_—— 7 No1 Presented as a 2 supplement to ETI. A ——— Be , a fees Hop on a Nasbus to 32K of memory now The Nascom — 1 is designed with expansion in mind. This is made possible by using the best products available. The 280 microprocessor incorporated in the basic system is so powerful it can support 64K bytes of memory and 256 ports. To utilize this capability, we have designed the buffered 77 — way Nasbus. With this arrangement, the way is clear for considerable expansion, starting with our new memory expansion board. It has 16 memory sockets and two EPROM sockets. Therefore, you can fill it with 4K dynamic RAM up to a maximum 8K or with 16K dynamic RAM up to a maximum of 32K. A 2K Tiny BASIC in EPROM has been developed for the board. To go with the board, we have produced a very flexible 1.0 board with three PIOs each giving two, Bbit ports, plus a UART for serial interface. As you start building up your Nascom system you will need a convenient means of storing boards, Our new, custom-designed, Vero frame UK National Camera Centre, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria Crystal Electronics, Torquay, Devon ributors Lock Distribution, Oldham, Lancs Lynx Electronics, Chesham, Bucks Electrovalue, Microdigital, Egham & Manchester Eveweg) 2 Eley Electronics, Teleplay, Glenfield, Leicester New Barnet, Herts Henry's Radio, London W2 loss son me 4 tickets to your seminar at £4.50 each and, {trther detalls on Nascom-1 expansion products/Nascom-t Kit/int, Nascom Microcomputer Club.” “delete as applicable Nascom Microcomputers 92 Broad Street, Chesham, Bucks, Tel: (02405) 75151 will allow for a Nascom — 1 to link through a buffer board to a 77-way Motherboard. There is then the option of eight or more expansion boards, To power this capability there is a new 8.5 amp power supply especially desianed for the frame, No other system offers so much at such a low cost. And it all starts with the basic Nascom — 1 kit which for just £197.50 offers an intelligently usable system with video and cassette interface, a full alpha-numeric keyboard and a mighty CPU chip. So if you want the best — make it a Nascom system, Nascom-t Kit still only £197.50 +VAT M eye leas) ‘Microcomputer Semina 'Nazcom Microcomputers highly successtul seminar i coming 10 Bristol. The programme willbe similar to London and Manchester, both of which were sold out, The day includes tive lectures, demonstrations and an open forum. Venue Is the Dragonara Hotel, Bristot, Saturday, October 14th, 09,50 to 17.30, ‘Admission: £4.50 (inc. VAT). Lunch will be available at £4,00 (inc. VAT) per head if there s sufficient demand, Name: Adress [Link] ‘Cheques and PO's should be made payable to Nascom Microcomputors cm COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978com today NO1 november 1978 NASCOM 1 REVIEW BASICEXPLAINED 9 CUTS CARD 15 TRITON IMPRESSIONS 19 EAST COAST REPORT 21 TRITON BASIC 23 MICROFILE 30 Nice one NASCOM Say no more CUTS above the rest, Important show for US Try iton Triton Gary Evans in training EDITORIAL ADVERTISING Halvon W. Moorshead Ron Harris [Link] Gary Evans Jim Perry Phil Cohen [Link], William King John Koblanski Steve Ramsahadeo Paul Edwards Margaret Hewitt ‘Andrew Scott Kim Hamlin, Bren Goodwin ‘Tim Salmon, Val Tregidgo Mark Strathern (Manager), Tom Moloney INTRODUCTION The first issue of any magazine is an exciting time — certainly for the people working on the project and, hopefully, for the readers. Computing Today, although presented free with ETI, is just such a new magazine, which will have a style and identity of its own. Computing Today will cover the fields of com- puting, from the home, education, and small business viewpoints. Computing to us will mean everything from the complete small business system, floppies and all, to a single bit micro in a control application. The growth of small systems over the past few years has been astounding the reasons for this growth are many and varied — we won't go into them here — and it is our hope that the next few years will see this expansion maintained. One of the reasons for launching Computing Today was the fact that it was no longer possible to devote ‘enough space within ETI to cover this important area of small systems without sacrificing other features of ETI that are equally important to many of our readers. ETI plus CT will allow us to keep everybody happy. . ‘Although this first issue of CT is only 32 pages, if, the growth we mentioned is maintained, rest assured that CT will grow to keep pace. This first issue of CT is published to coincide with the launch of the TRITON, an exciting new system for the hobbyist/education areas, CT has similar, equally. exciting projects in the pipeline and if you don’t want to miss out on important news and developments in Computing be sure to read us every month, COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 Colling all TRITON users PRODUCTION uting Airamco Ltd. MICRO COMPUTER PRODUCTS Distributors for JADE COMPUTER PRODUCTS. All products brand new with full industrial specification 6100 compuren caRDs KT 71°00 12 slot mother board +158 @QV, 28 @" 16 Mother Bosra Desk Top ‘Rack £199, Jade 80804 CPU BOARD £75: ‘Jade 280 CPU BOARD 2MHe £99. e112, Jade Serial Paraie!/0 BOARD. £93, Jade BOARD. ead, (1642708 or 2716) With S70 97 £93, RAM 450nS, 1GK STATIC RAM 25005. Jade'BK static RAM BOA 4500s 94 Jade OK static RAM BOA\ 350ns E104 Jade BK static RAM BOA\ 250ns e127, 8.0" Sales Dynamic Memory 3750S. acc time 8K e113 Memory 375n8 accss tine 16K eu Memory 37808 access tina 93K ? ‘£297.00 Memory 3788 access time 64K 6134 VERSAFLOPPY DISK CONTROL. LER (upto 4 drves 5'% or 8) cry SHUGART 8 "Drive PERTEC 54” Drive ‘Components 2708 1024x8 EPROM £6.99 2716 2048x8 EPROME29 90 Covel) 2516 2048 x 8 EPROM £29.90 (equivalent of above) T. 1702 25638 EPROM €4.85 2108 4096x1 DRAM _£3°50 ‘Bfor £26.00 21078-4 4096%1 DRAM 62160 Btor £26.00, Note New Low Prices 16K ‘Memory 4115 5kM ORAM £9.99 4116 16kx1 DRAM £14.99, Bfor £108.00 6821 PIA £5.90 AY S113 UAKT |. £4.50 AY51014 VARTISY) £6.60 {AY53600 ENCODER | £9.99, ‘8080A CPU. £8.99 All Prices EXCLUDE VAT @ 8%, Please add £1.00 P&P for 100 items then add VAT @ ax, 24h. Ansaphone order service with ACCESS or BARCLAY. Caro MAIL ORDER ONLY 2708/2716 cPROM ‘Jade REAL TiMe CLOCK BOARD Probiem Solvers 18K STATIC EXPANDORAM BARE ASSEMBLED BOARD. 8250 “T2626 ‘00 00, a5 50 £122.50 £138.75 £149.95 £134.29 £82.46 £134.96 £134.96 £270.90 £296.00 £22.50 £26.25 £26.25 £22.50 £22.50 70 95 8 a8 £22.50 £22.50 71 RO. 50 cr 95 RD 20 £112.50 £119.96 £142.50 25 £229.00 £337.00 00 £553.00] £513.00, 79 £105.00 £385.00 £225.00 2IODT 2505 er 20 Bor £7.92 21102 260n8° e140, Bor £9.60 211251 25084 (480) | £2.25, 4044 4X1 (450) 4045 1Ke4 (450) e748 £8.25 Used North Star Mini disk sys- tem + controler + some soft ‘ware £399.00, 212 £2.49 8216 £2.78 8224.4 7.48 8226, £295 3881 £9.50 3882 £9'50 5100 skis, £3.30 Textool 24 pin Zoro fovea Sk. £6.60 4175 8ix1 DRAM | £9°99 a11s95 £1.25 811597 £1.25 For components please add 40p PAP. thon add VAT @ 8%, AIRAMCO L1D: SO WITCHES LINN ARDROSSAN ‘AYRSHIRE. KA22 8BR TEL, 0294 65520 Semiconductor prices are always changing and the tend is "generally downwards. So ring for atest up to-date details,ANNO) 3) ON COMPUTER SYSTEMS LIMITED The new low cost VOU - Tangerine 1648 (See page 16, ETI, Oct. °78 for feature details) ORDERING INFORMATION The normal KIT price i tage, packing and ins: HOWEVER, as an introductory gesture we are discounting this price ‘by £10, forall orders received postmarked BEFORE 12th December, 1978. If you require further information, send an Ad sized salbaddrossed envelope. I you wish to purchase a kit please send a cheque or money order made payable to 280 Microcomputer kit Undoubtedly the finest value for money kit available anywhere. Fully socketed. INTERFACE FOR TV (UHF) TV Monitor Cassette Teletype 32k Ram expansion board May be seen working 9a.m. - 5 p.m. Mon.-Fri Callers welcome TANGERINE COMPUTER SYSTEMS LIMITED RIVERMILL LODGE, LONDON ROAD, ST. IVES, AMBS. PE17 4BR Tel. St. Ives (0480) 65666 B=BUG — super SMART NEW MONITOR FOR NASCOM OWNERS FEATURES INCLUDE:—FULLY COMPATIBLE with existing hardware/software; NEW TAPE I/O 4 TIMES FASTER with extensive error checking (see cassettes below); INTELLIGENT COPY command for program relocation; ARITHMETIC for address and offset calculation, HEX KEYBOARD function — throw away your ASCII tables!; SUPER- SHIFT allows all displayable characters to be entered from the keyboard; FLAG DISPLAY shows the flags set — C, Z etc. when using the EXTENDED REGISTER DISPLAY which shows the IX, IY etc. registers as well; SUBROUTINES include:-PSEUDO RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR; ASCII to PACKED BCD and vice-versa; VARIABLE INTER- RUPTABLE DELAY; CHARACTER STRING OUTPUT; TABLE SEARCH: STRING OUTPUT; CURSOR MOVEMENT; AUTO-RUN facility allows a high-speed tape to be loaded and program executed with no operator intervention [Link] is supplied in 2 x 2708 EPROMS which plug into your existing sockets. NO MODIFICATIONS NEEDED. Demand will be high and orders will be handled in strict rotation. Delivery currently [Link] so ORDER NOW AND BE A ‘B.B."1 Price £197.50 + VAT (8%) STRATHAND “ciascow oi seu Tet order welcome wt Aen ad Bailayand B= BUG in 2x2708's only £23.40 including documentation. C10 DATA CASSETTES 35 pence each (Nascom, Pet, TRS80, Apple, etc.) Please add 30p p&p for orders under £10. VAT inclusive. E&0.E. Dealer enquiries welcome. VIEWFAX_ LTD. KING EDWARD BUILDING, CORPORATION STREET, BIRMINGHAM B4 6SE. a COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978We take a look at one of the most advanced CPUs evaluation kits The Nascom 1 ./ Reviewed ‘THE NASCOM 1 Microcomputer kit was launched by Lynx Electronics at the Wembley Conference in November 1977. At that time, a sales figure of 500 kits ‘was anticipated but it has been so popular that orders in excess of 10 000 kits have now been received. A look at the main features of Nascom 1 will explain this success. For £197.50, you get: AZ-80 CPU, ‘an uncommitted PIO, 2K of static RAM, ‘a powerful 1K monitor (in a 2708 EPROM), a TV modulator, a full keyboard (assembled), cassette or RS 232 interface (but not both at the same time), an IM6402 UART, a double-sided PCB with plated-through holes, all other active and passive components, wire, solder and complete documentation. ‘The system is easily expandable through a 43-way edge connector but there is no on-board buffering (due to cost) although Nascom’s plans for future expansion