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Table of contents: |
| COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE Issue #56 | Home | Index | Magazine | ||||||
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| Articles in section: ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE |
| "ABOUT
CFDM" ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE |
| Back to top |
"ABOUT CFDM" COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE is dedicated to those who still enjoy running under RS DOS. It will deal with that format exclusively. A primary goal is to keep the COCO community strong. By providing a unique means of communication, maybe old fires will be rekindled as you and I share our knowledge and experiences! The success of this effort depends on each one who becomes a subscriber. Everyone must contribute his/ her two cents in the form of articles, programs, opinions, experiences, etc. If this happens we will all look forward to the next issue. (Check out the manual with your starter kit for details on how to submit material.) Now let's have some fun!!! =* |
ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE is the creation and property of Rick Cooper. It is distributed solely by RICK'S COMPUTER ENTERPRISE. The material which makes up each issue remains the property of the author(s) or contributor(s) unless an agreement has been made otherwise. COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE is dedicated exclusively to those who enjoy the COCO3 operating under RS DOS. It is hoped that this publication will encourage the continued usage of our favorite computer. Neither CFDM nor RICK'S COMPUTER ENTERPRISE will be responsible for the submission or publication of any material that does not belong to the submitter. WE DO NOT ADVOCATE OR SUPPORT PIRACY! =* |
| Articles in section: ABOUT THIS ISSUE |
| BONUS
DISK DIRECTORY (#18) CONTENTS...PART 1 (i56) CONTENTS...PART 2 (i56) PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i56) THIS MONTH'S COVER |
| Back to top |
Here's a description of the files on the BONUS DISK.
File names preceded by an asterisk are data files or
program files used by other programs. Do not RUN or
EXEC files preceded by an asterisk.
------------------- SIDE 1 -----------------------
NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
* BDAYCARD.CLP........PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
CM3>NIB .BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
CM3SAVER.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* COCOCARD.CLP........PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
FLXIBASE.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* FRSTFLIT.NIB........ART GALLERY
* GREETING.CLP........PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
GROW .BAS..RUN...POTPOURRI
* GROW.NIBs (files 1-8)..Used by GROW.BAS =>
____________________________________________________
* HELOHOLO.NIB........Data file for HOLOFONT.BAS
HOLOFONT.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* NIBLOADR.BIN........NIB loader utility
NIBLODR+.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
NIBSAVER.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* NIBSAVER.BIN........NIB saver uitility
* PIXMOVER.BIN........ML utility used by GROW.BAS
SNOWMAN .BAS..RUN...ART GALLERY
* SNOWMAN .NIB........ART GALLERY
* THANKS .CLP........PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
WARSHIPS.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
---------------------- SIDE 2 ---------------------
* ANNIELAU.BIN........POTPOURRI (music)
CHG DBM .BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* FAUCET .NIB........ART GALLERY =>
____________________________________________________
MAGLIST .BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
COLORCOM.DAT, HOT COCO.DAT, MICRONEW.DAT,
RAINBOW.DAT, SPECTRO.DAT are used by MAGLIST
* MESSAGE .NIB........ART GALLERY
* NIBLOADR.BIN........NIB loader utility
NIBSHOW .BAS..RUN...NIB picture viewer
QUADFRAC.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* QUADFRAC.SQS........Data file for QUADFRAC.BAS
SONGS .BAS..RUN...POTPOURRI
* SQSCODER.BIN........Utility for loading .SQS files
* T5097 .NIB........ART GALLERY
* TENNWAGN.BIN........POTPOURRI (music)
TWINFRAC.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* TWINFRAC.SQS........Data file for TWINFRAC.BAS
* WORM .NIB........ART GALLERY
* YORGNAPY.BIN........POTPOURRI (music) =*
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ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE (2) 1 "ABOUT CFDM" 2 "ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE (5) 1 BONUS DISK DIRECTORY (#18) 2 CONTENTS...PART 1 (i56) 3 CONTENTS...PART 2 (i56) 4 PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i56) 5 THIS MONTH'S COVER ACTIVE COCO (2) 1 TRY THIS... 2 The Projector-3 ADVERTISEMENTS (2) => ____________________________________________________ 1 CFDM SUBSCRIPTION 2 MAKE AN OFFER (ON COCO STUFF) ARTICLES OF THE MONTH (4) 1 Assembly Language Programming 2 COCO CHRONICLES 7 (PART 1) 3 COCO CHRONICLES 7 (PART 2) 4 COLOR PRINTER PROBLEM COCO FRIENDS ART GALLERY (11) 1 BIG BIRD OF BELIZE 2 COCO GALLERY OVERFLOW 3 FRSTFLIT: an aviation pioneer 4 More Rotten Humor 5 More TNY conversions 6 Pre-electronic answering machine => ____________________________________________________ 7 SNOWMAN.BAS and NIB 8 The Hick Brothers 9 VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY 10 WHAT DID I HAVE? 11 Web Sites FAMILY TREE (1) 1 Updates FORUM (6) 1 CFDM Yellow Tonka Truck 2 Felix the Cat 3 NAVY All Hands Magazine Comic 4 Runway Delays Comic 5 USA in the 1980's 6 YES WE STILL NEED YOUR INPUT! =* |
FROM THE EDITOR (3)
1 FROM RICK (i56)
2 KUDOS FOR #56
3 THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (7)
1 DATABASE in M/L wanted
2 EVERYTHING COMES TO A STOP!
3 EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS...
4 GRATEFUL...
5 JUST A FEW MINUTES FROM GODFREY!
6 LETTER FROM AN OLD FRIEND
7 Message of thanks!
POTPOURRI (7)
1 A Curious Screen =>
____________________________________________________
2 GOOD NEWS AND MORE GOOD NEWS
3 LET COCO CALCULATE IT !!
4 MEMORY
5 MIRACLE-GRO
6 MISSION
7 Music .BIN and .SNG files
PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH (9)
1 COCO CARD SHOP
2 DATA BASE FIELD CHANGER
3 FLXIBASE - multiple target base
4 HOLOFONT: large, hollow letters
5 MAGAZINE LISTINGS
6 Masked 12
7 Masked 12 (Continued)
8 TWINFRAC and QUADFRAC =>
____________________________________________________
9 WARSHIPS: armchair gunnery
REVIEWS (1)
1 Translating Graphics to CoCo
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (6)
1 A Strange Request
2 DMP-105 RIBBON SOURCE NEEDED
3 FROM TANDY RETAIL SERVICES
4 How to put in the PRINT AT char.
5 LOOKING FOR A RAINBOW DISK
6 TWO QUESTIONS
=*
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Here's a description of the files on the PROGRAM/
SIDE. File names preceded by an asterisk are data
files and are not to be RUN or EXECed!
NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
* BFR .BIN........Data file for MASKED12.BAS
* BIGBIRD .NIB........ART GALLERY
CALCULAT.BAS..RUN...POTPOURRI
* DELAYS .NIB........FORUM (art)
* DIDIHAVE.NIB........ART GALLERY
* FELIX .NIB........FORUM (art)
* HICK 55 .NIB........ART GALLERY
MASKED12.BAS..RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* MISSION .CM3........POTPOURRI
* NIBLOADR.BIN........NIB loader utility
NIBSHOW .BAS..RUN...NIB picture viewer =>
____________________________________________________
* PART5 .ASM........ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
* PART5 .LST........ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
* PART5 .TXT........Data file for READFILE.BAS
PLANE .BAS..RUN...POTPOURRI
READFILE.BAS..RUN...ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
* ROCKET .NIB........FORUM (art)
* TONKA .NIB........FORUM (art)
* USA1980S.NIB........FORUM (art)
VU .BIN..LOADM:EXEC..Picture viewer (.CM3)
* WEBSITES.NIB........ART GALLERY
=*
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The West This is another view taken from Monument
Valley and Park. There is not much to say
except that it is so serene and beautiful out
in this section of the United States. I hope
you enjoy this issue's picture.
