| AdamCon.org : ann |
| AdamCon 13 | AdamCon 12 | AdamCon 11 | AdamCon 10 | Adam News Network Archive
|
Return to adamcon.org | Adam News Index | Volume 90
Norman R. Castro, Founder
This is your 33rd newsletter which I plan on passing out on 5 Dec as part of Package 33. Thanks for your confidence and support. The OAUC is a local club only with fees of $20 per 6 issues (PKGS w/prgms) received. NOTICE: I will sell to any `Paid Up to Date' local member any six back issues (1 years worth $20) w/programs (on your media) for $15.
NOTICE: To the general public and former OAUC members if you want just this newsletter mailed to you (First class) I will for $5 per year to US mailing address and $8 (dollars, US currency), to foreign countries.
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: Neither the editors, OAUC, members, nor any of the authors of any articles nor any contributors of any capacity nor any of the other AUG's or ADAM newsletters reprinted herein make any representations or warranties expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, safety, or utility of any material or information contained herein, whether from OAUC, other AUGs or newletters, either by interpretation, use or misues. Futher, those above mentioned accept no responsibility for any losses or damages, direct, indirect, incidental or consequential resulting for the application, use, misuse, interpretation, etc. of the information & material contained herein.
If you or anyone wants a FREE copy of this newsletter just send me TWO First Class postage stamps ONLY to: Norman R. Castro, 809W 33rd Avenue, Bellevue, NE 68005. Tell others of this offer ... Thanks ...
LITTLE ORPHANE ADAM is a 24 hour BBS at (402) 455-8308. This is a free BBS with full duplex, 7-1-E, auto line off (for ADAM). His 1200 Baud is now in service. The SYOP is our own Steve Dawes who has helped our club in many ways.
Postage cost for my free samples have cost me over $30 this year. This is why I ask for TWO 1st Class Postage Stamps for a copy of my newsletter & or samples of my game instructions. Would you please start to send stamps with any inquiry that you may want from anyone, not just from me. It is not encouraging to send information to all who ask for it without at least a stamp or two. I have researched numerous ADAM newsletters to find an answer to a problem etc. I don't mind providing a service, just don't expect my paying for this privilege. Thanks...This could be your New Years resolution.
This is from METRO, 1003 Oak Lane, Apoka, FL 32703 @ $12 year. Their Sep issue contains part 4 on 'Learning with LOGO'. These articles & how to are very usefull.
When you unpack your disk drive, SAVE THE STYROFOAM CONTAINER. It will be handy later when you need to transport your drive for some reason. And when you do have to move your drive, the experts advise you to insert a disk and close the drive so that the head doesn't rattle around and get damaged. (Please note: it is exactly the opposite for double-sided drives. With a DS drive, leave the latch OPEN so that the heads don't knock against each other.)
Organizing your disks is easier with color-coding. Besides colored labels & containers, you can also get colored disks. The best source for these is DISKS & LABELS TO GO, Route 206, East Hampton Business Park, Mt. Holly, NJ, 08060. Phone 1-800-426-3303. They carry 17 colors & are sold in lots of 20 (1 color per lot) and costs just 41 cents each.
(Metro continued) It is also very handy to put two programs that belong together on the same disk. For example, I have PowerPAINT on the front of a disk & CLIPPER on the back. I also have SpritePOWER on the front of another with FontPOWER on the back. Obviously, you would not want to do this with any important file UNLESS YOU HAVE MADE BACKUPS. ... On the other hand, this homemade notching business is timeconsuming, and it's possible to destroy a disk if you are not careful with the hole pinch. In short. it's a pain! .. On a hunch, I checked with DISK & LABELS TO GO, & guess what! That's right, you can buy them from that company for 42 cents apiece. It beats the tar out of doing it yourself.
Ron Collins, 529 Grandview, Barberton, OH 44203 OR: Akron Users BBS (216) 882-4720. Use Ron's address to find software formerly distributed by Orphanware, including Tony Morehan's super patches and utilities.
This from Puget Sound Adam Network, 22607 SE 322nd, Kent, WA 98042 @ $5 year. WHAT IS STARLINK? by Bart Lynch. ..It's a cheaper way for a modem-user to connect to all those long distance bulletin boards.
Its principle of operation is simple. Using your modem you merely call a Starlink BBS number. That BBS then forwards your call to one in the destination city. In turn, this BBS calls the one you wish to contact. For example, say you wish to call the UP AN ADAM BBS. You'd call your local number, then after logging in, you would type 2977. That would be the 'code' for Seattle. Then type 8592018, the number of my BBS. What could be easier?
First you must sign up for the Starlink service. By voice, at 1-800-321-0156 or by modem at 1-800-343-7304. ...Allow 2 weeks for this contract to arrive. Send it back in and in about a week you're all set. .. There is a one-time sign up fee of $35. The service costs $10 per month with a $1.50 per hour of connect time.
Is it worth it? For someone like me YES! I'd use PC Pursuit for 6 months and I believe this service is better. PCP limits your calls to 30 per month. Starlink has unlimited calls. PCP reaches 30 cities whereas Starlink reaches 130! .. I'd urge anyone who is serious about modeming to give Star- link a call. You won't be sorry!
ADAM KEYBOARD TIPS by Richard Bailey, reprinted from the June 1989 AWAUG Newsletter. For anyone who's having keyboard troubles: my 1,a,z,9,i, and a few other keys stopped working today. The same keys has stopped working once before, but somehow started working again. Anyway, tonight, figuring I might have to replace the whole keyboard, I got a spare that I had picked up at Radio Shack a few years ago. I noticed on the diagram that came with it, that the bad keys were all on the #1 cable, so I opened the keyboard case to see if a wire was broken or something. Surprise! I have never seen so much dust & dirt. I cleaned it all out. Also, I cleaned out a metal case that's attached to the bottom of the keyboard. Now, everything's working fine.
Reedy Software has a new address and a new game for ADAM. Their new address is PO Box 129, Lowell, MI 49331. Their new game is called DRAGON, The Chinese Challenge. This is a strategy game requiring the player to clear a board of 144 layered tiles. It plays similar to Activision's popular game SHANGAI. Available for $17.95(disk) or $19.95(datapack) + $2.50 S/H.
REPLACEMENT GAME BOARDS from Robert Leach. On a recent order to Jameco Electronic , 1-415-562-8097, & they require a minimum $20 order, I noticed that they had Coleco game boards for $3. It turned out to be a working R80. It tested out fine on EOS and 80CVU TDOS. There was some interference on my color monitor in 40 columns but a perfect picture in the 80CVU. .. They have over 700 boards in stock. The 4th board in the 2nd order had a broken reset switch. Overall seems like a cheap backup.
This is from NIAD, PO Box 1317, Lisle, IL 60532 $19 year. Recently received word from Keith Marner, editor of the UKAS Journal that Elliam Associates, PO Box 2664, Atascadero, CA, 93423, phone (805) 466-8440, still have available many CP/M format programs including: WordStar 4.0 $125, Turbo Pascal $65, SuperCalc 2 $99 and dBASE II $150.
E&T Software has just discovered that the SQUEEZE program that is offered on their utility disk with their 720K drives & conversions will not work with a multiple block directory 720K disk. A patched version is ready & if you want this new version, send a blank 720K disk to E&T Software for the latest version free.
From Dean Roades, editor & founder of 463 ADAM: I have been searching for years to come up with a good way to print out catalogs from disks and tapes. I have seen the double and triple column catalog programs, but you can't edit these. A very simple solution has been in front of my face for quite some time, but I didn't see it until now. SpeedyWrite has the capa- bility to capture anything on the screen to the current workspace.
All you have to do is: 1)catalog the disk or tape. 2) Press SHIFT + SmartKEY IV. 3)Press ESCAPE. Now your catalog is in the workspace & can be edited, printed, stored, etc.
This is from AIM, ADAM'S HOUSE, Route 2, Box 2756, Pearland, TX 77581 phone 1-713-482-5040 @ $20 year. A CLOCK CHIP is now available for ADAM, & we should have them in stock soon. The Chip plugs into the unused U8 socket on the Logic (Delta) board of the computer console. When power is applied, a clock appears on screen. Price approximately $40. Installed for $50.
This same manufacture is working on the IMAGE SCANNER dropped by E&T. Prices will be about $175. Another project is a AUDIO DIGITIZER that will allow a microphone to capture any sound input & save it to memory or media for use in your own programs. Approximate cost is $70, but it and the CLOCK CHIP together will cost around $100.
The SPRITE CHASER may not be published anymore. The last issue published was in January, 1989.
Letter from Arthur Hammell: I am having some problems setting up Speedy-WRITE 2. The program asks for the Printer Codes for my Panasonic Printer to make it run correctly, and the examples are a little hard to understand. Can you supply the codes?
ANSWER: Type the following in answer to each question: Code for 12 lines per inch - 27,65,5,10; Code for Boldface On - 27,69; Code for Bold- face Off - 27,70; Code for Italics On - 27, 52; Code for Italics Off - 27, 53. Once these codes are entered when the program is first loaded you will not have to repeat the entry of the codes again.
Letter from Gary Hoosier: ..I was having a problem with the CPU typing characters endlessly in SmartWRITER until I booted some other operating system. I finally found the problem! After the problem reoccurred & I had the console apart twice, the problem turned out to be a BAD GAME CONTROLLER. SmartBASIC does not accept input from the game controller keypads (unless programmed), but SmartWRITER does. The game controller was shorted or has some dirt in it and was sending character input to the CPU! The CPU was receiving periods from the game controller star, *, button.
(AIM continued) INITIATING a disk will not allow 255 blocks of storage space even though the disk directory indicates it. To properly INIT your disk, type this first (in the immediate mode): POKE 25305, 160 followed by the RETURN KEY.
When a specific FILE on a Datapack cannot be ACCESSED, editing the directory can recover at least part of the file. The procedure works by changing the length of the file just prior to the file named in the directory in block 1 so that when the files loads it will load all information speci- fied according to the length. It will be necessary to delete the first file information, some codes or garbage, & possibly retyping a portion of the document.
To create your own 2 BLCOK DIRECTORY, Poke a 2 into location 25308 (POKE 25308,2 followed by the RETURN KEY). Then INIT your fresh datapack.
SmartBASIC on datapack may be transferred to DISK using many copy utility programs (block numbers 0-29 are all that is necessary for the transfer). However, SmartBASIC is CODED for use only with the tape drive. To change the code for DISK #1 use, EDIT BLOCK #18 on the disk, the second byte (08) should be changed to 04. Disk drive #2 is coded 05, Datadrive #2 is 24.
This is from ADAM LINK OF UTAH, 2337 South 600 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84106 @ $18-20 6 issues: Trisyd Video Games now offers a 306K DDP (made from a C-60 audio cassette) and a 400K DDP (made from a C-90 audio cassette). I also understand that the MEGACOPY software will be updated to make copies of these new DDP's.
Alan Neeley (hey! Is that me?) has refined the Auto-Answer device (originally designed for use with Coleco's internal modem & the A-NET soft- ware). This device is now being built on a printed circuit board instead of the wire-wrapped method (making it easier to build & more reliable). This product sells for $15 & soon will include 2 PD programs that will make use of it (a telecommunications program, and a phone monitoring program).
Some of the A-NET systems have put up a special RLE graphic section labeled MISSING CHILDREN. This idea (started by Rusty Gillott) centers around Compuserve's Missing Children section. Users can download pictures of missing children & view them in hopes that they may recognize them & know where they are. This idea is just another example of the versatility of the A-NET system.
This is from COMPUTER ENTERTAINER, Video Take-Out, 5916 Lemona Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91411 @$25 year: Epyx Software, originally known as Automated Simulations in the very early days of computer games, no longer exists as a developer & published of computer games. The company, well known to gamers for such hits as TEMPLE OF APSHAI, the "Games" series (SUMMER GAMES, WINTER GAMES, CALIFORNIA GAMES, and others), IMPOSSIBLE MISSION and many more, drastically cut its staff by 90% last month. ...The remaining ten staff members are all involved with the development of the hand-held color video game system which is nown as Atari Lynx, and these ten will continue to work with Atari on development of games for Atari Lynx.
