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Table of contents: |
| COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE Issue #63 | 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 |
| ABOUT
THIS MONTH'S COVER BONUS DIRECTORY (#25) CONTENTS...PART 1 (i63) CONTENTS...PART 2 (i63) PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i63) |
| Back to top |
ABOUT THIS MONTH'S COVER Consider this a Christmas card. We wish all CoCo
Friends and their families a Merry Christmas and a
Happy and Prosperous New Year.
=*
|
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 these files.
- SIDE 1 -
-- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
* BTOOL .BIN........Used by SBOOT.BAS
* CFDMINDX.00A........ C D
* CFDMINDX.00B........
* CFDMINDX.00C........ F A
* CFDMINDX.00D........ I N D E X
* CFDMINDX.00E........ D T
* CFDMINDX.00F........
* CFDMINDX.00G........ M A
* CFDMINDX.00H........
CI .BAS...RUN..ACTIVE COCO/'98 CFDM INDEX =>
____________________________________________________
-- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
* CI .DRV........Utility used by CI.BAS
HICK72 .BAS...RUN..POTPOURRI
* HICK72 .NIB........Used by HICK72.BAS
* NIBLOADR.BIN........NIB loader utility
NIBSHOW .BAS...RUN..ART GALLERY
* S1 .MGE........
* S10 .MGE........ All
* S2 .MGE........ of
* S3 .MGE........ these
* S4 .MGE........ files
* S5 .MGE........ are
* S6 .MGE........ used
* S7 .MGE........ with
* S8 .MGE........
* S9 .MGE........ SBOOT.BAS =>
____________________________________________________
-- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
SBOOT .BAS...RUN..PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
SCARECRW.BAS...RUN..ART GALLERY
* SCARECRW.NIB........Used by SCARECRW.BAS
- SIDE 2 -
-- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
HICOLOR .BAS...RUN..ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
* HICOLOR .BIN........Used by HICOLOR.BAS
* HICOLOR .TXT........Text file for HICOLOR.BAS
SHIP .BIN..LOADM:EXEC...HICOLOR picture
TOWN .BIN..LOADM:EXEC...HICOLOR picture
=*
|
ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE "ABOUT CFDM" ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE ABOUT THIS MONTH'S COVER BONUS DIRECTORY (#25) CONTENTS...PART 1 (i63) CONTENTS...PART 2 (i63) PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i63) ACTIVE COCO 1998 CFDM INDEX PennFest '99 Vendors & Guest Speakers Needed! WHERE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS => ____________________________________________________ Web Page on the move ADVERTISEMENTS C-III PAGES DESKTOP PUBLISHING CFDM SUBSCRIPTION My Novel - now for sale Nickolas Marentes Collection PAC-MAN BY NICKOLAS MARENTES SUNDOG/COCOPRO! SOFTWARE THE COCO3 EMULATOR ARTICLES OF THE MONTH COCO CHRONICLES 14 PART 1 COCO CHRONICLES 14 PART 2 Dale Lear Interview Playing with video part 4 => ____________________________________________________ The Hardware Store The Hardware Store Revisited COCO FRIENDS ART GALLERY 'TIS THE SEASON BEN'S LATEST "What is it?" CHRISTMAS Lump O' Coal! SCARECROW VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY WINTER FREEZE FAMILY TREE Active CoCoist in CA. Back to school USAMAP (See PART 2.) =* |
FORUM
** PC Connections **
Alan Dages
Good-bye, dear friend.
THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE
FROM THE EDITOR
CFDM UPDATE
KUDOS FOR ISSUE #63
New CFDM Friends!
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
** Kailua-Kona, Hawaii **
CONGRATULATIONS TO JIM DAVIS
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS
LATEST PROJECT =>
____________________________________________________
POTPOURRI
COCO SMART
HICK72
LIGHT SWITCH PUZZLE
New Viruses
Novel Progress report
PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
ALLEYCAT
Christmas Greeting
Revised SONGBOOK and Some Songs
STRING4
Sunday Driver Animation
REVIEWS =>
____________________________________________________
APF IMAGINATION MACHINE
APF IMAGINATION MACHINE pt.2
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
BBS in San Antonio
Help Wanted
Howard Medical Slot Pak
TP-10 Printer Paper
=*
|
Here's a description of the files located on the PROGRAM SIDE. File names preceded by an asterisk are data files and should no be RUN or EXECed! -- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION ALLEYCAT.BAS...RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH * ALLEYCAT.BIN.........Music file for ALLEYCAT.BAS * ALLEYCAT.NIB.........NIB file for ALLEYCAT.BAS * BLOMANDN.BIN.........These * BLOMANDN.TXT......... files * BOSTONCM.BIN......... are for * BOSTONCM.TXT......... SONGBOOK.BAS * CAT .NIB.........ART GALLERY * COLORADO.BIN.........Used * COLORADO.TXT......... by * DRNKNSLR.BIN......... SONGBOOK.BAS => ____________________________________________________ -- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION * DRNKNSLR.TXT.........These * EDYSTNLT.BIN......... files * EDYSTNLT.TXT......... are * ERIECNAL.BIN......... for * ERIECNAL.TXT......... SONGBOOK.BAS * FREEZE .NIB.........ART GALLERY * GIRL+ .NIB.........ART GALLERY * GREENSLV.BIN.........These * GREENSLV.TXT......... are * HIBARBRY.BIN......... used * HIBARBRY.TXT......... by SONGBOOK.BAS LEAR .BAS...RUN...ARTICLES OF THE MONTH * LEAR .TXT.........Text file for LEAR.BAS * LOCHLOMN.BIN.........Files for * LOCHLOMN.TXT......... SONGBOOK.BAS files => ____________________________________________________ -- NAME.........COMMAND..SECTION OR DESCRIPTION * LPOACHER.BIN.........Files * LPOACHER.TXT......... used by * MATILDA .BIN......... SONGBOOK.BAS * MATILDA .TXT......... * NIBLOADR.BIN.........NIB loader utility NIBSHOW .BAS...RUN...ART GALLERY * PIPINTIM.BIN.........Used by * PIPINTIM.TXT......... SONGBOOK.BAS * R&SCOAL .NIB.........ART GALLERY * SEASON .NIB.........ART GALLERY * SMURFS .NIB.........ART GALLERY SONGBOOK.BAS...RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH * SQSCODER.BIN.........Used by STRING4.BAS STRING4 .BAS...RUN...PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH * USAMAP .NIB.........FAMILY TREE =* |
| Articles in section: ACTIVE COCO |
| 1998
CFDM INDEX PennFest '99 Vendors & Guest Speakers Needed! WHERE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS Web Page on the move |
| Back to top |
1998 CFDM INDEX Norm: Once again, here is the annual update for the
CFDM Index. It covers Issues 49 to 63. Look in Issue
24 for the index to Issues 1 to 24, and look in
Issue 48 for the index to Issues 25 to 48.
(RUN"CI" on side 1 of the Bonus Disk.)
=*
|
PennFest '99 August 21-22, 1999 (Sat. 8am-4pm; Sun. 8am-3pm) The show will be held at the Holiday Inn, which is located near the Airport. Holiday Inn 1406 Beers School Road Coraopolis, PA 15106 Phone: 1-800-333-4835 for reservations today! ADMISSION: $5.00 per person per day OR a special FAMILY RATE of just $15.00 for both days! VENDORS: Tables are just $35 each! Make it $25 if you sign up BEFORE December 31, 1998! =* |
Vendors & Guest Speakers
Needed! I now have the show room! The next step is getting
the Vendors and Guest Speakers. If you would like to
be a Vendor or a Guest Speaker at Penn Fest '99,
please contact me at:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++ ronbull@aol.com ++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++ Ron Bull ++
++ 115 Ann Street ++
++ Duncannon, PA 17020-1204 ++
++ (717) 834-4314 ++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are the facts: =>
____________________________________________________
PLACE: The Holiday Inn - Pittsburgh Airport
1406 Beers School Road
Coraopolis, PA 15106
DATE: August 21 - 22, 1999
TABLES: $25.00 each or $35 AFTER December 31, 1998.
