Re: [Ql-Users] Ql-Users Digest, Vol 84, Issue 81
Morning Paul, BETTER, one of the kids wet tongue! :-) (Psst, they still remember that little lesson in life) My dad was always messing around with old single cylinder petrol engines, trying to make them work. I used to help him. My main task was to hold onto the bare plug lead wire while he cranked the engine over - to see if it was generating power! I remember that lesson very well - I only did it once! It - the lesson - came in very handy when I was a Honda Motorcycle mechanic (and also as a Yamaha Outboard Motor Mechanic - they weren't called engineers back then!) as I knew to avoid the business end of a plug lead! I think today's kids are far too molly-coddled! No spark in them. (Ha ha!) ;-) -- Norman Dunbar Dunbar IT Consultants Ltd Registered address: Thorpe House 61 Richardshaw Lane Pudsey West Yorkshire United Kingdom LS28 7EL Company Number: 05132767 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Cheers. Phill. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Ql-Users Digest, Vol 84, Issue 81
On 22 Feb 2011, at 08:18, Norman Dunbar wrote: BETTER, one of the kids wet tongue! :-) (Psst, they still remember that little lesson in life) My dad was always messing around with old single cylinder petrol engines, trying to make them work. I used to help him. My main task was to hold onto the bare plug lead wire while he cranked the engine over - to see if it was generating power! I remember that lesson very well - I only did it once! It - the lesson - came in very handy when I was a Honda Motorcycle mechanic (and also as a Yamaha Outboard Motor Mechanic - they weren't called engineers back then!) as I knew to avoid the business end of a plug lead! I think today's kids are far too molly-coddled! No spark in them. (Ha ha!) ;-) You also have to remember to place the thumb on the same side as the (other?) digits when operating a crank handle. They don't seem to supply these any more. Crank handles, not thumbs. George ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Spring 2011 QL Survey Website
Simon, Does anyone know the web address to the interesting QL website which you can access after filling out the questionaire? I've tried searching for it and checking out links on other QL websites but can not find it again. Try http://www.nonstickglue.com/QL_Hardware_Library/surveythanks.html. -- Norman Dunbar Dunbar IT Consultants Ltd Registered address: Thorpe House 61 Richardshaw Lane Pudsey West Yorkshire United Kingdom LS28 7EL Company Number: 05132767 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Ql-Users Digest, Vol 84, Issue 81
gdgqler wrote, on 22/Feb/11 10:15 | Feb22: On 22 Feb 2011, at 08:18, Norman Dunbar wrote: BETTER, one of the kids wet tongue! :-) (Psst, they still remember that little lesson in life) My dad was always messing around with old single cylinder petrol engines, trying to make them work. I used to help him. My main task was to hold onto the bare plug lead wire while he cranked the engine over - to see if it was generating power! I remember that lesson very well - I only did it once! It - the lesson - came in very handy when I was a Honda Motorcycle mechanic (and also as a Yamaha Outboard Motor Mechanic - they weren't called engineers back then!) as I knew to avoid the business end of a plug lead! I think today's kids are far too molly-coddled! No spark in them. (Ha ha!) ;-) You also have to remember to place the thumb on the same side as the (other?) digits when operating a crank handle. They don't seem to supply these any more. Crank handles, not thumbs. Where can I buy a new thumb then? Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Spring 2011 QL Survey Website
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 3:16 AM, BALDERSON SIMON s.balder...@ntlworld.comwrote: Does anyone know the web address to the interesting QL website which you can access after filling out the questionaire? I've tried searching for it and checking out links on other QL websites but can not find it again. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm Here it is: http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=IIMDML_e8265930 Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Ql-Users Digest, Vol 84, Issue 81
On 22 Feb 2011, at 11:37, Tony Firshman wrote: gdgqler wrote, on 22/Feb/11 10:15 | Feb22: On 22 Feb 2011, at 08:18, Norman Dunbar wrote: BETTER, one of the kids wet tongue! :-) (Psst, they still remember that little lesson in life) My dad was always messing around with old single cylinder petrol engines, trying to make them work. I used to help him. My main task was to hold onto the bare plug lead wire while he cranked the engine over - to see if it was generating power! I remember that lesson very well - I only did it once! It - the lesson - came in very handy when I was a Honda Motorcycle mechanic (and also as a Yamaha Outboard Motor Mechanic - they weren't called engineers back then!) as I knew to avoid the business end of a plug lead! I think today's kids are far too molly-coddled! No spark in them. (Ha ha!) ;-) You also have to remember to place the thumb on the same side as the (other?) digits when operating a crank handle. They don't seem to supply these any more. Crank handles, not thumbs. Where can I buy a new thumb then? At the local thop maybe? Geirge ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Another Shocking Event