Next years OAUC meetings at the Bellevue Public Library should be on the following dates: 6 Feb, 3 Apr, 5 Jun, 7 Aug, 2 Oct, 4 Dec. These dates still have to be confirmed. Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY and New Year. Norman...
Norman R. Castro, 809 West 33rd Avenue, Bellevue, NE 68005 [402] 291-4405
Dec-11-1989
TO: ALL FROM: KEENE, Thomas J.CA 6
SUBJ: DISCS
BEST products has another of those fabulous sales on blank discs for the ADAM. They are repeating their offer of a few months ago on the double sided 5.25 " discs and now they are offering BASF 3.5" discs for less than $10 for a box of ten.
Today I was talking with Otto Fulde who runs aComputer supply company in San Diego. He is selling all kinds of ADAM products. He has as many or maybe more items for the ADAM than ADC. He is selling ADAM ribbons at $30 for a dozen. This beats the old "standard" prices I have been paying at GLOBAL. He said he has lots of them. He also stocks DIABLO HITYPE I rubbons at the same price but he also carries the DIABLO in Nylon in black and brown. He sells the brown ribbons for 20% less. He also carries both brown and black DIADLO ribbons in multistrike. He also has the Nylon ribbon in PURPLE ! The company is:
ALLIED BUSINESS MACHINES INC. 9281 Earl St. La Mesa, CA 92042-1445. Phone is 619-461-6361. Has been in business there for over twenty years, so he is probably reliable. For any of you who may have an IBM (shudder) Selectronic typewriter he has premium typing elements for $20. That is a very low price. He has them in Bold Courier, Business Script, Calligraphy, Contempo Forms 1, Headline, Olde English and Oriental.
The following article was transcribed from the Inland Empire Adam User's Group Newsletter, and is by Thomas J. Keene
Most of us have, by now, learned of the procedure to correct the uneven tension of the DIABLO HY-TYPE I printer ribbons. This has been the major cause of splotchy printing with the ADAM printer. This was not due to any design flaw of the ADAM, but a problem of the ribbon itself.
There is another type of problem that manifests itself as an uneven impression of all characters, but usually part of the character is dark enough.
This is the result of the hammer of the print head not striking the daisy wheel squarely on the character. This has been observed by others. There was even one solution that I read about, in which it was recommended that the indexing hole in the printwheel be enlarged with a file on one side of the hole, so that the printwheel could be rotated slightly. This was supposed to align the printwheel with the striker. But what happens when the printwheel slips back?. There is nothing to ensure that it won't.
There is a provision in the design of the print mechanism for aligning the striker correctly with the printwheel. I have found that this adjustment makes it possible to obtain precise striking that won't later go out of registration.
This operation is not for the faint hearted. And it could make things worse until you get it right. And the needed amount of adjustment is often very slight, which can result in over-correction. But ultimately you can get the adjustment to perfectly align the printwheel and the striker, and the results are well worth the time it takes to do it. The adjustment itself is easy. It might become a bit tedious, because there is a strong tendency to overcorrect.
But there is nothing difficult about doing it. And no unusual tools are required. A medium size Phillips head screwdriver is the only tool you will need. And there is no need for additional parts.
Be sure that the power is turned off before you start. Place your printer in a convenient position, because you can get a bit tired bending over the printer if it takes a long time to make the adjustment.
Remove the ribbon and then you will see four Phillips head screws that must be loosened in order to remove the case. Next you will have to tilt back the printer head and remove the printwheel.
I suggest that before you begin any of this disassembly, that you observe the striking action either with or without a ribbon. It is very easy to see if the striker is hitting the printwheel precisely. There are some characters that seem to make it easier to observe this action than others.
If you are making a test with the ribbon, the uppercase "W", "D" or "H" are particularly sensitive to uneven striking. Observing the strike action is easier with the upper-case "W" than with almost any other key. There are a lot of differences in the construction of printwheels by various manufacturers. The uppercase "W" lies between the comma and the period and, on some makes of printwheels, the comma and period are much shorter than other characters.
With this type of wheel it is easier to see how precisely the striker hits the printwheel. But in any case, it is fairly easy to tell if it is hitting the printwheel character exactly right.\ \ After you have removed the printwheel you can look directly at the print head. The indexing arm is positioned electronically by referencing the indexing arm with the indexing coil. If this is properly referenced, then all characters of the printwheel will be exactly aligned with the striker. It is very easy to move the position of this indexing arm with respect to the coil. There are two Phillips head screws that clamp the round inner platform, that mounts the coil, to the main body of the print head. If these are loosened, it is possible to rotate that inner platform either clockwise or counter clockwise with respect to the main body. Gently rotate the platform in the direction that your inspection indicated you should go. If the striker was causing the left side of the "W" to be darker than the right side, then the direction of rotation should be clockwise as viewed from the printwheel side of the printhead. MAKE VERY SMALL ADJUSTMENTS! Tighten both screws, lower the print head to normal position, turn on the power and make a succession of uppercase W's.
Notice the preciseness of the striker action. After a bit, it becomes very easy to tell if it is hitting the printwheel squarely. You don't need to have a ribbon in place to tell if it is hitting evenly. If it seems to be OK, then put the ribbon case back on and put the ribbon back in and try it. Almost always, if the striker was hitting the printwheel squarely, the results with a ribbon will be totally satisfactory. Then, as a final test, print every character on the keyboard (both upper and lower case).
Pay particular attention to the commas and the periods. They should be very clear and distinct and above all, they should not be accompanied with a sort of black smudge around the period or comma. If you see this, then you can be assured that it is not striking precisely.
ARTILLERY DUEL CONT.,
After choosing the level of play, the first cannoneer must make his decisions as to the angle of the barrel (from 00 to 90 in increments of 5) and how much powder (from 00 to 99 in increments of 1). The player moves the cursor with his joystick to select his choices. You only have 50 seconds in which to make your decision. As soon as you have made your choice press the fire button to fire. Your opponent then has the same opportunity to blow your cannon away. If either cannon has in any way been shot, the screen will show a damage report. The damage could be anywhere from 1% up.
When one side succeeds in blowing up the other side's cannon, the screen explodes. Then to the beat of the drums, out march a group of the winning side's soldiers. Sometimes they must be suffering from shell shock as they forget which way they're marching and get out of formation. The sounds used are terrific. Before the battle begins, you can even hear birds calling.
This is a terrific game except for one problem. When does it quit? We've played to a score of 15 to 20 (35 battles in all) without any indication that the game was getting any nearer to the end. For adults, this possibly wouldn't be a problem, but it begins to get old after about 20 games for children.
The foregoing Game Reviews were authored by Carol Tapia who has several young children, whose input is always included in these reviews.
FROM THE METRO-ORLANDO AUG (MOAUG) NEWSLETTER.
The first in a series of articles on LOGO by RICKI GERLACH.
LEARNING WITH LOGO
PART 1
BY: RICKI J. GERLACH
WHAT IS LOGO?
Logo has been described as being both a computer language and a philosophy of learning. The major theme of Logo's philosophy is to learn by doing, to learn by trial and error, to learn by exploring and discovering. Errors do not reflect failure, but 'bugs' that can be analyzed and fixed.
The language itself was designed to reflect this philosophy by being easy to use and powerful enough for sophisticated applications. Logo achieves these two seemingly opposing goals by incorporating several major design characteristics.
The most important Logo feature is its ability to respond to new user-created words or programs in the same way Logo responds to its built-in words. Every computer language has certain 'reserved' words that the computer knows and responds to. In Logo, these key words are called PRIMITIVES, and include such commands as, MAKE, AND, IF, REPEAT, FORWARD, and RIGHT. For example, the command
FORWARD 50
will cause the turtle to draw a line 50 steps long on the screen, while the command
RIGHT 90
will turn the turtle 90 degrees to the right. We can create some rather interesting programs using these primitives. Here is one of the easiest programs to visualize.
TO BOX REPEAT 4 [ FORWARD 50 RIGHT 90 ] END
Remember to push SmartKey VI after typing this, so that ADAM will store it in the memory, for later recall. Think of it as ADAM remembering what BOX is. Now the key point here, is that we can run this program, called a PROCEDURE in Logo, just by typing its name, the same as we run a Logo primitive. We can even include this newly defined procedure into other procedures. For example, here is a simple procedure that uses our BOX procedure.
TO STAR REPEAT 20 [ BOX RIGHT 18 ] END (SMART KEY VI)
Now just run STAR, and watch what happens.
The primitive TO is used to enter the Logo editor in order to define new 'vocabulary' words. When a language uses new words just like it uses its built-in words, we say the language is 'extensible' and uses the same 'syntax' for procedures as for primitives.
Some words may be abbreviated, as
RIGHT or RT FORWARD or FD LEFT or LT BACKWARD or BK
This means that the procedure you entered for BOX, could also be entered as
TO BOX REPEAT 4 [ FD 50 RT 90 ] END
LEARNING WITH LOGO CONT.,
And the procedure for STAR could be entered as
TO STAR REPEAT 20 [ BOX RT 18 ] END
The foregoing was made available to us through ANN.
The following article was written by Barry A. Wilson, the co-editor of the St. Louis ADAM User's Group Newsletter, and the prime mover of the formation of and ongoing success of the ADAM News Network, which made this material available to us for inclusion in our newsletter. Barry, who is a lawyer by profession, is a conscientious crusader against "piracy" and any other activity which he deems unethical, unwarranted or contrary to the best interests of the ADAM community as a whole. I intend to voice my concerns with some details of the concept at the end of the article. ED.
NATIONAL AUG ????
I had previously proposed an idea of a National AUG. There has been some positive response and some confusion.
The positive response is that: AWAUG(WASH DC), Inland Empire AUG (CA), Omaha AUG (NE), ST.LAUG(MO), 463 AUG (IN), ADAM-LINK (UT), AKRON AUG (OH) have expressed interest in this concept.
The confusion is to be expected as this is just a very vague concept now without definite form or shape.
Perhaps this should be designated as a Federation of Adam Organizations across the USA, (?. ED), or something similar.
It is NOT dissolving your local AUG, it is NOT giving up your independence, etc. I know what it is not but I don't know what it is.
Actually that is part of the whole idea, some nationwide organization or loosely aligned group made up of local AUGS, etc. For such a creature to actually be national, it cannot be made up of my ideas or thoughts, etc. It must be a sharing of the ideas and thoughts of all the member AUGS.
All that I am trying to do is get some discussion started, get members or representatives from the various AUGS in contact, so that THEY MAY FIRM OUT THIS CONCEPT AND PERHAPS THEY WILL DETERMINE THE TIME IS NOT YET RIPE FOR SUCH AN ORGANIZATION. I do not know what they will decide , I only want to get such discussion started.
There have been suggestions that some type survey be taken, perhaps as part of the ADAMCON01 in Orlando this year, where we can get ideas from as many Adamites as possible. (It wasn't done there to my knowledge. ED.)
WHAT WE (I) NEED IS FOR SOMEONE TO STEP FORWARD TO TAKE THIS PROJECT OVER AND KEEP IT RUNNING UNTIL THE VARIOUS GROUPS DECIDE IT IS A GOOD IDEA OR NOT A GOOD IDEA. ANY VOLUNTEERS ?????????????????
I think the initial group working on this should consider the following, along with whatever else is suggested:
How the various AUG members will communicate amongst themselves. What other Adamites should be added to this initial discussion group. Should organizations other than Local AUGS be involved. (I think so, I think there would be room for suppliers, distributors, programmers, national newsletters-NIAD-Adams Alive-etc. to be part of this group).
How to bring the BBSs into the organization and discussion group. What about FUTURE conventions (EVERYONE SHOULD BE SUPPORTING ADAMCON 01 TO MAKE IT A SUCCESS AND THEREBY PROMOTE FUTURE CONVENTIONS) would be appropriate; national, region, coordination between them, etc.
How to raise $$$ to get the NATIONAL AUG or FEDERATION OF ADAM GROUPS, some operating capital. How much capital is needed, how to raise it.
Contributions from suppliers, deals, buy lottery tickets, etc. Nominal annual dues added to local dues, local AUG to collect & send to National) ????
What about Adamites not in local AUGS (none in their area, etc.). Just pay dues to National AUG, assign them to the nearest local AUG (at least they could get newsletter from nearest local AUG) and collect the extra $l,2 for National ?????