...... Jim Gibbons
=*
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| Articles in section: ACTIVE COCO |
| TRY
THIS... The Projector-3 |
| Back to top |
TRY THIS... Here's a toll free number I'd like for each of you
who lives in the USA to try. (I'm sorry to report
that you probably can't reach it from outside the
USA.)
Who knows, maybe a project will come out of this!
The number is 1-800-687-0600
AT THE PROMPT DIAL IN THIS NUMBER
699570
=*
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The Projector-3 Roger Taylor has just about completed work on a
brand new program...
The Projector 3, or P-3, for short
The Projector 3 can only run on a 6309 based CoCo
system. Remember, a 6309 is the Hitachi PowerBoost
Chip advertised in RAINBOW during its closing days.
The 6309 is a direct replacement for the regular
6809, but features extra registers and faster
operation. The P-3 can only run on a 6309 with
512k. There are NO plans to rewrite it for a
standard 6809 chip, nor for the emulator.
->
____________________________________________________
The Projector 3 is finished! Check out the AD
section for ordering information from Roger Taylor.
The P-3 can display ALL the known CoCo file formats,
INCLUDING CM3, MAX, BIN, VEF, RAT, TNY, and SQS, and
can also decode GIF, MAC, Amiga, VGA, SVGA, etc.
Clever dithering and flashing techniques simulate
HUNDREDS of colors (many MORE than Projector-2)
The P-3 can resave picture files in standard formats
including CM3, MGE, RAT, and VEF.
Modules will be available for printing
All picture format routines are in modules so ->
____________________________________________________
additional features or new formats can be added in
the future.
Roger Taylor is committed to writing quality soft-
ware for the CoCo 3.
Check out his web page at:
http://www.infogo.com/-rtaylor
(of course, the "-" in the address is a "tilde", or
wavy-hyphen)
|
| Articles in section: ADVERTISEMENTS |
| CFDM
SUBSCRIPTION MAKE AN OFFER (ON COCO STUFF) |
| Back to top |
CFDM SUBSCRIPTION Is your subscription running out? Here's how to check: On your mailing label next to your name is a number. The number after the last dash (-) is the last issue on your present subscription. Please don't let your subscription expire. CFDM is offered only by yearly subscription. Each subscription consists of 4 regular disks issued at 3 month intervals and starts with the September issue for that year. With each issue you will also receive a Bonus disk and a copy of HARDCOPY. The cost for the subscription is $30. Back issues are available for $3 each. Please include $2 s/h on back issue orders. COCOs FOREVER!! =* |
MAKE AN OFFER (ON COCO STUFF) HARDWARE: TRS-80 32k computer, Orchestra 90 Stereo
Music Synthesizer, TRS-80 DC Modem IB, 5 Joysticks,
CoCo 2 computer, TRS-80 Cassette Recorder with
cables, TRS-80 Multi-Pak Interface (upgraded),
Speech Sound Pak
DISKS: CoCo3 Cribbage, Scrabble, One-On-One, Flight
Sim I, Pitfall II, Rescue on Fractalus, Rogue,
Bedlam, Pyramid, Basic Compiler, Max-10 Title Maker
Max-10 Word Processor, CoCo Gallery Vol. 1,
Telewriter 64, Multi-Pak Crak, Spectrum Adventure,
Rainbow on Disk (6/88, 1/93, 4/91), Multivue for
CoCo3, OS-9 Hi-Res Screen Dump Utilities, Rainbow
Book of Simulations, Rainbow Book of Simulations
(book 2), Rainbow Book of Simulations (book 3),
Rainbow Book of Simulations (book 4), Complete =>
____________________________________________________
Rainbow Guide to OS-9
ROMPAKS: Dungeons of Daggorath, Bustout, Doubleback,
Gin Champion, Polaris, Chess, Monster Maze, Soko-
Ban, Mega-Bug, Shanghai, Arkanoid, Malcom Mortar,
Audio Spectrum Analyzer, Videotex, The Master Key
II, Edtasm, and Edtasm+
BOOKS: CoCo3 Operating System, Level 2, Basic OS9
Tour Guide, Getting Started with Color Basic (CoCo
2), OS-9, How to Use Radio Shack Printers, EDTASM+,
MSDOS VOL 1, Computer Dictionary & Handbook,
Rainbow Guide to OS-9 (Level II), Computer Literacy
Your Color Computer 2, Getting Started with Color
Basic, Getting Started with Extended Color Basic,
Going Ahead with Extended Color Basic, =>
____________________________________________________
TRS-80 User's Encyclopedia, Four volume set of OS9.
TAPES: Rainbow on Tape (7/84, 2/84, 5/86, 11/83,
1/84).
Please Contact Dorothy Topping
3400 S.W. Dunklin Ave.
Okeechobee, FL 34974
Tel: 561-597-2973
=*
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| Articles in section: ARTICLES OF THE MONTH |
| Assembly
Language Programming 5 COCO CHRONICLES 7 (PART 1) COCO CHRONICLES 7 (PART 2) COLOR PRINTER PROBLEM |
| Back to top |
Assembly Language Programming 5 View text file associated with this article This is the fifth installment of this series. To
read this installment, use READFILE.BAS to read the
file PART5.TXT.
For more information about the series, see the first
installment in CFDM#54.
I can be reached by email at
ASTLW(at)AUGUSTANA.AB.CA or via CFDM.
(See side 2 of this disk for these files.)
=*
|
COCO CHRONICLES 7 (PART 1) As 1981 drew to a close, reviews and comparisons were being made between the new Radio Shack disk system and the Exatron system. The consensus of opinion seems to be that Exatron's single density format is its biggest drawback. With third-party support growing dramatically, and even Radio Shack waking up, the CoCo's future seemed secure but, into each life, a little rain must fall. THE COLOR COMPUTER IS DEAD! Now, when most of us hear rumors, we usually consider the source. The more reliable the source, the more accurate the "information" is likely to => ____________________________________________________ be. Although it had been rumored for a while that Tandy was dropping the Color Computer, the rumor takes on special significance when, in January, it appears in Wayne Green's 79 MICRO editorial. Say it ain't so Wayne! Since the beginning critics had always pointed to the CoCo keyboard and snickered. A Dennis Kitsz article put a stop to all that by replacing the "chiclets" keyboard with a Model I keyboard. What will he do next? Bob Rosen started his company, CONNECTION-80 (named after his BBS) in January and his first advertised CoCo product was: COLORCOM/E. Although Eigen ran his own separate ads, Bob's BBS probably accounted => ____________________________________________________ for a majority of initial sales. With every BBS sign-on being accompanied by a little "commercial", word spread very quickly, as the popularity of both Colorcom/E and the BBS grew and grew. Truly, a marriage made in computer heaven. 1982 marks the start of CCN being published monthly. It also witnesses the debut of DSL's ML RABBIT, SUGAR SOFTWARE'S SILLY SYNTAX, MARTIN CONSULTING's SMART TERM, MOSES ENGINEERING's LIGHT PEN, TOM MIX's MOON LANDER, and Frank Hogg's CCFORTH. In February, resumes were being accepted for sysop of a COLOR SIG which would soon be starting up on Compuserve, while in New England, the CoCo was being used at the University of Vermont. (See Part 2) =* |
COCO CHRONICLES 7 (PART 2) Other events taking place at this time include the
disk version of Telewriter undergoing final testing,
STEVE BLYN (soon to start COMPUTER ISLAND) markets
his first educational software, and violently
negative reaction to Wayne Green's editorial starts
surfacing.
Wayne sure didn't make too many friends last month.
CCN's February issue, in my opinion, was the best
issue of any Color Computer magazine ever published!
The issue was special for several reasons. If you
were looking for a method of transferring your tape
files to disk there was TPTDSK from JACK L. AKER,
Tony DiStefano's article on running machine language
programs from disk, and C.J. Roslund's article =>
____________________________________________________
on disabling the BREAK key but, what really makes
this issue worth its weight in gold appears on page
23... by Frank Hogg.
