LS170

1.45

74LS379

1.34

74LS51

.23

74LS173

68

74LS385

1.89

74LS54

23

74LS174

44

74LS386

44

74LS55

.28

74LS175

.39

74LS390

1.15

74LS63

1 19

74LS181

1.89

74LS393

1.15

74LS73

.34

74LS189

8.79

74LS395

1.15

74LS74

34

74LS190

.79

74LS399

1.48

74LS75

.34

74LS191

.79

74LS424

.37

74LS76

.34

74LS192

.64

74LS447

.37

74LS78

45

74LS193

.64

74LS490

1.94

74LS83

.59

74LS194

.68

74LS668

1.69

74LS85

.65

74LS195

.68

74LS669

1.89

74LS86

.35

74LS196

.78

74LS670

1.48

74LS90

35

74LS197

78

74LS674

9.45

74LS91

.79

74LS221

.74

74LS682

2.99

74LS92

54

74LS240

.89

74LS683

2.99

74LS93

54

74LS251

.89

74LS684

2.99

74LS95

74

74LS242

.98

74LS685

2.99

74LS96

69

74LS243

.98

74LS688

2.39

74LS107

35

74LS244

79

74LS689

2.99

74LS109

.35

74LS245

1.48

74LS112

.35

74LS247

.74

81LS95

1.48

74LS113

.35

74LS248

.89

81LS96

1.48

74LS114

.35

74LS249

.89

81LS97

1.48

■ 74LS122

39

74LS251

.58

81LS98

1.48

UO IxO^U Computer Products, Inc

UARTS

AY3-1014

AY5-1013

AY5-1015

TR1602

IM6402

IM6403

INS8250

5.85 3.90 6.90 3.90 7.85 8.85 10.49

LEDS

Jumbo Red 10/1.00 JumboGreen 6/1.00 Jumbo Yellow 6/1.00

DIP SWITCHES

4 Position .85

5 Position .90

6 Position .90

7 Position .90

8 Position .95

XR2206 XR2207 XR2208 XR2211 XR2240

EXAR

3.75 3.75 3.90 5.25 3.25

CA3010 CA3013 CA3023 CA3035 CA3039 CA3046 CA3053 CA3059 CA3060 CA3065 CA3080 C A 3081 C A 3082 CA3083 CA3086 CA3089 CA3130 CA3140 CA3146 CA3160 CA3401 CA3600

RCA

.95 1.99 2.75 2.49 1.25 1.25 1.45 2.90 2.90 1.75 1.10 1.65 1.65 1.65

.80 2.10 1.25 1.15 1.75 1.15

.59 3.45

STORE HOURS:

MON-FRI 8:30 A.M.-5:30 P.M.

SAT 10:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

APPLE* II

COMPATIBLE DISK DRIVE

225.95

CONTROLLER CARD 79.95

APPLE

SUPER COOLING FANS 49.95

WITH SURG PROTECH

69.95

51/4" FLOPPY DISK

FLIP FILE

CAPACITY 75 EA

19.95

APPLE

PADDLES

9.95

,v*

\

*0

mMPMAMxm

IM^M^.

VISA

[master charge

L ■*

UPGRADE

4116 -200 ns CALL

TERMS: For shipping include S2 00 for UPS Ground S3.00 for UPS Blue Label Air 510.00 minimum order Bay Area residents add 6Vj% Sales Tax. California residents add 6% Sales Tax We reserve the right to limit quantities and substitute manufacturer. Prices sub|ect to change without notice. Send SASE for complete list

APPLE'II USERS DISK DRIVE!

225.95

CONTROLLER CARD 79.95

DoKQU Computer

Includes metal cabinet Color matches Apple 35 tracks/single side Includes cable Use with Apple II controller

Products,

'i

EPROM ERASERS

HOLDS 15 EPROMS ERASES IN 20 MINUTES

59.95

h

VISIT OUR RETAIL STORE

3250 KELLER STREET, #9 • SANTA CLARA, CA 95050

2.5 MHz

280-CPU

Z80-PIO

Z80-CTC

Z80-DMA

Z80-DART

Z80-SIO/O

Z80-SIO/1

Z80-SIO/2

Z80-SIO/9

3.35 3.35 3.35 12.49 14.98 16.95 16.95 16.95 16.95

Z80

SERIES

Z80A-DMA Z80A-DART Z80A-SIO/0 Z80A-SIO/1 Z80A-SIO/2 Z80A-S10/9

21.95 15.95 20.95 20.95 20.95 18.95

4.0 MHz

Z80A-CPU 4.90

Z80A-PIO 4.90

ZBOA-CTC 4.90

6.0 MHz

Z80B-CPU 14.95

Z80BPIO 12.95

Z80B-CTC 12.95

ZILOG

Z6132 32.95

Z8671 38.95

51/4" DISKETTES

ATHANA OR NASHUA

SSSD 18.95

SSDD 22.95

DSDD 27.95

BULK

SSDD SOFT

$1.65 EA

CLOCK CIRCUITS

MM 5314 MM 5369 MM 5375 MM 58167 MM 58174

MSM 5832

4.90 3.90 4.90 8.90 10.95

6.90

ORDER TOLL FREE

(BOO) 538-8800 (800) 848-8008

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS) ALL MERCHANDISE IS 100% GUARANTEED

LM301

LM308

LM309K

LM311

M317T

LM317K

LM318

LM323K

LM324

LM337K

LM339

LM377

LM380

LM386

LM555

LM556

LM565

LM566

LM567

LM723

LM733

LINEAR

32 LM741

75

1.25

.64

1.65

1.70

1.49

3.75

.59

3.90

.79

2.25

1.25

1.00

.38

.65

95

1.45

.99

.49

.95

LM747

LM748

LM1310

MC1330

MC1350

MC1358

LM1414

LM1458

LM1488

LM1489

LM1800

LM1889

LM3900

LM3909

LM3914

LM3915

LM3916

75451

75452

75453

.29

.75

.49

2.45

1.69

1.25

1.69

1.49

.55

.65

.65

2.45

2.45

.59

.95

3.70

3.70

3.70

.35

35

.35

Disc Controllers

1771

1791

1793

1795

1797

6843

8272

UPD765

1691

15.95 27.95 29.95 49.95 49,95 32.95 39.00 34.95 17.95

9000 SERIES

9316 .95

9334 2.39

9368 3.69

9401 8.95

9601 .69

9602 1.39 96502 1.79

MISC.

11 C 90 3242 MC 3470 MC 3480 ULN 2003 CA 3146 2513-001 up 2513-002 low

12.95 6.95 7.95 8.95 5.95 1.75 9.69 9.69

7805T 7808T 7812T 7815T 7824T

7805K 7812K 7815K 7824K 7905T

VOLTAGE REGULATORS

.75 7908T

.75 .75 .75 .85

1.29 1.29 1.29 1.29 .85

7912T 7915T 7924T

7905 K 7912K 7915K 7924K

T=TO-220 K = TO-3

.85 .85 .85

.95

1.39 1.39 1.39 1.39

CONNECTORS

RS232 Male

RS232 Female

RS232 Female Right Angle

RS232 Hood

30 pin Edge

44 pin Edge

50 pin Edge

86 pin Edge 100 pin ST 100pinW/W

3.00 3.50 4.95 1.20 2.49 2.49 2.69 3.90 3.90 4.90

DoKau

32.768 KHz

1.00 Hz

1.8432

20

2.097152

2.4576

3.2768

3.579545

4.0

5.0

5.0688

5.185

5.7143

6.0

CRYSTALS

1.90 6.144

4.50 4.50 3.90 3.90 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69

6.5536

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.31818

15.0

16.0

17.430

18.0

18.432

20.0

22.1184

2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.69

8035

8039

8080A

8085A

8086

8088

8155

8156

8185

8202

8205

8212

8214

8216

8224

8226

8228

8237

8238

8243

8250

8000

4.95 8251

5.95

3.89

5.89

24.95

34.95

7.75

8.75

29.00

27.95

3.45

1.79

3.75

1.69

2.19

1.79

3.34

19.00

4.39

4.39

10.49

8253

8253-5

8255

8255-5

8257

8259

8272

8275

8279

8279-5

8282

8283

8284

8286

8287

8288

8289

8741

8748

8755

4.39

6.89

7.89

4.39

5.19

7.89

6.85

39.00

29.00

8.89

9.89

6.49

6.49

5.49

6.49

6.49

24.95

39.00

34.95

14.95

29.95

IC Sockets

8 PIN 14 PIN 16 PIN 18 PIN 20 PIN 22 PIN 24 PIN 28 PIN 40 PIN

IC SOCKETS ST

.10 12 .15 .20 .25 .25 .25 .35 .40

ST = Soldertail W/W - Wirewrap

w/w

49

50

.57

.85

.99

1.30

1.40

1.50

1.80

6800

6802

6808

6809

6809 E

6810

6820

6821

6828

6840

6843

6844

6845

6847

6850

6852

6860

6862

6875

6880

6883

68 BOO

68B02

68B09

68B09E

6810

6810

68B45

68B50

68000

6800 1 MHz

2 MHz

3 MHz

4.75

7.89

845

11.95

17.95

2.89

350

295

13.95

795

32.95

24.95

13.95

11.95

3.20

3.50

9.89

11.90

6.89

1 80

22.95

9.95 21.95 28.95 28 95

7.89 11.95 33.95 11.95

57.95

Power Supplies

MOUNTED ON PC BOARD

MANUFACTURED BY CONVER

+ 5 VOLT 4 AMP

±12 VOLT 1 AMP

34.95

\J\J IxtAlJ Computer Products, Inc.

3250 Keller Street, #9

Santa Clara, CA 95050

(800) 538 8800

Calif. Residents Lodil Phone

(300) 848 8008 (408) 988 0697

STORE HOURS:

MON-FRI 8:30 A.M.-5:30 P.M.

SAT 10:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

master charge

BankAmericard

TERMS: For shipping include S2.00 for UPS Ground. $3.00 for UPS Blue Label Air. $10.00 minimum order. Bay Area residents add 6%% Sales Tax. California residents add 6% Sales Tax. We reserve the right to limit quantities and substitute manufacturer. Prices subject to change without notice. Send SASE for complete list.

Circle 146 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 555

Components -"%a^ -*""-«

Unlimited NOW HAS A COMPLETE

APPLE SOFTWARE

Ashton tate

d Base ll $409

ArtSci

Magiccalc S 99

MagicWindowll 109

Magicwords 89

Continental Software

Home Accountant S 59

info Com

Zork I 526"

Zorkll 269S

Zork III 269B

Micro Pro

caclstar 5 99

Datastar 199

Mailmerge 169

Reportstar 239

Spellstar 169

Supersort 169

Wordstar 269

Micro Soft

BasicCompiler 5269

Cobol-80 499

Fortran-80 139

Multiplan 189

Peach Tree

Call for lowest prices

Stoneware

DB Master . .5169

Ashton Tate

DBasell S409

DBasell8" 419

Continental

Home Accountant Plus 5 99

property Management 299

info Com

Zorkl 5 27

Zork II 27

Zork III 27

Micro Lab

Tax Manager S179

Micro Pro

Wordstar 5299

Mailmerge 159

Spellstar 159

Peach Tree

General Ledger 5345

Accounts Receivable 345

Accounts Payable 345

Sorcirm

SuperCalc 5199

Micro Soft

Multiplan S189

SPECIALS OF THE MONTH

IBM PC SOFTWARE

Micro-Sci A-2

Fully Apple CompatiPle

• Faster Than Apple

• Fully Documented

$229.00

Rana Elite I

Fully Apple CompatiPle

• Faster Than Apple • More Storage

• write Protect Switch

$269.00

BMC 9191 Color Monitor

• Composite video Audek Color CompatiPle

• Good Resolution

$249.00

Sanyo Monitor

• 9"Green

• 24 x 60

ONLY $89.00

Hayes 300 Baud Modem

• Top of the Line

• Serial interface

$199.00 Hayes 1200 Baud $499.00

C. ITOH starwriter

F-10 40 PU

• Letter Quality

• 1 Yr. Warranty

$1149.00

CALL 800-847-1718

For weekly Specials

we Offer More Than

Axiom by Seiko Printer

• 30 CPS

• Parallel interface

■ Dot Py Dot Graphic

• 2 Yr. warranty

$199.00

Ashton Tate

• D Base ll $409.00

Lowest Advertised Price Ever

5Va" Diskettes

100 for ONLY s150

• Reinforced HuP Sgl. side DPI. Density

• 5 Yr. warranty

Viewmax 80

• 80 Col. For Apple

• Videx CompatiPle

• W/Soft Switch w/lnverse Charter Switch

• 2 Yr. Warranty

$149.00

Siemans 8 Disk Drive

•FDD100-8D ■ 801R Shugart CompatiPle

• Factory Sealed • 90 Day warranty

$179.00

rf Modulator

• Apple Hand Apple iie CompatiPle

$ 19.00

Dealer inquiries invited • Quantity Discounts Available

Low Prices!?!

Al, products Have 90 oav to 5 vr. warranty

irtua«*

HOB*»«

LINE OF SOFTWARE

*CCo"ntto Qualifier

Firms

PERSONAL & PORTABLE SYSTEMS

FranklinAcelOOOw/color Call

FranklinAcel200w/Drive Call

Apple HE Starter System $1725

Kayproll 1649

Syscomll 625

Commodore64w/Drive 795

Sanyo MBC1000 1589

compac, Columbia, Corona Call

APPLE, FRANKLIN

Accessories

Advanced Logic Systems

cpm3.0Card S 339

zcardcpmCard 139

Astar

RF Modulator 19

Gibson

Light pen for Apple ll SHE 249

Kensington

System Saver/Fan & Surge 69

Micro Max

ViewmaxSOCol.Card 149

Micro Soft Products

Softcardw/cpm 239

16KCard 65

Premium Pack 469

Micro Tek

128K Memory Board 299

OPuk Memory 329

Orange Micro

Crappler + Graphics interface 121

BufferBoardw/l6KBufferExp 139

Crappler + l6KBufferExp 179

TC Products

joystick 39

Paddles 29

Selecta Port 39

MODEMS

Hayes Micro Computer

300 Baud Smart Modem S 199

l200BaudSmartModem 499

MicroModemll 259

MicroModemllw/TerminalPackage 279

Novation

J-Cat300Baud 119

Applecatll 269

US Robotic

212AAut0Dial 469

IBM PC

Accessories

Tandon

TM100-1 160K S 179

TM100-2 320K 239

Profit Systems inc.

Parallel Port, Serial Port, Clock Calendar 64K

& All Needed Software 329

Same as above except 512K 699

UPCrade

64Kw/parity 59

5Va"&8" DISK DRIVES

siemans

FDD100-8D8"Sgl/DblDen S 179

Mitsubishi

2894-63 Dbl/Dbl Den 399

Shugart

SA801RSgl/DblDen 359

SA851RDbl/Dbl Den 479

Tandon

TM100-1160K 179

TM100-2 320K 239

TM 101-4 quad Density 339

TM848-1Sgl/DblDen 359

TM 848-2 Dbl/Dbl Den 449

Teac

FD55AV2HT160K 199

FD55BV2HT320K 279

PRINTERS PRICING WILL NOT BE BEAT

C ItOh

Gorilla (NEWI Call

Prowriter I (Parallel) S 365

Prowriter I (Serial) 529

Prowriter ll (Parallel) 675

StarwriterF-10 1149

F-lOTractor 209

8600(180cpsl 1099

Star Micronics

Gemini 10 (New Version) 299

Gemini 15 (15 "carriage) 439

Okidata

Microllne92(160cps) 499

Microline 93 (15 "carriage) 899

Microline82A(Par. & Serial) 399

Microline83A(15"carriage) 629

Microline 84P(200cps) 969

Microline84S(200cps) 1059

Axiom

SeikoshaGP100A 199

seikosha GP250X 239

dec

Nec8023A Price Reduction 429

Epson

RX, MX, FX Call

Toshiba

P1350 TopoftheUne 1599

DISK DRIVES FOR APPLE & FRANKLIN

Rana Systems

Elitel S 269

Elitell 429

Elitelll 539

•Add $70 for Controller

Micro Sci

A-2 229

A-40 279

A-70 359

•Add $70 for controller

Ouentin Research

AppleMate 249

5 Megabyte Hardisk 1695

Computer Components Unlimited

800-847-1718

All Orders

NEW RETAIL STORE:

11976 Aviation Blvd. inglewood, CA 90304

MAIL ORDER:

P.O. Box 1936 Hawthorne, CA 90250

VIDEO DISPLAY MONITORS

USI

pi 1 (9"AmberHiRes) $ 139

pi 2 (9'xreenHiRes) 129

pi 3 (12" AmberHiRes) 149

PI4 d2"GreenHiRes) 139

Sanyo

DM5109 (9"Green) 89

DM2112 d2"Green) 84

BMC

12AU (12"Green) 79

9191 colorcomposite 249

Zenith

ZVM121 (12"Green) 94

Amdek

Colon + w/sound 299

COlorllRGB 569

Princton Graphics

PGSHx12w/IBMCable 499

LOW PRICED Hi Quality DISKETTES

5W Disks

Sgl Side/Dbl Density $17 a box

DblSide/DblDensity 27abox

8" Disks

SglSide/DblDensity 28abox

Dbl Side/Dbl Density 34abox

All Disks come w/Reinforced Hub, 5 yr warranty and not bulk packed.

Advanced Access

Smoked Plexiglass Diskette Tub Holds 80 .... 19 8"version 26

IBM to Printer $ 32

Osborne to Printer 32

kaypro to Printer 32

Apple Cards Cable 49

DISK DRIVE CABINETS

5%" Cabinets

Sgl Cabinet w/pwr. supply S 59

DualCabinetsw/pwrsupply 89

8" Cabinets

SglCabinetsw/fan&pwr.supply 209

DualCabinetsw/fan&pwr.supply 259

if you don't see

what you are

looking for,

give us a call, we

have much more

available

Technical & Customer Service (213)219-0808

Circle 83 on inquiry card

All merchandise new. We accept MC, Visa, Wire" Transfer, COD Call, Certified Check, P.o s from qualified firms, apo accepted Shipping: Minimum S3.50 first 5 pounds. Tax California Res. Only add 6V„ sales tax.

Prices Subject to Change

Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

800)421-5041

TECHNICAL & CALIFORNIA

CaUFornia Dici

64K STATIC RAM - Jade

Uses new 2K x 8 static RAMs. fully supports IEEE 696 24 bit

extended addressing, 200ns RAMs. lower 32K or entire

board phantomable, 2716 EPROMs may be subbed for

RAMs, any 2K segment of upper 8K may be disabled, low

power typically less than 500ma

MEM-99152B

MEM-99152K

MEM-32152K

MEM-56152K

MEM-64152K

EXPANDORAM III

SD Systems new ExpandoRAM III is a high density S-100 memory board utilizing the new 64K x 1 dynamic RAM chips. It allows memory sizes of 64K, 128K or 256K all on a single S-100 board

MEM-65064A 64K $495.00

MEM-65128A 128K $595.00

MEM-65192A 192K $675.00

MEM-65256A 256K $755.00

$49 05

Kit less RAM

$99.95

32 kit

$199.95

5KK kit

$?B9 95

K4K k,t

S299 95

rested add $50 00

Letter Quality Printer - BMC

Wordstar compatible, Diablo protocals, proportional and incremental spacing, 16 CPS bi-directional printing, 10. 12 or 15 CPI, up to 17-inch wide paper Available in parallel or serial versions.

PRD-52001 Parallel $799.00

PRD-52002 Serial $829.00

PRA-52000 Tractor option $159.95

380Z by D.T.C.

Based on the same quality mechanism as the Comrex printer, the 380Z contains electronic enhancements that allow it to print at speeds up to 32 CPS Other features include a 48K buffer, proportional spacing, and Diablo 1640/1660/630 compatible protocol Comes with printwheel, ribbon and users manual Serial, parallel, and IEEE 488 interfaces standard.