I will be moving my website away from GeoCities to
http://stg.net/bullsbarn/BullsBarn.html so update
your links. I will have a Floor Plan setup and you
can pick your tables/location. Due to the number of
limited tables, it will be on a first come, first
serve basis. Don't despair! I should know closer to
showtime if we will have the next room too. If that
is the case, I will have more tables available...=>
____________________________________________________
so keep checking the site. I will be spending a lot
of time the next few days updating the site since
the pages there are old. So keep checking back. You
can also put your email address on each page, so
that you will automatically be notified when that
page is updated.
I will also try to post new information concerning
the show to the CoCo Newsgroup and would appreciate
any help in getting the word out to others.
So anyone who wants to sell something at this show
or anyone who would like to be a Guest Speaker,
please contact me ASAP!
Ron Bull
Show Host for Penn Fest '99 =*
|
WHERE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS Please send CFDM submissions to:
JIM DAVIS
c/o CFDM
P.O. BOX 1704
NIXA, MO. 65714
You may also send them via my E-Mail address at:
gearboxed@geocities.com
Help continue to make CFDM possible by sending in
your submission today!!
=*
|
Web Page on the move Just a quick note that - Jim's TRS-80 CoCo Page -
which I currently have stored on GeoCities...will
soon be moving.
The new URL will be:
http://members.xoom.com/gearboxed/
As of now the page is still under construction, but
I hope to have things finished within the next few
weeks or sooner...hopefully!
My email address will still remain the same:
gearboxed@geocities.com =*
|
C-III PAGES DESKTOP PUBLISHING Have you sent out your Holiday greeting cards?
Why not make your own with....
=================
= C-III Pages =
=================
What is C-III Pages? C-III Pages is a program that
pulls together TEXT and GRAPHICS and gives one on
screen tools to format and layout the content. C-III
Pages has easy to use pull down menus, icons and
dialog boxes. It also has many useful drawing tools,
such as boxes, lines, polygons, rays, circles,
elipses, brush shapes or free draw.
=>
____________________________________________________
You can also cut, copy, stamp or paste, flip,
enlarge, reduce, rotate, stretch, import any ASCII,
text, create columns, change fonts or invert text.
With C-III Pages you'll be able to create great
*** PAGES
*** FORMS
*** FLYERS
*** DOCUMENTS
*** GREETING CARDS
*** HANDOUT MATERIAL
*** AND CLUB MAGAZINES
Supports: MAX-10, PMODE1-4, Color Max 3, Color Max
Deluxe, RAT, Digitizer and now BMP! =>
____________________________________________________
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------
- CoCo 3 w/128k/512k
- RGB or Composite/Monochrome Monitor
- A Minimum of 1 disk drive (two recommended)
- RSDOS, ADOS3, EXTENDED ADOS3, OWLDOS, 1meg Upgrade
- Tandy Hi-Res Joystick Interface
- Joystick or Mouse (mouse recommended)
- Printer, Epson, Gemini, Panasonic, DMP 105/106,
NX-1000 Series, CGP-220 b/w and others.
PRICE: $25 + $2 shipping for (3)Disks/55 page manual
Send check or money order to: JIM DAVIS
P.O. BOX 1704
NIXA, MO. 65714 =*
|
CFDM SUBSCRIPTION SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ------------------------ CFDM Subscriptions are offered on an annual basis. You will receive 4 issues per year, which will be delivered to you quarterly. The quarterly year runs from September of the current year, to June of the following year. Each issue will include 2 "flippie" disks and you will also get HARDCOPY, the magazine side of CFDM printed by Arthur S. Hallock. CFDM/HARDCOPY - $30 per year. *Your mailing label will have a membership number as follows: ##-##-Q3. The Q3 means that the last issue on your subscription is June, 1999. Please don't let your subscription expire! We need you in our group!* |
My Novel - now for sale Who Is Mister Charity? That is the question on the minds of many people. He started life as just plain Al. Born in a large Western city, Al grew up in a broken home. As he got older, life got harder. When Al found life was too hard, he dropped out of high school and left home. Then, he met Sonny. Sonny offered to help with what- ever it took to get Al's life back in order. But how Sonny achieved this was beyond belief. For a larger power was guiding Sonny. That larger power was the Lord Jesus Christ and Sonny was a truly faithful follower of Jesus Christ. Sonny cared, really cared about Al. Others helped Sonny teach Al about God's love, God's grace and especially God's charity. Al learned that even though he had a => ____________________________________________________ rotten past, God still loved him. So, Al became a truly faithful follower of Jesus Christ. But what Sonny had been teaching Al to do had also attracted the enemy of God, the Adversary. And what Al was doing made the Adversary very, very angry. Al was giving back to the people what the Adversary had taken away - HOPE. That made the Adversary vow to get even. However, that was the plan of the Lord. Through the prodding of the Holy Spirit, Al was taught to walk everywhere. And walk he did. A lot of walking. The Holy Spirit also trained Al to overcome any trial or trouble he got into. So, all troubles the Adversary caused were really just trials and tests for Al. Then, Al was ready to go out into the secular world - with all of its people, cultures, religions and beliefs. And Al brought something => ____________________________________________________ to people that they never expected from a young man - charity. So people started calling him "Mister Charity." That's who he is. "Who is Mister Charity?" 469 pages 5.25" x 8" ISBN 1-894169-47-6 Price $20.45 WA residents will be charged sales tax Raymond Berney 1750 Conconully Road Okanogan, WA 98840-9537 =* |
Nickolas Marentes Collection Jim Davis currently has stock of a special package
containing my earlier CoCo releases prior to Pac-man
(Donut Dilemma, Neutroid 2, Rupert Rythym, Space
Intruders and Cosmic Ambush). All of the programs
are compiled on a SINGLE disk and can be started via
a simple menu.
Also in the package is a 4 page instruction booklet
for each game, original color artwork as used during
the distribution of some of these games by Tandy
Australia, an Australia souvenir postcard and a
brochure of the Museum I work at.
Price of this package is a humble $7 and can be
purchased from: JIM DAVIS
PO BOX 1704
NIXA, MO 65714 =*
|
PAC-MAN BY NICKOLAS MARENTES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- P A C - M A N BY NICKOLAS MARENTES -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------
- COCO 3 W/512k
- RGB/CMP MONITOR
- DISK DRIVE
- JOYSTICK (keyboard supported)
PRICE: $20
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO: JIM DAVIS
P.O. BOX 1704
NIXA, MO. 65714 =*
|
SUNDOG/COCOPRO! SOFTWARE The holiday shopping season has kicked off! Here's your chance to get some holiday bargains! Choose any title below for only $5ea. Here's what's available: ---------------------------------------------------- CRYSTAL CITY, PHOTON, ZENIX, THE CONTRAS, QUEST FOR THELDA, IN QUEST OF THE STARLORD, KYUM-GAI(RSDOS), KYUM-GAI(OS9), WARRIOR KING, WAR MONGER, SOUNDTRAX, SOUNDTRAX INSTRUMENT(3)DISK SET AND GRAFEXPRESS 2.0. ---------------------------------------------------- MULTI-MENU, DATA WINDOWS, DATA MERGER, THE ZAPPER, TOOLS II, LEVEL II TOOLS, DISK MANAGER TREE, V-TERM, PRESTO PARTNER, OS9 LEVEL II BBS, NEWSPAPER09, NEWS FONTS(for NEWSPAPER09), SIMPLY BETTER AND SOLITAIRE. ---------------------------------------------------- *Please include $2 s/h for entire order! Send to: JIM DAVIS - P.O. BOX 1704 NIXA, MO. 65714 =* |
THE COCO3 EMULATOR Arguably the best CoCo-related software ever! Jeff
recently reported that over 300 copies of the CoCo3
emulator have been purchased!!
If you have a PC and a CoCo3 software collection,
you will find this an invaluable piece of software.
The price is only $25.00. The utilities that come
with the emulator are well worth the $25.00 by
themselves.
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY...SEND CASH, CHECK OR MONEY
ORDER FOR $25 TO:
RICK'S COMPUTER ENTERPRISE
P.O. BOX 276 LIBERTY, KY 42539 =*
|
COCO CHRONICLES 14 PART 1 THE FOURTH YEAR (JUL'83 - JUN'84) Continued....
more on the DRAGON/64....
