October 1983
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$3.00 October 1983 TABLE OF CONTENTS Installing the Big Board II ........................................ 4 In Search of the Perfect Terminal .................................. 7 Video Jitter Fix. .. 10 Cheap Daisy Blossoms .......................................... 11 Big Board I Video Size ........ .. 18 Packet Radio, Operating Details ................................. 42 REGULAR FEATURES Letters ........................ 2 Slicer Column ................ 15 KayPro Column .............. 20 FORTHwords ................ 24 C'ing Clearly ................. 27 Pascal Proced ures. .. 31 On Your Own ................ 34 Technical Tips ................ 45 "THE ORIGINAL BIG BOARD" OEM - INDUSTRIAL - BUSINESS - SCIENTIFIC SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER KIT! Z-80 CPU! 64K RAM! (DO NOT CONFUSE WITH ANY OF OUR FLATTERING IMITATORS!) ..: U)w a =w I:IC Z Q W ...J ca <...J C ~ ~ ~ Q U W W I:IC U. < >= ....z < I:IC I:IC < ~ Q W .... THE BIG BOARD PROJECT: With thousands sold worldwide and over two years of field experience, the Big ~ Board may just be one of the most reliable single board computers available today. This is the same design that 00 (64K KIT :::; $ 279 BASIC 1/0) > was licensed by Xerox Corp. as the basis for their 820 computer. < The Big Board gives you the right mix of most needed computing features all on one board. The Big Board was ** CI SIZE: 8'1. x 13'/. IN. CI designed from scratch to run the latest version of CP/M·. Just imagine all the off-the-shelf software that can be en run on the Big Board without any modifications needed. SAME AS AN 8 IN. DRIVE. I:IC REQUIRES: +5V @ 3 AMPS + - 12V @.5 AMPS. =Q FULLY SOCKETEDI FEATURES: (Remember, all this on one board!) U. Q X U) 64K RAM 24 80 CHARACTER VIDEO ~ Uses Industry standard 4116 RAM's. All 64K is available to the user, our VIDEO With a crisp, flicker-free display that looks extremely sharp even on small I:IC W and EPROM sections do not make holes in system RAM. Also, very special care monitors. Hardware scroll and full cursor control. Composite video or split video .... was taken in the RAM array PC layout to eliminate potential noise and glitches. and sync. Character set is supplied on a 2716 style ROM, making customized w fonts easy. Sync pulses can be any desired length or polarity. Video may be inverted or true. 5 x 7 Matrix - Upper & Lower Case. i= Z-80 CPU Q.... Running at 2.5 MHZ. Handles all 4116 RAM refresh and supports Mode 2 FLOPPY DISC CONTROLLER ....u INTERUPTS. Fully buffered and runs 8080 software. ...,w Uses WD1771 controller chip with a TTL Data Separator for enhanced reliability. ca IBM 3740 compatible. Supports up to four 8 inch disc drives. Directly compatible SERIAL I/O (OPTIONAL) with standard Shugart drives such as the SA800 or SA801. Drives can be U)= w Full 2 channels using the zao SIO andtheSMC 8116 Baud Rate Generator. FULL configured for remote AC off-on. Runs CP/M" 2.2. CI RS232! For synchronous or asynchronous communication. In synchronous < mode, the clocks can be transmitted or received by a modem. Both channels can ~ be set up for either data-communication or data-terminals. Supports mode 21nl. TWO PORT PARALLEL I/O (OPTIONAL) W I:IC Price for all parts and connectors: $39.95 Uses Z-80 PIO. Full 16 bits, fully buffered, bi-directional. Uses selectable hand < shake polarity. Set of all parts and connectors for parallel 1/0: $19.95 U) ~ BASIC I/O Consists of separate parallel port (Z80, PIO) for use with an ASCII encoded REAL TI ME CLOCK (OPTIONAL) U)< keyboard for Input. Output would be on-the 80 x 24 Video Display . Uses Z-80 CTC. Can be configured as a Counter on Real Time Clock. Set of all ...J ...J parts: $9.95 < CP/M* 2.2 FOR BIG BOARD BLANK PC BOARD - $99.95 The popular CP/M" D.O.S. to run on Big Board is available for $139.00. The blank Big Board PC Board comes complete with full documentation (including schematics), the character ROM, BIG BOARD SOFTWARE SPECIAL"':' $149 Through special arrangement with COL we offer a powerful package of TDL z-ao the PFM 3.3 MONITOR ROM, and a diskette with the source software that has a suggested retail of almost $600. Includes: Extended Disk of our BIOS, BOOT, and PFM 3.3 MONITOR. Business BaSic, ZEDIT text editor, MACRO II Macro Assembler, LINKER, DEBUG I and DEBUG II. Supplied on a in. diskette with extensive manual. PFM 3.3 2K SYSTEM MONITOR The real power of the Big Board lies in its PFM 3.3 on board monitor. PFM commands include: Dump Memory, Boot CP/M", Copy, Examine, Fill Memory, Test Memory, Go To, '-, Read and Write 1/0 