Re: [Ql-Users] ACOS_2

[Mark Martin]

On Tue, May 31, 2016 at 3:16 PM, Norman Dunbar 
wrote:

> Hi Colin,
>
> Checking that values are in range in order to call a built in function,
> procedure etc is normal. At least it as been for as long as I've been
> programming - since pre ZX81 days.
>
>
This is definitely a core software engineering process -- alive and well in
today's software dev.  It has the fancy name of "preconditions"/"post
conditions" (often included with "class invariance" when referring to OO
based development).  The core concept is simple:

 - this function (or object method) is meant to work for THIS range of
input values.  If you don't supply a value in THIS range, all bets are
off.  I might give you garbage, or, if I'm more formal, I will throw an
exception or raise an error.
 - this function (or object method) is guaranteed to return a value in THAT
range.

For purer programming, the function SHOULD be idempotent and repeatable.
Sun's Solaris documentation notes that on every function.  But that's
getting into side-effects and monoids and whatnot.

See Modula-2.  It actually has language features to enforce pre-conditions.

Colin, I agree that this violates the principle of least astonishment, but
if it were me, I'd just put the value guard up, drop a quick note why, and
drive on.  I can not tell you how many times I've had to put up similar
guards and notes for similar reasons -- undocumented (or poorly documented)
edge conditions on input values.

Could you just put a CEILING (or FLOOR) around it to tighten the syntax?
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Re: [Ql-Users] Hello world QPC1

[Mark Martin]

On Fri, Jul 24, 2015 at 11:29 AM, Michael Grunditz 
michael.grund...@gmail.com wrote:


 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15146505/IMG_20150724_160142.jpg
 (pic of QPC1)

 It is weekend == more time for this :)


Very nice.  Perhaps you'd offer up your win image?  I'm so tempted to
replicate this setup for my own tinkering purposes.
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Re: [Ql-Users] PC issues

[Mark Martin]

Tip for the future regarding your drives (i.e. don't trust chkdsk alone)

http://www.howtogeek.com/134735/how-to-see-if-your-hard-drive-is-dying/

This worked for me as I was having similar symptoms and chkdsk wasn't
reporting anything wrong.  My drive was throwing lots of read errors and
this was only uncovered when I queried the SMART diagnostics with the tool
mentioned in that article.

On Thu, Oct 9, 2014 at 2:31 PM, Norman Dunbar nor...@dunbar-it.co.uk
wrote:

 Nice one Dilwyn, good to hear it's going fine again and you didn't have to
 cross over to the dark side!

 I agree in the helpful too, I've always found that here.


 Cheers,
 Norm.
 --
 Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QLis30 pledge...

[Mark Martin]

You sent £20.00 GBP to treasu...@quanta.org.uk

On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 12:04 PM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:

 Hello all!

 The QL is 30 event is upon us and it is time for us to meet our pledge
 commitments. The good news is that the event was organized a lot more
 economically than was originally thought. For that reason, and allowing for
 the QUANTA match on donated funds, it is expected that we only need to
 raise HALF the amount we originally pledged.

 Here is a reminder of the pledges that were made:

 Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
 Mark Martin  £ 30
 Petri Pellinen   £ 50
 Doug L   £150
 Jiří Doležal £ 50
 Kenn Van Hauen   £ 70
  
 TOTAL£500
 Quanta Match £500

 Available: £1,000

 I have forwarded £75 (50%) now, and if the 50% pledges fall short, I'll
 make an additional top up donation immediately after the event, when the
 donations have been tallied.

 Your donations need to be submitted to the following PayPal address:
 *treasu...@quanta.org.uk
 treasu...@quanta.org.uk*

 If anyone has an objection to using PayPal, you can email
 treasu...@quanta.org.uk and make an alternative arrangement.

 Thank you everyone for pledging!

 Dave





 On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 10:16 AM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:

  Currently:
  Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
  Mark Martin  £ 30
  Petri Pellinen   £ 50
  Doug L   £150
  Jiří Doležal £ 50
  Kenn Van Hauen   £ 70
   
  TOTAL£500
  Quanta Match £500
 
  Available: £1,000
 
  Now, who would like to organise an event? The risk is now very low. :)
 
  Dave
  Sandy Electronics
 
 
 
  On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 9:47 AM, Kenn Van Hauen vanha...@mac.com wrote:
 
  I am happy to contribute the remaining £70. Kenn
 
  Sent from my iPhone
 
   On 4 Feb 2014, at 15:26, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:
  
   In light of this fabulous email from QUANTA, The pledge tally now
  stands at:
  
   Currently:
   Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
   Mark Martin  £ 30
   Petri Pellinen   £ 50
   Doug L   £150
   Jiří Doležal £ 50
   
   TOTAL£430
   Quanta Match £430
  
   Available:   £860
  
   Thank you QUANTA and everyone else so far. Just £70 more and we'd hit
  £1000!
  
