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Table of contents: |
| COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE Issue #66 | 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 (#28) CONTENTS...PART 1 (i66) CONTENTS...PART 2 (i66) PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i66) |
| Back to top |
ABOUT THIS MONTH'S COVER Now that summer is over, you can remember your
vacation until next year. Did you all enjoy a
Carribean cruise? No? Well, neither did I. So,
instead, enjoy the picture. Maybe, next 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
HICOLOR .BAS....RUN......ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
* HICOLOR .BIN.............Used by HICOLOR.BAS
* MONTREAL.BMP.............BMP Image for HICOLOR
* STADIUM .BMP.............BMP Image for HICOLOR
- SIDE 2 -
-- NAME..........COMMAND...SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
BOOT .BAS....RUN......PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* CANOE .NIB............. =>
____________________________________________________
* EGRET .NIB............. THESE
* HARTBURN.NIB.............
* IRIS .NIB............. FILES
* LAKE .NIB.............
* MANDRIL .NIB............. ARE
* NIBLOADR.BIN.............
* OVERLAY .NIB............. ALL
* PUZDAT .DAT.............
* PUZTITLE.NIB............. USED
* PUZZLE1 .NIB.............
* PUZZLE2 .NIB............. BY
* SEQ0 .DAT.............
* SEQ1 .DAT............. RICK'S
* SHUTTLE .NIB.............
* SHUTTLE2.NIB............. PUZZLES PROGRAM
* SWITCH .BIN............. =*
|
ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE
"ABOUT CFDM"
ABOUT COCO FRIENDS DISK MAGAZINE
ABOUT THIS ISSUE
ABOUT THIS MONTH'S COVER
BONUS DIRECTORY (#28)
CONTENTS...PART 1 (i66)
CONTENTS...PART 2 (i66)
PROGRAM DIRECTORY (i66)
ACTIVE COCO
Bull's Barn Updated
Christmas Card Project '99
PENNFEST '99 REPORT
Return from PENN FEST '99 =>
____________________________________________________
WHERE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS
ADVERTISEMENTS
CFDM SUBSCRIPTION
CoCoNUTS Now Available
NEW BOOK BY NICKOLAS MARENTES
PENN FEST 2000!
Pac-Man: Specially Priced!
Rainbow Magazine Collection
ARTICLES OF THE MONTH
COCO CHRONICLES 17
HICOLOR Update Part 1
HICOLOR Update Part 2
Son of the Hardware Store
Son of the Hardware Store Redux =>
____________________________________________________
The Hardware Store
COCO FRIENDS ART GALLERY
** P51 Mustangs **
GOING FISHING
Odie's sidekick: GARFFIELD!
The Hick Brothers
The Millennium Generation
VIEW FROM THE VERANDA
VIEWING THE CFDM ART GALLERY
FAMILY TREE
BUSY SUMMER!
SUMMER UPDATE
UPDATE FROM THE MOLL'S
(See PART 2.) =*
|
FORUM
** CoCo Web Ring Update **
** PC Connections **
CFDM Needs your Material
GETTING THE WORD OUT
FROM THE EDITOR
CFDM Renewals at Penn Fest '99
CFDM UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 1999
KUDOS FOR ISSUE #66
NEW CFDM Members Welcome!
THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A NOTE FROM NORM + GIFT
A NOTE FROM RAY =>
____________________________________________________
HOME AGAIN!
MAIL BAG EXCERPTS
NEWS ON PENN FEST 2000
Page Edmondson
Thank you, Jim!
POTPOURRI
Always Plan Ahead!
COCO PUZZLE
Halloween Witches
Screens
Y2K AND SUPPORT
PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
60 YEARS
DOLLY =>
____________________________________________________
PUZZLES, PUZZLES, PUZZLES
REVIEWS
Penn Fest '99 PART 1
Penn Fest '99 PART 2
Penn Fest '99 PART 3
Penn Fest '99 PART 4
Penn Fest '99 PART 5
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
HALL OF THE KING III HELP
In need of a MOUSE
Software Items Wanted
Tips: Demolition Derby
WIZARDS TOWER 80
=*
|
Here's a description of the files located on the
PROGRAM SIDE. File names preceded by an asterisk
are data files and should not but RUN or EXECed!
-- NAME..........COMMAND...SECTION OR DESCRIPTION
60 .BAS....RUN......PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* ANIVESRY.BIN.............Used by 60.BAS
* ANIVESRY.NIB.............Used by 60.BAS
* DOLLY .BIN.............Used by GIRL.BAS
FESTREPT.BAS....RUN......ACTIVE COCO
* FESTREPT.TXT.............Used by FESTREPT.BAS
* FISHING .NIB.............ART GALLERY
* GARFIELD.NIB.............ART GALLERY
GIRL .BAS....RUN......PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH
* HICK126 .NIB.............ART GALLERY
* MiGe1 .NIB.............ART GALLERY =>
____________________________________________________
* NIBLOADR.BIN.............Used by NIBSHOW.BAS
NIBSHOW .BAS....RUN......ART GALLERY
* P51A .NIB.............ART GALLERY
* PLANAHED.NIB.............POTPOURRI
* SCREEN .NIB.............Used by GIRL.BAS
* SCREEN02.NIB.............POTPOURRI
* SCREEN04.NIB.............POTPOURRI
* SCREEN05.NIB.............POTPOURRI
* VERANDA .NIB.............ART GALLERY
* WITCHES .NIB.............POTPOURRI
=*
|
| Articles in section: ACTIVE COCO |
| Bull's
Barn Updated Christmas Card Project '99 PENNFEST '99 REPORT Return from PENN FEST '99 WHERE TO SEND SUBMISSIONS |
| Back to top |
Bull's Barn Updated I now have my website updated with new pics of the
Penn Fest '99 show. I also have Al's preliminary
review posted, which will be updated when I get it
from Al.
Also, for anyone who is interested in having a table
at the show, please look at the Projected Vendors
page. There you'll find the new Floor Plan, along
with table assignments. Pick the table(s) you want
and notify me. You will then of course need to mail
the $25/table fee to me.($35 if paid AFTER 12/31/99)
If you need more than one table, you need to let me
know. Due to planned activities, there will not be
tables in the middle of the show room, so space is
limited. We now have another room PLUS a Seminar
Room. =>
____________________________________________________
Advanced ticket sales will begin on January 1, 2000
for those wishing to attend. The Event Schedule will
be posted later, once the details are worked out.
Let's not wait till the last minute to decide if you
will be there. You missed a great show, if you were
not at Penn Fest '99. DON'T miss the Big Birthday
Bash!
- Ron Bull / Show Host for Penn Fest 2000
For more information visit:
http://bullsbarn.stg.net
=*
|
Christmas Card Project '99 I'm pleased to announce that we will ONCE AGAIN have
our annual Christmas Card Project. I'm ALSO equally
as pleased to have actually REMEMBERED to announce
it BEFORE this September issue went out! :)
In the past, this has been a GREAT way to send a
"Season's Greetings" to a fellow CFDM member during
the Holidays.
Here's how it works:
--------------------
Simply send a postcard by December 1, 1999, with
your Name and Address to: The Christmas Card Project
c/o Jim Davis
PO BOX 1704
NIXA, MO 65714 =>
____________________________________________________
When the December, 1999 issue of CFDM is mailed out,
I will place your postcard in a participating CFDM
members disk mailer. You will in return have a post-
card placed in YOUR mailer. Once your CFDM issue
arrives, simply send a Holiday Greeting card to the
member whose name appears on the postcard.
Get to know your fellow CoCo users and show your
"Holiday Spirit" by participating!
CFDM E-Mail subscribers who wish to participate need
to simply send me their Mailing Address via E-Mail.
----------------------------------------------------
Don't forget - the deadline is December 1, 1999!
Thanks to all who participate! =*
|
PENNFEST '99 REPORT View text file associated with this article This year's PENNFEST '99 marks the third year that
this ONE MAN Color Computer Fest has been running.
Once again Ron Bull has created another successful
Fest where CoCo users have been able to gather to-
gether and relive "THE GOOD OLD DAYS".
This is a report of my first experience at a CoCo
Fest. I made the trek from Australia to attend, de-
termined to attend a CoCo Fest at least once in my
lifetime before they finally end.
(RUN "FESTREPT.BAS" on the back side of this disk.)
=*
|
Return from PENN FEST '99 I guess it's already been said, "If you were not
there, you missed it".