Norman said - My main task was to hold onto the bare plug lead wire while he cranked the engine over - to see if it was generating power! I had nearly finished installing a 240v generator in an unroaded village remote in the Eritrean Highlands - and had strung up much bare copper in the vicinity of the school - neatly, and all out of reach on poles and buildings mind you. But I knew by the questions by-standers had asked - that many had yet no real idea of what it was all about. But for boys who were always throwing sticks into trees etc to bring down snakes, and others who had already secretly blessed me as they ignorantly straddled their washing on this new Village Amenity, I knew (like Norman's Dad) that a little education was necessary - but *before* switch-on day. So, we assembled all 120 or so pupils at the school and I got them to stand around me in a large circle under the blazing sun. Then - with a bit of play-acting I shall miss out here because it would be non-electron and therefore off-topic(!) - I broke the circle and handed the child on either side of me a bared wire each to hold. The wires were already attached to my 'Mega Tester' with its crank-handle (thumb on the opposite side) and its 500v generator. I made a speech! Then, with a *very* careful eye on the Mega's reading, I cranked the handle *very* slowly until it suddenly fell to zero. There followed a very animated and switched-on discussion. This cycle was of crank, tingle and discuss was repeated some few times and although (disappointing to Tony) there were no wet tongues involved, spitting on hands was part of the advanced and shocking drills conducted (!) Who would stay in the ever diminishing circle developed into a sort of macho party game. I'd probably be locked up today for that. But I never (in the years that followed) received a report of anyone receiving a shock - even in the rains - and that day added not a few new words to my vocabulary of the local language. Are you shocked?! John in Wales PS When the Ethiopian Army arrived, they were very puzzled at the presence - 40 miles from the nearest town - of those 'telephone wires'. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Memory
I have a JM basic system and I am trying to check the memory it has before and after I plug the expanderam card in. No joy as far as I can determine, keywords in QDOS but I seem to remember a Peek somewhere, anyone? Lee - Back to the QL- ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Ser-USB Driver Update
Current version is 0.04 Build 002. Development is now frozen while I finish testing so that I'm satisfied it's good enough to put out as a beta. The INPUT bug reported last time is fixed (slave block issue). Problematic initial handshaking under JM QDOS is fixed (yet again!) with a better retry and timeout mechanism. Calls down to the SER driver are now all made with zero timeout when in supervisor mode (as they should have been!). USB_RESTART command allows the driver to be restarted if it didn't detect the Ser-USB, or if you forgot to connect it. S*BASIC USB_PUTCMD, USB_GETCMD and USB_GETCMD$ interface to the driver layer is working. Implemented an auxiliary stack to get around QDOS's dreadfully small supervisor stack allocation when calling into the driver (even the original QUBIDE code had managed to exceed the 64 byte limit at one point). Driver is now layered to enable the hardware interface to be replaced. Default I/O mode is synchronous to preserve memory on low-end systems; asynchronous I/O functions are still available through the API for user programs. I would appreciate it if anyone who wants to help with the beta-testing could get in touch with me off-list. And now I'm having a few driver-free days ;) Adrian ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Memory
peek_l(163872) I believe contains address of end of RAM. /Petri On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 4:27 PM, Lee Privett lee.priv...@gmail.com wrote: I have a JM basic system and I am trying to check the memory it has before and after I plug the expanderam card in. No joy as far as I can determine, keywords in QDOS but I seem to remember a Peek somewhere, anyone? Lee - Back to the QL- ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Ql-Users Digest, Vol 84, Issue 81
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 7:29 AM, gdgqler gdgq...@gmail.com wrote: On 22 Feb 2011, at 11:37, Tony Firshman wrote: gdgqler wrote, on 22/Feb/11 10:15 | Feb22: On 22 Feb 2011, at 08:18, Norman Dunbar wrote: BETTER, one of the kids wet tongue! :-) (Psst, they still remember that little lesson in life) My dad was always messing around with old single cylinder petrol engines, trying to make them work. I used to help him. My main task was to hold onto the bare plug lead wire while he cranked the engine over - to see if it was generating power! I remember that lesson very well - I only did it once! It - the lesson - came in very handy when I was a Honda Motorcycle mechanic (and also as a Yamaha Outboard Motor Mechanic - they weren't called engineers back then!) as I knew to avoid the business end of a plug lead! I think today's kids are far too molly-coddled! No spark in them. (Ha ha!) ;-) You also have to remember to place the thumb on the same side as the (other?) digits when operating a crank handle. They don't seem to supply these any more. Crank handles, not thumbs. Where can I buy a new thumb then? At the local thop maybe? Geirge Hi name was Geirge, He was a scourge, He'd steal your thumbs, And leave them numbs. His name was Geirge, To your thumbs, a dirge, Scot, not Welsh, Your thumb went squelch. Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