Newsletter. Would we want a National Newsletter (costs, work, etc.). Should there be a national AUG page or column in the local newsletters.
Some means of National communication.
National efforts on group purchases (let producers know that they would have a market of xxxx people, etc.) Buy disks in huge quantity from suppliers, get very low price, sell at slightly higher price to raise money for National Organization.
United stand against Piracy, rip offs, etc. Function as Better Busines Bureau, handle consumer complaints, etc. ????
Joint projects. If no regular producer will make an optical scanner,e tc. for ADAM, maybe the National Organization can help finance the researach & development on such an item by any Adamite or organization having the ability and interest to develope the item. National Organization repaid out of lst sales,etc.
NATIONAL AUG CONT.,
YOUR IDEAS, THOUGHTS, ETC.
These are just some of the items I think the discussion group could consider. I know you must have others.
VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET :
l. YOUR IDEAS 2. SOME PERSON TO TAKE THIS PROJECT OVER & PUSH IT. 3. THE DISCUSSION GROUP STARTED.
Look beyond your little space, your local group, etc. There is a whole great big wonderful world out there just waiting for you to take the lst step towards it.
Barry Wilson
EDITOR'S FOOTNOTE.
Readers of this article, must remember that it was written well before ADAMCON 01 took place. I believe that the strong Canadian representation at ADAMCON will serve to show that, not only is there a possible foundation in the United States, for a "national" organization, but there is probably also a similar foundation for an "international" organization throughout the North American continent. I believe that we, as Canadians, should try to participate in any discussions on this subject before the idea becomes too parochial. WHAT DO YOU SAY????.
GENERAL PROGRAMMING TIPS
This is a modification of an excellent article by Peter Hartzler which appeared in the June AWAUG (Wash.DC area) newsletter. I particularly liked this article as I feel not enough is being written for the beginning programmer and this article gives an excellent approach to some of the problems involved. I have modified it slightly to attempt to save space & to give explanations as to what each line actually does.
A good first step in program writing is to WRITE down exactly what you want the program to do, including: what data will be used, where it will come from, what the output will be, and how ADAM will arrive at it's results. This can be very difficult but once you have this much, the rest of the program design will be easy.
Take a program which takes two numbers from the operator, and divides the first by the second, and then displays the answer. Also remembering that if the second number is zero (division by zero), then the program should display a message such as "ILLEGAL DENOMINATOR", and recycle to the beginning for another try.
AT THIS POINT, WHY DON'T YOU TRY TO WRITE SUCH A PROGRAM BEFORE FINISHING THIS ARTICLE.
Peter Hartzler continues that once you have decided just what you want the program to do, your next step is to design the structure of the program, which means setting down what the machine will do first, next, etc. until it completes it's run of the program. If your program uses many branches or loops you may find flow charts to be an aid. Another approach is to write out the program structure in outline form (this is also called pseudocode).
START GET NUMERATOR GET DENOMINATOR IF DENOMINATOR = 0 DISPLAY "ILLEGAL DENOMINATOR" GO TO START ELSE COMPUTE RESULT = NUMERATOR/DENOMINATOR END IF DISPLAY RESULT END:
You may go through several revisions before you are finished with the preliminary program design. Also when you go back and modify your program you can use the design as a reference to see just where you need to make what changes.
As you design the program, look for operations which you need to do more than once. Rather than writing these out each time you need them, you can save a lot of trouble by writing the routine once and calling it (GOSUB in basic) from the places you need it. This will save time and better if there is an error in a subroutine, one set of changes will be all that is needed, rather than changing it throughout the program for each repetition of that operation.
The strategy of using a section of code more than once, as a subroutine is key to the concept of modular programming. It also makes debugging programs a lot easier.
Peter Hartzler then gives these thoughts on variable names. There is really no excuse for using only single letters for variable names. Most interpreters allow quite a few characters in a variable name (SmartBASIC does), and you should take advantage of this. If you write code which has lots of x's, y's and z's and other sorts of alphabet soup, it may run fine but is very hard to read, especially after it has set on the shelf for awhile and you forgot what "q" represents. Avoid cryptic variable names.
GENERAL PROGRAMMING TIPS CONT.,
SmartBASIC allows long variable names, but ONLY looks at the first two characters to decide what variable it is (not counting subscripts). So, NU is equivalent to NUMERATOR and/or NUMBER for SmartBASIC purposes. Watch out for this but make your variable names readable (plain english variable names are easier to remember & use, especially if you are working on a program longer than one screen).
Our (Peter's) little program might come out looking like this.
00 REM THIS PROGRAM TAKES TWO NUMBERS AND DIVIDES THE FIRST BY THE SECOND 10 REM START 20 INPUT "Numerator? "; NUMERATOR 30 INPUT "Denominator? "; DENOMINATOR 40 IF DENOMINATOR = 0 THEN PRINT "ILLEGAL DENOMINATOR": GOTO 10: REM START. 50 RESULT = NUMERATOR/ DENOMINATOR 60 PRINT NUMERATOR; " ? "; DENOMINATOR; " = "; RESULT 99 END.
While this example may seem trivial, it is the first embrionic skeleton of a full blown calculator, or even a spread sheet program. You have to start somewhere, and you have to plan ahead. This is also a good simple example for beginners which will show them the steps necessary to go from an idea to a program to carry out that idea.
Peter Hartzler continues, indicating that it is a good idea to embed little messages (or REM statements) in your program telling yourself what you are doing at a particular point in the program. This is a great help when you later go back to a program and try to figure out why you wrote it that why or how it actually works. Also if you are writing this for someone else it will allow them to follow your thought process and will make it easier for them to modify or customize for their own purposes.
The whole purpose of computer languages (such as Basic) is to make it possible for humans to read the instructions in something approaching English. To this end it is worthwhile to use self explanitory variable names, include comments to explain what you're doing, and use subroutines to centralize specific operations.
Besides summarizing and modifying the above article of Peter Hartzler slightly, I have added the following explanation:
LINE EXPLANATIONS.
00 REM is a REM(ark) or note to yourself & does not have any actual effect on the program.
10 Also a REM statement
20 INPUT means ADAM is waiting for you to input or type in some information. The word(s) in the "s after Input are printed to the screen so you have an idea what ADAM is asking you to input, in this case Numerator. The ; NUMERATOR means that from now on whatever value was input will be called NUMERATOR for the purposes of this program and whever the program asks for NUMERATOR, the actual value previously typed in by you as an input will be used.
30 (Same as 20 but for Denominator).
40 The IF means exactly that IF the following is true, then do what is indicated. IF the following was not true, then this line would not be used in the program but skipped over. This line only comes into use IF the condition specified is true. Here IF the (value input for ) if the denominator is 0, then the program prints to the screen "ILLEGAL DENOMINATOR".
Next this line 40 has GOTO 10, this sends the program back to line l0 and it reruns from that point. The REM start, is merely to tell us why it is going back to line l0 or what line l0 actually did.
50 We are creating another variable which is called RESULT and we are setting result equal to NUMERATOR/DENOMINATOR (numerator divided by denominator).
60 Prints to the screen the value for NUMERATOR which we previously input , then what is in the "s (which is /), then the value we previously input for DENOMINATOR, then what is in the next set of "s (which is =) and finally the value which ADAM calculated in line 50 for Result.
99 END, ends the program at this point.
This program could be modified so that lines after line 60 and before line 99 asked if we wished to calculate another division and then if the answer was Yes, send the program back to line l0 and if the answer is other than yes, allow the program to go to line 99 and end.
Such lines could be as follows:
70 INPUT "DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? Y OR N "; answer$
(Line 70 has ADAM ask you if you want to continue and then wait for your answer. Your answer will now become the variable answer$. The $ is necessary as we are dealing with words or letters and not numbers at this point)
80 IF answer$ = "Y" or if answer$ = "y" THEN GOTO 10.
Barry A. Wilson.
It is gratifying to see how a poorly printing printer can be made to work like a million dollars! With a little patience and perseverence, you can bring the alignment back to perfection. After completing the adjustment, be sure that the Phillips head screws (the ones that you loosened to make the adjustment) are tightened as tightly as you can make them.
There is one character that is very sensitive to precise alignment and that is the underline (uppercase 6). It should not have a wedge shaped appearance. While it is excellent for judging the adjustment, it is a poor choice for observing the striking action, because this character is the shortest spoke on all printwheels and it is much harder to tell if it is being struck dead center. Another reason I prefer the uppercase "W" is that the index arm is centered under the coil when the "W" is in striking position.
Thomas J. Keene. IEAUG.
At the end of this newsletter, on the back of the final page of text, you will find a sketch showing the location of the components mentioned in Tom Keene's article. ED.
We, of V.I.S.A., have recently concluded an agreement to exchange newsletters with the Inland Empire ADAM User's Group, which is based in Orange, Ca. This group is well known for the technical expertise of their newsletter articles and we look forward to many more similar articles on ADAM technical and CP/M matters from IEAUG.
As a point of interest, Tom Keene is not only editor of the IEAUG newsletter, but if the issues I have received so far are any indication, he is also, by far, the main contributor of articles published in that journal. We will be reprinting many of his articles in future issues. ED.
EXPLORING SMARTBASIC
Here is the fourth in a six-part series of articles on SmartBASIC written by Guy Cousineau of the ADAM User Friendly Group. The series was made available for our use by Ron Mitchell, the President of AUFG.
BASIC OUTPUT
Odd as it may seem, there is only one way to send out anything from a BASIC program: the PRINT statement. It is, however, a very versatile command:
PRINT "hello" PRINT a$,b$ PRINT a;" dollars and ";b;" cents" PRINT x^2+5*y
The preceding are all valid print statements. The first prints a message. The second prints 2 string variables. The third mixes variables and string data. The fourth prints the result of the arithmetic formula. In short, you can mix and match any kind of variable and use the PRINT parameters to format your output.
The comma is used to space-out to the next half of the screen and can be used to neatly format data in 2 columns. Consider the following program:
10 FOR x=1 to 10 20 PRINT x,2*x 30 NEXT x 40 END
As you have already figured out, it will print a multiplication table. But when you run this program, you will notice something peculiar:
1 2 2 4 3 6....etc.
All but the first line are indented by one space. This is a result of the arithmetic used to determine if you are in the first column. You can solve this problem by adding:
5 PRINT " ";
to indent the first entry as well. There is not enough room in the existing code to effect a proper fix.
The character used to fill between entries is normally a space; you can change this by POKEing the appropriate value in 7884. To change the spacing from 1/2 screen to 1/4 screen, make the following changes:
POKE 7879,7: POKE 7881,8and to restore
POKE 7879,15:POKE 7881,16
The ';' is totally ignored by PRINT and its use, in several cases is only cosmetic. As a matter of fact, if you omit in in SOME statements, the PARSER will add it in for you.
The PRINT parser is located at 15580 (3CDC). It looks for ; : , " . numbers letters and equations by calling other parsing routines. There is not much you can change in there.
The entire PRINT execution routine is found from 7800 to 7899 (1E78-1EDB) with the actual entry point at 7854 (1EAE).
The PR command is used to select device output. Similar to IN, this command accepts up to 8 devices with all but PR#1 being the same. The command sets a flag to channel output to an external device (eg the printer). It is possible to patch in other PR vectors to point to drivers for DOT MATRIX printers but they are only of limited value in BASIC. If you really want one, just ask; it should not be too complicated.
Next time, commands affecting the appearance of the screen.
Guy Cousineau, 1059 Hindley Street, OTTAWA Canada, K2B 5L9.
THIS EDITION'S SMARTBASIC PROGRAM LISTING.
The SmartBASIC program listing in this edition is, once again, provided to us in software form by our PD librarian, Michael Lyons. Our thanks to Michael for making this Editor's job that much easier by avoiding the need to transcribe the listing. The program is called "hires draw" and provides a means of making colourful drawings on your hi-res screen, using the game controller.