include a buffer board. In order to have a working microcomputer, only a power supply and a domestic TV need be supplied, plus an ordinary portable cassette machine for program storage. Construction Constructing the kit is an easy task for the ex- perienced constructor and even the first-timer should have no difficulty, providing the detailed and com- prehensive instructions are followed carefully. Iti, if anything, a little tedious — there are over 50 ICs, sockets are provided for all of them. The PCB is worth special mention for its superb quality — a really professional job. All component and wiring positions are clearly marked on the board in a totally unambiguous fashion and since the instructions include a detailed section on component identification, there should be no location problems ‘The PCB has wire links to be made, each selecting a possible user option. Two deal with I/O port and memory selection, three with the UART and one with the on-board crystal clock. The instructions show standard connections for these links and explain the variations. They could also he replaced by miniature toggle switches to allow experimentation COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 ‘The keyboard is supplied pre-assembled and needs only the addition of the RESET switch to complete it. Again due to cost considerations, it is not ASCIi coded, but is scanned by hardware under software control. Early keyboards had no engraving on the key. tops for shifted characters but this has been corrected in a new version, which also has a more positive key action, However, both suffer from the amazing lack of a left-hand shift key! Another minor criticism is the method of connec- tion between the PCB and the keyboard. A multicore cable with a 16 pin DIL header plug is used at each end, which means that any strain on the cable is taken by the soldered joints. A proper ribbon cable with crimped connections to header plugs would be a much more satisfactory solution. Power supply The power supply requirements are: +12V @ 150mA, +5V @2A, —5V @ 90mA and —12V @ 12mA (for RS232 only) Lynx supply a PSU Kit as an extra but it does rather let down an otherwise excellent product. The kindest thing I could say about the design is that it is unusual. Itallows for further PSU kits to be ‘parallelled off for expansion. Early PCBs also has the + and - rail markings reversed — one of the IC regulators’ con- nections are incorrect, although the outline is right, There is no provision for diodes to protect against cai FROs eae )OFFF USER RAM oc50 SIA EG i age OcaF MONITOR WORKSPACE ocoo OBFF VIDEO RAM 0800 O7FF SECOND EPROM SOCKET ON PCB (UNUSED IN KIT) 0400 O3FF NASBUG EPROM 0000 Fig. 2. System memory Yoltane crossover (although diodes are supplied in the i Now for the good news — the PSU is being com- pletely re-designed and the parallel expansion approach dropped. Instead there will be an 8 amp kit for larger systems. Memory and VDU Before moving on to the operation of the kit, there are a couple of other hardware points to be men- tioned. Firstly, the arrangement for resetting the CPU (by means of the RESET switch) would have to be altered tor use with dynamic KAM expansion. CPU operation is suspended for as long as the RESET. button is held down, so dynamic RAMs (assuming they are refreshed by the Z-80) would soon forget what they were doing. The buffer board will contain circuitry to correct this. Secondly, the modulator seems to produce a very noisy signal. Picture quality is, to a large extent, dependant on the ability of a domestic TV to reject noise. Fortunately, commercial modulators are very cheap to buy and easy to fit to the NASCOM 1,,as there is a 1V video signal output from the board. NASCOM I uses a memory-mapped VDU, which means that the video RAM is shared with the CPU, the latter having priority. The instructions say that the video is blanked during VDU RAM access by the CPU but this is only partially true. In fact, the blanking signal (VDUSEL) is not long enough, so that @ noise signal which shows as ‘snow’, especially on multiple VDU RAM access, appears on the screen, This can be simply corrected by using the circuit in Fig. I Pin 5 of IC 11 should be bent out from the socket, and the connection made with an insulated ‘sodercon’ socket. Increase the potentiometer value until the snow just disappears. Display Format ‘The format of the display is 48 characters wide by 16 lines deep, which produces a very readable picture on a domestic TV. The remaining 256 bytes (1024 — (48x 16) = 256) of the 1K video RAM block are in the margin of the display, since the video RAM address counter is not disabled during the undisplayed por- tions of the video signal. In addition, the bottom 15 lines of the display (plus margins) are scrolled by the monitor, making the unused RAM locations useless, The fact that only 15 lines are scrolled leaves the top line for header text or data, This is a very useful feature, since almost all programs can make use of a fixed display line. Figure 4 gives details of the VDU addressing and scrolling, Operating System ‘The operating system is held in a 2708 (IK x 8) EPROM, which goes by the name of NASBUG. Since July, kits have been supplied containing NASBUG MK2as the original version contained an error in the serial input routine and a couple of errors in the keyboard look-up table. However, these facts should not detract from the excellent software which is crammed into the 1K of NASBUG. To call a command, only a single letter need be entered, followed by a number of arguments in HEX. Leading zeroes may always be omitted on input. ‘The commands are as follows: modify: M aaa The monitor responds by printing address aaa fol- lowed by the contents of that memory location, followed by a prompt and the cursor. If only ation of the memory location is required, , NEWLINE. will step throigh the memory sequentially, printing information in the same format. The command is aborted by fullstop newline. Memory, may be modified by entering new data after the prompt. tabulate: T aaaabbbb Prints on the screen the contents of memory between addresses aaaa and bbbb. copy: C aaa bbb ecee Copies a block of memory, length cece, from address, aaa to bbbb. Care must be taken that either bbbb is greater than aaaa plus ecce or thatibbbb is less than aaaa, otherwise the data block will be corrupted. execute: E aaa Executes a program starting at address aaaa. There e two occasions when no argument is required, irstly, if a program is aborted by the RESET button, E NEWLINE will cause execution to start at the same place as the previous E command. Secondly, at a breakpoint, E with no argument will cause execution to resume from the breakpoint. break: B aaa Will insert a special code at address aaaa in a user program. When this code is encountered during. execution it will cause the program to stop, display COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978.Nascom oBcA TRE TBAB] UNscROLLED Tor LINE HDA UNE 0 18 eee 0 scoot 48 (HEX 20) WIDE ROLL ova. Live 18 aga: NE 16 <_— isrtaveo area ————>,_mancin <—hevies <— Covres fi the registers and transfer control to the monitor. This means that any of the monitor commands may then be used. The BREAK command together with the STEP command provide very powerful debugging tools. step: S aaa Will cause single step execution from address aaa, with the registers displayed as in break at each step. Once single stepping is started, only NEWLINE need be pressed for the next stop and as with the execute command, the address will be assumed at a break- point, dump: D aaa bbb Dumps the contents of memory locations aaaa to bbbb to the serial output. Data is sent in blocks of 8 bytes, each with an address and checksum, load: L ‘The opposite of dump. Loads data from the serial input (usually from cassette). The input format is the same as the dump output format (which is usefull) DU diogeam Reflective Addressing The monitor is made even more powerful by the use of ‘reflective addressing’ in the RAM. Some of the major routine addresses and data are found by the monitor by looking in certain RAM locations. The locations are set up at RESET but they can be changed manually (or during the course of a pro- ing data are found reflectively: NMI routine address (used in single step and breakpoint exit), ‘command table address, CRT address which controls cursor and scrolling, Keyboard scanning routine address, address of the keyboard lookup table and its length and the stack pointer address for user programs (ie. end of RAM). ‘The use of reflection and a scanning keyboard gives NASCOM 1 the advantage that the meaning of the 4d EE 1 \ [fps _ Fa: §. Block siagram of NASCOM systom oe kf J eosin) Shen -— Leos oft ne COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 7Nascom keys may be changed with ease and various com- hinations of simultaneous key pressing can easily be detected and acted upon. An example of the use of. this feature is a program called SUPERSHIFT, by Richard Beal. The @ key is utilised as a sort of control key, enabling the complete character set of the MCM 6576 character generator to be used via the keyboard. ‘Summary Overall, the NASCOM 1 is an excellent unit. It is easy to level criticism at any product, especially one which has been designed down toa price. rather than up toa specification, but I think that the compromise has been very successful in this case. There have been delays in the delivery, mainly caused by underes timation of demand, which in turn has caused delays in the development and despatch of the advertised add-on goodies (up to and including mini-floppy). Hurry up, Lynx. To finish on a personal note, I've been using my NASCOM 1 for about 5 months (it worked first time) and Iam very happy indeed with it. I can hardly wait for 16K and an assembler (MENTAL NOTE: Must send Christmas card to bank manager), although Lam continually surprised at what can be’ squeezed into the 944 bytes available. The monitor is easy to use and fairly comprehensive, bearing in mind that it is only IK, Debugging is a doddle with breakpoint and single step. NASCOM 1 is a real microcomputer at a relatively low cost and should be easily expandable to a really powerful system. ctl THE TOTAL SOLUTION FROM ALMARC OF COURSE! ‘reeds for £230.00" The Vector MZ needs only the sddivon of V'D-U. and {Perea fo go, Completely aesombie and fal tstd. the Vector MZ oes {he fllowing fenton a standard © 51000» 8.4 itt 280 processor 188 nstuctions ‘wou deny MeropotaNoppes over 