After Radio Shack's 32K upgrade became available,
rumor had it that the "32K" chips used are, in fact,
half-bad (good?) 64K chips. Frank Hogg's article
details the steps required to enable your Radio
Shack 32K CoCo (not "piggyback" 32K) to go into the
"all RAM" mode, thereby giving the CoCo an effective
64K of RAM.
Frank speculates (correctly) that, although very
early 32K Radio Shack upgrades may have contained
the first half-bad 64K chips, most 32K upgraded
CoCos contain prime 64K chips. Radio Shack's 32K =>
____________________________________________________
upgrade also includes the E-board and 1.1 Basic ROM.
Although Frank Hogg didn't perform (or even make
available) the first 64K upgrade, his article did
bring to the CoCo community the information required
to "double" the computer's effective memory and, in
so doing, created a base for his FLEX operating
system.
Thanks Frank!
---------
More CoCo Chronicles next month!
=*
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COLOR PRINTER PROBLEM I recently encountered a problem with my Star
Micronics NX-1020 Rainbow printer. Everything moved
and sounded all right, but nothing was going onto
the paper. It turned out that there is a small,
threaded plastic pin which positions the 4-color
ribbon vertically to print in the desired color.
This pin was broken. It appeared to be hollow on the
inside, and not very substanatial.
I made several unsuccessful attempts to find some-
one locally to repair it. My neighbor, Richard Potts
had a good suggestion. He found a small nail which
fit into the hole, cut it to the right length, and
used "Crazy Glue" to cement the nail and the two
pieces together. After letting the glue cure over-
night, I reassembled the ribbon cartridge mechanism,
-- and it worked fine. =>
____________________________________________________
Before fixing the pin, we took a look at Dick's
printer, which is a Star Micronics NX-1000 Rainbow.
It has a similar construction, but not quite the
same. It appeared that his printer pin was broken
in exactly the same manner in the same place. Since
he had not recently used the colored ribbon, he was
not aware of the break. He repaired his plastic pin
in the same way, and it also worked.
I, therefore, wanted to alert any Friend who has a
Star Micronics color printer (I know there are a few
out there) to be aware of this potential problem and
how to solve it. It seems to be a design flaw common
to various models.
In all other respects, my printer has given me
excellent service for 6 years. Despite this problem,
=>
____________________________________________________
I would still recommend it highly.
If anyone has this happen to them and needs any
further details on how to disassemble the mechanism
and fix it, just drop me a line.
Having this happen gave me a scare. I have dupli-
cate equipment for my computer, controller, drives,
Blue Streak interface, etc., but if my printer goes,
I don't know if they are still available. I'd like
to ask the same question others have asked:
If I buy a new up-to-date printer (like an ink jet),
does anyone know of CoCo software to drive it? While
I hope this won't be necessary for a while, I'd like
to be prepared.
Norm Barson 7 Ridge Court East Brunswick, NJ 08816
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BIG BIRD OF BELIZE
To be specific, this bird is a Toucan, a very
unusual-looking creature. The title stems from the
fact that the Toucan is the national symbol of
Belize. In case you are having trouble keeping up
with all the new names for countries in recent
years (as I am), Belize was, until 1973, British
Honduras. It is located in Central America, bordered
on the East by the Caribbean, on the North by Mexico
and on the West by Guatemala.
I found this picture on the cover of a Smithsonian
publication. Unfortunately, I saved only the cover,
and neglected to read the accompanying article.
Load "BIGBIRD" in NIBSHOW.
=*
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We have more entries in the CoCo Gallery this month
than will fit in this section. Please check the
FORUM for descriptions of the art work by Jim Davis.
=*
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FRSTFLIT: an aviation pioneer
FRSTFLIT/NIB is, I think, a fine example of pri-
mitive art. How primitive can one get? Unusally, it
is almost completely my own work. The shamrock logo
on the state-of-the-art aircraft is from Max 3's own
GLYPHICS/SBK file.
In HELOHOLO/NIB I experimented in modifying CoCo
Max 3's patterne and using them to paint the hollow
letters produced by HOLOFONT.
----
See side 1 of the Bonus Disk for FRSTFLIT.NIB and
HELOHOLO.NIB.
=*
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More Rotten Humor
How can you tell a lawyer in a crowd? See T5097.NIB
to find out.
(See side 2 of the Bonus Disk.)
=*
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More TNY conversions
I found some more Atari TNY pix to convert for the
CFDM Friends. WORM.NIB and FAUCET.NIB are very
colorful and drawn very well.
----
See side 2 of the Bonus Disk.
=*
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Pre-electronic answering machine
Do Friends like Harold Moenich or Dick Williams
long for things before electronics? Sure, your CoCo
3 can do wonderful things, like let you read this
message. But can you read this message if the power
flickers? How about a message system that is a bit
more reliable.
(See MESSAGE.NIB on side 2 of the Bonus Disk.)
=*
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SNOWMAN.BAS and NIB
Just a little holiday animated picture file. Yes,
it is a NIB file, and can be viewed with NIBSHOW,
but in order to see the animation, you'll need to
run "SNOWMAN.BAS". This will load an display the
NIB picture.
The image was created with Windows Paintbrush, then
converted from a 16-color bitmap (BMP) into a NIB
file.
-Stuart Wyss-Gallifent
----
Stuart's "late Christmas gift" can be found on side
1 of the Bonus Disk.
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The Hick Brothers
Springtime is the worst time for our favorite
backwoods CoCo users. Allergies, y'know. Don't
ferget yer hanky.
----
See The Hick Brothers on the back of this disk.
=*
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VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY Please use NIBSHOW to view the .NIB pictures on this
month's disk. As you recall, NIBSHOW was featured
in issue #18 and a more complete documentation can
be found there. NIBSHOW is the contribution of our
Friend Stuart Wyss-Gallifent. Thanks Stuart!
After RUNning NIBSHOW, press D for a directory of
the NIB pictures on the disk. Use the arrow keys to
choose a picture and press the spacebar to view it.
Press BREAK to leave the picture. Press X at the
MAIN MENU to exit NIBSHOW.
=*
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WHAT DID I HAVE?
Here is another of the "Question Pictures". I had
drawn this before my CoCo went out. I am still
without a CoCo, and I can't use this IBM compatible
for drawing.
I have sent a check for one that I found, gotten my
cancelled check back, so maybe a good used one is on
the way to me. Certainly hope so.
I call this picture "DIDIHAVE". The answer is on
page 2 of this entry. You may want to view the pix
first before looking at the answer...so don't go to
page 2 unless you mean to.
"DIDIHAVE" is located on the back of this disk.
=>
____________________________________________________
The answer to this "Question Picture" is
"A Splinter"
=*
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Web Sites
Here is a Web site screen of addresses and site for
surplus equipment. (CoCo stuff?)
----
See back of this disk.
=*
|
| Articles in section: FAMILY TREE |
| Updates |
| Back to top |
Updates After rescuing the King of Bahrain from sudden death and foiling a kidnapping of the Emperor's son, and saving a beautiful person from drowning, and single- handedly capturing the head of a narcotics ring, life has returned to normal for me. Actually, none of that really happened. What has happened? Just today, I talked with a Fortune 500 president, an astronaut, a dancer, a playwrite, a judge, a thief, a trash-man, a computer-programmer, a gas station attendent, a vetenarian, a chip designer, a cafe owner, and perhaps the first person on Mars. That DID happen. I am still teaching, and who know what my students will become. It would be neat to watch them become famous. Some won't, but of all the lives I'll affect in my years of -> ____________________________________________________ teaching, many WILL go onto big things! This is my third year of teaching at the same school. I am getting to the point where I feel that I really know what I need to get done this year! I have 26 students, 16 boys, 10 girls. We have a really good time in school together. I sometimes feel that I learn as much as they do during the day. Pressures about test scores abound, as does bureaucracy and red tape. I am head of the school technology committee, and rumor has it that the Superintendent of the district has said that "schools should not lead the way in technology, it's too expensive." So, I guess we'll see what we can get done this year with technology. The plan to wire all the schools for the -> ____________________________________________________ Internet has no date set anymore. It was going to be LAST year! I am still writing the odd CoCo program. I guess the BMP READER and PCX READER were the last two truly original programs that I have written. It's hard finding time now to write stuff. If only there was still a real market for CoCo software. I'm lucky if people send me extra stamps when they ask for my programs! GRIN! The CFDM Web Site is still up, and I plan to keep it up as long as CFDM stays around, or as long as I keep my account there, whichever comes first! TTFN - Ta Ta For Now - Stuart |
| Articles in section: FORUM |
| CFDM
Yellow Tonka Truck Felix the Cat NAVY All Hands Magazine Comic Runway Delays Comic USA in the 1980's YES WE STILL NEED YOUR INPUT! |
| Back to top |
CFDM Yellow Tonka Truck
This simple yet colorful picture shows a Big
Yellow Tonka type Dump Truck at a construction site.