Another area of major incompatibility is the
keyboard (HI-TEK 107044 H). Although the DRAGON has
a full stroke keyboard, its matrix is not wired the
same as the CoCo keyboard. For example, a CoCo
machine language program (which you've modified, of
course) will produce unexpected keyboard input.
Typing the following: "DRAGON COLOR COMPUTER" will
put this on the screen: "4B17/. 3/,/B 3/-@ED5B".
Indications supporting the keyboard matrix
incompatibility is the fact that if the DRAGON
keyboard is installed in the CoCo, or vice versa,
the weird output continues. This condition does =>
____________________________________________________
not affect any CoCo BASIC programs running on the
DRAGON (unless you are PEEKing the keyboard roll-
over table to check keys pressed).
A couple more items on keyboard related matters:
DRAGON BASIC's routine to poll for entry from the
keyboard is somewhat less efficient then CoCo's.
I'm not a speed typist but, in the two years I've
been computing, I've gotten pretty proficient at
typing the word "LIST". The word is typed so fast
that before the "L" key is released, the "I" key
is being pressed then "S" and "T". The DRAGON turns
my lightning "LIST" into "LST". This occurs because
DRAGON'S keyboard polling routine will not recognize
the "I" key stroke until the "L" key is released
because they are apparently on the same row of =>
____________________________________________________
the keyboard matrix. This also affects the method
used to pause scrolling during a LIST with
"SHIFT @". The inability to accept a double key-
stroke happens only while DRAGON is in the 32K mode
(on powerup). While in the 64K mode, not only is the
"problem" eliminated but, if a key is held down for
more than a few 10ths of a second, it starts repeat-
ing.
By the way, you'll know at a glance whether you're
in 32K or 64K mode simply by the cursor color. While
in 32K mode, the cursor will be blinking solid black
graphics character while a blinking solid blue
cursor indicates 64K mode.
(See PART 2.) =*
|
COCO CHRONICLES 14 PART 2 DRAGON's 64K mode is entered by typing "EXEC" and
pressing <ENTER>. Easy hey?? When the machine is
turned on, part of its initialization process
includes moving data into LOW RAM ($0000-$03FF) for
the BASIC interpreters to use. For instance, the
system uses location $009D to hold the EXEC address
of the last machine language which was loaded into
the computer. This eliminates having to specify an
EXECution address after you CLOADM a program. Power-
up initialization puts the value BF49 at $009D.
DRAGON's 64K mode ROM entry point is $BF49.
If, however, you wish to enter the 64K mode AFTER
having loaded in a machine language program, $009D
will then contain the EXEC address of that program
so typing EXEC &HBF49 will be required to access =>
____________________________________________________
the 64K. Another nice thing about the DRAGON's use
of its 64K is that it frees user RAM from
$0600-$BFFF's by MOVING the ROMS up to $C000-$FFF0.
Radio Shack's doesn't move its ROMS so you end up
with 2 blocks of RAM: $0600-$7FFF and $C000-$FFF0,
with memory locations $A000-$BFFF ($8000-BFFF for
EXTENDED BASIC CoCos) off limits because CoCo's ROMS
are there.
Besides its 64K of RAM and full stroke keyboard, the
parallel printer port and monitor output should make
this computer a very serious consideration to any-
one in the market for an inexpensive yet powerful
computer with high resolution graphics capabilities.
=>
____________________________________________________
In addition to the above mentioned ports, the DRAGON
/64 has connectors for 2 joysticks, a cassette
recorder, 40 ROM cartridge/disk interface, TV hook
up and external power transformer.
The DRAGON/64 gives you all the power and versat-
ility of the very popular TRS-80 Color Computer plus
features which make the DRAGON/64 a much more
professional machine with far greater capabilities.
If you've held off buying the TRS-80 Color Computer
because of some above mentioned limitation then now
is the time to stop DRAGON your feet and check out
this very GREAT BRITAIN. (You liked the BEATLES
didn't you?)
(More CoCo Chronicles next issue!) =*
|
Dale Lear Interview View text file associated with this article As many of you may know, I have recently been
conducting interviews with CoCo Game Programmers
from the past. In this issue of CFDM you will find
a recent interview I conducted with Dale Lear.
Internet Users can also view this along with other
interviews I have completed from my web page at:
Nickolas Marentes' Color Computer Workshop
http://www.launch.net.au/-nickm/coco/
*Replace the "-" hyphen with a tilde symbol above.
(RUN "LEAR.BAS" on the back side of this disk.)
=*
|
Playing with video part 4 View text file associated with this article In part 4, I wanted to make a 4096 color picture viewer. Unfortunately, I just twiddled my thumbs in all this time so it's not done. I did add a new feature into last issue's program -- It can now SAVE pictures into a directly LOADMable file. No more waiting 2 or 10 minutes for the 'BMP to HICOLOR' conversion process when viewing pictures - just: LOADM"filename":EXEC and presto! it's on the screen! Okay, it takes a looonnggg time to actually save a file binary executable file. This save routine does some fancy data manipulation to allow the LOADM command to load files into 512K (not just the 64K workspace) so I had to write a 'savem' style routine from scratch - and.... I wrote it in BASIC, so thats why it's really slow. It takes some 18 minutes ==> ____________________________________________________ to save a file, but luckily you only have to save a file once in your lifetime. Loading it back into memory is quick and painless. To view the pictures I included with the program (which is located on side 2 of the Bonus Disk) just type: LOADM"SHIP":EXEC (This is a very cool looking picture to see on a CoCo3) To see the 2nd picture: LOADM"TOWN":EXEC (This is a 'Bladerunner' style setting. Not quite as amazing looking like SHIP, but still very impressive to see these kinds of graphics being displayed on a CoCo3) Although that's all you need to do to see the images, I've included the updated version of the ==> ____________________________________________________ HICOLOR viewer/converter program. With it, you can take last issue's BMP files, convert and save them as BIN files. And you won't have to wait so long when you want to view them. Use the A,B and C keys to toggle the program's settings: 64 colors, 2 pages and 343 mixing is the most reliable setting, but 2080 color mixing mode is more impressive sometimes. After using L to load any BMP file, use V to view it and S to then save the file as a LOADMable BINary. There is also a new text file to read by pressing T from the program. To run the program type: RUN"HICOLOR" (side 2 of Bonus Disk) The HICOLOR.BIN file is used by the Basic program and shouldn't be loaded separately. That's all for this time, I hope you enjoy the program & graphics. *** |
The Hardware Store Hello, there. I'm Ray Watts and my store is filled with small hardware projects and maintenance tips. Jim Davis persuaded (let go of my arm, Jim) me to open my doors to you so let me describe some of the inventory on the shelves. There is a fused power switch with indicator light; Pause, reset & shift- lock switches; Switchable high/low res & cassette selector; A simple (4800bps only) serial to parallel printer interface; Plexiglass as a fabrication material; And, if there is enough demand, a remote CoCo keyboard. Only a few of these projects are ori- ginal with me, but many of the others go back to the 1983 era, and, may have also come from "Hot CoCo". Everything on my shelves has been successfully tried by me on a CoCo3. I will assume you have some familiarity with a soldering iron and can read a => ____________________________________________________ simple schematic diagram. But, first, a short bio. I am a retired underwater acoustics engineer in an R & D setting for the Navy Dept and have lived in Niantic, CT for 27 years. I bought a CoCo2 in early 1984 along with a CGP-115 and cassette. A disk drive and DMP-110 were added later. Things tended to lag behind the CoCo world until my two boys were out of college, retirement and a remarriage. Now there was time and money to spend on a hobby, but, by then (circa 1991), the community had shrunk and also passed me by. I managed to scrounge CoCo3 bits and pieces over the next 5 years until I had 3 systems up and running. Needless to say the CoCo3's are barely recognizable. My mailing address is: P.O.Box 574, Niantic, CT 06357 and phone: (860) 739-9729. => ____________________________________________________ We'll begin with a quick-fix for some Serial- Parallel interfaces. If your printer adds unwanted characters, or omits type randomly, it probably contains an R-C oscillator, which is subject to drift with time. These R-C circuits contain a small potentiometer which can be readjusted to the correct frequency. On my Blue Streak Ultima, it is on the left side approx even with the top of the "U". Type the following short program: 10 FOR X=88 TO 80 STEP -1 20 POKE 150,X 30 PRINT #-2,"TESTINGABCDEX" 40 NEXT X Run the program, adjust the pot slightly, then rerun the program. Repeat until all, or most, of the lines are not garbled. Time to close. Hope to see you in here again. =* |
The Hardware Store Revisited I had a problem with one of my STAR NX1000 printers
which I believe could happen to you at any time.
