HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gst@dcs.ed.ac.uk (George Taylor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: A5000 serial port
Date: 25 Jan 93 13:47:21 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh

Further to my previous posting concerning my record of faulty serial ports, I now
have my machine back and working.

The engineer at Norwhich Computer Services reports
that the serial driver chip had suffered static damage (the driver chip is a CMOS
device which uses a charge pump to create the +/- RS232 voltages).
He suggests extreme care be taken with the port and that screened (hence earthing
from one machine's chasis to another) leads and plugs should always be used.
I would have thought that given the typical nature of serial port use (noisy
environments etc) that CMOS drivers are a bad idea, I intend to make up my own
buffer to protect my port. I have never heard of this problem occuring on
other euqipment using serial ports.

-- 
George
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: tb@liszt.thorn-emi-crl.co.uk (Tim Browse)
Subject: DeskLib
X-Status: NS
X-Mailer: Aster*x 2.0 (360)
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 09:11:28 +0000



Err...TMOTA recently mentioned that I had written a menu module 
for DeskLib and offered to post it for anyone interested. Well, apart 
from the fact that it was the first time I'd been described as a 
'kind gentleman' :-), I'd like to point out that the version I gave 
Jason has a few bugs (to put it mildly!).  I've got a working version, 
and also message handling routines for DATA{SAVE,LOAD} 
messages, and Save As boxes...what should I do with these - does 
anyone want them?

I've also been thinking about hacking DeskLib so it handles 
anti-aliased font size changes on mode changes - it ought to be 
possible, but I've not done it yet on the principle that the 
FontManager ought to handle it automatically.  When you ask for a 
font resolution of 0,0 (ie the default for the current screen mode), 
it should work out that this is for screen display, not printing or 
whatever, and issue a handle that is attached to a font that is 
updated on mode changes.  This would be transparent to the 
programmer and hence very nice...or have I missed 
something...hmm...what about printing fonts to sprites? Is there a 
problem with this method there?

Of course, if I did hack DeskLib, I wouldn't distribute it - I'd send 
the mods to Jason.

While I'm on the subject (ok, not really), why is Translator so 
useless at displaying 16 colour sprites, especially if they have no 
palette? They usually look like a technicolour yawn (when I've seen 
friends display them, of course...)

Tim
From: blacka@logica.co.uk (Andrew Black)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: RISCOS_lib and alternatives
Date: 27 Jan 93 12:28:43 GMT

burke@vxdesy.desy.de (Stephen Burke) writes

>  It actually took me a while to realise that you can have more than one
>polling loop in a program - obvious in retrospect, of course. I don't think
>I've ever seen it suggested in a magazine article, though.

I have always wondered why a classic ARC program  written in basic has
one polling loop and a mighty great dispatch code.  It makes following
what is going on very dificult; there is no context information that
Wimp_message_xyz will turn up after you have (say) put dialogue box up
or send some other message.

I deduced that a library that hid WIMP_POLLS from the programmer would
make life a lot easier.  In my naivity I assumed that RISCOS_lib was
the thing to go for.  RISCOS_lib seems to be depricated in the refined
circles of COMP.SYS.ACORN

Perhaps someone could summarise what the problems are with RISCOS_lib,
and what the alternatives are? (There has been some detailed
correspondance on this subject, but must confess to not having
followed the details - please don't flame me for going over old ground
;-) )

---------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Black			blacka@logica.co.uk
From: banksie@khantazi.welly.gen.nz (Philip R. Banks)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: Thanks for Help ! and some new ?'s
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 11:05:12 +1300
Reply-To: banks_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Organization: My Arc.

thughes@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Tom Hughes) writes:

> Having been told that at the BETT show on Saturday, and being informed
> that most people had 2.98, I look at mine last night and found that it
> was 3.xx (02 I think). As I bought my upgrade last October, I can't
> believe that many were sent out with 2.98. But then maybe I've got the
> wrong end of this altogether.

   Fascinating. The A4 ROM set has v3.07 of the FontManager in it. But then
as the A4 ROMs had to be blown seperately, due to the fact that there appear
to be only two ROMs in the machine rather than the usual four, I am not
surprised that it has slightly newer versions of things.

   However most of the four chip ROMs would have been blown in bulk
manufacture and I would expect the versions number to be constant... Unless
extension ROMs are fitted to load the newer versions...