It also has a text expression under it with words
that probably go through Rick's mind quite often I'm
sure!
TONKA.NIB was created in CoCo Max and converted to a
.NIB file. It was actually an Animated .CM3 file
and can be coverted further with NIB>NIB+ to reflect
the animation. (the lights on the saw horses will
blink on and off).
(See side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
Felix the Cat
This picture is a simple rendition of Felix the
Cat. I hand drew this one by using a small stuffed
animal of Felix as a basic shape model.
FELIX.NIB was drawn using CoCo Max and converted to
a .NIB file.
(This picture is located on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
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NAVY All Hands Magazine Comic
This picture idea was given to me by my father.
Back when he was stationed in Korea during the
Korean War, he remembered seeing this comic strip in
a NAVY All Hands Magazine around 1953. Since we
didn't have the actual picture, he had to give me a
basic sketch of it on paper. So it will be a little
bit different then the original one, but you'll get
the meaning! In the scene you can imagine the fear
going through the little rocket technicians heart as
he tightens the nose cone of the rocket. He begins
to hear the countdown till liftoff and sees in
horror the onlookers below!
ROCKET.NIB was drawn in CoCo Max and converted to a
.NIB file. (See side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
Runway Delays Comic
This picture is a fun comic style drawing of one
of the many possible ways of delaying an aircraft.
In this scene a Police Officer found a unique way of
slowing down air planes coming in for landings!
DELAYS.NIB was drawn using CoCo Max and converted to
a .NIB file.
(This picture is located on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
USA in the 1980's
The idea for this picture came from a series of
collector tins I have. Each tin has small pictures
and text on it representing the various events that
happened during the 1980's. I was limited to drawing
just a few of the pictures due to the amount of
screen space available and also the fact that so
much happened during the 1980's. I varied all of the
pictures from the originals and made them all a
little bit different.
The picture USA1980S.NIB was drawn in CoCo Max and
converted to NIB. The picture is best viewed with
the white border option selected in NIBSHOW.
(This picture is located on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
YES WE STILL NEED YOUR INPUT! For 53 consecutive months we were able to publish
monthly issues of CFDM. There were times when we
had more material than could be placed. At times
we ran just on the money. Now we still seem to be
getting enough material to make good issues...but
let's don't get complacent. WE STILL NEED AND
DESIRE YOUR WONDERFUL PROGRAMS, ART, LETTERS, FAMILY
TREES, ETC.
Please continue to support the effort with your
material!!
Rick
=*
|
| Articles in section: FROM THE EDITOR |
| FROM
RICK (i56) KUDOS FOR #56 THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE |
| Back to top |
FROM RICK (i56) Hello Friends!
Well it seems I've been here before...and I have...
as a matter of fact I've been here 55 times before!
I'm talking about "I've written this entry 55 times
before in the 55 previous issues of CFDM!" You know
that's quite a few!
Anyway it's always a pleasure (and relief) to get an
issue completed. There have been some great past
issues and I'm hopeful that you (and I) have a few
more really good ones left in us. Let's resolve that
issue #57 will be the best one (at least one of the
best ones) yet!! I know it's necessary to get the
old creative juices flowing to come up with a really
unique article, program, or artwork. Let's try! =>
____________________________________________________
Well it seems that spring is just around the corner.
If nothing unusual happens in the next couple of
months, we will have recorded the mildest Kentucky
winter that I can ever remember. We probably have
had less than 5 inches of snow all winter...and the
temperatures haven't really been that cold. One way
we measure the harshness of winter here in Casey
Country (that's Liberty), is by the number of days
of school missed. We usually miss 15 to 25. So far
we have missed only 5! The best part of that news
is that we will hopefully get out of school well
before June 1st and that means we'll have a nice
long summer vacation! I could really go for one of
those!!
=>
____________________________________________________
Finally, let me mention that there is only one more
issue on this year's CFDM subscription. I hope that
everyone is planning on supporting CFDM for another
year!? Please let me know...
Your Friend,
Rick
=*
|
KUDOS FOR #56 The following Friends are responsible for this great
issue of CFDM! Thanks to you for your dedication to
providing our group with some quality material!!!
WILLIAM ASTLE, BOB BARKER, NORM BARSON, JIM BENNETT,
RAY BERNEY, CLARENCE BOWERS, ROBERT BRUHL, H ALLEN
CURTIS, JIM DAVIS, STAN FENNER, JIM GIBBONS, DON
HELLE, KEIRAN KENNY, BARRY MILLER, HAROLD MOENICH,
YOLANDA OROZCO, STUART ROBERTS, ALFREDO SANTOS,
JOHN B SAYEWICH, HARRY STERN, DOROTHY TOPPING, BEN
WALKER, ARTHUR WEISBERG, and STUART WYSS-GALLIFENT
=*
|
THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE This month's scripture, I believe, relates to us
why our prayers are sometimes not heard. The last
verse tells how to remedy that.
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it
cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot
hear: But your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face
from you, that he will not hear. - Isaiah 59:1,2
If my people, which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked way; then will I hear from
heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their
land. - II Chronicles 7:14
=*
|
DATABASE in M/L wanted On this disk I have submitted FLXIBASE that is
perhaps unique in that the user can nominate mul-
tiple search targets. Thus I can ask it to find all
fiction books set in the United States. It will do
that and ignore fiction set elsewhere. Or I could
ask it to find adventure books set in India and it
will ignore adventures set elsewhere. The listing is
easy to set up and maintain and could be used for a
variety of purposes other than book catalogues.
The main, and most quickly evident disadvantage
is that the search routine tends to slow down as the
number of basic data lines grows. The CoCo needs a
fast, Rick Cooper style, machine language utility
that will accept user input such that the user can
decide the purpose of the utility and the category
headings and input data under the headings. =>
____________________________________________________
I have never ceased to admire and wonder at the
speed with which NMD finds data targets and flips
them onto the screen.
----
Rick: Thanks for the kudos Keiran! I have written a
few databases (the RAINBOW INDEXES, MASTER DIRECTORY
3, THE COCO REGISTRY, etc). These have been specific
databases in that I knew exactly what structure the
data would take and also had a very good idea of how
I could locate the data in memory to best take
advantage of machine language routines. I have often
considered writing a generic database...but as of
yet I just haven't gotten around to it.
=*
|
EVERYTHING COMES TO A STOP! Rick,
I see by my last CFDM program disk that my registra-
tion for good service is coming to a close again and
I can't find the enclosing deal that came with it.
Must have thrown it away. You have been doing a real
good job for all of us, but I'm rather lost as
things here with me have been a real mix-up. I have
often wondered how you can keep up with all your
work let alone find enough new info to put in the
new issues.
I don't know exactly where I stand with both CFDM &
PCFDM, but I am enclosing a check for an extension
of copies of both. I look forward to receiving these
disks. I am pretty busy most of the time but when =>
____________________________________________________
I receive a new disk everything seems to stop.
(That is what ever can...stop.)
