If I was to be limited to one single word in describing this
Instruction Manual, I would have no hesitation in choosing the word
"COMPLETE".
For a hobby Commodore User since way back in 1984, I have been
wading through instruction manuals, some I could master, others with
perseverance I managed, with great difficulty, to get something
somewhat close to what was supposed to be. It seems while for the most
part Commodore Programmers ever brilliant in writing computer programs,
I had difficulty following their instructions. For me -, these
important people were under the assumption the reader had several
degrees in Computer Science, or was at least on a Computer intelligence
level of the writer. How wrong some of them were.
I had heard Gaelyne was writing this manual, quite some time
before it was available. I waited - with anticipation - I made discreet
inquiries - finally! my good friend Tom Adams called me on email - told
me the Instruction Manual was ready and gave me Gaelyne's address. I
immediately contacted her and gave her my Visa No. and within a week
the book was in my hot little hands.
Quickly, I thumbed through it - I expected volumes of instructions
similar to the "Dummy" books - but no - here was a neat little book -
about half the size of those other instruction books mentioned, neatly
ring bound for easy handling and the whole works outlined in seventeen
chapters with the usual Appendix Resource Listings and Index.
Further study showed this little Lady certainly knew her stuff.
The workings of the Commodore Computer both 64 and 128 were clearly
outlined. She shows an exceptional knowledge of the Internet as related
to the Commodore, and has organized her book in such a manner that it
could apply to the beginner anxious to "Surf The Net" as the saying
goes -, or to those who have been on the Net for considerable time, but
never fully realized the potential of this often maligned Computer.
All the reader had to do was go to the Index at the front of the
book - figure out about where he was familiar with the routing, and
jump on board. She has covered most used terminal programs - Nick
Rossi's Novaterm - there's even a sort of a Demo of Rossi's terminal
program to get you started. Desterm, Dialogue, and Fender Tucker of
Loadstar fame - Bob's Term for complete coverage. Strictly your
choice.
Internet Book Review
I can't speak too highly for the book. To me its a relief to
follow instructions aimed at the average Commodore Fan. I think she
should have named it "Everything You Wanted to Know About The Internet
Using a 64 or 128 but Were Afraid to Ask".
I was pleasantly surprised to learn procedures that other platform
users were bragging about are available on the Commodore. She even
outlines the dialogue to use if the Provider has any doubts about the
capabilities of the Commodore. A source list of providers is listed
complete with Voice Phone numbers and email addresses. Free-Nets are
listed by State including Hawaii and even listing for two locations in
Canada.
I have used this book now for the last ten days exclusively and
can say I have learned more in these last ten days by referencing the
manual when I logged on than I ever did the last year and a half I have
been using WWW.
The only disadvantage I can think of - and that’s difficult to do -
is the price which includes Nick Rossi's Term Program was over $50.00
Canadian - of course at the present rate of exchange US to Canada the
American price would be much cheaper. However when you compare this
cost and the valued content to the "Dummy" instruction books there is
no comparison. The value is obvious.
Any Commodore user presently using the Internet - or those
thinking of joining the WWW, I personally recommend this instruction
manual. Once you start to use it, in conjunction with logging on the
"net" - it will become your constant reference - for easy access and
use in the complicated world of Cyber-Space.
To get a copy of this Instruction Manual please contact:
Gaelyne R. Gasson
90 Hilliers Road
Reynella S.A. 5161
Australia
gaelyne@hal9000.net.au
Subject: Internet Shell provider
by Bill Davis
wjdavis@infoave.net
For Commodore users who are on the internet, but whose provider won't
give them a shell account, there is a solution that won't cost an arm
and a leg. There's an internet provider that will give you a unix shell
account, and you can use your existing service to Telnet into their
system, then take full advantage of the shell account. The service is
called VNET. They give you unlimited access hours for 12.50 a month.
The setup fee is 15.00. Their sales office toll-free number is:
800-377-3282. I've been online with them for several months now, and
have been very satisfied.
A NEW SURFER
By Walter Johnson
Having read so many articles in MaiLink, Loadstar Letter, and on
LOADSTAR in recent months, about "getting on line", this author decided
to make the plunge recently. With the intent of expanding computer
knowledge and experiences, he bought a used IBM clone PC laptop last
year. Of the generation 80286, only 1 meg memory and 40 meg hard
drive, it would only permit learning experiences in MSDOS but who wants
to add to Bill Gates' Windows fortune anyway.
