Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 7 Sep 2008, at 17:24, Malcolm Cadman wrote: Does anyone know the specification of the Intel 1.66Ghz Atom ? Is it a RISC based chip, from the collaboration with the Cambridge based RISC company ? Also, the Atom name, was once used for a British made computer called the Acorn Atom - back in 1980's . the era of the first QL machines too. Hi Malcolm, The Intel Atom is essentially an x86 architecture machine with 512K cache and 45nm fab; it consumes 2.5W and supports hyperthreading; dual core designs are possible. My Acer isn't the HD model, and it's not noisy in operation. The Eee 701 used the fan more often. Some Acer models were flashed with a buggy BIOS that caused the fan to remain on when not required, this may have affected some reviews. The Acorn Atom predated the QL by 3 years and was one of the last computers marketed to the mainstream as a kit. Nice bit of hardware, too, for the era. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 7 Sep 2008, at 19:24, Dilwyn Jones wrote: I have a conventional Windows laptop of reasonable spec already, but fancied a small and light notebook to carry around with me when all I need is a tiny QL (possibly with wireless and/or web access) to carry around. If work-related, I'd use the laptop. It seems that cost-wise, there isn't much in it when you can buy a new laptop of reasonable spec for 250-350 pounds, or a reasonable second-user machine for half that. Car comparisons are dated, but: You can buy a Mercedes A-class for £14,000. You can also buy a large Korean car like the Kia Magentis which is a class above, 15ft long instead of 10ft, etc. What's happening is not that laptops are getting significantly cheaper, but that cutting edge small devices are getting cheaper and more popular. So, it's a bit like the A-class coming down to the price of Kia's small car (what is that these days? Rio?). You can still get the cheap, cheerful full size product, but there's now an option for a cheap compact one too wheras previously, you'd pay a huge premium for the small form factor (see Flybook etc.). Also a point to note, all the prices I'm quoting and likely anyone else is here are inclusive of tax. US prices rarely include sales taxes which can vary dramatically. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 6 Sep 2008, at 18:09, P Witte wrote: After using the eeePC 701 for a while, I gave it up as too limiting for my purposes. The battery life is crap, the fan whirres incessantly because the thing produces far too much heat. It also seems stupid to put up with a 7 screen when the box is more like 10. So all in all, after the initial rush I find I need something a little more sophisticated to get by on the move whilst having a real PC at home. The 901 seems a lot more promising but theyre still flogging the inferior 900s here, so itll have to wait. On the other hand, a couple of hundred ££ more will get you a real sub notebook.. Hi Per, I agree that the 701 is too limiting; this is why I favour the Acer Aspire with 120GB HD. It's £229, so still well within the cheap end of the spectrum (compared to £300+ for the 901/MSI Wind) and is very small and efficient. Do try one. The 1024 x 600 resolution over the Eee 701's 800 x 480 is a massive advantage. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 6 Sep 2008, at 19:47, Dilwyn Jones wrote: From what you've said, it seems that the cheaper systems aren't much good for regular use. What about someone like me who has an occasional need for a portable QL away from home, where weight and small size might be important? Or would I be better off (even for occasional light use) to save my pennies and wait until I can afford a more expensive machine? Or would you go as far as to say that I'd be better off with a traditional laptop PC? The Acer is £199 with 8GB and £229 with 120GB. It's 1024 x 600, 1.6GHz and fully capable of running Windows XP or various flavours of Linux. What I'm saying is that for the saving for the very cheapest machines - £169 for the Maplin, or the Eee 701 - the Acer represents the genuinely lowest price point you will get something useful at. The 800 x 480 screen on the 701 is limiting for modern web browsing (though I reckon it would be fine for an emulated QL environment; it looked fantastic running Atari 800 emulators), the Maplin's insanely limited CPU (not just performance, but third-party support) - for the sake of a £40 saving? Not worth it. Likewise, if you wanted to add a memory card, the Acer has an SD card slot to expand the built in storage AND a memory card reader; and buying SD cards for the Maplin to go from 2GB to 8GB would eat up a reasonable amount of the cost saving too. The instant