    Philip

--
Philip R. Banks  Syntax: mail < banks_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz >            @@@@@/|
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way! Oh, what fun it is to   @@@@/#|
ride In a one-horse open sleigh-or so I am reliably informed; lacking   @@@/##|
an objective referent for the term "fun" I am able only to report the   @@/---|
phenomenon as experienced by others. --- Lt Cmdr Data's Xmas Carols.    @/    |
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: burke@vxdesy.desy.de (Stephen Burke)
Subject: Re: Monty Pythons most used sentence
Organization: (DESY, Hamburg, Germany)
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 13:08:29 GMT

In article <1k11shINNgps@info2.rus.uni-stuttgart.de>, zrzs0111@helpdesk.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (Helmut Springer) writes:
> Has someone find a method to replace OS_ReportError with a WIMP-tasking
> errorviewer ? 
> With the old (RISCOS 2.0) version of a errorviewer the machine freeze ....

This one, at least, is fairly easy. Just design your own window (or pinch the
standard one), open it, and then enter a minimal polling loop. The only
messages you *have* to respond to are mouse-click (on the OK/cancel buttons)
and message-quit. It's probably a good idea to pop up a greyed-out menu if the
user requests it, otherwise it'll look as though your application is broken,
and you probably want to respond to open-window, otherwise the window won't
move. You also need key-press if you want to allow escape to terminate.

  It actually took me a while to realise that you can have more than one
polling loop in a program - obvious in retrospect, of course. I don't think
I've ever seen it suggested in a magazine article, though.

e----><----p | Stephen Burke           | Internet: burke@vxdesy.desy.de
 H   H   1   | Gruppe FH1T (Liverpool) | DECnet:   vxdesy::burke (13313::burke)
 H   H  11   | DESY, Notkestrasse 85   | BITNET:   BURKE@DESYVAX or SB2@UKACRL
 HHHHH   1   | 2000 Hamburg 52         | JANET:    sb2@uk.ac.rl.ib
 H   H   1   | Germany                 | Phone:    + 49 40 8998 2282
 H   H 11111 | HERA, the world's largest electron microscope!
From: rap@bnr.co.uk (Richard Porter)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: A5000 serial port
Date: 25 Jan 1993 17:29:23 GMT
Organization: BNR Europe Limited
NNTP-Posting-Host: bnsgs193.bnr.co.uk

In article <C1Ewyx.2ny@dcs.ed.ac.uk> gst@dcs.ed.ac.uk (George Taylor) writes:
>The engineer at Norwhich Computer Services ...
>suggests extreme care be taken with the port and that screened (hence earthing
>from one machine's chasis to another) leads and plugs should always be used.

Screened leads, yes, but the screen should be connected at one end only and
not used to provide an earth connection to either machine. This is because
(a) it can cause an earth loop if both machines are earthed and (b) the
chassis of the two machines may not be at the same potential particularly if
they are remote. This is why there is a separate signal ground connection
which is effectively a common return path for the other signals.

Richard
From: ee91mds2@brunel.ac.uk (Mark D Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: My SCSI uses 52K/Directory
Date: 28 Jan 93 17:59:00 GMT
Organization: Brunel University, West London, UK

My Morley SCSI uses 7K directories when I format using SCSIForm with 512 byte
blocks, as does my ADFS controlled IDE hard drive with the default format.

I suggest that you contact Morley for an explaination and/or an updated
SCSIForm.

On the subject of directory size, why does FileCore always return a 2K
directory size, regardless of the dircetory's actual size? Surely something
could be done to fix this, as it makes writing software to find the true
space saving when archiving difficult to write.


-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  M    M   AAA   RRRR   K  K   Janet email: ee91mds2@brunel.ac.uk            |
|  MM  MM  A   A  R   R  K K    Subject: Microelectronic Systems Design       |
|  M MM M  AAAAA  RRRR   KK     Establishment: Brunel University, U.K.        |
|  M    M  A   A  R R    K K                                                  |
|  M    M  A   A  R  RR  K  K                                                 |
From: alla0008@student.tc.umn.edu (Graham Allan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: Hard Disc Prices AGAIN!
Date: 26 Jan 93 21:34:56 GMT
Article-I.D.: news2.C1HDA9.Lzn
Organization: University of Minnesota

In article <memo.895245@cix.compulink.co.uk>
amclintock@cix.compulink.co.uk writes:

>Hard Disk Whinge
>I don't like my IDE drive/controller
>which I bought from ICS.
>
>1) 25second boot up time (with RiscOs2)
>2) window bugs in filer, paths longer
>   than 40 chars (or so) cause windows larger
>   than they need to be. (big gaps to the right)
>   Or perhaps this is a riscos bug.
>3) The occasional bad drive error.
>
>
>I still haven't got a satisfactory answer to these
>questions. I suppose I can't really complain
>though since I have had it for three months+
>
>Does anyone know why the "*map" command
>fills my screen with bits of free space.
>Shouldn't it all be in one continuous block?
>*compact reduces it a bit...