Hi Tobias, thanks for your thoughts on this. And your guess on Pennell's solution is correct :) Very interesting piece of information about driver shadowing. Obvious, once you think about it but I hadn't thought about it :) Cheers, Petri On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 11:20 PM, Tobias Fröschle tobias.froesc...@t-online.de wrote: Well, I don't have the Pennel book, so don't know his recipe - But would expect he recommends scanning the potential expansion port ROM start candidates for a valid ROM header and mimicking the correct initialisation sequence (i.e calling initialisation routine at x+6 and linking in Basic procedures at x+4. So what could go wrong: Waste of memory - All drivers need to allocate at least a 40+ bytes driver linkage block plus any additional scratchpad memory they need. So if you initialize a driver twice, memory of the first is potentially lost. (The driver as such won't be called twice, because drivers may very well shadow each other, only the first one that tells the system it has recognized its device name will actualy be called (This is one of the mechanisms used by the PE to 'hide' the original con_ driver) Waste of CPU: Drivers linking in a polling or scheduler loop might very well do that twice, same for an external interrupt routine. Polling or scheduler loops just waste CPU. External interrupt routines hooked in twice shouldn't hurt (but probably wasting CPU as well), as an interrupt routine should really clear the interrupt source befor it returns. BTW all of the link traps have no failure exit - they will just link in whatever routine they're asked for. Same goes with SuperBASIC extensions - just a waste of memory - the last one hides the others. This would be one typical usage of a thing: When a driver is initialized, it could check for existance of its correspondent thing and gracefully exits without further initialisation if it's already there. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Spring 2011 QL Survey
Thanks for the information. The link was the right website. The reason I was asking is because I have some documentation and diagrams on how to adapt a pair of ICL One-Per-Desk Microdrives for use with a Sinclair QL. I have scanned and cleaned up the pages and saved them as JPEG images. I think the drives were from scrapped O.P.D machines and were being sold by a company called M B Electrical (Supplies?). I bought some back in 1993 and put them into a case with a power supply. Initially they were used with my 48K ZX Spectrum but I later re-wired the ribbon cable and altered the power supply to run my black box Sinclair QL. Is it Dave Park who has set up the site? Would the documentation be of any use to you or any other QLer's? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Memory
Thanks, I think it is reporting sectors rather than memory as I seem to get twice as much, however it is telling me what I want to know. Lee - Back to the QL- - Original Message - From: Petri Pellinen To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 2:45 PM Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Memory peek_l(163872) I believe contains address of end of RAM. /Petri On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 4:27 PM, Lee Privett lee.priv...@gmail.com wrote: I have a JM basic system and I am trying to check the memory it has before and after I plug the expanderam card in. No joy as far as I can determine, keywords in QDOS but I seem to remember a Peek somewhere, anyone? Lee - Back to the QL- ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Memory
Lee Privett wrote: Thanks, I think it is reporting sectors rather than memory as I seem to get twice as much, however it is telling me what I want to know. No, it's RAMTOP, i.e. the highest RAM address, but below the RAM are the ROMs etc. On a QL you will probably have to subtract 131072 to determine the real amount of RAM available. Marcel ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Cheers. Phill. Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Spring 2011 QL Survey
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 9:24 AM, BALDERSON SIMON s.balder...@ntlworld.comwrote: Thanks for the information. The link was the right website. The reason I was asking is because I have some documentation and diagrams on how to adapt a pair of ICL One-Per-Desk Microdrives for use with a Sinclair QL. I have scanned and cleaned up the pages and saved them as JPEG images. I think the drives were from scrapped O.P.D machines and were being sold by a company called M B Electrical (Supplies?). I bought some back in 1993 and put them into a case with a power supply. Initially they were used with my 48K ZX Spectrum but I later re-wired the ribbon cable and altered the power supply to run my black box Sinclair QL. Is it Dave Park who has set up the site? Would the documentation be of any use to you or any other QLer's? Hi, yes it's me that set up the site, and yes, I'd love to publish the info on the site for you. :) If you email it to me, I'll have it up in a day or so. :) Thank you! Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Memory
