Re: [Ql-Users] USBWiz Driver Update
-- Yes indeed you are - it looks good. -- -- I have two USBWIZ modules and I saw another two at the Vienna QL show. -- -- so there is probably a market for firmware/drivers only. -- -- Tony Tony, same with me - got a USBWiz somewhere in a drawer, but never found the time to do something with it. This leads me to another (related) question: How is the current (Super) Hermes availability? Do you still produce it? With the USBWiz being serial, this really calls for a high-speed interface. Cheers Tobias ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply
On 7 Feb 2011, at 19:52, Geoff Wicks wrote: Perhaps the entire constitution of Quanta needs altering. Now where did I hear that recently ;-) I once was involved in rewriting an entire constitution. When Works Council Law was changed in the Netherlands all Works Councils had to rewrite their constitutions. We had a choice of either doing it ourselves or employing an outside consultant costing hundreds of pounds. As I was the only member of the council with the relevant skills and experience I was given the job, but at the same time the council appointed another member to be my mentor to check everything I did. In practice I found I could still keep much of the old constitution in the new one and I suspect that would be much the same in Quanta. There were model constitutions published and I also had to keep checking the new Works Council Law. In short in was a bit like pick 'n' mix. Basically Quanta would have to do is: 1: Look through the old constitution and get a rough idea of what you would like to leave in and what you would like to leave out. Then have an extensive consultation period to determine the main details. Do not rush this - it is better to take your time than do a quick botched job. (The lesson of the 2005 amendments.) 2: More than one person should be involved in the drafting. It is a bit like a superbasic program. Few of us could write a superbasic program that is totally bug free and that also applies to constitutions. Even better if the draft constitution is proofread by a person or persons not involved in the drafting. 3: Bear in mind that during the drafting matters could arise that need further consultation or decision by the committee or members. When writing the works council constitution I had to consult the council on whether we should have a personal or list voting system and had to prepare a paper on the merits and demerits of each. For example in Quanta to maintain continuity the officers currently have a three year period of office. You could have chosen instead for all committee members to serve 2 years with one half of the committee to face re-election in any one year. This is not a decision for the drafters, but the committee and/or members. 4: Publish the draft constitution well in advance to allow time for possible amendments, comments or objections. A very time consuming process, but Quanta may find it worthwhile, When I was involved in producing a new constitution we got an expert to produce one off the shelf. This was, in the main, OK but it had what I thought was a fatal flaw. It required the Committee members to retire after a period of, I think, 3 years and had to wait 1 year before they could be re-elected. I got that altered so that Committee members could stay on indefinitely, subject, of course, to being re-elected every 3 years. My reason for getting that alteration was that I thought it difficult enough to get anyone to do the voluntary work of being a Committee member. I reckon Quanta badly needs that change in the constitution. George ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Wondering...
Norman, It's wonderful that you offer that. I'm in Texas, USA and I'm told by RWAP that shipping a QL from England is over 50 ukp. I couldn't ask you to do that. Let me check out local options first... Dave On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 3:16 PM, Norman Dunbar nor...@dunbar-it.co.ukwrote: Evening Dave, I've dug out a QL for you, with no microdrives, but it has a network lead, a TV lead and three original feet. You can have it free. If it's ok with you, I'd rather not send the power supply. :-( I've plugged it in to a LCD TV and it works fine, the picture is a bit out of focus (to my eye) and adjusting the fine tuning around channel 36 makes no difference. I suspect the UHF modulator needs a bit of time to warm up perhaps. Drop me a private email to let me know where you want it sending please: Norman (at) dunbar (hyphen) it (dot) co (dot) uk. I've got two more, one with a really bad picture and one that appears to be dead. :-( I'll worry about them some other time. Just discovered, two microdrives are present after all! Thought it was heavier than the others! I have tested all the keys on the keyboard - thay all work fine with and without shift, ctrl and alt. Looks like it's a runner. However, I have to say that it's s-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w! Cheers, Norman. -- Norman Dunbar Dunbar IT Consultants Ltd Registered address: Thorpe House 61 Richardshaw Lane Pudsey West Yorkshire United Kingdom LS28 7EL Company Number: 05132767 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] USBWiz Driver Update
tobias.froesc...@t-online.de wrote, on 8/Feb/11 09:49 | Feb8: -- Yes indeed you are - it looks good. -- -- I have two USBWIZ modules and I saw another two at the Vienna QL show. -- -- so there is probably a market for firmware/drivers only. -- -- Tony Tony, same with me - got a USBWiz somewhere in a drawer, but never found the time to do something with it. This leads me to another (related) question: How is the current (Super) Hermes availability? Do you still produce it? With the USBWiz being serial, this really calls for a high-speed interface. Rich Mellor has secondhand ones. I have given up QL work but . . I am building some for Rich. One of the reasons I stopped is I am too busy, so I am not sure when these can be made. Adrian is finding, like Laurence and I did, that the fastest speed attainable is somewhere between 56k and 115200. The limiting factor is QL speed, so SGC is needed. This is a real pity as the hardware can go as fast as sH theoretical limit (460800 I think). Its max is 1.5mbps or so. However the limits for the RS232 chips in sH are probably lower than 230400. The high serial speed is for TTL links - ie direct serial links. In fact the RS232 hardware is not on USBWIZ, so a MAX or similar chip needs adding. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] USBWiz Driver Update
I seem to recall having a roll of MAX232s around here somewhere. I also recall having 25 or so of the hard-to-find Altera CPLDs in a tray, a box of the QL connectors (I don't remember M or F) and assortments of other SMD components and etc. These were bought for Nasta's aborted Goldfire project. If any of this stuff is any use to anyone, let me know and I'll dig it out. Dave On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 4:54 AM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote: tobias.froesc...@t-online.de wrote, on 8/Feb/11 09:49 | Feb8: -- Yes indeed you are - it looks good. -- -- I have two USBWIZ modules and I saw another two at the Vienna QL show. -- -- so there is probably a market for firmware/drivers only. -- -- Tony Tony, same with me - got a USBWiz somewhere in a drawer, but never found the time to do something with it. This leads me to another (related) question: How is the current (Super) Hermes availability? Do you still produce it? With the USBWiz being serial, this really calls for a high-speed interface. Rich Mellor has secondhand ones. I have given up QL work but . . I am building some for Rich. One of the reasons I stopped is I am too busy, so I am not sure when these can be made. Adrian is finding, like Laurence and I did, that the fastest speed attainable is somewhere between 56k and 115200. The limiting factor is QL speed, so SGC is needed. This is a real pity as the hardware can go as fast as sH theoretical limit (460800 I think). Its max is 1.5mbps or so. However the limits for the RS232 chips in sH are probably lower than 230400. The high serial speed is for TTL links - ie direct serial links. In fact the RS232 hardware is not on USBWIZ, so a MAX or similar chip needs adding. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +441442828255+44(0)1442-828255+441442828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +441442828254+44(0)1442-828254 +441442828254 Fax: +441442828255+44(0)1442-828255 +441442828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