It began with an occasional bunching of the ribbon
in such a manner that the top half of a line would
not print. It eventually got so bad it literally
chewed up and spit out the ribbon through the seam
in the ribbon case accompanied by loud screeching
from a jammed printer. Over this period of 12
months, it became more and more difficult to install
a new ribbon. Finally, it became so bad I had
trouble loading paper and it dawned on me what the
problem might be.
I found that the print head was butted up against
the platen, even when the adjustment lever was all
the way back. =>
____________________________________________________
What had been confusing me was that the lever still
clicked in its detents although the print head was
not moving. Then I noticed that the nut that held
the lever on was very loose and the rod which moved
the print head in and out was rotating freely,
jamming the print head against the platen.
The fix was "simply" (the nut was not THAT
accessable) rotate the rod by hand and tighten down
the nut. This had to be repeated several times until
the self-test showed the correct range of distances
was obtained when clicking the lever throughout all
the detents. It is possible that all STAR printers
may be subject to this problem.
=*
|
| Articles in section: COCO FRIENDS ART GALLERY |
| 'TIS
THE SEASON BEN'S LATEST "What is it?" CHRISTMAS Lump O' Coal! SCARECROW VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY WINTER FREEZE |
| Back to top |
'TIS THE SEASON
When I showed my wife the pictures I had done for
this issue, her only comment was, "What, no Santa
Claus?"
So, to keep peace in the family, I looked through
a lot of Christmas cards to find a Santa I could
adapt. This one is a somewhat unconventional Santa
with friends, but she was happy with the result.
(Select SEASON in NIBSHOW on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
BEN'S LATEST "What is
it?"
Here is the latest "What is it?" drawing from our
CFDM friend, Ben Walker. See if you can figure it
out before looking at the answer on page 2 of this
entry!
(Use NIBSHOW to view CAT.NIB on the back side of
this disk.)
ANSWER on the following page... =>
____________________________________________________
ANSWER: EYE
=*
|
CHRISTMAS
I know there is a long time between October 31st and January 1st, and so I will say hello to all of my COCO FRIENDS, and a HOWLING HALLOWEEN, a FRUITFUL THANKGING DAY, a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. The disk I made with two CHRISTMAS animated graphics are in NIB. One is entitled "GIRL+.NIB" and the other is "SMURFS.NIB". I will try to generate some more animated graphics before the next December issue. The one I really enjoyed making was "GIRL+.NIB", because I remember as a child I told my dad one Christmas that I said "DAD, THAT CHIMNEY IS JUST TOO SMALL FOR A GUY LIKE SANTA TO CRAWL INTO!" I hope everyone has a great time on all of these holidays. OLD OLD HAROLD 10-13-98 (See back of this disk.) =* |
Lump O' Coal!
Like many of you, I grew up watching cartoons which
were based on a more "traditional" sense. You had
your Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester, Tweety and Taz for
example. There were also cartoon families like the
Flintstones and Jetsons that were amusing as well.
Over the years, the way animated humor is portrayed
on tv has changed dramatically! While I'm not able
to watch cartoons much any more...I have seen many
episodes of the cartoon Ren & Stimpy. Here's a
Christmas picture I drew featuring this off-beat
duo in action!! :)
(Select R&SCOAL in NIBSHOW on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
SCARECROW
At the time I am sending this, HALLOWEEN is just
over, and now I am thinking about THANKSGIVING DAY.
Everyone is thinking about FOOD and a GOOD TIME when
almost every family gets together at least once a
year. We all should thank our dear GOD that we live
in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and can worship as
we so desire. AMEN.
There is, however, one poor soul that many of us
have forsaken -- THE SCARECROW. All Summer long he
has helped us keep the birds ( which of course
includes the Crow ) away from the corn and other
good food. Please take him inside this Winter -----
Thank You.
H.J.MOENICH 11-01-98
(RUN "SCARECRW.BAS" on side 1 of the Bonus Disk.) =*
|
VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY In order to view the .NIB pictures in this month's
Art Gallery, please RUN "NIBSHOW.BAS".
After RUNing NIBSHOW, you will need to press the <D>
key for the directory listing of NIB pictures on the
disk. Use the <ARROW KEYS> to choose a picture and
press the <SPACE BAR> to view it. After viewing a
picture, use the <BREAK> key to clear it. To leave
NIBSHOW, press the <X> key from the MAIN SCREEN.
NIBSHOW is a contribution by Stuart Wyss-Gallifent
and was featured on CFDM Issue #18, along with more
complete documentation. Thanks Stuart!
=*
|
WINTER FREEZE
Here is a picture appropriate for the season. If
it looks familiar, it is a remake of my picture,
Autumn Splash, in Issue #49. This is a site in
Babcock State Park, Clifftop, West Virginia. It is
apparently popular as I have seen various photos
on calendars. One, which inspired this version, was
a winter scene, but from a slightly different angle
and distance. Rather than start from scratch, I
thought I could get away with just "winterizing" my
earlier picture -- not that I saved myself much in
the way of work!
(You will find FREEZE.NIB on the back of this disk.)
=*
|
| Articles in section: FAMILY TREE |
| Active
CoCoist in CA. Back to school USAMAP |
| Back to top |
Active CoCoist in CA. In August 1996, I bought my first non-CoCo computer --a Toshiba 120mhz Pentium laptop with 12.1 TFT and 6x CD-ROM. I thought I'd be using it everyday and finally throw my CoCo setup into the closet. Boy was I wrong. Not a DAY goes by when I don't use my CoCo to check email, write a letter, or play games, and at most, I take out my laptop maybe once a week. No kidding. With the time it takes to boot up my PC and a term program, I can already have checked my email with the CoCo. The same goes for writing a letter. With the CoCo, you get almost "instant" action. When you turn the power on, you're ready to go. No boot time. When you load a program, it takes maybe 3-4 seconds. Everything is fast, simple, and easy. And in ALL the years I've had my various CoCo systems-- from the early grey-case CoCo1 to my current... => ____________________________________________________ CoCo3 I bought 12 years ago, it has NEVER crashed or needed repair. Not once. How many of you out there can say that for your PCs and Macs? You who can't get your new software to run right. Or who get STACK OVERFLOW errors everytime you try to go too fast. And by the nature of the type of computer it is, the CoCo can never catch a virus over the net. I'm not trying to knock PCs or Macs... I use them too. I'm just pointing out the appeal of sticking with the CoCo -- the efficient simplicity of a machine that handles everything I might want to do, with never a problem of any kind. The CoCo is a great little machine. It invites tinkering and invention, and in recent years, programmers have pushed the bounds as never before. I think I can honestly say that if I had purchased a Commodore 64, Apple II, TI994A,...=> ____________________________________________________ or Atari 800 -- as fine as those systems were -- I wouldn't still be using them today. There's a reason why people just will not give up their CoCos. These things were the best-kept secret of the 1980's, and are now the easiest, most fun machines to use in the 1990's, and beyond. :-) Larry Greenfield c/o 17300 Santa Clara St. Fountain Valley, CA. 92708 Email: lgreenfi@nyx.net Web Page: http://www.tcp.com/-lgreenf (Use a tilde symbol in place of the hyphen above.)=* |
Back to school Wow, Time has really been flying! It seems like just
last week that the CFDM disk arrived (email). I've
gotten several emails asking me about IDE drivers
for the CoCo. I am still waiting for the interface
cards to be released. I've had mine since the Elgin
CoCo Fest and have played with several hard drives.
