Timex-Sinclair Survival Column

What is it about computers in general, and Sinclair computers in particular, that draws many of us so strongly to sit in front of a TV or monitor screen for hours at a time? The answer to that would have to be as varied as the people who own them, and it is in that versatility that the answer lies. Tonight, major league baseball went on strike, and I find myself sitting at my desk looking to my T/S 2068 to fill the void. I find that I have put my computer to many uses in the past few years, something that not too long ago would have been nothing more than science fiction. But Clive Sinclair would be the one to change that for me, and since you are reading this column, probably for you as well. Once the price tag of owning your own computer was in the thousands, but Uncle Clive (not yet Sir Clive) changed that with the ZX-80, and ZX-81, and those of us who had dreamed of having one could now afford it.

But how many of us actually had a use in mind for our new computer when we first bought them? For that matter, to what use do we put them now? Has it become a paperweight for lack of a worthwhile occupation, or a workhorse used daily? It is with this question in mind that we open this month’s column.

Very often when I first mentioned to a new acquaintance that I own a computer, the first question is, “What do you use it for?” When they find out that my computers are Sinclair and Timex/Sinclair models, they are even further puzzled. Usually, they don’t have enough time for me to enumerate all of the uses, many of which could not be done without either my ZX-81 or 2068.

First and foremost at the present time is the wordproessing abilities of my T/S 2068. When I first started writing this column, it was done on a conventional typewriter, which meant that once I typed a sentence or two, and decided to change it, I either had to resort to whiteout, or retype the entire page. With the wordprocessor, however, I am not committed to anything I type; even after it is printed. Since my best thoughts seem to always come the second time around, I cannot imagine being able to write this column any other way now.

Until recently, I made my changes, printed out a copy of the final result, and then consigned the column to the U.S. mail and hoped for the best. The past few columns, however, were sent from New York to Florida in just a matter of seconds via electronic mail. (Read on …. the procedure for sending MSCRIPT files using MTERM follows later in this column.) From my T/S 2068 to Stan Veit’s computer in less time than it took to read this sentence.

That brings us to another popular use for the Sinclair computers; telecommunication. With one of the two modems now on the market, you can turn your TS/ZX or T/S 2068 computer into a terminal to communicate with other computers via the telephone lines. In addition to the ability to send mail electronically, there are two other popular uses of a computer/ modem combination. The first being the commercial services such as The Source, CompuServe, and Delphi, which provide a wide range of services. From games, to financial services, weather, and news, for a fee (based on the number of minutes you are connected) there is something for almost everyone. One of the most popular features of these services is the user-to-user communications. Realtime conversations with other computer owners all over the country is one of the byproducts of this new technology. Many Sinclair owners have found out about the weekly conference each Wednesday night (at 10:00 p.m.) on CompuServe. By typing GO CS-54 dozens of Sinclair computerists get together to discuss a wide range of topics.

For those of you who don’t care to spend the money involved with these services, there are the local bulletin boards maintained by individual computer enthusiasts. Many of them cater to special interests or particular computers. They consist mostly of a message base where callers can read and leave messages to each other, and some form of data base with such things as newsletters or public domain programs. One such bulletin board which caters to the Sinclair community can be reached at (718) 296-2229.

To be honest, however, when I first ordered my ZX-81, I really did not have any .specific use in mind, but soon thought of a few uses to justify the purchase. I was operating a photography business at the time, and decided that what I needed was an invoicing program. Also, the traditional home finance and checkbook uses seemed a good idea, and I anticipated putting my ZX-81 (with Memotech 64K add-on) to those uses. And not to ignore my wife’s (less than) enthusiastic anticipation, I intended to transfer her gradebook to this new marvel.

In the months that followed, I retreated to the bedroom (where the computer now took up residence) and started the development of the necessary software. Soon my business records, home finances and checkbook had entered the computer age, and the gradebook program grew to a full class management package. When I saw the lack of quality software on the market in those early days, I sought publishers, and Teacher’s Gradebook (Timex), Invoice Control and the Financial Record Keeper series (Heath Computer Services) were marketed.

Other programs followed (and some were licensed) and today I keep my yearly schedule, mailing lists, and scouting records on my computer. Alternative languages are occasionally booted and experimented with as described in last month’s column. In addition, I have my share of games which make up the bulk of many computer owners’ library. My ZX-81 mostly stays in my closet these days, coming out to review software and impress the uninitiated, but my T/S 2068 is a workhorse with a chore every day of the week.

But how about you? What do you do with your Sinclair computer? Drop me a line and let me know what your computer is doing these days.

As promised, here is the procedure for sending MSCRIPT files using MTERM and your Westridge modem. A few facts which are necessary for you to know before you begin are the address of the start of the MTERM buffer, and how the MTERM software knows that there is something actually in the buffer. The answer to the first question is simple, as the MTERM buffer always starts at address 26710. You will need to know this address in order to place your MSCRIPT file in the proper memory.

Once you have SAVEd your MSCRIPT file to cassette in the normal manner, note the length of the file (from the MSCRIPT command menu) and then remove the tape from the recorder and place it aside. Now take a fresh, blank tape and place that into the recorder. Turn your computer off and then back on, to clear the MSCRIPT program from its memory. In command mode, type in: SAVE “file” CODE 26710, filelength, where filelength = the length of the MSCRIPT file noted earlier. You may, as an alternative, substitute a number such as 20000 which will cover any file you would ever want to LOAD, and keep this tape for future use. It is not necessary to have anything to SAVE in memory as all we are interested in here is the creation of a dummy header. The reason for this is that MSCRIPT SAVES its files with a non-standard header which cannot be reLOADed, as well as the file length. Press the ENTER key, and any other key to start the SAVE procedure, but as soon as the header (the short first part of the SAVE) is recorded, you may stop the tape, and press the CAPS SHIFT/BREAK combination to stop the procedure. Now rewind this tape and remove it from the recorder. Replace the tape containing the MSCRIPT file (do NOT enter the MSCRIPT software though) and type: LOAD ””. As soon as the header has been read (you will not get any file name) stop the tape and manually rewind the tape one quarter turn of the hub. Now remove the tape and put in the tape with the dummy header. Type LOAD “file” CODE and press ENTER. As soon as the header is recognized and read, stop the recorder (DO NOT PRESS BREAK), put back the MSCRIPT file tape and press PLAY on your recorder. You will see the familiar reading pattern, which will probably end with an error message. Don’t worry, nothing is wrong, and it should be expected. Stop the tape, and LOAD your MTERM program but do not PRINT USR 54016.

If at this point you were to go to the MTERM menu, the buffer would show that it is empty. This is because the end of the buffer is indicated by the system variable VARS. If you were to investigate, you would find that VARS is currently pointing to address 26710. POKE 23628,200 to change that, and then activate MTERM. Now you will find that the program recognizes that your file is in the buffer. You can now transmit it in the normal manner.

Take my word for it, it is not really as complicated as it sounds, and once you do it once or twice you will see how easy it really is.