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Text File | 1994-07-13 | 40KB | 839 lines

============================================================ The $ R / O R E A D O N L Y -={ August 1985 }=- The monthly news magazine of the Tampa Bay Kaypro User's Group and the DataCOM Network RCP/M Systems Group ============================================================ Steven L. Sanders - Editor (Sysop) ============================================================ The DataCOM Network consists of three remote CP/M databases with 60 megabyte of files available to members 24 hours at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud. An annual fee of $30.00 is required for access, an application may be downloaded by calling System #1 at (813) 937-3608 at 300/1200/2400 baud or send a SASE along with your request to: TBKUG/DataCOM Network 14 Cypress Drive Palm Harbor, FL 33563 NOTE: Articles and reviews of machines, hardware, software, and other peripherals reflect currently advertised prices as released by the distributors and are included here for YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. The TBKUG/DataCOM Network is NOT being paid to advertise these products and we cannot be held responsible for the price and/or performance of said products. ============================================================ <<< SYSTEM #1 & #2 NOW SUPPORT 300/1200/2400 BAUDRATES >>> --={ TBKUG VIP Memberships }=-- Just a reminder that the TBKUG is still offerring a really good deal - VIP members receive a disk full of new software every month in the mail as well as unlimited use of the RCP/M systems. Add it up for yourself, disks are $10/ea * 12 months, plus unlimited system useage. You get all this for only $100 annually. I don't know about the rest of you but I run up a bill of over $100 a month gathering new programs and wish someone had this service for me! VIP members also have a special area and private RBBS on the #2 system. The monthly disks are a great way to stay current with new software without owning a large share of the telephone company. Kaypro dealers and others who are just to busy to call the remote systems find this to be a real blessing as well as a much-needed time saver. Persons interested in becoming a VIP member need only download a copy of the MEMBER.APP file, mark VIP across the top, and return it with your check for $100. For those of you who are not current system users all you need to do is mail a check to the TBKUG and enclose a note telling me you want to become a VIP member. User Disk sales, TBKUG standard and VIP membership fees allow us to continually upgrade the systems and offer the very best in public domain programs. We can NOT do it without you -- many thanks to all. --={ System #2 Logon Info }=-- At least once a week someone tells me that the #2 system is not working correctly and/or hung-up their modem program. This system is currently run on a Morrow Decision I S-100 computer with a Wyse50 terminal -- not a Kaypro! I use special screen codes to send the status line info to the TWO different status lines of the Wyse50 terminal. These control codes are sent right after the "Updating system files..." message. These same control codes will make MEX 1.12 or MexPlus go slightly crazy if you have the CIS option turned ON. Best thing to do is STAT the CIS to OFF, and STAT the FILTER to ON. The FILTER switch will stop any strange control and escape codes from reaching your screen and/or modem program and should not be OFF unless the host computer is the same as your own. I am working madly to get another logic control board for the second 8-inch Fujitsu 20mb hard drive that is currently offline on the #2 system. This still leaves around 20mb of files available but unfortunately the offline drive has ALL the PC/MS-DOS files on it. It shouldn't be to much longer before it is fixed and online once again - so please be patient. --={ K-NET 84(tm) - New Lower Price! }=-- The price of a K-NET 84(tm) RBBS-RCP/M System package has been lowered from $349 to $249 (complete). The package now fully supports the new 2400 baud modems (USR, Hayes, Racal Vadic). As always, the K-NET system comes complete with ready-to-run modules, remote console, Xmodem, and all other system utilities pre-configured. You need only have any model Kaypro computer, almost any modem (check with us to be sure if you have a non-standard modem), and within a few hours you can be online. The K-NET 84(tm) system is being used on quite a few public RCP/M