Re: Advice requested

[Stephen Longhurst]

Out of interest, did that HDMl converter work in the end?  I have tried
several over the years and none have been able to lock onto a SAM SCART
output.  They were less sophisticated models by the looks of it though.  I
still use an old TV, but I think it's on it's way out!

Regards,

   Steve

On 16 January 2018 at 05:58,  wrote:

> True, the SAM SCART cable is a special one. Either you make one yourself
> or you order from Colin (http://www.samcoupe.com/). I once managed to
> reverse an original SAM cable and did not pay attention to the labels “TV”
> and “SAM”. This also lead to a black screen.
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Stefan
>
>
>
> *From:* owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] *On
> Behalf Of *Leszek Chmielewski
> *Sent:* Monday, January 15, 2018 11:52 PM
> *To:* sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no
> *Subject:* Re: Advice requested
>
>
>
> You need a special Scart cable. The wiring is in the manual. Alternative
> is the Composite Video and Audio signal from the Power socket.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 9:19 PM, Jason Thacker 
> wrote:
>
> All the electronics have arrived, but when I connect it all up, there is
> no video signal.
>
>
>
> My disk light flashes on power up and when I push the f9 key, but no video
> signal.
>
>
>
> Is it possible I need a special SCART cable (I have seen one on eBay)?
>
>
>
> I am running out of ideas as to what could be wrong.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Jason
>
>
>
> *From:* owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no] *On
> Behalf Of *Simone Voltolini
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 26, 2017 10:43 AM
> *To:* sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no
> *Subject:* R: Advice requested
>
>
>
> That HDMI upscaler is PERFECT for Sam/Speccy/ZX81/QL 
>
>
>
> I use it for all 4 machines 
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Kora Sistemi Informatici
>
> Via Cavour 1, 46030 San Giorgio di Mantova MN
> Tel/Fax +39 0376 371059 <+39%200376%20371059>
> P. IVA: 02048930206
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Da:* owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no [mailto:owner-sam-us...@nvg.ntnu.no
> ] *Per conto di *Jason Thacker
> *Inviato:* martedì 26 dicembre 2017 16:34
> *A:* sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no
> *Oggetto:* Advice requested
>
>
>
> Thanks to some generous relatives, I have had my Sam shipped over from the
> UK to the USA (where I now live).
>
>
>
> Voltage is not a concern, step up converters are cheap on Amazon. But I
> would like to be able to display the image from the Sam on my TV and
> unfortunately SCART sockets were never put on American TVs.
>
>
>
> What would be the best option for converting the SCART to an HDMI
> connector? Would something like this be OK?
>
>
>
> https://www.amazon.com/CiBest-Converter-Adapter-Support-Set-
> top/dp/B06Y43RVLH/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8=1514302351=8-3&
> keywords=scart+to+hdmi+converter
>
>
>
> Any help/advice gratefully accepted.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Jason
>
>
>



-- 
Steve Longhurst

Re: Raising the price benchmark??

[Stephen Longhurst]

Serious eBay money, tell me about it!  A couple of years ago, my parents
cleared out their loft and took my *3* expanded Acorn Atoms and peripherals
to the local tip!!!  Atom's go for a couple of hundred or more each these
days...


On 12 March 2014 12:36, Chris Pile chris.p...@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:

 That £699/£799 SAM has been on eBay for months now.  But if that £442
 sale is an indication of things to come then it's certainly creeping
 closer to his asking price.  That £799 SAM does look to be in a very
 nice condition but £799 for 256k and no floppy drive.  Probably not!
  The Jupiter Ace is another machine that fetches serious money on eBay.

  On 12/03/2014 10:25, Stephen Longhurst wrote:

 The guy who constantly puts a Sam up for sale at £699 has upped his price
 to £799 now, http://lngs.tv/1nKs7OB, probably off the back of the
 referenced sale going for £442.  Although I don't agree with the greed of
 attempting to sell a Sam at that price, (presumably to an uneducated
 buyer), I do like the fact that if you do a worldwide listing of the eBay
 Vintage Computer category, and sort it by highest price first, the Sam is
 usually very close to the top.

Re: Raising the price benchmark??