   Dave Park
   Sandy Electronics
  
  
  
   On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 2:35 AM, John Gilpin 
 thegilp...@btinternet.com
  wrote:
  
   Further to your emails Re: [QL-Users] QLis30 pledge..., I have great
   pleasure in advising you as follows:
  
   At a meeting of the QUANTA Committee on Sunday 02/02/2014, the topic
  of a
   Workshop to celebrate QLis30 was discussed and it was decided that
 if,
  due
   to Rich Mellor's ill health, we (QUANTA) will not be able to support
  his
   venture in Cambridge, then we would like to add our name to the
 QLis30
   pledge such that we will match the fund  up to a maximum of £500. It
  was
   also decided that QUANTA may offer further support by attending the
  event
   to show a QUANTA presence.
  
   This came about after much discussion regarding QUANTA's willingness
 to
   support such an event and how much we should be prepared to spend in
  order
   to differentiate between over-spending and not wanting to support
  both
   of which have received some criticism of late on this list.
  
   As we do not continually monitor this email list, please address any
   further correspondence tocommit...@quanta.org.uk   - thanks.
  
   Kind Regards,
  
   John Gilpin.
   QUANTA Treasurer.
   treasu...@quanta.org.uk mailto:treasu...@quanta.org.uk
  
  
   On 06/01/2014 19:23, Dave Park wrote:
  
   Hehe, ok. Thank you even more!
  
   Currently:
   Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
   Mark Martin  £ 30
   Petri Pellinen   £ 50
   Doug L   £150

   TOTAL£380
  
   I think that is getting close to a good incentive for someone to
  organize
   a
   show, now.
  
  
   On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 12:04 PM, extdgl42 externa...@earthlink.net
 
   wrote:
  
  
  
   -Original Message-
  
   From: Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com
   Sent: Jan 6, 2014 10:33 AM
   To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com
   Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] QLis30 pledge...
  
   Mark, Petri, Doug, THANK YOU!
  
   Doug, I translated it as £133

Re: [Ql-Users] QLis30 pledge...

[Mark Martin]

Yeah, I sent it as friend and family and got dinged £.10 for the
international transfer -- they got the whole £20.  I didn't mind :)

On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 12:13 PM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:

 Thanks Mark! I sent £75 (which turned out to be $125)... The funds reported
 they will be available tomorrow.

 As a quick aside, if you choose send money to friends or family instead
 of a purchase, the event and you will pay much lower transaction fees -
 this leaves more of the money available to the organizers!

 Dave

 On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 12:11 PM, Mark Martin storycraf...@gmail.com
 wrote:

  You sent £20.00 GBP to treasu...@quanta.org.uk
 
  On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 12:04 PM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:
 
   Hello all!
  
   The QL is 30 event is upon us and it is time for us to meet our pledge
   commitments. The good news is that the event was organized a lot more
   economically than was originally thought. For that reason, and allowing
  for
   the QUANTA match on donated funds, it is expected that we only need to
   raise HALF the amount we originally pledged.
  
   Here is a reminder of the pledges that were made:
  
   Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
   Mark Martin  £ 30
   Petri Pellinen   £ 50
   Doug L   £150
   Jiří Doležal £ 50
   Kenn Van Hauen   £ 70

   TOTAL£500
   Quanta Match £500
  
   Available: £1,000
  
   I have forwarded £75 (50%) now, and if the 50% pledges fall short, I'll
   make an additional top up donation immediately after the event, when
 the
   donations have been tallied.
  
   Your donations need to be submitted to the following PayPal address:
   *treasu...@quanta.org.uk
   treasu...@quanta.org.uk*
  
   If anyone has an objection to using PayPal, you can email
   treasu...@quanta.org.uk and make an alternative arrangement.
  
   Thank you everyone for pledging!
  
   Dave
  
  
  
  
  
   On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 10:16 AM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com
 wrote:
  
Currently:
Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
Mark Martin  £ 30
Petri Pellinen   £ 50
Doug L   £150
Jiří Doležal £ 50
Kenn Van Hauen   £ 70
 
TOTAL£500
Quanta Match £500
   
Available: £1,000
   
Now, who would like to organise an event? The risk is now very low.
 :)
   
Dave
Sandy Electronics
   
   
   
On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 9:47 AM, Kenn Van Hauen vanha...@mac.com
  wrote:
   
I am happy to contribute the remaining £70. Kenn
   
Sent from my iPhone
   
 On 4 Feb 2014, at 15:26, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:

 In light of this fabulous email from QUANTA, The pledge tally now
stands at:

 Currently:
 Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150
 Mark Martin  £ 30
 Petri Pellinen   £ 50
 Doug L   £150
 Jiří Doležal £ 50
 
 TOTAL£430
 Quanta Match £430

 Available:   £860

 Thank you QUANTA and everyone else so far. Just £70 more and we'd
  hit
£1000!