systems, just check the PDSE-064.LQT for the latest listings. This system is also being used by businesses and professionals to allow SECURE remote access to the office computer. The uses for the system are limited only by your imagination and any type of program may be run by the user once he has dropped into the operating system level. Complete purchase information may be had by calling (404) 632-2676, Visa and Master Card accepted (9a-5p Eastern) or write to: DATA COM, Inc. P.O. Box 115 Blue Ridge, GA 30513 --={ 10mb HDD on a PC Plug-in Board }=-- If you thought $4 memory chips were something just wait till you see the new Hardcard(tm) from Plus Development Corp. Imagine a 10 mega-byte hard disk drive and controller all on one plug-in PC-compatible board. Now imagine the estimated retail price tag is only $1095 and you have a real winner. The 10mb drive mechanism takes up about 1/2 the board and is smaller then a one-third height floppy disk drive and is only 1-inch thick! The other half of the card contains custom-made chips that form the controller circuitry necessary to run the drive. It takes up the same room as an ordinary memory board or floppy controller card. Another real plus (no pun intended) is the power consumption of the drive is only 10.9 watts which means the standard (and under-rated) PC power supply will handle it with no problem. Data transfer rate is typical of hard disk units and the average disk head access is around 65 milliseconds compared to the 85 milliseconds required by a PC XT hard disk unit. Also very attractive is the proposed service policy of "swapping" out the drive for a new one if your drive dies or gets very sick. This could mean the end to downtime if dealers can maintain sufficient numbers of these drive-cards in their inventories. Installation is accomplished without wires, leads, jumpers, or switches. You simply run a batch file for performing the software installation. The disk comes pre-formatted and the user need not know anything about hard disk set-up, partitioning, or formatting commands. The first public showing will be at the National Computer Conferrence in Chicago in July and the drives should be available at the dealers in October. -={ Hardware Review: SWP Co-Processor }=- by John C. Smith This note reviews the SWP Co-Power Plus 8088 co-processor board. I have installed it in my Kaypro 10. While the installation is somewhat snug, it DOES fit, even with the different mother board I have in my 10. The SWP board has sockets for up to 1 MB of RAM; it uses 256K RAM chips. My board is presently populated to 512K. I have parti- tioned a portion of my B drive for MSDOS to a capacity of 2 MB. The main reason I purchased this board was to run Lotus and this it does quite well. Calculations run somewhat faster than the standard IBM/Compaq but screen output and cursor movement is considerably slower, probably due to the translation from CP/M to MSDOS land. This screen scroll problem apparently has some other side effects - some scroll operations leave extra characters on the right side of my display. I have seen this problem referred to in Microcornucopia, but have not been able to find out the details or a fix. It appears to be device sensitive, so you may not have this problem with yours. All conventional MS-DOS 2.1 features and utilities are supported including CONFIG.SYS options. The software has built-in ANSI.SYS drivers, so keyboard redefinition of the numeric keypad and cursor keys permits nearly all of the IBM keys to be emulated. The board runs many of the public domain programs that use "clean" MSDOS calls. Programs such as SQ.EXE, USQ.EXE, LU.EXE, SWP.EXE and RAMDISK.EXE, as well as the Norton utilities (version 3) run fine. One of the neatest side benefits of this board is the ability to use it as a 500K ramdisk under CP/M. Together with BIOSMMR, ZCPR3 and the FASTBOOT routines, it makes the 10 FLY under CP/M! With the price of 256K RAM chips coming down almost daily ($3.75 each, as of this writing), this is a cheap way to get a 1MB RAM disk and/or a 1 MB MSDOS system. (The Co- Power Plus is able to address all 1 MB of the memory, unlike the PC-DOS limit of 640 KB. Using the above mentioned RAMDISK.EXE file, one can have a full size MSDOS system and still have a 360K RAM disk.) For me, this has been a very cost-effective way to get into MS-DOS land without a major investment and the subsequent loss on my Kaypro 10. The side benefit of a CP/M ram disk has been great. SWP urges anyone