Sinclair Survival Column

Well, here we are again at the end of another year and we still haven’t given up on our computers. In fact, more has happened in the Sinclair world this year than has happened in any single year since this column began. Therefore, before we say Hello to 1987 lets have a look back at 1986.

We began the year with the QL. just becoming available from Sinclair dealers. Previously it had only been available through Sinclair US or American Express (if you happened to have an American Express card). The QL had originally been introduced at a price of $499.95, but when a price cut became necessary in the U.K., the U.S. model (which had just been released) went down to $299.95.

Of course, the biggest story of the year was the sale of Sinclair Research, Ltd.’s (SRL) computer business to Amstrad, its largest competitor in the UK. This move came as somewhat of a surprise even though Sinclair had been having financial troubles. Earlier in the year it looked as if Clive Sinclair was going to sell the majority of his stock to British newspaper publisher, Robert Maxwell, bringing some business acumen to Sinclair Research, but Mr. Maxwell’s advisors aborted the deal after studying SRL’s books.

But SRL started to pull itself back into the black shortly thereafter, signing a new marketing deal with Dixons, a chain operation in Britain. With a long-term commitment to the Sinclair computer line, SRL was able to start paying off some of its debts and return to profitability. It looked as if Sinclair would continue to be a force in the innovative high technology field. But things did not work out for SRL the way Sir Clive had hoped, and in a surprise move in April, Sinclair sold the rights to its current computer business to rival, Amstrad. No longer could Sir Clive use the Sinclair name on future innovative computers. Amstrad now had the rights to that name along with the Spectrum, Spectrum+ , and Quantum Leap (QL). In one stroke, Amstrad owned the largest percentage of the British home (non-business) computer market.

Sinclair Research Ltd. now underwent a reorganization with such new projects as wafer scale integration in the works. The Pandora laptop was spurned by Amstrad, seemingly ending that project before it was realized The U.S. market, which had never seen a Spectrum or Spectrum+ was concerned only about the future of the QL, which was just getting off the ground in terms of American sales. A+ Computer Response had purchased the entire stock of American Sinclair products just prior to the sale, and now came out strongly to support the QL. A network of authorized dealers was set up to sell, service and support the computer.

All of this is the standard fare for Sinclair owners, and we have stuck together over the years to support each other. The Sinclair Computerfest held this year in Cincinnati proved that fact. When one saw the gathering of the faithful, both dealers and users, one had to be encouraged about our future. We may not have Sinclair behind us-but we in this country never really did in the past. It is the dealers and Sinclair owners themselves who are the glue that keeps us together.

So what is still happening for all of the Sinclair owners still using their computers? Once again we wrap up the year with a look at the current market conditions.

As you would expect, support for the ZX-81 line (T/S 1000, 1500) is a bit scarce, although there are many people still using this computer. This, perhaps, was the biggest surprise for all of us in attendance at the Cincinnati get together. This small wonder (often called a toy by those who don’t know any better) was the first computer many of us either owned or worked on.

A symposium of ZX-81 users was held at the computerfest, and turned out to have been one of the most popular during the two day event. Among the uses discussed, the most visually exciting was a robot vehicle controlled by a ZX-81. These ZX-81 owners were still very enthusiastic about their micro, and the standing room only crowd was anxious to hear of new developments.

Perhaps the best source of new product information for these computers would be the E. Arthur Brown Company (3404 Pawnee Drive, Alexandria, MN 56308/ (612) 762-8847). Long a supporter of the Sinclair (and Timex/ Sinclair) computers, company owner, Eban Brown, still actively seeks out the rare new release for the ZX-81. Earlier in the year we reviewed an extended BASIC for the ZX-81 being offered by E. Arthur Brown. In fact, they still have many of the programs originally offered by both Times and other software houses. These are available on an “as available” basis, so a telephone call may produce that classic software you are searching for.

Two new programs appeared for the T/S 1000/1500 computers from relative newcomer Weymil Corporation (Box 5904, Bellingham, WA 98227). Thrust is a software package comprised of two parts – SincArtist HR and SincArtist 1.3 – producing cursor controlled high resolution graphics package for these computers. One program works on the unmodified T/S and T/S 2040 printer, while the second requires about $10 in parts and a few minutes with a soldering iron.

A second program is an Xmodem telecommunications program for the same ZX-81 & T/S 1000/1500 computers. There are versions available for either the Westridge or Byte-Back modems which allow for Xmodem transfer of data (see explanation below of this protocol). Both 16K and 64K versions are available and it can be saved onto a Hunter Board. Annoyed by the extremely slow cassette interface on the old T/S 1000? The answer comes from Larken Electronics (RR +2/Navan, Ontario, Canada K4B 1H9/ (613) 835-2680, in the guise of the Larken Disk Drive interface. The interface comes with the necessary hardware to connect the drives and Larken DOS to handle the operation.