Hi all, Is it that there's no interest in this kind of a graphical game? Or is anyone interested, but didn't say so? Anyone have any other game ideas? I'm fairly confident I can write one fair to decent game per month for the next six months. I'm sure they'll improve greatly in quality over that time, too. I'm open to any ideas... Dave On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 3:12 AM, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I had a game idea back in the 80s. I feel like it might be a good followup project after the flight sim, but the idea is fun so I thought I would share it here and see what others might make of it. The game occurs in a two-dimensional gravity well. The yellow sun occupies a fixed point in the middle. The green planet orbits with an eccentricity that increases at higher levels. There will be other red bodies in random orbits too. The objective of the game is to accelerate or decelerate your ship to match orbits with the goal planet. Other bodies will affect your path. You must simply match the target's speed and velocity with a degree of accuracy that increases at higher levels. There will be a time and/or fuel limit. This game employs the N-body problem of gravitational bodies. I programmed the N-body problem in SuperBASIC in the 80s and will be able to recreate it fairly easily. I think it would be quite cool and playable and would be 100% graphical. Does anyone have any ideas to add to this, or suggestions? If you contribute ideas/code with this thread, I will presume you're sharing your ideas with the whole community and that I or others may freely use your ideas. Code, however, would only be used by explicit permission. When the game is completed, I will release it to the community, for free, with source. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Ser-USB Driver Update
Heh . talk about bad luck. Build 13 and the completion of the drive_capacity call, which establishes the true physical size of a drive (this was previously hard coded, as the USBWiz module cannot return media size information unless it has mounted a FAT file system). And that's when my old 256MB Bytestor SD card decided that it would no longer be able to read blocks beyond $fff! I think this is actually the first time that an SD card has failed on me and was a sober reminder that when they go bad - they really go BAD! Adrian ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
--- On Tue, 8/2/11, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com wrote: From: Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea... To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Date: Tuesday, 8 February, 2011, 11:38 Hi all, Is it that there's no interest in this kind of a graphical game? Or is anyone interested, but didn't say so? Anyone have any other game ideas? snip I was chatting with Rob on MSN last night and we saw the released source code for the classic Elite in BBC Basic. If the speccy could do it Peter. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
--- On Tue, 8/2/11, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com wrote: From: Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea... To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Date: Tuesday, 8 February, 2011, 12:29 Ah yes, Elite... I struggled with that a little bit. It was a defining game that really altered the future course of gaming. I spent many hours on my friend's BBC model B trying to get the hang of it. On the one hand it was a trading game, and on the other, a 3D space combat game that was accurate enough to be a sim... Was it written in 6502 assembly, or BBC BASIC V? snip If I remember right this was the address: home.clara.net/iancgbell/elite/bbc/index.htm Peter. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] SuperBASIC oddities...
Here are two fun weird things I like about SBASIC. Maybe others on this list will add their quirks too...? 1. the MISTake keyword. If you load a BASIC program that contains an error that would normally provoke a bad line response, it inserts the word MISTake, to indicate that the line will generate an error. The fun thing is, MISTake is a keyword you can enter yourself. It's like REMark, but doesn't prevent parsing of the following text. 2. Re-entrancy limits. Take the following contrived example of bad coding: 100 count=0 : mode 4 110 do_it 120: 130 DEFine PROCedure do_it 140 count = count + 1 150 PRINT count : PRINT #2, FREE_MEM 160 do_it 170 END DEFine do_it In this example, the procedure gets called from within the procedure. This creates a loop, d'uh! Every 20 or so cycles, the return stack fills, and another 512 bytes is reserved. As the recursion goes deeper, memory starts to run low. It takes about 20 loops to use 512 bytes, so it takes around 25,060 loops to use up all the free RAM on a 640K QL. The fun part is, when the program finishes consuming all the memory, FREE_MEM actually goes negative, to -512, and the program manages 20 more loops before generating an out of memory error. Fun times! Anyone got any other little oddities or observations about this quirky little OS that could? Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] SuperBASIC oddities...
On 8 Feb 2011, at 13:37, Plastic wrote: Here are two fun weird things I like about SBASIC. Maybe others on this list will add their quirks too...? 1. the MISTake keyword. If you load a BASIC program that contains an error that would normally provoke a bad line response, it inserts the word MISTake, to indicate that the line will generate an error. The fun thing is, MISTake is a keyword you can enter yourself. It's like REMark, but doesn't prevent parsing of the following text. 2. Re-entrancy limits. Take the following contrived example of bad coding: 100 count=0 : mode 4 110 do_it 120: 130 DEFine PROCedure do_it 140 count = count + 1 150 PRINT count : PRINT #2, FREE_MEM 160 do_it 170 END DEFine do_it In this example, the procedure gets called from within the procedure. This creates a loop, d'uh! Every 20 or so cycles, the return stack fills, and another 512 bytes is reserved. As the recursion goes deeper, memory starts to run low. It takes about 20 loops to use 512 bytes, so it takes around 25,060 loops to use up all the free RAM on a 640K QL. The fun part is, when the program finishes consuming all the memory, FREE_MEM actually goes negative, to -512, and the program manages 20 more loops before generating an out of memory error. Fun times! Anyone got any other little oddities or observations about this quirky little OS that could? Recursion is always fun. My assembler, GWASS, allows you to write macros which can call themselves. GWASS keeps track of the amount of recursion and stops before the stack space is totally used up. Other users of GWASS can write programs which require more and more space to be allocated for their assembly. GWASS obligingly gets more and more space, but stops (I hope) before all available QL space is allocated. George ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] SuperBASIC oddities...