We got there Friday night and set up with help from
all the other Vendors and Ron. In spite of a few
glitches that the Hotel threw Ron, this show was
GREAT & FUN.
We got to meet some old friends and some new ones.
Steve, Mark, Boisy, Allen, Ron, Brother Jeremy, Ray,
Tony, Sock, Jim, et al. Not withstanding our visitor
from "Down Under", Nick. This was our second Penn
Fest and the first one we unloaded some of our extra
"stuff" at. We had nothing but fun during the whole
show!
=>
____________________________________________________
We got rid of a Suburban load and brought back al-
most as much "stuff".
Mark from Cloud 9 installed a socket on one of my
CoCo3 Boards. The only difference you can notice on
the board is the soldering he did is BETTER than the
rest of the board. I picked up the SCSI card, the AT
keyboard adapter and a Protector board from Mark
also.
The IDE Project was there and I picked up my IDE
card from those fine folks also.
Could not think of everyone :-)
-Dave =*
|
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@mindspring.com
Help continue to make CFDM possible by sending in
your submission today!!
=*
|
| Articles in section: ADVERTISEMENTS |
| CFDM
SUBSCRIPTION CoCoNUTS Now Available NEW BOOK BY NICKOLAS MARENTES PENN FEST 2000! Pac-Man: Specially Priced! Rainbow Magazine Collection |
| Back to top |
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: ##-##-Q4. The Q4 means that the last issue on your subscription is June, 2000. Please don't let your subscription expire! We need you in our group!* |
CoCoNUTS Now Available Apon his arrival to the states, Nickolas Marentes
brought stocks of his new book entitled, "CoCoNUTS".
This soft bound, 118 page book contains intriguing
Interviews with people who helped shape the "CoCo".
Written in a Q&A interview format, you'll get the
chance to read interesting and sometimes humorous
responses to questions asked by Nickolas. You'll
read about some of the "Behind the Scenes" action
and hear personal stories from some of the talented
individuals who're part of the CoCo's History!
Stocks of this book are very limited, so be sure not
to miss out on this opportunity to own it!
=>
____________________________________________________
To order your copy, send a check or money order for
$15 + $3 s/h to:
JIM DAVIS
PO BOX 1704
NIXA, MO 65714
=*
|
NEW BOOK BY NICKOLAS MARENTES CoCoNUTS is a new BOOK that I have created which
attempts to capture some of the DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
of the COLOR COMPUTER. In it are INTERVIEWS with
people like John Kowalski, Dale Lear, Glen Dahlgren,
Eric Gavriluck, Greg L. Zumwalt and Mark Seigel just
to name a few.
The book is currently available from Jim Davis of
CFDM for the price of $15 plus $3 Postage and
Handling. Stocks are LIMITED so get in quick.
(For more information please see the "CoCoNUTS Now
Available" entry elsewhere in this section.)
=*
|
PENN FEST 2000! ---------------------------
* PENN FEST 2000 *
"The Big Birthday Bash"
---------------------------
August 19 - 20, 2000 (Sat. 9am-5pm; Sun. 9am-5pm)
The show will be held at:
Holiday Inn
1406 Beers School Road
Coraopolis, PA 15108
Phone: 1-800-333-4835 for reservations today!
=>
____________________________________________________
ADMISSION: $5.00 per person per day OR a very
special FAMILY RATE of just $15.00
for both days!
VENDORS: Tables are just $35 each! Make it $25
if you sign up BEFORE December 31, 1999!
For further information please contact:
Ron Bull
115 Ann Street
Duncannon, PA 17020-1204
Phone: (717)834-4314
E-Mail: RonBull@aol.com =*
|
Pac-Man: Specially Priced! ----------------------------------------
- Pac-Man - "A Tribute to the Classic" -
----------------------------------------
If you haven't had a chance to pick up this great
game by Nickolas Marentes yet, now's your chance!
Nickolas now has this game specially priced at ONLY
15$! So get a great game at a great price and help
support future game development for the CoCo!
- CoCo 3 w/512K
- RGB/CMP Monitor
- Disk Drive
- Joystick (or Keyboard support)
=>
____________________________________________________
------------------------------------
- The Nickolas Marentes Collection -
------------------------------------
Five complete games for your CoCo, all on one disk!
Includes:
- Donut Dilemma
- Neutroid 2
- Rupert Rythym
- Space Intruders
- Cosmic Ambush
Also includes the original color artwork and some
"special" Australian souvenirs for only $7! =>
____________________________________________________
To order:
Send a Check or Money Order to:
JIM DAVIS
PO BOX 1704
NIXA, MO 65714
=*
|
Rainbow Magazine Collection To whomever will pay shipping, I have the below
Rainbow Magazines to give away:
January through April 1983
June through October 1983
November through December 1985
January thorough December 1986 *
" " " 1987 *
" " " 1988 *
" " " 1989 *
" " " 1990 *
I have Jan. through Dec. 1990 * Rainbow on Disk,
which I would like to get $1 per copy (or $10 for
the year), plus shipping. These are the original
copies from Falsoft, with the exception of 5/90 =>
____________________________________________________
and 12/90, which are copies of the BACKUP DISKS.
( * Denotes a complete year set)
I would like to get $4 each (or $15 for the four),
plus shipping for:
The Second Rainbow Book of Adventures (tape missing)
The Second Rainbow Book of Simulations (w/disks)
The Third Rainbow Book of Adventures (w/disks)
The Fourth Rainbow Book of Adventures (w/disks)
I also have an extra Hi-Res Joystick Interface -
does anyone want to make an offer (plus shipping)?
Please put in your request no later than November =>
____________________________________________________
1999. The PERSON REQUESTING the MOST will be given
FIRST CHOICE. (BUT, not necessarily the person who
wants to buy the stuff I want to sell!)
Please Contact: --------------------
Pete Blackwell
156 Gus Hargett Rd
Ripley TN 38063-5604
--------------------
=*
|
| Articles in section: ARTICLES OF THE MONTH |
| COCO
CHRONICLES 17 HICOLOR Update Part 1 HICOLOR Update Part 2 Son of the Hardware Store Son of the Hardware Store redux The Hardware Store |
| Back to top |
COCO CHRONICLES 17 THE FIFTH YEAR (Jul'84 - Jun'85) Continued...
On March 30-31, London is the scene of the second
6809 COLOUR SHOW for DRAGON and TANDY users. Looks
like the DRAGON lives on.
April sees the release of two library offerings, the
long awaited COMPLETE RAINBOW GUIDE TO OS-9, author-
ed by DALE PUCKETT and PETER DIBBLE, plus, from our
Canadian friends at DRAGONFLY WRITING, a cassette
magazine called DIGInews for COCO.
Who says "you can never go home again"? Eleven
months in San Jose was obviously long enough to make
Bob Rosen realize how much he missed the hustle 'n
bustle of the "big apple". Nice to have you back =>
____________________________________________________
home Bob.
Found out from a friend of mine that R.G.S. Micro
of Montreal is no longer on the planet. Seems they
folded last month, leaving a lot of folks, who want-
ed to be the first on the block with the 68000 CPU
board and other goodies, holding their joystick!
What a shame!! Early reports are that some of the
RGS crew will attempt to hook up with DSS Peripher-
als of Farmingdale, NY. to complete (start?) some of
the RGS projects. Good Luck!
Good luck also to Spectral Associates. After 4
years, they withdraw from the CoCo support field.
Their absence will be keenly felt.
=>
____________________________________________________
In May, voice recognition for the CoCo becomes a
reality when Speech Systems starts marketing its
Electronic Audio Recognition System.(EARS for short)
Rainbowfest celebrates its third anniversary with 3
fun-filled days & nights (17-19) in Chicago. Causing
quite a stir is Steve Odneals fully portable CoCo,
complete with disk drive and monitor. Although only
a prototype, Steve uses the show to judge user in-
terest.
In June, as the curtain decends on the CoCo's fourth
year, so too does it fall on yet another Color Com-
puter publication. This time it's Dennis Kitsz's
"Under Color" which bites the dust! RIP.
