| American Micro Systems QL and Z-88 Product Catalogue | Reprints the product catalog from American Micro Systems, San Jose CA (listed in TimeLinez), covering QL hardware and software: ROM upgrades, Trump Card disk interface ($312), IBM emulator ($172), modem adapter ($69), Front Page desktop publisher ($34), CP/M emulator ($69), Forth ($57), Fortran 77 ($144), Pascal ($57), C ($69), Superbasic-to-C converter ($80), spellchecker ($65), accelerator | Cambridge Z88, Sinclair QL |
| Assembly Language and Hardware Notes | Commentary on machine code and assembly language articles in Vancouver TSUG newsletter: V. Lee’s ongoing TS2068 assembly language series, and Wilf Rigter’s techniques for speeding up the ZX-81/TS1000 by modifying display routines—achieving greater gains than the roughly 15% boost from a 4MHz clock speed increase. Also discusses hardware modification trends across newsletters (shift toward QL | Sinclair QL, Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 2068 |
| LKDOS Cartridge for Aerco TS2068 Disk System | Describes the LKDOS cartridge interface for the Aerco TS2068 disk system, which when paired with an FD-54 drive provides Larken DOS and Extended BASIC commands including MERGE, a 48K RAM disk, and the ability to switch between Aerco and LKDOS operating systems while retaining access to RP/M. Notes compatibility with the Oliger and Ramex systems | Timex/Sinclair 2068 |
| Mailing List Updates | Reports on changes to the TS Bulletin mailing list: Harrisburg Area TSUG (HATS) dissolved after its December 1989 final issue, with former members now served by the Washington DC group (CATS). Announces the Quantum Leap User Group in Amarillo TX and notes that Dallas/Fort Worth TS users remain active but are not currently issuing a | |
| News from SNUG | Brief report on SNUG (Sinclair National User Group) noting that its newsletter has been delayed due to the illness of a member’s wife and other personal circumstances, with all memberships extended six months into 1990. Reports that SNUG is building a large public domain program library for the QL, TS2068, and TS1000, and encourages program | |
| Published Program Survey of Newsletters | A digest of notable programs published in other Timex/Sinclair user group newsletters: Vancouver TSUG December 1989 (Dominoes for ZX-81, BASIC line trace, Vector Screen Calculator), Sineus November-December 1989 (octal/decimal converter in machine code), Boston Computer Society September-October 1989 (TS2068 machine code screen utilities including screen-flip, scroll, and attribute-invert routines), Harrisburg TSUG September 1989 (USA Medicare | Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 2068 |
| Short Items: Products, Fixes, and Notes | A collection of brief items: Maxcom BBS system for TS2068/LKDOS disk users praised by Ralph Hammer in the Las Vegas TSUG newsletter (available through RMG Enterprises); Cambridge North America filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy with Sharp continuing as sole Z-88 importer (reported by Nazir A. Pashtoon/SMUG); VideoCopy/VideoTex software by John McMichael connecting the TS2068 video digitizer | Cambridge Z88, Sinclair QL, Timex/Sinclair 1000, Timex/Sinclair 2068 |
| TS Bulletin News Supplement #1-1990 | Wide-ranging editorial covering Sinclair community news for early 1990: rumors of Apple Mac and NeXT emulators for the QL, a new MS-DOS Cambridge laptop with 3.5-inch drives, the tenth anniversary of the Sinclair ZX-80, the launch of the Ottawa-Hull TSUG BBS (613-745-5534), and Harmer’s forthcoming books on ZX-81 assembly language, Tips/Tricks/Techniques, and the LDOS disk | |
| ZX-81/TS1000 Tips | Two brief programming tips for ZX-81/TS1000 BASIC users: using a compact mathematical expression in place of PAUSE 200 to save memory bytes; and redimensioning arrays to their minimum size (e.g., DIM A$(0,0)) before saving a program to tape to reduce file size and save/load time, then restoring proper dimensions at line 0 so that GOTO | Timex/Sinclair 1000 |