1GOSUB 4000 5DIM br 6FOR q=1 TO 16 7READ q$ 8 br=q$:NEXT 9REM -- first color and starting position-- 10 c=6: x=0: y=151 19REM --clear screen and set graphics mode-- 20HOME:HGR 30VTAB 21 40GOSUB 3000 69REM --set drawing color-- 70HCOLOR =c 80IF c=0 THEN GOSUB 600 85HPLOT x, y 90HPLOT x+1, y 100HPLOT x, y+1 110HPLOT x+1, y+1 119REM --if side button pressed start again-- 120IF PDL(13)=10 OR PDL(13)=11 THEN 10 123 kp=PEEK(64885) 125IF kp=27 THEN TEXT:END 129REM --read controller stick-- 130 d=PDL(5) 139REM --complete new x,y based on stick value-- 140IF d=4 OR d=12 OR d=6 THEN y=y+1 150IF d=1 OR d=3 OR d=9 THEN y=y-1 160IF d=2 OR d=3 OR d=6 THEN x=x+1 170IF d=8 OR d=9 OR d=12 THEN x=x-1 179REM --keep x,y on screen-- 190IF y>150 THEN y=150:? CHR; 200IF x<0 THEN x=0:? CHR; 210IF y<0 THEN y=0:? CHR; 219REM --if no color change, go back-- 220IF PDL(7)=0 AND PDL(9)=0 THEN 80 229REM --change color-- 500HOME:? "------------------------------" 510? "WHICH COLOR WOULD YOU LIKE" 520? "0-15? "; 521 r=PDL(13) 522IF r=10 OR r=11 THEN 10 523IF r>1 THEN 521 524? r; 525FOR q=1 TO 500:NEXT 526 s=PDL(13) 528IF s=10 OR s=11 THEN 10 530IF r=1 AND s>5 THEN 526 536IF s=15 THEN 526 538? s; 540IF r=0 THEN c=s:GOTO 555 550 c=s+10 555? " "; br$(c+1) 560FOR q=1 TO 1500:NEXT:GOSUB 3000 570GOTO 70 600HCOLOR =3 610HPLOT x, y 620HPLOT x+1, y 630HPLOT x, y+1 640HPLOT x+1, y+1 650HCOLOR =c 660RETURN 1000DATA BLACK,GREEN,DARK RED,WHITE,BLACK,MEDIUM RED 1010DATA MEDIUM BLUE,WHITE,ORANGE,DARK BLUE,GREY 1020DATA LIGHT RED,DARK GREEN,LIGHT YELLOW,AQUA,PURPLE 3000HOME:? "-----------------------------" 3010? " SIDE BUTTON TO CHANGE COLOR" 3020? " <*> OR <#> TO CLEAR SCREEN" 3030RETURN 3040REM -HIRES_DRAW- 3050REM -A MICHAEL LYONS PROGRAM- 3060REM -BUILT FROM "MIRROR" NIAD PROGRAM- 3070REM -VERY LITTLE ORIGINAL LEFT- 4000TEXT:HOME:INVERSE 4010VTAB 5:HTAB 7:? " " 4020VTAB 6:HTAB 7:? " HIGH RESOLUTION " 4030VTAB 7:HTAB 7:? " " 4040VTAB 8:HTAB 7:? " DRAWING PAD " 4050VTAB 9:HTAB 7:? " " 4060NORMAL 4070VTAB 12:HTAB 3:? "DO YOU WANT INSTRUCTIONS? " 4080VTAB 14:HTAB 12:? "(Y/N) "; :GET kp$:? 4090IF kp$<>"Y" AND kp$<>"y" THEN RETURN 4095HOME 4100VTAB 3:? " THIS IS A DRAWING PROGRAM "
4110VTAB 5:? " USING THE JOYSTICK TO DRAW," 4120VTAB 7:? " <*> AND <#> TO CLEAR SCREEN," 4130VTAB 9:? " AND SIDE BUTTONS TO START A" 4140VTAB 11:? " COLOR CHANGE. COLOR NUMBERS " 4150VTAB 13:? " MUST BE 2 DIGIT (04 for 4)" 4160VTAB 15:? " <ESCAPE> WILL RETURN YOU TO " 4170VTAB 17:? " BASIC." 4180VTAB 19:? " IF PRESSED DURING COLOR " 4190VTAB 20:? " SELECTION, IT WILL NOT TAKE" 4200VTAB 21:? " EFFECT UNTIL COLOR # PRESSED" 4210VTAB 23:? "Press keyboard key to continue"; 4220GET kp$ 4300HOME 4310VTAB 3:HTAB 3:? "COLORS AVAILABLE ARE:" 4320VTAB 5:HTAB 3:? "00) BLACK" 4330VTAB 6:HTAB 3:? "01) GREEN" 4340VTAB 7:HTAB 3:? "02) DARK RED" 4350VTAB 8:HTAB 3:? "03) WHITE" 4360VTAB 9:HTAB 3:? "04) BLACK" 4370VTAB 10:HTAB 3:? "05) MEDIUM RED" 4380VTAB 11:HTAB 3:? "06) MEDIUM BLUE" 4390VTAB 12:HTAB 3:? "07) WHITE" 4400VTAB 13:HTAB 3:? "08) ORANGE" 4410VTAB 14:HTAB 3:? "09) DARK BLUE" 4420VTAB 15:HTAB 3:? "10) GREY" 4430VTAB 16:HTAB 3:? "11) LIGHT RED" 4440VTAB 17:HTAB 3:? "12) DARK GREEN" 4450VTAB 18:HTAB 3:? "13) LIGHT YELLOW" 4460VTAB 19:HTAB 3:? "14) AQUA" 4470VTAB 20:HTAB 3:? "15) PURPLE" 4480VTAB 22:? " (06 IN LOWER LEFT AT FIRST)" 4490VTAB 24:? " Press keyboard key to start"; 5000GET kp$:RETURN
Thanks Michael. ED.
The following ADAM Maintenance information was transcribed from the NIAD newsletter by John Forsythe. You may have seen or heard of any or all of the items mentioned before, but the subject of maintenance is of primary importance to we ADAM owners who do not have ready access to repair facilities who are interested in performing work on our computers. For that reason alone, preventative maintenance, or a simple solution to problems are ways we can prevent the trauma of breakdowns or inadequate performance. Just to make we ADAM owners feel a little better about our equipment, which is really very reliable, I spoke recently to a new IBM clone owner, whose clone is considered superior to the original, but who has had one hard-drive failure in the few months he has owned his unit, and it looks as if the second failure is imminent. I don't think we can ignore such problems when assessing our own equipment. After all, two successive failures of the same unit cannot really be assigned to the "unusual" category.
ADAM MAINTENANCE.
PART 1.
GENERAL PROBLEMS.
Locking-up the entire system or getting strange patterns on the screen may occasionally occur. This is usually due to overheating, electrical power problems on your line or bad connections of the cables. It is a good idea (with the power off) to disconnect all cables occasionally to insure the the contacts are making good connection. The ADAM DIAGNOSTIC PUBLIC DOMAIN program is good for determining any general problems with your memory unit, keyboard, tape drive or printer.
TAPE DRIVES.
The read/write heads (metal block at the bottom center of the drive) should be cleaned every few months, depending on the use, with a drive head cleaning solution of alcohol to prevent I/O errors.
When a drive goes bad it is either the motor (which you can usually hear) or the read/write mechanism which is evidenced by problems loading or writing to tapes. When this occurs (if the drive heads are clean) you will not be able to read any tapes. On the other hand, if an individual tape is bad, obviously other tapes will work fine.
There is presently no repair facility available for the tape drives, you will have to buy a replacement.
PRINTER PROBLEMS ETC.
I thought we could give you some basic information on self-correcting some common problems with the ADAM printer, which is great "little letter" quality printer, but like any mechanical device problems can occur.
If you perform the following general maintenance, you will be less likely to have to seek outside repair service.
GENERAL.
Dust is a real problem for printers and you should always keep your printer covered when not in use. There are 2 chrome plated rails that the ribbon cartridge rides on as it goes back and forth. These should be lubricated with a small amount of silicone lubricant (such as Dupont Teflon Dry Lubricant or Fuller Transmission Silicone Lubricant), available at automotive or hardware departments, on a soft rag every 2 months. If you don't do this the carriage will tend to hang up at time resulting in uneven spacing and or uneven margins.
INITIAL TROUBLESHOOTING.
When turning the ADAM on the following sequence should occur:
1. Print mechanism should move all the way to the left edge. 2. Daisy wheel should spin briefly. 3. Platen (roller) should advance one line. 4. Print mechanism moves to the right about one inch.
If the above does not occur, then do the following: 1. Roll the paper advance knob (top right of the printer) back and forth to make sure the mechanism is not jammed.
2. Turn the ADAM off, remove the cover on the printer and examine the cartridge return switch on the left side. If this is a leaf switch, and the connectors are open even slightly, carefully bend them so that the upper bar is parallel to the base of the printer and the two electrical contacts are making firm contact. You may also need to clean the contacts with a small amount of alcohol.
3. Check for any obstructions, preventing full travel of the print mechanism.
4. Check that the cable is tightly wound.
5. Make sure the chrome bars are lubricated as described above.
LIGHT PRINTING.
Light printing may be caused by the ribbon not being advanced properly.
While printing, remove the printer cover and watch the ribbon and see if it is advancing regularly. If not, remove the ribbon, and advance it by hand using the knob at the top of the ribbon cartridge, in the direction indicated. If the ribbon is hard to advance and there is still ribbon material remaining on the right side, the cartridge is binding up and the ADAM printer can't advance the ribbon as needed to maintain a dark print-image.
You can fix this by opening the ribbon cartridge, using a small screwdriver, or other flat object, to pry the cartridge case apart at the seam.
Take careful note of the way the ribbon is threaded through the mechanism. If the left spool is more than half full, this may be preventing the ribbon from advancing properly. You can cut the ribbon, remove the used ribbon on the left spool, reattach the ribbon to the spool with adhesive tape, or by winding it around a few times, rethreading the ribbon and replacing the top.
If the ribbon does advance freely by turning the knob, then the problem may be in the ADAM printer ribbon advance. Remove the ribbon, print something and watch the ribbon drive mechanism. If it does not turn with every keystroke, it will need repair.
Thanks John, ED.
SUPPLIES.
Our total stock of original Coleco Ribbon Cartridges, obtained from The ADAM Connection, P.O.Box 562, Champlain, NY, USA., 12919-0562, have now been sold. We still have a good supply of "pancake" refills for you to install in your old cartridge cases, at $2.00 per copy, and several long keyboard cables at $2.50 each. When these stocks are exhausted we may have difficulty in buying ribbons or refills, so stock your own shelves accordingly.
The ADAM Connection has a very good list of Christmas Specials including original COLECO datapacks at $1.50US each or 5 for $7.00US or 10 for $14.00US. Sony HF 60 based datapacks at $1.65US each, or 5 for $8.00US and 10 for $15.00US. ADAM daisy wheels (Pica, Courier & Emphasis) at $3.95US each. ADAM Printer Ribbons at $3.95US each. Original COLECO ADAMcalc complete with full instruction manual, at $15.00US. Original COLECO SmartFILER complete with full instructions at $12.00US. Original COLECO ExperTYPE with instructions at $12.00US. Original COLECO SmartLETTERS & FORMS with full instructions, (disk version only) at $12.00US. Coleco 5 1/4" Discdrives at $165.00US, and Digital Datadrives at $19.95US.
Those are very fair prices and I suggest that anyone who wants to take advantage of this opportunity contact Steve Major at The ADAM Connection and enquire about shipping & handling costs etc.. You might want to ask him for a copy of his latest catalog as well. Mention V.I.S.A. when you write.
ADAM NEWS NETWORK.
As I mentioned previously, we are involved in the collection and distribution, on a North America-wide basis, of news concerning the ADAM. Barry Wilson, the co-editor of the St. Louis ADAM User Group newsletter was responsible for conceiving the idea, and he acts as the "source" through which all the material flows. We receive at least 2 discs full of excerpts from the incoming material, which Barry feels will be of interest to the various groups in the US and Canada.
Barry is to be congratulated for realizing the potential of the scheme and for putting so much effort, plus his own financial resources into the project.
Well done Barry. You are a true son of ADAM!..
INSTALLATION PRINTER COOLING FAN.
The following article was originally published in the newsletter of the ADAM Family North User's Group based in Calgary and was provided to us by Bob Stroud.
To facilitate the continuous operation of my ADAM system for the NORTHERN LINK BBS, I considered the effects of such sustained use of this equipment and concluded that a cooling fan would add a marked degree of reliability to ADAM's performance. References in publications had indicated that the ADAM might have a problem with heat generation under continuous operation.