I've been told that most of the people that have
ordered the interfaces will be using OS-9. Of those
people, some want to have a DOS (RSDOS) partition.
I've been waiting just like the rest of you for the
OS-9 drivers to come out. Unfortunately I haven't
got my hands on any code yet. I need to make my
drivers compatible with the OS-9 partitioning...
maybe as a Christmas present we will all get the
hardware/software package.
=>
____________________________________________________
On another note, I talked myself into going back to
school. For the last 21 years I've been working in
the computer operations field. At present I'm a lead
computer operator overseeing about a dozen computer
operators using UNISYS mainframes. This has always
been a challenging position.
This fall I decided to bring my programming
background into the foreground. I'm nearing the
end of my first semester of Visual Basic 5.0. It's
really amazing how powerful this language can be!
I always thought PC software development would be
harder than working on a CoCo, wrong! Visual Basic
takes all the work (ok, most of the work) out of
programming. Over the years I've created pull-down
menus, dialog boxes, load/save routines for the =>
____________________________________________________
CoCo. You know, it was a lot of hard work. Now all
it takes is a single call to a VB routine and a
dialog box will pop up to do things like: load and
save pictures, list directories, etc.
With all these new tools at my disposal, programming
is a snap. And I owe it all to my CoCo. Learning
Basic and Assembler on the CoCo has given me that
edge needed to really exploit a very powerful new
programming language. In a way I miss all the free
time I spent learning something as complex as VB.
But, I almost feel as excited as when I first
started programming with my CoCo(s).
-Roger =*
|
USAMAP
In ISSUE # 62, Jim Davis showed CFDM Members where Nixa, Missouri was located in the UNTED STATES, and now I want all to know where I live in this good old UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I believe everyone by now knows that I live in PENNSYLVANIA---in MONROEVILLE that is! It is just 12 miles East of PITTSBURGH. I thought I would put a little ANIMATION in showing where I live. I imagine by now everyone can now see exactly where I live. How about everyone showing exactly where they live, it would certainly be very interesting. HJM 11-14-98 MOEN1@WEBTV.NET FAX: (412)-373-1309 (Harold's USAMAP.NIB is located on side 2 of this disk.) =* |
| Articles in section: FORUM |
| **
PC Connections ** Alan Dages Good-bye, dear friend. THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE |
| Back to top |
** PC Connections ** For those of us with PC's, or access to them, I
will try to bring information as to CoCo Internet
sites that will bring even more enjoyment to the use
of our favorite computer. For my first effort I will
introduce you to the 'CoCo Web Ring', which belongs
to R. Perrin Ehlinger and can be entered at his Home
Page <http://www.mindspring.com/-perrin/CoCo/index.h
tml> (- = approximate sign), or you can go directly
to the Web Rings Index <http://www.webring.org/cgi-b
in/webring?ring=coco;index>
The first time I went into the Ring I found 11
members links -- many of them known to us at CFDM,
such as Stuart Wyss, Allen Huffman & Paul Shoemaker,
but the last time I found only 7 members -- after an
e-mail to Perrin, I found that the Links needed to
be improved on a few of the sites. ==>
____________________________________________________
Ehlinger's Home Page has the Green CoCo back-
ground and has Buttons to Link you to his Pages on
History (Personal), Emulators, Manuals, Games, Pro-
grams, Rainbow, Support, & CoCo Links -- all a work
in progress, but coming along nicely.
Huffman's Home Page has a SUPER Photo Archive,
Message Forum, coverage of all CoCoFests, & links to
publications and clubs.
Wyss's Home page is LOADED! Links to CFDM, CoCo
Software, the Emulator, & GREAT CoCo Links. You can
spend hours just visiting all of them.
This CoCo Web Ring can be the future gathering
place for all of us on PC's and using the Emulator.
We need to share our experiences and provide answers
for the newer members of the CoCo Community. My next
job will be to get Jim Davis and Ron Bull to add ==>
____________________________________________________
their GREAT Web Sites to the CoCo Web Ring!! I'll be
looking for them and also for other subscribers to
CFDM to add theirs.
During my Winter Months (Jan 2 to March 28,'99)
I'll be surfing the Internet and sending many e-mail
notes to current & former CoCoNuts around the world
to see if we can't get them to be more active in our
hobby. Our address this Winter will be:
Mr. & Mrs. Godfrey Moll
BREAKERS EAST UNIT 504
1010 HIGHWAY 98 EAST
DESTIN, FL 32541
e-mail= GJMOLL@aol.com ==*
|
Alan Dages Dear friends:
It was with great sadness that I learned of the
death of Al Dages. I got to know him through the
Fests and some personal dealings and always enjoyed
seeing him. I will be remembering him at Mass, and
in my prayers. If I may be so bold as to share these
words of prayer:
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you
this day our brother Alan. We thank you for giving
him to us, his family and friends, to know and to
love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In
your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal
life, so that in quiet confidence, we are... =>
____________________________________________________
reunited with those who have gone before; through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
In deepest sympathy,
Brother Jeremy, CSJW
=*
|
Good-bye, dear friend. At 11:25 EDST, Sept. 17, 1998, Al Dages parted
earthly company from his best friend and bride
"Babs"; and as many of his immediate family as could
be present. He had been undergoing treatment for
Pulmunary Fibrosis for more than a year, and had
been admitted to the hospital less than a week after
his return home from attending the PennFEST for
treatment of pneumonia. Subsequent infections
settled into his lungs in the days that followed.
Many of you know that he was feeling less than
chipper on the first day of the show. Now you know
why. When I asked him how he was doing on that day,
he adroitly avoided the subject, not willing, I am
sure, to dampen the spirit of the occasion. I need
not say more regarding his love for his bridge; his
family; of life; and least (and rightly so), his =>
____________________________________________________
dedication to our "family".
Others, I hope, will chronicle his achievements, for
I cannot, at this time.
You can contact Babs by writing to:
Barbara Dages
4894 Candlewood Lane
Stone Mountain, GA. 30038
If you care to help in the research for combating
Pulmunary Fibrosis, donations in the memory of Alan
Dages can be sent to:
=>
____________________________________________________
San Fran General
c/o T. King
1001 Potrero Avenue
San Francisco, CA. 94110
Identify your donation for Pulmunary Fibrosis
Research.
Silent Keys
K4JMX
Alan Dages
April 26, 1926 - September 17, 1998
=*
|
THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE It's time again for a look at the holy scriptures.
I hope that you not only enjoy this series of
entries, but that you also believe in them as I do.
It was my privilege to teach (I actually feel more
qualified as a facilitator than a teacher) the adult
class at Sunday School today. We started the lesson
by talking about the verses in this month's entry.
I related the story of the dying man who told of
what he had learned in life. He related that at
first he was under the impression that he could
change the world. Some of us are under the spell of
that same mistaken belief; that somehow we know all
the answers to all the questions. Later in life he
decided that maybe he should lower his sights, =>
____________________________________________________
and just change his nation. After spending many
wasted years on this effort, he decided that maybe
he should work on the state level. Years later
after having no luck on the state level he decided
to go home to his local community. Surely he could
make changes for the better there. But he had no
better luck than before. Finally, he decided to
use his wisdom and remaining energy to mold his
family. Sadly he reported that he couldn't even
do that.
After spending some time waiting to die he had come
to the conclusion that he had wasted his life trying
to change things that could not be changed. He was
convinced that he would have spent his time better
if he had focused on self-improvement.... =>
____________________________________________________
It's always easier to see the faults in others...
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy
brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;
and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou
hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own
eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out
the mote out of thy brother's eye.
- St. Matthew 7:1-5
=*
|
| Articles in section: FROM THE EDITOR |
| CFDM
UPDATE KUDOS FOR ISSUE #63 New CFDM Friends! |
| Back to top |
CFDM UPDATE Greetings Friends,
I am pleased to welcome you to CFDM #63. It has been
a VERY busy past few months for me and the Holidays
will most likely keep it that way! In this issue
your're sure to find something that strikes your
fancy.