630 bytes on ine ‘wo paral pons kam © tnendedductne Simpy conaact your peripherals (Ebi V.D Us. & Conuonies printers are {vnlaieirom Aare) nd you've up and vannng a ecaan te ME ues ‘he S-100 bus, youcan plod na massive range of dan units ing or write for» demonstration to ALMARC DATA SYSTEMS LTD. apiece Discount terme avai 56-STATION ASCII KEYBOARD NOW IN STOCK — ASCII KEYBOARD MODEL KB756 Full 128 charactor sot with ROM fencoder (Upper and lower case + ‘contrat shift Fully TTL compatible —power fearon T RANTASTIC | i somes | si nae Seeder pis eorionn rauk VALUE AT £60] s/t" ‘diagram and application notes. +£1.50 p&p 8% VAT (mail order total £66.42) BALL MIRATEL “SCAN StPHAN VIDEO MONITOR | ALPHANUMERIC. PANEL DISPLAY Sopties am SPECIAL PURCHASE- MITE HAZELTINE VISUAL DISPLAY UNIT 123P Alphanumeric printer mechanisms| Fine aoe eT Sorter nth ls chases ee fiat Rah atin et rea Sera sow wal BRAND NEW SURPLUS ony £75 +£3.50 P&P +B% VAT (ai order total £84.78) ELECTRONIC BROKERS LTD. [ Dat = 953 Pancras Road, London NW1 208 {At = Tei: 07.837 781. Telex: 298694, ' Teletype Compatible 412" Diagonal Screen TTY Format Keyboard 212 fines of 80 charactors + 64 ASCII Character Set = 5x7 Dot Matix = Switch-seloctable ‘Transmission Speeds up 0 9600 baud + Switeh-solectable Parity 2 Standard CCITT V.24 Intortact Mermauaser’ On) PRICE E300 acne NFS pacino H100 ep lee of Tao cutter ni wih dnt cue AE eeaeA rte rik BIS ThaooT ag VAP COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978This month we feature the first part of a software teaching series Beginning BASIC PART 1 Algorithms and flow charts IT 1S, UNFORTUNATELY, VERY EASY when watching a computer in action to subconsciously endow the machine with intelligence — under no circumstances is this the case. Regardless of whether you are programming in the simplest of machine codes or the most sophisticated of high level languages, there is no way that the computer can do anything other than what it has. been programmed to do, and the signs of intelligence that we seem to detect are present only because of the skill of the programmer. In fact, programming today is becoming quite a major business area, simply because of the amount of skill involved. As with every other trade, however, there are various tools which are at the disposal of the programer to help in in his work — one of the most important of these being the flow chart, It does not matter what language we program in, be it machine code or BASIC, the technique of drawing and using flow charts is always the same. We start with a problem, find an algorithm (finding an algorithm for a problem means finding a method of ing a complete and correct solution to the problem inafinite number of steps) to solve the problem, draw the flow chart and then write the program from the flow chart. In order that one programer can under- stand another’s work, certain conventions are adopted when drawing flow charts (see Fig 1). AS a first example of algorithm and flow chart drawing, we will take the case of a young person applying for membership of a Social Club, wishing to discover what fees are payable as an annual sub- scription, Consider the following — “The annual subscription for a man is £10, unless he is under the age of 25, when the subscription shall be halved. The annual subscription for a woman shall be £8, unless she is under 25, when the subscription shall be halved. Married women applying for membership shall be charged half the amount payable by a single ‘woman over 25.” In this instance, it is unnecessary to find an algorithi to solve the problem as we are only going to use the flow chart as a means of simplifying the wealth of information given above (see Fig 2). So, for example, if you are a married female, it takes only a moment's glance at Fig 2 to answer the questions “Are you a man?” (no) and “are you married?” (yes) to artive at the knowledge that your annual subscription shall be £4 ‘You can see from this example how the flow chart helps to clarify and simplify an otherwise apparently ‘complicated problem. ‘We will now go on to consider the generation of an algorithm, and to see how a flow chart can be drawn once an algorithm has been obtained. As an example, COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 | a0 v Oe ea a Fig. 1. Flowcharting symbols we will luk at how i might be possible to get a Computer to generate a representation of, and ran- domly shuffle, a pack of cards. ‘The first thing we need to do is to decide what would be an acceptable representation of the pack. We could reasonably consider the problem solved if the computer could be made to generate a list of the numbers 1 to 52 in a random order, so that each number from 1 to 52 would represent a different card, The first method that springs to mind is to get the computer to open a set of 52 storage locations. The first random number between | and 52 can then be generated and placed in storage location number 1 (Che method used to generate the random numbers » 9susscrierion sunsenirrion 00, MARRIED? suascRiprion. o sunsenirrion Fig. 2. Foe fie foe or fum? unimportant as far as the flow chart is concerned). A second random number is then generated and placed in storage location number 2, a third number in storage location 3, and so on’ until all 52 storage locations have been filled. Fig 3 shows a flow chart to describe this algorithm. That appeared quite simple, didn't it? But if we give the problem some further consideration, you will see itis possible, since the numbers we are generating are random, to have generated two numbers which are the same. Indeed, this is most likely. This would mean that we would have at least two cards the same within one pack, and so our algorithm must be considered incomplete (though on the right track). To make the algorithm work correctly, we will have to include some form of check to ensure that when a number is generated which has already been used, it is not included in the list (see Fig 4 for a flow chart which takes this point into account). If you look through Fig , you will see that a number is generated and then a check is made through all the storage locations that have already been filled to see if the number we have just generated has occurred before. If it has, then the number is ignored and a new random number is generated and checked; if it has not, then it is inserted into the next empty storage location. We then jump back and generate another random number and the process continues until all 52 storage locations have been filled. This algorithm and subsequent flow chart would appear to be quite sufficient to solve the problem. But 10 START GENERATE RANDOM NUMBER R (BETWEEN 1 & 52)) PUT R IN STORAGE LOCATION A Fig. 3. Take a card, any card... let us now consider this flow chart converted into a program and being run on a computer. Remember, every operation the computer executes takes some finite time to perform, albeit small, so that the more operations that need to be performed, the longer the program will take to run. This may appear to have been an obvious statement, but let us take a look now at our algorithm, bearing this point in mind, When we start off, with ail storage locations empty, the first humber we generate cait be guaranteed not to have occurred before (though looking at the flow chart you will see that the computer does not know this) and can therefore be inserted straight into the first storage location. As the program proceeds, however, and more storage locations filled, it becomes more and more likely that the generated random number will, after some considerable checking, have to be abandoned and re-generated, until, when there are COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978oH Fig. 4. The new routine. ‘only two or three locations left to fill, we may have to generate and extensively check many tens of numbers to find one of the few remaining acceptable numbers. If the computer was made to print out each umber as it was generated, we would notice a longer and longer time intervai elapsing between the generation of consecutive numbers. Problems like this occur frequently when converting algorithms, where a solution which initially appeared to be satisfactory turns out to have some practical diff culties associated with it on closer inspection. Fig shows the flow chart of an algorithm desi to overcome the previous problem. It starts by putting 1 in storage locations 1; 2 in location 2; 3 in location 3; and so on until all 52 locations are filled, which in effect lays the cards out in sequence through the pack. It then takes the first location and exchanges its contents with the contents of another randomly chosen location, then the con- tents of location 2 are exchanged with the contents of ‘a second randomly chosen location; the contents of location 3 are then exchanged with the contents of a third randomly chosen location, and so on until the contents of all 52 storage locations have been ran- domly exchanged in this manner. You may be a little sceptical as to whether the pack of cards thus generated was truly random. Experiments have, however, convinced us that it is. As you can see, there is never any need to generate more than 52 random numbers, because whatever the number generated ned COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 ye L ale Fig. 5. The British Shutfle? tums out to be, we are always guaranteed to use it, as it does not matter whether it has been generated before or not. Converting both of these flow charts into programs and running them on a computer, we discovered that this latter algorithm ran approximately ten times as fast, on average, as the first algorithm, so that there is a great saving in computer time used. Looking through the algorithms and flow charts, you should begin to see that every operation a ‘computer performs has to be very carefully planned and mapped out if a worthwhile program is to result, Although able to operate at extremely high speeds, the computer is merely manipulating pulses of elec- trical current according to a set of rules which the programmer lays down which, by careful manipula~ tion and interpretation, can be made to have meaning. Next month we will go on to consider the high-level programing language, BASIC, but do not forget the above routines, for when we have learnt sufficient BASIC, we will be returning to look at them again and see how they can be implemented ct "From Science of Cambridge: Bali Tatgoert. LED display MK.14—a complete computer for £39.95 (+8% VAT) The