consideraing buying the Co-Power Plus board to run specific software to verify compatibility before purchasing the board. This is sound advice. While I have seen much software that does run, I have also seen some that doesn't. SWP keeps a continuously updated list so call them if you have any questions. Good pricing is available on the Co-Power Plus from PeopleTalk Assc. (1-800-PTBOOKS). Contact SWP at: SWP Microcomputer Products Inc. 1000 W. Fuller Forth Worth, TX 76115 817-924-7759 --={ Long-Life Printer Ribbons }=-- I have just purchased a real nice (and cheap) addition for my beloved OKI92 printer. I have had only 1 gripe with the printer since I bought it, the ribbons never last very long and your fingers get black everytime you change one. The OKI92 (and 82) and GEMINI printers use a typewriter-style dual spool Underwood ribbon. I have been buying mine at the office supply house and got the top quality "made for computer printer" dye black intense ribbons (25-ft long). These were OK for about 80-90 pages before they begin to print unevenly on a page. I found a company that makes a long-life self-inking double spool ribbon that is guaranteed to last 15 times longer then a standard ribbon. It comes in different styles depending on how much use you give your printer daily. The standard system has a re-inking resavior assembly on only one of the ribbon spools. The heavy-duty use ribbon has a resovoir on both sides thus permitting many more pages to be printed in successive runs. Either style will cost you only $15 plus $2 mailing and handling. Contact Filmon Process, P.O. Box 869, Arden, N.C. 28704, (704) 684-9044. ** These are available for twin-spool ribbon machines only, no cartridge units as of this writing. --={ NEWSWEEP can MAKE IT }=-- One of my fellow programmers called me on the remote system and uploaded a new version of MAKE. MAKE is the CP/M utility that allows you to change the user byte of the filename in the directory without having to copy the file physically. After he was done XMODEM'ing we chatted and I asked him why he was such a MAKE addict as I had never seen the use for it. He told me how simple it was to move a file from one user area to another on the same disk without having to PIP or SWEEP it. It was then that I asked him how much he used (and/or loved) his NEWSWEEP and he told me he couldn't live without it on the hard drive. I then asked him if he'd ever used SWEEP's "R"ename function and he said, "all the time." So I told him all he had to do was use SWEEP's rename function and include a du: spec before the filename and it would do the same thing. For those of you out there who have a Kaypro 10 or other hard disk-based computer, just look at the following: NSWEEP v2.07 for Kaypro Drive A14:????????.??? 104K in 8 files. 292K free. 1. A14:-MAG .A14 0K : 2. A14:AUG85 .BAK 32K : 3. A14:AUG85 .MAG 32K : r New name, or *? a13:aug85.mag The file AUG85.MAG has been RENamed by SWEEP to user area 13 and no physical copy took place so it was very quick. This is an un-documented feature of SWEEP and is highly useful on the hard drive or any system using multiple user areas. I'll tell you one thing, the longer I use SWEEP and a few others like NULU, the more I learn about them. Fanscinating programs with brilliant authors, my hats off to them all!! -={ Function Keys & Status Line for Wordstar }=- by John C. Smith Pepperell, MA Never being one to leave well enough alone, I did some more tinkering with the way Wordstar runs on my Kaypro 10. I liked the way the IBM PC version of Wordstar shows the function key definition on the status line. That is a handy place to store the key definitions so I wondered if there wasn't some way I could do it under CP/M. I like the idea of redefining keys the way the Kaypro CONFIG.COM allows, but couldn't always remember that "7" on the function key was Begin Block (^KB). I wrote a little routine called WS25.COM to define the 25th line for my definitions. This can be modified by PATCH to suit your own definitions. I use SETKEY, a BIOSMMR utility, to define my keys as Wordstar is begun and to redefine the keys on the way out. This is done under an ALIAS, called EDIT, under ZCPR3. You would use it like so: B1:WORK>edit myfile.txt The alias EDIT.COM is set-up as follows: A15: ;Log A15: as this where the files are kept WS25 ;Write the status line labels SETKEY WS ;Load the Wordstar key definitions $D$U: ;log back B1: where we started from W/S $1 ;Run Wordstar and edit specified file A15:SETKEY