February 1983
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Second Class Mail Registration Pending The INDEPENDENT Commodore Users' Magazine No.17 February 1983 . New VIC & 64 What Next From Add ~ns and Software Commodore? The Friendly Computer Commodore Vic 20 hardware and software available at or through your nearest Eaton store. EATON'S CONTENTS PAGE 2 The New Generation of Commodore Computers ........... Ajay Jindal 4 Commodore at the Consumer Electronics Show ... Chris Bennett 11 Whither the MAX? . .. ....... Jindal and Bennett 14 Four VIC Games. ............... ......... Vince Sorenson 14 Two VIC GraphiC Programming Utilities. ............ Michael Kelinert 15 The VIC-20 Interfacing Bluebook . Ken A. Lee 16 Do It Yourself VIC Boards . Mike Liotta 18 VIC Hints. ............................. Vince Sorenson 19 Non Kernal Routines in the VIC-20 ....... Thomas Henry 22 When Your Are Thinking of Buying a Computer. ....... Mayland Harriman 23 Programming Contest. ..... Michael Bonnycastle 27 Converting Programs from PET to 64 . Garry Kiziak 32 PET - VIC - 64 Cross Reference Map. ............. Mark Niggeman 34 Interfacing the Commodore 64 to a Video Monitor . John Ason 38 Some Serious Math . Jim Butterfield 39 The Hardware Hacker . Hank Mroczkowski 40 Superspeed Sort. David Williams 40 TORPET Information. Bruce Beach 41 The Lowly Cassete . Mayland Harriman 42 RTC PayrOll Package Stephen Smith 43 Meeting Reports . John Easton 44 A M.L Presentation ... John Easton 45 TPUG Info and Schedule ...................... ChriS Bennett 47 Traders Floor at TPUG Conference ................ David Williams. 48 Classified Ads ................................... The TORPET published by The PublLsher Horning's Mills. Ontario Canada LON 1JO (519) 925-5376 Bruce M. Beach. Edltdr Published monthly Single subscription rate - $18.00 per year Special bulk rates to clubs and dealers THE NON COVER STORY page 26 TORPET February 83 page The Ne\AI Generation of by Ajay Jindal Commodore Computers Scarborough, Ontario On Wednesday, November 17, 1982 I went to Though i'm not sure. it is my impression that the the Canadian Computer Show being held at the above keys are not double function. (like on a International Centre, At the show Commodore was PET where you press CRSR UP/DOWN alone to showing the COMMODORE 64, VIC-20, PET. CBM. move the cursor down one row and with SHIFT to SuperPET and their new generation computers the move it up a row>. it seems that on the P-500 P-500 and BX-700, one key will be CRSR UP and one key will be The information that I an going to pass on to CRSR DOWN, so you don't have to worry whether you about the 'P', 'B', and 'BX' series computers the SHIFT key is pressed or not. (previously called the PET II and CBM II> is based on product specifications that were being The P-500 uses a new 6509 CPU that uses handed out and what I picked up from the the same instruction set as a 6502 and has a 20 representative. This is only preliminary release in bit address bus. It is otherwise an 8 bit proces formation and specifications are subject to change, sor operating at 1.0 MHz, The language used is called CBM Extended BASIC 4.0 (ROM residenO. It is essentially the same as the current BASIC 4.0 The P-500 but some new commands have been added. The P-500 will come with 128K of RAM ex The Commodore 'P' 500 series (Advanced pandable to 256K internally and 640K externally. Personal Computer> loOks much like an APPLE or tollaling a maximum of 896K of RAM . For the ROM ATARI 800 computer but has more keys (92 in there is an ambiguity. In one source it says there cluding separate numeric keypad and 10 function is a 40K ROM. and according to another source keys> and doesn't extend as far back. It is light there is a 28K one. Both sources are from Com grey in color and the keys are in two different modore. so you can draw your own conclusions. shades of grey. There is no screen included so the video output is on a user-supplied monitor. The interfaces found on the P-500 will be RS-232. IEEE-488. Dataset. Memory Expansion Slot and Connector. Dual Control Ports for Joys tick/ Paddle/ Light Pen and an 8 bit user port. COMMODORE Its graphics capabilities are much like the COMMODORE 64. It has character graphiCS. 320 x 'P' 500 SERIES 200 pixels high res graphics (16 colours simul Advanced Personal Computer taneously>. 