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                                 8 Bit   
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                Editorial                
                Editorial                
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
           A Bit Of Excitement.          
           A Bit Of Excitement.          
                                         
  What are you getting for Christmas     
  then? I am hoping for a GSX 1100,      
  Stainless steel laryngoscope, new      
  jeans, countless CD's, new rucksack,   
  sweeties, peace and goodwill.          
                                         
  None of these are likely at all of     
  course. The editorial will remain      
  restrained this time as there was      
  enough waffle in the last one to keep  
  you all occupied until the millenia.   
                                         
                                         
                                         
               An Apology.               
               An Apology.               
                                         
  OK, I know the menu is a bit sluggish  
  this time, but that is due to the      
  seasonal snow storm, which is obviously
  vital.                                 
                                         
                                         
                                         
               An Assurance.             
               An Assurance.             
                                         
  I shall stick to the facts this time.  
  As I write this, issue 38 is complete  
  but not issued. Today I have put the   
  finishing touches to TBI-70. This is a 
  disc of transfer utilities containing  
  tape to disc and DFS to ADFS programs. 
  Also included are two text files. One  
  of which is the Albert Schofield       
  collection, all those messages from the
  last 5 issues or so collected into one 
  place, a wealth of info.               
                                         
                                         
                                         
                 Reminder.               
                 Reminder.               
                                         
  I have just finished backing up, and   
  packing all the discs for issue 38. I  
  have a couple of points that I would   
  like to mention:                       
                                         
  PLEASE verify your discs before sending
  them to me.                            
                                         
  PLEASE ensure that the return packing  
  isn't falling apart.                   
                                         
  Having said this I must congratulate   
  you all for, sending the correct       
  postage, well labelled envelopes and   
  clearly marked discs. It helps me      
  considerably.                          
                                         
  Issue 38 has been the first issue that 
  I have not had to grovel around on the 
  floor to pack all the envelopes, the   
  new desk worked a treat. I started at  
  0900 and finished at 1500.             
                                         
  Thanks to Paul Clucas for the proof    
  reading and check over of 38. Now I can
  blame someone else for all the bugs and
  crumy speling! <forget this one Paul.  
                                         
                                         
                                         
               8BS Hardware.             
               8BS Hardware.             
                                         
  It strikes me that I have not listed   
  the 8BS hardware for quite some time   
  and that you are all bursting to know  
  what there is kicking around 8BS HQ    
  worth having. Apart from the stuff in  
  the 8BS loft that has been repeatedly  
  listed over the last 10,000 8BS issues,
  there is:                              
                                         
  1 Desk                                 
  4ft paperwork                          
  1 Canon BJ-130 inkjet printer (NOW     
  FAULTY! Using the 120D+ at the moment) 
  2ft blank paper                        
  1 Dual 3.5 5.25 double sided 40/80 disc
  drive                                  
  2 Monitors                             
  1 Master 512 < Yes! I Just got a 512   
                 board!                  
  1 Mouse                                
  1 BBC B                                
  1 Master Compact (In the loft)         
  1 twin 5.25 40/80 double sided disc    
  drive                                  
  1 Single 40/80 double sided drive      
  Electtronic digital scales/calculator/ 
  clock                                  
  Sellotape dispenser                    
  Z88 (containing accounts, Membership   
  details, pool list and totals)         
  1 full noticeboard                     
  1 Eprom blower                         
  2 Eprom Erasers                        
  1 Modem                                
  1 Fax                                  
                                         
  Yes, you can see a fax listed in the   
  equipment there. So send your orders,  
  queries etc by fax now for an even     
  quicker response (is that possible?).  
                                         
                                         
                                         
            New To The PD Pool.          
            New To The PD Pool.          
                                         
  It is now 20.11.94. I am just starting 
  some days off, a brief respite between 
  a load of those dreaded 3-11 and call  
  shifts that I seem to be getting a lot 
  of recently. I have just spring cleaned
  all the 8BS gear and it is sliding all 
  over the desk. I May have over done the
  polish a bit.                          
                                         
  This is as good a time as any to       
  summarise the new entries and updates  
  that have appeared in the 8BS catalogue
  since the last 8BS Mag issue.          
                                         
  The first BIG change of note is that I 
  have totally re-written the catalogue  
  handling software. It all started when 
  I was chatting to Stuart Kempner (bless
  his cotton socks) on the phone one day.
                                         