STD ;Redefine the keys to original values $D$U: ;return to the area EDIT was called from {notes by Steve} With the above alias you have two options; (1) enter a command like EDIT THISFILE.TXT and it will load Wordstar in it's default mode (this depends on how you WINSTALLed it) and then load and edit the specified file. I have Wordstar set to non-document mode default because most of my editing is done on assembly language programs so when I want to write a letter I use (2) the command EDIT by itself. This loads the key defs, Wordstar, and then returns to the drive user area where I called it from and then I just enter a "D" for document mode and a filename and away I go. Just remember that EDIT.COM must be in the currently configured ZCPR3 command path. The following is how the WS.KEY file is configured for loading by SETKEY. u ^R ; set UP ARROW key as CTRL-R \ d ^X ; set DOWN ARROW key as CTRL-X \ this is WS' l ^S ; set LEFT ARROW key as CTRL-S / std diamond r ^D ; set RIGHT ARROW key as CTRL-D / 1 ^J ; HELP - display on-screen help menu (^J) 2 ^O"I" ; INDENT - set tab stops (^OI) 3 ^O"L" ; SET LM - set left margin (^OL) 4 ^O"R" ; SET RM - set right margin (^OR) 5 ^P"S" ; UNDLIN - begin/end underlining (^PS) 6 ^P"B" ; BLDFCE - begin/end boldface (^PB) 7 ^K"B" ; BEGBLK - begin block (^KB) 8 ^K"K" ; ENDBLK - end block (^KK) 9 ^K"W" ; WRTBLK - write marked block to a file (^KW) 0 ^K"X" ; ENDFIL - save file being edited & exit (^KX) John's status line display may be used on any video-able Kaypro model, not just the Kaypro 10 models. Note also, this status line may be used with other programs like VDO or Calcstar or any programs needing function keys. Just change the label statements create a new *.KEY definition file, and appropriate ZCPR3 alias. The files that John mentions are available on the remote systems as WS-KP25+.LBR and include WS25.COM and it's source in two forms, SETKEY.COM/C/DOC, WS.KEY, and STD.KEY keypad re-def files. Now you know how to shut-up that loud-mouthed so & so who owns the IBM PC-XT that always comes over when you're running your Kaypro. Next time he starts to brag about his xx-DOS operating system just fire up SUPER WORDSTAR and show him what an enhanced Kaypro can do! --={ WHATSNEW in Public Domain }=-- WS-KP25+.LBR See the preceding article VDO-KPSL.LBR is the same thing as WS-KP25+ for those of you who are using James Whorton's VDO25A text editor. This will allow you to define the same kind of special function keys and status line display as WS-KP25+ for any video-able Kaypro model. KCHRSET1.LBR is a simple display utility that I wrote so I could see all the characters the Kaypro was capable of generating to the screen. It will ask you if you want to display the ASCII or graphic character set and then displays one screenful of info and waits for a keypress to continue. ZTYPE11.LBR is a fancy TYPE program written by Michael Rubenstein which allows for display of boldface and underlined words in an ASCII file. It uses dim video for most of the display and boldfaced words are displayed with full (standard) intensity video. It accepts the ZCPR3 style du: specification as well as the named dir form on the commandline. It also handles squeezed files with no special syntax required. VPATCH10.LBR was written by VDO's author James Whorton to facilitate installing patches into the VDO object file. Jim is planning a series of updates/fixes for VDO25A and they will be available in a file called VPATFILE.LBR. If you're lost and don't know what VDO is - check out VDO25A.LBR, this is a great (small, fast) non-document text editor. MACPRINT.LBR is NOT a file for Apple MacIntosh's but rather a real fancy printing program for owners of Epson and compatible printers. It prints using a specially defined character set in 'mac write' style hires characters. More printers will be added later by the author. KFAMTREE.LBR is a program for you Geneologists out there to keep track of your family (tree) history. This set is written in Mbasic and modified for Kaypro screen control codes. TIMESTMP.LBR should not be confused with DATESTMP (as reviewed in last month's $R/O). TIMESTMP is for assembly language programmers and allows you to keep track of program versions by stamping the version #, date, and time at the top of your source code listings. This is definitely a "hackers-only" type program that most users will have no application for. But if you do - it's real nice. QC10-V12.LBR is a great high-speed floppy diskette copier for Kaypro 