Fortunately, I had on previous trips to California, acquired a selection of sprite fans. An examination of the fans and the innards of the printer compartment presented a few options to choose from. The question of potential location, exhaust or input mode, common or separate power supply, switched or unswitched, were some of the alternatives taken into account. The following are the instructions for a do-it-yourself project. AFN (or V.I.S.A.), or the author assumes no responsibility for damage caused by the use or misuse of these instructions. they reflect the writer's account of a retrofit to his equipment. If warranty exists on your equipment it may be voided. If you are inexperienced with electrical hook-ups, have a technician do the wiring.
PARTS LIST.
1. EG&G Roton Sprite Fan (Impedance Protected) ....Jameco Part No. SP2A2LU........................$4.95. 2. Finger Guard Zinc Plated. ....Jameco Part No. SFG648.........................$1.69. 3. Two Wire Appliance Cord Set. 4. Rocker Switch SPST 115V, 6 amp (Optional) 5. 4, 3/16" x 2" Round Head Stove Bolts. 6. Connectors.
Since the primary generator of heat in the printer is the transformer, and the heat sinks are also in the rear compartment, it was decided to locate the fan on the left hand side at the rear of the printer. The dimensions of the sprite fan are 3.125" x 3.125" x 1.64" which will require the removal of the support post at the left rear of the ADAM printer.
PROCEDURE.
1. Unplug the printer unit from the CPU and the power source. Remove the printer cover. Invert the printer and remove the 8 deep inset screws at edge of the printer. (2 on each side). Do not remove any of the other screws which hold the printer metal chassis to the case.
2. Carefully turn the printer over and remove the upper shell. (Lighter beige portion at the top). Remove the screw that attaches the black plastic channel to the upper shell at the left rear (nearest the paper pressure release lever). This channel will be permanently removed. Note the small ridges on the inner surfaces of both the shells on both sides of the black plastic support. These ridges must be removed and the inner surface of the upper and lower shells made relatively flat.
3. Cut away the pedestal on the lower shell that supported the black plastic channel to make it level with the bottom shoulder of the lower shell. See sketch. Cut away any ridges on the sidewall of the shell in the area where the black plastic channel was located.
4. Lay the Sprite Fan on a piece of light card or film and carefuly trace a template of it's outline and the location of the mounting holes (4). Draw a diagonal line between the holes to obtain a "centre" for the fan opening. Replace the upper shell in it's original position and place the template as shown in the sketch. With an awl or a scriber, mark the location of the fan centre and the 4 mounting holes.
5. With a pair of compasses or dividers, scribe a circle with the centre at the intersection of the diagonal lines, (radius 1.5".) on the outside of the assembled printer case. Remove the upper printer shell once more. Cut out the inside of the scribed circle with an exacto knife, NT or Olfa cutter. The sharper the blade the better; but be careful. The material will cut easily and can be scored almost through with the compass or divider and then completed with a knife. Smooth the edges for a clean finish.
6. Drill the 4 fan mounting holes as marked, with a 7/32" drill. If you are using as switch, cut out an appropriately sized opening as shown in the sketch. Drill a 1/4" hole for the fan power cord to pass through the lower shell and feed the stripped end of the cord through the hole. Wrap the cord with 4 or 5 turns of electrical tape on the inside of the case to act as a strain relief. Make the necessary connections to the switch and fan to complete the electrical circuit.
7. Place the fan inside the lower shell and match the two lower mounting holes with the drilled holes. Place finger grill in place and engage the 3/16" x 2" stove bolts, but do not tighten. The 3/16" bolts will readily self-tap the soft zinc alloy body of the fan.
8. Replace the upper shell and engage the upper mounting bolts. Adjust the upper shell so that it is aligned and tighten all 4 of stove the bolts. Turn the printer over and replace the 7 screws on the bottom of the printer.
Plug in and check for any interference on screen. If there is interference install a. RFI reducer. Your fan should now maintain the proper printer compartment temperature and this should lead to an increased life for your ADAM. The Roton fans are quiet, vibration free and reasonably priced. With a little care in cutting the hole and the addition of the finger grille, the whole installation should look original.
Thanks to Bob Stroud and to Gerry St Peter, who authored this article. ED.
The following item was provided by the ADAM News Network and originated with Dean Roades of the 463 ADAM User's Group.
SPEEDYWRITE TIPS.
SPECIAL PRINTING.
Most of my word processing is preparing newsletters, labels, lists, etc. I seldom use italics and often need double-wide printing for titles, headlines, and such. I know you can imbed print codes in a SpeedyWrite document to change the print font, but it is much easier to use the (CTR) / for double wide. When booting SpeedyWrite, I type in the code for double wide when it asks for italics. If you have a different favorite, just input the code for that instead.
Catalog files
I have been searching for years to come up with a good way to print out the catalogs from disks and tapes. I have seen the double and triple column programs, but you can't edit these. A very simple solution has been in front of my face for quite some time but I didn't see it until now.
SpeedyWrite has the capability to capture anything on the screen to the current workspace. All you have to do is:
1) Catalog the disk or tape. 2) Press- Shift + SmartKey IV. 3) Press escape.Now your catalog is in the workspace and can be edited, printed, stored, etc. I have been capturing similar catalogs into one file; 'PD Clips', 'PaintFORMS', 'N&B issue vol'. I can add new volumes at any time and print out all or any portion for labels or pages to keep in a book. I can keep my file books up-to-date without patching or scribbling.
GAME REVIEWS
The following Game reviews were provided by the ADAM News Network, ANN.
MYSTERY
by S & A Software
Mystery beckons. You have just received an invitation to solve a gruesome murder in the swank mansion of Mr. Vic Tim.
When you arrive, all the suspects and possible murder weapons have already been assembled in the Drawing Room. You must carefully analyse all the clues given in order to determine who killed Mr. Tim, in what room, and with which weapon. The killer is sly and devious. You must use all your powers of deduction and have some faith in Lady Luck to find all the correct answers as quickly as possible.
Using the joystick, you first move the cursor to the room of your choice. You have a choice of five rooms: the Gym room, the Bedroom, the Hall, the Pool room, and the Steam room.
Next you pick the murderer from clips of several lethal beauties on the left side of the screen by placing the cursor on your selection. Then you move the cursor to the left side of the screen to choose the weapon.
MYSTERY CONT.,
After your selections are made, the computer goes over your choices and then gives you hints as to which ones are correct or incorrect. This hints range from rather vague to extremely helpful. It would help to make a chart and check off all eliminated persons/items/rooms as you go.
On solving the mystery correctly, you are told how many turns it took, what your final score is, and asks if you wish to play again. In all the times I played this game, I never noticed any repetition and found the game enjoyable each time.
This game reminds me of similar games previously released for the Adam--but the presentation and ease of use were much better than in the other similar type games. I liked the use of what appeared to be clip art of women's faces as the murder suspects as opposed to just lists of names that has been used before.
This is a great game and I hope there will be more games in the future from S & A Software.
DRAGONFIRE
by Imagic
My sons and I have been avid players of Dragonfire on our Atari 2600 for quite some time. It was always one of our favorite games although we seldom got past the White Dragon.
When we received the Adam version, we couldn't wait to sit down and boot it up. Wow!! There is no comparing it to the 2600 version. Its a whole new and definitely more exciting (also more dangerous according to my oldest) game.
Dragonfire is a one or two player game and you can start at any of 9 levels. On levels 1 and two it is very similar to the 2600 version. You must cross the moat and then pick up all the treasures without getting burned to a crisp by the dragon (which changes colors on each level as in the 2600 version).
Beginning on level 3, crossing the moat becomes more dangerous as the drawbridge starts opening and closing. It is safest to time your crossing when the drawbridge is closed, although my son has had some success with jumping the open bridge. (I always end up hitting my face against the castle wall when I try to jump.) Once you enter the room with the dragon, you also have to face an elfin like creature who will try his best to slay your man. Levels 4 and 5 are just tougher versions of Level 3.
Starting with Level 6, you have a new danger to contend with. There is an archer in the castle tower shooting arrows at you. You cannot afford to stay in any one spot more than a few seconds as his aim is deadly on target. On both this and Level 7, you do not have to worry with the moving drawbridge.
Once you clear the moat, you have the dragon and elfin creature to deal with as you gather treasures and you now have a hidden archer shooting arrows at you.
Beginning with Level 8, you have the moving drawbridge again, as well as all the opponents in the previous rounds.
In comparing this to the Atari version, everything is a great improvement. The graphics are superb. When your man falls in the water while trying to cross the moat, you see and hear the water splash. My youngest likes to jump his man against the castle wall just to see him slide in to the water after his collision. In the room with the dragon, the dragon does not move as in the Atari version, but just sits in one place and directs his fiery breath in random directions (usually right where you are standing if you are unlucky enough to have stayed in one place more than a second). In this room, the treasures are drawn in great detail so you see what you are picking up. Also your man is much larger than when crossing the moat and you can see him actually running.
This is really a great adaptation of the arcade game. My sons have already informed me that they will only go back to the Atari version, if the Adam is not available when they want to play.
FACEMAKER
by Spinnaker
This is probably my youngest's favorite Adam program. He also enjoys the Smurf Paint and Play cartridge, but he isn't big enough to understand it as well as this one.
This great program is actually three in one. First you can choose to build a face, by pressing "1" on your joystick. You then see a list of parts that you can build your face from. The list is made up of the graphic part of the face, so a child who cannot yet read can still enjoy the exercises. You can select any of the following parts to make your face: mouth, eyes, ears, noses, and hair.
To make your selection of a body part you wish to define, press the "*" button on the joystick. For example, if you wish to select a mouth, move the cursor to the graphic lips and press "*". You will then have a selection of six different mouths. After placing the cursor by the mouth you wish to select, you can then change the color of the mouth by pressing the "#" button. When the mouth is the color and shape you desire, press "*" again to return to the main Build a Face menu. Each face part has six different styles and can be in a variety of colors. My youngest made a man with green lips, magenta eyes and red ears.
FACEMAKER CONT.,
After building your face, you can use the face in the second part of the program. In this part you can animate the face by using a simple form of programming. The program comes with a keypad template which looks like this:
1 2 3 S F C W T E * #Here is a quick definition of each of the keys on the template:
1--Build A Face 2--Program Face 3--Memory Game S--Smile F--Frown C--Cry W--Wink T--Tongue E--Ear Wiggle
After pressing "2" for Program, you are instructed to press "*" when you are ready to program. When you press "*" a long rectangular box is drawn at the bottom of the screen. As you press the various letter (S,F,etc.) these will appear in the box. You may continue pressing the different letters until the box is full or you wish to end (by pressing "*" again), whichever comes first. The face then performs as you have programmed it. This is fun even for adults. This part of the program helps children become familiar with some computer fundamentals such as: menus, cursors, return keys, space bars, simple programming and simple graphics.
The last part of the program is selected by pressing "3". This is a variation on the Simon games. Instead of repeating the same tune, you have to repeat the same animation game sequence. For example, if the face winks, frown, and then sticks it tongue out at you, you must press the keys on the keypad (W, F,T) to make it repeat the same exact sequence. You must start over when you get out of sequence. This is a great educational game for the very young to those of us that are still young at heart.
ROBIN HOOD
by Xonox
Travel back in time to life in Merry Ole England. Don't forget your bow and arrows or your quarter staff. Come on now, Robin Hood is in dire need of your assistance to combat the evil Sheriff of Nottingham's men.
This is a fun game with great graphics (especially the Castle scene).
There is a two player option and one to four levels of skill to choose from.
After you completely eliminate all the Sheriff's men in this screen, you will be able to cross the bridge in the lower right corner to the next screen. In the second screen, you are facing the Sheriff's men with your quarter staff. In this section, you won't lose any lives but you will have to go back to the bridge each time you are knocked down. If you position Robin just a fraction above the man you are attacking you will knock him down.
After knocking down all the men in this area, you can cross over to the right of the screen to go on to the Castle. Now you will change back to your bow and arrow and fight the sheriff's men both in the fields around you and in the Castle above. Here, as in the first scene, if you are hit by an arrow you will lose a life. So far no one in my family has rated higher than a Stable cleaner when we got killed off but it doesn't stop the boys from wanting to play this everytime they have a chance. Now, I have to go out in the backyard and get a little target practice..........