PRD-11300 380Z printer

PRA-11000 Tractor option _ PRA-1200 Cut sheet feeder Cable Please specify

51295.00

$169.95

$699.95

$49.95

Printers From Jade

SEIKOSHA 10" Graphics, 30 CPS

$229.95

120 CPS

160 CPS with Graphics 160 CPS with Graphics 120 CPS with Tractor _

OKIDATA 82

OKIOATA 92

OKIDATA 93

OKIDATA 83

OKIDATA 84

OKIDATA 2350 15

OKIDATA 2410 15" 350 CPS. Two color _

DAISYWRITER 2000 48K Daisywheel

GEMINI 10 100 CPS 10" with Graphics

GEMINI 15 100 CPS 15" with Graphics

COMREX CR1

19" 200 CPS with Graphics 350 CPS

_ CALL

CALL

CALL

CALL

_ CALL

_ CALL

CALL

$1395.00

$349.95

$499.95

$849.95

PRINTER PALS — FMJ

Desk top printer stand and paper rack Fits all printers

PRA-99080 10" Printer pal $29.95

PRA-99100 15" Printer pal $39.95

PRA-99700 lor Letter Quality $49.95

S-100_

I/O BOARDS

The BUS PROBE — Jade

Inexpensive S-100 Diagnostic Analyzer

TSX-200B Bare board

TSX-200K Kit

TSX-200A A S. T

_ $59.95 $129.95 $159.95

1/0-4 — SSM Microcomputer

2 serial I/O ports plus 2 parallel I/O ports IOI-1010A A & T

l/OS — SSM Microcomputer

Two serial & 3 parallel ports, 110-19 2K Baud IOI-1015A A & T $289.95

INTER FACER 4 — CompuPro

3 serial, 1 parallel, 1 Centronics parallel

IOI-1840A A & T $389.95

IOI-1830C CSC $495.00

• !•

PB-1 — SSM Microcomputer

2708, 2716 EPROM board with on-board programmer

MEM-99510K Kit with manual $154.95

MEM-99510A A & T with manual $219.95

PROM-100 — SD Systems

2708,2716, 2732 EPROM programmer with software

MEM-99520K Kit with software $189.95

MEM-99520A A & T with software $249.95

VIDEO MONITOR — Jade

1000 lines ultra-high resolution, 20 MHz ultra-high band width, 9" or 12". Amber or Green phosphor, the finest monitors we sell

VDM-740920 9" Green $99.95

VDM-740910 9" Amber $129.95

VDM-751220 12" Green $129.95

VOM-751210 12" Amber $139.95

12" GREEN SCREEN — Zenith

15MHz, 40 or 80 column

VDM-201201 12" Green

DUAL DISK SUB-SYSTEMS

DISK Sub-Systems — Jade

Handsome metal cabinet with proportionally balanced air flow system, rugged dual drive power supply power cable kit, power switch, line cord, fuse holder, cooling fan, nevermar rubber feet, all necessary hardware to mount 28" disk drives, power supply, and fan, does not include signal cable. Dual 8" Sub-Assembly Cabinet

END-000420 Bare cabinet $49.95

END-000421 Cabinet kit $199.95

END-000431 A & T $249.95

8" Sub-Systems — Single Sided, Double Density END-000423 Kit w 2 Siemens FDIOOSDs _ $650.00 END-000424 A & T w/2 Siemens FD100-8DS _ $695.00

END-000433 Kit w/2 Shugart SA-801RS $999.95

END-000434 A & T w 2 Shugart SA-801 Rs _ $1195.00 8" Sub-Systems — Double Sided, Double Density

END-000426 Kit w/2 Qume DT-8s $1224.95

END-000427 A & T w 2 Qume D-8s $1424.95

END-000436 Kit w 2 Shugart SA-851 Rs 51274.95

END-000434 A & T wi2 Shugart SA-801RS $1195.00

ISO-BUS - Jade

Silent, simple and on sale — a better motherboard 6 Slot (5%" x 8%";

MBS-061B MBS-061K

Rare hnarrl Kit

$22.95 $39.95

MBS-061A

A S, T

$69.95

MBS-121B MBS-121K

12 Slot tt%" x &/,") Rare hnarrl Kit

$34.95 $69.95

MBS-121A

A A T

$109.95

MBS-1B1B

18 Slot (14V2" x »/,")

$54.95

MBS-181K

Kit

$99.95

MBS-181A

A A T

$149.95

S-100

CPU BOARDS

The BIG Z — Jade

2 or 4 MHz switachable Z-80 CPU board with serial I/O accommodates 2708. 2716. or 2732 EPROM. baud rates from 75 to 9600

CPU-30201B Bare board wlmanual

CPU-30201K Kit with Manual

CPU-30201A A 8, T with Manual .

535.00 $149.95 $199.95

SBC 200 - SD Systems

4 MHz Z-80A CPU with serial & parallel I/O. ROM space, monitor PROM included. CPU-30200A A & T

CPU-Z CompuPro

2 or 4 MHz Z80A CPU. 24 bit addressing

CPU-30500A 2/4 MHz A & T

CPU-30500C 3 6 MHz CSC

5279.95 $374.95

8085/8088 — CompuPro

Both 8 & 16 bit CPUs, standard 8 bit S-100 bus, up to 8 MHz, accesses 16 Megabytes of memory

CPU-20510A 6 MHz A T $429.95

CPU-20510C 6 8 MHz CSC $529.95

PLACE ORDERS TOLL FREE

Continental U.S. 800-421-5500

Inside California 800-262-1710

For Technical Inquires or Customer Service call:

213-973-7707

We accept cash, checks, credit cards, or Purchase Orders from qualified firms and institutions. Minimum prepaid order $15.00 California residents add 6y2% tax. Export customers outside the US or Canada please add 10% to all prices. Prices end avalllblllty subject to change without notice. Shipping and handling charges via UPS Ground 50«/lb. UPS Air $1.00/lb. minimum charge $3.00

jrnyrc^TwniTEi^ eeehse

ran*

Tandon TM100-1 single-sided double-density 48 TPI

MSM-551001 $219.95 ea 2 (or $199.95 ea

Shugart SA400L single-sided double-density 40 track

MSM-104000 $234.95 ea 2 for $224.95 ea

Tandon TM100-2 double-sided double-density 48 TPI MSM-551002 $294.95 ea 2 (or $269.95

MPI B52 double sided, double density, 48 TPI can be

substituted for CDC.

MSM-155200 $299.95 ea 2 for $279.00 ea

MPI B51 single sided, double density 48 TPI

MSM-155100 $239.95 ea 2 for $199.95 ea

51/," Cabinets With Power Supply

END-000216 Single cab w/power supply $69.95

END000226 Dual cab w power supply $94.95

Smart Buy in MODEMS — Signalman ULTRA-VIOLET EPROM ERASERS

Dual Slimline Sub-Systems — Jade

Handsome vertical cabinet with scratch resistant baked enamel finish, proportionally balanced air fiow system quiet cooling fan, rugged dual drive power supply, power cables, power switch, line cord, fuse holder, cooling fan all necessary hardware to mount 2-8" slimline disk drives Does not include signal cable. Dual 8" Slimline Cabinet

END-000820 Bare cabinet $59.95

END-000822 A & T w o drives $179.95

Dual 8" Slimline Sub-Systems

END-000823 Kit w/2 SS DD Drives

END-000824 A & T w/2 SS DD Drives . END-000833 Kit w/2 DS DD Drives

END-000834 A & T w 2 DS DD Drives

. $919.95

_ $949.95

$1149.95

$1179.95

Siemens FDD 100-8 single-sided double-density

MSF-201120 $274.95 ea 2 for $249.95 ea

Shugart SA801R single-sided double-density

MSF-10801R $394.95 ea 2 for $389.95 ea

Shugart SA851R double-sided double density

MSF-10851R $554.95 ea 2 for $529.95 ea

Oume DT-8 double-sided double-density

MSF-750080 $524.95 ea 2 for $498.95 ea

Tandon TM8481 single-sided double-den thin-line

MSF-558481 $379.96 ea 2 for $369.95 ea

Tandon TMB48-2 double-sided double-den thin-line

MSF-558482 $494.95 ea 2 for 5484.95

NEC FD1165 double-sided double-den thin-line MSF-851165 $484.95 ea 2 for $449.95

1200 and/or 300 baud, direct connect, automatic answer or originate selection, auto-answer/auto-dial on deluxe models 9v battery allows total portability, full one year warranty

IOM-5600A 300 baud direct connect $89.95

IOM-5610A 300 baud Deluxe $149.95

IOM-5620A t200 300 baud Deluxe $369.95

IOM-5650A 300 baud tor Osborne $119.95

IOM-5630A 300 baud card lor IBM $269.95

IOM-5690A 1200 baud option for IBM S129.95

SMARTMODEM — Hayes

Sophisticated direct-connect auto-answer/auto-dial modem, touch-tone or pulse dialing RS-232C interface programmable

IOM-5500A Smartmodem 1200 $574.95

IOM-5400A Smartmodem 300 $224.95

IOK-1500A Hayes Chronograph $218.95

IOM-1100A Micromodem 100 $368.95

IOM-2010A Micromodem II w/Term prgm $329.95

IOM-2012A Terminal program lor MMII $89.95

1200 BAUD SMART CAT— Novation

103/212 Smart Cat & 103 Smart Cat, 1200 & 300 baud, builtin dialer, auto re-dial if busy, auto answer/disconnect, direct connect. LCD readout displays mode analog/digital loopback self tests, usable with multi-line phones

IOM-5241A 300 baud 103 Smart Cat $229.95

IOM-5251A 1200 baud 212 103 Smart Cat $549.95

J-CAV MODEM — Novation

1/5 the size of ordinary modems. Bell 103. manual orautoanswer, automatic answer/orginate. direct connect, builtin self-test, two LEDs and audio beeps provide status information. IOM-5261A Novation

VERSAFLOPPY II - SD Systems

Double density disk controller for any combination of 5%" and 8" single or double sided, analog phase-locked loop data seperator, vectored interrupts, CP/M 2.2 & Oasis compatible control/diagnostic software PROM included

IOD-1160A A & T With Prom $359.95

SFC-55009047F CPM 3.0 With VF-II $139.95

2422 DISK CONTROLLER — CCS.

5%" or 8" double density disk controller with on-board boot loader ROM, free CP/M 2 2 & manual set IOO-1300A A a T with CP M 2 2 $399.95

DOUBLE D — Jade

High reliability double density disk controller with onboard Z-80A. auxiliary printer port, IEEE S-100 can function in multi-user interrupt driven bus

IOD-1200B Bare board & hdwr man $59.95

IOD-1200K Kit wlhdwr <S sftwr man $299.95

IOD-1200A A & T w'hdwr & sftwr man $325.00

SFC-59002001F CPiM 2.2 with Double D $99.95

DISK TUBS

DISKETTE STORAGE BOXES

Clear Plexiglass storage boxes (or up to 75 Diskettes

MMA-505 Holds 75 5%" $19.95

MMA-508 Holds 50 8" $24.95

Inexpensive erasers for industry or home

XME-3100A Spectronics w/o timer

XME-3101A Spectronics with timer

XME-3200A Logical Devices

$69.50 $94.95 $49.95

APPLEJL ACCESSORIES

SUPER DISKETTE SPECIAL!

We bought out a major manufacturer's overstock, and we are passing the savings on to you! Single sided, double density, package of 10 in plastic library case.

MMD-5121003 Apple Diskettes

$18.95 $16.95

DISK DRIVE - Fourth Dimension

Totally Apple compatible. 143,360 bytes per drive on DOS 3 3 full one year factory warranty, half-track capability reads all Apple software, plugs right into Apple controller as second drive. DOS 3 3, 32 1 Pascal. & CP/M compatible.

MSM-431010 Forth Dimension drive $249.95

MSM-431030 Controller only $60.00

MSM-431040 Controller with software $99.95

HALF—HEIGHT DRIVE - Laser Micro.

Totally Apple Compatible Works with all Apple software and controllers Faster and quieter than most other drives yet only half the size! MSM-571010 Laser half-height $299.95

$149.95 CP/M 3.0 CARD for Apple — A.L.S.

The most powerful card available for your Apple!

6MHz Z-80B, additional 64K of RAM, CP/M 3,0 plus 100% CP/M 22 compatibility. C basic. CP/M Graphics. 300% faster than any other CP/M for Apple One year warranty CPX-62810A A.L.S. CP/M Card $349.95

Z-CARD for Apple II — A.L.S.

Two computers in one.Z-80 &6502, more than doubles the power and potential of your Apple, includes Z-80 CPU card CP/M 2.2 and complete manual set. Pascal. compatible utilities are menu-driven, one year warranty. CPX-62800A A & T with CP/M 2 2 $159.95

80 COLUMN APPLE CARD

80 column x 24 line video card for Apple II, addressable 25th status line, normal/inverse or high/low video, 128 ASCII characters, upper and lower case, 7x9 dot matrix with true descenders, CP/M, Pascal & Fortran compatible, 50/60 Hz. 40/80 column selection from keyboard Best 80 column card!

IOV-2450A Viewmax 80 ____

IOV-2455A Preboot disk for above

$149.95 _ $29.95

16K RAM Card — for Apple II

Expand your Apple II 64 K. use as language card, full 1 year

warranty Why spend SUSOO?

MEX-16700A Save over $115.00 $49.95

GRAPPLER PLUS - Orange Micro

The ultimate parallel printer Graphics interface card with many new features, now at a new low price1

IOP-2300A Grappler Plus ________ $139.95

Computer Products

4901 West Rosecrans, Hawthorne, California 90250

Circle 218 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 561

SIXTH ANNIVERSARY SA

NOT JUST AN ORDINARY SALE! WE HAVE SLASHED PRICES TO THE BONE AS OUR WAY OF THANKING

YOU, OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS FOR 6 YEARS OF LOYALTY. WE'VE CONTINUOUSLY GROWN AND EXPANDED DY

OFFERING YOU THE REST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY WITH THE REST AFTER-SALE SUPPORT

*

K ^

CPU DOARDS

66 K - 66000 16 DIT CPU

BS6BT184A BS6BT184C

Description

A&T 8MHz CSC 10MHz

lilt Price Our Price $695 00 $518.95 3850 00 $765.00

CP/M 68K NOW AVAILABLE!!

N.-iw r.nmnnPm ^nfl nmila! Research bono vou CP/M for the 68000"

BSGBTCPM68K 68000 CP/M' S3SO.OO

FORTH OPERATING SYSTEM FOR 68K CPU

Requires d DISK 1 64K ol CompuPro memory and an INTERFACER3 or4

CO-PROCESSOR 8066/8067

16 bit 8 or 10 MHz 8086 CPU with sockets for 8087 and 80136

S 750.00 $494.95

BSGBT186A A&T 8MHz 8086 only

BSGBT186C CSC 10MHz 8086 only $85000 $764.89

BSGBT186A87 A&T with 8087 option $1050.00 $939.00

BSGBTI86C87 CSC with 8087 option' $1150.00 SI065.00

"8087 Limits clock speed to 5MHz

DUAL PROCESSOR 6065-6088

6 or 8 MHz provides true 16 Bit Power with a standard 8 bit S-100 bus

$495.00 $318.97

BSGBT1612A BSGBTI8I2C

A&T 6MHz CSC 6/8 MHz

$595.00 $497.87

CPUZ - Z60D CPU NOW 6MHz!

3/6 MHz Z80B CPU with 24 Bit Addressing. FASTEST ZBO CPU AVAILABLE!

BSGBTI60A 3/6 MHz A&T

BSGBTI60C 3/6 MHz CSC

$325.00 $228.95 $425.00 $374.87

DISK CONTROLLERS DISK 1 DMA FLOPPY CONTROLLER

Fast DMA. Soft Sector, Controls Up to Four 8" or 5'A" Single or Double Density Drives!

BSPDB171ACPM A&T w/CPM 2 2" & BIOS $670.00

When purchased w/two 8" disk drives only

BS6BII71CCPM CSC W/CP/M 2.2* & BIOS $770.00

$489.00 $450.00

$595.00 $368.95 $550.00 $148.95

BSGBT171A Disk 1 Controller A&T $495 00

BSGBT171C Disk 1 Controller CSC $59500

BSGBTCPM80 CP/M 2 2' for Z80/8085 w/manual &

BIOS 8" S/D disk BSGBTCPM86 CP/M 2 2* for 8086 w/manuals & BIOS $258.95

8" S/D disk

DISK 2/SELECTOR CHANNEL HARD DISK CONTROLLER

Fast DMA 2 board set controls 4 Shugart 4000 series or Fujitsu 2300 type drives. Includes CP/M 2.2*.

BSGBT177A Assembled & Tested BSGBT177C CSC

$79500 $568.95

$89500 $850.00

M-DRIVE/H HARDWARE LOGICAL DISK SYSTEM

Interfaces through two I/O ports, and runs at 10MHz IEEE 696 compatible.

Requires any CompuPro CPU and a DISK 1. Each board contains 512K of

fast, low power (900mA) RAM, with parity checking.

BSGBT197A M-DRIVE/H w/soltware, A&T $1895.00 $1295.00 BSGBT197C M-DRIVE/Hw/software,CSC $2095.00 $1495.00

STATIC RAM

RAM 17 - 64K CMOS STATIC RAM

12 MHz, RAM 17, 2 Watt, DMA Compatible 24 Bit Addressing

BSGBT175A64 BSGBT175C64

64K A&T 12MHz 64K CSC 12MHz

$499.00 $460.00 $599.00 $550.00

RAM 16 - 02K x 16 DIT CMOS STATIC RAM

8 and/or 16 Bit 12MHz, RAM 16, 32K x 16 or64K x 8 IEEE/696 16 Bit 2 Watt, 24 Bit Addressing

$550 00 $510.00

BSGBT180A

BSGBT180C

64 K A&T 64K CSC

2MHz 12MHz

$650 00 $610.00

RAM 21 - 128K STATIC RAM

816 RAM 21 12MHz, 128K x 8 or 64K x 16 IEEE/696 (|l?) 8 or 16 Bit, 1,2 Amps, 24 Bit Addressing

BSGBT19BA BSGBT190C

128K A&T 128K CSC

$1095.00 $995.00 $1245.00 $1125.00

I/O DOARDS

SYSTEM SUPPORT 1 MULTIFUNCTION DOARD

Serila port (software prog, baud), 4 K RAM included, 15 levels of interrupt, real time clock, optional math processor

Part No.

Oeuription

Lilt Price Our Price

BSGBT162A

BSG8T162C

BSGBTB23I

BSGB1B232

BSGBT162AM1

BSGBT162CM1

BSGBT162AM2

BSGBT162CM2

Assembled & Tested

CSC

Math Chip

Math Chip

A&T w/8231 Math Chip

CSC w/8231 Math Chip

A&T w/8232 Math Chip

CSC w/8232 Math Chip

$450.00 $308.95

$55000 $495.00 $195.00 $195.00

$64500 $538.95

$74500 $670.00

$645.00 $538.95

$74500 $670.89

MPX CHANNEL DOARDS

1/0 Multiplexer, using 8085A-2 CPU on board w/16K RAM

BSGBT166A16 Assembled & Tested BSGBT166C16 CSC

INTERFACER 1

Two Serial I/O

$649.00 $584.89 $74900 $674.89

BSGBT133A BSGBTI33C

Assembled & Tested CSC

$295 00 $198.95

$370.00 $329.00

INTERFACER 2

Three parallel, one serial I/O board

BSBBT150A BSGBT150C

Assembled & Tested CSC

$32500 $249.00

$399.00 $359.00

INTERFACER 3

Eight-channel multi-user serial I/O board

BSGBT1748A Assembled & Tested

BSG8T1748C CSC 200 hr 8 port

BSGBT1745A Assembled & TEsted

BSGBT1745C CSC 200 hr. 5 port

$699.00 $448.95 $849.00 $748.19

$599.00 $518.95

$699.00 $828.89

INTERFACER 4

Three Serial. 1 Parallel. 1 Centronics Parallel

BSGBT187A BSGBT187C

Assembled & Tested CSC

$45000 $314.87

$540.00 $414.87

S-100 MOTHERBOARDS

Active Termination. 6-12-20 Slot

BSGBT153A BSGBT153C 8SGBTI54A BSGBT154C BSGBT155A BSGBT155C

A&T 6 slot (2 Its.) CSC 6 slot (2 lbs.) A&T 12 slot (3 lbs.) CSC '2 slot (3 lbs.) A&T 20 slot (4 lbs) CSC 20 slot (4 lbs.)