10s only. It was written in Turbo Pascal by TBKUG member Mark Frank of Birmingham Alabama. This is his latest version and now allows for making copies with formatted or un-formatted diskettes and is much faster then previous versions. It will automatically copy/format either single-sided or double-sided Kaypro format disks. SODU82.LBR is yet another full-screen editing utility. This is DU-V82 (Disk Utility) enhanced to take advantage of your machines special video control codes. There are currently 2 object files in the library, one for Kaypros and one for the Morrow MD3. I have included info to allow other computer users to patch it for their screen codes. The big advantage of SODU82 over PATCH is that it can copy sectors from one file to another. Real handy if you've blown your disk directory or have a sector go bad in the middle of a file and want to save what you can. SD98K10L.LBR is the Kaypro video version of SD98 the Super Directory program plus support internally for the Kaypro 10 with a Legacy clock board installed. It will update the status (25th) line with the current time/date each time it is run and also includes a "$?" option that displays built- in help for it's other options. It will show $SYS, $R/O, or any other attributed file with an inverse video block when it prints the filename so you never lose track of any files. SD99.LBR contains the latest in a long line of Super Directory programs for Kaypro or any CP/M-80 computer. It now features built-in help for the available options by entering a "$?" option. I have added two new equates to allow Kaypro and owners of other machines needing 3-byte video sequences for inverse video. The library contains a ready-to-use SD99.COM for generic machines and a SD99-KP.COM for video-able Kaypro users. {The following programs were updated and modified to allow the use of the new 1k packet protocol for file transfers} MEX114 is Ron Fowler's fantastic modem program, now enhanced to allow the standard CHECKSUM or CRC protocols plus the new 1k packet protocol. All features and options remain the same as the MEX v1.12 program and the new protocol will operate automatically in receive mode or can be toggled manually for send mode. MexPlus is also due to be updated for the new 1k protocol as well. (see following article.) XMDM110.LBR is the latest XMODEM for RCP/M systems and now fully supports the new 1k protocol as well as CRC and CHECKSUM. LUX50.LBR contains the newest version of LUX, the remote library utility and also now fully supports the 1k packet protocol. LUX is another RCPM-only utility and is of importance only to fellow Sysops. --={ New MEX & XMODEM 1k Protocol }=-- {The following was taken from the -READ114.ME file by Ron Fowler of NightOwl Software, Inc. from the MEX114.LBR file.} This is release 1.14 of the MEX Modem EXecutive communica- tions program. This release repairs several bugs reported in version 1.12, and adds support for 1k XMODEM file transfer packets (this modification has also been made to all of the commercial versions of MEX-PC and MexPlus, with release numbers of 1.40 and higher). Why 1k packets? With the current proliferation of 2400 baud modems, it has become obvious that throughput (i.e., efficiency) of file transfers could be higher if more data could be added to the fundamental unit of exchange (i.e., the "packet"). The reason for this is essentially the "stop and wait" nature of the Christensen protocol: send a packet, wait for an acknowledgement, send a packet, wait, etc. When the packet size is relatively small, as it has always been with Christensen protocol, this "turn-around" time becomes a significant portion of the total time necessary to transfer a file. If the medium through which the transfer is taking place exhibits its own delay, the problem is compounded (all transfer media -- even hardwired RS232 connections -- have some media delay; this delay is much more pronounced in satellite telephone connections and packet-switched networks, such as Arpanet and Compuserve). Conversely, using a large packet size with an inherently noisy medium can not only destroy any gains realized by using a the larger packet, but can actually increase file transfer time, because retransmission of a large packet takes longer than retransmission of a small packet. So it seems logical that any large-packet protocol must also have the ability to "fall back", in the face of line noise, to the small packets that are so much more efficient in the noisy environment. MEX 