J.E.Lawrie HINTS-1. v4 Securing leads on small plugs. Small plugs of the type which are used to connect the PSU to the Z88 are prone to early failure because of flexing of the connecting wires. There is no suitable anchor provided. But, you can make one! After making good soldered joints, wrap a piece of soft wool around the ends of the wires and the joint until you have enough on to make the cap a fairly close fit. Unscrew the cap, smear the wool with a lttle glue and re-fit the cap. If you have done a good job you will have a "moulded" connector which will give long service. Cleaning a dirty keyboard. You don't have to have dandruff to get a horrible-looking keyboard in just an hour or two. You can cover the keys with plastic sheet but in a short time this also looks grubby. The easiest way is to use a strip of Sellotape (or similar) first over the keys and then, with a "cotton-bud" press the tape in between the keys to pick up those bits. Battery change levels. The voltage of rechargeable cells falls extremely quickly when the cell voltage gets down to 1.1 volts so if you use five of these cells in a "battery pack" externally you should not use them below "BATT LOW" which occurs at about 5 volts. You risk a "crash" if you do. If you are using alkaline cells (such as Duracells - the best!) you can run these until the screen flashes, give them a rest, switch on again and do this repeatedly until it is not possible to carry on. Tests have shown that on continuous use Duracells give 4.5 hours to BATT LOW and another 9 hours to screen off. The life of 4 re-chargeable is about 2.5 hours and if you use these inside your Z88 remove them at the first screen flash !! or you run the risk of their voltage falling to a level which will cause loss of all files, possibly when you are asleep. Remember - the way to get maximum life from any battery is to (1) use the mains supply whenever possible. (2) set the "timeout" at the Panel to 1 minute. NOT zero, this is equal to infinite time! Z88 Books There are three good books for the Z88. These are "Z88 Magic", available direct from Rakewell Ltd, and "Z88 Portable Computing" by D.J.Oborne. This latter one is out-of print but you should try Bookends of Devon, on 01548 854318. The third is "Z88 - A Dabhand Guide" by Dabs Press. If you want to master Basic programming (not machine code) then get "BBC BASIC (Z80) Reference Manual for the Z88", by D.J.Mounter and published by M-TEC Computer Services (UK). PLEASE NOTE -This is the first of a series of sheets with hints and tips on the use of the Z88 computer. There is no objection to anyone using or passing on these sheets to others - I only ask that due acknowledgement be given to the author - Jack Lawrie 15, Sycamore Grove, Southam, Leamington Spa CV33 0EY Back to HINTS-INDEX