 Dave Park
 Sandy Electronics



 On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 2:35 AM, John Gilpin 
   thegilp...@btinternet.com
wrote:

 Further to your emails Re: [QL-Users] QLis30 pledge..., I have
  great
 pleasure in advising you as follows:

 At a meeting of the QUANTA Committee on Sunday 02/02/2014, the
  topic
of a
 Workshop to celebrate QLis30 was discussed and it was decided
 that
   if,
due
 to Rich Mellor's ill health, we (QUANTA) will not be able to
  support
his
 venture in Cambridge, then we would like to add our name to the
   QLis30
 pledge such that we will match the fund  up to a maximum of £500.
  It
was
 also decided that QUANTA may offer further support by attending
 the
event
 to show a QUANTA presence.

 This came about after much discussion regarding QUANTA's
  willingness
   to
 support such an event and how much we should be prepared to spend
  in
order
 to differentiate between over-spending and not wanting to
  support
both
 of which have received some criticism of late on this list.

 As we do not continually monitor this email list, please address
  any
 further correspondence tocommit...@quanta.org.uk   -
 thanks.

 Kind Regards,

 John

Re: [Ql-Users] QXL Card for Temporary Loan

[Mark Martin]

On Thu, May 15, 2014 at 4:27 AM, Derek Stewart de...@q40.de wrote:

  Hi,

 I would like to ask the temporary loan of a QXL Card, so that I can take a
 copy of the QXL Glue (Altera) Chip.

 I have 8 QXL cards that I have nearly finished construction, but the code
 of the QXL Glue chip seems to be missing.

 Once these QXLs have been constructed, I will sell them.


If you just need the chip, could someone just send that?
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[Ql-Users] QLis30 live video

[Mark Martin]

I know it's probably not feasible for anyone at the show to setup live
video broadcasting of the event for the rest of the world, but a thought
has been bouncing around and I wanted to share it in case there is anyone
here with experience.

I am contemplating what it would take from a cost perspective and
commitment level for me to ship a couple of cameras and a router and
possibly a little ARM box running linux that required very little setup and
configuration.  Someone  could just set up the cameras in a couple of
spots, wire them to the home base, and mostly forget it for the duration
of the show.  I would ship a box with these lightweight items, someone
would set them up at the show and keep a weathered eye on them, and at the
end of the show, I'd pay return shipping.

The setup would probably only need a single wired ethernet, permission to
run a private wireless LAN, and just a little bit of web gui time to setup
the box.

Shipping costs aside, sound feasible?  Has anyone seen this done?
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Re: [Ql-Users] Teleconference idea

[Mark Martin]

In light of recently revived discussion regarding planning the show, I
suppose I should get on the ball and see if there's a possibility we could
get chat working.

Here's a short 5 question survey that may help me organize some
semi-regular chat sessions.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q79JG2Q


On Thu, Oct 24, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Dilwyn Jones
dil...@evans1511.fsnet.co.ukwrote:

 I like the sound of this and wish you well with looking into it. The big
 benefit is that it can be international and even useful for those in
 Britain who can't get to traditional workshops.

 I can assure you that you won't be treading on committee toes - I for one
 quite like it when people come up with ideas like this. Given that Quanta
 has come in for some heavy criticism recently, it's nice to see things like
 this being proposed independently.

 It could actually set a model for more future QL meetings now that the
 traditional workshops are not well attended.

 Dilwyn Jones


 -Original Message- From: Mark Martin
 Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 4:57 PM
 To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com
 Subject: [Ql-Users] Teleconference idea


 Recent discussions about holding a physical meeting have gotten me
 thinking. Someone mentioned skyping as a possibility, and I can tell you
 that another retro computing group (the CoCo group) have held online-only
 events in the past. These were very informal and low-key, and while they
 were repeated only a handful of times, they were extremely easy to
 coordinate.

 Along that line, I'm offering for your consideration two proposals:

 -- The informal approach is that I will lead an effort to determine the
 most common IM program used among interested parties (hopefully Skype). I
 will collect contact information and then schedule a first call. I'll try
 to gather consensus on a schedule and an agenda. In other words, I will
 facilitate and then happily let others lead discussions they are interested
 in.

 -- The Big Bang approach is to model after what the virtual tabletop
 role-playing conventions do -- they host schedules for individual tables,
 and allow interested parties to lead those tables. They allow signup for
 these tables and coordinate all of the interested parties into a
 (essentially) private meeting space. These are essentially a large online,
 virtual convention -- but focused on smaller interest topics (in this case,
 individual role playing game sessions). I could perhaps leverage websites
 that cater to this type of convention and, again, help facilitate smaller
 groups to get together at various times over some pre-planned convention
 weekend.