On 08/02/11 13:54, gdgqler wrote: Recursion is always fun. I had to look it up in the dictionary, it said: Recursion: see recursion. :-) Cheers, Norman. -- Norman Dunbar Dunbar IT Consultants Ltd Registered address: Thorpe House 61 Richardshaw Lane Pudsey West Yorkshire United Kingdom LS28 7EL Company Number: 05132767 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
Dave, I think that there is interest in more games for the QL, but the game idea has probably not enthused many people, as it sounds too simplistic - a bit like the old lunar landing types of games that formed the basis of many a magazine listing in the early 80s. I would direct you to have a look at some of the games which have emerged in recent years for the ZX80 and ZX81 - see http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/zx81/zx81_software.html and also http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/zx80/zx80_software.html This may give you an idea of the types of games which grab attention. Rich On 08/02/2011 11:38, Plastic wrote: Hi all, Is it that there's no interest in this kind of a graphical game? Or is anyone interested, but didn't say so? Anyone have any other game ideas? I'm fairly confident I can write one fair to decent game per month for the next six months. I'm sure they'll improve greatly in quality over that time, too. I'm open to any ideas... Dave On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 3:12 AM, Plasticplasticu...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I had a game idea back in the 80s. I feel like it might be a good followup project after the flight sim, but the idea is fun so I thought I would share it here and see what others might make of it. The game occurs in a two-dimensional gravity well. The yellow sun occupies a fixed point in the middle. The green planet orbits with an eccentricity that increases at higher levels. There will be other red bodies in random orbits too. The objective of the game is to accelerate or decelerate your ship to match orbits with the goal planet. Other bodies will affect your path. You must simply match the target's speed and velocity with a degree of accuracy that increases at higher levels. There will be a time and/or fuel limit. This game employs the N-body problem of gravitational bodies. I programmed the N-body problem in SuperBASIC in the 80s and will be able to recreate it fairly easily. I think it would be quite cool and playable and would be 100% graphical. Does anyone have any ideas to add to this, or suggestions? If you contribute ideas/code with this thread, I will presume you're sharing your ideas with the whole community and that I or others may freely use your ideas. Code, however, would only be used by explicit permission. When the game is completed, I will release it to the community, for free, with source. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
peet vanpeebles wrote: I was chatting with Rob on MSN last night and we saw the released source code for the classic Elite in BBC Basic. If the speccy could do it There's ELITE for the QL! Well not the complete game but at least a demo written in assembler by Dave Barker way back in 1991. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYoTSGvWf78 Urs ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
On 08/02/2011 14:33, thorsten herbert wrote: From: Plasticplasticuser at gmail.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea... To: ql-users at q-v-d.com Date: Tuesday, 8 February, 2011, 12:29 Ah yes, Elite... I struggled with that a little bit. It was a defining game that really altered the future course of gaming. I spent many hours on my friend's BBC model B trying to get the hang of it. On the one hand it was a trading game, and on the other, a 3D space combat game that was accurate enough to be a sim... Was it written in 6502 assembly, or BBC BASIC V? snip If I remember right this was the address: home.clara.net/iancgbell/elite/bbc/index.htm Ahh, assembly... Not my competent area, unless it's on ARM. Zarch, anyone? ;) Dave What's about BombJack? :-) I did a quck colour conversion to 8 colours from the original Arcade graphics. It could look much better with some dithering for example and the resolution does not fit. Just wanted to find out if somebody here would be interested. And, as said before ... if the Speccy could do it ...cheers, Thorsten Hey, BombJack. Was that a port of Checkman? I wrote a version for the spectrum in basic using the scroll command. A very good game! Malcolm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] New QL
Hi, I've just been looking at a nice little 'barebones PC' that will be used in a research project. Fitted with a hard disc with XP and QPC2 it should make a nice replacement QL. QPC2 may even work with the open source ReactOS. http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1608categoryid=298 Malcolm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Malcolm Lear wrote: Hi, I've just been looking at a nice little 'barebones PC' that will be used in a research project. Fitted with a hard disc with XP and QPC2 it should make a nice replacement QL. QPC2 may even work with the open source ReactOS. http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1608categoryid=298 Nice idea 8-). I have to look for this here in Germany. BTW: How would QPC2 work under ReactOS? Any details? Cheers...Ralf ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
On 08/02/2011 17:14, Ralf Reköndt wrote: Malcolm Lear wrote: Hi, I've just been looking at a nice little 'barebones PC' that will be used in a research project. Fitted with a hard disc with XP and QPC2 it should make a nice replacement QL. QPC2 may even work with the open source ReactOS. http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1608categoryid=298 Nice idea 8-). I have to look for this here in Germany. BTW: How would QPC2 work under ReactOS? Any details? Cheers...Ralf I've no idea if it would work. There might be a way to try the OS out without a full install, I shall check it out. Many programs such as Open Office are known to work, so there is a good chance. Malcolm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
Hey, BombJack. Was that a port of Checkman? I wrote a version for the spectrum in basic using the scroll command. A very good game! Malcolm BombJack was a great Arcade game which was converted to many systems, C64, C16, Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC. Just uploaded the converted pictures here: https://files.me.com/thorsten.herbert/j5ml0j https://files.me.com/thorsten.herbert/ukxy2d ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
Not the game I was thinking of, but looking at those pics brought back memories. You did a great job in converting the graphics and it goes to show how good games could look on the QL. Malcolm On 08/02/2011 17:27, thorsten herbert wrote: Hey, BombJack. Was that a port of Checkman? I wrote a version for the spectrum in basic using the scroll command. A very good game! Malcolm BombJack was a great Arcade game which was converted to many systems, C64, C16, Atari ST, Amiga, Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC. Just uploaded the converted pictures here: https://files.me.com/thorsten.herbert/j5ml0j https://files.me.com/thorsten.herbert/ukxy2d ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Malcolm Lear wrote, on 8/Feb/11 16:58 | Feb8: Hi, I've just been looking at a nice little 'barebones PC' that will be used in a research project. Fitted with a hard disc with XP and QPC2 it should make a nice replacement QL. QPC2 may even work with the open source ReactOS. http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1608categoryid=298 Hrmm. Spec says: Colour Colour of product White but the picture is of a nice black box. ... and what is USB6? Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
On 08/02/2011 18:04, Tony Firshman wrote: Malcolm Lear wrote, on 8/Feb/11 16:58 | Feb8: Hi, I've just been looking at a nice little 'barebones PC' that will be used in a research project. Fitted with a hard disc with XP and QPC2 it should make a nice replacement QL. QPC2 may even work with the open source ReactOS. http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1608categoryid=298 Hrmm. Spec says: Colour Colour of product White but the picture is of a nice black box. ... and what is USB6? Well the one we bought was the nice shiny black box. It has 6 USB ports. More information: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Barebones/NT330i/index.html Malcolm Tony ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Am Dienstag, den 08.02.2011, 18:14 +0100 schrieb Ralf Reköndt: Nice idea 8-). I have to look for this here in Germany. Can be had through Amazon in Germany. http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003BV256C/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8me=seller= BTW: How would QPC2 work under ReactOS? Any details? Cheers...Ralf ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Tobias Fröschle wrote: Can be had through Amazon in Germany. http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003BV256C/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8me=seller= White...? No way ;-) Cheers...Ralf ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
OK http://www.amazon.de/nT-330i-Barebone-Intel-Atom-schwarz/dp/B003DM98HI/ref=pd_cp_computers_1 On 08/02/2011 19:57, Ralf Reköndt wrote: Tobias Fröschle wrote: Can be had through Amazon in Germany. http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003BV256C/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8me=seller= White...? No way ;-) Cheers...Ralf ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Am Dienstag, den 08.02.2011, 20:57 +0100 schrieb Ralf Reköndt: Tobias Fröschle wrote: Can be had through Amazon in Germany. http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003BV256C/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8me=seller= White...? No way ;-) Agreed. On closer inspection, you might find they got black ones as well. With a ridiculously higher price of 3ct more. (funny, that) Note they go without memory. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Am Dienstag, den 08.02.2011, 21:03 +0100 schrieb Tobias Fröschle: Am Dienstag, den 08.02.2011, 20:57 +0100 schrieb Ralf Reköndt: Tobias Fröschle wrote: Can be had through Amazon in Germany. http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003BV256C/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8me=seller= White...? No way ;-) Agreed. On closer inspection, you might find they got black ones as well. With a ridiculously higher price of 3ct more. (funny, that) Upps, this just changed. Now black and white is the same. Didn't know they got dynamic pricing like petrol. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] New QL