MK 4 isa complete microcomputer with keyboard, adisplas, 8x 512-byte pre programmed PROMs,and a 256-bste RAM. Programmable through the keyboard ‘Assiich the MK 1 can handle dozens of use. ‘written programs through the hexadecimal Keybourd. GO sample prograrss are provided i the Manual which also contains comprehensive building instructions, and instructions on program-writing Yetin kit form which can be assembled by any fairly experienced kituilder) the MK 14 tosts only £39.95 £3.20 VAT, and p&p) But that’s only the start. The memory capacity ofthe basic kit is surprisingly powerful-but every computer ‘owner, from a schoolboy toa multi-national jon, soon felsthe need for more nthe MKI4,i’s yours! Optional extras include an additional 256-byte RAM, and a lb-line external inpu ‘output device (allowed foron the PCB) which Bivea further 28 bytes of RAM 12 PROM-512 bytes RAM-256 bytes Extra RAM __ (optional) Edge connector for ‘external keyboard with upto32 keys And the next step? Thenextstepistoadd your awn perinherals! The fist could bea low-cost mexlule which provides an interface with a standard ‘cassette-recorder, This means you can use “ordinary tape-cassttes forthe storage of dat and proeams, Ta get the best fom this configuration, you ate your system with arevised ‘consisting of replacement PROMS, pre-programmed with sub-toutines forthe Interface offset calculation and single step, and operation data cmt. The second peripheral could be your own PROM programmer and blank PROMS 0 einen pre prepared dedictied Applications, Fusible-ink device guarantees progeam safety, ‘Allare available now to owners of MK 14 and remember Science of Cambridge keep you uptodate adomazealy with advances in the MK range.A'TVinterlace device isalready the new MK 14. — 5 Vreguator input/output edge connector RAMUO device (optional) ‘PROM St2bytes RAM-256 byces Lexa RAM (options) __Displayand keyboard CPU Interface creutry. A valuable tool — and a training aid [Link] operations afalliypes from complex games digital alarm lock functioning, from basic maths toa pulsedelay chain, Programs age in the Manual, together ‘ith instrctions for ereating yourown enuinely valuable programs And, of course,ts.a superb education and eee ngan ideal introduction to computer technology ‘SPECIFICATIONS MK + Hexadecimal keyboard 4 S-digt 7-segment LED display £8312 PROM, containing mantorprogeam +256 bytes of RAM. #AMHzerystal #5V regulator {Single SV poster supply {Space available for extra 256-byte RAM and opon lO. Fae connector access tall data lines and WO pons Optional Extras Extra RAM-256 bytes 4: RAM 1/0 device COMPUTING ToDaY — NovemreR 1979Simplest,most advanced, most flexible microcomputer -in kit form. Cassette interface module and Manual y Revised monitor = Getting your MK 14 kitis easy, lust cience Free Mara “atumectinareee” Cambridge =I nce of Cambrge Lid, 6 ings Parade, Cambri | essen awn rdsu COME 14 Standard Microcomputer Kit 1 £43.55 (ine 40p p&p. | Clteearane 2388 inepan) CORAM WOdevice « £8.42 (ine p&p. for fast, easy assembly ce kit includes everything You ned | | foals chpeacsenioyton ao imeracecomosees PCR ech The i cn basse by avon wih ameivmlseteetonadsteetous eae | ———— Heredig inate stayed can eee ned i COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 EaBuilding a better computer wasn’t easy — but we did it. TRANSAM WAS A FULL RANGE OF MICROS [AND SUPPORT, PLUS SOFTWARE TRANSAM ‘BRINGS YOU MEMORY BANK” IAFULL MEMORY SERVICE TRANSAM ‘TRANSAM COMPONENTS LTD. Tacuarel sta LONDON wit, 1 The exciting new Triton computer from TRAINDA Complete kit available immediately for only £286 «v.- The first British-designed home computer kit with basic IN ROM and graphics. The single-board design makes the computer easy to construct, and when complete, avery compact and powerful tool for home, educational and industrial use. All components can be hought separately and a fully comprehensive Triton manual is available for £5 or send 30p +SAE for our latest catalogue and price list. COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978This unit allows you to program your microprocessor from a prerecorded cassette or to record your own program for later use. Design by Trevor Marshall. CUTS Cassette Interface REPEATEDLY TYPING IN pro- grams is not what hobby computing is about. Although most systems start life without any form of off- Jine mass storage, as more memory is added so more programs are written and the need for some form. of storage becomes more pres ig, The ideal device for this job is probably the floppy disk, but this is (a) expensive and (b) usually dedi- cated to one processor or bus struc ture, Many hobbyists are running several small systems, and a device which is less convenient but more suited to their needs (and pockets) is the humble cassette recorder. This interface is designed to con- vert the digital signals from your computer to audio tones and back again, using a standard system cal- led CUTS (Computer Users’ Tape System), which is also referred to as the Kansas City or Byte format This records data at 300 baud, with 4 logic ‘I’ recorded as eight cycles of 2400Hz and a ‘0’ as four cycles of 1200Hz. A byte of data is recorded as a start bit of logic ‘0’, followed by eight bits of data and two stop bits of logic ‘I’, and this is taken care of by the UART in your computer. Although the standard is 300 baud, the monitor programs in some kits allow only 110 baud operation, and this interface will work at 110 baud. It can also be run faster (up to 1200 baud) to allow faster program loading, ‘We have not described a case, as most constructors will wish to mount the board either on the back panel of their computer or in the VDU. Also switching between VDU and éassette will depend upon the user's computer — the ideal situa- tion is to have two UARTs for both VDU and cassette, but many sys- tems (or rather their monitors) do not permit this, Construction This is simply assembling the PC board. Take care when handling the ICs as most are CMOS. As the unit will probably be built into a system we have not given any mechanical assembly details. The record/play switch can be mounted remotely if desired. Alignment The only adjustments on the unit are the record frequency and the COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 monostable period. Switeh the unit torecord and monitor the frequency at any of the baud rate outputs and adjust RV2 to give the correct frequency. Now inject a 1200 Hz tone into the audio input (take of from the baud rate outputs when in the record mode) and adjust RV1 to. give a 300us wide pulse at pin 3 of ICA. If an oscilliscope is not avail- able, setting RVI to mid position should be close enough. Recording For best results recording should be done at a relatively low level. We found that about — 7VU gave the best results, Unfortunately the use with a recorder with an automatic level control did not prove satisfactory. This is because the level control logic is designed for music where the peak level is about 10dB or more higher than the average. This can- not cope with a continuous tone without it being recorded at too high a level, ‘One method which has been suggested to us is to record a high level high frquency tone (about 18kHz) as well as the signal. Theory 9D 15‘This unit records digital information on tape in serial form using two tones, 2400 Hz for a." and 1200 Hz for the "0". The Standard transmission Fate fs 300 baud lt it will work equally well at 600 baud, The designer has operated his unit at 1200 baud ‘with success but with only one cycle of 1200 Hz per bit itis more prone to dropout, ete Decoder We will start the explanation of how it ‘works by assuming you have a prerecorded tape. The output of the tape recorder {Galternate tones of 1200 and. 2400 Hz) is squared up" by IC which is connected as ‘a schmitt trigger with R3 and RA providing, the necessary positive feedback, The gates (C2/1, 12/2 and 1C2/3 are used to generate a positive pulse about 31s, ‘wide on both the leading and trailing edges Of the output of ICI. This gives a series of Buses at ether 2400 Hs o 800 He G7 or ius period). ‘The pulse chain triggers the monostable ICA which te 3000 wide Ifa cecond trigger pulse occurs before the 300js period (as it Twill the input is 4800 Hz) the second pulse is simply jgnoted. The input pulse chain is ated with the monostable output in (C3/3, theresultant output being pulses at 2400 Hz whether the input frequency is 2400 or 4800 i “These pulses are used for the reference for the pase locked loop (PLL) ICT. This Te Contains a phase detector and a voltage Controlled Oscillator. ‘The output of the Oscillator is divided by 2" in 1C&. After dividing by 2* (16) 16572, 1C5/3 and 1C5/4 arejuiel fo generate ys wide pulaes on both Teading and trailing edges and this utput Je the second input tothe phase detector in 1C7. The output of the phase etector (pin 13) is used to. control the Osellator Gnput is pin 9) and the two pulse chains are equalised. in frequency” and phase. Using this technique the tape speed an be varied by up to +20% and the PLL. ‘will rack it The outputs of IC8 can be used {control the UART in the computer. Ifthe UARTs own clock is used the allowable tape speed variation is 5%. ‘ecode the pulse chain into “I” and “9 and o ensure correet phasing, 1C2/4, IC3/4, 1C9/1 and ICO are used. The rmonosiable (CAs triggered at 2400 Hz, and es output clocks the B input of 16/3 into the output, 1C6/1 i used as an R'S Mp flop being "set if a pulse from 1C2/3 occurs during the “mono” period (if the input is high frequency) itis reset every 41} by 1¢5/2: However, the information is clocked into 1C6/2 before the reset pulse oceurs, If ‘the input isonly a 1200 He-tone the set puise oes not occur and.a "0" is st to 16672""An examination of the timing dia ‘gram in fig, 1 will help clarify the sequence. Encoder ‘The encoder ie alittle more complex than needed for 300 baud, butt allows operation a 600 or 1200 baud if needed, The output of which is a non-symmetrical 2400 Hz, triggers a Sis monostable IC10/4 which then toggles IC11/2 giving a 1200 Hz square wave output. However, if the "data input" sa", ICI lis toggled to givea"l” at pin nich enables IC0/2. This then triggers the monostable IC10/4 midway between the pulses due to IC9. This then toggles ICLI/2 at twice the rate to give 2400 Hz output. The clocking of the data input into ICH/is about 100,6 out of phase with the test ofthe timing to give time for the UART. eliminating any errors due to propagation