(More CoCo Chronicles next issue...stay tuned!) =*
|
HICOLOR Update Part 1 Hi folks, Firstly...sorry I didn't get around to the *BIG* Hicolor update I've been promising. (4096 colors on screen) But, I have added a few new goodies and have started adding the framework for 4096 colors so it should be done sooner or later. :) The only hesita- tion I have is that I'd have to toss out a lot of the existing programming and replace it with new routines (and the new ones won't work on 128K mach- ines anymore). Right now, everything works on 128K machines except for decoding IMG files (more on that later). Hicolor now has a better user interface, some new graphics modes, a faster 'Save to Bin' function, and it can decode 4096 color IMG (Rascan & Digiscan) => ____________________________________________________ files. The 'extended mixing' algorithm is also impr- oved, which makes the 1000 (previously called 2080) color decoder/mode look more lifelike. IMG is the graphics format the displayed 3 alternat- ing screens of red, green and blue to simulate 4096 colors. Hicolor can display them as a nonflickering image, but this function requires 512K because IMG files decode into more data than 256 color BMP files. The A B and C keys control what graphics 'mode' you want to convert a BMP or IMG file into. A selects between 16 and 64 color palette. 64 can use all of the CoCo's palette simultaneously, 16 is the tradi- tional video mode everyone uses (this mode works => ____________________________________________________ on the CoCo3 Emulator, 64 does not.) In addition to 16 or 64 selects, Hicolor can also use additional visual tricks to simulate many more colors. The B key lets you select between 1 and 2 graphics screens. When you select 2, Hicolor rapidly alter- nates between two similar but slightly different images, fooling the eye into seeing more colors. Because the 2 images are almost the same, there is very little perceived flicker compared to other viewers that switch screens. The last option is the C key which lets you select between 'normal' and 'extended' color mixing. Normal dithers two similar colors to create an in-between shade. Extended uses a more complicated algorithm that uses ALL the available colors for dithering, even if they're not similar - but when they're blended...(See Part 2)=* |
HICOLOR Update Part 2 ...together they still come out to the shade we
wanted to display. Although Extended mixing uses
dissimilar colors, the fact that they're 'opposite-
ly' dithered on both screens makes every pixel on
the screen appear to be a solid color. Sometimes
when too many 'opposing' colors are placed side by
side, there is a bit more flicker than using 'nor-
mal' dithering. Having more colors to dither with,
extended mixing can display shading that is noti-
cably smoother than normal mixing.
So, what else is new? You can now 'properly' gener-
ate single screen images. You can turn off all the
features and see what a BMP file looks like when
viewed in ordinary 16 colors, and then turn on the
trick features one at a time to see what kind of ==>
____________________________________________________
difference it does to the displayed picture.
You have to be careful about this part. Just chang-
ing the settings doesn't automatically make the pic-
ture in memory use the new mode. You still have to
re-convert the BMP or IMG file into the newly selec-
ted graphics mode. The good news is that the simpler
modes convert a lot faster than the more complicated
ones. Here's a breakdown of the available settings:
<A=16,B=1,C=Normal> The simplest setting. 16 colors
on screen with no special tricks.
<A=64,B=1,C=Normal> Allow all 64 palettes on screen.
<A=64,B=1,C=Extended> I added this *just* to show
what extended mixing does. You can see how it puts
odd colors side by side. With one graphics screen,
this almost always looks worse. I added a bonus that
if you now switch B to 2, then press V, you see ==>
____________________________________________________
how the colors now blend together! (very neat)
So, what you just saw was a 'low resolution' version
of the setting you just selected:
<A=64,B=2,C=Extended> The best mode it can do, 1000
simultaneous colors. Takes forever to convert a BMP
in this mode, though.
<A=64,B=2,C=Normal> This is the default mode, 343
colors. Not quite as pretty but faster to convert.
Probably more convenient.
<A=16,B=2,C=Normal> With the palette reduced to 16
colors, 2 screen dithering can still simulate 49
colors, which still looks very nice.
There are still a lot more combinations, but those
are the most notable for showing the effects of each
trick I used to display more colors. You can try the
rest just to see how they look.(Bonus Disk Side 1)=*
|
Son of the Hardware Store Its time to drill out the CoCo cover. Locate the power switch and LED holes about 3/4" in from the left side with the switch about 2 1/2" and the LED about 4 1/2" up from the keyboard end. Repeat the dimensions on the right side for the RESET & HALT switches. Drill and ream the holes for snug fits and install the parts. The HALT switch should be further from the operator on the right side. Now for the tricky part. If you have a CoCo keyboard installed AND you are using the connector, figure out where the connector will fit in the case when the cover is closed. You will then cut your wire lengths so that you can lift the cover about 4" with the connector lying in place. If you do NOT use a connector, cut the wire lengths so that you can lift the cover about 6 to 8" while connected to the => ____________________________________________________ barrier strip. WITH CONNECTOR - Solder 2 #20 wires to the power switch and connect the other ends to pins 1 and 2 of the MALE side. Use #24 wire to connect the SHORT pin of the LED to one side of both the RESET & HALT switches. Solder a #20 wire from any one of these points to pin 4 of the conn. Connect the LONG lead of the LED to pin 3, the other side of the RESET sw to pin 5 and the unused HALT point to pin 6. Cut wire lengths to the FEMALE side so that it can be pulled out of the chassis about 3" and connect it thusly(sic): #20 wire from pins 1 & 2 of the conn to terminals 1 & 2 of the barrier strip. #24 wire from pin 2 to terminal 5. #20 wire from pin 4 to termi- nal 6. And, finally, #24 wires from pins 5 & 6 of the conn to terminals 7 & 8 respectively. => ____________________________________________________ NO CONNECTOR - Connect the SHORT side of the LED to the HALT & RESET switches as described above. Now connect a #20 wire from one of these points to terminal 6 of the barrier strip. The POWER switch will run to terminals 1 & 2 with #20 wire. Use #24 wire to connect the LONG lead of the LED to terminal 5 and the unconnected sides of the RESET & HALT switches to terminals 7 & 8 respectively. You now have RESET, HALT and a power indicator light. The POWER connections will be next. Be judicious with the use of the HALT switch. Some "gurus" do not recommend using the 6809 halt line this way, but I have had no problems. If you use it to stop a DIR, though, you will notice that the drive motor continues running. It is best used when stopping an action game temporarily. =* |
Son of the Hardware Store redux Now, let's add a transformer primary power switch.
After pulling the plug and removing the cover, note
the area around the cage in the upper left corner.
You will see the line cord twisting around some
posts, then entering the cage through a lined open-
ing. On the opposite side of the cage you will find
several colored wires entering in the same manner.
Around the corner, these same wires are attached to
the cage by a small nylon strap and, finally, the
cage is held on by two screws and two slotted tabs.
Free the wires from the cage by very carefully clip-
ping the nylon strap. Now remove the two screws,
gently work the slotted tabs free and lift the
cover. Note that the line cord is soldered to the
first two posts on the outer side of the transform-
er. Looking from the direction of the keyboard, =>
____________________________________________________
unsolder the half of the line cord on the left post.
After cleaning the excess solder off the wire and
straitening it out, splice and solder it to a 12"
length of #20 wire. Insulate the splice thoroughly
with shrink tubing, and to account for abrasion, add
even a second layer. Now solder a second 12" length
of wire to the post vacated by the line cord. Run
the two wires around the transformer core to a point
where they merge with the group of colored wires.
Carefully replace the cage cover, insuring that the
line cord on one side and the now larger bunch of
wires on the other side are properly protected by
the plastic bushings. This may take several tries
and test your patience. You may now lock in the
tabs and screw down the cover. Run the two new
wires alongside the mother board and connect them,=>
____________________________________________________
using crimp on lugs, to terminals 1 and 2 of the
barrier strip previously installed. Remember to
leave the original POWER switch on at all times
or you might, like me, get confused when your new
switch "doesn't work".
If you attempt these modifications and find the
article gives insufficient information, you can
send a SASE or call at any reasonable hour (EDT).