 I do not intend to step on Quantas toes here as I know they are separately
 trying to schedule a more robust and higher scale venture. I'm more
 interested in seeing if there is interest in something a lot less formal,
 on the side, and not necessarily tied to any Quanta business -- global in
 scale. I have very little to no budget to do this, although I believe there
 isn't much need for such a budget.  This is mostly a volunteer time kind of
 thing for all parties.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QPC2 v4.01 released

[Mark Martin]

Congratulations!


On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 7:11 PM, Marcel Kilgus ql-us...@mail.kilgus.netwrote:

 Hello everybody.

 I have mentioned that I intended to make QPC2 available and free for all
 for some time and the first fruit of this could be observed for QL
 Today subscribers with QPC2 v4 on the last QL-Today DVD.

 Now, to celebrate the birth of my first and very lovely daughter (who
 turns one week old in exactly 3 hours), I follow up on my promise and
 finally make QPC2 available for everybody to enjoy. Head over to
 http://www.kilgus.net/qpc/downloads.html to get it.

 The package contains QPC2 v4.01 and the latest SMSQ/E 3.18.

 Cheers, Marcel

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Re: [Ql-Users] QLis30 pledge...

[Mark Martin]

On Sun, Jan 5, 2014 at 12:39 PM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:

 I offer to sponsor £150 towards the cost of any organized 'QL is 30'
 show. If others would like to chip in a little, it could make a
 Kickstarter-style fund.

 *Conditions:* Event must be held between March 2014 and December 2014, in a
 generally accessible location to QL users. This includes any traditional
 location like a scout hut, Eindhoven, etc. The Outer Hebrides or rural
 Romania probably won't count. The event must be properly open to the
 public, properly advertised, and what the members of this list consider
 'properly organised'. Event can be organised by an individual or a company.
 In the event of an individual or company combining with Quanta to run the
 event, the fund will be divided equally between them. The pledge will be
 paid towards costs of running the show, and will be sent to the
 organiser(s) by paypal four weeks before the organized event. In the
 circumstance the event is cancelled for *any* reason, the pledge(s) must be
 returned *immediately*.

 *List of pledges:*

 *Sandy Electronics / Dave Park£150*

Mark Martin£30
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[Ql-Users] Teleconference idea

[Mark Martin]

Recent discussions about holding a physical meeting have gotten me
thinking. Someone mentioned skyping as a possibility, and I can tell you
that another retro computing group (the CoCo group) have held online-only
events in the past. These were very informal and low-key, and while they
were repeated only a handful of times, they were extremely easy to
coordinate.

Along that line, I'm offering for your consideration two proposals:

-- The informal approach is that I will lead an effort to determine the
most common IM program used among interested parties (hopefully Skype). I
will collect contact information and then schedule a first call. I'll try
to gather consensus on a schedule and an agenda. In other words, I will
facilitate and then happily let others lead discussions they are interested
in.

-- The Big Bang approach is to model after what the virtual tabletop
role-playing conventions do -- they host schedules for individual tables,
and allow interested parties to lead those tables. They allow signup for
these tables and coordinate all of the interested parties into a
(essentially) private meeting space. These are essentially a large online,
virtual convention -- but focused on smaller interest topics (in this case,
individual role playing game sessions). I could perhaps leverage websites
that cater to this type of convention and, again, help facilitate smaller
groups to get together at various times over some pre-planned convention
weekend.

I do not intend to step on Quantas toes here as I know they are separately
trying to schedule a more robust and higher scale venture. I'm more
interested in seeing if there is interest in something a lot less formal,
on the side, and not necessarily tied to any Quanta business -- global in
scale. I have very little to no budget to do this, although I believe there
isn't much need for such a budget.  This is mostly a volunteer time kind of
thing for all parties.
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Re: [Ql-Users] Teleconference idea

[Mark Martin]

On Thu, Oct 24, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:

 Skype is the only stable mass market video platform that allows multiple
 callers/conferencing that is PC, Mac and Linux compatible and free to use.
 That's why I use it.

 Dave


I agree, although video sharing with a group will require an investment in
the professional version. It maybe possible to avoid that cost and do
something like UStream (I've done this a bit) in combination. In either
case, the CoCo group I participated with had no video requirement and
neither might we.

I'll mark that as +2 for Skype, thanks.
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[Ql-Users] Creating breadboard for expansion port on black box hardware

[Mark Martin]

Is this the right connector for the edge connector on the QL?
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/PCN13-64S-2.54DS(71)/H11189-ND/1036440

Does anyone have a recommendation for a breadboard that won't require too
much cutting to fit in that side slot?
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Re: [Ql-Users] QLwIP

[Mark Martin]

On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 4:01 AM, Peter pg...@q40.de wrote:


 How to get connected to the CPU bus is always the biggest problem with the
 original QL, as using extension bus makes things big and ugly.