  He happened to mention that he had     
  great difficulty reading the catalogue.
  Why could it not be done in a similar  
  way to the magazine? For a long while I
  had been aware something needed doing, 
  but had put it off. This comment       
  stirred me into action. After 4 days of
  planning, sussing out and programming, 
  I came up with a workable idea. It     
  required major structural alterations  
  to the catalogue data itself and many  
  hours of mind blowing tedious graft.   
                                         
  The result is now on TBI-00 for you all
  to see, please update!                 
                                         
  Discs into the library since issue 38: 
                                         
  TBI 70 Tape To Disc 1D                 
  TBI-71 Amateur Radio A                 
  TBI-72 Kangaterm And Pagerom 1D        
  TBI-73 Amateur Radio A                 
                                         
  TBI-74 View Professional with support  
  utilities. A commercial package, not   
  public domain, 8BS has obtained the    
  distribution license for this excellent
  combined word processor/spreadsheet.   
  Available as 2DA and on up to 4 eproms.
  A photostat of the large well-written  
  manual is also available.              
                                         
  BBC 42 43 44 65 76                     
                                         
  Archimedes Section (ARC)               
  ARC 1 2 3 (Various in ADFS L)          
  ARC 4 5 6 7 8 All Amateur Radio on 800K
  ADFS                                   
                                         
  The Disc User.                         
  YES! At long last, after many phone    
  calls and letters, I have finally      
  managed to get The Disc User cover     
  discs into the public domain. You will 
  find it in the TDU section. 14 single  
  sided DFS discs or 3 ADFS discs.       
                                         
  Thanks to Janny Looyenga for sending   
  the mode 7 graphics compilation, a     
  further disc is available containing   
  the mode 7 animation screens that were 
  featured on each of The Disc User      
  issues.                                
                                         
  TDU 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1D
  TDU 1-5 A                              
  TDI 6-10 A                             
  TDU 11-14 A                            
  TDU 15 1D (animation compilation)      
                                         
  The next question is, has any one got  
  the magazines that came with The Disc  
  User? 8BS would appreciate copies if   
  you are willing to donate/sell/        
  photostat for us?                      
                                         
  The Master 512 Section                 
  Now I have a 512 board, I am collecting
  512 software. Already in the library:  
                                         
  512-1-1 Dabs Shareware Vol.1 Disc 1    
  512-1-2 Dabs Shareware Vol.1 Disc 2    
  512-1-3 Dabs Shareware Vol.1 Disc 3    
  512-1-4 Dabs Shareware Vol.1 Disc 4    
  512-1-5 Dabs Shareware Vol.1 Disc 5    
  512-2-1 Dabs Shareware Vol.2 Disc 1    
  512-2-2 Dabs Shareware Vol.2 Disc 2    
  512-2-3 Dabs Shareware Vol.2 Disc 3    
  512-2-4 Dabs Shareware Vol.2 Disc 4    
  512-2-5 Dabs Shareware Vol.2 Disc 5    
  512-3-1 (BBC 512)                      
  512-3-2 (BBC M12) Miscellaneous        
  512-3-3 (BBC PR3) Printer Utilities    
  512-3-4 (BBC WP1) Word Processing      
  512-3-5 (BBC UT1) Utilities 1          
  512-3-6 (BBC UT2) Utilities 2          
                                         
                                         
  TBI-35 is a football management game   
  that is Master only. Supplied on ADFS  
  now for Compact users as it uses SWR.  
  One member had trouble when the game   
  wiped out his SWR DFS as it loaded from
  DFS.                                   
                                         
  Rick Sterry has sent me an update of   
  his programs on BBC 146.               
                                         
  Thanks to Tim Parsons 3SQ, we now have 
  the rest of the Beebug cover discs in  
  the library. They are numbered from    
  BUG-6-1 through to BUG 12-10. There are
  ADFS versions available. Please note   
  that the ADFS versions of volumes 7 to 
  12 take up 2 ADFS discs each. DFS      
  versions are 1D. See the catalogue disc
  for full details.                      
                                         
  Thanks also to Tim Parsons for the     
  Beebug compilation discs now in the    
  library as follows:                    
                                         
  BUG-13 10th Anniversary Compilation. 1D
  BUG-14 Best Board Games. 1D            
  BUG-15 General Utilities. 1D           
  BUG 16 Filer. 1D                       
  BUG-17 Best Arcade Games. 1D           
  BUG-18 Applications 1. 1D              
  BUG-19 Applications 2. 1D              
                                         
  That leaves the text from the OSBITS   
  course that was sent out as            
  Telesoftware, I am still trying to     
  track down the owner of the copyright  
  for this text.                         
                                         
