Follow our golden rules for better SAVEs and LOADs

Programming on the T/S1000/ZX81 can be frustrating. These 10 tips should help you get over some of the problems! For our first issue of Timex Sinclair User, we went to dealers, publishers and users for the most often asked questions about the T/S1000,ZX81. These questions and our answers are the contents of this column this month. For future issues, we will rely on you, the reader/user, to fill this space with your letters, questions and comments.

THERE ARE two leads that join your tape recorder to the computer. One is used for saving programs, the other for loading. When you save or load a program, unplug the lead that you are not using. This prevents a feedback loop from forming with the computer which could cause corrupted saves and unsuccessful loads.

ANY DIRT or residual magnetic field on the heads of your tape recorder could cause a corrupted save or load. It is important that you clean and demagnetize the heads on your tape recorder regularly. There are many good commercial cleaning kits on the market.

ON MOST blank cassettes, there is a length of leader (non-usable tape) at the beginning. Wind the tape in the cassette past this leader. Turn the cassette forward until you can see recording tape (brown) before you start a save. This will insure that your save will start on recording tape and not on the leader nor on the join between the tape and the leader.

IF YOU are experiencing difficulties loading 1K or 2K programs, try this. Remove the 16K RAM pack and try again. We agree that it shouldn’t matter, but we have found that it often does … so give it a try!

THE TS1000 and the ZX81 computers are easily affected by outside electrical interference. It is best, if you can, to set your machine up away from any large electrical appliance. Also, it is recommended that you not work on a metal table.

MOST TS1000 ZX81 users develop a mania for using one special “old reliable1* tape recorder and one perfect volume setting to get consistently good loads and saves. We found that getting our machine to work well depended upon the time of day, the weather, the mood of the user, or whatever struck the machine’s fancy. One factor that did help though, was adjusting the volume on the tape recorder. We suggest that you start at about 3/4 volume and adjust it up or down until you find a comfortable setting for you and your machine. If you have a tone control, adjust it to full treble.

OFTEN the computer is hooked up to the TV through a switch. Using a switch is convenient, but it may cause lines or fuzziness to appear on the screen. For a clearer TV picture, attach the TV lead from the computer directly to the U.H.F. or V.H.F. screws on the back of the set. First strip the end of the lead, making sure that the two wires that you find do not touch. Attach these two wires to the screws on the back of your TV.

MANY users have discovered the joy in using a RAM pack add-on to expand the useable memory in their computer. Most of these same people have also discovered the sorrow of working on a program for hours, only to lose it through a slight jiggle of the machine. That slight jiggle is all that it sometimes takes to cause the RAM pack to come loose. We tape ours on very solidly. We have seen some people using velcro to keep their RAM packs in place. Whatever method you use, be sure it stops those add-ons from becoming fall-offs!

SAVE your programs regularly as you work. Label each save so you know which is the latest. For example, Si., S2., etc. The only rule around our office is in the sign that hangs over the computers: “PROGRAM SAVE EVERY HALF HOUR . . . THE SANITY YOU SAVE MAY BE YOUR OWN!”

WE’VE saved the least important for last, Don’t use the same tape cassette over and over and over again. They do wear out. Use a fresh tape if the program you are saving is important, A worn spot on the tape could be the cause of a lot of misery for you.