Articles - some great stuff in here! Sock Master's
latest masterpiece in CoCo Picture Viewing. Nickolas
Marentes' recent Interview with CoCo Programmer Dale
Lear. Also some CoCo Help Tips from Ray Watts!
Art Gallery - here you'll find some seasonal artwork
to brighten your Holidays! You'll find works from
Norm Barson, Harold Moenich, Ben Walker and myself.
=>
____________________________________________________
Family Tree - you'll meet one of our new CFDM
Friends and find out what some others are up to.
Forum - Godfrey Moll introduces a new column called
** PC Connections **, where CoCo meets the Internet!
Potpourri - contains some fun Humor from the minds
of your fellow CFDM Friends! :)
Programs - here you'll find a mix of neat stuff:
Some great Music from Dave Otis; An MGE animation
from Larry Greenfield; and Harold Moenich mixes
Music, Graphics and Speech; Also an Animated
Christmas Greeting I wrote in BASIC.
Reviews - learn about the APF Imagination Machine.=>
____________________________________________________
All this...along with the Updated CFDM Index!
I have a great feeling of optimism! Much of this
excitement comes from the fact that others continue
to enjoy their CoCo and support the CoCo Community.
Another BIG factor, aside from CFDM, is that our
favorite computer is still alive and kicking! As of
this writing, there are TWO CoCo Fests planned for
1999! You will be hearing more about this in future
issues. If you haven't had the chance to attend a
Fest, it's a fantastic way to meet your fellow users
and support the CoCo. So make your plans now. Also
a very important note: please keep the CoCo material
coming in! The Winter months usually provide a great
opportunity to work on material... CFDM needs your
input! Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season! -Jim =*
|
KUDOS FOR ISSUE #63 This issue was made possible by the efforts of these
faithful CFDM Friends!
Norm Barson, Ray Berney, Ron Bull, Rick Cooper,
Ed DeKoster, Herb Forger, Larry Greenfield, Wally
Grossman, Roger Hallman, Brother Jeremy CSJW, John
Kowalski, Nickolas Marentes, Harold Moenich, Godfrey
Moll, Dave Otis, L.E. Padgett, Tony Podraza, George
Ramsower, Al Santos, Ben Walker, Ray Watts, Stuart
Wyss-Gallifent.
Your efforts and support are GREATLY appreciated!
THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! THANKS!
=*
|
New CFDM Friends! Here's an entry I REALLY enjoy writing! Please welcome the following new members who have recently joined our CFDM group! - Larry Greenfield - He's been a long time CoCo user and supporter of the CoCo Community. He has once again re-joined us! - Frank Randle - Please welcome Frank to our group! He one of our new CFDM E-Mail subscribers! We hope to hear more from him! - Ron Bull - Ron is certainly no stranger to the CoCo Community and we welcome him back to CFDM! =* |
| Articles in section: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| **
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii ** CONGRATULATIONS TO JIM DAVIS! EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS LATEST PROJECT |
| Back to top |
** Kailua-Kona, Hawaii ** Hi Jim:
Yes we're back from our summer visit to Kailua-
Kona. We left just the week before the IRONMAN Tri-
athlon -- did get to see the hundreds of athletes
practicing their 26 mile run and a few in the Ocean
swimming. We had a partial view of the Ocean and the
Alii Drive roadway that runs along the coast from
our lanai.
We only had a car for the first week, and there
for, had to walk during the other seven weeks. I did
172 miles on my new Sandals! Muriel's foot operation
was a total success with being able to walk as much
as 5 miles at a time during the last week. The nice
thing about walking in Kailua-Kona is that the cars
all STOP at pedestrian crossings -- no one tried to
run us over!! We had only two rainy days. ==>
____________________________________________________
Our condo was within 2 miles of just about all
of the restaurants, movies, senior center, grocery
stores & WalMart my favorite shopping store. We went
to the Senior Center every Wednesday and enjoyed the
programs that always began with the Pledge to our
FLAG. On Sundays we attended Church on the beach at
the site of the former KONA INN where we spent our
25th Anniversary with friends. The Kona Coast Chap-
laincy conducts a wonderful service there with lots
of Christian Music by Chuck & Doni Antone.
While we were there we were able to watch 100
Outrigger Canoes compete in the Queen Lili'uokalani
Long Distance Canoe Race (18 miles) - Women down the
coast and Men up the coast.
Every Wed, Fri - Sunday there was a Farmers
Market at which we could purchase vine-ripened ==>
____________________________________________________
tomatoes!! They also had the best tasting Papayas
for only 25 cents each! To our delight they also had
bundles of Tropical Flowers for only $5 -- enough to
make three bouguets for the Condo. Anthurium, Torch
Ginger and Orchids!!
I located the Condo that we rented by surfing
the Internet!! I did have a good knowledge of the
area as we had been to the Kona Coast five times be-
fore. The KONA ALII Condo is located just at the
South edge of Kailua-Kona. Just south of us is the
former Kona Hilton, which is now the Royal Kona Re-
sort at which we attended a wonderful Luau and Show.
Our late move to Destin Florida this year is so
that we can visit our children & grandchildren dur-
ing Oct, Nov, & Dec. -- we'll be by to see the new
CFDM headquarters before we leave. Muriel/Godfrey =*
|
CONGRATULATIONS TO JIM DAVIS! Hi Jim and Friends,
I just wanted to write a short entry commending Jim
on his first CFDM issue (#62). It was just as good
if not better than many of the previous issues!
Great work Jim!! I'm looking forward to many more
CFDM issues from you!
As for me, it seems that I'm caught up in a number
of other things including enjoying my family more!
By the lateness of this submission, you can see that
I'm having so much fun that I just lost track of the
time!
Your Friend,
Rick =*
|
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS Jim, I gave my CoCo to a user in Grand Rapids, MI.
I had quite a collection of Rainbow magazines along
with a Monitor, 2 printers and lots of other stuff.
I gave him a whole station wagon full! I really miss
the old CoCo.
- Ed DeKoster
----------------------------------------------------
Jim, great job on the magazine. I would like to
order C-III pages Desktop Publishing. Looking
forward to using the software.
- Wally Grossman
----
JIM: Thanks for your support Wally! I hope you enjoy
using C-III pages.
=>
____________________________________________________
----------------------------------------------------
Hi Jim, Thanks for the reminder, and sending CFDM
#62. We hope the transition of editorship (CFDM)
went as smooth as it appears to those of us on the
"outside". As always, we look forward to each issue.
I have AGAIN fallen behind with my Newsletter.
Hopefully, I'll have both (June & September) Issues
in the mail shortly.
- L.E Padgett
----
JIM: Hi L.E.! The transition has indeed gone well
and everything is right on track. Thanks for your
continued support for CFDM and the CoCo Community
with your "Adventure Survivors" Newsletter.
=*
|
LATEST PROJECT Hi Jim, thought I'd send you several pictures of my latest project. It is a CoCo base with remote key- board, internal floppy drive controller, three internal, fixed baud rate, serial-parallel adapter. The new power supply is 65W and can handle all this plus the future addition of a 3.5" SCSI hard drive. The new case and all the support brackets were fabricated from two 2' X 4' sheets of .080" polysty- rene with plenty of pieces left over. The keyboard was built about five years ago and has a power indicator light, a Reset Button, and a Shiftlock Switch. I had a friend cut through a CoCo case (empty) in two places with a bandsaw, then joined the top louvers to the back. It actually is not a comfortable keyboard to use and I have....=> ____________________________________________________ relegated it to the cellar development/repair system. I much prefer one I threw together from some wall panelling. Am considering using the remaining styrene to build one with a numeric keypad. Actually, not everything is operating well. The S-P adapter (the PC board directly in back of the drives and the "Y" cable) doesn't work correctly and trou- bleshooting it is difficult because of the lack of the proper test equipment. The serial port is still OK so there is no rush dealing with it. Also, the Crystal in the floppy controller dropped off in my hand. Norm Barson had just sent me a Disto SC-II and it sure saved the day. There were also the usual broken wires and soldering slips that made the job two steps forward and one step backward. => ____________________________________________________ Two 5" wide strips were cut from the styrene sheets and formed around the CoCo base with the aid of a heat gun. Tabs were glued to strategic locations around the base then were drilled and tapped to conform to drilled holes in the strips. After the strips were screwed into place, a special glue by Ambroid was used to "weld" the two together, forming a topless cover. The top was then cut to size and cemented to the cover bit by bit, along the perimeter, using the quick drying Ambroid cement. All the cracks and edges were then sealed and filleted and allowed to dry for sanding. All cutting was done with a cheap, available plexiglass knife. Everything was just fitted into place and holes in the cover cut out to suit. There is still a socket for a SCSI controller...this could be a potent box!* |
| Articles in section: POTPOURRI |
| COCO
SMART HICK72 LIGHT SWITCH PUZZLE New Viruses Novel progress report |
| Back to top |
COCO SMART A good story bears repeating. Only the names have
been changed to protect the innocent.