I still use 40-track disks and I still use the
program called "NUTRAX.BIN" to extend your 35 track
disks to 40 tracks and then make backup disks
immediately before I get to pressing RUN "C". It
has worked out very well for me up to now. No losses
so far.
I am still rather lost with my new multi-media
Packard Bell 2000+ computer even though I have at
least read the programs on the PCFDM disk that I
received from you. Maybe you could tell me what is
happening. Also I am still trying to get the CoCo3
emulator working for me. I am going to write =>
____________________________________________________
Jeff and have him send his updated issue of it. It
has been set up for ADOS and that is what I have
used for years.
Arthur Weisbery
230 E. Bain Drive
Tidewater, OR 97390
Tel: 503 528-3942
----
RICK: Thanks for your letter Arthur. I have updated
your CFDM subscription for another year. I am sorry
to report that PCFDM will not be continue beyond the
current subscription year. It is very difficult to
produce and we have limited subscribers!
=*
|
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS... ...I have a lot of extra CoCo stuff that I am
planning to divest myself of. I have hardware, soft-
ware and tech manuals as well as OS9 and logo...
I have much miscellaneous stuff also. If you know
anyone that may be interested in CoCo stuff, you may
give them my telephone number. I plan to keep two
complete CoCo 3 512k systems as well as a new IBM PC
compatible system.
Keep up the good work with CFDM. I really look
forward to receiving it each month, oops, quarter.
- John B. Sayewich
Tel: 1-520-567-6477
----
RICK: Thanks John...hope you get some calls!! =>
____________________________________________________
Enclosed is $30 for another year of CFDM. The number
on the last disk was 7-49-Q1. I think that means I'm
good to September but do not want to risk running
out.
Thanks
Barry Miller
-------
Nice talking with you the other nite... looking
forward to getting your database (CoCo Registry)...
Say "HI" to Mrs. Rick (you could have helped her do
the dishes) and any little Ricks!!
Alfredo Santos
(author of the CoCo Chronicles)
=>
____________________________________________________
-------
I have had a subscription of CFDM since you started
and want to continue it as long as possible. I have
checked the label and am not sure how to read it
since you went to the quarter system.
So, to play it safe, here is a check for $30 to
extend my subscription to where ever it should be.
I'm number 44.
Thanks for keeping us going for such a long time.
-Clarence Bowers
-----
RICK: Thanks Barry, Alfredo, and Clarence! By the
way, the Q1 on the end of your subscription number
does mean 1st quarterly. (That's issues 54-57.) =*
|
GRATEFUL.... Hi Rick!
I read with interest some of the updates. I'm sure
glad us old timers are hanging in there. We do have
much to be thankful for. Even my oxygen generator
gives comfort. I'm on blood thinners too.
So much for that. I'm really writing about my CFDM
subscription. My last address label has D-11-Q1 on
it. I'm not sure but that looks like quarter one and
that's past. Am I right? (RICK: The Q1 does stand
for "Quarter 1", but it's not over until you receive
the June 1997 issue.)
I'm tired of making flippies because I seem to have
trouble with the fuzz in the punched round hole. =>
____________________________________________________
Please find a check for 50 flippies and my new
subscription to CFDM enclosed. COCOs FOREVER.
I still keep in touch with Ron by phone in Fenton
(MI). I wish I could get down to see him more often.
I don't get out in the cold air much any more. I did
stop to see him as I was on the way to see my
mother. She is in a nursing home near Pontiac.
Mother is 96 and I hope my mind is as clear as hers
at that age. My CoCo will help I'm sure. It's helped
me since Jan. 1981 when I had a CBPx3.
I trust you and yours had a beautiful Christmas.
I'm grateful for all the sharp minds that submit =>
____________________________________________________
all the goodies in CFDM. I'm learning but slowly.
I'll be 77 on 3/12/1997.
CoCo Family Friend,
Stan Fenner
9205 E M-21
Ovid, MI 48866
-----
RICK: Thanks for your heartwarming letter Stan! I'm
sure all the contributors to CFDM are happy to hear
that you enjoy their work. And we are all very happy
that you are a member of our CoCo Family!!!
=*
|
JUST A FEW MINUTES FROM GODFREY! Hi Rick,
Just wanted to order a few more back issues and some
Sundog games. I really enjoyed issue #55 w/bonus. It
also helped me get some more CoCo equipment I needed
(i.e....Good News Bad News Article...Godfrey Moll)
Kind of ironic since Godfrey only lives a few
minutes from my house! He is a very nice person and
I've talked with him online several times since.
I've started working on a few things that can hope-
fully be called submissions!!! Just started getting
some ideas...now I need to turn them into CoCo
material! I need to sharpen up on programming syntax
....I remember a lot of stuff, but need to refresh
myself.
=>
____________________________________________________
Jim Davis
P.O. Box 1704
Nixa, MO 65714
----
RICK: Thanks for your letter Jim and let me say it's
a real pleasure to have you join our group. We do
look forward to your submissions too!!
=*
|
LETTER FROM AN OLD FRIEND I recently received two letters from one of our
former subscribers, actually one letter was for me
and one for Terry Laraway. The writer was Bob
Barker of Australia. In the first letter he gave
permission to print the second.
----
Hello Rick,
I wrote the attached letter to Terry Laraway in
response to a Xmas card he sent me. However, I have
lost his address. I would appreciate if you could
forward it to him. I would also like to take the
opportunity to thank you for the effort you have put
into the CoCo in past years. Feel free to publish
the attached letter if you wish. =>
____________________________________________________
Bob Barker
P.O. Box 223
Glenfield, NSW
Australia 2167
----------------------------------------------------
Hello Terry,
It was really great to get a Xmas card from you. It
reminded me of the support and friendship that
exists within the CoCo community. Sadly, in answer
to your question, I am not still CoCoing, I gave in
to the inevitable and purchased a PC. I would like
to thank you and your friends in the USA for the =>
____________________________________________________
help you have given me in the past. If you need
anything from Australia, please don't hesitate to
contact me. Although I am no longer cocoing I would
be most pleased to hear from any of you at any time.
=*
|
Message of thanks! Hi Rick,
Just wanted to pass on a thanks to you. I
greatly appreciate all of your time and efforts
you've put into the CFDM. I can remember when I
bought my first CoCo in 1982, the excitement then
was watching the new technology evolve and learning
all the ins and outs of Tandy's little Computer. The
Rainbow Magazine haydays and the many user and sig
groups that sprung up were very enjoyable too. Now
15 years later I too look forward to the future task
of keeping the CoCo alive! Even with the Massive PC
Powerhouses that have become todays standard...it's
still a lot of fun booting up my trusty CoCo to
remember the CoCo days past and the ones yet to come
....Jim Davis, MO.
---RICK: Thanks Jim..and welcome to the group! =*
|
| Articles in section: POTPOURRI |
| A
Curious Screen GOOD NEWS AND MORE GOOD NEWS LET COCO CALCULATE IT !! MEMORY MIRACLE-GRO MISSION Music .BIN and .SNG files |
| Back to top |
A Curious Screen Try this the next time someone else also messes
around with your CoCo 3:
10 POKE65281,0:CLS:PRINT"DISK EX
TENDED COLOR BASIC 2.1","COPR. 1
982, 1986 BY TANDY","UNDER LICEN
SE FROM MICROSOFT","AND MICROWAR
E SYSTEMS CORP.",,,"OK"
20 FORI=143TO255STEP16:POKE1216,
I:FORJ=1TO50:NEXTJ,I
30 GOTO20
I think you can figure out what it does. Do a cold
reboot to get out of this one because POKE65281,0
locks up the keyboard.
=*
|
GOOD NEWS AND MORE GOOD NEWS Just wanted to send out a thank-you to Godfrey
Moll. After reading the Letters to the Editor
section in Issue #55, GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS.....By
Godfrey Moll, I decided an update to this title was
in order. The new title for this letter is now GOOD
NEWS AND MORE GOOD NEWS!
I had read his letter and decided to give Godfrey
a call about the CoCo stuff he was selling. After
talking on the phone with him, he made arrangements
to ship the CoCo Equipment from Florida to Missouri
and made things run as quickly and smooth as can be.