Malcolm Lear wrote: OK http://www.amazon.de/nT-330i-Barebone-Intel-Atom-schwarz/dp/B003DM98HI/ref=pd_cp_computers_1 Made my day 8-)! Cheers...Ralf ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 8:57 AM, Rich Mellor r...@rwapservices.co.uk wrote: Dave, I think that there is interest in more games for the QL, but the game idea has probably not enthused many people, as it sounds too simplistic - a bit like the old lunar landing types of games that formed the basis of many a magazine listing in the early 80s. I would direct you to have a look at some of the games which have emerged in recent years for the ZX80 and ZX81 - see http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/zx81/zx81_software.html and also http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/zx80/zx80_software.html This may give you an idea of the types of games which grab attention. I looked at the games there and I think maybe 1/3rd are within my skill range. That said, the third I could do include a lunar lander game ;) The game idea I outlined above is weirdly addictive at the puzzle level, It's also fairy educational. There's a fair amount of skill required. At higher levels, you'd be racing for the planet against an alien UFO and there would be other hazards like asteroids and black holes and comets - it would get quite busy. It'll certainly be visually pretty. I think, overall, there's maybe a world market for a few dozen copies of a new game on the QL, so I'll not get too hung up on people not liking the ideas. I'd rather do six quite different games over the half year and see what people respond to, while still supporting the specialty games. If there were money riding on it, I'd be a little more concerned, but I'm also not completely unconcerned with what people think either. I think that's the goal of this thread - to get people openly talking about new game ideas and seeing what sticks and what doesn't - at the end of the day it's a tricky affair. Some things sound great on paper then are just unplayable or do not hold attention. Other things sound odd on paper but end up freakishly addictive - look at the number of iApps of simple puzzles that get HOURS of gameplay, and the seemingly pointless games on facebook that soak up days of peoples' lives. One thing from this is that by having quirky and novel games on the QL platform, we can promote it to new users, to other retro platforms and maybe someone'll pick up the idea and run with it. I spend a lot of time thinking about app ideas. Like the game where you race to steal land from an opponent by shining light on it (won't work well on a QL without GD2) or the trucking company trading game or the QL version of GB Ltd, or the newsworthy bad taste game where you have to run an animal shelter (the more animals you put down, the less donations and volunteers you get, etc) or Petrol Station Manager!(tm) and so on ;) I know, odd choices, but it's all about the puzzle... :) Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] USBWiz Driver Update
In message 000601cbc6bf$42462ea0$c6d28be0$@acanthis.co.uk, Adrian Ives adr...@acanthis.co.uk writes Hi Adrian, I have been refreshing my memory, with a look through the USBwiz Manual as a PDF. It is based on an ARM chip. If anyone is interested, just do an online search on USBwiz. Good luck with the driver software. It must be fun, just finding out what it can do. I made a Velleman kit for a PIC Programmer and Experimental Board, sold through Maplins, some time ago; which uses the Serial Port. I could definitely make up/solder up from supplied parts, and am sure many other QL users will have hardware skills. So, maybe you could also consider a Kit Version. Dave, Bill of Materials: Yes Schematics: Yes Plan: This will depend upon the likely demand. My initial question was intended to gauge this ... because, honestly, I don't know how many QLs remain in circulation and, of them, how many owners would consider buying this kind of hardware. Maybe they would like to wait and see if a microdrive-emulating SD card slot comes along ... I know I would buy one of _them_ if they were available today! Anyway, if the demand is only there for a handful of units, I will likely build them myself on an as-needed basis and then, obviously, it won't be possible to pass on the advantage of bulk pricing for the components - the most expensive of which is the USBWiz module. It's worth remembering that the single most important component of this project is the driver. Until that is completed there is really nothing viable to market. Regarding the driver, several I/O traps are still not fully implemented and proper performance and resilience testing cannot begin until that is done, but I'm making good progress. Adrian -Original Message- From: ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com [mailto:ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com] On Behalf Of Plastic Sent: 07 February 2011 10:15 To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] USBWiz Driver Update Do you have a BOM for the hardware? A schematic? Or is it only ready-made boards, and if so, what is the bulk cost? How do you plan to make this into a product? Is that your plan? Dave On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 2:33 AM, Lee Privett lee.priv...@gmail.com wrote: Well I am definately interested in purchasing such a device, have you considered putting this forward to the Quanta Commitee to get it off the ground commercially? Lee Privett - Sent from my Laptop running XP but emulating the QL using QPC2 - Original Message - From: Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 8:36 PM Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] USBWiz Driver Update In message 001c01cbc23b$b4caf510$1e60df30$@acanthis.co.uk, Adrian Ives adr...@acanthis.co.uk writes Hi Adrian, Yes, using the USBWiz is a good idea. A new hardware project always creates interest. PS - This list is getting very busy, too. Just catching up on over 100 emails ... :-) I have no idea if anyone is remotely interested in this project to attach USB devices to a QL using a small card called a USBWiz. This device presents a serial interface and accepts AT style commands to communicate with many classes of USB device. I started working on this last year, but was delayed by some family problems and a move to another part of the country. My prototype hardware is a little black block that connects via a serial lead to a QL or Hermes serial port. The box has an SD card slot and two USB ports. In the past two weeks I have turned my original prototype driver inside out (not a trivial task, no wonder I missed an errant me equ 0 statement). The first version suffered from problems encountered when trying to do serial I/O while in supervisor mode (in effect, a driver on top of a driver). Today I successfully completed a test which involved writing a text file to a native QDOS format SD card, then reading it back again. The new driver switches to user mode to do asynchronous I/O over the standard serial port driver through an I/O queue which is managed by a Queue Manager job. In this it is very different from other device drivers and so will need a lot more testing. Not the least of which under QDOS as the driver has been developed under SMSQ. The framework is also in place to support real time communication with the driver core through a pipe mechanism. This is intended to allow queries to be sent to the driver, as opposed to its devices; a variation on a paper that I read about the possibility of implementing meta devices on the QL. Some time in the future I envisage a USB thing to act as the interface to this feature. Anyway, that's where I am. The new device driver has the name USB; USB1 is the SD card slot, USB2 and USB3 are the ports which can mount standard external hard drives or memory sticks. It reads and writes, but the format routine still needs completing (formatting is currently done with
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
In message AANLkTimaewh-83aWQGbewJxD86EE=2po5liqz1-es...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes Hi Dave, Any new game, with graphics at the forefront, would be great for the QL. Generally an area that did not get fully exploited. Perspective/3D illusion would be good, too. Hi all, Is it that there's no interest in this kind of a graphical game? Or is anyone interested, but didn't say so? Anyone have any other game ideas? I'm fairly confident I can write one fair to decent game per month for the next six months. I'm sure they'll improve greatly in quality over that time, too. I'm open to any ideas... Dave On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 3:12 AM, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I had a game idea back in the 80s. I feel like it might be a good followup project after the flight sim, but the idea is fun so I thought I would share it here and see what others might make of it. The game occurs in a two-dimensional gravity well. The yellow sun occupies a fixed point in the middle. The green planet orbits with an eccentricity that increases at higher levels. There will be other red bodies in random orbits too. The objective of the game is to accelerate or decelerate your ship to match orbits with the goal planet. Other bodies will affect your path. You must simply match the target's speed and velocity with a degree of accuracy that increases at higher levels. There will be a time and/or fuel limit. This game employs the N-body problem of gravitational bodies. I programmed the N-body problem in SuperBASIC in the 80s and will be able to recreate it fairly easily. I think it would be quite cool and playable and would be 100% graphical. Does anyone have any ideas to add to this, or suggestions? If you contribute ideas/code with this thread, I will presume you're sharing your ideas with the whole community and that I or others may freely use your ideas. Code, however, would only be used by explicit permission. When the game is completed, I will release it to the community, for free, with source. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Wondering...