Ray Watts
P.O. Box 574
Niantic, CT 06357
(860) 739-9729
=*
|
The Hardware Store Let's alter the appearance of the CoCo and place some controls out where they can be used. We will add a reset button, a halt switch, a power switch and a power indicator light to the top cover. All the devices will be connected to the mother board through a connector (optional - double the wire lengths to the switches if you don't use one) and a barrier terminal strip (recommended). If there isn't space in this issue to complete the project, the power switch will follow in the next issue. We'll start off with a parts list. For those without a source of cheap parts, Radio Shack stock numbers are provided: 2ea SPST push button switch 275-617 1ea SPST " " " (momentary) 275-618 => ____________________________________________________ 1ea LED with bezel 276-018 1ea 1/4w resistor, 2.2K 271-1325 1ea 8 position barrier strip 274-670 1ea connector, 6 pin, male 274-226 1ea " " " female 274-236 3 inches 1/8" shrink tubing 6 feet #24 or #26 stranded hookup wire 4 feet #20 or #22 " " " 14 to 16 red coded #6 hole insulated lugs The barrier strip will be numbered from left to right, when mounted, as follows: pwr pwr n/c +5V LED GND reset halt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 => ____________________________________________________ First, mount the barrier strip on the CoCo base beneath the keyboard by lining up and drilling 4 #6 cl holes. Fasten it down with 4 6-32 X 3/4" screws & nuts. Solder the #24 wire to R19 (large resistor at the very left-front of the mother board) on the lead nearest the front. Run it to terminal 4 on the barrier strip, cut it to length, crimp on a lug and screw it to the terminal. Crimp lugs on both ends of the 2.2K resistor and connect it from terminal 4 to terminal 5. Next, solder the #20 wire to the tinned part of the mother board where the bronze clips slide on, cut it and lug it for term- inal 6. Use the #24 wire to connect the right pin on top of the reset button to terminal 7 and pin 3 of the cartridge port connector to terminal 8. The mother board is now connected for the outside world. |
** P51 Mustangs **
The reason I chose to Draw P-51 Mustangs is be-
cause we (the local Ozark Mountain Squadron of the
Confederate Air Force) are having an Air Show on the
9th and 10th of July showing 5 P-51's a B-25 and
other planes from WWII at the local Airport.
The P-51 was originally produced for Great Bri-
tain in 1940. After adding the British Rolls-Royce
'Merlin' engine the speed and service ceiling were
improved enough to make it the primary escort for
B-17's and B-24's in Decemeber 1943.
They scored heavily over German interceptors
and by war's end had destroyed 4,950 enemey aircraft
in the air, more than any other fighter in Europe.
Between 1941-5, the Army Air Force ordered
14,855 Mustangs.
During the Korean Conflict, P-51D's were ==>
____________________________________________________
used primarily for close support of ground forces
until withdrawn from combat in 1953.
They were armed with six 50-cal machine guns
and ten 5 in. rockets or 2,000 lbs. of bombs.
They cost $54,000.
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum Speed: 437 mph.
Cruising Speed: 275 mph.
Range: 1,000 miles
Service Ceiling: 41,000 ft.
I may have been a PFC in the USAAF, but I'm a
Colonel in the CAF!!! Enjoy... Godfrey
(Select P51A in NIBSHOW on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
GOING FISHING
My wife is an animal lover and is always bugging
me to do more pictures of animals. Unfortunately,
the resolution of the CoCo3 system is not good
enough to show the texture of fur adequately. But,
whenever the picture has a distant view instead of a
closeup, this is less of a problem. So, I was able
to reproduce this picture from a Humane Information
Society calendar.
(Select FISHING in NIBSHOW on the back side of this
disk.)
=*
|
Odie's sidekick: GARFIELD!
Oh no...not ANOTHER Garfield character! Ok, so my
inspirations for "art" come from places such as Toy
Stores, Coloring Books and Cartoons! :) Oh well, I
still have a lot of fun using CoCoMax 3 to bring an
idea to the CoCo screen.
The 16 selectable colors in a CoCoMax 3 palette
are MORE than enough to make a cartoon image come
to life! Also, the available options of Animation
and Color Cycling make a picture even MORE dynamic.
If you haven't worked with CoCoMax 3 lately, you
really should give it a try! I've found it to be a
great means of relaxation and also enjoy using my
Tandy CGP-220 to make color prints! I always look
forward to the cooler weather because it usually =>
____________________________________________________
provides the opportunity to sit down at the CoCo
and do something "creative". So fire up that CoCo
and see what your imagination can inspire! I always
enjoy seeing what others can come up with and I'm
sure your fellow members will appreciate it as well!
And, remember the nice thing about your "electronic"
canvas...clean-up is a SNAP! :)
With the Holidays not far off, I know I'll have some
"new" inspirations for the CFDM Art Gallery!
(Use NIBSHOW to view GARFIELD.NIB on the back side
of this disk.)
=*
|
The Hick Brothers
The wily Bubba Hick has his own view about the
upcoming big shin-dig next year. That is, if Billy
Bob ever explains it to him....
(You'll find Ray's HICK126.NIB picture on the back
side of this disk.)
=*
|
The Millennium Generation
Presenting a brand new cartoon series, exclusively
on the CoCo Friend's Disk Magazine. THE MILLENNIUM
GENERATION pokes fun at the Millennium Bug, power
outages and other weird topics in the next
millennium. Enjoy!
(You'll find THE MILLENNIUM GENERATION cartoon on
side 2 of this disk and can view it by selecting
MiGe1 in NIBSHOW.)
=*
|
VIEW FROM THE VERANDA
I am always on the lookout for subjects for my
pictures. This one came from a picture on the wall
of an office building where my wife had a doctor's
appointment. I reproduced it as best I could recall
from a short viewing. It appears to represent a
villa on the Riviera. So, I could have titled it
View from the Villa's Veranda. But, that would have
been even more alliterative than what I used!
(Select VERANDA in NIBSHOW on side 2 of this 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!
=*
|
| Articles in section: FAMILY TREE |
| BUSY
SUMMER! SUMMER UPDATE UPDATE FROM THE MOLL'S |
| Back to top |
BUSY SUMMER! This has been a busy and tiring summer. I don't know
how badly the drought has hit the midwest, but it
sure is bad here. The air quality is made worse by
the heavy traffic on six or seven major highways
Northwest of here. Being on the shore doesn't help
when the wind is from that direction. Both sons have
spent time here this summer plus a long weekend was
enjoyed on Cape Cod at a wedding.
Now have a 216mb SCSI hard drive and a SCSI port out
to a ZIP installed in my "Grizzly CoCo". Also modi-
fied it, interior spacewise, to except Mark Marlet-
te's 2mb RAM board which I hope to install at the
Penn Fest.
=*
|
SUMMER UPDATE Hello Jim Davis and the CFDM Friends,
Summer vacation is over already and we've started
back to school!! Seems like a short vacation, but
it's got to end sometime! It's been very hot and
dry here in Kentucky...I'm sure many of you have
experienced the same type of weather.
The biggest news from me is that I had the LYSIC eye
surgery about 10 days ago. (I hope I spelled that
correctly!) Anyway, my vision is about 20/40 now.
I'm hoping it will improve, but if not, I'll have
an enhancement done later on. It's not perfect, but
I do enjoy not having to wear glasses or contact
lens.
- Rick =*
|
UPDATE FROM THE MOLL'S Since this is the CFDM Issue before we leave for
our Winter stay in Destin, Florida, I'd like to give
everyone our local address and telephone number
along with our e-mail address -- just hoping that
someone would like to contact us during our 4 months
stay. We leave on November 30th to be there until
April 1, 2000. The address is the same as last year:
Muriel & Godfrey Moll
1010 Highway 98 East Unit 504
Destin, FL 32541
Telephone: (850)837-5823
E-Mail: GJMOLL@aol.com
Web Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1418 =>
____________________________________________________
I'll have my Florida PC with me and will be work-
ing on using the Emulator -- hope to provide many
articles for CFDM during my stay.
Muriel and I certainly enjoyed the PennFest 99
that Ron Bull put together for the CoCo Community.
Lots of Vendors and the presence of Nickolas Maren-
tes, John Kowalski and Larry Greenfield certainly
made the long trip from Missouri worthwhile!
If we could only get more PC owners interested in
using the Emulator and making more of our "good old"
CoCo programs work on it, we would really be able to
continue the CoCo and CFDM into the Millennium and
beyond. =>
____________________________________________________
An early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to
all our CoCo Friends,
Muriel & Godfrey
=*
|
| Articles in section: FORUM |
| **
CoCo Web Ring Update ** ** PC Connections ** CFDM Needs your Material GETTING THE WORD OUT |
| Back to top |
** CoCo Web Ring Update ** It's been SIX months since we talked about the
CoCo Web Ring that Perrin Ehlinger maintains on the
Internet for us CoCoNuts. Well in the last report we
talked about 11 links going down to 7 links -- now
we have 23 GREAT links to explore using the CoCo Web
Ring! That was in CFDM Issue #63.