With a few dollars ahead from his woodworking business, he began
research into which direction to take to that famous "information
highway". Noting that a 14.4 and above baud modem with cables, etc.
from CMD would be $200.00+, and another $30.00 for Novaterm, and no
support from local servers for anything but Windows, he checked with
the dealer from whom he had purchased the laptop. Seems the dealer had
taken in trade a 2400 baud modem, from a customer wanting to upgrade to
a faster one. Asking price for the used modem, $10.00 with another
$9.95 for the correct cable for connecting to the laptop. A call to
CompuServe determined they still support the DOS platform and would
provide, free of charge, that software, and your writer was entering
the on-ramp to that famous "information super-highway".
To be perfectly honest, the highway has not been as wide as
advertised. With a relatively slow speed modem and access with DOSCIM
only and not WinCIM, there is, as yet, no surfing the WWW. According
to some of the information in the forums, it is possible to get the
text from the web pages, but it appears the laptop does not emulate a
VT100 terminal which is required.
It has, however, been very interesting and informative to access
the forums and glean information from those who have been around for so
many years and have seen and conquered just about every problem of the
8-bit world. In addition, the sending/receiving of e-mail has resulted
in establishment of regular contacts with other MUTTM members as well
as family and friends who have access to the INTERNET. Overall, the
experience continues to be educational and helpful.
GREETING CARDS PRINTED
USING ILLUSTRATOR II
by Richard Savoy
My wife Rachel had asked me to create some Valentines Day cards
last January, so I had her pick out two clip art pictures from a disk
side full of clipart that had been scanned from the copyright Los
Angeles Times, so they cannot be used and sold commercially. Rachel
didn't want any text because she preferred to write her message to give
her cards a more personal touch. It also made my job a snap, well
almost a snap.
I used the FUN GRAPHICS MACHINE to flip one of the clip art and
ILLUSTRATOR II version of THE WRITE STUFF word processor to lay-out and
print using a Panasonic KX-P2135 24 pin printer.
I often hear Commodore users say they have the above programs but
haven't really gotten into them. These are great programs and here is
your chance to make a very easy Valentines Day card or why not use some
other chip art and make your own creation of any occasional card!
STEP 1: Take a 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper and fold in half and crimp
the fold. Now fold it one more time. Did you crimp again? Good, now
open and put on a flat surface. You should have four equal sections.
STEP 2: Visualize that the front of the card when finished clip art
will be located in the upper left hand section preferable centered in
this case. But, first the clip art must be uinvertedu (upside down).
The easiest way I know is using the FUN GRAPHICS MACHINE
STEP 3: Load the FGM and choose CLIPART section, be sure to clear the
screens, LOAD CLIPART in this case it is; ..VALENTINE move to HI RES
EDITOR press [RETURN] and the clip art should appear on the screen,
press shift I and the clip art should flip!
Now if I've lost you at this point, you need to read Jean Nance's
article on page 13 and 14 of the September 1996 issue of MAILINK title
"HINTS ON THE FUN GRAPHIC MACHINE" excellent article and most of what
we did here is covered on the first page.
STEP 4: Next save the clip art with a new name; ..VALENTINE1
STEP 5: Now let's go back to the page we folded earlier, the second
clipart will be located in the lower right hand section, which will be
the inside page of the card and it's name is; ..ours
Now we are all set to type the program into Illustrator II as follows:
--------------------------TOPOFPAGE---------------------------------
[RETURN] 3 times
[lm8:rm8]
[mo]..valentine1
[mo]-
[lm50]
[RETURN] eleven times
[mo]..ours
[lm2:rm2:tm2:bm2]
----------------------------ENDOFSCREENVIEW------------------------
From the top of the page press: [RETURN] (three times)
Next in reverse video (CTRL2) type: lm8:rm8 [RETURN]
Continue in reverse video on the next line with: mo (left arrow
press to get out of reverse video) continue on the same line with:
..valentine1 [RETURN]
On this line in reverse video type:
mo then left arrow then [RETURN]
This should be your fourth line of text! In reverse video type:
lm50 [RETURN]
For the next eleven lines press [RETURN]
You should be down 19 lines and in reverse video type: mo (press
left arrow key) and type ..ours [RETURN]twice
In reverse video type: lm2:rm2:tm2:bm2 [RETURN]
I hope you found this helpful to get more fun out of your
program.