 Using ROM slot takes away write access. And simulating writes with address
 lines is not something one would want while debugging an ethernet device.


I gathered something was wonky with that ROM slot after following Adrian's
progress. Now I know, thanks.

Is a socketed approach possible? I'm thinking the AdIDE and AdSpeed stuff
so common for Amigas and Atari ST back in the day. I honestly don't know
off the top of my head whether the CPU was always socketed so pardon me if
it usually isn't.


 Maybe the best approach is to make something big and ugly first, get
 things working, and then go for the more difficult ROM slot approach, if
 there is still time and interest left.



Especially if big and ugly means less complicated for someone with my
meager hardware skills.



 Should you (or anyone else) decide to actually use the CP2200, I could
 contribute a little PCB design with the complete ethernet circuitry und
 RJ45 connector, bringing address and data bus lines to an easy to solder
 connector.

 I have designed that already for the Q68, it would take only a few hours,
 as long as I don't have to buy anything or give explanations. (Warning:
 The CP2200 comes in a TQFP package with 0.5 mm pitch. Not impossible to
 solder, but not easy.)


If you could share that that would be great and probably save me 10x the
time since I can *maybe* solve the logic and bus issues but not the
physical and line quality issues (e.g. filtering and the discretes).



  I don't have a GC or SGC, but I do have a QXL I could use for
  compilation and I'll look into putting together a build/test station.

 For compilation you could also use Jonathan Hudson's XTC68 cross compiler
 for the PC.


Looking into that now, thanks.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QLwIP

[Mark Martin]

On Sun, Sep 15, 2013 at 10:56 AM, Peter Graf pg...@q40.de wrote:


 For joined forces between QL and Q68, this device might be of interest.
 If someone wants to build a QL ethernet card from it, I can send him the
 corresponding sheet of the Q68 schematics. I have tested the CP2200 on
 packet level there. This might save trouble, since there was a buggy
 application note.

 As you mention uIP, I had quickly adapted it to a bare-metal Q68 and
 CP2200, I can send anyone the sources if interested. But it didn't work
 well, there seemed to be an endianess issue or something, and I had no
 time to debug it.


I'd been considering using something like the WIZnet style solution via
SPI/IPC for some time. The advantage here is the simple interface (i.e.
within my meager hardware capabilities) and availability of 5V interface
logic. The disadvantage is the lack of throughput on that interface. Better
than native QL serial (of course), but not nearly line speed which even the
native QL would seem capable of.

Having a full fledge ethernet interface without the socket limitations of
the WIZnet type of chips is an intriguing notion. I wonder if it will have
any impact on the amount of work the get a working uIP type stack -- uIP
doing things like packet reassembly/fragmentation/etc vs. acting more like
a pass-through. In either case, I don't think Posix sockets interface are a
requirement so uIP is just as good an API as anything else. Regardless of
whether it's communicating with a CP2200 or a WIZnet (or similar).

It looks like I need to look into card edge connectors for native QL and a
breadboard. I don't have a GC or SGC, but I do have a QXL I could use for
compilation and I'll look into putting together a build/test station.
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[Ql-Users] QLwIP

[Mark Martin]

In what state does QLwIP exist today? Could it be licensed under an open
source license?

If the answer is no, I may be motivated to start an open project if I could
find help answering the question of hardware support. To my knowledge, no
known ethernet capable hardware support exists for any networking library
on any QL platform. I have often pondered what it would take to make
tulip or ne2000 support available for SMSQ on my QXL, but that would
require a working DOS-like build environment and x86 assembly coding
knowledge, neither of which I am enthusiastic about at this moment.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QLwIP

[Mark Martin]

On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Peter Graf pg...@q40.de wrote:

  Could it be licensed under an open source license?

 GPL planned.


That's hopeful. What can I do to encourage or support that?



  If the answer is no, I may be motivated to start an open project if I
 could
  find help answering the question of hardware support. To my knowledge, no
  known ethernet capable hardware support exists for any networking library
  on any QL platform.

 There are ethernet cards for Q40 and Q60.
 QLwIP supports them.


I was hoping for broader support of hardware. It's a broad base to begin
with, though, isn't it? There's QL original hardware, QXL, Q40/Q60,
Amiga/Atari emulators. Software emulators.
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Re: [Ql-Users] MPlanes update

[Mark Martin]

On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 11:04 AM, Dave Park d...@sinclairql.com wrote:


 Also, pop in to SellMyRetro.com and check on the auctions. There is a Gold
 Card for $255, a maxed out Trump Card, $137.50 and, oh yes, MPlanes for
 $40...


Dave,

Unfortunately, you list the prices here in USD here (presumably), but on
the web site, they're in pounds -- quite a big difference.  Best of luck
with your sales.