Now some of you are probably wondering " so what's
the big deal Jim, you got some CoCo stuff." this was
hardly the case! The fun really began when the
boxes started to arrive. This was hardly AS-IS --->
____________________________________________________
equipment he sent. The more I dug into the boxes the
more stuff I pulled out....I almost had to go get
some help unpacking them! He packed all kinds of
goodies and extra things into the boxes. Understand
it was almost Christmas when this stuff arrived, so
that made it all the more fun!
After talking with Godfrey again, we exchanged
E-Mail Addresses and realized we both belonged to
AOL. After talking to Godfrey several more times
On-Line in the early mornings (when you could call
and not get a busy signal in December!) we found we
had other similar interests and have had fun talking
since.
The whole irony of this story ends with the --->
____________________________________________________
fact that he only lives about 5 minutes from me
when he's back here in Missouri! His CoCo has been
on quite a road trip these past few months. Looking
forward to meeting Godfrey and Muriel when they
return back to Missouri...
Jim Davis, MO.
=*
|
LET COCO CALCULATE IT !! Here's an interesting math problem that you can try
to solve before seeing CoCo's answer. RUN "CALCULAT
.BAS" to read the problem. Then before pressing the
ENTER key, try to solve it yourself. When you get
the answer (or give up), just press ENTER and let
your CoCo calculate it for you. (Please be patient
as CoCo looks at the possibilities.)
Stuart G. Roberts
P.O. Box 715
Shawnee Mission, KS 66201
=*
|
MEMORY As I grow older, I remember "The Good", "The Bad",
and "The Ugly" -- I also remember "The Sad". I will
never forget that sad Sunday, and I know the rest of
the world will not forget it either. First I had
disbelief, then anger, then sadness for the loss of
all of those lives. Little did I know that I too
would someday be in the Navy !
Thanks to everyone of the CoCoers who have served
our country, and I hope we never have another day
like that "Sad Sunday". The sad thing is, that we
can never say enough or give enough for the ones who
gave their lives for our country.
(RUN PLANE.BAS on the back side.)
HJM 01-14-97 =*
|
MIRACLE-GRO
Anyone can have fun with a COCO3, 512K and using
"PIXMOVER". After "MOTOR-MOUTH", comes Porky Pig's
fast growing plant ! Some day, after mastering the
mouse, I will make my own drawing to use with the
"PIXMOVER". I need help --- can anyone please tell
me how to draw a nice picture without using the
mouse ?
I want to say thanks to all for helping me look for
a color printer, but to no avail -- before I die, I
hope to have one !
One more before I close === "LAURA R.BOYCE" == where
are you ???
- "GROW" is located on side 1
Harold J. Moenich of the Bonus Disk.
715 Greenleaf Drive
Monroeville, PA 15146-1133 (412) 373-1309 =*
|
MISSION We've all seen those signs that people post in their offices, at their desks, etc. Here's one I saw at a secretary's desk. I thought others might find it appropriate, or at least get a laugh. Load MISSION into CoCoMax 3 and print it out. ---- MISSION.CM3 is located on the back of this disk. You may load it into CoCoMax 3 and print it out as Norm suggests or you may load and view it with VU.BIN which is also provided here. Just LOADM "VU" and it will self-execute. Press BREAK for the menu of files and highlight MISSION and press ENTER. =* |
Music .BIN and .SNG files I liked how Les Waltz put together the music section
of CFDM. Here are a pair of tunes I found in an old
Western swing sheet music folio. The date on the
sheet music said 1945.
Either I don't have access to the sheet music Les
has or the sheet music I found has very simple
songs. "ANNIE LAURIE" is an old Scottish tune by
Lady John Scott (1810-1900). "You're Gonna Pay" and
"Tennessee Wagner" are by Spade Cooley & Smokey
Rogers.
RUN "SONGS.BAS" on side 2 of the Bonus Disk to hear
these 3 songs.
=*
|
COCO CARD SHOP Here are 4 files that you can load into Max-10 to
create greeting cards. The 4 designs are: Happy
Birthday, Thank You, Greetings, and Mr. CoCo.
Simply RUN Max-10 and then select one of the four
card files. Their names are: BDAYCARD.CLP, THANKS.
CLP, GREETING.CLP, and COCOCARD.CLP.
After you load the file, scroll down to the bottom
half of the page where the writing is on the right
side. Change the text to suit your purpose. Do not
change the margin settings however. Then simply
print your card, remove the paper from your printer,
and fold it so it makes a card.
(SEE SIDE 1 OF THE BONUS DISK.)
I hope you enjoy using this enhancement to Max-10.=*
|
DATA BASE FIELD CHANGER This program will allow you to change the field
sizes and/or the number of fields in a data base
program. Lets assume that you have a name and
address data base program that has the following
fields:
NAME - 30 characters
ADDRESS 1 - 30 characters
ADDRESS 2 - 30 characters
CITY - 15 characters
STATE - 2 characters
ZIP CODE - 9 characters
Now you discover that you will have some foreign
addresses and your zip code field is too short and
you now need a country field. You can now change the
program to have the following fields:
=>
____________________________________________________
NAME - 30 characters
ADDRESS 1 - 30 characters
ADDRESS 2 - 30 characters
CITY - 15 characters
STATE - 2 characters
ZIP CODE - 10 characters
COUNTRY - 7 characters
The program will create a temporary file with a
larger zip code field field and a blank country
field. If the old zip code was a full 9 characters,
the program will put the field out as 5 characters,
a dash and then the last 4 characters; otherwise the
field will be put out exactly as it was. After the
program finishes reading and writing all of the data
items, the old file will be killed and the temporary
file will be renamed to the correct file name. =>
____________________________________________________
You will then have go back into the data items
and input the country names.
----
This program is located on side 2 of the Bonus Disk.
=*
|
FLXIBASE - multiple target base If you have program data stored in data lines as in lines 240-380 in this listing, a book catalogue, it is easy enough to enter a single search target, like FICTON, and bring up all books that answer to that target. But what if you want to bring up only fiction set in India, FLXIBASE can do that. Try it. Run and you get a menu of six categories. Skip the TITLE and AUTHOR prompts by pressing ENTER. At the CLASS prompt, enter FICTION. Skip THEME and em- ter INDIA at the setting prompt. Skip APPEAL and the first record of fiction set in India appears. Try FICTION, ROMANCE at THEME, and ENGLAND for SETTING. The six categories are in line 240. This is read in line 80. There is room for ten categories, but if there are less the line must end with XX. This is the flag that marks the end of the category data.=> ____________________________________________________ Each string you input is stored in an array B$(X) in line 90. The data items in line 250 are then read as C$(X) in line 110. The strings B$(X) are then compared with the strings C$(X). If B$(X)="" (you hit ENTER there) then B$(X) equates to whatever string is in the corresponding position in C$(X). In lines 130 and 140, all six strings B$(X) are concatenated into a single string, Y$, and the six strings C$(X) are concatenated into a single string, Z$. If Y$=Z$ then line 250 is shown on the screen. Press any key to go back to line 110 and try the next data line. If no match is found (Y$<>Z$), you return automatically to line 110, and so on until all lines have been read. You could use this listing to store data on any subject. You must ensure that you have the same number of items in each of the => ____________________________________________________ data lines 250-380 as there are categories. If you are uncertain about an appropriate name for an item, enter "" as in line 300. There are some advantages in having your program code and data combined in a single listing. If you amend or add to your data, just save the whole listing again with an appropri- ate filename. If you have more than 100 books on record, the search can slow down but I do not think it is much slower than most other basic search routines I have tried.The high-speed poke operates throughout. Line 20 sets the appropriate value according to whether you are using a CoCo 3 or an earlier CoCo. If a CoCo2, delete the WIDTH32 from line 40. The book numbers shown on the screen are the data line numbers: PEEK(49)*256+PEEK(50). See line 150.=* |
HOLOFONT: large, hollow letters I needed a large font like Max 10's hollow fonts that I could use to make lines of text on HSCREEN2 for eventual conversion to /CM3 files. To start, I designed a graphic letterset. Lines 1000-1420 con- tain graphic strings for all the capital letters and a few signs: "! $ ' - and ." The string for each character is labelled L$ with its ASCII number enclosed in parentheses. Lines 120-160 put five lines containing all char- acters on the screen. To put your own text on the screen, follow the examples in these lines. Set the horizontal coordinate (B), the vertical (C), enclose your text in a string labelled W$ and GOSUB80. You can fit ten normal letters into a line- more if your line includes narrow signs as in line 150. Line 170 includes a key prompt to run CM3SAVER.=> ____________________________________________________ I used CM3SAVER to save HELOHOLO that I loaded into CoCo Max 3. I painted the hollow letters, saved it again and then used CM3>NIB to make HELOHOLO/NIB (on this disk). To do so I needed CM3SAVER/BAS, NIB- SAVER/BAS and NIBSAVER/BIN on the same disk for con- venience. I have also saved a couple of lines as headings (b & w) by breaking at line 170 and using PIXTRANS to produce a CoCo Max 10 /CLP file. I colored the letters in by hand for a nice effect. I have used these as the title banner for KEIRAN'S KOLORAMA des- cribed in CFDM #54. ---- All the above mentioned files can be found on side 1 of the Bonus Disk. =* |
MAGAZINE LISTINGS I created this program to print out a listing of
all of the issues of a magazine that was published.
