J.E.Lawrie HINTS-13.
V2
Useful information from the User Manual, 3rd Edition.
- for those who only have the 2nd Edition, the `grey' one.
Special characters - <>' gives the grave accent ( ` ) and <> spacebar gives
a hard space ( ). If you print addresseson the left and use <>LAR to
move them to the right you get an uneven front edge, like J.E.Lawrie
15 Sycamore Grove
but, by padding after the text with hard spaces, you get J.E.Lawrie
15 Sycamore Grove
The hard spaces do not show up when printing, of course. Southam
Index 1.You can go to the Index at any time by pressing INDEX, but did you
know that you can return to the application with ESC even if you move the
cursor within the Index ?
2. If you are constructing a CLI and you have to be sure of the
position of the cursor in the Index then use |CARD#T#I - this is
equivalent to pressing <>CARD []T []I - and the cursor will be on
Diary, no matter if Diary was not top of the list at that time.
Battery Changing - memory retention times.
2nd Edition 3rd edition
No RAM card 6 mins 3 mins
1 RAM card 4 mins 1 min
2 RAM cards 2 m. 30 s. 30 secs
3 RAM cards - see note
The manual says that these times could be doubled but don't rely on it.
These times are irrespective of the size of the RAMs. An EPROM in slot 3
has no effect either. Note - a RAM card in slot 3 greatly increases power
consumption during normal usage.
Serial Port - Appendix B
The following is printed under the table -
"where the signals are as follows:
TxD Transmitted data
RxD Received data
RTS Request to send
CTS Clear to send
GND Signal ground
DCD Data carrier detect
DTR Data terminal ready"
Notes
The Z88 RS232 port is wired as Data Terminal Equipment. Pin 1 must
not be used for RS232 signals. It carries +5v at 10 microamps even when
the machine is OFF. Do not use pin 6 on the Z88 connector. Pin 9 is the
RS232 DTR signal. It provides +5v at 1 mA while the Z88 is switched on,
for powering CMOS serial to parallel converters. CTS on the Z88 must be
high for the Z88 to transmit, and DCD must be high for the Z88 to receive.
For simple RS232 use, connect pins 5, 8 and 9 , and connect only pins 2, 3
and 7 to the other computer. (my note - between my two Z88s I use this
method - 2 to 3, 3 to 2 and 7 to 7. 5, 8 and 9 are joined
together in each plug. Just a 3-core cable between the plugs is very
convenient).
A Suspended message is displayed if BATT LOW is flagged while sending or
receiving, or if the Z88 is switched off or the front flap is opened. In
this case you must repeat the transfer A very knowledgeable Z88 user makes
a further point. When it is receiving, the Z88 signals to the sending
device to stop sending (by bringing RTS low) when the receive buffer is
more than half full. (Don't mean a thing to me, but ......)
Transmitting files
This section, on pp192 of the 2nd Ed. is completely re-written in the 3rd
Ed. The full text is as follows:-
A convenient way of sending a file to a remote machine device is to copy
the file to the :COM device. Enter the Terminal and establish contact
with the other machine in the usual way, and then type []F to go to the
Filer. Select the file you wish to transmit, by putting the cursor on it
and pressing TAB. Then put the cursor on COPY and press ENTER. A dialogue
box will appear. Type in :COM as the new name and ENTER. The file will
be transmitted. (Note - I have re-written this part as the book extract is
confusing - says "destination" which it may be in this case but I think it
is confusing to someone who knows even less than me) Once the transmission
is over the dialogue box will disappear, leaving the Filer display on the
screen. You may then press ESC to return to the Terminal.
Selecting Directories - <>SV is used to select a device (a RAM main
Directory) then <>SI can be used to go to a sub-Directory. Instead of
using <>SI simply put the cursor over the name of the sub-Directory and
press SHIFT and the down arrow. To return to the main Directory press
SHIFT and the up arrow - s'easier.
Microspacing
The figure 1 is missing after "HMI offset" on pp 207 of 2nd Ed.
Translations - on the same page.
Add the following after the bottom line -
"which is equivalent to:
ESC,"R",3 select UK character set.
35 print £ sign
ESC,"R",0 restore USA character set."
Error Messages in BASIC.
0 No Room 18 Division by zero 38 No GOSUB
1 Out of Range 19 String too long 39 ON syntax
2 Byte 20 Too big 40 ON range
3 Index 21 -ve root 41 No such line
4 Mistake 22 LOG range 42 Out of DATA
5 Missing 23 Accuracy lost 43 No REPEAT
6 Type Mismatch 24 EXP range 192 Too many files
7 No FN 26 No such variable 220 Syntax
8 $ Range 27 Missing ) 222 Channel
9 Missing " 28 Bad hex 252 End of file
10 Bad DIM 29 No such FN/PROC 252 Suspended
11 DIM Space 30 Bad call 252 File not found
12 Not LOCAL 31 Arguments 252 Read protected
13 No PROC 32 No FOR 252 Write protected
14 Array 33 Can't match FOR 254 Bad command
15 Subscript 34 FOR variable
16 Syntax Error 35 Too many FORs ( Five at 252 - that's )
17 Escape 36 No TO ( what it says! ) END
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