In message AANLkTim+73oU9gJnGPq4yy6wtj6xP=yzu7j4ugagz...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes Hi Dave, Your phase QLing on a tumble dryer would make a great book title ... :-) I have a US QL, therefore I have a US QL PSU ;) Though I am capable of building a replacement PSU if needed, or converting a UK to US PSU. Also, US houses have 110v and 220v circuits, so 220v is available if I get really stuck (and don't mind QLing on the tumble dryer). The 50/60Hz issue is a non-issue. I would just replace the smoothing capacitor with a slightly larger one. As for the display modes...I would definitely prefer to use a UK/EU spec QL. I'm only aware of two US QL users and they're both ex-pats anyway, I think ;) Dave PS: and I am looking for the PSU, and not finding it. Fate, it mocks me. On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 12:00 PM, Malcolm Lear malc...@essex.ac.uk wrote: On 07/02/2011 17:21, tobias.froesc...@t-online.de wrote: -- From memory (as both D-Day MKII and War in the East took account of the -- difference in these ROMs), the JSU still manages 512x256 pixels, but the -- graphics characters (founts) are smaller than on the European QL. The QL Technical Manual says: This is different for countries where the television system is NTSC, which permits the use of fewer raster lines than PAL. In QLs for such countries, the following options are the defaults: For monitor operations, a 50Hz 624 non-interlaced system is used; this is the same system as is used on the English QL. The full 512x256 pixel display is available, and the default windows and character size are the same as for the monitor mode on an English QL. For TV operation, a 60Hz 524-line non-interlaced system is used in which the number of raster lines is limited to 192. In order to ease the task of software conversion, an alternate display font is provided which allows a 6x8 character square instead of the usual 6x10. This ensures approximately the same number of visible rows of text on both PAL and NTSC QLs, at the cost of true descenders and reduced vertical spacing. The default windows and graphics scaling for TV operation are different from those of the English QL. so it looks like only the TV modes would be different from European boxes. Cheers, Tobias Yes, the Mess emulator suggests that this is the case. The vertical timing and font is dependent on the F1/2 selection on bootup. Once in 624 50Hz mode you should be OK both in mode 4 and 8. Cheers Malcolm http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM, Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk wrote: In message AANLkTimaewh-83aWQGbewJxD86EE=2po5liqz1-es...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes Hi Dave, Any new game, with graphics at the forefront, would be great for the QL. Generally an area that did not get fully exploited. Perspective/3D illusion would be good, too. Easy there! I remember back in the late 80s buying a utility for sprites and finding it... impenetrable. I have always found the QL display to be hard because the provisions were more simple than on the Amiga or ST. On the other hand, that turned out to be a blessing, because you could achieve quite impressive results with the simpler QL routines. What was it Clive used to say? Keep hardware simple. Do it in software! That said, interpreted BASIC was always too slow to do anything too complicated, and I didn't fancy learning m68k assy. Still don't. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply
In message 8ce6ad4b-05c2-47a7-a160-e652833bb...@gmail.com, gdgqler gdgq...@gmail.com writes On 6 Feb 2011, at 21:07, Malcolm Cadman wrote: In message 4d45ec4b.7030...@sbcglobal.net, Timothy Swenson swenso...@sbcglobal.net writes On 1/30/2011 10:48 AM, Malcolm Cadman wrote: Were Officers to be elected, directly, at an AGM, it would open the door to someone incompetent to get voted in, or some collusion to take place. Interesting, as California State code for Non-profits pretty much specifies that members vote on officers and the board. It is only the members that can make any changes to the By-laws. I'm guessing that the AGM is the same as a General Member Meeting. Most non-profits have one every year for elections. In one non-profit I'm involved with, rarely does a regular member attend these meetings and only the Board members show up (even with the required notification sent out). Hi Tim, I think that we are talking about the same thing. The full membership attends a General Meeting of Members ... in the UK called an Annual General Meeting (AGM), as it is held once a Year. The general membership are there to see the people being put forward for the Committee (Board). However, suppose at the AGM a member puts themselves forward for the Treasurer ... and all the other members present then vote for that person. Yet, the member voted in has not demonstrated any competence for the Position . see the problem? The Committee (Board) cannot then function. Usually you can't put forward new proposals at an AGM. Only business listed in the Notice of the Meeting can be transacted. However, the problem of ordinary members proposing and electing non competent people is real. When I have had anything to do with such situations I have seen to it that the Committee or Board or whatever you like to call it put forward what they consider competent candidates. But allowing members to propose other candidates if they want. If that fails, it is also usual to have the power of co-option so that the right person can be appointed later. I would have thought that elections are normally to the Committee or Board and not to a post within the Committee. In other words the members would not normally elect a Treasurer. Perhaps the entire constitution of Quanta needs altering. George Hi George, Yes ... I agree, AGM elections are meant to be to the Board/Committee; and not a particular Post. If the QUANTA Constitution is weak in this area, then a re-write would be the better way to go. The Charity Commission web site, has some good examples to base upon. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply
In message 7CEE673EF74B4720829CBA46D820817B@geoffbqm5ccx41, Geoff Wicks gtwi...@btinternet.com writes -- From: gdgqler gdgq...@gmail.com Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 9:53 AM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply Perhaps the entire constitution of Quanta needs altering. Now where did I hear that recently ;-) I once was involved in rewriting an entire constitution. When Works Council Law was changed in the Netherlands all Works Councils had to rewrite their constitutions. We had a choice of either doing it ourselves or employing an outside consultant costing hundreds of pounds. As I was the only member of the council with the relevant skills and experience I was given the job, but at the same time the council appointed another member to be my mentor to check everything I did. In practice I found I could still keep much of the old constitution in the new one and I suspect that would be much the same in Quanta. There were model constitutions published and I also had to keep checking the new Works Council Law. In short in was a bit like pick 'n' mix. Basically Quanta would have to do is: 1: Look through the old constitution and get a rough idea of what you would like to leave in and what you would like to leave out. Then have an extensive consultation period to determine the main details. Do not rush this - it is better to take your time than do a quick botched job. (The lesson of the 2005 amendments.) 2: More than one person should be involved in the drafting. It is a bit like a superbasic program. Few of us could write a superbasic program that is totally bug free and that also applies to constitutions. Even better if the draft constitution is proofread by a person or persons not involved in the drafting. 3: Bear in mind that during the drafting matters could arise that need further consultation or decision by the committee or members. When writing the works council constitution I had to consult the council on whether we should have a personal or list voting system and had to prepare a paper on the merits and demerits of each. For example in Quanta to maintain continuity the officers currently have a three year period of office. You could have chosen instead for all committee members to serve 2 years with one half of the committee to face re-election in any one year. This is not a decision for the drafters, but the committee and/or members. 4: Publish the draft constitution well in advance to allow time for possible amendments, comments or objections. A very time consuming process, but Quanta may find it worthwhile, Best Wishes, Geoff Hi Geoff, I agree with most of what you say, apart from keeping the Term of Office feature. Better to abandon that, all together, and just have all Board/Committee members standing down every Year; and then putting themselves forward again for a following Year (or not if they so choose). This way you keep your good Board/Committee members. The Treasurer Post is always a difficult one to fill. When you find a good one, then keep them ... :-) I would not object to being involved in drafting a new/revised Constitution. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply
In message a1ebf150-979b-4e65-b8c2-ca4c97611...@gmail.com, gdgqler gdgq...@gmail.com writes On 7 Feb 2011, at 19:52, Geoff Wicks wrote: Perhaps the entire constitution of Quanta needs altering. Now where did I hear that recently ;-) I once was involved in rewriting an entire constitution. When Works Council Law was changed in the Netherlands all Works Councils had to rewrite their constitutions. We had a choice of either doing it ourselves or employing an outside consultant costing hundreds of pounds. As I was the only member of the council with the relevant skills and experience I was given the job, but at the same time the council appointed another member to be my mentor to check everything I did. In practice I found I could still keep much of the old constitution in the new one and I suspect that would be much the same in Quanta. There were model constitutions published and I also had to keep checking the new Works Council Law. In short in was a bit like pick 'n' mix. Basically Quanta would have to do is: 1: Look through the old constitution and get a rough idea of what you would like to leave in and what you would like to leave out. Then have an extensive consultation period to determine the main details. Do not rush this - it is better to take your time than do a quick botched job. (The lesson of the 2005 amendments.) 2: More than one person should be involved in the drafting. It is a bit like a superbasic program. Few of us could write a superbasic program that is totally bug free and that also applies to constitutions. Even better if the draft constitution is proofread by a person or persons not involved in the drafting. 3: Bear in mind that during the drafting matters could arise that need further consultation or decision by the committee or members. When writing the works council constitution I had to consult the council on whether we should have a personal or list voting system and prepare a paper on the merits and demerits of each. For example in Quanta to maintain continuity the officers currently have a three year period of office. You could have chosen instead for all committee members to serve 2 years with one half of the committee to face re-election in any one year. This is not a decision for the drafters, but the committee and/or members. 4: Publish the draft constitution well in advance to allow time for possible amendments, comments or objections. A very time consuming process, but Quanta may find it worthwhile, When I was involved in producing a new constitution we got an expert to produce one off the shelf. This was, in the main, OK but it had what I thought was a fatal flaw. It required the Committee members to retire after a period of, I think, 3 years and had to wait 1 year before they could be re-elected. I got that altered so that Committee members could stay on indefinitely, subject, of course, to being re-elected every 3 years. My reason for getting that alteration was that I thought it difficult enough to get anyone to do the voluntary work of being a Committee member. I reckon Quanta badly needs that change in the constitution. George Hi George, I agree with you, again ... :-) Good Board/Committee members are very hard to find. So, when you have them, it is best to keep them. As I commented in another email, it is best to have no Time limits. With all Board/Committee members standing down every Year, and then standing again (or not if they so choose). My community group will be holding its AGM, shortly, and this is what we do. This will be out eleventh Year of operation, with a budget of over £100K a Year. Being a Company Not for Profit and Limited by Guarantee, as well as a Registered Charity. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
In message aanlktik47wvzbdh5g3gx51n25zabdghdmji-myq8m...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM, Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk wrote: In message AANLkTimaewh-83aWQGbewJxD86EE=2po5liqz1-es...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes Hi Dave, Any new game, with graphics at the forefront, would be great for the QL. Generally an area that did not get fully exploited. Perspective/3D illusion would be good, too. Easy there! I remember back in the late 80s buying a utility for sprites and finding it... impenetrable. I have always found the QL display to be hard because the provisions were more simple than on the Amiga or ST. On the other hand, that turned out to be a blessing, because you could achieve quite impressive results with the simpler QL routines. What was it Clive used to say? Keep hardware simple. Do it in software! That said, interpreted BASIC was always too slow to do anything too complicated, and I didn't fancy learning m68k assy. Still don't. Dave Yes, some lines, shapes and some fills, and an impressive graphical game can be achieved. Quite different from the sprite based blocky games genre. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Finally a reply
On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk wrote: In message a1ebf150-979b-4e65-b8c2-ca4c97611...@gmail.com, gdgqler gdgq...@gmail.com writes On 7 Feb 2011, at 19:52, Geoff Wicks wrote: Perhaps the entire constitution of Quanta needs altering. Now where did I hear that recently ;-) I once was involved in rewriting an entire constitution. When Works Council Law was changed in the Netherlands all Works Councils had to rewrite their constitutions. We had a choice of either doing it ourselves or employing an outside consultant costing hundreds of pounds. As I was the only member of the council with the relevant skills and experience I was given the job, but at the same time the council appointed another member to be my mentor to check everything I did. In practice I found I could still keep much of the old constitution in the new one and I suspect that would be much the same in Quanta. There were model constitutions published and I also had to keep checking the new Works Council Law. In short in was a bit like pick 'n' mix. Basically Quanta would have to do is: 1: Look through the old constitution and get a rough idea of what you would like to leave in and what you would like to leave out. Then have an extensive consultation period to determine the main details. Do not rush this - it is better to take your time than do a quick botched job. (The lesson of the 2005 amendments.) 2: More than one person should be involved in the drafting. It is a bit like a superbasic program. Few of us could write a superbasic program that is totally bug free and that also applies to constitutions. Even better if the draft constitution is proofread by a person or persons not involved in the drafting. 3: Bear in mind that during the drafting matters could arise that need further consultation or decision by the committee or members. When writing the works council constitution I had to consult the council on whether we should have a personal or list voting system and prepare a paper on the merits and demerits of each. For example in Quanta to maintain continuity the officers currently have a three year period of office. You could have chosen instead for all committee members to serve 2 years with one half of the committee to face re-election in any one year. This is not a decision for the drafters, but the committee and/or members. 