ARTILLERY DUEL
by Xonox
This game was written with a great sense of humor. This program is based on the old artillery games that have been around for ages. You know the ones...that you have to figure out the angle of the barrel, the amount of powder to use, etc. in order to blow up the other persons cannon.
Although the graphics are for the most part simple, they are beautiful--clear crisp images. Each scene is a mountain one with cannons facing each other on either side of the mountain. The object is to blow away the cannon of your opponent. This is a two player game with three optional levels. Each person can choose their own level independent of the other player.
Here is a listing of all the text files on the November submission from Vancouver & The Islands Senior ADAMphiles to the ADAM News Network. Except for this file all the files on this disc were prepared in, or converted to be used with the DIGITAL EXPRESS program SHOWOFF II, (WRITERMATE).
ADVISA:
1. Is comprised of a transcribed technical article, called "Correcting Uneven Printing", authored by Tom Keene of IEAUG, on adjusting the printhead hammer of an ADAM daisy wheel printer. This was adapted from the file MEM 5 on a disc of IEAUG articles provided to us by the ADAM News Network.
ADVISA:
2. Concludes the article by Tom Keene and continues with the first part of an article by Guy Cousineau, of AUFG, on Exploring SmartBASIC. This is the fourth in a series of six articles by this author on this subject and has been prepared from a disc of material provided to us by Ron Mitchell of AUFG.
ADVISA:
3. Continues the article by Guy Cousineau.
ADVISA:
4. Concludes the article by Guy Cousineau and continues with a SmartBASIC program listing for a HIRES graphics program developed from various source materials by Michael Lyons, Public Domain librarian of our group.
ADVISA:
4. Concludes the SmartBASIC program by Michael Lyons and continues with an article on ADAM Maintenance which was transcribed from the NIAD newsletter of January, 1989 by John Forsythe, a member of our group.
ADVISA:
5. Concludes the NIAD maintenace article and continues with editorial comment on the ADAM News Network.
ADVISA:
6. Is comprised of a technical article, called "Installation, Cooling Fan", which was authored by Gerry St. Peter, of AFN, Calgary, and which outlines the procedure used by the author to install a "sprite" fan in his ADAM printer. The article was transcribed from a copy of the AFN newsletter provided to us by our member, Bob Stroud.
ADVISA:
7. Concludes the technical article by Gerry St. Peter and continues
with a short article on SpeedyWRITE, by Dean Rhoades of 463 AUG, which
was provided to us as file 463TIPS on the September disc from the ADAM
News Network. The file continues with a series of Game Reviews by Carol
Tapia of SLAUG, which was provided to us as MYSTERY, DRAGON, FACEMAKER,
ROBIN HOOD, and ARTILLERY on the same September A.N.N. disc.
ADVISA:
8. Continues the series of game reviews by Carol Tapia.
ADVISA:
9. Continues the series of game reviews by Carol Tapia.
ADVISA:
10. Concludes the series of game reviews by Carol Tapia and continues
with Part 1 in a series of articles called "Learning With LOGO" by Ricki
Gerlach, of MOAUG, which was originally published in the MOAUG Newsletter,
and made available in hard copy form by MOAUG and as LOGO PT1 on the
October disc from the ADAM News Network.
ADVISA:
11. Concludes the LOGO article by Ricki Gerlach and continues with an article called "National AUG" by Barry Wilson, which was provided to us as NATIONAL A on the September disc from A.N.N.
ADVISA:
12. Concludes the article by Barry Wilson on a National AUG, and continues
with an article called "General Programming Tips" originally authored
by Peter Hartzler of AWAUG, and modified by Barry Wilson. The article
was provided to us as AWAUG PROG on the September A.N.N. disc.
ADVISA:
13. Concludes the article on general programming tips by Peter Hartzler.
l. Pat Herrington (MOAUG) a. Eric Danz (AdamZap) i. Rob. Friedman CIS ii.Louisville AUG b. Rich Lefko i-iv. Rich Salvati, Bob Phillips, Bryan Hayden, Bruce Morrison. c. ADAM-LINK BBS i. MTAG (Toronto Ont. Canada) a. VISA (B.C. Canada) b. Hamilton (LAUGH) Can. AUG ii. AUFG (Orleans ONT. Canada) a. Calgary Can. AUG b. Edmonton Can. AUG
2. Don Bueltmann: a. Aaron Hamlett i. Gulf Coast AUG a. Jim Marshall (MMSG) b. Don Sobczak (Practical Programs) c. Jack Reedy (Reedy Software) ii. PSAN a. NIAD b. Bart Lynch (BBS) c. David Carmichael PLINK
3. Jim Duffy i. Ricki Gerlack (BBS) a. AWAUG (Bob Blair) (BBS) b. Big John Lingrel
ii. Ron Collins (AKRON BBS) a. Nibbles & Bits
4. Dean Rhodes (463 AUG) a. Inland Empire AUG i. Larry Overman (BBS) b. A.I.M. c. Walters Software i. Adams Alive (Ed Jenkins) ii. Adam Connection (BBS) l. Steve Dawes (BBS) a.Omaha AUG (Norman Castro) i. Emerald Coast AUG b. Herman Mason (BBS) i. Paul Pappas 2. David Tidman a. Bob Seat b. SM Video
5. Mike Keith (STLAUG )
6. Al Fitzgerald (BBS)
The pi symbols are apparently from the XMODEM download and may be removed prior to printing.
MEX Newsletter #001 Date: 05-09-84 From: Ron Fowler MEX rev: 1.00 This is the first in what will probably be a series of informative notes for
the MEX communications program. These newsletters will provide bug fixes, tips, applications information, etc. for users of MEX.
In order to avoid the daily-revision syndrome that was such a problem for users of MDM7, important bug fixes will be provided in the newsletter whenever possible, in a form useable in a READ file. The hitherto undocumented POKE command will be used to install patches; you can use the CLONE command to save the patched program.
------------------------------------------------------------
These minor bugs have been found in the initial release of MEX:
1) Certain commands result in screen output that contains a graphics or rev- erse video character; these commands are typically those which list key- words out of a table (the '?' command, "STAT ?", "HELP ?", etc). These keywords have the high-bit set in the last character of the keyword, and MEX doesn't reset that bit.
2) For Alternate Long Distance Numbers: if an ALDN number is greater than 12 characters, and the ALDN is specified on the command line, (eg, "[MEX] A0>>CALL <805-555-1212"), MEX misses any characters in the ALDN
number beyond the 12th.
The following patch sequence will fix both problems. Use your text editor to copy the following 8 lines into a file (say, MEXFIX.MEX), then use the READ command to execute it ("READ FIXMEX"). Make sure your MEX is still functional, then use CLONE to save the fixed copy to disk (e.g., "CLONE NEWMEX.COM").
POKE $0E6A $CD $B3 $14 $D8 POKE $0E6E $3E $0C $EB $CD POKE $0E72 $01 $46 $EB $C3 $DE POKE $0E77 $12 POKE $0E78 $E6 $7F $21 $DC $52 $C3 $89 POKE $0E7F $43 POKE $12DA $C3 $6A $0E POKE $4386 $C3 $78 $0E
This patch will be incorporated in the next revision of MEX (probly 1.01).
------------------
A number of users have reported that MEX disconnects them when any of the exit-to-system commands (BYE, CPM, EXIT, SYSTEM) are entered. The command
POKE $0168 $0C9
will fix that problem for most (again, CLONE your MEX to make the change permanent). This problem exists with several overlays, and relates to two entries in the overlay jump table, usually called JMP$GOODBYE and JMP$DISCON
in MDM overlays (GOODBV and DISCV is MEX overlays). MEX assumes that the JMP$DISCON routine disconnects the phone; it is called on an X secondary command or from the DSC command. JMP$GOODBYE is called just prior to exiting
MEX and re-entering CP/M, providing a way for the overlay (if it needs to) to "clean up" before CP/M gets control back. Apparently MDM7 does not call these routines in the same way, since several overlays have both of these entries pointing to disconnect code. Hence, an exit always disconnects.
I believe that these overlays are technically in error; JMP$GOODBYE should have no reason to disconnect the phone. Problem is, Irv Hoff never documented
the MDM overlay entry points (at least, as far as I know), so I can't be sure of his intent. In any case, I'd recommend that the offending overlays be modified; this would make the change permanent (otherwise, the above POKE
must be executed each time a new MEX is generated).
------------------------------------------------------------
CIS protocol notes:
I didn't mention in the features list in -READ.ME (or in any of the announce- ments that I sent out) that MEX is capable of file exchange with Compuserve, using their "A" protocol. Do "HELP CIS" for a little more information about this feature. If you don't use Compuserve and resent having valuable buffer
space taken up by Compuserve code, do "HELP COLD" for information on how to remove the Compuserve code altogether, and reclaim the space for buffers.
Some notes on file-append:
Also not mentioned in the announcements was the "A" secondary option for the T, E and L commands: this one lets you append to the end of an existing term file (do "HELP APPEND" for more information on the "A" option). I should point out that some text editors write out files that are not compatible with the way MEX does a file-append. The algorthm used by MEX allows a fast seek-to-end, and works like this:
1) seek last physical record 2) scan backwards until end-of-file mark found (1AH) 3) scan backward until the first non-1A is found; this is the last file character 4) copy any previous characters in the record to the capture buffer
This should always work for files created by MEX; certain text editors, how- ever, put a single 1A at the end of file, followed by random characters. If
one of these random characters is a 1A, MEX will find a false end of file (after the real end), and newly-appended text will be "invisible".
Other editors do not put an end-of-file mark in the file if the text ends on an even 128-byte boundary (ED.COM does this). This too will cause problems with the 'A' option.
Thus, unless you're sure your text editor legitimately writes the end-of-file mark (and pads the last sector with EOF marks) it's best to use the 'A' option only with files created by MEX.
READ files:
The documentaton doesn't mention it, but if you specify a READ file without a filetype (eg, "READ CALLJOE"), MEX will assume a filetype of "MEX" (in fact, a file named "CALLJOE" can't be found by MEX for this reason).
------------------------------------------------------------
It might not be clear from the documentation, but you can make your phone numbers and keystring definitions a permanent part of MEX. Simply define the numbers you frequently use with the PHONE command (or LOAD a file from disk), define your keystrings (or LOAD them), the do "CLONE <filename>".
You can, at any time, change the phone numbers or keystrings and re-CLONE; MEX may be CLONEd any number of times.
------------------------------------------------------------
Misc. gotcha's:
0) In spite of what the documentation says, MEX will not run "out-of-the-box"; the overlay file must be installed first. This was due to a change that was made just prior to release.
1) It has been brought to my attention that, if you use the CLONE command with- out a filename, MEX will write a filename of all blanks as the CLONE file. Be sure to specify a name to the CLONE command; I'll make sure that the next MEX
does not allow all-blank filenames.
2) Another problem is that, if you specify a drive name with the filename for the 'R' or 'S' commands (send/receive/Christensen protocol), MEX ignores
the command altogether. For now, just forego the drive name, and log into the drive you want to send from or receive to. This, too, will be repaired in the next revision (this doesn't affect batch transmissions under the 'B'
secondary option).
3) Some users have had problems with keystring memory becoming corrupted; I'm looking into the problem, but have not been able to corrupt my keystring memory. The most frequent complaint is that these garbage keystrings can't be deleted with the KEY command. If you have this problem, do this:
[MEX] A0>>COLD
This will erase your keystrings (*and* your phone numbers!), and allow you to start over. Nothing else will be disturbed.
4) The third line of the HELP file under LOAD (and SAVE) specifies an illegal example for saving a phone number file: SAVE C:NEWPHONE.NUM (phone number files must have a filetype of "PHN"). -------------< End of MEX newsletter #001 >--------------
To help solve the problems of Adam newsletters/BBSs having sufficent and current information to make available for their members/users and to help spread Adam information as rapidly as possible to as many Adamites as possible and to hopefully be able to unite Adamites when there are pressing problems and issues which lend themselves to united efforts this monthly disk mailing service has been created.
Presently the following REQUIREMENTS are in effect for using & being a part of this system:
l. YOU MUST GIVE PROPER CREDIT TO THE GROUP, ORGANIZATION AND THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR of any material taken from here. Failure to do so may result in your being excluded from this system.