Do you want to have a FUN DAY surfing the Inter-
net for CoCo Info and Downloads, well just go to his
Web Page and get connected to the CoCo Web Ring!
http://www.mindspring.com/-perrin/CoCo/index.html
or directly
http://www.mindspring.com/-perrin/CoCo/webring.htm
(where the (-) is a tilde or approximate sign) ==>
____________________________________________________
The next step is to JOIN the CoCo Web Ring by
contacting Perrin at: perrin@mindspring.com
or at the URL listed above. He provides all of the
HTML Code to include the CoCo Web Ring LINK to your
Home Page.
By going to the CoCo Web Ring I made connections
with enough GREAT Home Pages, to have enough Home
Pages to write about for the next 10 Issues of CFDM!
I know that our goal is to keep going into the year
2000, but if for any reason it goes on and on, I'll
be ready.
This winter in Florida I plan to keep surfing
and enjoying all of the CoCo material available to
us lucky CoCoists.
Godfrey ==*
|
** PC Connections ** If you've been surfing around the World Wide Web
looking for CoCo stuff, you're bound to have reached
John Kowalski's Home Page entitled 'Sockmaster's Web
Page'! If you did any kind of SEARCH at all, this
one turns up. I did a SEARCH using Infoseek and the
word CoCo Emulator and it gave me 68 sites to visit,
and John was one of the first listed by content and
frequency of hits! Now you want to know his URL?
http://www.axess.com/twilight/sock/
Why 'twilight'? Well, if you read about the Sock
Master, you will find that he RUNS a COCO BBS using
his own TWILIGHT BBS TERMINAL program.
==>
____________________________________________________
You may e-mail him at: sock@axess.com
If you go to his Sock Master's Web Page, be sure
to check out his Guestbook, that has been signed by
66 CoCoNuts! I spend many happy hours reading what
is said in Guestbooks and then following links to
their Home Pages -- lots to learn.
While there recently, I went to Nick Marentes'
Web Page and took the time to read his interview of
John Kowalski. Very interesting -- if you want to
know just how the BOUNCING BALL in BOINK was created
-- this is included in the interview!
Back to the Sock Master's Web Page -- it has a
column of Seven Major Headings, which are as follows
1) My CoCo3 Stuff -- that provides links to 11
Programs & Projects that John has created or is
working on. A busy talented man! ==>
____________________________________________________
2) Links To other folks' CoCo web pages -- 32
of the Best CoCo sites on the Internet to visit.
If you're not there, you need to contact John!
3) CoCo Fests with three Links right now.
4) CoCo Software, emulators & clones -- 7 links
to explore at your leisure.
5) CoCo Clubs and User Groups -- 4 links to get
involved with.
6) CoCo Information -- 5 sources of material.
7) Links to other Interesting Stuff -- 3 places
to learn more about computers.
He ends with a Link to 'Search Engines galore'
And never forget his Shareware DOWNLOADs, GLOOM-
3D, DEMO's 1 & 2, and BOINK!!! Have FUN --
Godfrey - GJMOLL@aol.com Till Next Quarter...
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1418 =*
|
CFDM Needs your Material This is a call that has gone out MANY times over the years. A lot of people have responded by sending in something for use in CFDM. Our need for CoCo related material is always a concern. Please consider send- ing in something for use in the next issue. If you can't think of any ideas, dig out some of your past issues of CFDM or old Rainbows and see where your interests were once "sparked". No matter what skill level you have with the CoCo or the Emulator, your participation is GREATLY encouraged! Another area that seems to give members problems is the CFDM Submission Template. Remember, this is NOT the only means of sending in material. You may also use a plain ASCII document, typed or even a plain hand written letter to get your work submitted. => ____________________________________________________ If you're a PC or Emulator user, E-Mail or DSK files is another option that's available to you. This is a nice means because items can be quickly sent and the time and cost to do it, is minimal. It's quick and easy to send ADS, ARTICLES, FAMILY TREES, FORUM, POTPOURRI, REVIEWS and Q&A entries by simply typing the information in an E-Mail. For those using the Emulator, if you've created an item usable as disk material such as a Picture, Pro- gram, Music or other CoCo related item; you need only "attach" a DSK file to the E-Mail with a des- cription of your work. No matter what means you use to get it to me, your participation is needed to keep things going! =* |
GETTING THE WORD OUT I think it would be a good FORUM to ask everyone
to assist in making the crowd bigger at next year's
PENN FEST 2000 by placing Ads in "free" publications
in their immediate areas to help spread the word.
All help is BIG help! I don't have FIDONET, DELPHI,
GENIE or COMPUSERVE, so any help spreading the word
through those Forums would help too!
- Ron
=*
|
| Articles in section: FROM THE EDITOR |
| CFDM
Renewals at Penn Fest '99 CFDM UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 1999 KUDOS FOR ISSUE #66 NEW CFDM Members Welcome! THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE |
| Back to top |
CFDM Renewals at Penn Fest '99 A BIG thanks for the continued support from the following members who renewed their subscription at the recent Penn Fest. * Jerry Combes - from Maryland. * Wally Grossman - from Ohio. * Dave Poitras - from New Hampshire. * Cal Wilcox - from Ohio. It's always great to meet up with fellow members at the various Fests. The LONG trip to the Fests is quickly forgotten once you start seeing familiar faces and active CoCo users! A fun time indeed! =* |
CFDM UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 1999 Hello everyone,
I'm pleased to FINALLY have issue #66 of CFDM ready
to send out. It was certainly a task to get every-
thing finished and get this issue out in a reason-
able amount of time. I've had a VERY busy summer
and a tight schedule to go along with it. Too many
irons in the fire is an understatement!
Well, Penn Fest '99 has come and gone, but can be
deemed a successful event for the CoCo. I was happy
to see that many of our CFDM members made the trip
to the show. Thanks to all who renewed while there,
your continued support is very much appreciated.
We also picked up a few new members that I hope will
find something of interest in our disk magazine. =>
____________________________________________________
As the warm weather goes by the wayside, I hope it
will also provide the opportunity for everyone to
sit down at their CoCo or CoCo 3 Emulator and delve
into something that strikes their fancy.
This issue brings us a pretty good mix of material
and hopefully something for everyone. You'll find
plenty to read and some Hardware Projects that are
sure to get you "tinkering". John Kowalski made a
recent update to his HICOLOR program that's sure to
"amaze" you. Nickolas Marentes has a new BOOK avail-
able. We've got a full ART GALLERY and lots of other
things to see and do. So please take some time and
"dig in" to issue #66 and have some fun.
=>
____________________________________________________
Terry Laraway recently asked me if we could publish
CFDM members E-Mail Addresses? I think this would
be a good idea to set in motion. So, in the December
issue we'll plan on having an entry with as many
member E-Mail addresses as possible. If you would
like yours published in the next issue, simply drop
me an E-Mail at: gearboxed@mindspring.com to be in-
cluded. It would be nice if we could keep a current,
up-to-date listing that appears in each issue. This
could also be done with member Web Pages, whether
the page is CoCo related or not? You'd be surprised
at how diverse some of your fellow CoCo users are,
and what other types of hobbies and interests they
have. Get to know your CoCo Community and its users.
Remember, the only ones left to support our CoCo and
CoCo Community is each other! Regards to all, Jim =*
|
KUDOS FOR ISSUE #66 Hats off to the following CFDM members who helped
make this issue possible!
Norm Barson, Ray Berney, Pete Blackwell, Ron Bull,
Rick Cooper, R. Edmondson, Herb Forger, Marc Fury,
Roger Hallman, John Kowalski, Terry Laraway, Nick
Marentes, Mark Marlette, Harold Moenich, Godfrey
Moll, Jack O'Driscoll, Tony Podraza, Dave Poitras,
Ed Porter, John Riddle, Al Santos, Stephen Secord,
R.C. Smith, Ray Watts, Jim Witte and Stuart Wyss-
Gallifent.
Your support for CFDM is GREATLY appreciated!
=*
|
NEW CFDM Members Welcome! I would like to take this opportunity to welcome
the following new members who recently joined CFDM
while attending Penn Fest '99 this past August.
* Mark Marlette (Cloud-9) - from Minnesota.
* Jack O'Driscoll - from Michigan.
* Tony Podraza (Glenside CoCo Club) - from Illinois.
* Stephen Secord (AniMajik) - from California.
I'm sure some of these names may be familiar to you,
and I hope we'll have the opportunity to here more
from each of them in future issues of CFDM!!
=*
|
THIS MONTH'S HOLY SCRIPTURE There is some good advice in this month's reading:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal;
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal;
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.