$140.00 $125.00 $190.00 $155.00

$175 oo $155.00

$240.00 $220.00 $26500 $235.00

$34000 $310.00

California Computer Systems

Z60 CPU 2 or 4MHz

On board RS232 Serial port, On board 2K Monitor, ROM, Power on lump to any location in 64 K, LED status indicators for ROM select,

halfstate and interrupts. BSCCS2810A Z80A4MHZ CPU A&T $325.00 $258.95

CCS271901

BSCCS271901 2 Serial. 2 Parallel. A&T $360.00 $288.95

CCS27201

BSCCS27200I 4 Port Parallel, A&T $275.00 $218.95

CCS271001

BSCCS27100I 4 Port Serial. A&T $32500 $278.95

CCS2800

BSCCS283001 Assembled & Tested $550 00 $428.95

CCS206601

64K Dynamic S-100 RAM, Cromemco CR0MIX™ Compatible. BSCCS20B601 Assembled & Tested $450.00 $425.00

CCS2422A

Floppy disk controller w/CP/M 2.2"

$47500 $338.95

BSCCS2422A Assembled & Tester.

«337

105

2 Serial. 3 Parallel S-100 Interlace

Description

List Price Our Price

Assembled & Tested

$329.00 $289,95

I06

. Port Serial 1/0 S-100 Board

BSSSMI08A

Assembled & Tested

$55000 $450.00

I04

2 Serial, 2 Parallel I/O S-100 Board

Assembled & Tested

$29000 $245.00

2706/2716 EPROM PROGRAMMER 6 EPROM DOARD

Programs2708 and 2716 EPROMs Holds4 2708s(4K) or 4 2716s(8K)

BSSSMB8A

Assembled & Tested

$265.00 $219.87

DUAL.

NON VOLATILE CMOS RAMS

. 16, or 32K. 8 or 16 Bit Data. Battery Backup On Board 6MHz, Bank Selectable

BS0ULCMEM8 8K A&T BSDULCMEMie 16KA&T BSD0LCMEM32 32K A&T

$495.00 $450.00 $59500 $550.00 $69500 $850.00

256K DYNAMIC MEMORY

256K. 230 ns access time, 2 x 128K organization. 24 bit addressing, parity error detection.

BSD0LDMEM25SK Assembled & Tested $129500 $1195.00 32/64K EPROM DOARD

8 or 16 bit data, holds 2716s (32K) or 2732s (64K)

BSDULEP80M32 For 2716s A&T BSDULEP80M64 For 2732s A&T

$29500 $275.00 $295.00 $275.00

A/D CONVERTER

12 Bit Resolution 16 or 32 Channel input

BSDULAIM12 Assembled & Tested BSD0LAIM12B Without inslru Amp

369500 $625.00 $645.00 $598.00

D/A CONVERTER

4 Channel, 12 Bit. 3 Output Modes

BS0ULA0MI2 Assembled & Tested

$695.00 $618.95

/

SIERRA DATA SCIENCES

S-100 SDC DOARD

Z80A 4MHz. 2 Serial RS232 interfaces. 1 parallel interface, 64K RAM, Floppy Disk Controller, provisions for one 2732 EPROM —

ALL ON THIS ONE BOARD!'

BSSDSSBC Z80A SBC A&T $895 00 $655.00

BSS0SCPM CP/M■ Operating System on 8" disk $150.00

BSSBSTUBBOS Single User TurboDos™ on 8" disk $450.00

BSSOSTURBDM Multi-User TurboDos" on 8" disk $750.00

S-100 Z80A SLAVE SDC

Z80A 4MHz, 2 RS232 Serial ports, 4 parallel ports. 64K RAM. EPROM

Programmer Used in multi-user computer system with SDSSBC. BSSOSSBCSE Slave Z80 SBC A&T $825 00 $565.00

^P^H^I 64K-4MHZ

California Computer Systems DYNAMIC RAM

• Operates with either an 8080 or 2-80, providing processor transparent refreshes • Bank-select system • Any 16K block can be made bankindependent • Phantom input • Assembled & Tested REGULAR LIST PRICE IS $375.00

$175.00 each 4/$640.00

BSCCS20653 (Shipping Weight 2 lbs.) RAM BOARD DISK DRIVE BONUS!

As an added bonus, PRIORITY ONE ELECTRONICS is giving away software developed by Micro Resources that will allow 4 CCS20653 boards to be used as an in-memory disk drive! This allows for an incredible speed increase in your computer! This software is available only with the purchase of 4 CCS20653 memory boards. Use Part Number BSMRSHDSK. (Shipping Weight: 1 lb.)

RETAIL STORE PHONE NUMBERS: (Chotsworth:) (210) 709-5464 - (IRVINE:) (714) 660-1411

Circle"527 on Inquiry Card

PRIORITY ONE IS NUMBER 1!

OTHERS COME AND GO, WHILE WE HAVE BECOME THE LARGEST MAIL-ORDER DISTRIBUTOR IN THE MICROCOMPUTER INDUSTRY. ORDER WITH CONFIDENCE. WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION, WE'LL BE HERE NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH AND NEXT YEAR! WE'RE NUMDER 1 AND STILL TRYING HARDER!

S-IOO MAINFRAMES

PARADYNAMICS

BSPDN2018D 18 slot desk top |4S lbs) S6GO.OO

BSPDN2018H t8 slot rack mount |45 lbs) $695.00

BSPDN2818S 18 slot w/power-seq floor standing $1190.001

(Shipped freight collect)

BSPDNZ6I8 Same hs above w/no power up seq $1150.001

(Shipped freight collect*

SIERRA DATA SCIENCES

BSSDSMf 12 slot mainframe (30 lbs) $595.OO

BSS0SWNMCP6 Same as above w/no poewr up seq, $595.00 (Shipped freight collect)

Q.T. COMPUTER

BSQTCMF M.lintrane no motherboart) (45 lbs I $305.00

BSQTCMFI2 12 slot rrantrame {45 lbs) $469.00

BSPTCMFI8 18 slot mainframe (45 lbs I $499.00 \

BSQTCMF22 22 slot mainframe (45 lbs) $530.00 I

BSGTCMFMB Nn motherboard cutouts tor two $345.OO |

'V drives |45 lbs I

BSQTCMFMD6 h slot two 5V cutouts (45 lbs) S530.00

BSQTCWFM01212 slot two 5' ." cutouts (45 lbs I $560.00

BSQTCMFD06 6 slot two 8" cutouts (48 lbs I $530.00

BSQTCMFDD8 8 Slot two 8" cutouts (48 lbs I $595.00

BSQTCMFDD12 12 slot, two 8" cutouts (48 lbs) $625.00

COMPUPRO

BSGBTENC20DK 20 slot desk top iSh Freight Collect} $658.95 BSGBTENC20HM 20 slot desk top (Sh Freight Collect! $695.OO

CompuPro

COMPLETE 8 BIT ENTRY LEVEL CP/M® BASED COMPUTER SYSTEM

LOOK AT WHAT YOU GET!

List Price

Bum Mi

6 MHzZ80 CPU

$325.00

BSGBTI7U

DMA DiskController

$495.00

BSGBT206SP

Dual OUME Drives and Cabinet

I/O

$2395.08

BSG8T187A

3 Serial, 1 Parallel, 1 Centronics

$399.00

BSGBTRAM17

64 K Static RAM

$499.09

BS6BTENC200K

20 Slot S-100 Mainframe

$825.00

BSGBTCPM80

CP/M 2 2' with BIOS

$175.00

BSGBTCB14

3 Port Serial Cable to Cabinet

$ 44.90

BSSBTCB19

Centronics Cable to Cabinet

S 29.50

BSPGC50S80S

5' Drive Cable

$ 19.77

TOTAL PURCHASE VALUE: $5206.27

BUY IT NOW FOR ONLY:

BSPDBGBT8BT

SAVE $1711.27!!

DUAL QUME 8" FLOPPY DRIVE. CADINET, DMA S-100^ ^^^ ^^ CONTROLLER $ 1595. 00

AMD f P/IMI® JSPDBBBTSYS206 (Shipped freight collect)

From

ompuPro

YOU SAVE $1419.77!!

ABSOLUTELY THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE • 2 Double sided 8 DISK SUBSYSTEM EVER OFFERED • dma Floppy Con BY PRIORITY ONE ELECTRONICS * CP'*

I 6BT206SP □ uuivm l 1 6BT171A

DMA Floppy Controllet (controls up to 4 drivesl 1 GBTCPM80 CP/M 2 2' w/BIOS written lor the Disk 1 Controller I PGC50S50S

.DINET AND 2 QUME DT8 DOUDLE SIDED DRIVES>1 295.00

ROVIDE 2.4 MDYTES OF MASS STORAGE!!

BSGBT286SPISh Wt

SAVE $1030.00!!

CompuPro

UN-SYSTEM 816

DIG DEEP!! Now is the time to buy the CompuPro UN-SYSTEM 816!!

SAVE MONEY, and have an UN-SYSTEM 816 for your very own' All UN-SYSTEMS contain the very same components as the SYSTEM 816s listed in our Winter 1983 Engineering Selection Guide, but are not installed or configured. All il takes is your professional computer experience and knowledge to have the highest performing S-100 computer system on the market today. BEWARE! This is not for the novice and inexperienced user, as it requires a well-matured knowledge in system integration procedures.

UN-SYSTEM 816/A

ENTRY LEVEL- SINGLE USER

Disk storage: 24 Megabytes. Expandable to 4 8 Megabytes

Main memory: 128K - expandable to 1 Megabyte

Serial Ports 4 / Parallel Ports: 1

Centronics/Epson ports 1

Software: CP/M 2.2'", CP/M-86", M-Drive. SuperCalc-86. dBase

Component List Price: $6705.00 BSGBTUNSVSAI6

OUR SALE PRICE:

UN-SYSTEM 816/B

ENHANCED HIGH PERFORMANCE SINGLE USER SYSTEM

Disk Storage: 24 Megabytes Expandable to 4.8 Megabytes.

Main memory: 256K - expandable to t Megabyte

Serial ports: 6

Software: CP/M 2.2" CP/M-86". M-Drive, SuperCalc-86". dBase

II"

Component List Price: $8497 00 BSGBTUNSVSB16

SAVE

$2903.00!!

UN-SYSTEM 816/C

HIGH PERFORMANCE MULTI-USER SYSTEM

Disk storage: 24 Megabytes Expandable to 4.8 Megabytes. Mam memory: 384K - expandable to 1 Megabyte Serial ports: 9

Software: CP/M 2.2". CP/M-86", MP/M 8-16", M-Driye. SuperCalc86". dBase II" Component List Price: $9295.00

OUR SALE PRICE:

OUR SALE PRICE:

$5594.00

$4394.00

SAVE

$2311.00!!

irWMltKII

SAVE $3442.001!

ALL SYSTEMS SHIPPED FREIGHT COLLECT

$7194.00

64K 10MHz LOW POWER S-100 IEEE STATIC RAMs RAM 17 RAM 16

64K8BIT 64K8 or 32K 16 BIT

24 BIT ADDRESS r^~l 24 BIT ADDRESS

BSGBTRAH 17 List Price: $499.00

$299.00

PRIORITYt

BSGBTRAM16 List Price: $550.00

$325.00

ELECTRONICS

9161 Peering Ave„, Chatsworth.CA 91311

ORDER TOLL FREE (600) 420-5922 - CA, AK, HI CALL (210) 709-5111

Terms U.S VISA. MC, BAC, Check, Money Oraer, U.S FTjndsOnly CA residents add 6Va% Sales Tax. MINIMUM PREPAID ORDERS15T10 Include MINIMUM SHIPING& HANDLING of $3.00 for the first 3 lbs. plus 40.it for each additional pound. Orders over 50 lbs. sent freight collect. Just in case, include your phone number Prices subject to change without notice We will do our best to maintain prices through July, 1983. Many quantities are limited. Sorry, no rainchecks, no refunds or exchanges on sale merchandise Credit Card orders will be charged appropriate freight. Sale prices tor prepaid orders only. We are not responsible for typographical errors.

RETAIL STORE PHONE NUMDERS:

(Chatsworfh:) (210) 709-5464 - (IRVINE:) (714) 660-1411

Circle'a27 on Inquiry Card

SIXTH ANNIVERSARY SALE!

NOT JUST AN ORDINARY SALE! WE HAVE SLASHED PRICES TO THE BONE AS OUR WAY OF THANKING

YOU, OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS FOR 6 YEARS OF LOYALTY. WE'VE CONTINUOUSLY GROWN AND EXPANDED DY

OFFERING YOU THE BEST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY WITH THE BEST AFTER-SALE SUPPORT

SIEMENS FDD100-6

8" FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

SINGLE SIDED, DOUBLE DENSITY SHUGART 801R COMPATIBLE

90 DAY WARRANTY!

ONCE AGAIN, YOU

RECEIVE THE

BENEFIT

OF OUR

UNEQUALLED

PURCHASING

POWER!

$199.00 each

BUY DRIVE & CABINET

TOGETHER AND (SAVE!!

DUAL 8" SIEMENS FDD1008

DUAL 8" CABINET POWER SUPPLY

ANO INTERNAL POWER CABLES

] /«,■».,».,..,„, (include $30.00 lor shipping^

$185.00

SSure Filter Cooling Power Supply 4A:a+5V 3Aa+24V

1A tf -5V Each output is individually tused • l

2 to 9

CALL for 10+

OEM INQUIRIES INVITED

(Include $7 00 per drive for shipping) BSSIEFDD1008

ORDER NOW AND $AVE!

IF BOUGHT SEPARATELY: $890.00 OUR ANNIVERSARY PRICE:

$675.00

BSPDBIIISIE

BSIIIFDC002 CABINET ONLY tSh Wt 38 lbs) $295.00

S-100 DUAL 8" SUBSYSTEM

BSCCS2422A S-100 Disk Controller with CP/M 2.2®

BSSIEF0DI008 Siemens Double Density 8" drive

BSIIIFDE002 Dual Horizontal Cabinet

with Power Supply

and Data Cable

SAVE $132.00!!

1 $39900

2 $398.00 t $295.00

1 $ 35.00 $1127.00

$995

II

DON'T MISS OUT!

Order No. BSP0BSIESUB1

{Include $30 00 for shipping)

OUR FINEST DUAL 8" DISK DRIVE CABINET!

6A

FEATURES:

• Positive pressure forced air cooling for reliable disk drive operation

• AC input via 3 wire 7 foot international cord/socket set

• AC input EMI filtered to six amps to help prevent disk crashes due to power spikes and line noise

• 14 gauge main chassis

• Integral power supply with 5 V @ 6A/-5V 9 1A/24V I

• Double-sided custom PC power board and supply

• Each DC supply and AC separately fused Part No. Ult Price

BSUIU0E004 (Sh. Wt 40 lbs) $495.00

With augmented power supply to handle Tandon Slimline, or Winchester disk drives. Includes the disk environment monitor

BSIIHJDE004AU6 (Sh. Wt 40 lbs) $733.00 $625.00

With Disk Environment Monitor for cool, reliable operation. "~

BSIIIUDE004EM ISh Wt 40 lbs.) $584 95 $495.00

pur Price $425.00

S-100 HARD DISK SUBSYSTEMS

by MORROW n

COMPLETE WITH S-100

CONTROLLER, CP/M 2.2®

AND MICROSOFT BASIC V5.2

Part No. Description Ult Price Our Price

BSMDSM20S 20 Mbyte 8" $4495 00 $3250.00

BSMDSM2BS 26 Mbyte 14" $4495.00 $3250.00

(Shipping Weights: M20: 37 lbs.; M26 (3 boxes): 8, 26. S 45 lbs. each)

ADD-ON DRIVES

(Dobs not include software and controller)

BSMDSAtMTO 10 MbyteS" $2795.00 $2050.00

BSMDSAMM2626 Mbyte 14" $3495.00 $2675.00

(Shipping Weights: M10: 37 lbs: M26, (2 taxes) 26, S 45 lbs. each)

FLOPPY DISK DRIVES

TANDON 5Va"

BSTNDTM100I 1 Sided 48 TPI (Sh Wt. 5 lbs.) $225.00

2 FOR S195.00 each

BSTNDTMI002 2 Sided 48 TPI (Sh. Wt. 5 lbs.) $270.00

2 FOR S245.00 each

BSTNDTMI003 1 Sided 96 TPI (Sh. Wt. 5 lbs.) $275.00

2 FOR S2SO.OO each

BSTNDTM1004 2 Sided 96 TPI (Sh. Wt. 5 lbs.) $390.00

2 FOR S365.00 each

MPI 5Va" FULL HEIGHT

BSMPI51* 1 Sided 48 TPI

BSMPI52* 2 Sided 48 TPI

BSMPI9I* 1 Sided 96 TPI

BSMPI92* 2 Sided 96 TPI

S200.00 $270.00 S27S.OO

S400.00

'Replace with an" bezel.

" for the MPI style bezel, or with an "S" for Shugart style (Shipping Weight: 5 lbs.)

MPI 5V*" HALF HEIGHT

BSMPI501 1 Sided 48 TPI (Sh. Wt. 4 lbs.) 9200.00

BSMPI502 2 Sided 48 TPI (Sh. Wt. 4 lbs.) $300.00

BSMPI9D1 1 Sided 96 TPI (Sh. Wt. 4 lbs.) $300.00

BSMPI902 2 Sided 96 TPI (Sh. Wt 4 lbs.) $355.00

SHUGART 8" FULL HEIGHT

BSSHIM01R 1 sided (18 lbs.) $369.00

QUME 8" FULL HEIGHT

BSQMEDT8 2 sided (18 lbs.)

$490.00

2 FOB $465.00 ea.

MITSUBISHI 8" FULL HEIGHT

BSMITM289483B 2 sided (18 lbs.)

$425.00

MPI 8" FULL HEIGHT

BSMPI41S 1 sided (11 lbs.) BSMPI42$ 2 sided (11 lbs.)

$3BO.OO

$460.00

MPI 8" DUAL HALF HEIGHT

(SAME SIZE AS ONE FULL HEIGHT)

BSMPMID 1 sided (22 lbs.) B$MPI42D 2 sided (22 lbs.)

$760.00 $870.00

TANDON 8" HALF HEIGHT

BSTN0TMB48I 1 sided (9 lbs.) BSTNDTMB4B2 2 sided (9 lbs.)

$395.00

2 FOB $375.00 ea.

S49S.OO

2 FOB 475.00 ea.

MPI 8" HALF HEIGHT

BSMPI41M 1 sided (11 lbs.) B$MPI42M 2 sided (11 lbs.)

$380.00 $460.00

5V4" DRIVE CADINETS

BSJMR1C5 Single 5V«" Cabinet (5 lbs) S69.00

B$JMB2C5 Dual 5 V Cabinef (9 lbs.) $89.00

BSJMR2C5C JMR2C5 w/mternal data cable (9 lbs) $99.00

DUAL 8" HALF HEIGHT FLOPPY CABINET

24V @ 4A. 5V 9 3A nxi

■5V @ BOOma

Fan cooled

Socketed power connections

All supplies regulated

I

Uit Price Oor Price

BSIIIDTL002

DualThin Line Cabinet (12 lbs.) $225.00 $165.00

DUY THE CABINET & DRIVES AND SAVE! With 2 Tandon Thinllnes

BSPDBIIITHDI Cabinet w/2TNDTM8481-1sided(30 lbs.) $ 885.00 BSPDBIHTND2 Cabinet w/2 TMQ1M84B? ? sidedl30 lbs) $1115.00

With 2 MPI Slimlines

BSP0BII1MPII Cabinet w/2 MPI41M - 1 sided (30 lbs.) $920.00 BSPDBIIIMPI2 Cabinet w/2 MPI42M - 2 sided (30 lbs.) $1080.00

Options

BSIIIDTLMPIKIT MPI drive adaptur mounting kit (2 lbs.) BSIIIDCCSHU Shugart / AC/DC power connector kit (2 lbs.) (For full size single SA801 or compatible drives)

$24.95

$14.95

RETAIL STORE PHONE NUMBERS: (Chotsworth:) (213) 709-5464

(IRVINE:) (714) 660-1411

Circle"327 on Inquiry Card

PRIORITY ONE IS NUMBER 11

OTHERS COME AND GO, WHILE WE HAVE BECOME THE LARGEST MAIL-ORDER DISTRIBUTOR IN THE MICROCOMPUTER INDUSTRY. ORDER WITH CONFIDENCE. WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION, WE'LL BE HERE NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH AND NEXT YEAR! WE'RE NUMBER 1 AND STILL TRYING HARDER!