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 9:46 AM, Marcel Kilgus ql-us...@mail.kilgus.netwrote: Lee Privett wrote: Thanks, I think it is reporting sectors rather than memory as I seem to get twice as much, however it is telling me what I want to know. No, it's RAMTOP, i.e. the highest RAM address, but below the RAM are the ROMs etc. On a QL you will probably have to subtract 131072 to determine the real amount of RAM available. Then deduct 262144 to find out how much RAM is on the expansion card. Knowing the intended total RAM, where expansion memory starts, the number of memory ICs on the expansion card, you can write a nested loop program to do the following: Write then read the values 0 (%), 255 (%), 85 (%01010101) and 170 (%10101010) at each byte. If it fails reading 0s, a bit is stuck on, 1s a bit is stuck off, but more obscurely a failure will be for 85 or 170 - adjacent bit separation issue. Don't expect stability if you write over the OS gubbings typically sitting in the top IC. Best to store the original value then write it back afterwards and even that's no guarantee. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
David Tubbs wrote: At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. Well yes but perhaps I didn't make it clear, I don't have the small card pictured on the left of that picture, just the big metal 4 slot backplane and that deffo won't plug directly into the QL the cable's not long enough... Cheers. Phill. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
There is also documentation on backplane power adapter (I think) on Dilwyns web here http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/manuals/qplane.zip from here http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/manuals/index.html#qlmanual Lee - Back to the QL- - Original Message - From: David Tubbs To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 4:02 PM Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes... At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Cheers. Phill. Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:18 AM, Phill Harvey-Smith a...@aurigae.demon.co.uk wrote: David Tubbs wrote: At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. Well yes but perhaps I didn't make it clear, I don't have the small card pictured on the left of that picture, just the big metal 4 slot backplane and that deffo won't plug directly into the QL the cable's not long enough... The card pictured is not a memory card, but instead looks like the buffer card that came with those backplanes. I'm sure the backplane would work without it, but you might have problems if you use more than the first two slots. Rich Mellor may be able to tell you more. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
Phill Harvey-Smith wrote, on 22/Feb/11 16:18 | Feb22: David Tubbs wrote: At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. Well yes but perhaps I didn't make it clear, I don't have the small card pictured on the left of that picture, just the big metal 4 slot backplane and that deffo won't plug directly into the QL the cable's not long enough... ... but I wouldn't bother even trying. This Quad device is about the worst electrically if I remember correctly. It was also pretty bad mechanically. I don't think they realised how noisy the QL bus was when extended. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
Lee Privett wrote, on 22/Feb/11 16:22 | Feb22: There is also documentation on backplane power adapter (I think) on Dilwyns web here http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/manuals/qplane.zip from here http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/manuals/index.html#qlmanual This is not a Qplane but a CST Q+4. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
On 22/02/2011 16:26, Tony Firshman wrote: Phill Harvey-Smith wrote, on 22/Feb/11 16:18 | Feb22: David Tubbs wrote: At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. Well yes but perhaps I didn't make it clear, I don't have the small card pictured on the left of that picture, just the big metal 4 slot backplane and that deffo won't plug directly into the QL the cable's not long enough... ... but I wouldn't bother even trying. This Quad device is about the worst electrically if I remember correctly. It was also pretty bad mechanically. I don't think they realised how noisy the QL bus was when extended. I'm not sure that's a problem. We had a lab full of QL's here at Essex University each fitted with an adapter bringing ribbon cable out to a full width 3U rack. The racks had memory, floppy, parallel, serial, and IO cards. All worked without any problems. However the card at the QL end had full data and address buffers. I've just checked and the ribbon cable was about a foot long plus of course the length of the rack (18 inches). Malcolm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
At 10:25 22/02/2011 -0600, you wrote: The card pictured is not a memory card, but instead looks like the buffer card that came with those backplanes. I'm sure the backplane would work without it, but you might have problems if you use more than the first two slots. Rich Mellor may be able to tell you more. Dave ___ One hell of alot of buffer, a mem expansion would bridge the gap. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Spring 2011 QL Survey