There was even some development in support of the T/S 1500 computer in 1986. Fred Nachbaur, well known in the Sinclair community almost from the beginning, has written a high resolution dungeon game for this mostly ignored computer. Dungeon of Ymir is 24K of machine code programming containing nine levels, sixteen types of monsters, fourteen objects and six spells. A fast save with auto boot facility enables you to save in progress games and to load the entire program in seventy seconds. Various versions are available depending on the hardware setup you have. For more information write to Fred Nachbaur (C-12 Mtn. Stn. Group Box, Nelson, BC, Canada VIL 5P1).

The developments for the T/S 2068 continued along producing a number of new products during 1986. One of them takes advantage of one of the built-in but neglected features of the T/S 2068.

After the T/S 1000, the 48K user RAM in the T/S 2068 seemed quite enough, but Timex designed their new computer with bank switching ability able to utilize a number of 64K banks, switching them in or out as needed. (The Z80 CPU can only address a total of 64K at any given time, so additional memory must able to be handled in banks such as these. (If you wanted extra memory on your T/S 1000 all you had to do was add the appropriate piece of hardware directly to the back edge connector, make two appropriate POKEs and voila! Up to 64K could be added in this manner. There was a system which allowed you to add up to a Mbyte to the T/S 1000, but the price was so high that it was not practical.

The T/S 2068 could not handle that simple of a memory expansion. In fact, there is some bank switching which goes on in the normal operation of the computer since the 24K ROM is in addition to the 48K RAM—a total of 72K—cannot be addressed in its entirety. But now a non volatile memory expansion has been developed for the T/S 2068. This cartridge goes into the command cartridge port of the T/S 2068 and can be used for instant on programs and/or data to which you want immediate access. This memory expansion unit is available from E. Arthur Brown Company.

Another product released for the T/S 2068 this year which caused considerable interest is a piece of software called LOADER V. This is a companion program for the telecommunications standard program, Mterm. Actually it is a set of five programs for use with your modem. The first part of this program adds additional directory space to Mterm in which you can store twenty additional numbers. When added to the fourteen spaces provided by Mterm, you now have a total of thirty-four allowable entries. Add to that increased dialing speed and automatic redial, and you now have some very powerful new features available from your terminal software without losing any of Mterm functions.

Another program in this package adds the much desired XMODEM transfer protocol to your system. Anyone who has spent any time on-line will be aware of the fact that XMODEM is the most common type of error detection protocol available. XMODEM works by sending blocks of data from computer to computer while verifying that the block was sent correctly. By totaling the value of the bytes being sent (the checksum) and having the receiving computer verify this amount, if an error occurs the block is re-sent.

The remaining three utilities can be used to load programs while still on-line, translate files to Tasword II format, or upload files in HEX format. This program is available from author Kurt Casby (25 Battle Creek Court, St. Paul, MN 55119).

Another newcomer to the field, Novelsoft (106 Seventh Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M8V 3B4, 416-259- 8682), has come out with a few impressive pieces of software for the T/S 2068 this year. Artworx is a graphics program for either the Spectrum or T/S 2068—both versions are included. A slide show/animator utility is included and Microdrives and Kempston joysticks are supported. Timachine is Novelsoft’s BASIC compiler for the Spectrum and T/S 2068. This compiler has features previously unheard of on Sinclair BASIC compilers. The standards in this field do not support floating point operations or string handling – Timemachine does, and at an increase of speed up to 200 times faster than interpreted BASIC! In fact, this compiler handles all Sinclair BASIC except for I/O. Look for a full review of this program early in 1987.

Novelsoft’s newest program is called-modestly-The Worx. This is a suite of personal organization programs including a schedule/planner, notepad, telephope. book, calculator, real time clock, perpetual calendar and more. As with the other programs, The Worx comes with both Spectrum and T/S 2068 versions, and is microdrive compatible.

New Spectrum software is still appearing in England, and for those of us who own some form of Spectrum emulation, they are available to us as well. Although a few U.S. Sinclair dealers do carry imported Spectrum software, it still has been my experience that the best way is to order directly from Great Britain. Still the best (and fastest) firm I have found is Speedysoft (The Blacksmiths, Radnage Com- mon, Buckinghamshire HP14 4DH, England) who used to call themselves Software Supermarket. They accept Visa/Mastercard so you don’t have to worry about exchanging currency, and they dispatch your software so fast that you usually have your program within a week.

Of course not everyone has a Spectrum emulator, so for you I suggest contacting Knighted Computer (707 Highland Street, Fulton, NY 13069, (315) 593-8219), who continues to translate classic Spectrum software to run on the unaltered T/S 2068.