APPLE ll/lle DISK DRIVES

Drive, Cartridges, DMA Controller, Cabinet and Power Supply FULLY APPLE II & lie COMPATIBLE!!

ADD-ON DRIVE

BSVIS3101 $229.00

DISK DRIVE WITH CONTROLLER

Bsvis53iii $289.00

6 MEGABYTE DISK SUBSYSTEM

BSVIS1840 List Price: $1549.00 SALE: $1299.00

LOWEST COST PRINTERS AVAILABLE

ff

Part No

BSC0X80FT Parallel interface (21 lbs) $39900 $289.00 BSC0X80FTSER Serial Interlace (21 lbs.) $39900 $289.00 BSCOXAPLINTP Apple parallel interface w/cable $49.95

30 CPS Parallel Interface

SAVE $160.00.'.'

'100A Dot Matrix Printer (11 lbs.) $389 00 $229.00

NOW! 20% FASTER AT SAME PRICE!

gemini

120 CPS »§ DOT I MATRIX PRINTER

List Price: $399.00

ISGEM10X 80 Column' Printer

SALE PRICE:

(Shipping Weight 20 lbs.) BSGEM1S 132 Column' Printer. 100 CDS List Price Sfi49nn

SALE PRICE:

(Shipping Weight 26 lbs.)

•Based on 10 characters per inch.

SEPJAl INTERFACE CARD FOP. GEMINI 10 0 15

BSGEMSERINT Serial Interface Module (Sh. wi 1 lb.) $85.09

$319.00

(Shipping Weight 20 lbs.) Column' Printer. 100 cos List Price' $049nn

$459.00

WMULTICARD

?w'"1 MEMORY & I/O CARD

64 K RAH to 256 K

One RS232 Serial Port One Parallel Printer Port BSVIS0M665

• Real Time Clock Calendar with Battery Backup (Shipping Weight 1 lb.) List Price: $595 00

ANNIVERSARY SALE PRICE:

$329.00

> MAX I CARD

PERSONAL COMPUTER RAM CARD

POPULATED IN 64K, 256K, or 576K

Runs at full speed with no wait states Parity can be disabled at User's option On board parity bit on each Byte

Fully expanded, a full 576 KB on one card One board fills entire primary RAM address space available Full Vista 120 Day Warranty

64K $219.00

BSVIS0S7664 List Price: $379.00

SAVE $160.00!! 256K $489.00

BSVIS0576256 List Price: $789.00

SAVE $320.00!! 576K $849.00

BSVIS0576576 List Price: $1299.00

SAVE $450.00!!

* Available with 256K S 576K boards only (Sh. Wt 6 lbs.)

(IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines)

51/*" FLOPPY DISKETTES

UITRY

MAGNETICS

' Includes reinforcement ring ■ 100% Surface tested

1 Write protect with tabs Lifetime warranty!

SINGLE SIDED

40 TRACKS — DOOBLE DENSITY

ORDERING INFORMATION

BSULT51401 Soft Sector BSULT5M10 10 Sector BSULT5I418 16 Sector

1 BOX OF 10:

2 BOXES:

10 BOXES:

$ 25.00 $ 40.00 $180.00

BSUIT52401 Soft sector, 40 track, 2 sided BSUIT524I0 10 sector, 40 track, 2 sided BSULTS2416 16 sector, 40 track, 2 sided

1 BOX OF 10 2 BOXES 10 BOXES

$35.00 $60.00 $280.00

MONITORS

MONOCHROME

TAXAN

Description List Price

8STAXK6I2N 12" green (19 lbs,) $179.00

BSTMKG12NDr 12" amber (19 lbs.) $179.00

SANYO

$129.00 $129.00

BSSY0DM81I2CX 12" green (24 lbs)

$260.00 $159.00

COLOR MONITORS

TAXAN

BSTMRGDI 12" med. res. RGB (29 lbs.) BSTAXRGR3 12" high res. RGB (29 lbs.)

$399.00 $699.00

$328.95 $499.87

SANYO

BSSY0VMC7013 13" NTSC w/sound (35 lbs) $65000 $349.00

BSSY0DM6II3 13" RGB (35 lbs.) $795.00 $499.00

BSSV0AVM255 25" RGB/NTSC $795.00 $699.00

(25" Monitor shipped freight collect)

HEWLETT-PACKARD

QUALITY & PERFORMANCE

AT OUR LOW PRICES!!

SERIES 10 PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATORS

Part No.

Description

List Price Our Price

BS HP-10C Scientific BS HP-11C Adv scientific BS HP-12C Adv. financial BS HP-ISC Adv. sci. w/matrix

$ 7000 $59.00

$ 90.00 $79.00

$120.00 $99.00

$120.00 $99.00

BS HP-1BC Digital 8, Computer science $120.00 $99.00 (Shipping Weights on above calculators: 3 lbs each)

HP-41C/CV HANDHELD COMPUTER SYSTEM

BSHP-41C BSHM1CV

BS HP82I04A BS HP82153A BS HPS216IA BS NPS2162A BS HP82I63A

Handheld computer Handheld computer w/5x the memory Card reader Optical Wand Cassette drive Thermal Printer Video Interface

$195 00 $159.00 $275 00 9819.00

$195.00 $159.00 $125.00$ 99.00 $450 00 $349.00 $450.00 $349.00 $225.00 $1 79.00

(Shipping Weights on above items: 5 lbs each)

ENHANCEMENT MODULES:

BS NP821B0A HP-IL module $125.00 $95.00

BS HP82170A Quad RAM module $ 75.00 $59.00

BS HP82I80A Extended functions/ $75.00 $59.00

memory module

BSNP821BIA Ext memory module $75'J $59.00

BS HP82I82A Time module $ 75.00 $59.00 (Shipping Weights on above items: 1 lb. each)

HP-75C PORTABLE COMPUTER

DS HP-75C (Sh. Wt. 9 lbs.)

$995.00 $795.00

PRIORITYl

(VJ

PERSONAL COMPUTATION

DEALER

ELECTRONICS

9161 Deering Ave,, Chatsworth.CA 91311 ORDER TOLL FREE (800) 423-5922 - CA, AK, HI CALL (213) 709-5111

Terms. U S. VISA, MC, BAG, Check, Money Order, U.S Funds Only. CA residents adrJ6Y?% Sales Tax. MINIMUM PREPAID ORDER $15*1)0 Include MINIMUM SHAPINGS HANDLING of $3.00 for the first 3 lbs. plus 40C for each additional pound Orders over 50 lbs. sent freight collect. Just in case, includeyour phone number. Prices subject to change without notice. We will do our best to maintain prices through July, 1983. Many quantities are limited. Sorry, no rainchecks, no refunds or exchanges on sale merchandise. Credit Card orders will be charged appropriate freight. Sale prices for prepaid orders only. We are not responsible for typographical errors.

RETAIL STORE PHONE NUMBERS: (Chotsworth:) C213) 709-5464 - (IRVINE:) (714) 660-141

Circle 327 on Inquiry Card

SIXTH ANNIVERSARY SALE!

NOT JUST AN ORDINARY SALE! WE HAVE SLASHED PRICES TO THE BONE US OUR WAY OF THANKING

YOU, OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS FOR 6 YEARS OF LOYALTY. WE'VE CONTINUOUSLY GROWN AND EXPANDED BY

OFFERING YOU THE BEST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY WITH THE BEST AFTER-SALE SUPPORT

LEMON™ SOURS SURGES!

NEW!

The LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, and PEACH are solid state and EMI-RFI noise filters designed to protect all mini and micro computers, word processors, printers, disc drives, and other computer-controlled equipment that is plugged into an AC power line There may be nothing more terrifying than to lose all of your software or data files due to a high voltage spike or noise from an adjacent elevator, air conditioner, or any other high powered equipment being operated in the nearby area With a LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, or PEACH, you can be sure that the FRUITS of your computer labor will be protected from most voltage spikes and EMI-RFI interferences.

SUPER DMM SALE!

0 HITACHI Hitachi Denshi.Lld

AUTO RANGING 31/2 DIGIT LCD

• Eight measurement functions with auto ranging • Data hold feature • Continuity beeper • Temperature measurements {except HITVR3550) • 5 to.1% accuracy • 10M input impedance • 250V overload protection on all resistance functions

• 1100 VDC or 850 VAC overload protection on volt scales

List Price Our Price

% JS. JJ4 »

Part No. Description Sri Wt. 2 lbs

BSHITVR3550 5% Autoranging DMM BSHITVR3525 25% with temp BSWTVR35I0 1% with temp BSHIT6703 Soft carrying case

$12700 $105.00

$157 00 $130.00

$18700 $160.00

S15.00

IFLUKEI

BSFLU8022B Handheld DMM 25% Accuracy BSFLU8021B Handheld DMM 5% Accuracy w/cond BSFLU8020B Handheld DMM 1% Accuracy BSFLU8024B Handheld DM M 1 % Accuracy, Pk & Hold (Shipping Weights on above items: 2 lbs. each)

BSFLU8010A

BSFLU8010AOI

BSFUI8012A

BSFUI80I2A01

BSFLUB060A

BSFLU8062A

BSFLUB050A

BSFLU80S0A01

BSFLUC90*

tOATru RMS Bench DMM (6 lbs.)

FLU8010A w/battery (6 lbs.)

Low Ohms Tru-RMS Bench (6 lbs)

FLU8012A w/battery (6 lbs.)

4'/zDigit DMM w/Frequency Counter (2 lbs

4 5 digit Handheld DMM (2 lbs)

45 digit Tru-RMS Bench DMM (6 lbs.)

FLU8050A w/battery (6 lbs)

Soft carrying case ISI0,

KEITH LEY

$144.00 $159.00 $194.00 $249.00

$259.00 $299.00 $339.00 $379.00 $349.00 $279.00 $389.00 $439.00 00| 10

BSKTH130 3 5 digit 5% Accuracy handheld DMM $129.00

BSKTH131 3 5 digit 25% Accuracy handheld DMM $139.00

0SKTH128 3.5 digit handheld DMM w/beeper $139.00

BSKTH132C 3 5diqithandheldDMMw/thermomeler(Centl $199.00

BSKTH132F 3 5 digit handheld DMM w/thermometer (Far) $209.00

BSKTH135 4'/; digit handheld DMM $239.00

(Shipping Weights for above items: 2 lbs each)

BSKTH169 35 digit bench LCD DMM $189.00

B8KTH17B 4.5 digit bench LCD DMM $299.00

BSKTH179A 4 5 digit bench LED DMM $359.00

BSKTH19I1910 5 5 digit bench DMM $870.00

BSKTHI9I1920 55 digit bench true RMS $940.00

(Shipping Weights tor above items: 6 lbs each)

BSKTH1304* Soft carrying case ($10.00) 10

BUY A SOFT CARRYING CASE FOR 1$

•With the purchase ol any Fluke or Keithly Handheld DMM!

AC SURGE PROTECTORS

Part No. Description

BSEPDLEMON 6 outlet wall mount BSEPDLIME 6 outlet 4%" cord w/power switch

"eicht 4 Ids

List Price Our Price

$59.95 , 89.50 $69.95

EMI-RFI FILTERED AC SURGE PROTECTOR

BSEPDORANEE 6 outlet 414" cord $139.95 $104.95 '

BSEPDORANEE 6 outlet 4'/' cord w/power switch BSEPDPEACH 6 outlet wall mount

$97 50 $ 74.95

30 MHz DUAL TRACE DELAYED SWEEP

ffKPKCISION

BSBKP1530 (Shipping Weight 20 lbs.)

List Price $875 00

ANNIVERSARY SALE PRICE:

$599.00

3V2 DIGIT LCD DMM 5 FUNCTION

BfTpRECISION

• 3'/2 Digit

• 5 functions (ACV, DCV, ACA, DCA, Resistance)

• Auto Polarity

• Auto Zero

• Overload Protected

• Complete with test leads and carrying case

BSBKPZ805 (Shipping Weig

ANNIVERSARY SALE PRICE:

TERMINALS

Extra Memory Pages

8SPDBTLW252P- $729.00

•TeleVideo 925 w/free 2nd page

memory kit, a $95 00 value' BSPDBTLW504r" $929.00 TeleVideo 950 w/free 2nd, 3rd 8. 4th page memory kiLS285 00 value BSTLN10* $558.95

(Shining Weight 37 lbs.)

©TeleVideo

DEST DUYS!

LIBERTY ELECTRONICS

Description

Ust Price Our Price

Freedom 50 (Sh. Wt. 30 lbs.) $599.00 $474.00

ADDS

BSAODt/WPR Viewpoint 3A+ (30 lbs.)

$695.00$575.00

VISUAL TECHNOLOGY

BSHSL50GN Visual 50 P31 Green Screen (35 lbs) BSVSL50BW Visual 50 Non-Glare B&W (35 lbs BSVSL3306N Green 12" CRT BSVSL300I4BN Green 14" CRT

$770.00 $658.00

i $695.00 $625.00

$1200.00 $895.00

$1250 00 $949.00

mUMSE

U.S. ROBOTICS

Part No.

Description

Ust Price SALE PRICE

BSUSRADIAL212A 1200 baud Auto Orig/Answer $599 00 $495.00

RSUSRPASSWORO 1200 baud Auto Orig/Answer $449.00 $425.00

BSUSRTELPAC8 Password Comm. Software 8" CP/M $ 79.00

BSUSRTELPAC5A Password Comm. Software 6V Apple $ 79.00

BSUSRMLNK300 Micro Link 300 Baud $179.00 1159.00

BSUSRMLNK1200 Micro Link 1200 Baud $449.00 1:369.00

BSUSBALNK300 Auto Link 300 Baud $219.00 1175.00

BSUSRALNK1200 Auto Link 1200 Baud $499 00 $399.00

(Shipping Weights on above items 4 lbs each)

SEE PAGE 194 OF THIS MONTH'S BYTE

FOR MORE INFORMATION

D.C HAYES

BSDCH0400P BSDCH0200P BSDCH0300P BSDCH0I00P BSDCHOO00P

1200 Baud Smartmodem 300 Baud Smartmodem Chronograph MicroModem 100 MicroModem II

$695.00 $514.95

$27900 $229.00

$249 00 $199.00

$399.00 $349.00

$37900 $299.00

RIXON

1200 BAUD AUTO DIAL DIRECT CONNECT MODEMS WITH 10 NUMBER MEMORY

BSRIXR212A 1200 Baud Stand Alone unit $495.00 $475.00 BSRIXPC212A 1200IBMPC™modem(2lbs.)$495.00 $475.00 BSRIXPCC0M1 IBM PC " Modem Software (1 lb.) $ 89.00

BSPDBRIXIBM IBM Modems, Software Toqether (3 lbs I $539.00 SEE PAGE 445 OF THIS MONTH'S BYTE FOR MORE INFORMATION

MURA DIRECT CONNECT MODEM $79.00

0 - 300 BAUD MUBA MM-100

• 0 - 300 Baud

• RS232C interface

• Full duplex

• Carrier detect indicator

• Bell 103 compatible

• Low voltage

• Originate/Answer switch selectable

Ust Price Our Price

BSMURMMIOO 0 - 300 baud modem (2 lbs.) $99.95 $79.00 BSCNDR2328F RS232 cable $19.95

RETAIL STORE PHONE NUMBERS: (Chatsworth:) (213) 709-5464 - (IRVINE:) (714) 660-1411

Circle ;327 on Inquiry Card

PRIORITY ONE IS NUMBER 1!

PRIORITY ONE IS YOUR PROTOTYPING SUPER-MARKET

page PLUGBOARDS

S-100 PLUGBOARDS

PART NO.

DESCRIPTION

1-4

5-9

10-24

BSPGBPI001 S-100 Bare Board $15.95 $13.95 $11.95

BSP6BPI002 s-100 Horizontal Busses $22.95 $19.95 $17.95

BSPGBPI003 S-100 Vertical Busses $22.95 $19.95 $17.95

0SPGBP1004 S-100 Pads Per Hole $23.95 $20.95 $18.95

APPLE PLUGBOARDS

BSP6BP500I Apple bare board 8SPGBP5002 Apple horizontal busses BSPGBP5004 Apple pads per hole

$15.95 $13.95 $11.95 $22.95 $19.95 $18.95 $23.95 $20.95 $18.95

UNIVERSAL PLUGBOARDS

4 5" x 6 5" or 9.6" edge connector as indicated lor 3". 4". 6". 9" dips. Accommodates 1" IDC connectors at top of board

BSPG8P44II 4 5"x6" 22/44 156" bare board BSPGBP44T3 4 5"x6" 22/44 156" 2 holes per

pad vertical busses BSPGBP44I4 4 5"»6" 22/44 156" pad per hole BSPGBP442I 4 5"x9 6" 22/44 156" bareboard BSPGBP4423 1 5"«9 6" 22/44 156" 2 holes

per pad vertical busses BSPGBP4424 4 5"9 6" 22/44 156" pad per hole $15,115 $14.50 $13.50 BSPGBP58II 4 5"x6" 28/56 125 STD barebrd $11.85 $10.95 $9.95 BSPGBP5613 4 5"x6" 28/56 125 ST0 2 holes $15.95 $14.50 $13.50

per pad vertical busses BSPGBP5614 4 5"x6"28'56 125 STD pd/hole BSP6BP72II 4 5"x6" 36/72 1" bareboard BSPGBP7213 4 5"x6" 36/72 1" 2 holes per

pad vertical busses BSPBBP7214 4 5"x6" 36/72 1" pad per hole BSPGBP722I 4 5"x9 6" 36/72 1" bareboard BSPGBP7223 A 5"x96" 36/72 1" 2 holes per

pad vertical busses BSPBBP7224 4 5"x9 6" 36/72 1" pad per hole

VECTOR IDM PC PLUGBOARDS

4.2" x 13325" FR4 drilled J plated holes 31/62 contacts on .1 centers complete with card guide and mounting bracket that accepts "D" connectors

$ 9 85 S 8.95 S 7.95

$13.95 $12.50 $11.50

$14.95 $13.50 $12.50

$10.95 $ 9.95 $ 8.95

$14.95 $13.50 $12.50

$18.95 $15.50 $14.50

S 9.85 $ 8.05 $ 7.95

$13.95 812.50 $11.50

$14.95 $13.50 $12.50

SI0.95 $ 9.95 $ 8.95

$14.95 $13.50 $12.50

$15.95 $14.50 $1350

PART NO

DESCRIPTION

1-5

6-24 25+

BSVCT46I3

BSVCT4613-I BSVCT4GI3-2

IBM 3 holes per pad with boriz busses f/soldering 44 16 pin dip capacity IBM bare board 84 16 pin dips

IBM horizontal busses for wire wrap 55 16 pin dip

$39.00 $35.10 $31.20

$26.95 $24.26 $21.56 $36.95 $33.26 $29.56

capacity

IDC HEADER CONNECTORS

RIGHT ANGLE S0LOERTAIL G0L0 HEADER

I" Spacing Mounts on PC Board & Mates with IDC Socket aTiove

NO. BE PRICE

Pitt No PINS 1-9 10-24 25-91 100-249 250-999

BSIDCRAH10ST 5/10

BSIDCRAH20ST 10/20

BSIDCRAH26ST 13/26

BSI0CRAH34ST 17/34

BSIDCRAH40ST 20/40

1.20 1.90 2.25 2.95

3.60

1.10 1.60 2.00 2.60 3.00

1.00

1.20 1.55 2.05 2.40

.80 1.00 1.25 1.70 2.00

.65

85

1.05

1.45

1.70

BSI0CRAH50ST 25/50 4.30

3.00 2.50 2.10

RIGHT ANGLE WIRE WRAP GOLD HEADER

BSIDCRAH10WW 5/10

BSI0CRAH20WW 10/20

BSI0CRAN26WW 13/26

BSI0CRAH34WW 17/34

BSIDCRAH40WW 20/40

BSIDCRAH50WW 25/50

2.60 4.00 5.00 5.95 7.00 7.95

2.35 2.10

3.50 2.75

4.30 3.50

500 4.15

(.00 4.M

6.50 5.90

1.80 2.20 2.90 3.20

4,00 5.00

1.50 1.80 2.40 2.70 3.40 4.00

Ji

call for straight headers not listed Texas Instruments

Qty TIN

16 PIN TIN DIP SOLDERTAIL SOCKETS

BSTIS1BLP

90 $ 8.00

: ISh Wt. 4 oz|

iooo $ 60.00

ISh Wt 4 lbs)

4500 $225.00

(Sh Wt 15 lbs.)