1.14 implements this fallback feature; it uses nearly the same algorthm employed by Paul Homchick in his 1k-packet modifications to the public domain XMODEM program (version 10.8 at the time of this writing). Further, the 1K packet option is entirely user-selectable; if you don't want to use large packets, simply continue using MEX as you've always used it; there's no penalty for not using large packets. If you prefer the higher efficiency (and noisy lines are not a problem for you), simply append a "K" to the the "T" command when you're SENDING a file with MEX 1.14. In fact, you can make this change permanent by entering the command "GLOBAL K", then using the CLONE command to save your modified MEX 1.14 to disk (be advised, however, that if you do this, you run the risk of not being able to exchange files with versions of XMODEM or MEX that do not have the 1k packet capability, without expressly turning off the GLOBAL K). MEX 1.14, when receiving, is always prepared to receive 1k packets, in any mixture with 128-byte packets. Thus, when you're preparing MEX 1.14 to receive a file, you need take no special action (in fact, the 'K' option, while accepted, is ignored in a file receive). MEX, when transmitting, will adjust for line noise; after the third (not necessarily consecutive) error has occurred, MEX will calculate the ratio of errors to "virtual" 128-byte packets. If this ratio exceeds 1 error per each six 128- byte "virtual" packets, MEX will switch to 128-byte mode. Note that MEX will NOT switch to 128-byte mode until the next successive packet, however. Thus, once a packet has started as a 1k packet, it must finish as a 1k packet (otherwise, certain combinations of noise could cause the transfer to appear correct, but be received incorrectly). If you're using the batch option, MEX will always switch back to 1k packets at the beginning of the next file. Note that MEX 1.14 is fully compatible with the emerging YMODEM specification authored by Chuck Forsberg of Omen Technology, insofar as 1K blocks are conerned (MEX does not "round up" an outgoing file to 1K, however -- it switches to 128-byte mode when the remaining outstanding byte count is less than 1024. This is permitted by the YMODEM specification). Progress reporting You'll notice that while transferring files in 1k mode, MEX will print "logical" record numbers on the screen (actually the starting and ending record numbers of the 1k packet being sent or received). Note that this is the 128-byte record number, and bears to relation to the packet number, which is part of the packet "envelope", t increments by 1 for each 1k packet, and is of no consequence to the user. Bug fixes for MEX version 1.14: 1) Previously, after opening a terminal file with TERM or TERMA, then issuing a CALL command, the caller would be left at command level rather than in terminal mode when the remote station was reached. This now works as expected. 2) Transferring a file using either Christensen or CIS protocols, with a term file open, would usually garbage the term file. Not any more. 3) Printer-buffering didn't work correctly when the buffer filled. This has been corrected. 4) Long ASCII captures would not be written to disk correctly if the capture buffer was greater than 32K (generally, this only happens in TurboDOS or CPM+ systems, that have large banked TPA's). This has been fixed. {Editor's note: The #1 & #2 DataCOM systems now support 300/1200/2400 baud and have the new XMODEM installed and running with 1k packet protocol. Also the new LUX v5.0 which is also online now supports the new 1k protocol.} --={ Columbia Data Products - Chapter 11 }=-- Well another one bytes the dust as they say! Columbia Data Products, a Maryland-based IBM clone maker has filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection in May. It seems the same day they filed for Chapter 11, most all the officers tendered their resignations and formed a competing company with former employees. The new company known as Chesapeake Data Systems was hit by a suit filed by one of Columbia's trustees to restrain them from proceeding until the other legalities were first settled. In January 1984, Columbia went public on the stock market and had an opening value of $11 per share and since then the stock has plummetted all the way down to less than 50 cents a share. In April 1985, founder and chairman of the board William Diaz resigned. It will take some time to sort out all the charges and counter charges involved in this