delays, The phase locked loop IC is used only as an oscllator in the transmit mode and the VCO input is switched to a preset voltage aiving the correct frequency. [ ee at Stel Le Fig. 3. The encoder waveforms, when transmitting @'0,1,0,1." is that this tone will adjust the automatic level control while being, too high to be reproduced. However it can beat with the bias oscillator causing more problems than it COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 solves, ‘We therefore recommend that the unit be used only with a recorder with a manual recording control, » v7a oS : ral siitees : 4800Hz ———@ * 16 : a6 am 240042 ———e 1200Hz ——: 6002 ——-e 20042 ——-e 15042 ——e 75H: —— output, piciraL oureur Fig. 4. The component overlay. When using @ SV supply leave ‘out 1C12 andl adel a link betwaon the two outside holes. C15 can aaa Parts List Gremougar, fl Yaw 5) hae cam PoTeNTiomeTeRS te2 fon Re 108 Rv 100k sim c3 001 fa « ave 28k nm ica ee ha Boe ics Age 10k ce 4013 Ry 120« capacttons ic? 4046 Re 47k cia £00n polyester ca 4520 ROR11 108 [Link] ico 4001 Rid 33k WAT” 470p ceramic ig. 4att mig ATR ca {nS polyester Cee ae $80R &e 308 Bev elocwotyie ic Rig. gak s “| bios Nota Blah ose © 2h polystyrene ntG “7k 12.13 On polyester MISCELLANEOUS a as 407 88V electrolytic PB a8 pattern ah 10 €16.17 au 10Vamalum SW! SPDT toggle 18 COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978TRITON John Coll, PCW consultant and well known to the computer hobbyist gives his impressions of the TRITON I've had an early production model of the Triton for some time and I've been most impressed with it and with ET's approach to the project, On the hardware side it’s clear that the designer Mike Hughes is a professional. The PCB is cleanly designed and good provision has been made for expansion at a future date. The addition of extra memory and of peripherals like printers and floppy disks will be a straight forward process. Whilst ‘economy has been very much borne in mind. There has been no skimping, everything you need is pro- vided to make a simple useful computer using’a normal TV set as a display. The fact that where tracks have to go near IC pins, the tracks have been put on the upper side of the board — away from the con- structors soldering iron — is typical of the attention to detail which is evident throughout the design. On the software front the 2K basic interpreter is Li Chen Wang’s Palo Alto tiny BASIC which has been around for some time and is therefore pretty much bug free, ie it works. ‘The monitor on the other hand is very much a version one — it works but could be improved con- siderably. However, this does not worry me in the slightest because ali the software is in EPROM and therefore can be easily and cheaply altered. It is difficult to explain just how important that is — it means that users wiil be able to return the monitors to ‘Transam and get them reprogrammed with the latest software fora very reasonable sum. It also means that if you want to use the computer for something else ‘you can remove the BASIC and use the whole 4K of, EPROM for your special application. This makes the machine potentially important in the process control el ‘The documentation is good, however it seems only fair to say that the TOTAL novice would probably find it difficult to diagnose and repair any obscure fault. However, Transam’s ‘Get it going’ service should deal with that in a satisfactory way. The ‘availability of full source listings for both the monitor and BASIC will be useful in specialists applications as well as for the enthusiastic beginner. It is clear that ETI are determined to ‘Get this one right’ and to support it in the future with further software and hardware. I have no hesitation in recommending this kit to you. COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 LIVERPOOL’S COMPUTER SHOP Quality C15 cassettes for your PET, Apple, TRS80, NASCOM 1, etc. 10 cassettes for £4.75 including P. & P., V.A.T., labels and library cases, Science of Cambridge MK14. Socket Set. 5 X 14 pin, 7 X 16 pin, £3.84 including P. & P. and V.A.T. Power Supply. £4.86 in- cluding P. & P. and V.A.T MICRODIGITAL LTD. Barclaycard and Access accepted. 26 BRUNSWICK STREET LIVERPOOL L2 OBJ RUN Tel: 051-236 0707 ST. NEWBEAR COMPUTING Announcing the SYM-1 tormalty vit) WLISIGONDIW ) from Synertek + Fully assembled and tested 1Kbyte storage, expandable 3 KIMI compatible, ‘on board 1 3K % High speed cassette interface % 4K byte ROM Monitor (2400 bow) + Fully expendable. ‘and’ much much more £199.00 plus 8% VAT £1.00 postage and packing For tunher details Visit Newbear Computing Store, 2G: ‘Cheadle, Cheshire, 061-491 2290, Or visor write to: Gonputhyy Store, 7 Bone Lane, Newbury, Derke 0698 49229, Send for Catalogues of Hardware Components, Literature and SoftwareRoom ETI/11 313 Kingston Road, Ilford Essex IG1 1PJ, England 01-553 1001 NTERPRISES From the representatives in Europe ... for Ame hobbyist, educationist and professional alike, we bring you a little light browsin, Reading maketh a full man... Francis Bacon (1561-1626) a’s leading Micro-computer magazines and books, for the ‘lek or indeate quantity ordered. From Adam Osborne Associates INTRODUCTION TO MICROCOMPUTERS Volume The Beginners Book ‘Volume 2 Some Ren! Broducts (Revised Late 1977) “Fick or indicate quantity ordered het of Grenuve Computing Volume Beat of Creative Computing Volume 2 BASIC Computer Games (Aevised 101 BASIC Games) The Colossal Computer Cartoon Book Computer Rage (A new Board Game) From Everyone Fle Magan rage boxes (hold 12 nim) “py Riza ee Sybex: Microproceisrs Interfacing Techniques by Zac Dignum: Home Computers Volume 2 Sofware TV'Typewriter Cookbook by Don Lancaster HL Cookbook CMOS Coonbook 1e'Tmer Cookbook IC OPAMP Cookbook RTL Cookbook Campater Programs that Work (in BASIC) (rom Seiemtitic Research fnsruments) ott Busnes ant aon Hating Programe Val8: Advanced Business Progra Vol’: General Purpose Progra ‘Vals Experiments Programs Genera | yotaGentra Ledger Program Magazine ack sues Tnvetace Age Dr: Dobbs Journal Peoples Computers ore ‘Caleulators & Computers Kslobaud m MAGAZINES: Subserptons Personal Computing (twelve sues Yearly) Incerface-Age Twelve Issues Yenry) D-Dobbs Journal en lsues Year) Ceiepater Mani ural (Pear ease Veary) Peoples Computers (Si ssuea Yearly) Kidbaud ¢Kwelve sues Year) [BYTE (Tweve Iosues Yearly) via USA. BYTE (Twelve sues Years) vis UK Creative Computing (eles Years) Creative Computing (Twelve ostes Yeurly) Cleulaors& Compoters (Seven Issues Yearly) SBcrwelve lowes Year) Pas Ui 66.85 e550 095 e125 a5 eno es 6195, 30 425 E730 nso cr 195 18 B30 75 f5 3 35, 00 ag fe as Pier Overseas Woitterent 1700 aaa 280 Programming for Logic Design 5.95, inbA oes Asem bly Language Boge 35 ‘Some Common BASIC Programs 595, BUSINESS PROGRAMS IN BASIC Payroll wih cont Accounting £999 ‘General Ledger (Avallabte rom late sumiver 78) 195 From Secbl Computer Consulting Ine, {00 Software Gourmes Gude & Cookbook en95 ‘is Software Gourmet Guide & Cookboak eas two Programmers Pocket Guide 5 £8080 Guide and Both Code Cards 6.00 Understanding Microcomputers & Small Computer Systems £1.93 SCHL BYTE: Primer a5 tao Standard Assembler (in Block Format) cl3s5 ‘igo Standard Eaitor (fn Hook Format) a5 ‘tab Standard Monitor (In Book Format) 5 [Rference Books of Personal & Home Computin e493 Dr: Dobbs Journal Volume! i000 ‘rom Kilobaud/73 Magazine Ine, Hobby Computers Are ere e95 New Hobby Computers, 95 From Dymax tne Instant BASIC by Jerald Brown e495, "Your Hame Compater by dames White es My Computer ike Me, When | Speake BASIC’ By Bob Albrecht e165 ‘Games With A Pocket Calculator by “Thiagarajan & Shlovteh ers umes rk and Pals Fora Mand 2 “From BYTE Publications Inc, Paperbyee: ny Assemble for 680 Systems ears Bar Code Loader for 680, HMO, Z8D & 502 Micros e113 Bast of Byte Volume | ass HOw To ORDER Pease note ou paces mee postage | Indicate Payment Method fd packing, ut not imaurance. ‘ideo Mako cheques, PO's et pay end to address above for the atin, of David, Dept ETH ‘My cheaue, .0, LM. is enclosed in Sterling on U.K. Bank a: (Charge to Rarclayeard/Visa/Acces/Diners/American Express GREDIT CARDS occopted Credit Card No, Expiry date DINERS CLUB/AMERICAN EXPRESS | Name Phone 01-553 100% for Crit Cond | Adress ‘tds (24 hour soe) Due to fluctuation of the dolar, prices are subject to chnge Si ‘All publications ave published in U.S.A. and shipped ar fei by L HYTE subscriptions are procemed IN USA and a postcope Enterprises la unusual cases, pressing may exceed 30 days rtreighted posted om Artsterdam and wil take 3 mantne Tosa U.K: Suberptions start within three weeks TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME, 20 ame COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978East Coast Report Proclaimed as the largest show ever, Personal Computing °78 was held in the Philadelphia Civic Centre, from the 24th to 27th of August. Computing Today roving reporter Jim Perry was there with is box brownie. With more than 300 stands and over 100 exhibitors, the PC "78 show certainly was large by any standards! ‘Tocelebrate its third birthday the show had moved to the Philadelphia Civic Centre from its birthplace in Atlantic City. The move of venue was brought about by the tremendous growth in attendance — Atlantic City was just too small for this year’s show! ‘The promoters of the event claim that just over 20 per cent of the American Personal Computer Market is within 2 hours drive of Phildelphia, this is probably because New York is just 2 hours away. ‘Amongst the many exhibitors there were sur- prisingly few new products — well, new to the American market at least — most of the products would be new in the UK if available here. With companies such as Heathkit, Radio Shack (Tandy) and Southwest Technical Products in attendance, it was Commodore that was conspicious — by its absence. Software for the TRS 80 was available from many suppl ‘This stand is demonstrating a chess recorder program. COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 ee To complement the exhibition the organisers had arranged more than 80 hours of seminars, on every- thing from business systems to computer games. A good point was that all the daytime events were included in the exhibition admission fee. Other activ- ities included a show of computer generated art, a computer music evening and traditional Saturday night banquet (read booze up). > Not quite what you expect at # Personal Compurer Show, but a {ot of people were looking for complete systems for small