Editors Note: The bracketed characters in the above screen represent
reverse video characters.
GENEALOGY ON A WORD PROCESSOR
by Ed Harler
One of the things most of us probably do when we first join
"Meeting 64/128 Users Through the Mail" and receive that first
membership list is to go through it and look for those with similar
interests. A very natural action. In my own case, I spent an entire
evening reading each bio and placing a check mark next to the names of
those who not only had similar interests, but similar equipment. (See
the May 1996 issue, page 9, for my article on the subject.)
In correspondence with other family historians the "How do you
keep your genealogical records?" question has come up. My answer is: I
use "The Write Stuff." (On the donated XT, I use Personal Ancestral
File [PAF] as well as a word processor.) My use of a word processor
seems to surprise some, especially those who have invested in some of
the 64/128 dedicated genealogy programs.
Here is my system.
I have six outline files, which have MS-DOS-type file extensions
in order to keep them compatible with the XT's needs and make it easier
to transfer the data from one machine to the other. Each file contains
header information and an outline of the data to be used. The word
"HEADER" in each case is changed to a surname and the internal header
information changed accordingly.
The main file is HEADER.FHS, which contains the outline of a
Family History Sheet shown below. (The square brackets '[]' are for
TWS formatting; the greater than and less than symbols '<>' are
descriptive comments.)
[n@0:-gen pg model]
[n]
[pl57;tm2bm1lm6;rm5]
[npl66;tm6bm3;lm6;rm5
[he0;c]
[fo0; # Printed: ]
(The footer supplies a page number and the date the information was
printed. That means that the note following the file name tells me
when I last worked on this particular surname file and the printed date
alerts me to whether the updates have been included in the printed
data.)
For the sake of brevity, I have deleted 2 and 3 under "Children."
In cases where I need more than three entries, I simply delete (eat)
the lines required for duplication and then restore (regurgitate) as
many as needed, changing the children's numbers as required.
Husband: (The following layout is self-explanatory)
B:
Bp:
M:
D:
Bu:
Parents:
Wife:
B:
Bp:
D:
Bu:
Parents:
Children:
1
B:
Bp:
M:
D:
Bu:
This was the extent of my record keeping when I first began. All
notes, references, etc., were simply added to the bottom of the Family
History sheet or inserted after a particular item. An example of
inserting additional information would be the inclusion of the
cemetery's name and plot location under "Bu:".
After working with PAF for a while, I realized it would be much
better to separate the data. Not only does it keep the files smaller,
but it keeps the data neatly compartmentalized. This makes working
with the data easier. Now only one smaller file is worked on each time.
HEADER.MSC is used for Miscellaneous data and has the same six
formatting lines as HEADER.FHS, but no other data.
HEADER.NAR is used for telling about a family's life. It, too, has
only the same six formatting lines as HEADER.FHS.
HEADER.NDX is used for a manual compilation of each individual within
the surname. In addition to the six formatting lines it has an
explanation of the symbols used. For example: A '+' before a name
indicates the person is dead.
HEADER.REF is used for references to the data's origin. It's outline
in the same as the Family History sheet.
HEADER.WIP is used for Work In Progress on surnames that haven't proven
to be part of a family known to be in one of my lines. This is the
same as a Family History sheet header file except that "all" of the
data on this unproven branch is kept in one file.
For my own surname I have files for HARLER1.WIP, HARLER2.WIP, etc.
There's my system. I hope it's a help in organizing your records.
Genealogy is hide & seek: ancestors hide; you seek.
COMPUTER AND DRIVE REPAIR
A compilation from various sources
by Rolf L. Miller
When it comes to repairing Commodore computers and disk drives, it
can often be accomplished by merely swapping chips. This involves
little more than removing the top of the equipment to access the
circuit board. As for the chips, old machines can be bought for parts,
and some of these may actually work.
The easiest way to check out a computer and disk drive is to load
up a LOADSTAR disk. If it loads and runs, and looks and sounds good,
the equipment's electronics can be judged good. The drive's alignment
can be checked during this test by first turning the drive off and on
and directly executing:
open15,8,15,"m-w"+chr$(106)+chr$(0)+chr$(1)+chr$(193):close15
If the LOADSTAR disk then loads and runs, the alignment is perfect.