Mark
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Re: [Ql-Users] QL Today

[Mark Martin]

On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 6:42 PM, Timothy Swenson swenso...@sbcglobal.netwrote:

I'm willing to volunteer to do the layout if others are interested in
 writing the articles.  The end result will be a full color PDF file that
 can them be e-mail or hosted (like Dave Park who has volunteered his
 website).


I'm also willing to volunteer some limited editing, layout, admin,
moderating, grunt, or authoring time.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QLToday V16 I2

[Mark Martin]

On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk wrote:

 In message 
 EF8854B6-A3B0-4468-9332-**47469a35a...@jdh-stech.comef8854b6-a3b0-4468-9332-47469a35a...@jdh-stech.com,
 Jim Hunkins j...@jdh-stech.com writes

 Hi,

 Received in London today - 13th December 2011 ...


Drat -- the U.S. is always behind in these things...yesterday evening for
me.

I suspect the Jet Stream.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QBBS

[Mark Martin]

On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 2:40 PM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote:

 I will copy the files if you want.It is all less than about 100mb I
 expect, but getting it to a downloadable file will be interesting.
 I suspect I will have to use an RS232 serial link to my Macbook. Floppies
 would be a pain and many files are too big.
 I will zip execables using QL zip.  It would be best to run under Minerva,
 as I am sure I use some MInerva specific features.  Mind you it is probably
 OK, bar boot, as Pbox works wilth all versions of QDOS I think.


That would be very cool, and I'd be honored to get that running,
Internet-able.  But it sounds like a bit of a hassle, so please don't work
so hard on my account.

It does, however, give me a mind to get that QXL system running next
weekend.  Now to figure out how to get a newer copy of SMS/QE.  And a way
to quickly get programs into that qxl.win drive.


 Mind you if you want to talk power, have you come across Bill Cable?  He
 now generates over 7KW on good days via wind and solar panels (Cornish NH).
 He runs his 'shop' (workshop in UK parlance) off many series wired high
 power, low voltage lead/acid batteries giving 110v DC.  He has to choose
 his machine tools carefully!
 He has not been a grid user for maybe 20 years (or more). I am not a
 typical American he 'warned' me once.


I may just have to give him a shout via email, thanks.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QBBS

[Mark Martin]

On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 6:34 AM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote:


 On Dec 3, at 23:05 | Dec3, Darren Branagh wrote:

  Can you post a few pics of the set up before you retire it fully, just
 for
  posterity?
 The machine is not dying - simply the phone connection.
 It has all my files on it.

 Why not run it on the Internet, sans phone-line?
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Re: [Ql-Users] QBBS

[Mark Martin]

On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 1:21 PM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote:


 On Dec 4, at 18:08 | Dec4, Mark Martin wrote:

  On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 6:34 AM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk
 wrote:
   Why not run it on the Internet, sans phone-line?
  ___
 How?

 The system s Pbox (Phil Borman) based and he won't have a conversion
 program.

 I will not have the time (or inclination) to convert to a message board.
  and there is a files area.

 Tony


So Commodore hackers and many others do this all the time.  It requires a
second computer (although a terminal server or equivalent would work, too).


E.g.:
http://www.jammingsignal.com/leif/bbs/

That's for Windows as the telnet-serial converter.  If you wanted to use
a linux box:
http://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ground.icaen.uiowa.edu/News/tcpser

I have plans to do something similar with a number of my classics: a C128D,
an Apple II, and my Sinclair QL running pbox.  I'm also considering running
emulations of some of these on a little pogoplug and hosting the
tcp/ip-serial on the same box.  I also have a 24 port serial router that
I could use if I wanted to do it on real hardware.  I'd love to be able to
visit a QL BBS accessible via telnet, though, in the meantime.   There are
no Internet based BBS's running on Sinclair (or T/S) hardware that I know
-- yours would be the first.

I don't know what you were paying for the phone line, but for about
$25/month, I could get a Vonage line with a U.K. phone number (I'm in the
states).
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Re: [Ql-Users] QBBS

[Mark Martin]

On Sun, Dec 4, 2011 at 2:07 PM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote:

 Now that is interesting.  I run a Linux server full time.
 Mind you the *whole* point really about shuttung down QBBS is to save
 power (8-)#
 I reckon as noone calls the BBS, what is the point.
 OK access would be 'free', but I reckon there still would be no users.
 Chat here has taken over, and Dilwyn has files for download.


That's true.  Still. there are a few of us nostalgics who dial up bbs's
now and again.  Believe it or not, Synchronet is a modern BBS which is
still under development as is Renegade BBS and one other Commodore BBS (I
forget the name of right now).


 I really have given up QL activities, or am trying to!
 If anyone wanted to run QBBS, I would happily give them the files.