I think perhaps you will be happier with your HD interface when you have
spent a little more time with it. No offense meant, but it does look as if
you have not been using the Archimedes for very long, so perhaps some
things are worrying you when they should not. I have had an ICS IDE drive
and controller for well over a year now and have been very happy with it -
it works reliably and fast. To answer your questions, though:

1) Boot-up will take longer than on a floppy-only system, as the computer
must wait for the hard drive to spin up. Until this has happened, the IDE
Filer cannot read the disc name to display underneath the disc icon.

2) This is a feature of the main filer application (which is in the main
OS ROM); filer windows belonging to ADFS and other filing systems also
behave in this way.

3) Bad drive errors are usually caused by badly-written software, not the
filing system itself. You presumably only have a singe IDE drive attached;
this will have a device number of 4. Some badly-written software
(particularly games) assume the selected filing system is ADFS and try to
read files explicitly from device 0 (the floppy drive).

Finally, the *map command displays the free space as a list of "bits", as
the free space on the disc is fragmented over the disc. This is normal,
and RISC OS does a fairly decent job keeping fragmentation to a minimum.

Graham
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: altman@cryton.demon.co.uk (Hugo Fiennes)
Subject: Re: Using kermit with RISCOS 3.1 
Distribution: world
Organization: The Serial Port
Reply-To: altman@cryton.demon.co.uk
X-Mailer: Simple NEWS 1.90 (ka9q DIS 1.19)
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 12:26:57 +0000

In article <yorkr.728067138@cs.man.ac.uk> yorkr@cs.man.ac.uk writes:

>I have just bought an A4 and as I still make some use of my beeb I decided to
>get a copy of kermit from the info server. Unfortunately it seems to have
>problems since 99% of the time it refuses to send characters, even in simple
>terminal mode, even though the baud rate etc is correct. It will receive
> characters
>happily from the beeb, and when used on a 540 with RISC OS 2 it works
> perfectly.
>Has anyone any sugestions?
>        Richard.
>
Try loading !System.Modules.SerialUtil. This might help.

Hugo
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     "Did I say that? My lips didn't move..."
Hugo Fiennes - The Serial Port                      altman@cryton.demon.co.uk
                                                or altman@cix.compulink.co.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: idg10@cl.cam.ac.uk (I.D. Griffiths)
Subject: Re: Hard Disc Prices AGAIN!
Reply-To: idg10@phx.cam.ac.uk
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 13:05:38 GMT

In article <memo.895245@cix.compulink.co.uk>, amclintock@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Cray Communications, Alex McL") writes:
|> In-Reply-To: <727580969snz@cryton.demon.co.uk> altman@cryton.demon.co.uk (Hugo Fiennes)
|> 
|> Hard Disk Whinge
|> I don't like my IDE drive/controller
|> which I bought from ICS.
|> 
|> 1) 25second boot up time (with RiscOs2)
So optimise your boot sequence...  What are you doing during bootup?  My
system takes far longer than that to spring into life.  Or are you talking
about spin up time?  In which case 25 seconds is probably about par for the
course...


|> 2) window bugs in filer, paths longer
|>    than 40 chars (or so) cause windows larger
|>    than they need to be. (big gaps to the right)
|>    Or perhaps this is a riscos bug.
Well this is a feature of the window manager.  The minimum width of any
window is the width it's title bar had when it was created.  Subsequent
changes to the title text make no difference.   This feature is present in paint
too, and every program I've written.  It's not HCS's fault.  Don't know how
to get around it apart from creating the window with a very small title, and
then changing the title afterwards.
Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the filer DOES do this - you can shrink
the windows, it's just their default size which is large enough to see the
full filename.


|> 3) The occasional bad drive error.
|> 
Can't help you on that.  Might be your own programs or others with hard
wired drive numbers in.  (Illegal but it happens.)  Particularly easy to
get this happening with expansion of system variables - you might have
something hardwired to a floppy drive number causing this error.  Again don't
leap down HCS's throat.