[Stephen Longhurst]

The guy who constantly puts a Sam up for sale at £699 has upped his price
to £799 now, http://lngs.tv/1nKs7OB, probably off the back of the
referenced sale going for £442.  Although I don't agree with the greed of
attempting to sell a Sam at that price, (presumably to an uneducated
buyer), I do like the fact that if you do a worldwide listing of the eBay
Vintage Computer category, and sort it by highest price first, the Sam is
usually very close to the top.


On 11 March 2014 19:12, Mike Nicholas m...@euroasic.com wrote:

 Gosh £442 and only one drive.
 My SAM switches on, but both drives don't do much.
 The disc continuously spins.


 On 11 March 2014, Chris Pile chris.p...@blueyonder.co.uk wrote:

 On 11/03/2014 14:23, Balor Price wrote:

 Would you sell though?

 Well if that eBay listing is a indication of future prices
 then I don't think I'd sell mine! Once it's gone I'd never
 be able to afford another!!
 I think I'll follow Adrian and get mine insured!! ;)

Re: Game Beetle Mania

[Stephen Longhurst]

I hadn't heard of that game before, it looks like a good old Sokoban clone,
but isn't in my collection, sorry.

   Steve


On 29 August 2013 21:39, Solaris104 solaris...@post.cz wrote:

   Hi.
 I can't find the game Beetle Mania anywhere. This game is reviewed in
 Your Sinclair 79

 http://archive.org/stream/your-sinclair-79/YourSinclair_79_Jul_1992#page/n25/mode/2up

 Please help me.

 Solaris104

Re: Time has come to part with my Sam Coupé

[Stephen Longhurst]

Indeed, nice looking Sam too.  Mine is way more yellowed, but I prefer to
think of it as much loved!

   Steve

On 30 April 2013 18:38, Stefan Drissen stefan.dris...@gmail.com wrote:

 Wow, that sold in a flash!

 Op 30 apr. 2013 om 15:49 heeft Nathan L. Reynolds (yibble) 
 yib...@yibble.org het volgende geschreven:

 Hi all,

 Unfortunately, the time has come to part with my childhood Sam Coupé. It's
 up on eBay for any interested souls, http://r.ebay.com/pvGAMA

 Also included is a Blue Alpha Electronics Sound Sampler, and a MGT 1Mb
 Expansion Pack.

 Thanks all, and yes, I'll still enjoy lurking on the list :)

 -- Nathan (of Metempsychosis)

Sam scart to PC Monitor converter

[Stephen Longhurst]

Hi all,

Has anyone successfully used a scart converter box to display a Sam on
a PC monitor? I've got a Kaanan HDMI upscaler
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00423K7R2/) and it doesn't sync
to the Sams RGB output properly. I get a picture that stays for a
second or two, then flicks off, then comes on again, etc.

I was hoping to be able to display my Sam on my PC monitor which has
VGA, DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI.  I do have a proper Sam compatible
scart cable.

Cheers,

 Steve

-- 
Stephen Longhurst
steve at longsteve.com

Re: Atom Poll

[Stephen Longhurst]

Hi Edwin,

In reply to your poll:

 How many of you :
 -Do have a Atom ?
Yes, 1

 If you have a atom
 -What do you hook up to it ?
It's internally mounted with a 230MB 2.5in Samsung HDD.

Hope this is useful,

 Steve

-- 
Stephen Longhurst
steve at longsteve.com

Re: Atom Poll

[Stephen Longhurst]

 In reply to your poll:
Whoops, sorry!  I swear I double checked that reply was going
off-list, I must have been too busy actually notice the email address
in the to field though!

   Steve
-- 
Stephen Longhurst
steve at longsteve.com

Re: Dust cover

[Stephen Longhurst]

On Mon, 7 Apr 2003 16:46:41 +0100, Gavin Smith [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:


MGT did a SAM dust cover didn't they? Or was it SAMCo? Anyone have one?

Gavin



I have a dust cover on my Sam, but I can't remember who made it.  I'll check 
tonight, but I'm sure it must be a proper one because it fits nicely.

Cheers,

Steve

--
Stephen Longhurst
steve at longsteve.com

Re: Wanted (Still!)...

[Stephen Longhurst]

From: David [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 I dont even care if its an evil black footed - or a blue footed - one!

Why does the foot colour make a different to the Sam?  I didn't even know
there were black footed ones, only ever having seen blue ones.

Cheers,

Steve

Re: Wanted (Still!)...

[Stephen Longhurst]

  I dont even care if its an evil black footed - or a blue footed - one!