I'd definitely be interested if no one else would.  I have a QXL setup but
not much of a standard QL setup for the moment.  I was strongly thinking of
running pbox under emulation on a pogoplug.


 Nothing effectively.  It simply uses my existing second business line,
 which is staying.


Ah, right, it was a power savings thing, not a cost of line thing.  I
definitely get that :)  Did I mention I like the 4W pogoplugs and other ARM
devices?
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Re: [Ql-Users] Huge Sinclair repository on DVD out now!

[Mark Martin]

Mine took until the 24th (Saturday) to arrive in Chicagoland, IL, USA.

On Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 7:32 PM, extdgl42 externa...@earthlink.net wrote:
 Southeast USA-- East Tennessee/Smoky Mountains--today.

 Doug L.


 -Original Message-
From: John Impellizzeri jjimpellizz...@gmail.com
Sent: Sep 19, 2011 5:41 PM
To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com
Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Huge Sinclair repository on DVD out now!

Arrived here and well in the US (Detroit area) today the 19th.  DVD is very 
well done, lots of good info for someone like me trying to return to the QL...

John

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Re: [Ql-Users] Hardware update and re-hello :)

[Mark Martin]

On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 12:55 PM, Dave Park plasticu...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hi all...

 What a year so far. I had to disappear for a while due to
 complications of pneumonia and heart issues, and then got pneumonia
 again! The medical bills are almost paid off, but it means I have been
 away and put back into the poor house again!  :)


Here's to hoping your health improves and stays improved!



 On the bright side, The SAFT battery replacement PCBs for Gold Cards
 have arrived and they're perfect. On the downside, the bulk pack of
 sockets I ordered do not match the specs listed so I have RMA'd them.
 They were 0.7mm too tall and the SMD pads were not as specified on the
 drawing.

 The ATX power controller design is well tested now, and samples have
 been sent to two people here in the US to use in real-world situations
 - as much to test the instructions and packaging as the controller
 itself. Mercifully, the controller will be cheaper than I originally
 thought as I got a great deal on one of the more pricey components.

 I haven't done anything yet with the mplanes - I have some of the
 components in, but the rest will take a little longer.


If you've seen the ROM port i2cSD thing announced the other day, then maybe
there will be more of a need for these.  I hadn't thought about pulling my
original QL's out as much until I realized I might actually get a SD card on
an original QL without being able to source a superHermes.



 One setback is that my webserver motherboard up and died two weeks
 ago. I haven't got the clarity yet to look into it, so I am webless
 for the near future - it's not a priority for me.


I've got space and bandwidth on my hosting plan.  You're welcome to use it.
I used to do the hosting from the basement thing, but that got old and ended
up taking up so much of my time.



 I hope everyone else is doing better and that summer has found you all
 in great health and with sharp minds!

 Dave
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Re: [Ql-Users] Yahoo Groups

[Mark Martin]

On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 1:26 PM, Dave Park plasticu...@gmail.com wrote:
 On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 1:14 PM, Dilwyn Jones
 dil...@evans1511.fsnet.co.ukwrote:

 Geoff Wicks wrote:

 From then on the project faded from view.

 Can it be revived? I know very little about hardware, but I sense there is
 a new interest in native hardware and some projects that people thought
 would never come now seem feasible. It is for you hardware specialists to
 determine what is possible and what is not,

 I'd go as far as to say that it is too late in the day for any conventional
 QL replacements now, with one exception.

 To stand any chance of success it will need:

 1. Low component count
 2. Commonly available components (e.g. memory, keyboards, case, power
 supply)
 3. Sufficiently simple and low cost to allow small production runs and
 assembled by hand by one or two individuals.
 4. Able to use either Minerva or an existing (or easily modifiable existing
 SMSQ/E version)
 5. Cost no more than about £200 - £300
 6. Hires display with at least 16-bit colour.

 To clarify what I mean I'll call it QL On A Chip or two.

 Q40, Q60, Aurora, Goldfire... great designs in their time, but now we need
 a radical leap forward to stand a chance of success.


 Indeed an FPGA implementation of an m68k chip, or emulation of an n68k on
 some other lightweight chip are the only two economically sensible
 solutions.

 I preferred the ARM embedded option because in part it is smple and quick
 and a software problem, and in part because it matches my skills and ability
 to make it happen.

 However, Peter Graf showed that a 68000 in a FPGA is possible (not easy, but
 possible) and therefore if we can find someone to take an existing vhdl
 68000 core and build a QL around it in a FPGA, we can build a new system
 with a 2- or 3- chip board and VERY low cost. The biggest advantage here
 being that the boards would be easily reconfigurable/updatable at a later
 date.