St. Matthew 6:19-21
=*
|
| Articles in section: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| A
NOTE FROM NORM + GIFT A NOTE FROM RAY HOME AGAIN! MAIL BAG EXCERPTS NEWS ON PENN FEST 2000 Page Edmondson Thank you, Jim! |
| Back to top |
A NOTE FROM NORM + GIFT June 30, 1999
Hi Jim,
I wanted to alert you. I'll put a package in the
mail tomorrow when I can get to the post office.
You'll find 50 unused disks, notched and punched
per you "order". I removed the labels and cleaned
up any residue. I'll let you do the formatting. You
need something to occupy all your spare time! I've
also included a surprise to fill out the package.
I couldn't find a suitable box, so I ended up cut-
ting down a box I had. The disks should be well pro-
tected.
- Norm =>
____________________________________________________
----
JIM:
----
Hi Norm!
Well, I was certainly surprised at the quantity of
disks that you sent. In addition to sending them,
you ALSO saved me a considerable amount of time with
punching them. For those who may not know, a recent
conversation on the phone with Norm brought up the
topic of 5-1/4 disks. I had told Norm that I had
gone through a large quantity of the "new" disks I
had on hand. He had mentioned that he had quite a
few extras and if I needed them, he would send them
to me. I "jokingly" said that I would "prefer" they
be "punched" and sure enough THEY WERE!! :) =>
____________________________________________________
This is just one more example of how much Norm has
supported the efforts of CFDM since DAY ONE.
I'm not only thankful for having people such as Norm
as a fellow CoCo user, but having the opportunity to
know people such as this go far beyond the CoCo!
=*
|
A NOTE FROM RAY 9 August 1999
Hi Jim,
Hooray!! Found the time and energy to do the
articles; in fact may have too many articles for one
issue! If space is not available their sequence of
appearence should be evident by the titles.
Can't wait to see you and all the other
people in several weeks (Penn Fest '99). We are mak-
ing a short vacation out of it and will be staying
with Doralee's sister in Steubenville, Ohio. It's
about a 45 minute commute from Penn Fest. If you
want any Dean Martin souvenirs, now is the time to
speak up :-)
Cheers, =>
Ray
____________________________________________________
----
JIM:
----
Hi Ray! Once again you've taken the time and effort
to send in some great articles and it's MUCH apprec-
iated! I very much enjoyed seeing you at Penn Fest
and it was a pleasure to meet your wife Doralee. I
enjoyed seeing your exceptionally build CoCo system
"live and in person" finally. I was very impressed
by the overall compactness and the way you've neatly
housed all the components. I of course picked up the
SCSI Interface w/zip adapter and will be giving my
system a major upgrade. This exciting piece of Hard-
ware in conjuction with some of the interior and ex-
terior mods you've talked about, will give me plenty
of "tinkering time" this winter! Take care Ray! =>
____________________________________________________
Please note that three of Ray's articles appear in
this issue and should be followed in this order:
- THE HARDWARE STORE
- SON OF THE HARDWARE STORE
- SON OF THE HARDWARE STORE REDUX
Please see ARTICLES of the MONTH for these entries.
=*
|
HOME AGAIN! Hi Jim!
Well I made it home alive!!
It's been pretty busy over here. I got home on
Thursday morning at 9:30am. The flight was quite
smooth with the only hiccup at Chicago where bad
weather forced my flight to Los Angeles to be can-
celled. Luckily, there was another flight leaving
for LA at around the same time and they put every-
one on that one. The only hitch was that my luggage
was routed on another flight bound for Melbourne.
Amazingly, there were three UA flights heading for
"Down Under" at the same time. Mine was heading for
Sydney, my luggage on the one headed for Melbourne
and there was another headed for Auckland, =>
____________________________________________________
New Zealand. After arriving at Sydney, I went stra-
ight to the luggage counter and explained the prob-
lem and they said they would locate the luggage and
have it sent to Brisbane, even deliver it to my
door. Sure enough, that afternoon at around 5:00pm,
a knock on the door revealed my suitcase home deliv-
ered. Phew!
- Nickolas
----------------------------------------------------
Hi Nick!
We certainly enjoyed having you here in Missouri for
a visit. Also had a great time preparing for the
Fest and despite the LONG drive up to PA, it was a
lot of fun. Was pleased to hear that you made it
home ok...same for the luggage! I'm ok, I'm ok!:) =*
|
MAIL BAG EXCERPTS ----------------------------------------------------
Keep up the great job! Can you publish E-Mail add-
resses of members?
- Terry Laraway (SMALL GRAFX ETC.), Bremerton, WA.
----------------------------------------------------
Hi Jim -
Here's my check for the Nickolas Marentes
Interview book and upcoming Game Program.
Thank-you for doing this for our CoCo.
Thanks,
Marc Fury - Saginaw, MI.
----------------------------------------------------
=>
____________________________________________________
Jim,
I've decided not to renew - I've gotten back
into HAM RADIO and do almost nothing with the CoCo.
Best Wishes to all,
R.C. Smith - Stone Mountain, GA.
----------------------------------------------------
I finally got around to setting up a new web page,
check it out:
http://www.mindspring.com/-rogerjh
- Roger Hallman, Milwaukee, WI.
> Replace the "-" with the tilde symbol in the URL <
----------------------------------------------------
=*
|
NEWS ON PENN FEST 2000 9/5/99
Jim,
I'm getting the Holiday Inn to do me up a con-
tract for the next show with everything in writing,
NO SURPRISES! We will have all 4 rooms AND a Seminar
Room in writing. I will also insist on the Tables
installed as per my Foor Plan BEFORE the Vendors are
allowed to set up. They of course also have to give
me the time that we can have the Rooms on Friday the
18th.
Talk to you later!
Ron
=>
____________________________________________________
----
JIM:
----
Hi Ron!
Well, despite the fact that Holiday Inn ALWAYS does
something to make organizing the Fest even MORE work
for you, you've done A-OK so far! Hence the reason
I'm usually not a patron at their establishment! The
few times I have lodged at one, I managed to have at
least a FEW words of discussion at the front desk!:)
Thanks again for a fun-filled Fest this year. It was
definitely one that those who attended WON'T forget!
=*
|
Page Edmondson August 14,1999
Dear Sirs,
This subscriber has recently passed away.
A retired organic chemist, he used his CoCo 3 for
writing letters to friends & disliked Windows.
Thanks for the many years of enjoyment.
Sincerely,
R. Edmondson (son)
=*
|
Thank you, Jim! Thank you, Jim, for the unexpected surprise! Since
I had no more ideas nor response on my embroidered
CFDM patches, I sent them to you. But to get a free
year's membership for sending you the patches, now
that's very nice of you. I'm sorry I did not have
very many, but those who are fortunate to get one,
are the lucky few. I had originally ordered 70 and
the company sent me 1 sample and all they had made -
74. The sample was a different color set than the
final product. I sent the sample and 1 of the final
set to Rick Cooper. I sold some at Rick's first
picnic and others by mail. The rest of them were
just laying around my room until I decided to send
them to you. I've kept one for myself. And that's
the story of the CFDM Patches. =>
____________________________________________________
----
JIM:
----
Hi Ray! I'm glad to hear you were pleased with our
trade! You'll also be happy to know that a few more
CFDM members were able to pick up a patch. Early
this year I used them in conjunction with New Member
Kits and distributed them at both the 8th Annual
"Last" Chicago CoCo Fest and more recently at Penn
Fest '99. The patches are a really "colorful" and
"attractive" booth addition. Thanks again for your
contribution and your continued support!
=*
|
| Articles in section: POTPOURRI |
| Always
Plan Ahead! COCO PUZZLE Halloween Witches Screens Y2K AND SUPPORT |
| Back to top |
Always Plan Ahead!
I have created this "quickie" sign as a means of
spreading the "wise words" it has printed upon it.
I hope everyone will heed the advice on my sign and
learn to follow the standards I set for myself while
making it...DOH!