4: Publish the draft constitution well in advance to allow time for possible amendments, comments or objections. A very time consuming process, but Quanta may find it worthwhile, When I was involved in producing a new constitution we got an expert to produce one off the shelf. This was, in the main, OK but it had what I thought was a fatal flaw. It required the Committee members to retire after a period of, I think, 3 years and had to wait 1 year before they could be re-elected. I got that altered so that Committee members could stay on indefinitely, subject, of course, to being re-elected every 3 years. My reason for getting that alteration was that I thought it difficult enough to get anyone to do the voluntary work of being a Committee member. I reckon Quanta badly needs that change in the constitution. George Hi George, I agree with you, again ... :-) Good Board/Committee members are very hard to find. So, when you have them, it is best to keep them. As I commented in another email, it is best to have no Time limits. With all Board/Committee members standing down every Year, and then standing again (or not if they so choose). My community group will be holding its AGM, shortly, and this is what we do. This will be out eleventh Year of operation, with a budget of over £100K a Year. Being a Company Not for Profit and Limited by Guarantee, as well as a Registered Charity. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm One organization of which I am a member does not have term limits, but handles it in an interesting way. The only reason for a term limit is to prevent people holding an office indefinitely due to power issues. This organization resolves it by allowing a vote FOR someone and a vote AGAINST someone. FOR votes add one, and AGAINST votes deduct one. This way, if an incumbent goes on long enough to start being closely opposed, dissatisfaction usually focuses the negative votes on them. The downside is if you have three candidates: two popular opposing candidates and a third minor player, the two groups of supporters invalidate the others' votes and the third entrant gets elected. Another (to me, better) way to resolve the issue is to allow someone to be elected past a term limit if they are unopposed. However, if they are opposed, that individual gets a go. Having only half the positions replaced each election allows some continuity. IMHO. Dave
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
Hey I got a great idea based on graphical lines etc. what about a TRON light cycle game playing against the computer but where the computer doesn't cheat against the human player? Lee Privett - Sent from my Laptop running XP but emulating the QL using QPC2 - Original Message - From: Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 9:58 PM Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea... In message aanlktik47wvzbdh5g3gx51n25zabdghdmji-myq8m...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM, Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk wrote: In message AANLkTimaewh-83aWQGbewJxD86EE=2po5liqz1-es...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes Hi Dave, Any new game, with graphics at the forefront, would be great for the QL. Generally an area that did not get fully exploited. Perspective/3D illusion would be good, too. Easy there! I remember back in the late 80s buying a utility for sprites and finding it... impenetrable. I have always found the QL display to be hard because the provisions were more simple than on the Amiga or ST. On the other hand, that turned out to be a blessing, because you could achieve quite impressive results with the simpler QL routines. What was it Clive used to say? Keep hardware simple. Do it in software! That said, interpreted BASIC was always too slow to do anything too complicated, and I didn't fancy learning m68k assy. Still don't. Dave Yes, some lines, shapes and some fills, and an impressive graphical game can be achieved. Quite different from the sprite based blocky games genre. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
--- On Tue, 8/2/11, Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk wrote: From: Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea... To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Date: Tuesday, 8 February, 2011, 21:58 In message aanlktik47wvzbdh5g3gx51n25zabdghdmji-myq8m...@mail.gmail.com, Plastic plasticu...@gmail.com writes snip Yes, some lines, shapes and some fills, and an impressive graphical game can be achieved. Quite different from the sprite based blocky games genre. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm A QL version of Mugsy would be ace, it had superb graphics that drew before your eyes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgNOAaZFdxw Peter. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] Feeding your microdrive...
Hi all, During my time at Sandy, I learned microdrives (the part inside the case, not the cartridge) were surprisingly reliable and fault-free. The only two faults that came up on a regular basis were dirt, and damaged capstans. The capstan, for those not in the know) is the rubber wheel on the motor which contacts the tape. The microdrive capstan has one advantage over capstans from tape decks. Tape deck capstans contact a metal pin when in position. If left for a long time, the capstan rubber acquires a dent which makes the tape change speed as it passed through - also, it slightly stretches the tape. The microdrive design contacts a plastic wheel in the cartridge, so it only touches something when a cartridge is left in. However, some people leave a cartridge permanently in the drive when not in use, and this can cause problems eventually. The wires that enter the motherboard are just tinned stranded wire and quite fragile. I always soldered pins on these as a first act of owning a QL - often, soldering on the pins was quicker than trying to fit that floppy mess of bent wire. I have tons of these pins so if anyone wants some for their QL, I'll happily mail them at no charge. At Sandy, we also found that cartridges would become error prone if not spun once in a while. I got into the practice of, once a month or two, spinning up every cartridge through at least one full loop (about 20-30 seconds) just to prevent print-through and to redistribute the lubricant. You'd be amazed how often we'd get mad microdrive complaints and we'd ask them to send in the computer and the problem cartridges, and they'd ALWAYS have fingerprints, or the computer smelled of cigarettes. Smoking kills cartridges! So does finger grease. If you pen your case to clean anything, it's always a good idea to remove and refit the voltage regulator. That's the small 3-pin device screwed to the heatsink right behind the microdrives. It gets warm regulating the voltage, but a poor connection can also create heat, so reseating the regulator in its socket helps it stay cool. While you're at it, if you have any PC thermal paste/crease/arctic silver, replace that little plastic shim, if there is one, with a tiny dab of that and you'll find it transfers heat to the heatsink FAR better. SOME people would get a tiny fan, hook it across the +9v and ground pins, and have it draw that air out the slots at the back. Nice if you can make it fit, but I don't think it makes much difference - it moves heat, but doesn't make sure it's being generated efficiently in the first place - just addresses the symptom. If I ever designed a QL PCB, it would have a far better power supply (but then, the PCB wouldn't be long and thin like that - it would be a eurocard or double eurocard - 100x160mm or so. I would also give it a proper bus with 4 or 5 expansion sockets. Hindsight. I know this is obvious to many, but not to all, so my apologies to those who consider this obvious. Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Game idea...
On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Lee Privett lee.priv...@gmail.com wrote: Hey I got a great idea based on graphical lines etc. what about a TRON light cycle game playing against the computer but where the computer doesn't cheat against the human player? Anyone remember the TRON lightcycle game lawsuit about unauthorized copies of the game? The studio lost. The lawyers didn't realize the game was a complete rip-off of centipede... What about a jet version of it, where the jet trails kill, but they fade after a while, and you have to catch parachutes and avoid the microbursts? :P I'm all about new games, not remakes :P Originality, even if it isn't! ;) Dave ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Feeding your microdrive...
