DAVID KARLIN WhyQCOMis everything you could wish for in communications. The QL is now communicating — via Q COM! This exciting and call acceptance facilities, you’ll be exploring new open three-part peripheral presents QL users with a multitude of together with the storage of ings in communications for ways to exploit the world of communications. messages from other modems, some time to come! Once connected to the QL, Through it you can link your will revolutionise the way you Q COM allows you to access the QL to larger minicomputers. use your telephone. considerable numberof phone- Q COM has full capability in this The next few pages of QL in databases, such as Prestel area, and allowstheQLtotalkto News tell you much more. and QNet. powerful mainframes. Its enough for me to say here David Karlin, Q COM enables you to com Q COM’s automatic dialling that with the QL and Q COM, Chief Design Engineer. municate with other computer users. Its facilities include elec tronic mail, data transfer from Microdrivesand bulletin boards. The Q COM package Three special parts to stack! 1 QL communications QL auto dial/answer unit c- 1 [Q cW7 interface Q CALL gives every QL user accepted automatically . and something out of the ordinary. even trigger pre-programmed This multi-speed interface con receive at rates switchable from It’s a module which links activity from the QL! tains the sophisticated software 75 to 9600 baud (encompass directly to your telephone, and Q CALL is the central unit of used to set up QL communi ing the widely-used 75/1200 allows auto-dialling at the push the package.lt plugsdirectly into cations — and to control the Prestel rates, and 1200/1200 of a single key. In the same way, it Q CON — so there are no con Q CALL and Q MOD units. half duplex rates for user-to- will permit incoming calls to be necting cables to worry about. Q CON also comes com user exchange). plete with Microdrive-based Q CON is specially styled to MOD7 software. This enables the QL to suityourQL—withsimilarfluting r 1 link to larger computers using and ribs — and forms the base QL modem VT100 and viewdata protocols. module of a vertical-stacking c-- 1 also MOD has all the powerful services described The software will system. I Q viewdata run any standard modem — Its supplied with full instruct facilities expected of a modem, alongside. connected via Q CON’s built-in ions, software on Microdrive in a neat and simple unit It also incorporates a tele R5-232-C port. cartridge, and connecting leads. It uses either V23 75/1200 or phone extension socket for Most importantly, Q CON 1200/1200 baud rates, for Pres manual dialling. allows the QL to transmit and tel, Micronet 800 ‘and all the Q MOD is the top unit of Exploring the world of QNet, Prestel, Micronet and more! Thousands of QL users already your style, that’s easy too. It’s enjoy the excitement of linking often possible to place a direct to a nationwide mainframe. order using your QL! For dedi Q COM turns your QL into cated QL owners, there’s a daily an intelligent terminal, allowing selection of software reviews, you to access many thousands chart toppers... and all the fads of pages of information, soft and figures you need to make wareand communicationsfacil buying peripherals simple. ities. With Q COM you can also The services brought to you download’ software from the through Prestel can include system directly into yourQL and Micronet 800, Viewfax 258 and either use it immediately, or QNet, the new QL database. store it on Microdrive cartridge. Membership of QNet will In fad the only problem bring you free software, QL you’ll face with a viewdata news and features, and all the service isfindingenough time to wide-ranging services of view- explore its many features! data! You can find out how to join If armchair shopping is more QNet by phoning 01 -278 3143. • ‘I L 15ILELX Q COM, and comes with a 9’ Q COM allows you to store built-in telephone cable. hundreds of personal or busi All three units are available ness numbers. from OEL (0276)66748 and on You can store lengthy pass News. .information...bankingservices and QNet. And onlya fraction of the QLs from selected Sinclair stockists. words and account numbers — new viewdata capability. and recall them—at the touch of a single key. The QL hooked And any information that’s sent to you from other modem - on voice and data owners can be gathered and The QL can now ad as your stored on Microdrive cartridge, QL meets the personal address book and or incorporated into your QL telephone operator! Quill documentsl mainframes! The Q CON unit