case. Look for more companies to join the ranks of the dead before 1985 comes to a close. This year promises to be one of the worst for IBM compatible clone companies - some will make it but a lot of them won't! This means really big savings for "smart" buyers out there - right now the Columbia PC-clone complete with bundled software is going for $1100-$1200. --={ Installing ZCPR3 }=-- By Michael Broschat [ NORTHWEST COMPUTING, May 1985 ] Last month I wrote of my discovery of the ZCPR3 system under the title of "New Life for CP/M." Actually, I had known of the existence of various ZCPR versions for quite some time. I never tried to use one for a couple reasons. First, I thought they were just for hard disk use. Second, I doubted that my knowledge of CP/M and assembly language level programming would be adequate to install one. I had read Rick Conn's article in an early MICROSYSTEMS about ZCPR2 and was convinced that it was over my head, and wasn't even sure that it would give me anything worthwhile. Things have changed. In the first place I have now had a lot of experience assembling programs. Those of other people, to be sure. I am not yet an assembly language programmer in my own right. Secondly, since Echelon has taken up the ZCPR cause and is trying to stay in business supporting it there has been a great deal more publicity about it. Not only that, but Echelon has served as a kind of focus for people who themselves have taken up the cause. The fact is that there are lots of good 8080/Z80 assembly language programmers out there who have not gone on to the MS/PCDOS world. These programmers are writing programs that make use of the ZCPR environment. They have been so active that less than a year after its beginning, Echelon either sells or distributes many of these programs, including a replacement for the BDOS section of CP/M. There is great excitement within the company about the forthcoming Z800 chip, which will run all current Z80 software. Of course, their excitement was shared by many others years ago when the Z800 should have appeared, and I am not certain that Zilog has actually made the commitment to produce the chip. But the Japanese have, and apparently Hitachi is actually shipping their version. But that's another story. [Author's note: Sol Libes reports in the July-Aug issue of MICRO/SYSTEMS JOURNAL that Zilog has put back the release date for the Z800 to 1986.] The ZCPR3 system is available in its basic form, at least, from the SIG/M library of public domain software. Check with your user group (especially the CP/M User Group here in Seattle). It is simply too large for most RCPM operators to want to transfer by phone, although there are implementa- tions of ZCPR3 for various machines that I have seen on some RCPM boards. ZCPR3 is a replacement for the CCP section of CP/M (it handles processing of the commands you give at the CP/M level). As such, anyone can put it into his or her system. Just edit ZCPR3.ASM (and the couple other files it uses), assemble it, and then add the .HEX code result to your operating system as instructed in the installation manual that comes with the ZCPR3 code. You gain several things from this replacement: your operating works more efficiently (see below). You can call programs from one user area to another since when you set it up that way ZCPR will go looking for .COM files along a particular path. If you keep all your .COM files in A0, for example, and set up ZCPR that way, then you can do things in other user areas without needing to transfer the programs to those areas. There are problems if your .COM files require overlays, but there are solutions as well. You can eliminate resident commands (like DIR, REN, etc.) for which you use other non- resident programs (like SD, NEWSWEEP, etc.) and make room for more sophisticated features I haven't room to go into here. The only thing you have to watch is that your assembled program does not exceed the 2k space of the original CCP. Oh, you either need MAC (from Digital Research) to assemble this stuff or manually expand the various macros yourself. What is much tougher, and what was a complete obstacle for me, is installing the full version of ZCPR3. That is, after all, the basis for all the new stuff I was talking about above. You must push your operating system down far enough so that you can have some free space for some of the new features to be resident in memory. One space is allocated to a description of your particular terminal(s) and printer(s), so