Three people from Microsoft were traveling to a
computer fest with three CoCo Friends (let's call
them Rick, Stuart and Godfrey). They meet at the
train station. The Microsoft guys go to the ticket
window and purchase three tickets. Rick goes to the
window and purchases one ticket. One Microsoft guy
asks, "How are you all going to travel on just one
ticket?".
Stuart says, "Just wait. You'll see."
All six board the train and take their seats. A
few minutes after the train leaves the station, the
three CoCo Friends, get up and crowd into one of the
restrooms at the end of the car. =>
____________________________________________________
A short time later, the conductor comes by to pick
up the tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and
says, "Tickets." Godrey opens the door slightly, and
hands the ticket to the conductor. A few minutes
later, all three resume their seats.
On the return trip, the Microsoft people decide
they will try the same ploy and purchase one ticket.
The CoCo friends don't buy any tickets!
Says one of the Microsoft guys, "How are you going
to travel without even one ticket?"
Stuart answers, "Just wait. You'll see."
Again, they board the train and take their seats.
After the train leaves the station, the three guys
from Microsoft crowd into one of the restrooms at
the end of the car. Rick, Stuart and Godfrey crowd
into the restroom just across the aisle. =>
____________________________________________________
A few minutes later, Rick opens the door, crosses
the aisle to the other restroom, knocks on the door
and says in a loud voice, "TICKETS!"
=*
|
HICK72
I hope Raymond Berney, a very good CoCo Friend of
mine, does not mind if I show his very good graphic
called "HICK72", with COLOR and SPEECH. This is one
of his great graphics of the "Hick Brothers". I had
fun adding SPEECH to it! Since these are two very
nice Country People. I hope all CoCo Friends will
someday get a "SPEECH/SOUND" PAK, since it is a lot
of FUN to hear SPEECH as well as see GRAPHICS. My
hat off to you Raymond---you have given me MANY MANY
ways to enjoy my CoCo3. Thanks BUDDY.
FAX: (412)-373-1309
HJM 11-14-98 MOEN1 WEBTV.NET
(RUN "HICK72.BAS" on side 1 of the Bonus Disk to
SEE and HEAR Harold and Ray's work.) =*
|
LIGHT SWITCH PUZZLE TRY THIS PUZZLE:
---------------
You are in the lobby of a building. On the first
floor, there are 3 on/off light switches. Two of
them are dummies. One turns on a light in the third
floor hallway, just outside the CoCo computer room.
You can turn all 3 switches on or off as many times
as you wish; there is no time limit. However, you
can only walk up to check if the third floor light
is lit ONCE!!!
You can NOT go outside to look for the light, since
there are no windows in the third floor hall.
=>
____________________________________________________
QUESTION:
--------
Which switch lights the third floor hall light?
Switch 1, 2 ot 3?
The ANSWER can be found on PAGE 3.
=>
____________________________________________________
HERE IS THE ANSWER:
------------------
Step 1: Turn ON switch #1, and leave it on for 10
minutes. Then turn it OFF.
Step 2: Then turn ON switch #2. Climb the stairs to
the third floor and see if the light is lit.
Step 3: If the light is lit, then switch #2 is the
REAL switch. If NOT lit continue.
Step 4: If the light is NOT lit, feel the bulb. If
it is HOT, then the REAL switch is switch #1. If the
bulb is COLD, then the REAL switch is switch #3. Of
course, this only works if the bulb ISN'T BURNED
OUT, AND THE ELECTRIC BILL HAS BEEN PAID!!!! =*
|
New Viruses New Viruses
-----------
Ellen Degeneres virus - Your IBM suddenly claims
it's a MAC.
Titanic virus - Makes your whole computer go down.
Disney virus - Everthing in the computer goes Goofy.
Mike Tyson virus - Quits after one Byte.
Sharon Stone virus - Makes a huge impact, then you
forget it's there.
X-Files virus - All your icons start shape shifting.
=>
____________________________________________________
Spice Girls virus - Has no real function, but makes
a pretty desktop.
Martha Stewart virus - Takes all your files, sorts
them by category and folds them into cute little
doillies to be displayed on your desktop.
Oprah Winfrey virus - Your 200mb hard drive suddenly
shrinks to 80mb, and then slowly expands to 300mb.
AT&T virus - Every 3 minutes it tells you what great
service you are getting.
MCI virus - Evey 3 minutes it reminds you that you
are paying too much for the AT&T virus.
=>
____________________________________________________
Tonya Harding virus - Turns your .BAT files into
lethal weapons.
Tim Allen virus - Helpful, destroys all your files
on contact.
Saddam Hussein virus - Won't let you into any of
your programs.
Arnold Schwarzenegger virus - Terminates and stays
resident. I'll be back.
That's it for today, Herb.
=*
|
Novel progress report 10/02/98 - Received final draft (proofs) of
manuscript. Sent in approval next day.
Final count: 468 pages. Probable price
range: $18-$25.
10/29/98 - Received final invoice and sample copy
of finished book. I am impressed.
11/16/98 - Received books and promotional cards.
See "My Novel" in Advertisements.
=*
|
| Articles in section: PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH |
| ALLEYCAT Christmas Greeting Revised SONGBOOK and Some Songs STRING4 Sunday Driver Animation |
| Back to top |
ALLEYCAT
I have rounded up (I do not call it a program since I am not a programmer), another picture and song --- and again it should be called (Graphic and Music). The Graphic is a "NIB" and the Music is a "BIN". When someone combines the two an odd thing happens, there is a slight bit of unwanted dull showing of the "TITLE" just before the graphic appears! Again, there is also somthing else ---it seems as though there are really two programs running at the same time, since the disk drive runs and keeps on running as the music is playing! The music never stops, as I did it this way ---if one wants to have the music run but once ---DELETE LINE 312, and that will do the trick. Any help to do this "ALLEYCAT" in a better fashion, please let me know. H.J.MOENICH 11-08-98 MOEN1@WEBTV.NET => ____________________________________________________ (RUN "ALLEYCAT.BAS" on side 2 of this disk.) =* |
Christmas Greeting Here's a fun little Christmas Greeting I wrote in
BASIC. I made each of the letters from scratch, so
now I have a partial alphabet set in HDRAW. I'm not
sure if I could utilize letters as large as these or
not? I put semicolons in the HDRAW commands for the
"letters", so you can easily decipher the code used
for drawing each letter. The sleigh and Rudolph were
a bit more of a challenge to draw, but still fun!!
The program is "commented" in several areas, so it
can be easily understood and used as a learning aid.
The speed-poke has been added in LINE 9 and can be
removed, if it doesn't suit. Enjoy! :)
(RUN "SANTA.BAS" on THIS SIDE of THIS disk.)
=*
|
Revised SONGBOOK and Some Songs View text file associated with this article In this issue of CFDM you will find a copy of
the newest version of my SONGBOOK program. As with
previous versions, it displays a list of the songs
on the disk and you move the cursor with the arrow
keys to the title of the song you want to play and
press P for Play. The main difference with the new
version is that it's easier to use.
Actually, the program displays a list of the
BIN files on the disk. When you press P for the one
you want to hear, it will LOADM the BIN file for the
music and than load into the program's memory space
the TXT file with the same name, which contains the
words to the song. Once loaded, SONGBOOK displays at
the top of the screen the title of the song, the
names of composer and author, etc. =>
____________________________________________________
The music is played once through, then the
words are displayed, one verse at a time.