RS202 and "D" SUD-MINIATURE CONNECTORS

P=Plug, Male Type — S=Socket, Female Type

No. 01

Part No.

PRICE 10-24 25-99

100249

250999

1000+

BSCND0E9P 9

BSCNBDE9S 9

BSCNDDA15P 15

BSCN0DA15S 15

BSCNDDB25P 25

BSCNDDB25S 25

BSCNDDC37P 37

BSCN0DC37S 37

BSCNB0050P 50

BSCNDDD50S 50

$2.00 $2.75 $2.60 $3.40 $2.75 $4.00 $4.50 $8.00 $5.95 $7.95

$1.80 $2.40 $2.30 $3.00 $2.50 $3.50 $4.00 $5.40 $5.35 $7.20

$1.45 $1.35

$2.05 $1.85

$2.00 $1.80

$2.70 $2.50

$2.25 $1.95

$3.25 $3.00

$3.60 $3.30

$4.80 $4.30

$4.75 $4.25

$6.50 $6.00

$1.25 $1.75 $1.70 $2.30 $1.60 $2.60 $3.05 $4.00

$1.05 $1.60 $1.55 $2.15 $1.35 $2.25 $2.80 $3.70

$3.95 $3.00 $5.75 $5.50

"D" CONNECTOR HOODS

2 pc. Grey - Style A 2 pc Black - Style B 1 pc. Grey - Style C

Pins/ TwT 25?

Pert No. Style 1-9 10-24 25-99 249 999 10004

$1.50 $1.25 $1.10 $1.00 $ .90 $ .80

$1.50 $1.25 $1.10 $1.00 $ .90 $ .80

BSCNBDE9C BSCNDDA15C BSCNDP25H BSCN00B51226

9A 15A 25A

25B

$1.50 $1.25 $1.10 $1.00 $ .90 $ .80

$1.75 $1.50 $1.35 $1.20 $1.10 $ .95

BSCNDDB5I212 25C $1.65 $1.40 $1.25 $1.15 $1.05 $ .90

BSCND0C37C 37A $1.75 $1.50 $1.35 $1.20 $1.10 $ .95

BSCNBD050C 50A $2.00 $1.75 $1.50 $1.30 $1.15 $1.00

BSCNDD20416 Hrdware $1.00 $ .80 $ .70 $ .00 $ .50 $ .40 set 2/Pr

CEKTRONICS/EPSON PRINTER CONNECTORS

BSCND5730360 Solder $9.00 $7.50 $6.00 $5.25 $4.50 BSIDC5730360 IDC $9.95 $9.00 $8.00 $7.00 $8.00

IDC INSULATION DISPLACEMENT D-SUDMINIATURE CONNECTORS

P=Ptug, Male Type — S=Socket Female Type — C=Cover Hood BSIDCDB25P 25 6.00 5.40 4.80 4.00 3.00

BSI0C0B25S 25 6.60 6.00 5.20 4.50 3.50

BSI0CDB25C 25 1.60 1.50 1.35 1.20 1.10

PLEASE CALL FOB IOC "0" CONNECTORS NOT LISTED

IDC SOCKET CONNECTORS

PART NO

PRICE 10-24 25-99 100-249 250-999

BSI0CI0SKT 5/10

BSIDC20SKT 10/20

BSI0C26SKT 13/26

BSI0C34SKT 17/34

1.90

2.75 3.50 4.50

BSIDC40SKT 20/40 5.40 BSIDC50SKT 25/50 6.50

1.70 2.50 3.20 4.20 5.00 6.00

1.50 1.85 2.40 3.10 3.85 4.00

1.25

1.60 2.00 2.60 3.00

1.00 1.30 1.60 2.20 2.60 3.20

IDC PLUG CONNECTORS

1" Spacing presses onto cable and mates with Socket Conectors above

BSI0C682OI0 10/20

BSI0C882616 13/26

BSIDC683418 17/34

BSIDC6B4810 20/40

BSIOC685010 25/50

5.50 6.25 7.00 7.50 8.50

5.20 5.65 6.25 6.75 7.50

4.80 5.00 5.70 6.00 6.50

CALL FOR PROTOTYPING SUPPLIES NOT LISTED

GOLD/TIN 3 LEVEL WIRE WRAP SOCKETS

GOLD PLATED CONTACTS

SELECTIVE PLATED PINS THAT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY BY HAVING GOLD ONLY WHERE IT COUNTS! TIN

PLATED TAILS

PRICE STANDARD 10-24 100-249

PINS PCME. EACH 25-99 250-999

PART NO.

BSHRS08TWW BSRNSI4TWW BSRNSI6TWW BSRNS18TWW BSRNS20TWW BSRNS22TWW BSRNS24TWW BSRNS28TWW BSRNS40TWW

14 16 18 20 22 24 28 40

52 30 26 23 21 19 17 15 10

.85 .75 .90 1.10 1.25 1.25 1.50 2.1

N/A .55 .65 .79 .95

.45 .50

.52 .75 .91

1.15 1.05

1.15 1.0S

1.45 1.35

1.80 1.60

.41

.47

.51

.70

.87

.94

.96 1.25 1.15 1.40

.37 .44

.46 .65 .82 .89

-MINIMUM ORDER $1.00 per line item. To receive quantity prices beyond 1st Column you must order EXACT multiples of STANDARD PACKAGES

ICU SERIES

SOLDERTAIL

LOW PROFILE

D.I.P. SOCKETS

STANDARD 10-49 108-499 1.01

PINS PKGEEACH 50-99 500-999

BSRNS08LP

52 .25 N/A

BSRNS14LP 14 30 .25

BSRNS16LP BSRNSItLP BSRNS20LP BSRNS22LP 0SRNS24LP BSRNS28LP

16 26 .26

18 23 .30

20 21 .30

22 19 .35

24 17 .40

28 15 .45

20 25 .25 .30 .35 40

.18 .22 .23 .25 .30 .35 .42

16 18 .20 .22 24 28 .40

.13 .15 .17 .19 20 .24 .35

.12

.13

.145

.17

.18

.21

.31

BSRNS40LP 40 10 .50

"MINIMUM ORDER $1 00 per line item To receive quantity prices beyond 1st column you must order EXACT multiples of STANDARD PACKAGES

IDC EDGECARD CONNECTORS

NO. OF PART NO. PINS

1-0

PRICE 10-24 25-09 100-249 250-999

BSI0C10CE 5/10

BSI0C20CE 10/20

BSIDC20CE 13/26

BSIDC34CE 17/34

BSI0C40CE 20/40

BSIDC50CE 25/50

3.95 4.35 5.00 6.00

6 80 7.25

3.55 4.00 4.25 5.40 6.20 6.00

3.00 3.30 3.50

4.50 5.30 5.90

2.50 2.50 2.70 3.50 4.20 4.90

2.00 2.10 2.30 2.90 3.40 3.90

RJDDON CABLE

COLOR C00E0 LAMINATED CABLE FOR INSULATION DISPLACEMENT 20 GAUGE. 7 STRAND

PART NO.

ND. OF CONDUCTORS

PRICE PER SPOOL 10 Ft. 200 Ft*

BSI0C10CC* BSIDC14CC* BSiDCIOCC* BSIDC20CC* BSIDC25CC* BSIDC26CC* BSIDC34CC* BSIDC40CC* BSI0C50CC*

10 14 16 20 25 26 34 40 50

$ 3.00

4.75 S.50 7.00 8.50 8.50 11.00 13.00 16.00

$ 60.00 00.00 80.00 120.00 150.00 150.00 195.00 230.00 280.00

GRAY LAMINATED CABLE FOR INSULATION 28 Gauge 7 Strand

DISPLACEMENT

PRIORITYL

1ELECTRONICS

9161 Deerrng Aua,Chatsworth,CA91311 ORDER TOLL FREE (800) 423-5922 - CA, AK, HI CALL (210) 709-5111

Terms. U S VISA, MC. BAC, Check, Money 0r3er. U.S. Funds Only. CA residents add 6'/?% Sales Tax. MINIMUM PREPAI0 OflDL-fl$1?O0 Include MINIMUM SHIP ING S HANDLING of $3 00 for the first 3 lbs plus 40« for each additional pound. Orders over 50 lbs. sent freight collect. Just incase, include your phone number. Prices subject to change without notice We will do our best to maintain prices through July, 1983 Many quantities are limited Sorry, no ramchecks. no refunds or exchanges on sale merchandise Credit Card orders will be charged appropriate freight. Sale prices tor prepaid orders only We are not responsible tor typographical errors.

RETAIL STORE PHONE NUMBERS: (Chcrtsworth:) (210) 709-5464 - (IRVINE:) (714) 660-1411

' Circled on Inquiry Card

64K DYNAMIC 200 NS

2KX8 STATIC 200 NS

STATIC RAMS

Z-80

2.5 Mhz

8000

6800

74LS00

2101

5101

2102-1

2102L-4

2102L-2

2111

2112

2114

2114-25

2114L-4

2114L-3

2114L-2

2147

TMS4044-4

TMS4044-3

TMS4044-2

MK4118

TMM2016-200

TMM2016-150

TMM2016-100

HM6116-4

HM6116-3

HM6116-2

HM6116LP-4

HM6116LP-3

HM6116LP-2

Z-6132

256x4 256x4 1024 x 1 1024 x 1 1024 x 1 256x4 256x4 1024x4 1024 x 4 1024 x4 1024 x 4 1024x4 4096 X 1 4096 x 1 4096 x 1 4096 x 1 1024 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 4096 x 8

(450ns) (450ns) (450ns) (450ns) (250ns) (450ns) (450ns) (450ns) (250ns) (450ns) (300ns) (200ns) (55ns) (450ns) (300ns) (200ns) (250ns) (200ns) (150ns) (100ns) (200ns) (150ns) (120ns) (200ns) (150ns) (120ns) (300ns)

(cmos)

(LP) (LP)

(LP) (LP) (LP)

(cmos)

(cmos)

(cmos)

(cmos)(LP)

(cmos)(LP)

(cmos)(LP)

(Qslat)

1.95 ■

3.95 ■

.89 1

Z80-CPU Z80-CTC

Z80-DART 1

.99 1

Z80-DMA

1.49 1

2.49 ■

2.99 ■

8/9.95 ■

8/10.95 ■

8/12.95 ■

Z80-PIO

Z80-SIO/0 1 Z80-SIO/1 1 Z80 SIO/2 1 Z80-SIO/9 1

4.0 Mhz

8/13.45 B 8/13.95 ■

Z80A-CPU Z80A-CTC

Z80A-DART

Z80A DMA

Z80A-PIO

9.95 ■ 4.15 ■

Z80A-SIO/0 1 Z80A-SIO/1 1 Z80A-SIO/2 1

6.15 ■ 4.75 ■■

Z80A-SIO/9 1

6.0 Mhz

4.95 ■

Z80B-CPU 1

8.95 ■

Z80B-CTC 1

5.95 ■

Z80B-PIO 1

6.95 ■

Z80B-DART 1

10.95 ■ 34.95 ■

ZILOG

LP = Low Power

Qstat Quasi-Static

DYNAMIC RAMS

TMS4027

UPD411

MM5280

MK4108

MM5298

4116-300

4116-250

4116-200

4116-150

4116-120

2118

4164-200

4164-150

r

4096 X 4096 X 4096 x 8192 x 8192 x 16384 x 16384 x 16384 X 16384 x 16384 X 16384 x 65536 X 65536 x

5V = si

1 (250ns)

1 (300ns)

1 (300ns)

1 (200ns)

1 (250ns)

1 (300ns)

1 (250ns)

1 (200ns)

1 (150ns)

1 (120ns)

1 (150ns)(5v)

1 (200ns) (5v)

1 (150ns)(5v)

ngle 5 volt supply

1.99 ;

3.00

3.00

1.95

1.85 I

8/11.75

8/11.95

8/12.95

8/14.95

8/29.95

4.95

5-.95

6.95

EPROMS

1702

2708

2758

2716

2716-1

TMS2516

TMS2716

TMS2532

2732

2732-250

2732-200

2764

2764-250

2764-200

TMS2564

MC68764

27128

256x6 1024x8 1024x8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 2048 x 8 4096 x 8 4096 x 8 4096 x 8 4096 x 8 8192 x 8 8192 x 8 8192 x 8 8192 X 8 8192x8 16384x8

(1us) (450ns) (450ns) (5v) (450ns) (5v) (350ns) (5v) (450ns)(5v) (450ns) (450ns) (5v) (450ns) (5v) (250ns)(5v) (200ns)(5v) (450ns)(5v) (250ns)(5v) (200ns)(5v) (450ns)(5v) (450ns) (5v)(24 pin) Call

4.50

3.95

5.95

3.95

5.95

5.50

7.95

5.95

4.95

8.95

11.95

9.95

14.95

24.95

17.95

39.95 |

Call

►

5v - Single 5 Volt Supply

EPROM ERASERS

PE-14 PE-14T PE-24T PL-265T PR-125T i PR-320

Capacity

Chip

6

6

9 20 16 32

Intensity

(uW/Cm')

5,200 5,200 6,700 6,700 15,000 15,000

83.00 119.00 175.00 255.00 349.00 595.00,

3.95 I 4.49 10.95 I 14.95 I 4.49 16.95 16 95 16.95 16.95

4.95 4.95 11.95 I 16.95 4.95 16.95 16.95 16.95 16.95

11.95 13.95 13.95 19.95

Z6132 34.95 [

LZ8671 39.95J

CRYSTALS

32.768 khz

1.0 mhz

1.8432

2.0

2.097152

2.4576

3.2768

3.579535

4.0

5.0

5.0688

5.185

5.7143

6.0

6.144

6.5536

8.0 10.0

10.738635 14.31818 15.0 16.0 17.430 18.0 18.432 20.0 22.1184 .32.0

1.95 4.95 4.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 I

CRT CONTROLLERS I

14.95 19.95 15.95 I 11.95 6.95 24.95 | 29.95 [ 99.95 39.95 49.95 39.95 49.95 ,

6845 68B45 HD46505SP 6847 MC1372 68047 8275 7220

CRT5027 CRT5037 TMS9918A . DP8350

KEYBOARD CHIPS

AY5-2376 11.95

AY5-3600 11.95

.AY5-3600PRO 11.95J

8035

8039

INS-8060

INS-8073

8080

8085

8085A-2

8086

8087

8088

8089

8155

8155-2

8156

8185

8185-2

8741

8748

8755

5.95

6.95

17.95

24.95

3.95

5.95

11.95

29.95

CALL

39.95

89.95

6.95

7.95

6.95

29.95

39.95

39.95

24.95

24.95 .

8200

8202

24.95

8203

39.95

8205

3.50

8212

1.80

8214

3.85

8216

1.75

8224

2.25

8226

1.80

8228

3.49

8237

19.95

8237-5

21.95

8238

4.49

8243

4.45

8250

10.95

8251

4.49

8253

6.95

8253-5

7.95

8255

4.49

8255-5

5.25

8257

7.95

8257-5

8.95

8259

6.90

8259-5

7.50

8271

39.95

8272

39.95

8275

29.95

8279

8.95

8279-5

10.00

8282

6.50

8283

6.50

8284

5.50

8286

6.50

8287

6.50

8288

25.00

8289

49.95

DISC CONTROLLERS

1771

1791

1793

1795

1797 , 2791

2793

2795

2797

6843

8272 | UPD765

MB8876

MB8877

1691 k2143

16.95 24.95 26.95 49.95 49.95 54.95 54.95 59.95 59.95 34.95 39.95 39.95 29.95 34.95 17.95 18.95 .

68000

6800

6802

6808

6809E

6809

6810

6820

6821

6828

6840

6843

6844

6845

6847

6850

6852

6860

6862

6875

6880

6883

68047

68488

6800 68B00 68B02 68B09E 68B09 68B10 68B21 68B45 68B50

59.95

3.95

7.95

13.90

19.95

11.95

2.95

4.35

3.25

14.95

12.95

34.95

25.95

14.95

11.95

3.25

5.75

9.95

11.95

6.95

2.25

22.95

24.95

19.95

1MHZ

10.95

22.25

29.95

29.95

6.95

6.95

19.95

5.95

68B00 2 MHZ

6500

6502 6504 6505 6507 6520 6522 6532 6545 6551

6502A 6522A 6532A 6545A 6551A

4.95 6.95 8.95 9.95 4.35 7.95 9.95 22.50 11.85

6.95

9.95

11.95

27.95

11.95

UARTS

AY3-1014

AY5-1013

AY3-1015

PT1472

TR1602

2350

2651

TMS6011

IM6402

IM6403

INS8250

GENERATORS BIT-RATE

6.95 3.95 6.95 9.95 3.95 9.95 8.95 5.95 7.95 8.95 10.95

MC14411

BR1941

4702

COM5016

COM8116

MM5307

11.95 11.95 12.95 16.95 10.95 10.95

[CONNECTORS1

RS232 MALE 2.50

RS232 FEMALE 3.25

I RS232 HOOD 1.25

IS-100ST 3.95 i

FUNCTION

MC4024 3.95

LM566 1.49

XR2206 3.75

,8038 3.95 i

74LS00 74LS01 74LS02 74LS03 74LS04 74LS05 74LS08 74LS09 74LS10 74LS11 74LS12 74LS13 74LS14 74LS15 74LS20 74LS21 74LS22 74LS26 74LS27 74LS26 74LS30 74LS32 74LS33 74LS37 74LS38 74LS40 74LS42 74LS47 74LS48 74LS49 74LS51 74LS54 74LS55 74LS63 74LS73 74LS74 74LS75 74LS76 74LS78 74LS83 74LSB5 74LS86 74LS90 74LS91 74LS92 74LS93 74LS95 74LS96 74LS107 74LS109 74LS112 74LS113 74LS114 74LS122 74LS123 74LS124 74LS125 74LS126 74LS132 74LS133 74LS136 74LS137 74LS138 74LS139 74LS145 74LS147 74LS148 74LS151 74LS153 74LS154 74LS155 74LS156 74LS157 74LS158 74LS160 74LS161 74LS162 74LS163 74LS164 74LS165 74LS166 74LS168 74LS169 k74LS170

.24 .25 .25 .25 .24 .25 .28 .29 .25 .35 .35 .45 .59 .35 .25 .29 .25 .29 .29 .35 .25 .29 .55 .35 .35 .25 .49 .75 .75 .75 .25 .29 .29 1.25 .39 .35 .39 .39 .49 .60 .69 .39 .55 .89 .55 .55 .75 .89 .39 .39 .39 39 .39 .45 .79 2.90 .49 .49 .59 .59 .39 .99 .55 .55 1.20 2.49 1.35 .55 .55 1.90 .69 .69 .65 .59 .69 .65 .69 .65 .69 .95 1.95 1.75 1.75 1.49

74LS173

74LS174

74LS175

74LS181

74LS189

74LS190

74LS191

74LS192

74LS193

74LS194

74LS195

74LS196

74LS197

74LS221

74LS240

74LS241

74LS242

74LS243

74LS244

74LS245

74LS247

74LS248

74LS249

74LS251

74LS253

74LS257

74LS258

74LS259

74LS260

74LS266

74LS273

74LS275

74LS279

74LS280

74LS283

74LS290

74LS293

74LS295

74LS298

74LS299

74LS323

74LS324

74LS352

74LS353

74LS363

74LS364

74LS365

74LS366

74LS367

74LS368

74LS373

74LS374

74LS377

74LS378

74LS379

74LS385

74LS386

74LS390

74LS393

74LS395

74LS399

74LS424

74LS447

74LS490

74LS624

74LS640

74LS645

74LS668

74LS669

74LS670

74LS674

74LS682

74LS683

74LS684

74LS685

74LS688

74LS689

74LS783

81LS95

81LS96

81LS97

81LS96

25LS2521

25LS2569

.69

.55

.55

2.15

8.95

.89

.89

.79

.79

.69

.69

.79

.79

.89

.95

.99

.99

.99

1.29

1.49

.75

.99

.99

.59

.59

.59

.59

2.75

.59

.55

1.49

3.35

.49

1.98

.69

.89

.89

.99

.89

1.75

3,50

1.75

1.29

1.29

1.35

1.95

.49

.49

.45

.45

1.39

1.39

1.39

1.18

1.35

1.90

.45

1.19

1.19

1.19

1.49

2.95

.37

1.95

3.99

2.20

2.20

1.69

1.89

1.49

9.65

3.20

3.20

3.20

3.20

2.40

3.20

24.95

1.49

1.49

1.49

1.49

2.80

4.25 .