The first thing to do on a malfunctioning disk drive is clean the
read/write head. This is easily done by removing the top of the case,
removing any shield, and rubbing the head with a cotton swab dipped in
91% isopropyl alcohol (or head cleaner).
When testing equipment, don't overlook the power supply as a
problem source. In fact, when it come to the 64, no untested power
supply should ever be used. If its 5 volt regulator is bad, it could
blow the chips at turn on.
To test a 64 power supply, plug it into a scrap board. Check the
voltages with a voltage meter. It should register not much below 8
volts AC across the fuse connector (the 9 volts AC affects the
display), and not above 5 or below 4.5 volts DC between ground and pin
1 on most any of the smaller chips (too low and the computer won't run
right, too high scrambles the display followed by blown chips). Let it
cook for a couple of hours and check it again.
Except for fuses, it's rare to find a bad 128 power supply. The
same is true of drive power supplies.
A common chip failure on the 1541 disk drive involves the 6522
(there are two 6522's) or the 6502. Failure of these chips can cause
the drive to run continuously, produce read errors (though a dirty
read/write can also cause this error), or the drive won't initialize.
(These chips can also be found on old VIC-20 boards.)
A common failure with the older Commodore 64 occurs in what's
called the PLA chip. It is in socket U17 on the old 64 board.
Multicolored scattered characters on the screen, among many other
problems, indicates its failure. On newer boards it's been combined
into a larger chip that seems more stable.
Another failure that often occurs is the 6581 SID (sound) chip.
When the sound quits, the computer may continue to otherwise work. But
a failed SID chip can affect paddle control and even the display.
When the keyboard or joystick acts up, it is most likely the 6526
in socket U1 on the older 64 board. This assumes, naturally, that the
keyboard or joystick is not malfunctioning. (Suspect the chip if
several keys in a row are not working.) The other 6526 chip in socket
U2 affects the user and serial ports (modems and drives -- device not
present)
The easiest repair involves simply replacing socketed chips on the
board exhibiting problems with known good chips. Unfortunately, not
all chips are socketed: some boards may contain no sockets while others
may have all the major chips socketed.
If swapping chips doesn't cure things, replacing the failed
equipment's board with a known good board is the next best option.
This option includes swapping drive mechanisms since it also contains
circuitry. (Or just swap equipment).
Lacking that, chips soldered to a board can be unsoldered (after
unsoldering a metal shield on the back of computer boards), but this
procedure risks both lifting traces on the board and overheating the
chip. (On the other hand, nothing ventured, nothing gained.)
Unsoldered chips can be inserted in sockets, and it's obviously easier
(and advisable) to replace soldered chips with sockets.
Of course, the easiest way to test chips is to insert them into a
socket on a working board. So count it lucky if a working board
containing many sockets is found when buying old equipment.
It's noted that both computer and drive boards come in various
configurations due to revisions. The biggest differences will be seen
between older and newer 1541's and between old 64's and the newer 64C
(flat style). In both cases, fewer smaller chips will be found,
replaced by usually larger chips.
However, some flat 64's contain older boards. If the keys show
the graphic symbols on the front of the keys as the older 64's do, it
probably contains an older board. Those containing newer boards have
the graphic symbols on the key tops.
Also, the chip numbers in newer 64 boards are often different.
Except for the 64-pin 251715-xx (the complexed PLA), though, the major
chips are interchangeable with their older counterparts as follows: the
8500 is the 6510, the 8521 is the 6526, the 8580 is the 6581, and the
8562 is the 6567 (a 6567 with an revision number lower than R8 should
not be used in either the old or newer 64).
It's noted that the 128 also uses some 85xx series chips. Except
for two, though, they have no earlier counterparts. The two exceptions
seen are the 8521 for the 6526 and the 8580 for the 6526 and the 8580
for the 6581.
>From Bill Robinson
You can stop the 1571 and 1581 "coughing and choking" at C128 turn
on by having a formatted disk in the drive at turn on.
