Byte Power February 1987

Tape-based magazine. The February 1987 issue (Issue 6) of Byte Power, the TS2068 tape magazine of Eric and Kristian Boisvert. The editors note that the magazine is back to its old format, now with a choice of 64- or 32-column display and printouts on the TS2040 or a full-size printer, and announce a 48K Spectrum edition on side B from the next issue and a ZX81 program tape of nine games. They also print the solution to the previous issue’s adventure, Island.

Chapter 6 of the “Better Programming!” sound-effects series shows how to get AY sound under the Spectrum ROM by replacing SOUND with OUT 245 (register) and OUT 246 (data), how to build a fading envelope in software by lowering the amplitude registers in a FOR loop instead of using the envelope generator, and how a short machine code routine with two pitch counters gives the illusion of a two-voice BEEP. The issue also has a review of Novel Soft’s The Worx! (planner, phone book, calculator, decision maker, biorhythm and clocks, rated Good overall), the first “Bits & Bytes Talk” reader letter (a TS2068 hardware wish list), an empty classified-ads page and a call for program submissions.

Programs on the Tape

• OUT: Out Music, an 18-note tune played on the AY chip through OUT 245/OUT 246 rather than SOUND, the Spectrum-ROM method from the article (K. Boisvert) (also #63191 Out Music)
• ENVELOPE: the same tune with a simulated envelope, each note faded by stepping registers 8 and 9 down after it starts (K. Boisvert) (also #63192 Envelope Example)
• 2 BEEP: the two-voice BEEP demonstration, a 49-byte machine code routine at 50000 playing a sine-wave sound effect (also #63193 2 Voice Beep Example)
• SHEET: Just Another Spreadsheet!, a 26×99 grid with up to 100 formulas and 200 text entries, the TS2068’s math functions plus SUM, AVE, MIN and MAX over cell ranges, printing to the TS2040 or a full-size printer (Kristian Boisvert) (also #63194 Just Another Spreadsheet!)
• TEXT PRINT: Text Printer, prints the text of the August to November 1986 issues on the TS2040 or a full-size printer, with a sideways character set at 33000 (Eric and Kris Boisvert) (also #63195 Text Printer)
• LOST IN 3D: two-player 3D maze race on a split screen, to find each other (Eric and Kris Boisvert) (also #63196 Lost In 3D)
• MARBLES: Super Marbles, steer a jumping marble through 20 screens of caves, platforms, tubes and elevators, with a level editor and test mode (Michael Kemper, Eric and Kristian Boisvert) (also #63197 Super Marbles)
• CHECKBOOK: Checkbook Accounts, totals a run of checks and deposits from an opening balance and prints the result (Kristian Boisvert) (also #63198 Checkbook Accounts)
• INVENTORY: home inventory of up to 60 items with value, quantity and a comment, printable (Kristian Boisvert) (also #63199 Inventory)
• MUSIcomp: MUSIcomp version 1.1, writes music and plays it back with BEEP; data compatible with the November 1986 MUSIcomp (Eric Boisvert) (also #63200 Musicomp 1)
• AXEL F work file and MUSIC PLAY: a MUSIcomp music file and a short player for it
• MAILING: Mailing List, names and addresses with eight changeable fields, printed on labels with a full-size printer, with selection by any text in the record (Eric Boisvert) (also #63203 Mailing List)
• Mr Me: Mr. Me!, a Pac-Man-style maze game for joystick or keyboard (Eric Boisvert) (also #63204 Mr Me!)
• The End: closing program

The download has a TAP and a TZX file for each item, numbered in tape order, a WAV of the whole tape, and issue6.txt, the magazine’s text extracted from the first program. The Axel F work file is present only as a WAV: its .tap file is a 10-byte stub with no data.