E

JDR Microdevices

1224 S. Bascom Ave. • San Jose, CA 95128 (408) 995-5430 • Telex 171-110

19B3 JDR MICRODEVICES, INC.

VISIT OUR RETAIL STORE

HOURS: M-W-F, 9-5 T-Th., 9-9 Sat. 11-3

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING TERMS: For shipping Include $2 lor UPS Ground or $3 lor UPS Blue Label Air. items over 5 pounds require additional shipping charges. Foreign orders, include sulllclent amount lor shipping. There Is a $10 mlnfmum order. Bay Area and Los Angeles Counties add 6Vi% Sales Tax. Other California residents add 6% Sales Tax. We reserve the right to substitute manulacturer. Not responsible lor typographical errors. Prices are subject to change without notice. We will match or beat any competitor's price provided ft is not below our cost.

568 BYTE July 1983

Circle 221 on inquiry card.

21ia«5oNs8/$995 2114 25oNS8/$1095

7400 7401 I 7402 7403 7404 7405 7406 7407 7408 7409 7410 7411 7412 7413 7414 7416 7417 7420 7421 7422 7423 7425 7426 7427 7428 7430 7432 7433 7437 7438 7440 7442 7443 7444 7445 7446 7447 7448 7450 7451 7453 7454 7460 7470 7472 7473 7474 7475 7476 7480 7481 7482 7483 7485 7486 7489 7490 7491 7492 7493 7494 7495 7496 7497 74100 74107 74109 74110 74111 74116 74120 74121 74122 74123 74125 74126 74128

7400

.19

.19 .19 .19 .19 .25 .29 .29 .24 .19 .19 .25 .30 .35 .49 .25 .25 .19 .35 .35 .29 .29 .29 .29 .45 .19 .29 .45 .29 .29 .19 .49 .65 .69 .69 .69 .69 .69 .19 .23 .23 .23 .23 .35 .29 .34 .33 .45 .35 .59 1.10 .95 .50 .59 .35 2.15 35 .40 .50 .35 .65 .55 .70 2.75 1.75 .30 .45 .45 .55 1.55 1.20 .29 .45 .49 .45 .45 .55

74132 74136 74141 74142 74143 74145 74147 74148 74150 74151 74152 74153 74154 74155 74156 74157 74159 74160 74161 74162 74163 74164 74165 74166 74167 74170 74172 74173 74174 74175 74176 74177 74178 74179 74180 74181 74182 74184 74185 74190 74191 74192 74193 74194 74195 74196 74197 74198 74199 74221 74246 74247 74248 74249 74251 74259 74265 74273 74276 74279 74283 74284 74285 74290 74293 74298 74351 74365 74366 74367 74368 74376 74390 74393 74425 74426 74490

CLOCK CIRCUITS

MM5314 MM5369 MM5375

MM58167 MM 58174 MSM5832

4.95 3.95 4.95 8.95 11.95

.45

.50

.65

2.95

2.95

.60

1.75

1.20

1.35

.55

65

.55

1.25

.75

.65

.55

1.65

.85

.69

.85

.69

.85

.85

1.00

2.95

1.65

5.95

.75

.89

.89

.89

.75

1.15

1.75

.75

2.25

.75

2.00

2.00

1.15

1.15

!79

.79

.85

.85

.79

.75

1.35

1.35

1.35

1.35

1.25

1.85

1.95

.75

2.25

1.35

1.95

1.25

.75

2.00

3.75

3.75

.95

.75

.85

2.25

.65

.65

.65

.65

2.20

1.75

1.35

3.15

85

2.55

LINEAR

RCA

LM301

LM301H

LM307

LM308

LM308H

LM309H

LM309K

LM310

LM311

LM311H

LM312H

LM317K

LM317T

LM318

LM318H

LM319H

LM319

LM320(see

LM322

LM323K

LM324

LM329

LM331

LM334

LM335

LM336

LM337K

LM337T

LM338K

LM339

.34

.79

.45

.69

1.15

1.95

1.25

1.75

.64

.89

1.75

3.95

1.19

1.49

1.59

1.90

1.25

7900)

1.65

4.95

.59

.65

3.95

1.19

1.40

1.75

3.95

1.95

6.95

.99

LM340 (see 7800) .99 4.95 4.60 .69 1.79 3.75 1.95 2.50 4.50

LM348

LM350K

LM350T

LM358

LM359

LM376

LM377

LM378

LM379

LM380

LM380N-8

LM381

LM382

LM383

LM384

LM386

LM387

LM389

LM390

LM392

LM394H

LM399H

NE531

NE555

NE556

NE558

NE561

NE564

LM565

1.10 1.60 1.60 1.95 1.95

.89 1.40 1.35 1.95

.69 460 5.00 2.95

.34

.65

1.50

24.95

2.95

.99

H TO-5 CAN

74S00

74S00

74S02

74S03

74S04

74S05

74S08

74S09

74S10

74S11

74S15

74S20

74S22

74S30

74S32

74S37

74S38

74S40

74S51

74S64

74S65

74S74

74S85

74S86

74S112

74S113

74S114

74S124

74S132

74S133

74S134

74S135

74S13B

74S139

74S140

74S151

74S153

74S157

74S158

74S161

74S162

.32 .35 .35 .35 .35 .35 .40 .35 .35 .35 .35 .35 .35 .40 .86 .85 .35 35 .40 .40 .50 1.99 .50 .50 .50 .55 2.75 1.24 .45 .50 .89 .85 .85 .55 .95 95 .95 .95 1.95 1.95

74S163 74S168 74S169 74S174 74S175 74S181 74S182 74S188 74S189 74S194 74S195 74S196 74S197 74S201 74S225 74S240 74S241 74S244 74S251 74S253 74S257 74S258 74S260 74S274 74S275 74S280 74S287 74S288 74S289 74S301 74S373 74S374 74S381 74S387 74S412 74S471 74S472 74S474 74S482 74S570 74S571

1.95

3.95

3.95

.95

.95

3.95

2.95

1.95

6.95

1.49

1.49

1.49

1.49

6.95

7.95

2.20

2.20

2.20

.95

.95

.95

.95

79

19.95

19.95

1.95

1.90

1.90

6.89

6.95

2.45

2.45

7.95

1.95

2.98

4.95

4.95

4.95

15.25

2.95

2.95

INTERSIL

ICL7106

9.95

ICL7107

12.95

ICL7660

2.95

ICL8038

3.95

ICM7207A

5.59

ICM7208

15.95

9000

9316 9334 9368 9401 9601

LM566

LM567

NE570

NE571

NE592

LM709

LM710

LM711

LM723

LM723H

LM733

LM741

LM741N-14 .35

LM741H .40

LM747

1.49

.89

3.95

2.95

2.75

.59

.75

.79

.49

.55

.98

.35

LM748

LM1014

LM1303

LM1310

MC1330

MC1349

MC1350

UC1358

MC1372

LM1414

LM1458

LM1488

LM1489

LM1496

LM1558H

.69

.59

1.19

1.95

1.49

1.69

1.89

1.19

1.69

6.95

1.59

.59

.69

.69

.85

3.10

LM1800

LM1812

LM1830

LM1871

LM1872

LM1877

LM1889

LM1896

ULN2003

LM2877

LM2878

LM2900

LM2901

LM3900

LM3905

LM3909

LM3911

LM3914

LM3915

LM3916

MC4024

MC4044

RC4136

RC4151

LM4250

LM4500

RC4558

LM13080

LM13600

LM13700

2.37 8.25 3.50 5.49 5.49 3.25 1.95 1.75 2.49 2.05 2.25

.85 1.00

.59 1.25

.98 2.25 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 4.50 1.25 3.95 1.75 3.25

.69 1.29 1.49 1.49

CA3023 CA 3039 CA 3046 CA 3059 CA 3060 CA 3065 CA 3080 CA 3081

2.75 1.29 1.25 2.90 2.90 1.75 1.10 1.65

CA 3082 CA 3083 CA 3086 CA 3089 CA 3096 CA3130 CA3140 CA 3146 1.19

Tl

TL494 TL496 TL497 75107 75110 75150 75154 75188 75189

TL071 TL072 TL074 TL081 TL082 TL083

4.20 1.65 3.25 1.49 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.25 1.25 75494

75365 75450 75451 75452 75453 75454 75491 75492 75493 .89

Bl FET

.79 1.19 2.19

.79 1.19 1.19

T TO-220

TL084 LF347 LF351 LF353 LF355 LF356 1.40

1.65 1.55 .80 2.99 3.49 1.30 1.15 1.85

1.95 .59 .39 .39 .39 .39 .79 .79 .89

2.19 2.]9 .60 1.00 1.10 1.10

INTERFACE

8T26

8T28

8T95

8T96

8T97

8T98

DM8131

DP8304

DS8835

DS8836

MISC.

TMS99532

ULN2003

3242

3341

MC3470

MC3480

11C90

95H90

2513-001 UP

1.59

1.89

.89

.89

.89

.89

2.95

2.29

1.99

.99

29.95 2.49 7.95 4.95 4.95 9.00

13.95 7.95 9.95

2513-002 LOW 9.95

VOLTAGE

REGULATORS

7805T

.75

7905T

.85

78M05C

.35

7908T

.85

7808T

.75

7912T

.85

7812T

.75

7915T

.85

7815T

.75

7924T

.85

7824T

.75

7905K

1.49

7805K

1.39

7912K

1.49

7812K

1.39

7915K

1.49

7815K

1.39

7924K

1.49

7824K

1.39

79L05

.79

78L05

.69

79L12

.79

78L12

.69

79L15

.79

78L15

.69

LM323K

4.95

78H05K

9.95

UA78S40

1.95 I

78H12K

9.95

C. T TO-220

K TO-3

L TO

-92

IF VOU CAN FIND A PRICE LOWER ELSEWHERE. LET US KNOW AND WE WILL IKIEET OR DEAT THEIR

PRICE! (SEE TERftlS BELOW)

* Computer managed Inuentorv - virtually no Bach orders!

* Very competltlue prices!

* Friendly stall!

* Fast seruice - most orders shipped within 24 hours!

1.00

2.50

3.95

9.95

.75

1.50

1.95

EXAR

XR 2206 XR 2207 XR 2208 XR 2211 XR 2240

3.75 3.75 3.75

5.25 3.25

I

I

Aj

DATA ACQUISITION

ADC0800 AOC0804 ADC0809 ADC0817 DAC0800

15.55 3.49 4.49 9.95 4.95

DAC0808

DAC1020

DAC1022

MC1408L6

MC1408L8

2.95 8.25 5.95 1.95 2.95 ,

CMOS

4000

4001

4002

4006

4007

4008

4009

4010

4011

4012

4013

4014

4015

4016

4017

4018

4019

4020

4021

4022

4023

4024

4025

4026

4027

4028

4029

4030

4034

4035

4040

4041

4042

4043

4044

4046

4047

4049

4050

4051

4053

4060

4066

4068

4069

4070

4071

4072

4073

4075

4076

4078

4081

4082

4085

4086

4093

4098

4099

14409

14410

14411

14412

14419

14433

4502

4503

4508

4510

4511

4512

4514

4515

4516

4518

4519

4520

4522

4526

.29

.25

.25

.89

.29

.95

.39

.45

.25

.25

.38

.79

.39

.39

.69

.79

.39

.75

.79

.79

.29

.65

.29

1.65

.45

.69

.79

.39

1.95

.85

.75

.75

.69

.85

.79

.85

.95

.35

.35

.79

.79

.89

.39

.39

.29

.35

.29

.29

.29

.29

.79

.29

.29

.29

.95

.95

.49

2.49

1.95

12.95

12.95

11.95

12.95

7.95

4.18

.95

.65

1.95

.85

.85

.85

1.25

1.79

1.55

.89

.39

.79

1.25

1.25

4527

4528

4531

4532

4538

4539

4541

4543

4553

4555

4556

4581

4582

4584

4585

4702

74C00

74C02

74C04

74C08

74C10

74C14

74C20

74C30

74C32

74C42

74C48

74C73

74C74

74C76

74C83

74C85

74C86

74C89

74C90

74C93

74C95

74C107

74C150

74C151

74C154

74C157

74C160

74C161

74C162

74C163

74C164

74C165

74C173

74C174

74C175

74C192

74C193

74C195

74C200

74C221

74C373

74C374

74C901

74C902

74C903

74C905

74C906

74C907

74C908

74C909

74C910

74C911

74C912

74C914

74C915

74C918

74C920

74C921

74C922

74C923

74C925

74C926

74C928

74C929

1.95

1.19

.95

1.95

1.95

1.95

2.64

1.19

5.79

.95

.95

1.95

1.95

.75

.75

12.95

.35

.35

.35

.35

.35

.59

.35

.35

.39

1.29

1.99

.65

.65

.80

1.95

1.95

.39

4.50

1.19

1.75

.99

.89

■5.75

2.25

3.25

1.75

1.19

1.19

1.19

1.19

1.39

2.00

.79

1.19

1.19

1.49

1.49

1.39

5.75

1.75

2.45

2.45

39

.85

.85

10.95

.95

1.00

2.00

2.75

9.95

8.95

8.95

1.95

1.19

2.75

17.95

15.95

4.49

4.95

5.95

7.95

7.95

19.95

SOUND CHIPS

76477 3.95

76489 8.95

AY3-8910 12.95

AY3-8912 12.95 MC3340 1.49,

ORDER TOLL FREE 800-538-5000 800-662-6279

ALL MERCHANDISE p—-1 r——. (CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS)

100% GUARANTEED □ EE3 CALL US FOR VOLUME QUOTES

1983 J3fl MICRODEVICES. INC.

Circle 221 on Inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 569

2732

32K EPROM

276a

64K EPROM

PROMS

Order by

National

Pari

74S188

74S287

74S288

74S387

74S471

74S472

74S473

74S474

74S475

74S478

74S570

74S571

74S572

74S573

87S180

87S181

87S184

87S18S

87S190

87S191

Function

32x8 OC

256x4 TS

32x8 TC

256x4 OC

256x8 TS

512x8 TS

512x8 OC

512x8 TS

512x8 TS

1Kx8TS

512x4 OC

512x4 TS

1KX4 0C

1kx4TS

1kx8 OC

1kx8TS

2kx4 OC

2kx4 TS

2kx4 OC

2kx8 TS

18SA030 82S23 24S10 82S129

EQUIVALENT PART NUMBERS Tl SIG MIMI Harris

6330-1

6301-1

6331-1

6300-1

6309-1

6349-1

6348

6341

6340

6305

6306-1

6352-1

6353-1

6380-1

6381-1

CAPACITORS

TANTALUM

DISC

18S030

24SA10

28L22

28S42

28SA42

28S46

28SA46

28S86

27S12

27S13

24SA41

24S41

28SA86

28L86

24SA81

24S81

82S123 82S126

82S147 82S146 82S141 82S140

82S130 82S131 82S136 82S137 82S180 82S181 82S184 82S185

28SA166 82S190 28S166 82S191

7602 7611 7603 7610

7649 7648 7641 7640

7620

7621

7642

7643

7680

7681

7684

7685

76160

76161

1.95 1.90 1.90 1.95 4.95 4.95 10.95 4.95 12.95 19.95 2.95 2.95 9.95 9.95 19.25 16.25 17.20 16.95 39.95 39.95

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUBSTITUTE MANUFACTURER

ORDER 800-538-5000 TOLL FREE 800-662-6279

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS)

6V

10V

15V

20V

25V

35V

50V

,22uf

.40

.27

.40

.33

.40

.45

.47

.35

.50

.68

.45

.50

1.0

.40

.40

.45

.45

1.5

.45

.50

.60

1.8

.75

2.2

.35

.40

.45

.65

.85

2.7

.40

.45

.90

3.3

.45

.50

.55

60

.65

.90

3.9

.45

4.7

.45

.55

.60

.65

.85

.90

6.8

.70

.75

8.2

1.00

10

.55

.65

.80

.85

.90

1.00

12

.65

.85

.90

15

.75

.85

.90

18

1.25

22

1.00

1.35

27

2.25

39

1.50

47

1.35

56

1.75

100

3.25

270

3.75

10pf

22

25

27

33

47

56

68

82

100

220

330

50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V 50V

.05

.05 .05 .05 .05

05 .05

05 .05 .05 .05 .05

470 560 680 820

.001 uf

.0015

.0022

.005

.01

.02

.05

.1

.1

50V 50 V 50V 50V

,47ul

1

2.2

4.7

10

47

100

220

470

2200

RADIAL 50V 25V 35V 50V 50V 35V 16V 35V 25V 16V

.14 .14 .15 .15 .15 .18 .18 .20 .30 .60

COMPUTER GRADE

26,000uf 30V 3.95

1ul

4.7

10

10

22

47

100

100

150

220

330

500

1000

1500

6000

AXIAL 50V 16V 16V 50V 16V 50V 15V 35V 25V 25V 16V 16V 16V 16V 16V

.05 .05 .05 .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V .05

50V 50V 50V 12V 50V

07 .07 .07

10 12

MONOLITHIC

1uf-mono 50V .18 47ul-mono 50V .25

ELECTROLYTIC

.14 .14 .14 .16 .14 .20 .20 .25 .25 .30 .40 .42 .60 .70 .85

OPTO-ISOLATORS

4N26

4N27

4N28

4N33

4N35

4N37

MCT-2

MCT-6

1N751

1N7S9

1N4148

1N4004

KBP02

KBP04

VM48

1.00 1.10 .69 1.75 1.25 1.25 1.00 1.50

MCA-7

MCA-255

IL-1

I LA -30

ILO-74

H11C5

TIL-111

TIL-113

DIODES

5.1 volt zener 12.0 volt zener (1N914) switching 400PIV rectifier 200PIV 1.5amp bridge 400PIV 1.5amp bridge Dip-Bridge

4.25 1.75 1.25 1.25 2.75 1.25 1.00 1.75

.25 .25 25/1.00 10/1.00 .45 .55 .35

MUFFIN FANS NEW UN-USED

4.68" Square 3.125" Square

HEAT SINKS

TO-3 style TO-220 style

SWITCHES

SPDT mini-toggle DPDT mini-toggle SPST mini-pushbutton

14.95 14.95

.95 .35

1.25

1.50

.39

FEDERAL EMPRESS SERVICES AVAILABLE

TRANSISTORS

2N918

MPS918

2N2102

2N2218

2N2216A

2N2219

2N2219A

2N2222

PN2222

MPS2369

2N2484

2N2905

2N2907

PN2907

2N3055

3055T

2N3393

2N3414

2N3563

2N3565

PN3565

MPS3638

MPS3640

PN3643

PN3644

MPS3704

.50 .25 .75 .50 .50 .50 .50 .25 .10 .25 .25 .50 .25 .125 .79 .69 .30 .25 .40 .40 .25 .25 .25 .25 .25 .15

MPS3706

2N3772

2N3903

2N3904

2 N 3906

2N4122

2N4123

2N4249

2N4304

2N4401

2N4402

2N4403

2N4857

PN4916

2N5086

PN5129

PN5139

2N5209

2N6028

2N6043

2N6045

MPS-A05

MPS-A06

MPS-A55

TIP29

TIP31

TIP32

.15 1.85

.25

.10

.10

.25

.25

.25

.75

.25

.25

.25 1.00

.25

.25

.25

.25

.25

.35 1.75 1.75

.25

.25

.25

.65

.75

.79 j

1CSOCKE

TS1

1-99

100

8 pin ST

.13

.11

14 pin ST

.15

.12

16 pin ST

.17

.13

18 pin ST

.20

1B

20 pin ST

.29

.27

22 pin ST

.30

.27

24 pin ST

.30

.27 .32

40 pin ST

.49

.39

64 pin ST

4.25

call

ST SOLDER!