2. To help cut down my time & expenses in producing these monthly mailings each person on the mailing list is REQUIRED to make copies and distribute to at least one other person or group (WHICH I WILL ASSIGN TO YOU) or upto THREE copies & remailings. Obviously, the more (3) you do, the more people we can reach. At this time I will assign these mailings, although you can make your suggestions as to who you would like to remail to or who you think should be added onto the list.
3. IF you would prefer to pay a cash fee rather than do a remailing, contact me and we will see what we can work out. However, this is NOT meant to be a profit making venture (& has costs me considerable in disks & postage upto this point), so I would prefer you do remailings rather than pay a cash fee at this time. But if the remailings are a problem, contact me.
4. BBS SYSOPS ARE ASKED TO UPLOAD TO THEIR AND OTHER ADAM BBSs ANY INFORMATION WHICH APPEARS TO BE OF INTEREST OR IMPORTANCE. This can take the place of your doing a remailing. YOU are invited to upload the entire mailing as one or two large files on your BBS for downing loading etc.
5. YOU ARE REQUESTED TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH your newsletter editor, your BBS sysop, your members & officers.
6. WHILE it is felt that information included is correct and accurate, I take no responsibility for its accuracy, correctness, content, suggestions,etc. and you should use the same at your own risk.
7. I will try to indicate the source of the item in either the file name or internally in the file. Some things may have their own separate disk.
8. IF you do not wish to continue on the mailing list, please inform me so you name can be removed and someone else be added in your place.
9. WHILE IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT AT THIS TIME THAT YOU SUBMIT ITEMS TO ME for this mailing, that is the ONLY way in which we can make this work.
l0. Miscellaneous: Each disk will have a file showing its (intended) distribution. Each disk will be marked to indicate when the material can be used. Usually it will be usable after the first day of the month shown on the label. Of course,material can be saved to fill in at future times when you are short of items.
The initial distribution will be approximately the middle of the month for material to be used starting the lst of the next month.
I hope this will serve to encourage other Adamites to write for several different newsletters. Most of the newsletters do not have a large overlap of coverage or subscribers and therefore no newsletter is really hurt by the items appearing in several newsletters.
Your suggestions are always welcome. I encourage you all to support the ADAM BBS NET pioneered by BJ, Larry Overman(So.Cal) and Bob Blair A(AWAUG-Wash.DC) which is exchanging messages & information from the various BBSs on a weekly basis.
Best regards, Barry A. Wilson
"Suspended" is an excellent game and possibly the most advanced game to date for the adventurer. The story is quite simple: You are the failsafe device to protect the surface world of Contra should any emergency develop that would cause the planet control devices to fail (these are underground in a complex where you live suspended in a cryogenic tube, awaiting a disaster). Of course, a disaster develops as soon as you boot up the disk.
You are awakened to find that there has been an earthquake that has damaged the cables in the Primary and Secondary Channels.
You have six different robots at your command. These robots all enjoy different skills and abilities. Each one represents a different sense.
Iris: The sense of sight Waldo: The sense of touch and dexterity Sensa:
Perceives things magnetic and electronic Poet: Perceives things electronic
and can diagnose electrical flows Whiz: Commands the computer and can
do errands Auda: The sense of hearing
The trick to winning "Suspended" is assigning the right task to the right robot. Also, the right robot has to be at the right place at the right time. This is called critical path planning, and is the secret of "Suspended."
In the standard game, there are a few real-time events to be aware of: 1) At the 15th cycle, there is another earthquake which causes an acid spill that kills, in short order, any robot that thereafter passes through the Cavernous Room (until the acid is shut off); 2) At the 75th cycle, there is another quake which wrecks the hydroponics and transit equipment on the surface above. These have to be fixed quickly or the game ends swiftly due to the starving populous above; 3) At the 100th cycle, humans enter the complex with the intent of turning you off because, by this time, you are clearly screwing up the assignment. These humans can be the death of you or they can help you by...well, I won't tell you yet.
The following commands get you through the game in less than 70 moves. As a result, they give little aid in the event that you finish the game in more than that time. The game changes considerably after the 75th move. There are many problems that surface after that time, and these clues do nothing to help you.
Let's get started!
TO SECONDARY CHANNEL #4 SENSA,TAKE RAMP #5 SENSA,GO WEST #6 SENSA,TAKE CONTAINER AND GRASPER #7 SENSA,GO TO HALLWAY JUNCTION #8 WALDO,GO TO HALLWAY JUNCTION #9 AUDA,GO TO GAMMA REPAIR
The above moves set the game up. Poet is needed to turn the weather control off; this minimizes deaths at the surface (your primary goal). Sensa gets the ramp that is needed to allow the robots to go from one level to another. Auda is sent to the Gamma Repair area because she will be needed later and, without the humans coming for a while, there is nothing that can be done with her anyway. Waldo is sent to the Hallway Junction to meet Sensa and take the container and grasper on his way to fixing Iris who is reported to be out of order.
SUSPENDED Part Two
Now, enter your second set of commands:
TO MAIN SUPPLY ROOM #13 SENSA,PUT RAMP AT DROPOFF #14 AUDA, LISTEN WALDO,INSTALL GRASPER #18 WALDO,TAKE RED IC AND YELLOW IC #19 SENSA,GO NORTH #20 SENSA,TAKE RAMP
Once Poet got to the Weather Control, he had to reset the faulty control to 100. This is only a temporary fix because if you let the game go on too long, all hell will break loose with various disasters and accidents occuring which you will not be able to control. Poet is then sent to the Hallway End where he will be used to get the TV camera needed later. Iris is sent to the Main Supply Room where she can be fixed when Waldo arrives. She will also help Waldo repair the machine there. Sensa, upon arriving, puts the ramp in place so that Auda can get to Gamma Repair and so that she and Poet can get to the other level. Waldo is handed the grasper and container which he installs. This is done now to save moves later.
DEVICE WITH ROUGH OBJECT #24 WALDO,CLOSE PANEL #25 POET,GET IN CAR #26 POET,GET OUT OF CAR #27 POET,GO TO BIOLOGY LAB #28 WALDO,TAKE BURNED AND FRIED CHIP #29 POET,TAKE CAMERA #30 SENSA,PUT RAMP AT HOLDER This stage sets the robots to their major gathering tasks. Waldo has fixed Iris, and is now set on fixing the machine and salvaging its parts. Poet has arrived at the Hallway End, gotten in the car, exited the car, and is now getting the camera. Sensa has arrived at the Small Supply Room to take the cable cutter.
SENSA,TAKE RAMP #35 SENSA,GO TO SLOPING CORRIDOR #36 POET,GO TO VEHICLE DEBARKATION #37 WALDO,PUT RED IC IN RED SOCKET #38 WALDO,PUT YELLOW IC IN YELLOW SOCKET #39 POET,GET IN CAR #40 POET,GET OUT OF CAR
Sensa has completed her task of getting the metal tool that she will need shortly. Poet has gotten the camera and is now coming back, and Waldo is in the midst of fixing and salvaging the machine with Iris in the Main Supply Room.
SUSPENDED Part Three
You're more than half-way to your goal! Now, enter:
GAMMA REPAIR #44 WALDO,PUSH BUTTON #45 IRIS,TAKE FUSE #46 WALDO,TAKE CABLE #47 WALDO,GO TO THE SECONDARY CHANNEL #48 IRIS,GO TO MIDDLE SUPPLY
Poet has been sent to use the camera in the Primary Channel (this is a Kamikaze mission because he has to pass through the Cavernous Room to get there). Sensa has gotten to the Sloping Corridor and reinstalled the ramp so that she and Poet can get to the lower level. Waldo and Iris have gotten the machine fixed and salvaged one of the two needed cables to set the FCS in balance. Waldo is now set on his mission where Whiz will be waiting to install the cable needed in the Secondary Channel.
AUDA,MOVE FRED #54 SENSA,CUT CABLE WITH CUTTER #55 POET,PLUG TV1 IN #56 POET,AIM TV1 AT SIGN
(This is the important "Reset Code." Write it down! It's different for every game.)
IN MACHINE #60 IRIS,PUT FUSE IN MACHINE
Sensa and Auda salvaged the remaining needed cable to fix the cable in the Primary Channel. Sensa is now on her way. Poet valiantly died trying to work the camera in the Primary Channel after having had corrosive acid spilled on him. Iris has fixed the reset machine which is now only awaiting the installation of the cables in the FCS to reset the systems to set the surface world above right.
THE NINE-INCH CABLE WITH THE FOURTEEN-INCH CABLE #64 WHIZ,DRAG WALDO TO
THE EAST END #65 AUDA,GO TO SLEEP CHAMBER #66 SENSA,REPLACE FOUR-INCH
CABLE WITH TWELVE-INCH CABLE #67 IRIS,PRESS ----- CIRCLE #68 IRIS,PRESS
----- CIRCLE
At this point, the game is over. Only 8,000 are dead and you have succeeded in your mission. It should be noted that this does not answer all the questions and puzzles that are presented in the game, it just tells you how to win the game in the shortest order. Enjoy!
UNIQUE BBS Systems
The pi symbol which appears is apparently from the XMODEM download and may be removed before printing.
Hello, we're looking for Bulletin Board Systems that are unique! Thosehaving features other than uploading/downloading software or matching/dating services. We've come across a few which we've listed below. If you know of others, or any changes, please leave a C>omment to Sysop, on International
Collectors Network data phone (213) 204-0646, and we'll adjust the following list. The BBS numbers below are available 24 hours.
- International Collector's Network
(213) 204-0646 8-N-1 300/1200/2400
P.S. This list we be known as
UNIQUEnn.BBS (or .ARC) nn=version # Final Version "09" 10/26/86________________________________________________________________________________
3 = 300 baud ONLY / $ = Fees requested / * = Source of this list201 247-0573 Newark?, NJ DANCE STUDIO 202 377-3870 Washington, DC THE ECONOMIC BULLETIN BOARD
Office of Business Analysis, U.S. DoC
202 537-7475 Washington, DC FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOC.