(Select PLANAHED in NIBSHOW on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
COCO PUZZLE If you like WORD SEARCH PUZZLES, try this COCO one. The puzzle is on page 2. You will have to print it out since there is no COCO program to run it. Words can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, in standard or reversed order. The words used in the puzzle are shown below: BENNETT FIVETWELVE MOLL BONUSDISK FLOPPIES MONITOR CFDM FORUM QUELLHORST CLIPART GIBBONS RAINBOW COCO HARDCOPY RAM COOPER JEFFV STUART DAVIS KEYBOARD SYSOPS DISKDRIVE LARAWAY => ____________________________________________________ B S Q M M S P O S Y S K E C H C C O T U U O R N Y S Y S O D O A B O D U E R N N O B B I G C L D E E O A A L O I M A T D O D A E O E N P V R L F T F L S E I R O R R O N E I T H I O C U O S A B A N A E E R S V O H R N T K W O I A C I G T E C F R J O H D A N N R F N N T T L F Y S B A R Y U B I D H W B L L M A R T R I C S O E M E C O O A A R H T D V O D W O L C M P T R C I J B C E O I H V O E P C L I P A R T O I P J E C E I L J E F F V H O P G E U V E E U D R A O B Y E K Y O L F R S N O B B I G Q P O L F M E O =* |
Halloween Witches
Ah...Halloween, the one time of the year when the
phrase, "You look really scary" is a compliment and
a white sheet with eye holes poked in it is stylish!
Here's a picture to get you into the "Halloween
Spirt", and hopefully put you in the mood to do a
little "Midnight Decorating" in your nosy neighbor's
trees...er...I mean, pass out candy to children! :)
(See WITCHES.NIB on side 2 of this disk.)
=*
|
Screens
I think I've been spending too much time in front of
my NEC Versa laptop PC. I keep seeing Win95 back-
ground screens. Now I see them on my CoCo 3.
SCREENs 02, 04, and 05 are four screens patterned
after Win95 backgrounds.
(See side 2 of this disk for these NIB files.)
=*
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Y2K AND SUPPORT It has been determined that there is no longer any
need for network or software applications support.
The goal is to remove all computers from the desktop
by January, 1999. Instead, everyone will be provided
with an Etch-A-Sketch. There are sound reasons for
doing this:
1) No Y2K problems.
2) No technical glitches keeping work from being
done.
3) No more wasted time reading and writing emails.
Frequently Asked Questions for Etch-A-Sketch
Technical Support:
=>
____________________________________________________
Q: My Etch-A-Sketch has all of these funny little
lines all over the screen.
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I turn my Etch-A-Sketch off?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: What's the shortcut for Undo?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I create a New Document window?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I set the background and foreground color
to the same color?
A: Pick it up and shake it. =>
____________________________________________________
Q: How do I delete a document on my Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q: How do I save my Etch-A-Sketch document?
A: Don't shake it.
This will help us all limit system support issues.
=*
|
| Articles in section: PROGRAMS OF THE MONTH |
| 60
YEARS DOLLY PUZZLES, PUZZLES, PUZZLES |
| Back to top |
60 YEARS
I thought I would say "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY" to my wife in a little different way this year. I have in past years used the PRINTER and used a GRAPHIC and WORDS to express myself to her---I hope she likes this way better---we shall see! Using the SPEECH/SOUND PAK, I put together GRAPHIC, MUSIC and SPEECH. This program proves to me that a lifetime goes very, very fast. How my wife has put up with me for so many years is beyond me, but I do thank God for her. I also thank God that he has let me live so long. May all who are married be as HAPPY as my wife and me, and be able to see their 60TH ANNIVERSARY! HJM 05-03-99 - MOEN1@WEBTV.NET FAX: (412) 373-1309 (RUN "60.BAS" on the back side of this disk.) =* |
DOLLY
Here goes another SPEECH/SOUND PROGRAM with a PRETTY GIRL, a PRETTY SONG and telling the girl how PRETTY SHE IS. Spring is here and Summer will soon be here. A young man's fancy turns to LOVE, but I hope and pray the whole world would turn to LOVE instead of HATE. "KOSOVO" and all of the school killings has me quite upset. I don't have long on this Earth, so I would like to see PEACE before I go. ENOUGH-ENOUGH, I hope you all like the PROGRAM! HJM 05-03-99 MOEN1@WEBTV.NET FAX: (412) 373-1309 (RUN "GIRL.BAS" on the back side of this disk.) =* |
PUZZLES, PUZZLES, PUZZLES
I still have quite a few pictures adapted for
Rick's PUZZLES, so here are eight more. As before, I
have no idea who the artists are, but I have
selected pictures I thought were good in their own
right and would also make interesting puzzles. I
hope I have encouraged new puzzle fans as well as
provided more fun for those already addicted. And,
if you don't happen to be one of these, at least
enjoy the pictures by loading them into NIBSHOW.
(Simply RUN "BOOT.BAS" on side 2 of the Bonus Disk.)
=*
|
| Articles in section: REVIEWS |
| Penn
Fest '99 PART 1 Penn Fest '99 PART 2 Penn Fest '99 PART 3 Penn Fest '99 PART 4 Penn Fest '99 PART 5 |
| Back to top |
Penn Fest '99 PART 1 As most everyone already knows, the recent Penn Fest
'99 was on August 21-22 in Pittsburgh, PA. This was
a fun-filled event that was surely enjoyed by all
who attended. This year, I was fortunate enough to
have Nickolas Marentes stop in Missouri for a few
days prior to the Fest. We had also planned on mak-
ing the long journey to the Fest via an over the
road trip. This was really something to remember and
took plenty of planning. Once Nickolas arrived here,
we were hard at work in preparation for the Fest.
Ok, we goofed off a little bit prior to actually
getting any "work" done! Considering the amount of
flight travel Nickolas had and all the driving I had
done, it was a miracle we could even feed ourselves
and function! None-the-less, we managed to get all
the Fest preparations completed and have a safe =>
____________________________________________________
trip to Pittsburgh.
After many hours of driving, driving and driving,
we finally arrived at the Holiday Inn and eventually
saw other "CoCo People". The long trip is quickly
forgotten once you start seeing others...although
sleep would have helped even more! Since our arrival
was on Friday, shortly after we got there we started
setting up our booths. During setup I was amazed at
how much "activity" was going on. People were there
and ready to have some fun!
Post setup sent most of us out in search of a good
meal, not sure if anyone found one though? Later
that evening setup at the Holiday Inn continued.
After a few more hours of work we FINALLY went =>
____________________________________________________
to the Red Roof Inn to get some MUCH deserved sleep!
It didn't take long to fall asleep; in fact I don't
even remember actually getting ready for bed, I only
remember closing my eyes!
After what seemed like only minutes of sleep, it was
time to get up..uh! We grabbed a quick breakfast and
headed back to the Holiday Inn. A short while later
the exhibit hall doors were once again opened and
the Fest activities began. People moved from table
to table looking at available wares and chatted with
friends. It looked like everyone was having a good
time. Nickolas started off the day with an early
morning seminar to unveil his new book and to talk
about his current game in development.
(See PART 2.) =*
|
Penn Fest '99 PART 2 Later, John Kowalski gave a short talk on the 3-D
Algorithm used in Nickolas' game. Ron later gave a
quick demo of the new CoCo 2 Emulator being develop-
ed by Russ LaBlang.
I spent the remainder of the day attending my booth
and generally talking with others. I also managed to
have a look around at other tables and pick up a few
goodies.
Here's a brief summary of the Vendors represented:
/ AniMajik / - Stephen Secord had OS-9 related wares
and some neat "OS-9 Kicks Butt in Real Time" buttons
for sale.
=>
____________________________________________________
/ Bargeman Research Labs / - Karl Sefcik was there
in support of the Fest along with Star Trek and CD-I
related information.
/ Blackhawk / - Keith March had an MM/1 on display
and was showing off its hardware and capabilities.
/ BUYCOCO.COM / - Scot Griepentrog was promoting his
web page which has products and services for both
CoCo buyers and sellers.
/ Cloud-9 / - Mark Marlette had "new" CoCo hardware
items on hand such as, a SCSI Interface, AT Keyboard
Adapter, the Protector and RAM kits.
/ CoCoMan / - Jason Reighard had many "classic" =>
____________________________________________________
CoCo and Atari related items available for the user
or collector.
/ CoCo Preservation Society / - Allen Huffman repre-
sented this entity and encouraged membership.
/ Dave & Susan Poitras / - Dave and Susan had a HUGE
table with all sorts of CoCo hardware and software,
at bargain prices too! I picked up a few goodies
there myself!
/ Glenside CoCo Club / - Tony Podraza and Brian
Goers were there to represent the GCCC and sign-up
new members. They also distributed more of the IDE
Interface Cards.