AIL

8 pin WW

.59

.49

14 pin WW

.69

.52

16 pin WW

.69

.58

18 pin WW

.99

.90

20 pin WW

1.09

.98

22 pin WW

1.39

1.28

24 pin WW

1.49

1.35

28 pin WW

1.69

1.49

40 pin WW

1.99

1.80

MasterCard

WW = WIREWRAP 16 pin ZIF 6.75 call 24 pin ZIF 9.95 call 28 pin ZIF 10.95 call |

ZIF = TEXTOOL . {Zero Insertion Forced

DIP SWITCHES

.85 .90 .90 .95 95J

4 POSITION

5 POSITION

6 POSITION

7 POSITION .8 POSITION

rLED LAMPS1

1-99 100 up j Jumbo

Red .10 .09

( Jumbo

Green .18 .15

| Jumbo

Yellow .18 .15

BYPASS CAPS

.01 UFDISC 100/6.00

.1 UFDISC 100/8.00

.1 UF MONOLITHIC 100/15.00

LED DISPLAYS

HP 5082-7760 .6" CC

MAN 72 .3" CA

MAN 74 .3" CC

FND-357 (359) .375" CC

FND-500 (503) .5" CC

FND-507(510) .5" CA

RESISTORS

% WATT 5% CARBON FILM ALL

STANDARD VALUES

FROM 1 OHM TO 10 MEG OHM

50 PCS. SAME VALUE .025

100 PCS. SAME VALUE .02

1000 PCS. SAME VALUE .015

JDR Microdevices

1224 S Bascom Avenue

San Jose, CA 95128

800-538-5000 • 800-662-6279 (CA)

(408) 995-5430 • Telex 171-110

VISIT OUR ~ NEW HOURS

IT/O// VUH M-VV-F, 9-5

RETAIL STORE T-Th.,9-9 Sat. 11-3

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING

TERMS For shipping include $2 lor UPS Ground or $3 lor UPS Blue Label Air Items over 5 pounds require additional shipping charges Foreign orders, include sullicient amount lor shipping There is a S10 minimum order Bay Area and Los Angelas Counties add 6'. Sales Tax Other California residents add 6 Sales Tai We reserve the right to substitute manufacturer Not responsible lor typographical errors Price s are subject to change without notice We will match or beal any competitor s price provided it is not below our cost

1983 JDR MICRODEVICES. INC

570 BYTE July 1983

Circle 222 on inquiry card.

2716

16KEPR0MS

2732

32K EPROIVIS

MICROCOMPUTER HARDWARE HANDBOOK

FROM ELCOMP —$14.95 Over 800 pages of manufacturers data sheets on most commonly used IC's. Includes:

* TTL —74/74LSand74F

* CMOS

* Voltage Regulators

* Memory — RAM, ROM, EPROM

* CPU's — 6800, 6500, 280, 8080, 8085, 8086/8

* MPU support & interface — 6800, 6500, 280, 8200, etc.

BEST SELLING BOOKS

OSBORNE/MC GRAW-HILL

Apple II Users Guide 16.95

CRT Controllers Handbook 9.95

68000 Assembly Language

Programming 16.99

CBASIC User Guide 15.00

SYBEX

Your First Computer 8.95

The CP/M Handbook 14.95

The PASCAL Handbook 18.95

Microprocessor Interfacing Techniques 17.95j

TRANSFORMERS

12.6VAC 12.6VAC CT 12.6VAC CT 12.6VAC CT 25.2VAC CT

12VAC 12VAC 12VAC 12VAC

FRAME STYLE

2amp 2amp 4amp Samp 2amp

PLUG CASE STYLE

250ma 500ma lamp 2amp

4.95 5.95 7.95 10.95 7.95

3.95 4.95 5.95 6.95

DC ADAPATER 6. 9. 12 VDC selectable with universal adapter 8.95

NOTE: Please include sufficient amount tor .shipping on above items.

DISK DRIVES

TANDON

I TM100-1 5•/." (FOR IBM) SS/DD 229.00 ! TM100-2 5V (FOR IBM) DS/DD 295.00

SHUGART

SA 400L 5V (40 TRACK) SS/DD 199.95

SA400

' (35 TRACK) SS/DD

PERTEC

189.95

FD-200 sv ss/dd 179.95

FD-250 s, ds/dd 199.95

MPI

MP-52 nt" (for ibm) ds/dd 295.00

NOTE: Please include sufficient amount for shipping on above items.

CABINETS FOR CABINET #1 *29.95

DIMENSIONS 85/a x 515/ie x Z^k" COLOR MATCHES APPLE FITS STANDARD 5V*" DRIVES, INCL. SHUGART INCLUDES MOUNTING HARDWARE AND FEET

NOTE: Please include sufficient amount for shipping on above items.

8" DRIUE SALE FD100-8 $189

SHUGART 801 EQUIVALENT SS/DD 10 FOR $175 EA.

FD260-8 $239

SHUGART 851 EQUIVALENT DS/DD 10 FOR $220 EA.

51/4" DISK DRIVES

CABINET #2 s79.00

• COMPLETE WITH POWER SUPPLY, SWITCH, LINE CORD, FUSE & STANDARD POWER CONNECTOR DIMENSIONS: 11 % x 5% x 3,5/i6" 5V@1 AMP, +12V@1.5AMP FITS STANDARD 5V*" DRIVES PLEASE SPECIFY GRAY OR TAN

•

EDGE-CARD

CONNECTORS

S-100 ST

3.95

S-100 WW

4.95

72 pin ST

6.95

72 pin WW

7.95

50 pin ST

4.95

44 pin ST

2.95

44 pin WW

4.95

44 pin SE

3.95

DIP CONNECTORS

HIGH RELIABILITY

COMPONENT

RIBBON

DESCRIPTION

TOOLED ST IC

CARRIERS

CABLE

SOCKETS

(DIP HEADERS)

DIP PLUGS (IDC)

ORDER BY

AUGATxx-ST

ICCxx

IDPxx

CONTACTS 8

99

.65

14

.99

75

1.45

16

.99

.85

1.65

18

1.69

1 00

20

1.89

1.25

22

1 89

1.25

24

1 99

1.35

250

28

2 49

1.50

40 2 99

2.10

4.15

For order

instructions see

"IDC Connecto

s" below.

POWER SUPPLY MODEL 2 $3995

MOUNTED ON PC BOARD

MANUFACTURED BY CONVER

+5 VOLT 4 AMP

+ 12 VOLT 1 AMP

NOTE: Please include sufficient amount for shipping on above items.

CENTRONICS

IDCEN36 Ribbon Cable 36 Pin Male 8.95 I

CEN36 Solder Cup 36 Pin Male 7.9sJ

RIBBON CABLE

D-SUBMINIATURE

CONTACTS

SINGLE COLOR

COLOR CODED

1"

10'

r

10'

10

.50

4.40

.83

7.30

16

55

4.80

1.00

8.80

20

.65

5.70

1.25

11.00

25

.75

660

1.32

11.60

26

.75

6.60

1.32

11.60

34

98

8.60

1.65

14.50

40

1.32

11.60

1.92

16.80

50

1.38

12.10

2.50

22.00

DESCRIPTION

SOLDER CUP

RIGHT ANGLE PC SOLDER

IDC RIBBON CABLE

HOODS

MALE

FEMALE

MALE

FEMALE

MALE

FEMALE

BLACK

GREY

ORDER BY

DBxxP

DBxxS

DBxxPR

DBxxSR

IDBxxP

IDBxxS

HOOD-B

HOOD

CONTACTS 9 15 25 37 50

2.08 2.69

2.50 4.80 6.06

2.66 3.63 3.25

7.11 9.24

1.65 2.20 3.00 4.83

2.18 3.03 4.42 6.19

3.37 4.70 6.23 9.22

3.69

5.13

6.84

10.08

1.25

1.60 1.60 1.25 2.95 3.50

For order instructions see "IDC Connectors" below.

CALL FOR MOUNTING HARDWARE

IDC CONNECTORS

DESCRIPTION

SOLDER HEADER

RIGHT ANGLE SOLDER HEADER

WW HEADER

RIGHT ANGLE WW HEADER

RIBBON HEADER SOCKET

RIBBON HEADER

RIBBON EDGE CARD

ORDER BY

IDHxxS

IDHxxSR

IDHxxW

IDHxxWR

IDSxx

IDMxx

IDExx

CONTACTS 10 20 26 34 40 50

.82 1.29 1.68 2.20 2.58 3.24

.85 1.35 1.76 2.31 2.72 3.39

1.86 2.98 3.84 4.50 5.28 6.63

2.05 3.28 4.22 4.45 4.80 7.30

1.15 1.86 2.43 3.15 3.73 4.65

5.50 6.25 7.00 7.50 8.50

2.25 2.36 2.65

3.25 3.80

4.74

ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: Insert the number ot contacts in the position marked "xx" of the "order by" part number listed. Example: A 10 pin right angle solder style header would be IDH10SR.

1983 JDR MICRODEVICES. INC.

Circle 222 on inquiry card.

BYTE July 1983 571

FD-35 DISK DRIVE

* Direct Replacement for Apple Disk II

* Compatible with Apple Controller or other Apple compatible controllers

* Specially designed electronics with low power consumption

* DOS 3.3 and 3.2 compatible

* Owner's Manual and Warranty

Card included

95

NOW

WITH ONE YEAR

WARRANTY

CONTROLLER CARD $89.95

$229

VIEWMAX-80

A Full Function

80 Column Card for Apple II* * Soft Video Switch * Shift Key Support

2 YEAR WARRANTY NOW ONLY M8995

51/4" DISKETTES

VERBATIM DATALIFE

SS/DD SOFT SECTOR 29.95

SS/DD 10 SECTOR HEAD .... 29.95

NASHUA

SS/DD SOFT SECTOR

►

WITH HUB RING

Ask about our full

line of Nashua diskettes

$-|Q95

BEST BUY

THOUSANDS SOLD

JDR16KRAMCARD

• Expand your 48K Apple to 64K

* Fully compatible with Apple Language System — Use in place of Apple Language card

+ Provides extra memory for Visicalc'"

• Run PASCAL, FORTRAN, Integer Basic with appropriate software

* Highest quality card features: gold edge connector, sockets for all IC's

WITH 2 YEAR WARRANTY

ASSEMBLED & TESTED WITH WARRANTY

95

KIT — INCLUDES ALL PARTS & INSTRUCTIONS

BARE PC CARD

WITH INSTRUCTIONS . . .

$44

$4Q95 $-f 495

apple coiyipatible sWy $99.95

* Compact Switching Design

* All Outputs regulated

* Short Circuit and Overload Protection

* Complete with Apple-type plug-in power cord

* Apple Compatible — Yethigher output allows more disk drives and cards without overheating

* +5V@5A, +12V@3A, -5V@ .5A, -12V @ .5A

* Shielded enclosure: 103/4M x3V?" x 2'/i6"

ACCESSORIES FOR APPLE II & HE

ALL WITH 1 YEAR WARRANTY BY "3

NEW IMPROVED

JDR COOLING FAN

• Easy modification — no modification of Apple required

• Eliminates overheating problems

• Switch on front controls fan, Apple, and extra outlet

• Rotron whisper fan is the quietest, most reliable on the market

NOW WITH SURGE

SUPPRESSION

$69.95

WITHOUT SURGE SUPPRESSION s59.95

MONITORS

MONOCHROME

NEC J61201M-20 MHZ GREEN S169 ZENITH ZUM-121 - 15 MHZ GREEN $99

TAXAN is mhz amber $139| COLOR

AMDEK color i - composite $3351

NO CO.D. ORDERS PLEASE

ORDER TOLL FREE

800-538-5000 800-662-6279

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS)

tPERISOFT

■■■

PRINTERLINK

CENTRONICS PARALLEL INTERFACE

• Simple to use — No configuring required

• Use with any Centronics printer — EPSON, OKIDATA, etc.

• Includes Cable & Manual

MESSENGER

SERIAL INTERFACE

• Connects to any RS-232 serial device

• 8 switch selectable drivers for printers, terminals and modems

• Includes Cable & Manual

TIMELINK

REALTIME CLOCK

■ Applications in file management, word processing, communications, etc. Exclusive Alarm Clock feature

- Battery recharges automatically

NEWBUFFERLINK

ADD-ON PRINTER BUFFER

• Saves Time — No more waiting for printed output

• Connects easily to any parallel interface

• Expandable from 16K

$59

00

$99

00

$84

00

to64K

$-|3900

(16K)

JDR Microdevices

1224 S. Bascom Ave. • San Jose, CA 95128 (408) 995-5430 • Telex 171-110

i 1983 JDR MICRODEVICES, INC.

VISIT OUR RETAIL STORE

HOURS: M-W-F, 9-5 T-Th., 9-9 Sat. 11-3

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING TERMS: For shipping include $2 lor UPS Ground or $3 for UPS Blue Label Air. Items over 5 pounds require additional shipping charges. Foreign orders, Include sufficient amount for shipping. There Is a $10 minimum order. Bay Area and Los Angeles Counties add 6Vi°/o Sales Tax. Other California residents add 6% Sales Tax. We reserve the right to substitute manufacturer. Not responsible for typographical errors. Prices are subject to change without notice. We will match or beat any competitor's price provided ft is not below our cost.

572 BYTE July 1983

Circle 223 on inquiry card.

Unclassified Ads

NEED: OSI Superboard information on how to add memory I/O ports, real-time clock, etc. In return. I have information and miscellaneous programs for the Apple. Gary De Pietro, 752 Commerce St.. Thornwood, NY 10594, FOR SALE: Explorer-85 Microprocessor Kit by Netronics R & D. Kit includes power supply, keypad, motherboard, assembly manuals, Osborne's 8085 Assembly Language Handbook, and an S-100 bus handbook. Kit is expandable to a 64K-byte personal computer. Approximate value S275; asking S200. Roger Spauldmg, 2514 West Bott, Colorado Springs, CO 80904, |303J 630-8164 or 593-3318.

FOR SALE: Heath H-8 32K serial and parallel I/O, cassette and disk interface, external configuration [for CP/M). wirewrap card, extender card. H-9 terminal, ASR33 hardcopy terminal: S1000 Two each 12-15 volt, 20 A power supplies; repairable @ S25, Ballemine 320 true RMS AC voltmeter: S25, Conrac 9-inch video monitor: S35, and a Tektronix RM35 oscilloscope: S250. Dave Marshall, 1803 Scenic Dr.. Alamogordo, NM 88310, (505) 437-6374.

FOR SALE: Four disk drives Shugart SA-450. double sided double density, raw drive, no power supply or case: $195 each. Two Intel single-board computers, SBC 80/10: $125 and SBC 80/10A: SI 50. DEC LA36 logic board: S75. Please include shipping cost. Dean Carpenter, 163 Skyline Dr., Piano, TX 75074, (214) 424-3943.

FOR SALE: Teletype in excellent condition with paper-tape unit. Used as a standby terminal for four years. Annual maintenance check by terminal service company. Has stainless steel trays for paper supply and paper catcher. Unit has normal two wheels plus steel dolly with four furniture casters. LineATime paper feed included: S650 FOB, Bay area. J. L Morrissey, 1683 Galvez Ave., San Francisco. CA 94124, (415) 647-2188 days and 854-3497 evenings.

FOR SALE: Escon IBM Selectnc Conversion Kit for Commodore computers. Complete with worn-out Selectnc typewriter. S350. Ben A. Stewart. 501 Willow, West Baraboo, Wl 53913. (608) 356-9246

FOR SALE: AIM-65 with 4K RAM. assembler ROM, enclosure, power supply, MTU lowercase/80-column software, and aH manuals: S300. Carl Schultz, 508 Cress St., Laguna Beach, CA 92651, (714) 497-5390.

FOR SALE: SI00 boards. Three 16K, 4 MHz static RAM boards (WAMECO MEM-2) with dipswitch bank select: S90 each. One 8K, 4 MHz static RAM board: S30. All in excellent condition. F. L. Stiles, 1128 Timbergrove Dr., Knoxville, TN 37919. (615) 691-0112 evenings.

WANTED: Mew or used print head for a Base 2 Model 800 dot-matrix printer or information about same. Dick Nowak, 340 Kmgsland St.. Nutley. NJ 07110. (201) 235-4989. FOR SALE: TRS-80 Model I processor board, late model G board with schematic; tested and working: S125 less Z80 processor. ROM, and RAM ICs. Also, complete Model I I6K Level II with numeric pad: S325. Ed Bashur, 10457 Seawood, El Paso. TX 79925. (915) 592-1441.

FOR SALE: Heath H-14 line printer with RS-232C cable. Assembled and working but unused. Complete documentation: S395 or best offer. K. Hue, 1752 Las Vegas Trail #292, Fort Worth, TX 76108, (817) 246-5884.

FOR SALE: Dumont oscilloscope 100 MHz. Dual trace, delayed sweep, all active devices in sockets, all solid state, no proprietary parts whatsoever, all off-the-shelf. Used only two out of five years. Will trade for Commodore 64 and SmithCorona TP-1, outright. M. Preston, 1132 A Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405, (213) 452-2860.

FOR SALE: HP-85 computer with 32K RAM. 82905B printer, HP-IB interface, plotter/printer ROM, I/O ROM. Assembly ROM, carrying case, cables, cartridges, and software (Games II, Visicalc, and more). Will sell all or part. G.H. Smith, 53P/J Gardner Way, Clifton, CO 81520, (303) 434-4443. FOR SALE: TRS-80 Color Computer disk drive and controller, 20 Memorex double-density soft-sector floppy disks. Epson 8145 serial interface with cable, 6809 Assembly Language Programming by Leventhal, joysticks, Computerware Pac Man, Spectral Associates Space Invaders. Breakout. Items available separately. Any reasonable offer accepted. Bob Cent. 6826 47th Ave NE. Seattle. WA 98115, (206) 527-1883. FOR SALE: Four I6K static RAM boards (fully socketed) for Heath H-8. Excellent condition. Includes manuals and schematics. Asking $100 each or all for S 350. Willing to discuss trade. Will pay postage. Brian Aldiss. 37812 South Hardy Rd.. Molalla, OR 97038, (503) 829-7825 after 7 p.m. PT. FOR SALE: OSI computer, space boards, accessories. Send SASE for complete list and reasonable pnces. Tom Badgett. 508 Woodland Dr., Bluefield. WV 24701. WANTED: Crystalware programs for the Atari. Must have original documentation. Dave Palmer, 421 Chatsworth Lane, Canfield. OH 44406, (216) 533-6004,5-9 p.m. ET. FOR SALE: Complete Exidy System; Exidy Sorcerer II with Z80A, 48K RAM, 4K ROM plus 8K ROM Microsoft BASIC (removable), and is CP/M-compatible. S-l 00 expansion interface. Micropolis Model II subsystem with 3I5K on one drive, one serial port, one parallel port, graphics, and lots of software. Make an offer, Daniel Rappaport, 6109 Robinwood Rd.. Bethesda. MD 20817. (301) 229-0308.

FOR SALE: Two S-l00 memory boards. Logos I 8K static memory board with memory-protect and battery back-up circuitry on board. Godbout 8K EconoRAM static memory board with Vector interrupt option. Both in excellent condition; S65 each. Reeche Bass, 101 Caravan Villa, Montgomery, AL 36116, (205) 281-2210 after 5 p.m.

FOR SALE: Apple II Plus Computer, no disk drive or monitor, less than a year old. $1000. Tim Sullivan, S\2Vz Salzburg Apt. 02, Bay City. Ml 48706, (517)892-6319. FOR SALE: Computer Devices Model 1206 portable briefcase-style computer. Includes 80-column thermal printer, builtin acoustic modem and tape drive, spare RS-232C port, full ASCII keyboard, editor. BASIC, and 6800 tape assembler. 6800-based with full documentation plus more. Hardly ever used: $ 1985 or best offer, retails at $3885. George Rourke, 69 Bay State Ave., Somerville, MA 02144, (617) 666-1117. WANTED: Spanish-speaking microcomputer fans (especially technicians, engineers, and programmers) to exchange ideas and programs. Program Interchange, 41 Travers Ave., Yonkers. NY 10705.

FOR SALE: TRS80 Model I, 48K RAM, two disk drives, cassette recorder, Centronics 737 printer, RS-232C, modem, lowercase modification, and powerline filter. Software includes NEWDOS/80, Scriptsit, Flextext, Omniterm, editor-assembler, system disk, and all cables and manuals. Excellent condition: $2000. Mike Plihcik, 810 Brown Rd., Bndgewater, NJ 08807, (201) 526-7125.