 Why does the foot colour make a different to the Sam?  I didn't even know
 there were black footed ones, only ever having seen blue ones.

Ignore me, it's too early in the morning.  I can't even use the right words
to ask a question that's already been answered.  I'll shut up until my
coffee kicks in :-)

Steve

Re: Moment of truth

[Stephen Longhurst]

- Original Message -
From: Adrian Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: Moment of truth


 Lets run a little poll. Can people fill in the following and reply

 1) Do you have an actual Sam Coupe:
Yes
 2) Does it work?
Last time I powered it up it did
 3) Do you still use it?
No
 4) How many bits of sam software have you got?
Lots.  Most of the commercial games, several disc boxes of PD stuff, almost
all bought from the All Formats Computer Fair in Victoria back when the Sam
was new.  I did get some from eBay a year or so ago though.  A large box of
Sam bits and bobs for about 20 quid, included the C compiler :-)
 5) Do you still actively seek new sam bits and pieces?
Not really, although I do occasional search on eBay when I happen to be
looking on it and remember.  I added an Atom drive, ram upgrade and mouse
about 2 years ago when I had a spree of looking at it again, but nothing
since.
 6) Would you buy a new game for the sam coupe if the price was right?
Probably not.
 7) What price would be right if you would?
 8) Would you develop a title for the sam still?
Nope.
 9) Would you help develop a title for the sam?
Nope.
 10) Do you think that all the work put in to keep the sam alive is a waste
 of time?
Not at all.  The Sam is a small but very interesting part of the UK 8-bit
computer era, it's great that people still chat about it and do things with
it.
 11) if yes to 10 then why?

Cheers,

Steve

Re: Elite port

[Stephen Longhurst]

From: Frode Tenneboe [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Elite port
 Incidentally, does anybody have the SAM version? Seeing that Ian
 Bell has published the other versions, the SAM version can't
 be that much different copyright-wise? Or does anybody object?

I have a boxed copy at home somewhere, but I've not looked at it for years.
I was a bit dissapointed when I bought it to find it was identical to the
Speccy version, which I'd spend months playing on my Sam anyway using Lerm's
Samtape 3 with it's excellent snapshot function for saving.

Cheers,

Steve

Re: So long 2002, here comes 2003....

[Stephen Longhurst]

  Finishing unfinished SAM projects? ahahaha... I've a few of those to do.

I 'ported' a Spectrum BASIC database program from Input magazine to the Sam
once.  With a few tweaks it turned out to be really useful, managing my
Christmas cards, recipes and mine and my brothers vast collection of
Starwars figures I think.  It was mode 3 and all :-)

I've just been told by my office collegues that I have to bring my Sam into
work one day so they can all see it.

Cheers,

Steve

Stephen Longhurst

Erm, How do I switch my email address?

[Stephen Longhurst]

Hi all,

Sorry for asking this directly on the list and not looking it up someplace,
but I'm afraid I can't for the life of me remember where the relevent info
might be!

What do I need to send to where to change the email address that this
sam-users group uses? The one it knows about won't be around much longer.
I've still got my Sam under a dust cover sitting on my desk here between an
Archimedes A3000, and Amiga A600 and my aging PC.  It doesn't get used much
but it's good to read the mails that fly around this group from time to
time.

Thanks for any help,

Steve

Stephen Longhurst

Re: Erm, How do I switch my email address?

[Stephen Longhurst]

From: Colin Piggot [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Erm, How do I switch my email address?

  What do I need to send to where to change the email address that this
  sam-users group uses?

 [EMAIL PROTECTED] is the email address to send unsubscribe /
 subscribe emails to.

 Send an email from your old email address with unsubscribe in the subject,
then
 one from the new email address with subscribe in the subject line. (I
think!)

I think the command should be in the body rather than the subject, thanks
for the help though, and to Dan for the URL.  All sorted now :-)

 But make sure you dust that sam off and start using it again :)

I often think about this, I could probably still learn a thing or two.  It
started me off on the road to IT many years ago, and ironically it's more
powerful in some areas than the devices I now program for a living (mobile
phones).

Thanks again,

Steve

Re: Extended Usenet archive

[Stephen Longhurst]

From: Simon Owen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Extended Usenet archive
 Is anyone else trawling through old posts now that Google have restored
 the Usenet archive back to 1981?  5 bonus points to the person finding
 the oldest SAM-related post...