On 22/02/2011 15:24, BALDERSON SIMON wrote: Thanks for the information. The link was the right website. The reason I was asking is because I have some documentation and diagrams on how to adapt a pair of ICL One-Per-Desk Microdrives for use with a Sinclair QL. I have scanned and cleaned up the pages and saved them as JPEG images. I think the drives were from scrapped O.P.D machines and were being sold by a company called M B Electrical (Supplies?). I bought some back in 1993 and put them into a case with a power supply. Initially they were used with my 48K ZX Spectrum but I later re-wired the ribbon cable and altered the power supply to run my black box Sinclair QL. Is it Dave Park who has set up the site? Would the documentation be of any use to you or any other QLer's? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm Hi Simon, It is Dave Park that set up the site - the documentation would be very interesting. I have an OPD machine here that needs some new microdrives if anyone has some lying about! -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:45 AM, Malcolm Lear malc...@essex.ac.uk wrote: On 22/02/2011 16:26, Tony Firshman wrote: Phill Harvey-Smith wrote, on 22/Feb/11 16:18 | Feb22: David Tubbs wrote: At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. Well yes but perhaps I didn't make it clear, I don't have the small card pictured on the left of that picture, just the big metal 4 slot backplane and that deffo won't plug directly into the QL the cable's not long enough... ... but I wouldn't bother even trying. This Quad device is about the worst electrically if I remember correctly. It was also pretty bad mechanically. I don't think they realised how noisy the QL bus was when extended. I'm not sure that's a problem. We had a lab full of QL's here at Essex University each fitted with an adapter bringing ribbon cable out to a full width 3U rack. The racks had memory, floppy, parallel, serial, and IO cards. All worked without any problems. However the card at the QL end had full data and address buffers. I've just checked and the ribbon cable was about a foot long plus of course the length of the rack (18 inches). I've done a rough schematic for a 1 to 3 backplane with a 24 pin ATX connector with power control. This will work in any ATX case with an ATX2.X PSU - which would open up case options considerably. It does not contain a ROM socket like the Mplane, because it places two cards on the front side of the QL, not the rear side covering the ROM port. I will have a prototype made for testing in a couple of months, and will then share the photographs, schematic and PCB gerbers with the list. *If anyone wants a backplane, they can have a new TF Services MPlane for around £50/€60** including shipping** to the EU. As there will be a limited number before the ~50 PCBs are used up, if people would like to be on the waiting list they should email me. Please say in the email how many you would like reserved for you. These will likely be ready to ship in 6-8 weeks.* * * Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
Tony Firshman wrote: This Quad device is about the worst electrically if I remember correctly. It was also pretty bad mechanically. I don't think they realised how noisy the QL bus was when extended. Seemed, I once had a QL with a very stable bus (english bare PCB one with JS before). I put it into a little PC case and just had a backplane connected via a ribbon cable to the QL's bus. Nothing else. No buffering. No extra power supply. And that worked with a full blown SQB with mouse port, a QEPIII and a QFlash EPROM-card on its connectors simultanously without any problems. Cheers...Ralf ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
Ralf Reköndt wrote, on 22/Feb/11 17:47 | Feb22: Tony Firshman wrote: This Quad device is about the worst electrically if I remember correctly. It was also pretty bad mechanically. I don't think they realised how noisy the QL bus was when extended. Seemed, I once had a QL with a very stable bus (english bare PCB one with JS before). I put it into a little PC case and just had a backplane connected via a ribbon cable to the QL's bus. Nothing else. No buffering. No extra power supply. And that worked with a full blown SQB with mouse port, a QEPIII and a QFlash EPROM-card on its connectors simultanously without any problems. Yes but with a std speed QL. I meant to say there would be issues with GC and SGC. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
On 22/02/2011 17:53, Tony Firshman wrote: Malcolm Lear wrote, on 22/Feb/11 16:45 | Feb22: On 22/02/2011 16:26, Tony Firshman wrote: Phill Harvey-Smith wrote, on 22/Feb/11 16:18 | Feb22: David Tubbs wrote: At 09:48 22/02/2011 +, you wrote: On the subject of backplanes.. I have one of these : http://www.rwapadventures.com/images/q+4-interface.jpg But alas don't have the little interface board that connects it to the QL, does anyone have one that can take a couple of high quality piccies of it, or beter still have a schematic ? Surely you you just plug it into the QL, mem'expansion or just ribbon cable. Well yes but perhaps I didn't make it clear, I don't have the small card pictured on the left of that picture, just the big metal 4 slot backplane and that deffo won't plug directly into the QL the cable's not long enough... ... but I wouldn't bother even trying. This Quad device is about the worst electrically if I remember correctly. It was also pretty bad mechanically. I don't think they realised how noisy the QL bus was when extended. I'm not sure that's a problem. We had a lab full of QL's here at Essex University each fitted with an adapter bringing ribbon cable out to a full width 3U rack. The racks had memory, floppy, parallel, serial, and IO cards. All worked without any problems. However the card at the QL end had full data and address buffers. I've just checked and the ribbon cable was about a foot long plus of course the length of the rack (18 inches). ... but what expansion card? I am talking really Gold Card and SGC. Tony Standard QL's. Malcolm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Wishlist of future SuperBASIC extensions...