  There are also a number of leads to    
  follow with various other single items 
  of software.                           
                                         
  That is around 150 discs into the      
  library since the last issue. Coo!     
                                         
                                         
                                         
              Keyboard Repairs.          
              Keyboard Repairs.          
                                         
  The subject of faulty keyboard switches
  has cropped up from time.              
                                         
  So I thought you would like my opinions
  on the subject. The keys on my Master's
  keyboard probably get more hammer than 
  the average home computer and have     
  caused me problems occasionally.       
                                         
  As you must already know, the majority 
  of dust in our houses is actually dead 
  skin, it's flaking off all the time! It
  falls off your hands and into the      
  keyboard along with all the bits of    
  fluff from your jumper and crumbs from 
  your cheese butties.                   
                                         
  Gill regularly hoovers the keyboard. Up
  to now no keys have gone missing. Now  
  and again, I pop all the key tops off  
  and wash them. Whilst the key tops are 
  off, I use a paintbrush to loosen the  
  dust and hoover it all out (I also do  
  this inside the Master). That is the   
  regular cleaning.                      
                                         
  Sometimes a key will stop working. This
  is what I do:                          
                                         
  1. Blow straight down onto the key a   
  couple of times and gently tap the key.
  This usually works. A particular key   
  may act up like this a few times and   
  then settle down.                      
                                         
  2. If the problem persists, I will then
  pop off the key top and blow straight  
  down into the key whilst tapping the   
  peg. Almost always, this cures the     
  problem.                               
                                         
  3. On half a dozen occasions the above 
  2 methods have failed. The next stage  
  involves removal of the offending      
  keyswitch from the circuit board. Do   
  not attempt this if you are unsure.    
                                         
  Disconnect the computer from the mains 
  supply. Remove the fixing screws from  
  the case and lift the lid off. Remove  
  the fixing screws from the keyboard and
  unplug the ribbon cable. Locate the two
  soldered pegs that hold the offending  
  key and desolder them so that the      
  keyswitch will pull out.               
                                         
  I use a soldering iron and desoldering 
  pump. This is a simple device          
  consisting of a rubber bulb with a heat
  resistant nozzle. Heat up the solder,  
  squeeze the bulb, place the nozzle into
  the molten solder and release the bulb.
  The solder is sucked into the bulb     
  leaving a nice dry joint.              
                                         
  I then wash the key in alcohol, dry it 
  out and solder it back onto the        
  keyboard. Re-assemble the computer and 
  that's it. Up to now this has worked   
  every time.                            
                                         
  4. I have bought myself a few new      
  keyswitches (available from Maplins at 
  only a few pence) for when stage three 
  fails.                                 
                                         
                                         
                                         
             Money Money Money.          
             Money Money Money.          
                                         
  There has been a lot of talk about     
  subscriptions again in this issue.     
  Eventually, some sort of a compromise  
  may have to be reached. My opinion is  
  that, while the funds are always a bit 
  thin on the ground, I am not doing this
  for profit, the club is doing just fine
  as far as I can see.                   
                                         
  You will all notice that an increase   
  has happened this time with the price  
  of blank discs going up to a nice round
  figure of #4 for 10.                   
                                         
  By all means, please continue debating 
  charges. I will then be able to see    
  what you all think.                    
                                         
                                         
                                         
   The Acorn User Show At Harrogate 95   
   The Acorn User Show At Harrogate 95   
                                         
  Before winding up the editorial for    
  this issue, I guess I ought to mention 
  the Acorn User Show at Harrogate.      
                                         
  8BS has been offered a free space at   
  this show which happens on Saturday and
  Sunday the 6th and 7th of May 1995 at  
  the International Centre in Harrogate. 
                                         
  Volunteers are required to help at this
  event. Two members have already pledged
  their talents. I fancy that this event 
  will not be the bone dry one it was in 
  1994 if you get my drift.              
                                         
  Hopefully, this event will turn into an
  8BS "get together". This time, I intend
  to spend more time chatting with       
  members. After the hurly burly of the  
  1994 show, I realised that I had been  
  so busy flogging discs to complete     
  strangers that I had not been able to  
  speak to visiting members.             
                                         
                                         
                                         
  That is it. See you all in 1995. Have a
  good Christmas and New Year. I'm at    
  work. So spare a thought as you put    
  your feet up after your Christmas      
  dinner, I will probably be jumping up  
  and down on somebody's chest.