 Oh, and be prepared to cringe if you were posting back in the early
 nineties! }:-

 Si

Wow, it turns out I tried to sell my Sam back in 1994 with a post to
comp.sys.sinclair, in which I offered it and my Speccy48k+.  I sold the
Speccy to someone from Canada for 50 pounds, he paid 100 pounds though
because it cost 50 postage!  Luckily nobody wanted the Sam so I've still got
it :-)  I only wish my dad hadn't gotten rid of my entire set of Acorn Atom
kit in a loft clearout many years ago.  I had 4 of them, all upgraded to the
nines and a couple of disc drive units and software.  Lovely machines and
sadly they're all gone...

Cheers,
Steve

Re: Mystery advert - Classic Gaming Scene

[Stephen Longhurst]

From: Howard Price [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Mystery advert - Classic Gaming Scene


 I've just seen an ad in the back of this issue's Edge (iss105):

 CLASSIC GAMING SCENE
 ---
 Commodore, Sinclair, Neo Geo, PC Engine, NEC, Sam Coupe

 www.classicgamingscene.com

 0114 239 1027 / 0181 0780997

 Haven't tried the phone number yet, but 0114 is Sheffield's code, and the
 website isn't there yet.
 Any of you guys responsible??  Alchemist Research maybe?

The advert by Amstrad asking for anyone who holds the copyright on Spectrum
games to contact them is also interesting.  They specifically ask for
Spectrum games though, and not other 8 bit versions.  I wonder what they're
up to, handheld Speccy al-la TVBoy?

Cheers,
Steve (first email to Sam Users since I can remember,
still got my Sam sitting next to my PC though :-)

Stephen Longhurst
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: SAM on eBay

[Stephen Longhurst]

You've got to admit that it looks like an impressive machine though.  Very
good condition (assuming the photos are genuine), and is that a Messenger
Speccy Interface?

Does anyone know if there's a method of removing the yellowing of ages from
a once shiny white Sam?

Cheers,
Steve

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

- Original Message -
From: Gavin Smith [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: sam-users@nvg.ntnu.no
Sent: 04 December 2000 3:55 am
Subject: SAM on eBay


 If you're desperate for a SAM and you're quick, check out
 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=513883469

 Gavin

Following on from Sam forsale

[Stephen Longhurst]

Hi,

The latest issue of Arcade has the second part of their 
Antiques Roadshow article, this one detailing old computers wheras the first one 
went on about old video game consoles. As well as all your other old 
favourites they have the following to say about the Sam:

Sam Coupe 
Miles Gordon Technology 1990
 The SAM was designed to be - effectively - 
the Spectrum +4, with a far higher graphics resolution and sound as good as 
the Atari ST, from the company which had previously made add-ons for the ZX 
Spectrum, such as the fondly remembered +D disk drive.
 Although Miles Gordon Technology soon 
closed, the SAM Coupe lived on as the company resurrected under a different 
name. In fact, this pattern continued up until a couple of years ago, when 
somebody finally noticed. A new version of the Coupe called the Elite 
was released during this time, and was targetted towards third world 
countries.
 Interestingly, the first 50 original 
SAM Coupes made that were sent out to journalists and developers had a 
gold-plated chip inside them. Find one of these, and your Coupe is 
worth well over £1,000.

The price in the bubble next to thepicture is £180, and 
the introduction to the article explains that the price reflects a machine in 
absolute mint condition with all mint packaging.

Anyone got a gold chip jobbie?

Cheers, 
Steve

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Scart connection to a monitor

[Stephen Longhurst]

Hi,

I have an old Acorn AKF12 monitor which has a scart input at 
the back but it doesn't like my Sam very much! When I use a straight 
through scart lead from my Sam the picture rolls, but if I pull the scart plug 
out of the Sam slightly so most of the pins on the right (as looking at it from 
the top) are out, the picture is ok. If I pull the plug out too much the 
picture goes red, so I assume the monitor is working from the RGB signal. 


I also have a Phillips CM8833-II but the RGB input is a 9 pin 
D type socket. Two questions then. Does anyone knowwhich wires 
to snip in my scart lead to make the AKF12 work with the Sam? Does anyone 
know the pinout for the CM8833 9 pin RGB and how I could make up a lead for the 
Sam?

Cheers, 
Steve

[EMAIL PROTECTED]