businesses The. ‘small boards plugged sor and drum machin‘theme on the SOL stand. The interfacs ‘and music is one of the exciting grow entre 80 SWTP eauipment 1op everybody Part of tho British contingent, Chris Carey and Jim Wood from Comp Computer Components were scouting for new products to ‘unleash on the UK market replaced with various other languages vir tly ae COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978The TRITON software has some interesting facilities — we take a look at the whole package. TRITON Software —BASIC The TRITON BASIC Interpreter was designed to run on small 8080/Z80 micro processor systems. It contains many of the common BASIC commands and most small BASIC programmes will be easily con- verted to run on the Triton. Variables Allvariables and numbers are stored as 16 bit integers and therefore must lie in the range —32767 to 32767 ‘There are 26 variables each denoted by a single letter A to Z. There is 1 array denoted by @, tl automatically dimensioned to memory space left unused by your BASIC Pro gramme. The number of bytes of memory space in this array can be obtained at RUN time using the SIZE function, Functions There are three functions available. ‘ABS(X) which gives the absolute value of the variable X. RND(Y) which gives a random number between Land Y inclusive SIZE which gives the number of bytes left unused by your programme. Hence the maximum index for the array @ ( )is SIZE/2. Arithmetic Operators + Add — Subract * Multipy 1 Divide +, -, * and / operations must result in a value in the range —32767 to 32767 and as they are also integer, any division is rounded down. E.G. 5/2 gives 2, 2/3 will give 0. Compare Operators > greater than less than = equal to not equal to eater than or equal to sss than or equal to ‘The compare operators are usually used with the IF command but can also be used in expressions. The result of any comparison is 1 if true and 0 if not true (false) Expressions Expressions are formed from number, variables and functions. EG. IOLETA=10 — Aisset to 10 20 LET Bis set to contents of A ie 10 Arithmetic operators are used in expressions and are evaluated from left to right, except that * and / are always evaluated first Spaces between numbers, variables and functions are ignored. Spaces inbedded in command words are not allowed Parentheses evaluation. can be used to change the order of COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 Parentheses can be nested, the maximum depth being limited by the size of the stack. Conditional operators are usually found with the IF command. 101F A=1B=B +1 In this statement when A is equal to 1 the expression B= B+ 1is executed and one is added to the contents of Conditional expressions can be combined to form multiple conditions and can also be used in arithmetic expressions, Statements A BASIC statement consists of a statement number between 1 and 32767 followed by one or more com- mands. If a statement contains more than one com- mand, each command is separated by semi colon ;. ‘The statement is ended by a carriage return, 1OLETA=10 20LET. 30LETC=A+B This can be written 1OLET A=10; LET B=A; LET C=A+B It should be noted that the latter method will be harder to change or correct. The commands GOTO, STOP and RETURN must be the last command in any statement, Commands The following commands are available in the TRI- TON BASIC L4.1 UT LET js used to set a variable to the result of an expression. 10LET The variable A is set to 10 20LETB *2 The variable B is set to the result of the expression (A-1)"2 ie. 18 30 LET @(3) =B/3 ‘The fourth element of the array @isset to 6 (The first element is, @0)) The expression need not be an arithmetic expression. 10LETC=A%B IfA equals B, C will be set to zero IFA is not equal to B, C will be set to one command can be used to set several vari- 3 each part being separated by a comma , We can therefore rewrite an earlier example. 1OLET A=10, B=A,C=A+B Rem The REM (Remark) Command allows the program- mer to comment his programme. The interpreter will ignore the rest of the line. 100 REM THIS IS THE START OF THE SU ROUTINE Y=A*A+B » 23Print The PRINT command is used to print numbers, variables, expressions, and text 10 PRINT A will print the contents of va able A 10 PRINT A*2 prints twice the contents of variable A. 10 PRINT “THIS IS A TITLE’ prints THIS IS A TITL Several variables, etc. can be printed at once. Each item to be printed is separated by a comma. 10 PRINT A,B,C will print the contents of A followed by Band C on the same line. Text can be used to qualify printout. 10 PRINT ‘THE RESULT iS’, A Text can be contained by either single or double quotes, this allows the other type of quote to be printed. 10 PRINT‘ABC"CBA’ ‘ABC"CBAI23'321 Numerical values are printed with leading spaces (Right Justified) in a field of width 8 characters. The field width can be altered using a 4 sign followed by the new width (i.e. ¢ 3 gives a width of 3). The field width will then remain effective until another ¢ or the end of the current PRINT statement. 3°32" will print 10 PRINT A, 23, B, #1, C will print A in a width of 8 cha. racters. B in a width of 3 and C in a width of 1 £1 will result in C being printed Left Justified and any following printout will be shifted to the right if C is greater than 9 ‘The field width can also be an expression PRINT #1, A will print A in a field width equal to the contents of variable I ‘The maximum field width is 63. Note that negative numbers require an extra cha- racter in the field width for the minus sign. Extra spaces can be generated by repeated commas PRINT ¢ 3,A,,,B will print a 3 character A, 2 spaces and a3 character B Several PRINT statements can be made to print on the same line by ending the statement with a comma. Graphic characters can be printed using the PRINT Statement. The description of the graphics font li those Graphics which can be contained in quotes and will result in graphies being printed. ‘The PRINT statement can also be used to issue cursor control characters IOPRINT +H will issue a control H which will backspace the cursor 1OPRINT #1 will issue a control I which will forward space the cursor 10PRINT {J moves cursor down IOPRINT}K moves cursor up 10 PRINT #L will clear the whole screen and reset the cursor. Note that this command must be followed by a delay before the next command (FOR I= 1 TO 250; NEXT D) 1OPRINT }M_ will reset the cursor to the start of the line, Input The input command is used to read an expression ANNOUNCING THE {JA E/GIEIES JOIN THE MICRO REVOLUTION! £550 for a Z80 based microcomputer, built and tested + Includes CPU, ROM, RAM, TV and Audio cassette interface, UHF modulator, ASCII keyboard, power supplies and cabinet. * Connect to domestic TV or video monitor 10 ‘complete the system. * 48x 16 character video matrix * Hard copy on teletype + Also available in kit form £470, or 5 kitpacks at £95 ‘each ‘THE MICRONICS COMPANY 1,STATION ROAD TWICKENHAM MIDDLESEX * Designed for educational establisn computing and small business users snl, personal * Load and dump programmes on unmodified cassette recorder * 57 key contactless ASCII keyboard * British designed and built * Credit terms available PART OF THE MICRO REVOLUTION Prices exclusive of VAT and carriage 24 COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978from thé Keyboard. Normally the keyboard input is Just an integer value between —32767 and 32767. 10 INPUT A When this statement is executed, the BASIC will first print A followed by a space and then wait for keyboard input. The input is terminated by car- jage return. The input is then stored in variable A will print A,space,then wait for input, it will then print B, space, and wait for input again. Instead of just allowing the machine to prompt you with the variable, it is much better to ask a specific question. This is done by enclosing the text of the question in quotes, 10 INPUT ‘HOW MANY EGGS HAVE YOU LEFT? 1 The machine will print HOW MANY EGGS HAVE YOU LEFT? and then wait of a number to be typed in, If during RUN time, the typed input is not a valid expression, the prompt will be repeated and then the machine will wait again. tis also possible to reprint only part of the prompt. IOINPUT ‘WHAT IS", ‘A +B?°C, ‘A-R?"D The first time the printout will be WHAT IS A +B? and after an invalid input it will just print A +B? The BASIC interpreter uses its expression evalua- tion routine to decode the input and therefore the programmer or user can enter an expression using, variables already set up 1OLET A=3, B=2 20 INPUT C 30 PRINT. Instead of entering a value for C, the user can enter 10 INPUT AB BASIC an expression such as A+B, the expression will then be evaluated by the interpreter and the result 5 stored in the variable C. The machine will then print 5. Itis also possible to enter single characters as a ply by making use of the expression input. IOLET Y=0,N=1 20 INPUT ‘DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE? Y OR NA 301F A=1STOP ifthe user replies Y, A will be set to the contents of Y ice, zero, Ifthe user replies N-A will be set to 1 and the programme will STOP. it ‘The IF command is used to compare expressions, using the compare operators. If the result of this comparison is true (non zero) the rest of the state= ment is executed. If the result of the comparison is false (zero), the rest of the statement is skipped and execution resumes on the next statement. 10 IF A=O PRINT ‘A IS ZERO" ‘The machine will print A IS ZERO only when A is Note that unlike other BASIC interpreters and compilers, the word THEN is not used. Either side of the compare can be an expression. 10 IF A=B"2 PRINT A IS TWICE B’ 20 IF A*3=B+2 PRINT “A =B"2/3" ‘A compare operator need not be used in the IF statement but this practice should be avoided where Possible as it can make the programme very hard to follow, 10 If A~ 1 PRINT “A IS NOT ONE? Amore interesting way to learn COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 Please send me. @£.10 75 each inclusive. lenclose remittance, Name | setess— z whatis a microprocessor? Hf you are considering buying @ Micro: ‘computer. Dovelopment System, or ust want to earn more about ths exciting technology, then is short introduction to Microprocessors i for you. Comprising of 9 72-page book ke ‘ver two hours of eassette tapes the Aspects of Microprocessors are explaine including Binary and. Hexadecimal countina Tnteraal structure. Operation. Programming Techniques. Devising a program., etc, Learn at your own pace with this valuabie addition 10 Your retorence library, we ee Torecica Book Sor ORDER FORM. ‘Maidenhead, Berks SL6 2EG Ccopy/copies of What is a microprocessor? |the PRINT command is only skipped when the result of the expression in the IF command is zero. Several commands can follow the IF command 10IF A=0 PRINT ‘AIS ZERO’; GOTO 50 When A is zero, the machine will print A IS ZERO and then jump statement 50. GoTo You will probably be fairly familiar with the GOTO ‘command already as it has appeared in several of the examples for the other commands, ‘The GOTO command is used to break the sequen- tial processing of the BASIC interpreter and cause the interpreter to jump either forward or backwards to the specitied statement number. 