8 sprites. smooth scroll and redefinable characters. The screen output is 40 x 25 colour characters and the character font is 8 x 8 pixels. The sound on the P-500 is like the COMMODORE 64. It uses a 6581 SID chip with all the power of the COMMODORE 64. There might be an organ keyboard add-on with an extra synthesiser but there are no details at this time. The P-500 can use all the disk drives a PET can including the 4040. 8050. 8250. and the 09060 and 09090 hard disks. The printers usable by it are 8023P. 4022P. 8300P or any other RS- 232 printer. It can use any RS-232 or IEEE modem. You can get an optional Z-80 processor for It has a fullsized typewriter style keyboard with CP/M or an 8088 processor for CP/M-86. Other a separate numeric keypad. Above the keyboard optional languages available are COMAL. UCSD and to the left are 10 function keys with which. PASCAL. LOGO and CBM Macro Assembler. by using the SHIFT key. you can get 20 functions. On the same level and to the right of The P-500 can also take cartridges (24K ROM the function keys are some more keys which are max.> but they are not compatible with either the cursor controls. insert. delete. home and clear. VIC or COMMODORE 64. TOR PET February 83 page 2 The B-700 The Commodore 'B' 700 Series (Advanced the same as the 8-700 computer with dual inter Business Computer) looks like the P-SOO but there nal disk drives and green screen. Is a screen and optional disk drives attached. The keyboard can be detached from the screen/disk unit. It comes with 2S6K of RAM expandable to 896K INTERNALLY. COMMODORE COMMODORE '8' 700 SERIES 'IX' 700 SERIES Advanced Business Computer Advanced 16-Bit Professional Computer The B -700 is pretty much the same as the The BX-700 houses dual processors. A 6509 P-500 but with changes making it more suitable with a 20 bit address bus and a 16 bit 8088. It for business. operates at 2.0 MHz to S.O MHz. CP/M is avail able with the 8088. I didn't get the handout on the B-700 but will give you information based on both the P-SOO Like the B-700 there is no joystick port and and BX-700 computers and general specifications the video output is also the same as the B-700. given. Optionai processors are Z-80 and 8087. You can get the languages compatible with them. The first major differance Is the video output. It comes with an 80 x 2S monochrome green For the BX-700 there will be an experimental screen with a character font of 9 x 14 pixels. high-resolution card. The modems for the BX-700 There are no high resolution graphics but the must be RS-232 compatible. graphic characters are still there. I imagine that there will be a high- res card available for the B-700. Any other information on the BX-700 is either the same as the P-SOO or was not available at There are optional integral twin drives the time of this writing. (340K/680K) or you can use the regular external ones. According to the representative these com puters are expected to be released around March The last major difference is the aosence of 1983. Unfortuneately. I didn't get any prices and the Joystick ports but there will probably be Commodore's office in Agincourt didn't have any something set up so you can use a light pen. prices either. The pamphlet I received gives some general The BX-700 information on Commodore's complete microcom puter line and peripherals. Some stuff was given The last New Generation computer from Com about the Max Machine (along with VIC-20. Com .modore is called the Commodore 'BX' 700 Series modore 64. PET. CBM. SuperPET. P-SOO, B-700 (Advanced 16-blt Professional Computer). It looks and BX-700). TORPET February 83 page 3 Commodore at the Consumer Commodore Booth at the CES January 6-9, 1983 The Winter Consumer Electronics Show was Now for some gOOd news. Commodore. In held In Las Vegas. January 6 to 9. 1983. All 1982. sold more computers than any other com types of electronics were on display. My main in pany. That includes: Texas Instruments. Atar!. terest was the computers on display. especially Radio Shack and Apple. With over One Million the new Commodore products. However. I did VICs and 75.000 Commodore-64s sold last year. spend the first two days quickly looking at most COMMODORE IS NUMBER ONE in home com of the other exhibits. These included audiolvideo. puters. This was reported by Jack Tramlel who is car "audio. calculators. telephones. watches and the president and driving force behind Commodore many others too numerious to mention. This was international. Tramlel also predicts that by 1984. the largest show of its type with over 75.000 Commodore will be the number one manufacturer people attending. However. since my main interest for all types of micros.