Sync Notes

MicroAce has discontinued its U.S. operations as of mid -Dec ember 1981, but arrangements have been made for repair services on MicroAce equipment. MicroAce owners with problems should contact:

Bob Ward
3176 Oak Knoll
Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Problems and complaints may be also directed to MicroAce’s U.K. address:

MicroAce Compshop
14 Station Road
New Barnet
Hertsfordshire EN5 1QW
United Kingdom

MicroAce is also looking for distributors who will represent MicroAce in the U.S. for continued sales of the video upgrade board. If you are interested, write MicroAce at the U.K. address above.

Sinclair has announced that defective MicroAce 8K ROMs will be replaced by Sinclair if the ROM is sent along with $10 to:

Sinclair Research Ltd.
50 Staniford St.
Boston, MA 021 14

Sinclair has discontinued the policy of dealing with technical questions on the Sinclair computers by phone. Among the reasons cited for this change are: 1) the volume of sales; 2) the increasing proportion of kit sales which raise more complex questions difficult to answer by phone; 3) many inquiries have to do with applications rather than the actual computer operation.

However, the repair policy remains unchanged. If you are having problems with your computer, it can be returned to Sinclair for either repair or replacement free of charge within 90 days of purchase.

An attempt will be made to answer technical questions for owners of the Sinclair computers addressed to: Sinclair Research Ltd., 4 Sinclair Plaza, Nashua, NH 03061.

[Ed. — We received the following announcement from Prestel:]

British Telecom’s Prestel — the world viewdata service — is offering a prize of £1,000 to the designer of the best Prestel adaptor for the Sinclair ZX81.

Telesoftware—computer programs distributed from a central source via teletext or viewdata to computers in schools, homes and offices—is a growth area on Prestel. Following the initiative of the Department of Industry in funding the Council for Educational Technology’s Educational Telesoftware Project, many program publishers are becoming active with program libraries of up to 1 ,000 pages strong being established.

Since the Sinclair ZX81 is yet without Prestel adaptation, Prestel is offering a prize of £1,000 which will be awarded to the designer of the ZX81 adaptor which combines best the elements of low price, elegant design and practical robustness.

The closing date for the competition is March 14, 1982. A working prototype capable of being modified so as to receive approval for attachment to the telephone network must be submitted. Designs will remain the property of the designer.

Further details, specification, and entry forms are obtainable from Tony Sweet, Prestel Headquarters, Telephone House, Temple Avenue, London EC4Y OHL. Telephone 01-583 9811.

The object the ZX81 competition is to design a system which will be capable of loading ZX81 software contained on a Prestel frame into the RAM of the machine and be ready to run.

Rules:

a) The adaptor must work to Prestal frames in CET format.

b) It must be capable of production on a commercial basis, i.e., using readily available components.

c) It should be “in the spirit of the ZX81,” i.e., low price, practical robustness, and efficient design.

d) It must be capable of modification to receive approval for the attachment to the telephone network.

e) A detailed circuit diagram/parts must be submitted with the completed entry. This will be treated in strictest confidence by BT.

f) Designs and prototypes will remain the property of the designer.

g) The judges decision will be final. No correspondence will be entered into over the acceptance/non-acceptance of entries.

h) Entries must be received by 14 March 1982 and must be demonstrated by the designer before acceptance. Arrangements will be made for designers to have editing access to Prestel as necessary.

i) Completed entry forms must be submitted to BT before designs are submitted.

Readers should note the following conventions used in the program listings in this issue:

• # or • = Used in PRINT statements to show necessary spaces.
• “A” (shift) = Used in PRINT statements to indicate graphics; in this case use the graphic on shift A.
• INPUT = Used in PRINT statements to show that the keyboard key or token should be used instead of spelling out the word.