50 GOTO 10 When the interpreter executes this statement it will jump back up the program to statement 10 and ‘continue its processing from statement 10. ‘Again, the statement number following the GOTO can be an expression, 20 GOTO A*2 Will jump to the statement number calculated from the expression A*2. If the expression gives a non existent statement number the BASIC will give an error report. Using a simple expression for a GOTO is useful where different routines may be required asa result of an input. ‘Another method of using a computed GOTO is to use the array variable and index it. 10 LET @()=100, @@2 @G) = 25 20 INPUT I 30 GOTO @) If the input for I is 1 the interpreter will jump to statement 100. for will jump to 200 to 100 again to 25 advisable when using the computed GOTO to check the variable for valid values, ie in the above example it would be advisable to insert, 251F 1 <1 GOTO 20 271F 1 >4 GOTO 20 This will only allow an input of 1 to 4, any other input will result in a repeat request for input. Gosub and return ‘The GOSUB command although similar to the GOTO command, is used to exit from a statement and jump to a routine starting at the specified statement number. Execution continues from the specified statement number until a RETURN command where upon the BASIC returns to the command following the original GOSUB. 10 PRINT ‘LETS EXECUTE ROUTINE 100° 20 GOSUB 100; PRINT ‘WE HAVE NOW RETURNED’ 30 STOP 100 PRINT “THIS IS ROUTINE 100° 120 PRINT ‘I WILL RETURN WHEN I HAVE FINISHED’ 130 RETURN This will result in the following printout LETS EXECUTE ROUTINE 100 THIS IS ROUTINE 100 IWILL RETURN WHEN I HAVE FINISHED WE HAVE NOW RETURNED. ‘The GOSUB 100 command causes the BASIC to jump to statement 100 but also to remember where it is in statement 20. It now executes from statement 100 until it reaches the RETURN command. It then. 26 200, @(3)= 100, returns to statement 20 and continues processing it. For and next commands ‘The FOR command is a very powerful command. It is used to make the BASIC interpreter loop ‘FOR’ a specified number of times, the end of the loop being defined by the NEXT command. 10 FOR [=2 TO 10 STEP 2 20 PRINT 1 30 NEXT I Tis set to 2 when the FOR statement is first encountered. It will then remain at 2 until the NEXT command is encountered. On reaching the NEXT command 2s added to I and the BASIC returns to the command following the FOR command. This is repeated until I becomes greater than 10 where upon, execution continues with the command following the NEXT command. Hence, the machine will print 2 4 8 10 ‘On exit from the loop I remains at its next value ie 12 Ifstatement 10 had been 10 FOR [=2TO 11 STEP 2 I will be left at its first value greater than 11 ie 12. Negative indexing is allowed as long as the first value is greater than or equal to the second and the step is negative. 10 FORT=10 TO 1 STEP —1 50 NEXT I Iwill start at 10 and step down to 1 in increments of a If STEP is omitted, a step of 1 10 FOR I=1 TO 100 will start at 1 and step up to 100 in increments of 1 Once more, expressions can be used in all three positions instead of numbers. The expressions are evaluated when the FOR command is executed and any following changes to the variables used will not effect the loop. 1OLETI=10 20 FOR I=I TO 1+5 50 NEXT 1 The initial value of I is evaluated as 10, the final value is 15. Within the loop, I will index from 10 to 15 in steps of 1 FOR and NEXT commands can be ‘nested’ within each other, the limit being that of the size of the stack. 10 FOR 1=1 TO 10 20 FOR J=1 TOS 30 PRINT I*J 40 NEXT J 50 NEXT I ‘This will result in the machine printing I*J when ssumed. andJ=12345then forl=2andJ=1t05 ete. ete. until 1=10 When a NEXT command is executed, the BASIC interpreter checks, that the variable specified is the same as that used by the most recent FOR. If they are not the same, the FOR is terminated and the previous FOR examined. This continues until a match is found. 10 FOR I=1 TO 10 20 FOR I= 170.10 30 IF J=5 GOTO 50 40 NEXZ J 50 NEXT I Each time J gets to 5, the BASIC jumps to statement COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 197850. This cancels the J FOR loop leaving J at 5 and Continues with the I for loop. If within a FOR loop, another FOR loop using the same variable is encountered, the first FOR loop is, terminated. Stop The stop commands stops the execution of the pro- gramme when it is executed. Any number of STOP commands can be included within a programme. 10 GOSUB 100 20 GOSUB 200 30 GOSUB 300 40 STOP vou The VDU command allows the programmer direct access to the VDU control chip and its memory hence allowing a wide range of graphics applications. The VDU command has two parameters, the first being the VDU memory address, the second being the desired graphic symbol specified as a decimal number. 10 VDU 5, 126 This will result,in the graphic —> being placed in the fifth byte of the VDU memory. ‘The VDU memory is arranged as 16 rows each containing 64 bytes therefore addresses 1 to 64 are on the first row, 65 to 128 on the second ete. Due to the function of the VDU control chip, care should be taken when using the first row and the first column as certain graphics characters will produce strange effects. To allow the programmer to use all the VDU control commands, address zero has been allocated. 10 VDU 0, 12 This does not use memory location zero, instead the value 12 is output to the VDU controller. 12 is the command to clear the screen and reset the cursor. Note that commands 12 and 28 require an extra delay while the command is executed. A FOR loop should be used (FOR I=1 TO 150; NEXT I before the next PRINT, VDU or INPUT command. Other useful VDU commands are as follows: 8 Backspace cursor one character 9 Forward space cursor one character 10 Line Feed (Move cursor down on line) 11 Move cursor up one line 12 Reset cursor to top and clear screen 13 Carriage Return — Reset cursor to start of line clearing rest of line 27 Line Feed 28 Reset cursor to top without screen clear 29 Reset cursor to start of line without rest of line When using the memory mapping option, care must be taken to make sure that the memory address is between 1 and 1024 inclusive. If you exceed 1024 it iy possible Wo overwrite the stack and your pro- gramme. It is possible to make your BASIC programme ‘modify itself using VDU but this is fairly difficult and COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 — BASIC not really worth the trouble it can cause. Before using memory mapping it is advisable to use either command 12 or 28 to reset the cursor. If the screen has been scrolling, row 1 will not be at the top of the scan unless this is done. The graphic symbol specified in the second parameter is a decimal number between 0 and 255 inclusive. Ifa larger number is specified, only the least significant byte is used. ‘The graphics and character code are given elsew- here in ETI but some of the more useful are listed below. 0t031 see Graphic Font 32 Space 33— 47 1" #SBE'O*+ 48— 57 0to9 58— 64 pace 65 — 90 Atoz 91— 95 en) 96 — 127 see Graphics Font 128 — 225 Isa repeat of 0 to 127 (The high order bit is ignored) ‘To print a variable between 0 and 9 using VDU just add 48. VDU 0,1 + 48 o, This will print the value of iit ies between Oand roduce moving graphics, it is necessary to use FOR Roope to index: the memory mapping. Direct commands The following are direct commands to the BASIC Interpreter. They are obeyed as soon as they are entered. RUN will start the execution of the programme at the lowest statement number. LIST will print out all statement in ascending numerical order. LIST 100 will print out all the statements starting at, statement 100. {qh ST 50:10 wil print 10 ines starting at statement NEW wil delete all programme statements ready for a new programme. Control C will return you (at any time) to’ the Monitor. Any BASIC command can be entered as a Direct Command by leaving off the statement number. The statement is then executed immediately and not stored as part of the programme. ‘This feature is very useful when your programme stopsdue to an error report. (see Error Reports) ‘Abbreviations All the'commands can be abbreviated as follows. It is advisable only to abbreviate when you are tight, on memory as the abbreviated programme can be extremely difficult to follow. Functions, A = ABS Commands Implied LETie A=B+C,D +Fetc 27——BASIC- REM, = REMARK PRINT INPUT IF Goro GOsUB, RETURN FOR TO STEP NEXT STOP vbU Direct Commands us = LIST RUN N = NEW Error Reports It is quite probable that you can have already seen some of the error reports generated by the BASIC Interpreter. Although there are only three different. error messages (WHAT? HOW? and SORRY) the BASIC ill insert a question mark at the point where the error occurred, WHAT? This means the interpreter has come across a command or expression that it can't interpret. WHAT? 300 I? PUT A — INPUT is spelt wrongly. WHAT? 40 A = 300/(B+C? — The close paren- thesis is missing is means the interpreter can not execute the command. HOW: 60 A = 300*500? — The result is greater than 32767 10A=5,B=0 20C=A/B? HOW? — You can’t divide by zero 40 GOTO 37? HOW? — Statement 27 is missing SORRY This means that there is not enough memory. This can occur during typing in a programme or during the execution when the array is used — @(), It is worth checking the variable or expression if the array is involved to make sure that it is a sensible value. 