Real Estate, taxes section
212 333-3285 New York, NY BILLBOARD
Genealogy
212 409-4194 New York, NY SOFTLAW RBBS
For Lawyers
212 889-7022 New York, NY NYU MEDICAL FIDO
213 204-0646 * Los Angeles, CA INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS NETWORK
Coins/Stamps/Baseball Cards/etc & shows
213 325-7269 Lomita, CA FIND-A-HOME
Roomate/Rent/Property Finder in So. CALIF
213 398-0984 Los Angeles, CA THE <PG> BOARD
Personal Growth, Controversial
213 467-1650 Los Angeles, CA CHRIST'S CORNER
Religious
213 470-4678 Los Angeles, CA BUY-PHONE
L.A. Directory, Movie & Restaurant Guide
213 479-4074 $ Los Angeles, CA COMPUTER CONSULTANT'S NETWORK
213 553-1473 Beverly Hills, CA LEGACY - THE LAW NETWORK
213 559-7306 Los Angeles, CA TELECOM & SPORTS LINE
213 666-8588 Hollywood, CA VIDEOMAN
Hollywood Industry & Restaurants Guide
213 732-6935 $ Los Angeles, CA DIGITAL VISION
Digitized Graphics
213 851-0780 3 W. Hollywood, CA AWARE II SPORTS EFX
214 245-5633 Dallas, TX AVIATION CONNECT
214 256-1971 Dallas, TX TEXAS REAL ESTATE INVESTOR
214 331-8813 Dallas, TX R.E. LENDERS ELECT. MAIL MSG SERVICE
Real Estate
214 463-6581 Dallas,TX DOC'S OFFICE
Dental
214 578-1311 Plano, TX CRIME PREVENTION BBS
216 368-3888 Cleveland, OH DOC-IN-THE-BOX
Medical
301 596-0123 Washington, DC COMPUTERS FOR CHRIST
Religious
301 985-0952 Washington, DC SPORTS & FITNESS BBS
301 995-0032 Columbia, MD COMPUTERS FOR CHRIST
Religious
303 369-8397 Denver, CO THE STOCK MARKET BBS
303 426-4052 Denver, CO CHRISTIAN PROTOCOL
Religious
303 473-3837 Denver, CO PIKE'S PEAK GS
Genealogy
303 673-7743 Louisville, CO GRIZZLY KING BBS
Outdoor Recreation
303 963-3688 Roar'g Fork Vy,CO TOP OF THE ROCKIES BBS
Ski Info, Solar Energy
304 372-2094 Charleston, WV WV EDUC NET
Educational
305 268-8576 Titusville, FL ASTRONOMERS RBBS 1
Astronomy, Hi-Tech
305 276-6263 Boca Raton, FL BOCA BYTES
Genealogy
305 391-8504 Boca Raton, FL DOS Center
Genealogy
305 395-1267 Boca Raton, FL ORIGINAL INVESTORS
Investments
305 842-1861 Palm Beach, FL MENSABBS
MENSA Club
312 280-8180 Chicago, IL LAW MUGS BBS
Lawyers Micro User Group
312 280-8764 Chicago, IL AMERICAN ASSOC. OF INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS
Investment Related
312 351-6702 Bloomingdale, IL P.R.O.S. RBBS
U.S. Postal Service
312 598-0525 Chicago, IL SPORTFIDO
Sports
313 545-1931 Detroit, MI P-1 FIDO
Real Estate
313 736-8031 Flint, MI THE COVENANT HOUSE
Christian Religion
317 494-6643 Lafayette, IN FAST AGRIC. COMM. TERMINAL (FACTS)
Farming information
404 351-4227 3 Atlanta, GA BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
404 351-9757 Atlanta, GA MEDICAL FORUM
404 587-2465 Atlanta, GA HEALTH LINK
Medical
408 226-5209 San Jose, CA NON-SMOKERS BBS
Non-smoking Information
408 268-5157 San Jose, CA NORAD
Science
408 462-6329 Santa Cruz, CA SOQUEL
Genealogy
408 659-3078 Monterey, CA PHANTOM
Genealogy
408 946-4933 San Jose, CA QUEST
Genealogy
408 997-2790 San Jose, CA COMPUTERS FOR CHRIST
Religious
412 571-0472 Pittsburgh, PA ASTRAL BOARD
Deja vu, Out of Body, Martial Arts
415 332-6106 $ San Francisco, CA THE WELL
Good Conferences & Variety
415 337-8693 San Francisco, CA VAUDEVILLE LOCAL
Vaudeville & Circus Acts
415 341-2962 San Mateo, CA COMPUTERS FOR CHRIST
Religious
415 364-4339 Redwood City, CA TRULY TASTELESS BBS
Humor
415 366-9033 San Francisco, CA SPIRITUAL WORLD
Spiritual Development
415 439-2515 San Francisco, CA PHOTOBYTES
Photography
415 546-0119 San Francisco, CA SUPER RESUME
Free resume compositions for MIS pros.
415 552-9070 San Francisco, CA ENTREPRENEURS BBS
Community Entrepreneurs Organization
415 562-5483 San Francisco, CA FAMILY RADIO FORUM
Christian
415 571-6160 $ San Francisco, CA PRODUCTION WORLD
Prof. Broadcast TV, Video, Film...
415 584-0697 San Francisco, CA ROOTS BBS
Geneaology
415 621-5206 San Francisco, CA RECOVERY BBS
Rehabilitation Help & Info.
415 626-1246 San Francisco, CA AIDS INFORMATION BBS
415 668-6101 San Francisco, CA COLD MOON
Things Chinese
415 790-6311 San Francisco, CA RISK & INSURANCE MANAGEMENT BBS
415 864-3858 San Francisco, CA THE GUIDEBOARD
Cabbie's guide to San Francisco
415 937-2508 San Francisco, CA HUMOR & WISDOM
Comic Relief
415 967-6730 Mountain View, CA COMMSOFT
Genealogy
501 864-0699 El Dorado, AR COMPUTERS FOR CHRIST
Religious
513 398-0928 Mason, OH THE TRAIN BOARD
Train Collectors
516 741-6914 Long Island, NY RAILROAD BBS
517 339-3783 Lansing?, MI POLITICAL FORUM
Real Senator
602 275-6644 Phoenix, AZ CALL-A-LAWYER
602 931-1345 Phoenix, AZ INVEST BBS
603 964-7912 Rye, NH DOWNEAST ROOTS
Genealogy
604 669-9400 Vancouver, B.C., VAN KESSEL FUTURES
CANADA Commodity Futures Trading & Information
604 682-1991 3 Vancouver, B.C., BUY-PHONE
CANADA Electronic Yellow Pages
606 269-1565 Ashland?, KY PROF BBS
Financial Analysis, Real Estate
609 358-3965 Franklinville, NJ TRI-STATE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Variety
609 652-6030 Atlantic City, NJ THE CASINO BBS
Local Casino Information
614 436-7740 $ Columbus?, OH ELECTRONIC FINANCIAL SERVICES
Track 800 Mutual Funds (PRIVATE)
614 488-4736 $ Columbus, OH GENEALOG
Genealogy
617 232-0920 Boston, MA PEOPLE UNITED FOR PEACE
617 489-4930 Boston, MA YELLOWDATA
Variety
617 641-1080 3 Lexington, MA QUINSEPT
Genealogy
619 486-1014 3 San Diego, CA BRANCHES & TWIGS
Genealogy
703 237-4322 McLean, WV CRYPTOLOGIC RESEARCH
703 255-2132 Vienna, VA NORSKE BBS
Real Estate
703 971-4491 Springfield,VA BULLET'N BOARD
Firearms Information & Legislation
704 554-1102 Charlotte, NC THE JOB LIST BBS
EDP Corp's DP Employment Board
713 588-9908 Houston, TX NFORMATION
Medical
714 359-3290 Riverside, CA WORD OF LIFE
Christian Bible & Church History
714 653-0494 Sunnymead, CA F&W GUNS
714 731-6439 Santa Ana, CA ENVIRONET (USER ID 105, P/W "PARKS")
Info for environmentalists
714 946-8000 Upland, CA NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EXCHANGORS
Real Estate
714 964-0454 Huntingtn Bch, CA MEDIC FIDO 102/508
Medical
717 253-4354 Honesdale, PA DENTAL CONNECTION
717 334-8680 Hershey?,PA THE DEAD BOARD
Grateful Dead music information
718 499-1633 3 Brooklyn, NY ELECTRONIC CALL BOARD
Backstage service center for the Arts
800 634-4433 Los Angeles, CA REAL COMM BBS
California Association of Realtors
800 835-3001 Reston, VA PC PURSUIT
Info on saving $ using your modem
801 374-8080 $ Salt Lake City, UT FAMILY TIES
Genealogy
801 521-5966 Salt Lake City, UT OUTER CHAOS 5
Genealogy
803 585-8575 Spartanburg, SC ALLIANCE FRANCAISE
Parlez vous Francaise?
805 273-8476 Palmdale, CA LAWBOARD
805 522-4211 Simi Valley, CA COM-TRICKS
Compact Disks Cheap
812 479-9499 Evansville?, IN TOWN CRIER
Genealogy
816 532-0984 Smithville, MO DOVE CHRISTIAN BBS
Religious
817 430-3760 Roanoke, TX INVENTORS & AUTHORS
Patents, Trademarks & Etc.
818 247-6343 Glendale, CA COMPUCAST
Talent Agency
818 363-3192 San Fernando, CA CALL SHEET
Entertainment Industry
818 368-3068 Northridge, CA WORLD OF TOMORROW
Physics
818 766-6442 N Hollywood, CA THE HOTLINE
Video information
818 982-2530 3 N Hollywood, CA SKI CENTER WEST
818 988-0452 Van Nuys, CA AUDIOPHILE NETWORK
818 993-7398 3 Northridge, CA REAL ESTATE GENIUS
916 685-8690 Elk Grove, CA DYNASTY
Genealogy
919 235-3656 Bailey, NC DOCTOR'S OFFICE
Medical
919 737-3990 Raleigh, NC SESAME
Wildlife & Fisheries
_______________________________________________________________________________
Only the final draft version of this list is available for downloading. Please feel free to upload it to your favorite Bulletin Boards. Also when logging on to any of the above BBS, please mention to the sysop that you got their phone number from this UNIQUEnn.BBS (or .ARC) list!
(c) 1986 I.C.N.
This walkthru will help you to finish "Witness." This game is a much simpler one than "Deadline," so I hope you won't be disappointed when you see how easy it is to solve this mystery.
Okay, you start South of the house, where you just picked up a matchbook. <By the way, none of the stuff that came with the game is really necessary to solving the case>. Go North twice to the front door and ring the bell. Phong will let you in. Then just try to go East, and Phong will lead you to the Living Room, where Monica and Mr. Linder are.
Now, wait <get used to doing that, because there's a lot of waiting in this one>, and Linder will eventually take you to his office. Sit down in the wooden chair, and Linder will hand you a note. Read it, as it will help waste some time. Now, just do anything <but stay seated!> to make time pass. Show the matchbook to Linder for an interesting reaction, if you like. In any case, you just have to keep waiting.
Eventually, Monica will come in briefly to announce she's going to the movies. This is not what you're waiting for, however! So, keep on waiting, and finally, the murder will occur. Linder will be shot while you sit there, and you can't stop it from happening. Read the description carefully at the moment the shot is fired. There's something odd about it. In fact, the whole thing is a setup.
The first thing to do is stand up, then push the button. Instead of ringing to summon the butler, it causes a strange click to be heard from the clock. At this point, Phong will enter the room. Tell him you want the keys, and he'll hand them over to you. Now, examine the clock. Keyhole seems a little strange, doesn't it? The doorbell rings while you're doing this, so as Phong goes to answer the door, examine the keyhole.
WITNESS PART 2
I'll bet you're getting some ideas already! However, you'll need to have the powder analyzed, and Duffy hasn't arrived yet, so wait around until he does. Then get the powder analzyed <you can ignore Stiles, he's only a red herring>. While that's being done, examine the window <you can't open the clock yet, it's the one key you don't have>. The green wire seems suspicious, so get it for future reference.
Now, go West into the Hallway, then North twice, and open the Butler's door. Go West into the room, and read the mystery book <by the way, you can drop the telegram and note, they aren't important>. A gun receipt is used as a bookmark. The purchaser's name is obviously phoney, but hang on to the receipt anyway.
Okay, from the Butler's Room, go East twice to Monica's room, then unlock and open the back door. Go East into the Backyard, then South twice to the office path. Aha, a muddy gun! No fingerprints, alas, but you might want to take it along with you, just in case. Now, go West into the Side Yard.
Hmm, more footprints here, but they aren't quite the same as the ones on the office path. In fact, it looks like someone was standing here for awhile. Wonder who it might have been? <No, *not* Sergeant Duffy!>. Anyway, go West again to the driveway, then North and East into the Garage.
Unlock and open both the garage door and the workshop door, then go East into the Workshop. The place looks like an electrician's paradise, and there isn't much you can do here; but, there are spools of wire hanging around. Could it be...? Examine spool, and you have established a link of sorts between this place and the study. The green wire is obviously from this room. Now, all you need is the person who put it there.
WITNESS Part Three
You now stand there waiting for Monica. Just keep waiting; she'll arrive <saying "Wait for Monica" is easiest. It will take a while, so if you want to hunt down Phong and ask him about the gun receipt, you have time>. When she does get there, she'll fiddle briefly with the junction box <very suspicious!> before noticing you. Now, wait until she leaves, then follow her. You *must* use directions here, just saying "Follow Monica" won't work.
Follow her all the way to her room, and wait for her to come back out of the bathroom. When she returns, ask her about Mr. Linder. Her response will establish the motive. Now, wait some more, and she will eventually leave the room. Follow her again, this time to the office.
As soon as you get in there, handcuff her. Somewhere along the way, Sgt. Duffy will have left with the body, so you can't arrest her until he comes back. In the meantime, you have to find some very important evidence. So, first search Monica for the key. When you get it, unlock the clock and open it. She's already removed the gun, but you can search her for that, also.
Now, just wait until Duffy returns, and arrest her for the murder. And that should be about it. By the way, if you try leaving her and waiting in the office <so you can find the gun in the clock>, you'll find that, however hard you try, you won't be able to handcuff her <which is necessary so she can be searched>. So, you'll just have to wait and follow her. As I said in the beginning, it's a pretty simple game.
Return to adamcon.org | Adam News Index | Volume 90