(See PART 3.) =*
|
Penn Fest '99 PART 3 / Grizzly Enterprises / - Ray Watts had his nicely repacked CoCo 3 on display. If you've been following along with Ray's hardware articles in CFDM, you can get an idea how this machine is setup. To see the "Grizzly" mascot, you needed to be there in person! / Jim Davis / - I was there in support of CFDM and was taking new memberships and renewals. I also had the CoCoPro! and Sundog Systems titles available, along with a few other software items. / Kenneth Baker / - Kenneth had stocks of "new" in- the-box CoCo 3's for sale along with some neat 5" b/w TV's, which I purchased one of each! / Mike Guzzi / - Mike was there displaying his => ____________________________________________________ "real life" Reptile Project that's interfaced with a CoCo 3. / Monk-O-Ware / - Brother Jeremy had the OS-9 Level 2 Upgrade available and a prototype CoCo 3 on hand to look at. / Nickolas Marentes / - Nickolas had his new book CoCoNUTS for sale and was taking advanced orders for his new game Gate Crasher, which is currently in de- velopment. He also had "Australian" Souvenirs on display to promote the "raffle drawing" he was sell- ing tickets for. / Paul Zimbailia II / - Paul had a good selection of used CoCo hardware and software items for sale. => ____________________________________________________ / Planet 9 Systems / - Boisy Pitre had OS-1 Level 1 and Level 2 ROM kits available for the CoCo, along with other OS-9 offerings. / SBUG / - Dick Albers had a good mix of new and used hardware and software items for sale. / SOCKMASTER / - John Kowalski had a neat CoCo slide show using his HICOLOR format, along with many of his other programming demos on display. He also had a Super Nintendo setup to show some of the projects he's worked on for that platform as well. / Steve J. Shimatzki / - Steve had various hardware and software items for sale and...(See PART 4.) =* |
Penn Fest '99 PART 4 ...was setting up his newly acquired IDE Interface.
/ STG.NET / - Scot Griepentrog was there to tell
about the net he runs and the MANY services it has
to offer.
/ Sub-Etha Soft-WARE / - Allen Huffman had his Book
CoCoFest Chronicles available along with Buttons and
T-Shirts for Penn Fest '99.
/ Team OS-9 / - John Strong and Don Adams had a HUGE
lot of stuff on their table, both for sale and free!
/ The IDE Project / - In conjunction with the GCCC,
purchasers of the IDE Interface were able to pick up
their order. =>
____________________________________________________
All and all, there was something for everyone and a
fine mix of wares in all areas of the CoCo. During
the evening hours on Saturday, Brother Jeremy enter-
tained everyone with a musical session, which was
a spirited event.
Sunday morning, Nickolas led the days events off
with a seminar and demonstration of his Digiscan
Video Digitizer, along with some of the background
information in developing and marketing it. Later
that day, Brother Jeremy had an afternoon worship
service with a lunch break following shortly after.
After lunch Ron began the "No-Minimum-Bid" Auction,
which took up the remainder of the afternoon.
=>
____________________________________________________
As the Fest began to wind down, both vendors and
attendees began preparing for their trips home. A
few of us stayed around to have a nice sit-down
dinner at the "Outback Steak House", which was the
best meal I had the whole trip! The meal was great
and the dinner companions were even better! This
was something not to be missed, it was a lot of fun!
After dinner, a few of us went back to the Red Roof
Inn for a friendly game of darts...OUCH! It was also
a relaxing chance to sit down for some casual con-
versation.
EARLY Monday morning we were once again on the road!
We safely made it back to Missouri in one piece!
Tuesday morning was spent trying...(See PART 5.) =*
|
Penn Fest '99 PART 5 ...to get Nickolas to Kansas City in time for his
flight home. I didn't even hurt any other motorists
during the race, physically hurt that is! :) Luckily
the flight was delayed a bit and gave us a chance to
take a few pictures and talk a bit. Alas, Nickolas
was on his way back home to Australia...well not ex-
actly home...but heading towards home!
The whole trip was really something to remember for
me. I had a great time at the Fest and enjoyed see-
ing everyone. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to
meet people I had only talked to "on-line", such as
John Kowalski and Larry Greenfield. It was ALSO nice
to see my fellow Missourians Godfrey and Muriel at
the Fest as well!
=>
____________________________________________________
Thanks goes out to Ron and Diane Bull for putting on
a GREAT show and for all their time and effort in
preparing for it! Also, thanks to those who attend-
ed and helped make the show a lively and worthwhile
event!
Don't forget, Penn Fest 2000 "The Big Birthday Bash"
is in the works, so plan on attending this special
celebration for the CoCo!
=*
|
| Articles in section: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
| HALL
OF THE KING III HELP In need of a MOUSE Software Items Wanted Tips: Demolition Derby WIZARDS TOWER 80 |
| Back to top |
HALL OF THE KING III HELP I've been trying to solve Hall of the King III:
The Earth Stone Revealed for about 7 years. I have
solved Parts 1&2, but gave up on Part 3. About five
years ago, every once in a while, I'd give it a try
to no avail!
Here's where I'm at:
I'm in the room with the pool, where the chimes were
floating overhead.
I have these items in my Inventory:
Key Piece, Head Piece, Final Piece, Gem, Torch and a
Ring.
=>
____________________________________________________
Here are the items available:
Pick, Lantern, Pole and Chimes.
If I leave the Pool area, the Gelatinous Cube kills
me. Going North takes me to the room where I read
the Parchment. Going East takes me in the Room with
the Pentagon. I can't find anything else in these
rooms. South from the Pool leads to the death of me.
Can anyone Help? If you can, I thank you very much!
Ed Porter
410 S Cranford Rd
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003-3437 Phone: (609)428-7643
=*
|
In need of a MOUSE I am in need of a single button mouse (or two?) for
the CoCo 3. Can anyone help?
Have a very nice fall/winter and THANKS!
- Pete Blackwell
156 Gus Hargett Rd
Ripley TN 38063-5604
----------------------------------------------------
JIM: Hi Pete! If you don't have any luck finding a
mouse for your CoCo, drop me a line. I can probably
find an extra one around here somewhere!
----------------------------------------------------
=*
|
Software Items Wanted Here are a couple of things I've been looking for:
Medevial Madness and Mission: Rush-n-Assault by
Diecom.
I'm also looking for there following Cer-Comp stuff:
- Textpro 4
- DataPak 3
- Window Master
- Window Writer
Thanks,
John Riddle : jriddle@maranatha.net
=*
|
Tips: Demolition Derby A few issues back I did a mini review on the game Demolition Derby by Tandy. If you've managed to give this game a try or second look, here are a few tips to help your achieve a higher score and ultimately stay alive to finish all 16 courses. > Avoid crashing your racer (losing a live) when your fuel is low, because your "new racer" will start with the same amount of fuel as your previous racer. > Target cars that are moving towards the walls, don't waste time with Cars or Gas Trucks that are making a "bee-line" to the center of the track. Cars that are moving towards the walls take fewer hits to smash. I rarely use more than one hit to => ____________________________________________________ smash a Car, unless I desperately need fuel. Cars that pass directly over a Traffic Island are "smash- able", if done carefully. > Be patient and wait for the Cars that have a high- er point value. Don't bother "smashing" Gas Trucks unless you need fuel, they have no point value. If you're low on fuel, only wait for Gas Trucks if you need more than 3 notches to advance a course. > When a Car/Gas Truck is riding the wall, try to "bump" it with your rear tire. This will usually ricochet you forward, rather than backwards. I've found that it's easier to gain control when your moving forward, instead of backwards. Always avoid maneuvers that "sandwich" you between a wall and => ____________________________________________________ another Car/Racer. Always try to stay towards the center of the track, this gives you better response time and more directional paths to take. I mostly use the "Turbo" as a means of escaping disaster in a defensive maneuver. The "Turbo" does however play a part in some offensive tactics that can be used during a race. > Try and bump other Cars into Ambulances, Traffic Islands and Debris. This is the "KEY" to success in the higher levels, since the Cars will often move away from the walls towards the center of the track. > Ultimately, the best tip is to be a safe driver. Only make contact with vehicles that you intend to "smash" for points or fuel. Have Fun.... =* |
WIZARDS TOWER 80 I used to own a game called WIZ. TOWER 80, but lost
it about 4 or 5 years ago. I can tell anyone about
the game, but not who wrote the code for it. I was
wondering if anyone knows who might have written the
code for it, or knows where I can find this game? I
know that it was on tape and I never could get it
ported over to a floppy. It drives me nuts having
all this information about the old CoCo...a dozen
or so web pages...and not being able to locate my
old favorite.
Any assistance is greatly appreciated,
Thank-you,
Jim Witte - tygre@iland.net
=*
|