2 + 2 = 5 ... for large values of 2 -- old chestnut. Speaking of 5 :-) . -Original Message- From: Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com Sent: Feb 11, 2011 10:06 AM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Wishlist of future SuperBASIC extensions... On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 8:51 AM, Malcolm Lear malc...@essex.ac.uk wrote: On 11/02/2011 14:02, Plastic wrote: I wish I could... count++ instead of count = count + 1 count-- instead of count = count - 1 How about count++5 instead of count = count + 5 I'll match your increments and raise you referenced pointers... Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] [ql-users] Backplanes...
In message AANLkTikeM=gpfa9smf8zwjh3_kcfhaxgstw6o6jjo...@mail.gmail.com, Dave Park plasticu...@gmail.com writes Hi all, After a bit of back and forth, it looks like I will be assembling the remaining stock of Tony Firshman's Mplane. If it happens, they will be available in about 2-3 months. For those that don't remember, the MPlane offers 3 expansion ports and has a 4-pin power connector to take power from a standard AT power supply. It also has a ROM port. This design is great for fitting in smaller cases because it folds back on the QL in a very slimline way. However, AT cases and power supplies are not the easiest to find, and don't have the best form factors any more. There are some interesting slimline and lightweight ATX cases available. I have been asked if it would be possible to do an ATX version or adaptor for this type of backplane. This came up in 2002-3 too, so the need must be even stronger now. My thinking is that many might like this within the QL community, and it would certainly be useful in many other applications so we can have our parts subsidised by wider sales - as with the battery adaptor PCB. Is there much interest in this? Dave Hi Dave, Is it an Mplane that was used in the AT cased version of a QL? At the London QL Group we are repairing an AT QL system for a QL User. The back plane seems to allow connections to work themselves loose, over time, or with any sudden movements. If you can add it a simple locking system for cards to the plane, then that would be a useful enhancement. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Sinclair QL Disk Interfaces
Just a quick plug, as I seem to have been asked about disk interfaces a few times recently Coming up on sellmyretro.com: a) A Gold Card http://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/Sinclair_QL_Gold_Card_Disk_and_Memory_Interface-1400 b) Dual ED disk drives: http://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/Dual_External_Cased_3.5%26quot%3B_ED_%283.2MB%29_Floppy_Disk_Drives-1398 -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Dead QL
Hi QL gang, I fired up my QL this evening and it would stay on the F1/F2 screen, no matter how hard I press the F1 and F2 keys... My setup is: Aurora board SuperGoldCard QUBIDE Minerva MK1 As I said, it would not boot past the welcome screen. Not even the Minerva timeout to the default F2 works. It would not boot to harddrive, or to floppy. This only thing that produce any change on the screen is the CTR, ALT,SHIFT,TAB combination that makes the screen kind of redraw itself. I suspect that the SGC battery is dead. Does a dead SGC battery makes the system un-bootable ? What else can it be ? Thanks in advance. François ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] R: Dead QL
Dear François, I doubt a dead SGC battery could be the origin of your problem. Try instead removing the Qubide and see what happens, the further stop to be 100% sure would be also to remove Aurora and reinstalling if needed the missing chips on the QL motherboard to see whether the original QL is OK or not On a QL of a friend of mine with similar setup I had quite a number of similar problems due to Qubide. Best regards Davde -Messaggio originale- Da: ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com [mailto:ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com] Per conto di Francois Lanciault Inviato: mercoledì 23 febbraio 2011 3.33 A: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Oggetto: [Ql-Users] Dead QL Hi QL gang, I fired up my QL this evening and it would stay on the F1/F2 screen, no matter how hard I press the F1 and F2 keys... My setup is: Aurora board SuperGoldCard QUBIDE Minerva MK1 As I said, it would not boot past the welcome screen. Not even the Minerva timeout to the default F2 works. It would not boot to harddrive, or to floppy. This only thing that produce any change on the screen is the CTR, ALT,SHIFT,TAB combination that makes the screen kind of redraw itself. I suspect that the SGC battery is dead. Does a dead SGC battery makes the system un-bootable ? What else can it be ? Thanks in advance. François ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