It's noted that the reason the drive is making the noise is that
it's looking for a autoboot program. It's wondered how many C128
owners take advantage of that? Besides booting programs, autoboot can
be used to load utilities, reconfigure things like the F key functions,
screen colors, or just make it GO 64.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
by Jack Blewitt
Just about the time I felt confident in everything I was doing with the
Commodore Computer, unexplained problems started to frustrate me. It
was first noticeable when "The Write Stuff" would freeze-up. This
happened mostly when attempting to use the Spell Checker or after
having previewed a file in preparation to printing it. I could usually
recover by pressing the + keys and typing in the TWS
recovery code. (On the C-64 this is: POKE 787,234:SYS2130 and
). Although this saved the re-typing of my file, I was not
happy! Next the problem started showing up while using the Fun Graphics
Machine. Since I was using a Beta version, I assumed that it must be
some code fault and would bug Ron Hackley to review his program. It was
easy enough to recover by pressing + then typing 'RUN'.
Most hang-ups occurred when printing linked screens from disk. Of
course this required me to restart the series of screen prints from
scratch. Annoying, but not fatal.
In both of the above cases, I had placed the primary program onto my
1581 disk drive. The 1581 drive is great and will hold everything
needed to use either TWS or FGM on a single disk. I began to suspect
the drive as the culprit in that it never seemed to happen when I
stayed on Drive #10, which was the designation for the 1581. The
problem always occurred when I was using drives #8 or #9 as a work
disk.
The third system failure occurred when I was trying to dissolve a
series of .SDA files I downloaded from the internet. The de-arcing
involved the .SDA files on drive #9 to be dissolved to drive #8. The
1581 was on but was not active. Still the process would occasionally
stop in the middle of the de-arcing process. As this is a time
consuming process, I had to figure out what was wrong and try to
recover without having to start the procedure all over again.
Remembering some problems that had been solved by recycling the power
to the printer interface when printing problems occurred, I first tried
this. There was no change. I then turned the power OFF and ON on the
1581 drive. Voila! Back in business with no loss of data. Duplicating
the problems with FGM and The Write Stuff's hang-ups, recycling the
1581 drive also corrected the malfunctions. Apparently, since all
drives are connected by serial cables, under certain circumstances the
Operating System checks all drives looking for information. When the OS
looks in the 1581 drives directory it goes into a loop if the
information is not found. This can happen whether the 1581 is in use,
or not. SOLUTION: If not using a drive, keep it turned OFF. If using
it, and trouble occurs, try recycling the power on your drives and/or
printer before you reset you computer. It could save you a peck of
typing!
THE ADDICT
by Larry Shafer
Where can I go for help? The wife hasn't had to beg for bread yet,
but there are certain of those silences that you who have been married
for a while will know. The situation is dicey.
It all started innocently enough. Just an innocent pastime, they
said. Demonstrates computer cleverness. No harm in it. You can quit any
time. Oh, if I had known then what I know now!
The first example I encountered was in a Geos package, where Irv
Cobb had a clever package that used Geos icons for the tiles and used a
mouse. It didn't give a score, though.
For you that haven't seen the computer version, it's not the old
Chinese game, that resembles gin-rummy or Canasta, but with tiles
rather than cards. The computer version is said to have started with a
game called SHANGHAI, by Activision, with the simple challenge to
remove the stacked tiles in matching pairs.
Loadstar #120, by Robert Cook, was a nifty version that gave you a
score, used a joystick, and had other features. Mr. Cook came out with
an even fancier version with Loadstar 128 #23, for the 80-column screen
and a joystick, and even allows you to compete in a tournament or
design your own layout.
The one that consumes me, however, was by John Ryan, and appeared
in the January, 1992 RUN. It's an ML program, and, yes, I typed it in.
It employs a joystick and gives a score. If there's any one else out
there who's familiar with it, I've reached a score of 3459. It's for
the C64, in 40 columns, but it has a certain fascination.
As I said, I need help.
HINTS and TIPS
>From Bill Robinson.
The printer interface is often powered from the C64 cassette port.
That usually causes no problem -- unless you have a C128D. If the
soldered connections touch the metal case, a great deal of internal
damage can occur. I've tapped for interface power at the joystick port
(pin 7). If you use the joystick ports, an Icontroller will still
enable you to use the interface plug. If you continue to use the
cassette port in your C128D, apply two layers of insulating tape to
avoid a mishap.
>From Terry Parsons
I use The Write Stuff a lot, so I have set up a macro which prints my
entire name and address. Now when I load TWS, to write a letter, I type
the proper character (I use capital B) and a space. The name and
address is already done. When setting it up, just load BB Macros and
put in your new one. Remember to use a reverse back arrow for more than
one line in a macro. This will not come into effect until you reload
TWS.
Return to Hi-Lites, July 1997 Table of Contents
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