The QL is still adding products to the available lists almost every day as the QL continues to establish itself in the Sinclair community if not in the computing community as a whole. Now available in kit form, minus the manual and bundled software, the price of the fully assembled QL including the full manual and software has come down to the point where a number of dealers are advertising it for $209. Quite a bargain indeed! In addition, a number of dealers are still offering various additional software (usually produced in- house) to new purchasers. Examples of these are Markel Enterprises (P.O. Box 2392, Secaucus, NJ 07094-0992, (718) 627-1293), who is offering an Address Book program, and Quantum Computing Box 1280, Dover, NJ 07801, (201) 328-8846), supplies a graphics demo cartridge-with some utilities such as a banner maker to QL purchasers. If you already own a QL, however, you can still obtain copies. Write to these companies and mention that you read about it in Computer Shopper and they will tell you how to get your free copies.

Games, as usual, keep cropping up as fast as you can spot them. The most unusual one released this year comes to us by way of Pyramide Software of France. Taking advantage of the high resolution facilities of the QL in conjunction with an RGB monitor and a pair of red/blue eyeglasses, Wanderer brings the action off of the screen and at you in amazing 3-D action. Pyramide Software is distributed in the U.S. by Curry Computer (P.O. Box 5607, Glendale, AZ 85312, (602) 978-2902) and is carried by most American QL dealers. To see what games are available write to these dealers and ask for a copy of their latest catalogues. (Don’t forget to mention where you got that suggestion-here in Computer Shopper.)

Speaking of RGB monitors, the Sinclair Vision QL matching RGB monitor which was being sold at $299.95 is almost non existent any more. I am informed that there still are a few left at that price, although a few dealers have raised the price on the few remaining units. If you are looking for an RGB monitor built to match your QL both in performance and design, check the QL dealers for availability. Once they are gone, look for more expensive monitors being sold by these dealers.

The first of the American software for the QL began to appear during the year just finished. First to the ribbon was the most recent version of War in the East by Mark Steuber of Sharp’s (Route 10, Box 459, Mechanicsville, VA 23111; (804) 746-1664). War in the East is the QL version of a war strategy program which has been popular since the original ZX-81 version was released early in this decade. Following close on its heels was Concept 3-D by Robert Fingerle (Textwriter series). Concept 3-D is a slick 3-D CADCAM program which reallv shows off the QL’s graphic capabilities. Both of these programs are available from most QL dealers.

For those of you who remember the BASIC compilers which have been available for the earlier computers, as well as my caveats regarding their limitations, consider Supercharge from Digital Precision of England. This is a SuperBASIC compiler which is capable of compiling almost 100% of all programs written in Super BASIC without much in the way of alteration being required. In fact, programs written and compiled using this program may be marketed without any requirements for the purchaser to own the compiler. (A license fee to Digital Precision is required though.) Concept 3-D is one such program.

Hardware for the QL has come into its own as well during 1986. Almost everything you would want to add to your QL is available. Expanding your computer to a full 640K is both simple and inexpensive. Any QL dealer can sell a 512K expansion pack which will connect directly to the expansion bus on the left of your QL for around $200. Many of these have a throughport to which you can add a disk controller board. (The extra memory is not necessary for use with the controller board, but it sure does open many new options.) These disk controllers can handle any size drive (8″, 5½”, 3½” , or 3″) but no hard disk-yet. (I’m told that a hard disk controller should be available early in 1987 if not yet available when this issue hits the stands.)

The first American hardware product has been released in 1986-the QL Talker. Speech synthesizers have always been an item which have attracted a lot of attention, although their full potential has never been realized on the Sinclair computers (as well as the others). One of problems with earlier models was the necessity of having to load software separately. With the new QL Talker this is not necessary. All you have to do to use it is plug it into the serial port, connect it to a power outlet and open a channel to the Talker. Then, by printing to that channel (ie: PRINT #7, “Hello”) you get speech! This can be used in conjunction with almost every application available. In fact I just had my QL Talker read this column to me. I printed a copy to disk and then COPYed it to the serial port. It sounds a bit strange, but does the job. Check with your QL dealer for availability or write to Curry Computer who is distributing the Talker.

This is not the entire list ol new products during 1986, and I look forward to hearing from you, the rank and file of the Sinclair community, to keep me informed of others. Don’t forget our weekly get together on CompuServe-Wednesday nights, 10:00 PM-GO CLUB In the meantime, once again, I thank Computer Shopper for recognizing that we are still here and continue to support our computers.

What’s in store for next year? That’s yet to be seen, but I predict that there will be something that will please, disturb, delight, amuse and annoy you-the faithful Sinclair owner, so stay with us here in Computer Shopper for all the goings on!