that certain programs can automatically know how they work and then use their features. One space is allocated for use by shells, which allows programs to work within each other (and by the way which can create some very sophisticated operating environments-- see the examples with the ZCPR3 code). Another is given to resident programs that are more sophisticated than the DIR, ERA, REN, etc. that we are used to. And there are other areas. All of these are entirely optional. You can choose to make room for one or for two or for all of them. I wanted to make these changes but could not understand how to do it. I made memory maps, just like the instructions said. I would say, well, if the CCP (ZCPR3) starts at this point then I would have room for this and that up above it. I would assign the correct addresses to the correct areas and everything would crash. What I finally realized is that the address of the CCP depends upon the size of your system. If you have a 58k system to begin with (as I did) then the CCP starts at a certain address. If you have a 54k system (as I do now) then the CCP starts at another address. Don't try to assign the CCP to a particular address. Choose your memory size and then let your assembler figure out where the CCP will start. Once you know that you can then plan how the rest of the memory space will be used. Use the following formula: MSIZE EQU nn ;the size of your intended system in k BIOS EQU (MSIZE-20)*1024 CCP EQU 3400h+BIAS ;the base of your CCP I understand that there are systems for which this is not correct, but for "standard" CP/M this will provide the CCP address that you need to figure out where everything else is going. The rest of the steps require you to move your CP/M system to the necessary size. That is explained both in the ZCPR3 manual and in your CP/M documentation under use of MOVCPM.COM. You must also put code into your BIOS that initializes certain areas to prepare them for the new features. If you do not have the source for your BIOS (most small systems, like Kaypro and Morrow, do not provide that code) you could either figure out a way to add the initialization (like jumping to a different area on cold boot then jumping back to the proper cold boot address) or buy the automatic install package from Echelon: $50 if you get the code through sources other than Echelon, $150 if you get the whole works from them. They are at 101 First St, Los Altos CA 94022. Hints from Echelon: Don't be confused by the complexity of Rick Conn's own BIOS, which is the example used in his installation manual. Forget about installing I/O packages until you both need them and understand how to use them. See their newsletter \#003 for a simpler look at the whole process. Like many people I was worried about losing TPA to the new system. Since WordStar is my most frequently used program I decided to use it for a test against my "old" operating system. I have 8" single-sided, double-density disks that use 1k byte sectors. I normally have 54k TPA and now have 50k. The following chart shows the results of the tests. Time (in seconds) "old system" "ZPCR3 system" B>WS filename.typ 13:39 10:18 (loading a 20k file) ^QC 9:04 8:76 (end of the file) ^KS 10:69 8:94 (saving a file) ^QF 9:47 10:88 (find a word that I knew was the last in the file) As you can see, only in the last example did ZCPR3 not outperform the regular system! That was quite a surprise. There is so much to this new operating environment that it will be months before I learn it very well, especially considering the time that I have to work with it. I am convinced that it is a significant replacement for my CP/M system and look forward to exploring its almost limitless possibilities. {Editor's note: Remember that we currently have very-easy to install versions of ZCPR3 for every model Kaypro made to date. Thanks to John Smith and a few other Z-addicts (like myself) it's as simple to install as typing "PUTSYS" from the CP/M prompt. Echelon also has a self-installing version of ZCPR3 called Z3-DOT which will install itself on any machine running a Z80 CPU.} --={ That's All Folks }=-- >>> Hard disk users -- back-up your machines, summertime is here and so are the power brown-outs, drops, & spikes <<< Well, that wraps up another month! Incredible amount of new public domain software was generated in the last 30 days and as always, it is available online on either system #1 or #2. Take care, and remember the #1 law of computers, "Garbage in, garbage out!"