Ports, Disc Read (Drive, Track, Sector), and Search PFM occupies one of the four 2716 EPROM locations provided. Z-80 Is a Trademark of Zilog. TERMS: Shipments will be made approximately 3 to 6 weeks after we Digital Research Computers receive your order. VISA, MC, cash accepted. We will accept COD's (for the '. (OF TEXAS) Big Board only) with a $75 deposit. Balance UPS COD. Add $4.00 shipping. P.O. BOX 401565 • GARLAND, TEXAS 75040 • (214) 271-3538 USA AND CANADA ONLY *TRADEMARK OF DIGITAL RESEARCH. NOT ASSOCIATED WITH DIGITAL RESEARCH OF CALIFORNIA, THE ORIGINATORS OF CPM SOFTWARE **1 TO 4 PIECE DOMESTIC USA PRICE. MICRO CORNUCOPIA P.O. Box 223 IICID CDllaCD.11 Bend, Oregon 97709 503-382-8048 October 1983 The Single Board Systems Journal No. 14 Editor & Publisher David J. Thompson Well, one of the BASICs that came with my Kaypro is called S-BASIC and Graphic Design it's really exciting. You can write read Sandra Thompson able structured source code in this BAS IC and then compile the source into a Technical Guru Oh, real .COM file. Jerry Pournelle of Byte Dana Cotant lumped S-BASIC in with CBASIC when he reviewed the Kaypro. That tells me Staff Assistants Bother that he didn't check out S-BASIC any Dorcas Dsenis better than I had. (Kaypro is now ship Alice Holbrow ping S-BASIC, CBASIC and MBASIC.) Reach Out and Bother Someone My excitement is not without two res Typography Dana and I have received a number of ervations. First, S-BASIC is not well doc Patti Morris & Martin White calls and letters from folks who are using umented, so you will spend a lot of time Irish Setter software on the user disks or who are writing and running little programs to reading our columns and articles and test the syntax and structure of some of have questions about the articles or the the more obscure (but necessary) fea MICRO CORNUCOPIA is the programs. And, we've heard from folks tures. Second, S-BASIC has some defi single board systems journal sup who just say thanks for the great soft nite bugs (sequential file access prob porting systems programming lan ware and information. Of course we ap lems, for instance). guages and single board systems preciate the thanks and we try our best to S-BASIC was written by Gilbert including the Big Board, Big Board answer the questions. Ohnysty under the name Topaz. Kaypro II, Xerox 820, Kaypro, and Slicer. However, when I suggest that a reader bought S-BASIC lock, stock, and contact an author, the reaction usually name-and I understand that Gilbert is MICRO CORNUCOPIA is pub is, "I'm sure the author would be too now an employee. Little wonder that lished six times a year by Micro Cor busy to respond to me." Kaypro 48 and lOs include it. (You can nucopia of Oregon, P.O. Box 223, Meanwhile we have gotten calls and purchase S-BASIC for only $75 directly Bend, Oregon 97709. letters from authors wondering whether from Kaypro.) anyone has tried their software or read An informal poll has led me to con SUBSCRIPTION RATES: their articles. (See FORTHwords in this clude that less than 5 percent of Kaypro 1 yr.(6 issues) $16.00 issue for Arne's sentiments.) owners have tried S-BASIC. Part of the 1 yr. (Canada & Mexico) $20.00 One author lamented, "Even a com problem might be that it is a compiler. 1 yr. (other foreign) $26.00 plaint about my writing style would be But the main problem, I'm sure, is the Make all orders payable in U.S. better than complete silence." documentation. funds on a U.S. bank, please. So there you have it. You readers are I think this inexpensive but powerful afraid to bother the writers and the writ language deserves a place in Micro C, as ADVERTISING RATES: Available ers are waiting anxiously to be bothered. a regular column. on request. What can I say? Another BG Bargain CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please S-BASIC BG Micro has come up with another send your old label and new ad Those of you who know me well, winner. Billy Gage is selling bare Xerox dress. know I spent a good deal of time pro 820-1 boards for $39.95 each (he has gramming in BASIC (during my past life thousands of them and I hear they are SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, AND at Tektronix). It was pure and simple selling very well). He is including docu BOOK VENDORS: We would very Dartmouth BASIC and I hated it. If you mentation and a monitor ROM in the much like to review your CP/M & want to write good readable, structured package. MSDOS compatible products. Send code, then you have to write in some This is another genuine steal from BG. materials to the Review Depart thing other than this classic BASIC.