Each magazine has its own data file that starts at
line 300. Each data file is stored as an ASCII file
so that it can be merged in after the program. The
first line in each file has 3 data items. The first
item is the magazine name, the second is the total
number of magazines to be listed and the third item
is the number of magazines to be printed in each
column. All of the subsequent data entries are month
and year for the magazine.
The program prints the magazine name underlined
as the first line, then skips a line. Each line
after that prints a slashed O, space and then the
data item.
=>
____________________________________________________
As you get each magazine, fill in the slashed O
in front of each issue so that you can keep track of
which issues you have.
I have included 5 data files for your use. You
can create any others that you might need.
----
This program is located on side 2 of the Bonus Disk.
=*
|
Masked 12 Masked 12 is a game of solitaire that features a Tableau, a Foundation, and a Hand. At the beginning of the game the Tableau consists of 8 piles of cards formed as follows: 8 cards are placed face UP in a row. These are the initial cards of the 8 piles. Halfway down in piles 2 through 7 are placed 6 cards face DOWN. Then halfway down on the those 6 piles 6 more cards are placed face UP this time. Next 4 cards are placed face DOWN on piles 3 through 6. 4 more cards are placed face UP on piles 3 through 6. Then 2 cards are placed face DOWN on piles 4 and 5. Finally, 2 cards are placed face UP on piles 4 & 5. Initially, only 1 card per pile is completely visible. The starting Tableau consists of 32 cards, 12 of which are faced DOWN. The game gets its name from those 12 "masked" from view cards. => ____________________________________________________ At the outset both the Foundation and the Hand are empty. The Hand is ready to be dealt cards, one at a time, from a 20 card stock. Cards are played, one at a time, to the Foundation in ASCENDing SUIT sequence starting with an Ace. Cards are played on the Foundation from the Tableau or Hand. Cards are played on the Tableau in DESCENDing order in alternating color sequence. A card or cards can only be played on the lowermost card in a pile. Because of space limitations on the playing screen, there will be at most only 2 cards fully showing in any pile. The upper of these 2 cards will show the highest denomination of the sequence and the lower will show the lowest denomination. The other cards, if any, in the sequense will not be seen. Suppose, for example, that there is only one card fully => ____________________________________________________ showing in pile 3 - the Jack of Clubs. Suppose that a 10 of Hearts is played on the Jack from the Hand. Then there would be 2 fully showing cards in pile 3 - the Jack of Clubs & the 10 of Hearts immediately below. Now, suppose a sequence - 9 of Spades, 8 of Diamonds, and 7 of Spades - from pile 6 is played on pile 3. Then the 2 fully showing cards in pile 3 would be the Jack of Clubs and the 7 of Spades immediately below. No halfway showing card and no face DOWN card can take part in any play from one pile to another. When a pile becomes empty, a King or a sequence starting with a King may be moved to the empty pile. Not allowed, however, is moving such a King or King headed sequence if the move would make its pile empty. =* |
Masked 12 (Continued) The Tableau fills most of the Masked 12 screen.
To the right of the Tableau is the Foundation in
columnar form. To the left of the Tableau is a box
to keep track of your score. Located below that are
the stock, the Hand, and a space for keeping track
of each play.
Key commands are used to move cards to the
Tableau and the Foundation. The N command, initiated
by pressing the N key, causes the Next card in the
stock to be dealt to the Hand. If the stock is
empty, of course, no card is dealt to the Hand and a
beep is sounded. A beep occurs for every illegal
play. The H command followed by the F command
(pressing keys H and F in succession) causes the
card showing in the Hand to be played on the
Foundation if the Hand card is an Ace or is =>
____________________________________________________
one greater than the card in the Foundation pile of
the same suit. Similarly, the H command followed by
a number command, 1 through 8, will play a card from
the Hand to the pile designated by the pressed
number key provided the play is valid. A number key,
1 through 8, followed by F will play the lowermost
card in the designated pile on to the Foundation if
the play is not illegal. Finally, a key, 1 through
8, followed by another number key in the same range
will cause a card or sequence of cards to be played
from the first pile to the second pile designated
when the play is valid.
On the bottom of the playing screen is a menu to
remind you of the keys that can be used to make
plays. The menu shows an additional key, Q, used in
Quitting. Pressing Q twice in succession will =>
____________________________________________________
allow you to quit the game.
The object of the game is to play all 52 cards to
the Foundation. The game is scored as follows: Each
game begins with a score of -52 and for every card
played to the Foundation the score is increased by 5
points.
It is a real challenge to win!!!
----
MASKED12 is located on the reverse of this disk.
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TWINFRAC and QUADFRAC Remembering a program that I got quite a bit of
feedback on, I decided to try a few more graphics
tricks. The other program of course was TWINPIX,
which came out many, many issues ago. Two pictures
were "interlaced" so either could be displayed on
the screen, just by setting the correct palettes.
The two pictures were a gorilla and Homer Simpson.
I've taken it a step further. First, TWINFRAC is a
two-fractal picture, but the "interlacing" is done
differently than TWINPIX, for a cleaner image. When
you run TWINFRAC it will load a SQS file, then
alternate the two fractals that are merged together
in the picture. If your monitor supports composite,
the picture may actually look better.
->
____________________________________________________
QUADFRAC is an attempt to merge FOUR different
fractal pictures onto one screen, then show each one
separately. I actually did it! The result can be
seen with QUADFRAC.BAS. Just RUN"QUADFRAC".
The image will load, and will look really messy.
Once loaded, the magic begins as the various palette
values are swapped around, bringing different
fractals onto the screen in the blink of an eye.
Compression-wise, QUADFRAC is pretty good. A 14
granule file contains 4 images, which is about 3
and 1/2 grans per image. Not bad! The down side is
the the resolution is only 1/4 of what it should be.
A usual fractal is 320x192. Each of the QUADFRAC
images are only 160x96, but they are spread out to
fill the whole screen. If your monitor is too ->
____________________________________________________
good, or if you are using the emulator, you will be
able to see the individual dots. If you can step
back, or switch to Composite, the dots will tend to
blur together, making a nicer image.
I may try and turn the programs that I used to make
the TWIN and QUAD images into programs that are
easy to use, and send them in to CFDM. In the
meantime, you might want to think about two images
that you would want to blend together, or just look
out for more TWIN and QUAD pix.