If you want to stop the song, wait until just
before the end of any playing of the song - just
before the end of a verse - and press and hold the
<ESC> key. The SONGBOOK menu of songs on that disk
is again displayed. You can select another song to
hear or you can get out of the program. Just follow
the directions on the screen.
There are twelve folk/popular songs included
in this issue along with the SONGBOOK program. They
are a little hard to identify so here is a list of
the filenames with the corresponding real names of
the songs: =>
____________________________________________________
BLOMANDN.BIN Blow the Man Down
BOSTONCM.BIN The Boston Come-All-Ye
COLORADO.BIN The Colorado Trail
DRNKNSLR.BIN What Shall We Do With the Drunk-
en Sailor?
EDYSTNLT.BIN The Eddystone Light
ERIECNAL.BIN The E-RI-E Canal
GREENSLV.BIN Greensleeves
HIBARBRY.BIN High Barbary
LOCHLOMN.BIN Loch Lomond
LPOACHER.BIN The Lincolnshire Poacher
MATILDA .BIN Waltzing Matilda
PIPINTIM.BIN Piping Tim of Galway
(RUN "SONGBOOK.BAS" on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
STRING4 Something new for me again, and of course it was given to me by one of my good CoCo Buddies. I am not going to name any names, for I might leave out someone, and I certainly do not want to do that. I am sure you all know who you are, and I certainly appreciate all that has been given to me over the years. I like the way this letter types out "SLOWLY" and I have some more "CUTE" ways to type out letters for CFDM in the future. Thanks to my many CoCo Friends, I have sent in many SPEECH DISKS, using the "SPEECH/SOUND" PAK, but with "STRING4" anyone can see the letter. ENOUGH ALREADY---SEE Y'ALL LATER HAROLD J. MOENICH 11-09-98 MOEN1@WEBTV.NET FAX: (412)373-1309 (RUN "STRING4.BAS" on side 2 of this disk.) =* |
Sunday Driver Animation The CoCo was a machine that invited programming by
its user, and over the years, I've written many
programs for the CoCo. They're not all flashy or
mind bending, but they do the job, and I'm proud
of them (many I wrote years ago while still in
jr. high, though I've never stopped programming the
CoCo..it's just too much fun!)
This harmless little Demo is what happened when I
had fun tinkering with the 'juggler' program.
I substituted my own drawings and animated them.
I hope you enjoy this.
Larry
lgreenfi@nyx.net =>
____________________________________________________
(RUN "SBOOT.BAS" on side 1 of the Bonus Disk to see
Larry's Sunday Driver Animated Demo.)
=*
|
| Articles in section: REVIEWS |
| APF
IMAGINATION MACHINE APF IMAGINATION MACHINE pt.2 |
| Back to top |
APF IMAGINATION MACHINE Before I bought my first CoCo, the first ever
computer I actually owned was an APF Imagination
Machine. Made by APF Electronics (now out of busi-
ness), and bought through the mail from "Protect
Enterprises" in Illinois when I was still in jr.
High, the APF Imagination Machine made a great first
computer. Motorola 6800-based, the machine had an
excellent full-sized keyboard, 9K of RAM, and con-
nected to your TV set via an RF monitor. The Imagi-
nation Machine was really an extention of APF's
videogame console, built complete with the likes of
the Atari 2600. You could first buy the video game
portion by itself, and then later add "rest" of the
computer, though I wound up buying mine as one com-
plete unit, as many were later sold.
=>
____________________________________________________
The main drawback (like so many other computers of
its day) was a lack luster BASIC. To program gra-
phics required a lot of POKEs or CALLs, and I still
remember the command to clear the screen after all
these many years: CALL 17046. The machine had some
major pluses though: * The games written for it were
surprisingly good (both in cartridge or cassette
form).* Each of the two controllers on the game
console had numeric keypads. * The built in cassette
recorder (used to load/save programs) was stereo:
one channel would be used for saving/loading program
data, while the other could be used for recording/
playing your own voice (helpful if you wanted to
record comments on what you were saving). I remember
one APF "Space Invaders"-like game having a deep
man's voice saying... =>
____________________________________________________
something like "Hah hah hah! Can you escape the
Invaders! It's up to YOU to stop them!", etc. while
the game loaded. A very unique (and sadly imitated)
feature of the cassette system.
* To help conserve memory while programming in
BASIC, tokens were used for just about every BASIC
command. In other words, if I typed out "PRINT",
that would take 5 spaces in memory, but if I entered
"PRINT" as a token (by pressing -- I think it was
"CONTROL" plus another key), it would be entered as
a "token", and take up only one or two spaces in
memory. The only other combination I can remember
all these years later is CNTL-Y (which would have it
do a "LIST"), I wound up selling my APF Imagination
Machine about a year after I bought it. (See pt.2)=*
|
APF IMAGINATION MACHINE pt.2 I wish I could have kept it somehow, but at the
time, I was only a young kid, and needed the money
to buy a CoCo. The APF Imagination Machine was a lot
of fun, and incorporated a lot of unique features.
It really was one of the better home computers of
its day. The main reason I traded it in for a CoCo
was the differences in each machine's BASIC inter-
preters: the APF had a week BASIC, while th CoCo had
-- hands down -- the strongest BASIC on the market.
Since the thing I liked doing most on computers was
PROGRAMMING and tinkering (in BASIC) rather than
playing someone else's games, in the end, a strong
BASIC was what was most important to me, so I sadly
gave up my Imagination Machine. Though you never see
any of them around today (by now, most have probably
been recycled, and have come back as plastic...=>
____________________________________________________
dashboards on Nissans), if anyone out there knows
of a lonely APF Imagination Machine sitting in a
thrift shop or someone's garage, please Email me--
I'd love to give one a good home again, if only for
nostalgia's sake!
Email: lgreenfi@nyx.net
or
Larry Greenfield
c/o 17300 Santa Clara St.
Fountain Valley, CA. 92708
=*
|
| Articles in section: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
| BBS
in San Antonio Help wanted Howard Medical Slot Pak TP-10 Printer paper |
| Back to top |
BBS in San Antonio I am contemplating putting up a CoCo specific BBS
in San Antonio, IF there are enough people that
would be interested. For those who do not have
access to the Web, I will post some messages in the
Thrifty Nickel and the Express News.
If someone is interested in a CoCo specific BBS in
San Antonio, drop me an email at: georgeram@STIC.NET
I would look forward to getting a BBS going if there
is enough interest here in SA. I think the best way,
right now, is to have people drop a postcard to:
CoCo BBS
c/o George Ramsower
P.O. Box 10108
San Antonio, TX 78210 =*
____________________________________________________
If I do start a BBS, it will be local only at first.
No nets, and few bells and whistles. I figure to
expand it as demand and interest dictate.
=*
|
Help wanted I purchased a Disto 3 in 1 board (clock, parallel
port & RS-232C) at the PENN Fest minus the software
and docs. I would like to obtain the drivers and
commands for both DECB and OS-9 along with all docs.
I am not sure about the legality or ethics when it
comes to copying support software such as this when
the originals are missing during a legitimate
purchase. Anyhow, if anyone has a spare original
set, please drop a line with a price. I also welcome
dialog about the copying aspect.
Write to me at: P.O.Box 574, Niantic, CT 06357
or call: (860) 739-9729.
=*
|
Howard Medical Slot Pak I know this is a long shot, but I'm looking to pick
up a space "Howard Medical Slot Pak III" for the
CoCo3. Similar to the Radio Shack multipak, but
different. I did want the Howard Medical, not the
slot pak. I have one working slot pak that I use
myself (it's too long to explain), but I must use a
Howard Medical slot pak rather than the Radio Shack
MPI. I really want to pick up a spare in case any-
thing happens to it. If you have one, please email
me at:
lgreenfi@nyx.net
or Larry Greenfield
c/o 17300 Santa Clara St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
=*
|
TP-10 Printer paper The TP-10 printer for the MC-10...it's thermal, but
takes small sized paper...can you still find/buy
paper that will fit it anywhere?
Larry
lgreenfi@nyx.net
=*
|