|> I still haven't got a satisfactory answer to these
|> questions. I suppose I can't really complain
|> though since I have had it for three months+
Well who have you asked before now?


|> Does anyone know why the "*map" command
|> fills my screen with bits of free space.
|> Shouldn't it all be in one continuous block?
|> *compact reduces it a bit...
Yes it should do.  The E-type format maintains a pattern of lots of smaller
blocks near the middle of the disk (logically speaking, so I mean the tracks
half way along as opposed to the hub) and larger blocks out towards the edge,
so small files like Obey ones which need to be accessed fast for slick
directory opening can be found with the minimum seek distance, and large ones
which are going to take a while to load anyway get stuck in the less
desirable areas of hard disk real estate.
So don't complain, this is a Filecore feature anyway...


Ian Griffiths
From: yorkr@cs.man.ac.uk (richard york S92 sbf)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Using kermit with RISCOS 3.1
Date: 26 Jan 93 16:52:18 GMT

I have just bought an A4 and as I still make some use of my beeb I decided to
get a copy of kermit from the info server. Unfortunately it seems to have
problems since 99% of the time it refuses to send characters, even in simple
terminal mode, even though the baud rate etc is correct. It will receive characters
happily from the beeb, and when used on a 540 with RISC OS 2 it works perfectly.
Has anyone any sugestions?
	Richard.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
From: crj10@phx.cam.ac.uk (Clive Jones)
Subject: Re: Hard Disc Prices AGAIN!
Telephone-Messages: +44 223 33 4900
Address: Christ's College, Cambridge CB2 3BU, ENGLAND.
Organization: U of Cambridge, England
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 13:53:51 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.130538.5927@infodev.cam.ac.uk> idg10@phx.cam.ac.uk writes:
>Well this is a feature of the window manager.  The minimum width of any
>window is the width it's title bar had when it was created.  Subsequent
>changes to the title text make no difference.   This feature is present in paint
>too, and every program I've written.  It's not HCS's fault.  Don't know how
>to get around it apart from creating the window with a very small title, and
>then changing the title afterwards.
>Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the filer DOES do this - you can shrink
>the windows, it's just their default size which is large enough to see the
>full filename.

There is a minimum size field in the window definition. Zero means
that RiscOS should calculate the value from the shape of the
scrollbars, the size of title bar needed to display the entire title,
and the number of other icons around the window edge. If you set it to
some other sensible value ("Work area" menu option under !FormEd) then
the title bar will not be used to limit the window's minimum size.

This may be in the "little known fact" category, but it's in the
RiscOS2 PRMs!

--Clive.
From: barrett@turtle.fisher.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: A4 Expansion Pinout
Date: 25 Jan 93 03:57:26 CDT
Organization: Fisher Controls International, Austin, TX

I have an A4 computer and plan to build an interface board the fits into
the space provided for the Econet/Ethernet interface. In the absence of an
A4 technical reference manual, does anybody out there know the pinout of the
internal expansion connectors. Also what are the guidelines for power
consumption etc. of any interface.

Is the A4 technical reference manual available yet ? I ordered a copy from
Norwich Computer Services last November. Nothing has turned up yet (NCS say
delay is due to Acorn).

Ralph Barrett
Fisher.Rosemount Systems Division
Leicester UK
All opinions etc. are my own.
From: tsumner@acorn.co.uk (Tony Sumner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
Subject: Re: Thanks for Help ! and some new ?'s
Date: 26 Jan 93 16:45:16 GMT
Organization: Acorn Computers Ltd, Cambridge, England

In article <C1FHCt.GGE@comp.vuw.ac.nz> Gavin.Flower@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Gavin Flower) writes:
>Fine! - But, what is it's version?

Aaaha!


Spotted the deliberate error eh? Apologies.

The version of the Font manager in the 3.10 rom is:-

Font Manager    3.07 (30 Apr 1992)


Tony Sumner
Senior SQA Engineer
From: Oliver.Cornes@newcastle.ac.uk (Oliver Cornes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Dongles affecting Printing
Date: 25 Jan 93 15:26:43 GMT
Organization: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, NE1 7RU
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

Captain_Kwok (ssudavss@csug.cs.reading.ac.uk) wrote:
: Sometimes when I try to print something to the printer it won't print anything.
: It does this every time I try it until ... I run ArtWorks. This seems to
: open up the parallel port and all printing is tickety boo. If I remove the
: Artworks dongle I don't get this problem.
: Any Ideas?