210A = @(I"J+K) SORRY If this occurred during typing in of the programme then there is not enough memory. If this occurred during execution (RUN) then either there is not enough memory for @ or the expression I*J +K may be incor- rect To check this type PRINT 1J.K.0J+K and the values of J K and I*J + K will be printed, You can now check if the result is, correct. This shows how useful the direct com- mand option is. Ifthe result of the PRINT is. OK then another check is, HOw? PRINT SIZE This will give how much memory space (in bytes) is left, fa] NASCOM I fiivcsener” THE ONLY COMPLETE MICRO-COMPUTER, AVAILABLE TO THE HOME CONSTRUCTOR FEATURES 4 Seppe nit om sl aby $Y. ovmeray mapped gh ed eos + Momary may be espn hal 6OK pin 4K esi on boar SOFTWARE FEATURES EXPANSION nda mp Wend fr san OTHER HARDWARE Demonstrations Continuous at our Store Construction Manuals Separately complete Kits J Yar E295” WOWINSTOCK | Fost rain COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978THE FIRST TO OFFER PRIME PRODUCTS TO THE HOBBYIST rain pices Non Lona Phices =veN FURTHER 4. Proven Quality cory wed podictsony norte {tous Granted money bac We vind bein or pote [Link] Day Shipment 11 presi ors wit esis ‘chee, ney ord or chan ad wl be sped sv ya che LOGOS | 8k STATIC RAM So tas EPROM BOARD is taste ees. HEE IMS 16K STATIC RAM ‘BYTE USER 8K EPROM BOARD ‘TRS 00 UPGRADE KIT ANALYZER Kit Beiinallvinaa eS vam 13) fl per to s-100 Ga RE MAvES DATA commun. Coit BaHSHS ABAPTEN = tore carniooue | eth ssc roarace | SCIAL KEYBOARD BUY Wwice THEY cast (OMe) GPKy Me TUR rea Ty (714) 558-8813 eae ature eid rid COMPUTING ToDAY — NOVEMBER 1978 29microfile Gary Evans has found himself a new home this month and reports on a way to save money and the latest in train controlers amongst other things. OVER THE PAST FEW months the advertising pages of ETI have seen the inclusion of a number of American firms offering a wide range of components aimed in the main at the DIY computer hobbyist. The prices of many of the goods available, when converted into pounds, make very attractive reading. The snag — ahd there must be one — is just how do we go about getting the things over from the States. ‘The procedure is not as harrowing as one might suspect. The first thing to do is to identify exactly what it is you want to buy and the exact cost in dollars of the goods plus packing. Go along to your bank with the advert and tell them exactly what you want to buy and the cost in dollars. They will prepare a dollar draft, a document which. in conjunction with a sister bank in the States, will be as good as cash to the firm supplying the components. Note that your bank account will be debited at this stage. Now its just a matter of sending off the draft plus your order — the things should arrive in the post within the next few days. If the firm in the States “does a bunk’ with your hard-earned greenbacks, however, getting anything back will prove very difficult if not impossible. We would let you know of any companies that we know are not honouring their orders but it would be best to place a small order to try out a firm's credibility before partina with a large amount of money. Ps I might mention that an advert in last month's ETI, not even I've seen this month's ad pages, from an ‘American firm, is advertising a TR5-80 16K conversion kit with information about which jumpers to change fora 00d bit under £100. When you compare this to the £200 plus Tandy want in addition to the fact that with the DIY way you keep your original 4K, you can see that shopping in the States can be very profitable. Glub Together I've had a few, not a lot, but a few replies to my ‘Club Call’ a couple of months ago. In the Midlands, a group of the ACC has been having successful bi-monthly meetings for about a year — contact John Diamond at 27 Loweswater Road, Binely, Coventry. Also in the midlands is the West Midlands Computer Club which has just held its first meeting in Brierly Hill. Contact Tony Bridgewood on 021-557 6709. Now a plea for those interested in starting a branch of, the ACC in Bristol, those interested contact Rex Godby at 16 Williamson Road, Ashley Down, Bristol. Finally the Cambridge University Processor Group (they've got very nice notepaper) which despite the name is open to everyone and holds regular meetings during term time (that's about four months out of twelve from what | hear). Tim Hopkins is the man to contact at Magdaline College, Cambridge. Inall the above cases please enclose an SAE with any letter ‘News of another firm generating games — initially for 30 = you quessed it PET — the firm plan to expand into 280 machine code programs — NASCOM, MICROS, RM 3802 with possibly games for KIM-1 Mini micro are at 47 Queens Road, London, N11 20P. Their catalogue is available — again send an SAE. Shocking Story It was my pleasure to build up one of the Triton prototypes, Enough has been said about the machine elsewhere in this issue, I'll just add my congratulations to the designer Mike Hughes for producing a really excellent project Before leaving the subject you might be interested to hear of an experiment | performed with the machine. It was designed to test the Triton under axtreme condi tions, namely applying high voltage AC the selected components via a high resistance. Needless to say | was the high resistance and the fact that I'm telling the tale show I'm OK, the Triton hardly twitched which could not be said for me. House Trained Details are scarce, but the model train exhibition at the end of August saw the preview of an MPU controlled, train system: Designed by Hornby, who have designated it the Zero-1. the controller will enable up to 16 trains to be controlied on a layout, each being called up by a key pad. The trains will have programmable levels of inertia, This is not a ‘section’ system, control being, presum- ably, by a pulse code system. The conversion of the train is simple, a small circuit block being inserted in the ‘motor’s power lines. Due for launch late next year the Zero-1 should make. Christmas ‘79 something to remember, as at a price of about £30/ £40 it must be a must, to coin a phrase. placed by an MPU COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978Ty 2112 (256 x 4 Static RAM) £1.11 21L02 (450ns) £1.07 (1K x1 Static RAM) 21L02 (250ns) £1.60 2114 (1Kx4 Statis RAM) £7.70 4027(300ns, equiv 2104) £2.02 (4K x 1, 16 pin, Dynamic RAM) 5208 (equiv. 2107) £3.21 (4K x 1, 22 pin, Dynamic RAM) 4116 £18.00 (16K x 1, Dynamic RAM) 2708 £7.87 (1k x 8 UVEPROM) '8080A (CPU) £7.45 811895 (Buffer Tris) 75p 811896 (Buffer TriS) 75p All VAT inclusive 35p for p&p orders under £5 Please write for discounts ‘over 100 paces ALL FULL SPEC AND UNUSED PET CORNER Lotus now carry an exciting range of products for your CBM PET. 24K Memory Expansion Mounts inside PET %* Runs from PET’s own power supply, % Takes 10 minutes to fit + Includes memory test program % 6 month warranty MICRO- COMPUTER COMPUTING AD INDEX BARGAINS Advanced Computer Products We have a stock of untested micro: Compute Cbs which re surplus | | | Airameo aurreaieman Eat baarcon| | | Amara fains 0 Intel (Gloes}” 4380 {Sundara Memory] | [Comp Computer Components Interface. sain crystal 7or0| | | Elctranic Brokers crossover detector cet, power-on feset ect, sks for6.x 1702 prom] | [Henrys .. taining vonsformersroclior,rogute-| | | Lotus Sound tor heatsink and reservoir eapactor | | | LP. Enterprises Those PCBs ao stdin ata on | | | Mcraigital tiniest tne barge pee of | |. Micronies £19.00 0a | | nasco Also available , | | |New sear 702A memory sed but eased | | | Soange of Combrige 17034 memory oxoarammed tol | | srathand our requirement ; 7 [zo yenpurperei/po/v device | | |Tangoring ...... £5.00] | | Technical Book Service... p25 Choque Postal Order 0 eee oie VERDURE LTD. tas acai "Seat Viewir oS pa Mail Orde} Supplies Only £399 inc. VAT & P&P music 80x ‘Turns your PET into a programmable musical instrument. You can record Jand play up to 90 pages, 16 notes per page. change tempo, key ete. £37.50 inc. VAT & P&P T.1.8. WORKBOOKS A set of 5 workbooks to give you a fu lunderstanding of all the ins and out fof your PET more fully than any pre- vious manuale, £15.95 per set inc. P&P Dustcover £17.95 inc. VAT & P&P. Lots of software and other goodies. Send large SAE LOTUS SOUND 4 MORGAN STREET LONDON E3 5AB COMPUTING TODAY — NOVEMBER 1978 3132 INTERESTED IN HOME COMPUTING? Start now and don’t get left behind THE NASCOM 1 is hore Ex-stock with full technical services Plus the opportunity to jin the fastest mo computer users enabling you to get the most our of your Computer, You can OBTAIN and EXCHANGE programs and ‘ther software - many now avaiable The Powertul 280 Microprocessor Professional Keyboard 1 Kbyte Monitor in EPROM 2 Kbyte RAM (expandable) ‘Audio Cassette intertoce Plugs into your domestic TY Nascom Microcomputers Easy construction fom na driling oF special tools Sst neat soldering requires Only £197.50 + 8% VAT (includes p & p + insurance) Macuals seperately 3.50 Monitor quality improved 1280 oroarammina Menual 6.90 TV Modulator 280 Technical Maral 3:40 Super Modulator (YOMHz) 5:50, PIO Technical Manual 3.40 Power supply suitable for {All prices add 8% VAT) NAScoM 19.90 Available from COMP now. *4K ond 16K RAM expansion board for NASCOM 1 with sockets on board for MINIBASIC EPROMS, ‘Trade, government and educational enquiries invited, Can be supplied ready built tested and auaranteed KEY BOARD Brand new professional ASCII keyboards (USA) Include Only £49.90 +88 VAT, Ready built, tested and guarantee ‘Shugart floppy drives direct from USA ETI 8080 11 9000 COMPONENTS IN stOCK ONE cans tana PRICE LIST OF PARTS AND KIT. BOARD COMPUTER Introducing the personal computer you've waited for. THE EXIDY SORCERER. SORCERER ‘AS SEEN ON OUR STAND COMPUTER svSTEM ‘AT PCW SHOW VIDEO GAMES & Components LUHF Vision modulator Standard channel 36. UHF Vision modulator 10 MHZ bandwith high quality VHF Vision modulator channel 3 ind modulator compatible with above AY-38500 6 Games 4.90. PCB 1.90 AY.3.85506Games 3.90 PCB 1.90 AY.3.8610 10Gomes 5:90 PCB 1:90 ‘AY38760 Motorbike 6.90 PCB 1:90 AY38710 Tank battle 6.90 PCB 1:90 ‘AY.3.8603 Flood Race 5.90 PCB 1:90 2.90 5.90 310 290 * ETI Tank Battle trom £19.90. JOYSTICKS — £1.90 each due! 200K tin COMPUTER COMPONENTS A selection of our Computer components (GPU AND SUPPORT DEVICES MEMORIES ane feesneL dao 3s | OTHER. 888 | USEFUL DEVICES (Geunty downwards) rane wth your All prices include VAT excent where shown. Orders over £5 post and packing free otherwise add 20n. Please make cheques and postal orders payable to COMP, or phone your order quoting, BARCLAYCARD or ACCESS number. For technical information and advice ring JIM WOOD, BSc(Eng), ACGI, MIEEE — Consultant to COMP. a COMPUTER COMPONENTS NEW BARNET OF STATION _MOORGATA \I=9 eS TEL: 01-441 2922 01-449 6596 HERTFORDSHIRI wurday OvEMBER 1978