of Q COM Additional benefits for the turns your QL into a VT100 ter QL business user include easy minal, providing instant access access of in-house company to in-house computingservices, software, and the interrogation both mainframe and mini. of other data bases around the Whether you are using your cou ntiy. QL at home or at work, Q COM There’s also the opportunity gives you access to eledronic oflinkingto British Telecom Gold bulletin boards which provide — the widely-publicised and help and advice 24 hours a day. popular messaging service. You can leave messages or notices for friends or business contads and even hold live discussions with them. EirIlZiir QL Hardware Microdrive cartridge price cut to only £1.99! On February 1, the cost of Microdrive cartridges came I down from £4.95 to £1.99 each. Microdrive cartridges are the QL’s own unique storage med ium. Each stores up to lOOK of information (that’s 40 pages of A4 text), on a cartridge no bigger than a book of matches! Over 500,000 cartridges are now being used throughout Britain. You can store up to 50 differ entdatafiles percartridge, ident ified by titles of your own choice. And QL Microdrives them selves are standard equipment on the new ICL One Per Desk micro, and British Telecom’s new Sinclair Microdrive cartridges — up to lOOK of programs and data on a medium so compact you can pop it into your pocket Merlin Tonto. different types of device. It is commonly used for con IEEE-488... trolling instrumentation via a New intei computer, allowingthe creation of laboratory data acquisition 51/4’ systems, industrial control 31/2”or the instrument schemes, etc The now has a fully- QL With new Q-Disk, you can fledged IEEE-488 interface from transform the QL into a power CST It plugs neatly into the QL’s connection — fiJI small business system IEEE-488 is the interface IEEE-488 — or General Pur RAM expansion port, and can comprising QL, monitor, disk — a control to 16 instruments standard set by the Institute pose Instrumentation Bus is up interface, twin disk drives and simultaneously. of Eledronic and Eledrical parallel interface specifically printer. instrurñentation for high speed data It’s available from CST on Engineers for designed Q-Disk upgrades the QL to number of (0223) 323302. control. transfer between a disk storage. Fitting easily into the QL left hand RAM expan sion port, without the need fora special expansion box, it con tains a Western Digital disk con troller chip. Software is held in an on-board EPROM (so little of the QL’S RAM is used). Plug in Q-Disk, and the QL accepts one or two disk drives, sized 3 in, 31/2 in, 51/4 in, either 40 or 80 track, single or double- sided. Even when two drives are used, they can be different types’ Q-Disk offers up to 1.6 Mbytes of quick, reliable storage with a compatible disk drive. It’s made by Computamate, An IEEE-488 interface slips discreetly into place. who also offer a full range of The QL’s high-tech spec Dimensions colours available) and 256x256 138 x 46 472mm (53/ 3/4”x x183/4”) pixels (eight colours available). X1 Normal character display for Weight mat of up to 85 x 25 with choice of character 1388 gms (3.055 sets available (TV Ibs) formatofupto4oto6ocolumns RAM depending on the software). Massive 128K standard RAM, Keyboard externally expandable to 640K Full-size, 65-key QWERTY Extra RAM is available in 64K keyboard featuring a space bar, 128K 256K and 512K units, left- and right-hand shift keys, from third-party suppliers. five function keys and four ROM cursor control keys. The key 48K containing Sinclair Super- board can be angled by means QLto link students BASIC and the Sinclair Qdos of detachable feet. operating system. Strathclyde University, in everywhere will benefit — the Expansion Glasgow, plans to have a cam students plan to develop Al CPU Excluding RGB monitor, power pus network of 000 QLs linked programs to run on the QL! Motorola 68008 (running at 7.5 socket and TV port, eight peri to a central VAX minicomputer. The QL has impressed Prof. MHz) for all principal functions. pheral/expansion ports are Thats one QL for every James Ally of the University’s (Architecturally, the 68008 is a provided — one internal expan student. a major investment Computer Science Depart 32-bit processor with an eight- sion, one Microdrive expansion, project in a university which is ment, who says ‘only the QL bit data bus. One megabyte of one ROM cartridge, two serial now aleadingcentrefor artificial could offer the computing non-segmented address space and two control channels, and intelligence work.