Realistically speaking, four pictures is the maximum
that still looks okay. I could do HEX, OCT, and
maybe NON (nine), but there would be fewer and
fewer dots for each picture, and less colors. -*
|
WARSHIPS: armchair gunnery I was not a gunner during my wartime naval ser-
vice so I accept no blame for the fact that there
were more "misses" than "hits" in most engagements.
Until late in WW2, when radar-gunlaying took over,
gunners had to rely on split-image optical range-
finders perched as high in their ships as they could
get where rolling and pitching in high seas made
accurate readings extremely difficult. In fact, cal-
culating up/down or left/right from the splashes
made by misses was also a fair guide.
WARSHIPS is not a very complicated game. In fact
it was more intended as an attempt to HPUT 25 ship
silhouettes in random X and Y positions on HSCREEN2
and ensure that no silhouette overrode another.
=>
____________________________________________________
Line 60 enables drawing "behind the scene" on
HSCREEN2. The ship silhouettes are drawn, painted,
labelled B, C, D, A or T, and HGOT in lines 140-290.
The label letters are HPUT on the ships' hulls (not
printed). This enables more flexibility in placeing
the letters. After drawing is completed the five
types of ships are displayed for identification.
The loop in lines 390-420 assigns a unique value
to each combination of X and Y in the double array
T(Y,X). The value of each random X,Y pair used in
the loop in lines 430-520 is equated to 0. This pre-
vents reuse of that X/Y pair. The selected values of
X and Y are multiplied by 32 to convert them to
screen positions and ensure spacing between ships.
To begin the action you have to select a target
and enter your estimate of its horizontal and =>
____________________________________________________
vertical coordinates and enter them as prompted in
lines 530-580. There are upper amd lower limits on
what you enter. Illegal entries will be erased and
you can try again. Use the left arrow to backspace
and correct what you type, if necessary.
By default, you begin the action with 75 salvos
in your ammo locker. The game is not very difficult
after you see that the enemy ships and the spaces
between ships are enclosed in 32x32 pixel frames.
But wiping out all 25 ships with 75 salvos will not
be easy. To get the feel of the game, try a small
number like 5 to begin with.
The dedication on the introductory screen to USS
Salt Lake City and all who sailed in her was a res-
ponse to a fine silhouette graphic of his old ship
I received from US Navy vet Vic Neufeldt. =*
|
| Articles in section: REVIEWS |
| Translating
Graphics to CoCo |
| Back to top |
Translating Graphics to CoCo It all started with Rick's translation of the
Castle to CoCo 3. Then I did some translations
myself. Now Godfrey Moll has joined the club.
Translating other computers' graphics to the CoCo 3.
Either CM3, NIB, MGE or some other standard.
However, Rick revealed a small problem that I
encountered. Changing the large number of original
colors (256 or greater) to a proper 16 or less to
fit into the CoCo 3's HSCREENs. I don't know what
method Rick used for color reduction, nor do I know
how Godfrey did his. When I first faced this problem
I had to find a way to reduce the colors without
loosing all the great detail. On my PC, I found a
pair of shareware programs (Graphic Workshop 7.0d
(GWS) & Graphics Display System 6.3f (GDS) ) that
had GIF color reduction as part of their options.=>
____________________________________________________
GWS offered color reduction through 'quantization' &
dithering with different filters. GDS used dithering
and color reduction clear down to 4 colors! I would
find the right color reduction/dither mix and when I
was satisfied, I'd save it. The I used ELITE*XFER
1.2 to translate it over to the CoCo disk format.
I have since GIVEN my entire PC system to a friend
for Christmas. He needed it more than I did.
I did keep my ELITE*XFER and COCO3 EMULATOR disks
in case I ever get another PC.
Translating straight from PC to CoCo3 without
properly reducing the colors, resetting to 320x192
resolution and using the right extension can result
in a totally messed up picture.
=*
|
A Strange Request I'm in process of writing a novel and I could really
use some help. I have written several Friends that
I know still are CFDM subscribers. And most have
answered my request. However, I still need more
materials from more states. I need non-winning
scratch lottery tickets from any and all states that
have them. I already have WA, OR, MO, TX, CT, IN,
IL and VT tickets. My co-author has informed me that
her state (NV) does not have scratch tickets. Also,
NJ doesn't have scratch tickets. But I could really
use CA, AZ, IA, WI, MI, FL, LA, AR, NB, PA, NY, MA,
GA, TN, KY, KS, MN, RI and OH scratch tickets. I've
meet people from these states at the 1995 Rick's
Picnic. Even if you don't buy lottery tickets or
gamble, ask your other friends, neighbors, relatives
to give you their non-winning tickets. After =>
____________________________________________________
all, you are getting rid of someting by sending it
to me. I already know that HI and UT doesn't have
lotterys. And that some states don't have scratch
tickets. It doesn't matter if the tickets are old
or new, please send them to me. Two or three
different types, if you can. If you ask for losing
scratch tickets from others, it won't cost you any
money. Pretty sneaky, huh?
Ray Berney
1750 Conconully Highway
Okanogan, WA 98840-9704
CoCo Registry #23 48 degrees 32' 38" N. Lat.
119 degrees 44' 2" W. Long. =*
|
DMP-105 RIBBON SOURCE NEEDED Harry Stern has related to me that he would
appreciate information on a source(s) for ribbons
for the DMP-105. I believe that it is possible to
get these ribbons, but I also believe Jim Bennett
reported that the "new, in-the-box" ribbons he
purchased were not satisfactory. Any help would be
appreciated.
Harry Stern
189 Sierra Drive
Miami, FL 33179
=*
|
FROM TANDY RETAIL SERVICES I (RICK) recently received the following letter from Yolanda Orozco, a correspondent for Tandy, in which she asks about the services we offer. It's good to know that we are still thought of in at least a small way!! ----- We frequently receive letters from consumers who have recently acquired Color Computers and are needing software or hardware. Tandy Corporation/ RadioShack no longer manufactures software or hard- ware for the Color Computer line. Over time, we discovered there were businesses and user's groups we could give as references for these consumers. Your company was in our records as one of these => ____________________________________________________ references. If you no longer provide products for the Color Computer, I would deeply appreciate a reply to this letter in order to remove your company from the list. However, if you do still provide products, feel free to eith call or write to me with this information so I can continue to include you in our reference list. Sincerely, Yolanda Orozco - Correspondent Product Support Center 200 Taylor Street, Suite #600 Fort Worth, TX 76102 Tel: 817 390-3861 =* |
How to put in the PRINT AT char. Everyone, since the first CFDM issue, has asked the
same question, "How come the PRINT AT character can
not be put on the screen?" And Rick has the same,
correct answer, "I used it for the HELP screen -
either press ALT or the PRINT AT key."
Both the ALT and PRINT AT keys are CHR$(64). However
I have found a key that nomally prints garbage on
the CFDM screen. SHIFT <LEFT ARROW> is CHR$(21). Why
can't you use that as the PRINT AT key, Rick? Or is
it too late? How much reprogramming will it take to
include such a feature?
Ray B.
----
RICK: That's a good idea Ray...but I wish I had used
something other than the "at" in the first place..=>
____________________________________________________
I don't know how much trouble it would be...I really
hesitate to go back and change the program now. It's
been so long since I did anything to it that I'd
really hate putting in a new bug at this point. But
who knows...?
=*
|
LOOKING FOR A RAINBOW DISK Don Helle recently called and is seeking to find
someone that will part with a Rainbow on Disk, March
1992 issue. If you fit that description, please
contact Don at the address/phone below.
Don Helle
315 West Bowman
Monticello, FL 32344
Tel: 904 997-4511
PS. Please encourage Don to join our group!
=*
|
TWO QUESTIONS Question 1.
My system comes up with ADOS3. Sometimes I can
enter or change items in upper and lower case and
sometimes I can only use upper case. No matter how
many times I press shift zero, I can't get the
system into lower case. What is causing this?
Question 2.
After my system has been turned on for a few
minutes, the screen tears and breaks up. What is
causing this?
Robert Bruhl
616 N. Farmington Rd.
Jackson, MO 63755-1250
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|