Plastic wrote, on 8/Feb/11 22:30 | Feb8: Hi all, During my time at Sandy, I learned microdrives (the part inside the case, not the cartridge) were surprisingly reliable and fault-free. The only two faults that came up on a regular basis were dirt, and damaged capstans. The capstan, for those not in the know) is the rubber wheel on the motor which contacts the tape. The microdrive capstan has one advantage over capstans from tape decks. Tape deck capstans contact a metal pin when in position. If left for a long time, the capstan rubber acquires a dent which makes the tape change speed as it passed through - also, it slightly stretches the tape. The microdrive design contacts a plastic wheel in the cartridge, so it only touches something when a cartridge is left in. However, some people leave a cartridge permanently in the drive when not in use, and this can cause problems eventually. I found a large number of QLs I repaired had migrating capstans. They had nothing other than friction to hold them onto the metal shaft, and they rose up in the majority. Maybe the ones that didn't had unused microdrives! In extreme cases the capstan actually touched the top case - I saw many like this. The wires that enter the motherboard are just tinned stranded wire and quite fragile. I always soldered pins on these as a first act of owning a QL - often, soldering on the pins was quicker than trying to fit that floppy mess of bent wire. I have tons of these pins so if anyone wants some for their QL, I'll happily mail them at no charge. If I had to remove microdrives, I always did this. Better than pins though is a SIL socket strip. I cut sections off a DIL turned pin socket. That way re-fitting is a doddle. At Sandy, we also found that cartridges would become error prone if not spun once in a while. I got into the practice of, once a month or two, spinning up every cartridge through at least one full loop (about 20-30 seconds) just to prevent print-through and to redistribute the lubricant. You'd be amazed how often we'd get mad microdrive complaints and we'd ask them to send in the computer and the problem cartridges, and they'd ALWAYS have fingerprints, or the computer smelled of cigarettes. Smoking kills cartridges! So does finger grease. If you pen your case to clean anything, or even 'open'. You are coming up with some brilliant mistypes, Dave. Wasn't it you who talked about 'dinky cars'? it's always a good idea to remove and refit the voltage regulator. That's the small 3-pin device screwed to the heatsink right behind the microdrives. It gets warm regulating the voltage, but a poor connection can also create heat, so reseating the regulator in its socket helps it stay cool. While you're at it, if you have any PC thermal paste/crease/ and another good mistype (8-)# arctic silver, replace that little plastic shim, if there is one, with a tiny dab of that and you'll find it transfers heat to the heatsink FAR better. Yes indeed. I did that to *every* QL I repaired. SOME people would get a tiny fan, hook it across the +9v and ground pins, and have it draw that air out the slots at the back. Nice if you can make it fit, but I don't think it makes much difference - it moves heat, but doesn't make sure it's being generated efficiently in the first place - just addresses the symptom. If I ever designed a QL PCB, it would have a far better power supply (but then, the PCB wouldn't be long and thin like that - it would be a eurocard or double eurocard - 100x160mm or so. I would also give it a proper bus with 4 or 5 expansion sockets. Hindsight. ... and not require the wire connection 5v rail mod that Sinclair added to issue 5 boards! I know this is obvious to many, but not to all, so my apologies to those who consider this obvious. Always worth repeating good advice. You will be amazed at how many still don't know. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Feeding your microdrive...
On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 5:03 PM, Tony Firshman t...@firshman.co.uk wrote: Plastic wrote, on 8/Feb/11 22:30 | Feb8: Hi all, During my time at Sandy, I learned microdrives (the part inside the case, not the cartridge) were surprisingly reliable and fault-free. The only two faults that came up on a regular basis were dirt, and damaged capstans. The capstan, for those not in the know) is the rubber wheel on the motor which contacts the tape. The microdrive capstan has one advantage over capstans from tape decks. Tape deck capstans contact a metal pin when in position. If left for a long time, the capstan rubber acquires a dent which makes the tape change speed as it passed through - also, it slightly stretches the tape. The microdrive design contacts a plastic wheel in the cartridge, so it only touches something when a cartridge is left in. However, some people leave a cartridge permanently in the drive when not in use, and this can cause problems eventually. I found a large number of QLs I repaired had migrating capstans. They had nothing other than friction to hold them onto the metal shaft, and they rose up in the majority. Maybe the ones that didn't had unused microdrives! In extreme cases the capstan actually touched the top case - I saw many like this. I did see that often. If you pulled the capstan off, and rubbed the motor shaft with a little rubbing alcohol to degrease it, the capstan was far less prone to sliding up. Also, it should be put on upside down afterward - it may have warn slightly unevenly and if so, it needs to spend the next interval wearing unevenly the opposite way - like rotating your tires. The wires that enter the motherboard are just tinned stranded wire and quite fragile. I always soldered pins on these as a first act of owning a QL - often, soldering on the pins was quicker than trying to fit that floppy mess of bent wire. I have tons of these pins so if anyone wants some for their QL, I'll happily mail them at no charge. If I had to remove microdrives, I always did this. Better than pins though is a SIL socket strip. I cut sections off a DIL turned pin socket. That way re-fitting is a doddle. What I have is the single rows of turned pins that we used to use on the SuperQBoard for the riser 512k memory daughter card. They're like a pre-cut sockets of very high quality. They used turned pins on all the boards I saw until I saw a US QL with the flat blade type socket - ick. At Sandy, we also found that cartridges would become error prone if not spun once in a while. I got into the practice of, once a month or two, spinning up every cartridge through at least one full loop (about 20-30 seconds) just to prevent print-through and to redistribute the lubricant. You'd be amazed how often we'd get mad microdrive complaints and we'd ask them to send in the computer and the problem cartridges, and they'd ALWAYS have fingerprints, or the computer smelled of cigarettes. Smoking kills cartridges! So does finger grease. If you pen your case to clean anything, or even 'open'. You are coming up with some brilliant mistypes, Dave. Wasn't it you who talked about 'dinky cars'? Sorry :) My hands are a little numb still and don't co-ordinate very well, and my eyes don't spot the missing letters. it's always a good idea to remove and refit the voltage regulator. That's the small 3-pin device screwed to the heatsink right behind the microdrives. It gets warm regulating the voltage, but a poor connection can also create heat, so reseating the regulator in its socket helps it stay cool. While you're at it, if you have any PC thermal paste/crease/ and another good mistype (8-)# arctic silver, replace that little plastic shim, if there is one, with a tiny dab of that and you'll find it transfers heat to the heatsink FAR better. Yes indeed. I did that to *every* QL I repaired. I'm thinking that by now a lot of the regulators and IC pins will be quite oxidized and could use a good cleaning. I use a PEN eraser to gently remove the oxide. Pen erasers don't generate static charge when rubbed. ICs do run a little cooler when they have good socket connections. One, the socket to pin contact has lower resistance. Two, better contact conducts heat away into the PCB slightly better. Additionally, a cooler IC draws less current than a hotter IC anyway, so it could make 20-30ma each difference on the 68008 or the copro. SOME people would get a tiny fan, hook it across the +9v and ground pins, and have it draw that air out the slots at the back. Nice if you can make it fit, but I don't think it makes much difference - it moves heat, but doesn't make sure it's being generated efficiently in the first place - just addresses the symptom. If I ever designed a QL PCB, it would have a far better power supply (but then, the PCB wouldn't be long and thin like that - it would be a eurocard or double eurocard -