How important is the original keyboard/case to this product design?
I'm contemplating gutting one of my old original QL's and refitting
with uQLx on a Beagleboard or Pandaboard, and maybe an arduino for
keyboard/microdrive interfacing.  This solution would preserve the
original look/feel, but isn't really reproducible on a large scale.
I'm also researching keyboard enclosures that could house a SFF ARM
board.  Regardless of whether a solution like this went the FPGA or
ARM w/emulator route, how do you house it?   Or does it matter?   One
could produce a decent looking retro case for a BB or PB and just
require a USB mouse/keyboard from the end-user.

The uQLX route is interesting to me because I plan on finishing this
experiment in the next couple of weeks and move on quickly to building
driver software for the additional interfaces (MMC, USB, network
,etc).  FPGA is more interesting to me personally due to the greater
challenge, but it'd have to be a coordinated effort and will take
longer.

Mark
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[Ql-Users] uQLX -- latest source?

[Mark Martin]

Does anyone have any patched source more recent than the publicly
available source for uQLX at sourceforge?  I've pulled that down and
built for x64 ubuntu with GCC 4.  I've fixed some trivial compilation
issues as I went, but haven't spent more than 1 hour doing this --
ending up with a non-working build (SEGFAULT partway after startup).
Has anyone done any recent compilation of uQLX?

Ultimately, I'd like to prepare debian packages for x86, x64, and ARM
distributions.
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[Ql-Users] SGC's and availability? (was Re: Gold card battery...)

[Mark Martin]

It seems like, from reading the previous thread, that quite a few
folks out there have GC's and SGC's.  Q40's and Q60's as well.  Is
anyone selling a SGC by chance?  Or a Q40/Q60?

Also, on an unrelated note, I've been trying to find details on the QL
network (QLAN) interface -- I was thinking about building an interface
from one of my other computers to transfer files to/from.  Does anyone
have any detailed schematics or protocol specifications they could
share?  Has anyone made anything in this regard already?


Thanks,
Mark
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Re: [Ql-Users] Back on the list...

[Mark Martin]

On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 9:27 AM, QL2K q...@jadiam.com wrote:
 Hi Tobias,

 Yes I got it on : http://www.kilgus.net/qpc/socket_toc.html
 But too Marcel says that most of TCP functionality useable from SBasic. Full 
 functionality with SBasic and some available toolkits.

 I'm searching about theses toolkits to give a try using S*Basic.

Are you thinking about adding TCP/IP support to QL2K?  I'm preparing
to dig my QXL PC back out, but while I'm doing that, it's important to
me to get an emulator up and running that has IP support.  The other
emulators are a bit overpriced for me, so I'm excited to think you
might attempt integrating IP into QL2K.   It's either that or I see
about getting uQLX rebuilt on a recent Linux kernel.
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Re: [Ql-Users] Reality Check

[Mark Martin]

On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 5:00 AM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote:
 Billy wrote, on 4/Feb/11 10:54 | Feb4:

 On 03/02/2011 21:23, Tobias Fröschle wrote:

 Am 03.02.2011 21:09, schrieb Dilwyn Jones:

 snip

 his plans for the replacement Qubide (http://omega.webnode.com/ or
 http://omega.webnode.com/products/product-1/) - Anybody still in

 snip

 Hello readers, there are no news and no plans to develop it further at
 the moment. Sorry for that. (20/6/2010)

 Which is quite a pity.

 Tobias



 I would venture - more beneficial would be the USB port, lots and lots
 of USB HDD out there, floppy drives and other stuff for not much money
 (relative) and some of them are Black.

 All the best - Bill

 .. so will you do the drivers then please (8-)#

 The hardware is the easy bit.

 USBWIZ has the USB port, but few drivers.

If there's going to be new, AVAILABLE hardware, and it's going to be
relatively easy to get it in the US, I'll help write drivers.
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Re: [Ql-Users] Reality Check

[Mark Martin]

On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 2:09 PM, Dilwyn Jones
dil...@evans1511.fsnet.co.uk wrote:
 Oops, failed to spot that some schematics at least are already on his
 website (haven't looked at them in detail).

 Also, I didn't stop to think that not many IDE hard disks are
 available nowadays, they all seem to be e-SATA etc. So a new Qubide might
 not be as good an idea as I first thought.

I've gone IDE-CF on many of my other retros and have plans for others
still.  It's still a fantastic idea.  I believe you can also go
IDE-SD/MMC.
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Re: [Ql-Users] QL SD/MMC-Card interface survey

[Mark Martin]

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 11:27 AM, fern ferng...@yahoo.com wrote:

 I would prefer to keep an original microdrive.

 as for speed?  anything equals to or higher than the floppies would be plenty.


What about option E -- floppy emulator?  This seems like it would have
broad compatibility (GC, SGC, maybe my QXL included), and I'm betting
most original QL owners do have floppy drive controllers..  Plus, this
more or less exists already, unless this is meant as an academic
exercise.

http://www.torlus.com/floppy/



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