What order are the dongles plugged in? Try swapping them over and see if it
makes any difference.

Ollie.
From: barrett@turtle.fisher.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Skyfall PD
Date: 25 Jan 93 04:11:07 CDT
Organization: Fisher Controls International, Austin, TX

Has anybody out there had any problems with Skyfall PD in Birmingham. I
ordered some 1.6 Mbyte PD disks back in November and have received nothing
from them. Is this a take your money and run outfit ?

I have written to Skyfall twice asking for an explaination, but have received
no replies. Before I take further action, I would like to see if there is
a simple reason for Skyfall's inactivity (e.g. proprietor has been injured in
an accident and is temorarily unable to run business).

Ralph Barrett
Fisher.Rosemount Systems Division
Leicester UK
All opinions etc. are my own

Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
From: smb@cs.nott.ac.uk (Simon Burrows)
Subject: Re: Acorn news release: PC Cards
Organization: Nottingham University
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 93 11:52:05 GMT

Information about a few other forthcoming products was available at BETT.
The RISC OS 3 PRMs are scheduled for release in Quarter 2 of 1993.
The new RISC OS Style Guide - late Q2 of 1993.
The FPA - late Q2 of 1993.
This information was printed in a list supplied by Acorn.

Simon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon Burrows   smb@cs.nott.ac.uk  psyhsmb@unicorn.nott.ac.uk  +44 533 712030
------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
From: bernhard@flipper.pvv.unit.no (Kjetil Bernhard Thomassen)
Subject: Re: Ethernet on the Archimedes
Organization: The Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: 22 Jan 93 20:53:56

In article <1993Jan22.115854.23767@aston.ac.uk> davism@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mik Davis) writes:

   J M Hicks (cudat@csv.warwick.ac.uk) wrote:
      [about Mode 31]
   : 
   : >rumour has it that this mode is perfectly usable on an Acorn
   : >Multisync.
   : 
   : Well, I find the characters too small for my liking and the flicker
   : too annoying.  It's a matter of taste I suppose.

     It seems that the Acorn Multiscan monitors vary greatly in
     quality. I have seen mode 31 on an Acorn monitor which didnt flicker
     at all. On the other hand,I have heard of people who get *major*
     flicker from any decently hi-res mode.

My experience is that mode 31 flickers on any multisync if the VIDC is
running at 24 MHz and not 36 MHz (VIDC enhancer, A540, A5000/A4).

Please note that some VIDC enhancers wont be triggered to 36 MHz on
the standard modes on an A300/A400/1. I had to hardwire mine to 36 MHz
to get it working on my A310. 

Kjetil Bernhard Thomassen
bernhard@pvv.unit.no
From: garyb@abekrd.co.uk (Gary Bartlett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Gods Passwords (where ?)
Keywords: Krysalis Gods Game
Date: 27 Jan 93 20:59:52 GMT
Organization: Abekas Video Systems, Reading, UK.

In <1993Jan22.093547.5934@visionware.co.uk> jmp@visionware.co.uk (John Pullan) writes:
>I hope someone can help or point out what is going on with this as its
>winding me up :

>Where Oh Where do the passwords to Gods appear ? Maybe I should say when.
>I've completed the first Level and entered the temple, Got killed, but
>I didn't get a password for that level.

Yes, I too was confused and more than a little exasperated when, after getting
to the end of the first level and dying, I wasn't given the level password.
Since then, I found out that to get the first level password, you have to
complete the first stage of the second level as well - whether this is a bug
or a feature, I don't know.

When you eventually get the password, it is displayed on the high score table
for ever so that you don't forget it (good idea).

>Follow-ups via email please

I've posted here as well so that if anyone has passwords for the other levels,
they might post or mail them to me as well.






WARNING!!!!  IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE PASSWORD FOR LEVEL 1 OF GODS
GO NO FURTHER WITH THIS ARTICLE!  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!













Level 1 Password:	QUZ



Cheers,
Gary
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary Bartlett, Abekas Video Systems, 12 Portman Rd, Reading, Berks, RG3 1EA. UK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET:  Gary.Bartlett@abekrd.co.uk                          PHONE: +44 734 585421
UUCP: ...!uunet!mcsun!uknet!abekrd!Gary.Bartlett	  FAX:   +44 734 567904
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