FOR SALE: Apple II Plus 80K with Mountain 32K card, Epson MX-100 Graftrax plus printer with parallel interface card, two Apple disk drives with controller, BMC green monitor. System Saver fan. Paddle Adapple. Novation Apple-cat modem with firmware, and 40 disks of software, including Pascal, Visicalc, word processors, and games. First $3550 takes it (I'll ship UPS COD), Adam Ginsberg. POB 2379, Albany, NY 12222, (518) 457-5261.

FOR SALE: Apple II with 48K, language card, Apple Disk II with controller, Applesoft ROM card. Zenith 12-inch greenphosphor monitor, and 40 disks of programs, including Apple Pascal 1.1 and Lisa 2.5. All hardware in mint condition, will ship in original boxes: S2300. Bill Rasmussen, 100 South Devine Rd., Vancouver, WA 98661, (206) 694-5958. FOR SALE: Zenith Z-19 with cable, cover, and manual. Upgradable to H-89 computer: $650. Anderson-Jacobson 1235 acoustic coupler and modem with manual. Handles a 300 or 1200 data rate, asynchronous. Both hardly used, in excellent condition. Originally $995. will sacrifice for S650. Will sell separately or as package. Stanley Tsu, 2725 Haste St. #110, Berkeley, CA 94704. (415) 849-0182 or 661-0568. FOR SALE: OSI CIP 16K with new CIS monitor, sound port, delay on reset key, screen invert, assembler/editor, and extended monitor programs. All manuals, schematics, and plenty of software included. The computer operates at twice the normal speed (2 MHz) and the cassette port operates at four times the normal speed: $270. I will add extra memory for $4 per K. Eric Praetzel. RR/1 Colgan. Ontario LOG 1G0, Canada, (416) 936-3032.

WANTED: I would like to exchange any hardware/ software information, ideas, and programs with owners of the Cyzern System 7000/AN-7000 Dennis Lo, 1991 Suffolk Ave., Port Coquitlam, BC V3B IH3, Canada. WANTED: Experienced Atari assembly-language programmer to help me with DLIs, VBIs, display lists, scrolling, and animation for game-prograrnming purposes. I already know assembly language. Will work out finances. Robert Schiller, 657 Calhoun Court, Hemdon, VA 22070, (703) 437-5042. FOR SALE: Apple II computer consisting of 256K memory, floppy-disk drive, 5 MB profile hard disk. Zenith monitor, COBOL, Business BASIC, Pascal, and single operating system. About I year old, still under manufacturer warranty. Also, QUME Sprint 5 printer and DEC VT-100 terminal with AVO. Rick Roth. 202 Parliament Dr.. Coraopolis, PA 15108, (412) 262-5507 days and 262-4936 nights.

FOR SALE: Heath H-l I processor (hardly used). H-27 dual floppy-disk drive, H-9 video terminal, QUME Spring 5 letterquality printer, and 30 8-mch floppy disks with attractive storage case. Asking $6000. Dr. Frank Pimentel, 582 North Mam St.. Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 265-6089. WANTED: Programs for the APF Imagination Machine. Enc Witt, POB 137, Germantown, OH 45327.

FOR TRADE: I am interested in exchanging software with other OSI users. Send a full list of your software and I will reciprocate with what I have. Malcolm Chew, c/o Jill Cappadona. POB 32276 UWF, Pensacola, FL 32514. WANTED: A copy of the first issue of Radio Shack's TRS-80 Applications Sourcebook (26-2114). I will pay ten dollars to the first person who sends Volume I only. J.B. Flippin. POB 2331, Springfield, VA 22152.

FOR SALE: Exidy Sorcerer with 32K RAM, 8K standard basic ROM pack, S-l00 expansion unit, S-l00 Morrow Designs board, two RS-232C ports, two status ports, and four parallel ports. Includes joystick, joystick/sound adapter board, and all manuals. Also, more than six software programs. Hardware new: $2250, software new: S77; asking $1000 or best offer. Jean Pickett 5 Buttonwood St.. Hamilton. NJ 08619, (609) 586-2810.

FOR SALE: Apple-type joystick, in purchased condition. Also. Medfly Mania, Mission: Asteroid, and Space Warrior. All have original documentation, packages, and disks. All in mint condition: best reasonable offer Gregg Johnson, 1041 Autumn Meadows, Westerville, OH 43081, (614) 891-3520. WANTED: Apple games and utilities for trade. Please send list of programs when corresponding. Joe Staus, 107 Chapman Rd,. Mankato, MN 56001.

FOR SALE: OSI C3A with 48K staoc RAM, dual 8-inch disk drives, and processors. Comes with 5 74 12-bit analog I/O-, 5 75 sokJerless prototyping-, CA-21 48-line parallel I/O-, and a 570 8-port interface, all for above boards. Also includes 550 16-port serial I/O. Hazeltine 1420, two operating systems, and 6502 BASIC and assembler CP/M compatible. Includes all manuals and cables: new $9500, asking $6400. Chuck Swan, 60 Each HintzRd., Wheeling, IL 60090. (312) 537-3130, FOR SALE: Motorola Dev. System (like new) includes M68DSK2 Exordisk II. floppy disk, MEX 6850 ACIA micromodule, MEX68P12 printer interface module, MEX6832-22 dynamic RAM module, MEX 146805-MC146805 Micromodule, and 6809 Exorcicer. W. Kautter. Box 566, Leola, PA 17540. WANTED: One or two Hewlett-Packard 9830s or 9831s, working or not working. W.R. Flocks. 700 West Jackson /120, McAllen, TX 78501, (512) 682-6008,

WANTED: New or used Interact-R with hardware or software. Dr. H.S. Frank, 904 South Main St., Weatherford, TX 76086. (817) 599-7131.

FOR SALE: OSI C8P with 24K RAM and 8K ROM, 470 disk controller board, and RS-232C port. Hardly used, cost $1535: $500 or best offer. Adrian Segar, Solar Alternative Inc., 71 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301, (802) 257AS28 days, 257-1608 evenings.

WANTED: SAT tutorial program to run on an Osborne. P. Dawson, 284 Forest St., Oberlin. OH 44074. WANTED: Apple II 48K to 64K, disk drive with controller, monitor, modem, and printer. Entire system or parts. Peter Van Horn. POB 113, Devon, PA 19333. (215) 647-4214. FOR SALE: S-l00 boards; SDS ExpandoRAM II 64K RAM with manual (48K installed), SDS ExpandoRAM 164K RAM with manual, Tarbell Cassette interface without documentation, and new CompuPro active bus terminator with data sheet: $300 for all. Keith Musson, 904 Rolling Holly Dr., Great Falls, VA 22066. FOR SALE: Alpha Micro AM-100 system with 16-bit processor, 6-port serial interface, 64K Piiceon RAM, I2-slot power supply, CDC 10MB Hawk drive with controller, operating-system software, and documentation. Perfect condition; all for $6500 or best offer; will sell separately. Cliff Russo, 359 Broadway, New York, NY 10013, (212) 966-0775. WANTED: Schematics and/or technical data on Atari Video Computer System 2600. L. Cleburne Jacks, 581 Crescent Rd.. Odessa, FL 33556, (813) 920-3592.

FOR SALE: OSI CIP 28K, 610 board, disk drive, two operating systems, cassette interface, sound, manuals, and lots of software. $545 takes all. J. Gurevich, 3420 Southwest 105 Ave., Miami, FL 33143. (305) 553-8762 evenings. FOR SALE: Processor Technology Sol-20 wth 48K RAM, 8080 processor, 5-slot S-l00, 16 by 16 display. Solos module, Helios II dual 8-inch disk system with version 1.4.0 PTDOS. Also, DECwriter LA-36 interfaced to the Sol system, two 16K RAM S-100 boards, PT music system, 9-inch monitor, PT Access newsletters 1-1 to 2-1, and subscription to Proteus News. Helios and DECwnter not working: S2800. Todd Kaime, POB 675, Bloomfield, NM 87413.

UNCLASSIFIED POLICY: Readers who have computer equipment to buy, sell, or trade or who are requesting or giving advice may send a notice to BYTE for inclusion in the Unclassified Ads section. To be considered for publication, an advertisement must be noncommercial (individuals or bona fide computer clubs-only), typed double-spaced on plain white paper, contain 75 words or fewer, and include complete name and address. This service is free of charge; notices are printed once only as space permits. Your confirmation of placement is appearance in an issue of BYTE as we engage in no correspondence. Please allow at least three months for your ad to appear. Send your notices to Unclassified Ads, BYTE/McGraw-Hill, POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449.

July 1983 © BYTE Publication. Inc 573

Unclassified Ads

FOR SALE: Exidy Sorcerer 32K. BASIC. Sorcerer and BASIC manuals, technical and internals manuals, Leedex monitor. Backgammon, graphics games. US Map, and Plot cassettes: S600. Development ROMpak and manual: S80. Word Processor ROMpak and manual: $80. IDS 440G graphics printer and manual: S500. D.J. MacCrone. 1014 McClung Ave.. Huntsville. AL 35801. (205) 536-1080. WANTED: High school student interested in the computer field would appreciate a donated computer to experiment on. Jeff Savoy. 6412 Crestwood Circle. Madison, Wl 53558. FOR SALE: Printer. IDS 440 Papertiger (in superb conditionl with graphics option and Apple-compatible parallel interface: $300. Sanyo 9-inch black-and-white monitor: $90. N. Halasz. 225 Dickinson St.. San Diego, CA 92103. (619) 294-5870. FOR SALE: Heath H-8 16K RAM. processor, and memory board. No I/O interfaces. Runs front-panel tests OK. Asking S250. John J. Kofroth, 25 Concord Rd.. Darby. PA 19023. (215| 496-4000 ext. 5087 days and 237-6314 evenings. FOR SALE: Altos 8000-2: $2750. ADDS Viewpoint: S350. Okidata 83A: $575. All items in perfect condition, with original packing and documentation. Perfect Writer and Supersoft FORTRAN available on 8-inch SSSD. Also, three ALF 3-voice music synthesizers for the Apple II: S 165 each. Complete with cables, software, and documentation. Michael Morris. 26321 Delos Dr., Torrance, CA 90505, |213| 534-4132. FOR SALE: Apple high-speed serial interface cards. Good working condition: S99. Chris Reiss. 5223 Edina Industrial Blvd.. Minneapolis, MN 55435, (612) 835-5787. FOR TRADE: Software for T/S 1000 and ZX81 in I6K. I will trade game and utility programs for programs of equal value; cassette only. Rod Hargis. Box 355. New Market. IA 51646. FOR SALE: Heath H-89 processor board, cassette interface board, and tape software. These parts plus some power supply modifications can turn an H-19 terminal into a computer. S 180. Tim Stanley. 12801 Roma Ave. NE. Albuquerque. NM 87123.

WANTED: Heath/Zenith H-19 video terminal, fully assembled, nearly new. J. Creamer, 139 Norstad Circle, Warner Robins, CA 31098, |9I9) 781-2398.

WANTED: Tape-transport covers (lids) for PhhDeck tape drive (Mecca-Alpha) and information on running up to fourExatron stringy-floppies on one controller. C.T. Huth, 146 Schonhardt, Tiffin, OH 44883.

FOR SALE: Disks: 200 8-inch, single-sided, soft sectored; 20% are IBM single density. 70% are Dysan double density. 10% are others. Also. 20 Verbatim 5 W-inch, SSDD, 16-sector, certified 40 tracks. All are archival system backups with very low mileage. Fully guaranteed: $1.10 each postpaid. J.E. Matenkosky. 753 Jeffrey Dr., Greensburg, PA 15601. FOR SALE: Apple II Plus-compatible system, 64K, single disk drive with controller and warranty. Will sell complete: $999 or separately. Pete H. Pan. 2504 Derbyshire Blvd. Apt. IS, Cleveland Heights, OH 44106, |2I6| 932-1578. FOR SALE: Intertec Superbrain Jr. 64K. CP/M with MBASIC. Two floppy-disk drives with 328K. Two Z80A processors operating at 4MHz. SI 500 postage paid. Robert Paradise. 528 North State St.. Jackson, MS 39201, (601) 352-8149. FOR SALE: Televideo 920C terminal with extra page of memory, vinyl cover, and Novation CAT acoustic modem; ati in excellent condition: S550. Steve Rodia. 1734 Plateau Dr., Jackson, Ml 49203, (5I7| 784-3255.

WANTED: Artec 32K-IOO static RAM card, populated or not. Documentation not required. S. Cawn, 3647 Vinton Ave. #9. Los Angeles. CA 90034, (213) 836-0955. FOR SALE: OSI C4P MF. 24K RAM. 5-inch disk drive, realtime clock. 16 colors in two resolutions, programmable tone generator, DAC, modem interface, printer interface, AC remote interface, uppercase and lowercase, dual joysticks, RF modulator, OS-65D with Microsoft BASIC and assembler, and all manuals. Over $2200 value; asking $1500. Keith Thomas. (605) 348-8960 after 3 p.m.

FOR SALE: S-100 boards including four 16K Problem Solver Systems memory boards @ S 150 each. Altair disk drive with controller @ S300. and other cards. Also, a Hazeltine 1510 terminal: S400. Richard Whiteman. 635 Holman Ave.. Athens, GA 30606, (404) 546-8814.

WANTED: Apple II Plus users who would like to exchange programs, please send a list of your collection and you will receive a list of my large and diverse software programs. Lars Wiklund, POB 175. Edsbruk 59098. Sweden. Tel: 0493 70617. WANTED: IBM PC software exchange. Have games, utilities, and Visicalc overlays. Send single-side formatted disk for one of mine or write. Also, looking for instructions on how to recreate FAT. James Greene. 34 Crab Apple Place. Stamford, CT 06903.

FOR SALE: Atari software collection: 30 programs on Maxell disks include the newest games: S95. Send check or SASE for a list of programs. P. Wu. 17941 Bascom St.. Irvine, CA 92715. WANTED: DI/AN Controls 9030 dot-matrix printhead. Can possibly use solenoid wire units from dead head to rebuild mine. Will pay any reasonable cost. Richard Shelden, 5225 Twilight Rd.. Roanoke. VA 24019. (703| 362-5506. WANTED: IBM Epson printer with cable for IBM PC. Also. Tandon disk drives and external cabinet with cable. Please send serial number and price. Also, will sell Visicalc IBM 256K complete with manual; make an offer. Jack Fischer, POB 14097, Tulsa, OK 74104.

WANTED: College student would appreciate any unwanted or broken computer equipment: boards, drives, etc. I will pay shipping. Brian T. Parr. 32 Millers Grove. Frankfort, NY 13340, |315| 895-7279.

FOR SALE: OSI C4P with Cegmon chip and Leedex Video 100 monitor plus lots of software, documentation, manuals, books, magazines, and users journals: S400 or best offer. Marc Kamionkowski. 22476 Rye Rd., Shaker Heights, OH 44122, (216) 991-2668 evenings and weekends.

BYTE's Ongoing Monitor Box

Article Author(s)

Build the RTC-4 Real-Time Controller Ciarcia

Videotex: Science Fiction or Reality? Miller

Prestel: The Basis of an Evolving Videotex System Hudson NAPLPS Standard Graphics and the

Microcomputer Lax, Olson

Privacy and Videotex Systems Neustadt

Graphics Artistry On line Nisenholtz

Commentary: Personal Computers and Videotex Malloy

The Microsoft Mouse Peters

Visi On's Interface Design Woodmansee Voice Lab. Part I: A System for Digital Speech

Synthesis and Analysis Hoot

Parallel I/O Ports for H-89 Computers LaClaustra

BUBDISK Callamaras

Commodore 64 Wszola

The Strobe Plotting System Bishop

The Touch of Color Dacus

BYTE West Coast: Improving the User Interface at Lemmons,

Digital Research Robertson The 8086—An Architecture for the Future, Part 2:

Instruction Set Heywood User's Column: Interstellar Drives. Osborne

Accessories, DEDICATE/32, and Death Valley Pournelle

CP/M Plus Dahmke

Quadram Corporation's MX700 Feigel

The 8088 Connection Rollins

Control Your Environment with the Atari 400/800 Hayes

The Practical EEPROM Wheeler

Alcor Pascal and Advanced Development Package Archer Add High-Level Logical Structure to Your FORTH

Assembler Grazi

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Ciarcia s Up Top Again

First place in the April BOMB contest goes (once again) to Steve Ciarcia for his "Build an RS-232C Breakout Box." Steve will get the $ 100 prize, Thomas Starnes came in second with "Design Philosophy Behind Motorola's MC68000, Part 1." He'll be awarded the S50 kitty. Third place goes to Tony Zingale for his article on "Intel's 80186: A 16-Bit Computer on a Chip."

Correspondence

Address all editorial correspondence to the editor at BYTE. POB 372, Hancock NH 03449. Unacceptable manuscripts will be returned if accompanied by sufficient first-class postage. Not responsible for lost manuscripts or photos. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of BYTE. Entire contents copyright © 1983 by BYTE Publications inc. All rights reserved. Where necessary, permission is granted by the copyright owner for libraries and others registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to photocopy any article herein for the flat fee of S1.50 per copy of the article or any part thereof. Correspondence and payment should be sent directly to the CCC, 21 Congress St, Salem MA 01970. Specify ISSN 0360-5280/83. S1.50. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use without the permission of McGrawHill is prohibited. Requests for special permission or bulk orders should be addressed to the publisher. BYTE® is available in microform from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Rd. Dept. PR, Ann Arbor Ml 48106 USA or 18 Bedford Row, Dept. PR, London WCIR 4EJ England.

574 July 1983 © BYTE Publications Inc

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///A

A/AA

BUY A BANANA. SAVE A BUNCH.

Meet the Bananarthe very tough, versatile, portable, and reliable dot-matrix printer from Gorilla!"

At $249.95 retail it's an ideal and inexpensive companion for personal computers like Apple* (or Apple"look alikes'such as Franklin® or Albert'5), TIf CommodorefTRS-80f'Kayprcv Timex," Osborne,® etc.

After that, it's merely comparable to other printers that can cost up to three times as much: 10" carriages (to handle standard 9V2" paper), 80 columns, graphics capability, 10 characters per inch (expandable to 5 cpi) draft-quality print (for perfectly acceptable form letters, data processing,

Circle 234 on inquiry card.

business reports, etc.) tractor feed (for precise alignment and quick loading), parallel or serial interface (take your pick), selfinking ribbon cassette (for long life and easy installation), 10 portable pounds in weight, and compatibility with so many of the most popular personal computers on the market.

Plus its printhead features a unique single-hammer design that eliminates a lot of moving parts, to eliminate a lot of annoying repairs.

That's the Banana: silly name, serious service. It's everything the expensive dot-matrix printers are ...

Except expensive.

Leading Edge Products, Inc., 225 Turnpike Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021 Toll-free: 1-800-343-6833; In Massachusetts (617) 828-8150. Telex 951-624.

j • ; - ■

- Radio Shack Presents The Micro Executive Workstation

Powerful Built-in Software Retains Memory Data When "Off"

Self-Contained Telephone Modem 8K RAMExpandable to 32K

Only

*j*

Cat. No. 26-3801

—as

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Introducing the TRS-80 Model 100 Portable Computer —User-Friendly Software Makes it Truly Revolutionary

Imagine a computer on your desk so small, it can fit in your in-basket. The second you turn it on, imagine seeing a menu of built-in executive management programs and your own files, ready for immediate use. All revealed on an eight-line by 40-character LCD display positioned just above a full-size keyboard. And when you leave the office, imagine a three-pound computer you can take along, because it works on AC or batteries.

Stop imagining. The new TRS-80 Model 100 is the computer you've been waiting for. As a desk organizer, it's a phone directory, address book, appointment calendar and telephone auto-dialer. It's a personal word processor, as well. There's even a built-in modem to access other computers by phone.

Come see the most revolutionary computer since the TRS-80 Model I at over 6500 Radio Shack stores and participating dealers, including over 400 Radio Shack Computer Centers nationwide.

Radio /haek

The biggest name in little computers®

A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION Circle 346 on Inquiry card.

Built-in

Interactive Software

WORD PROCESSING

APPOINTMENT SCHEDULER

1

1

"

S 1

1

TERMINAL COMMUNICATIONS

]

'J'"' I "™T*

ADDRESS BOOK

1

1

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TELEPHONt DIALER

APPLICATIONS SOFTWARE

EXTENDED BASIC

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Send me a free Model 100 brochure today!

Mail To: Radio Shack, Dept. 84-A-IO 300 One Tandy Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76102

L.

Retail prices may vary at individual stores and dealers

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