you cross into the £300 needed for the MSI Wind or upmarket Eee models, then you can get a dual core 13 laptop from Currys or elsewhere for £280ish. Unless you REALLY want the tiny form factor, it's not worth the effort. I certainly don't think you should save your pennies if all you want is occasional light use and are already interested in this class of machine; I just think you should not spend more than £200 (I count the extra £29 for the 120GB version of the Acer as a very cheap extra memory card I'd have bought anyway - it's less than I paid for the no- name brand 16GB SDHC card I use) and should get the absolute best specification you can for that money. The Elonex One - the mooted £100 laptop - is more interesting as the One+ with 256MB RAM and 2GB SSD, but it's still 800 x 480, 300MHz weird 'barely supported' CPU, and in that form costs £119. Another few quid for a decent capacity SD card, and you're into 1.6GHz Atom territory. Commodore brand have just announced one, too. It's £325, which is already insane given the current marketplace, and uses of all things the VIA C7-M CPU, which is basically a Cyrix. Anyone who remembers Cyrix back in the Pentium days will already have shudders running down their spines, but the truth is, the C7-M is chosen for battery life; Intel have leapfrogged them AND don't need to cripple the CPU's performance to do it. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 6 Sep 2008, at 21:34, SMSQ wrote: MSI Wind ... Medion and Plus sold them recently in Germany... same model, but without Bluetooth. Also sold as the Advent 4211 in the UK, at £279. It's a 10.2 screen (so larger form factor), but still 1024 x 600; featuring built-in bluetooth is a bonus, but specification-wise aside from the size (not resolution) of the screen and the higher-res webcam (1.3Mp instead of VGA) it's much the same as the Acer but with a smaller HD for more money. However, the keyboard is larger, the cooling better, and it's got a much larger capacity battery. MSI are also intending to ship a more grown up Linux distro compared to Linpus Lite or Xandros. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 5 Sep 2008, at 11:55, Dilwyn Jones wrote: Not really - individuals may buy one if it fulfils a particular need for them, but I don't really think there's a market for them unless someone can convince us that a hard-disk-less computer running a (older?) form of linux with WINE and QPC2 is worth the effort. One or two people seemed to be happy with an Asus Eeepc (well, got QPC runing on it anyway), and I happened to see the article in Computeractive about a sub-100 pounds notebook which Richard seems even less happy than Computeractive about (The Elonex One). When new things like this come out, we should look at them since the combined cost of a Eeepc, WINE and QPC2 is a cheaper QL compatible (with benefit of Linux for those who like or use Linux) than any future QL compatible hardware is likely to be. You don't need WINE; Acer's Aspire One 120GB, Asus Eee 900/1000 series and others like the Dell Mini 9 all support or ship with Windows XP. It's possibly, albeit cramped, to run Windows XP on an Eee 701. What would be interesting, to me at least, would be a native QL OS for this platform. Something that uses a cut-down Linux kernel for I/O but is essentially a QL when you power it up. It would be fast, efficient and interesting. The lack of a hard disc is not an issue for many people. 8GB is plenty, 4GB is tolerable. Remember when your main desktop computer only had 40MB of HD space. The Eee and Aspire One are leading the marketplace with good value products; these should definitely be looked at - the Eee 701 is now £150 ex. VAT. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 5 Sep 2008, at 19:52, Malcolm Cadman wrote: In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Richard Kilpatrick [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes Hi Richard, Esus seem now to be pushing the 900 series and the latest 1000 series in their new advertisements. Which are obviously more capable. So, that is why the 700 series is being discounted. It's just natural price erosion. It's not being discounted, it's being reduced in price as the competition and technology improves. Asus' model range was always intended to be more than just the 700 series, but a more capable 700 would be an upgrade; the 900 and 1000 are 9 and 10 screen variants. They have yet to upgrade the 7 model to a 1.6GHz CPU, but that's probably because they're judging the marketplace to see if having a 7 variant is worthwhile when the form factor is not really significantly smaller (the keyboard dictating the smallest usable chassis for what they see this market wanting). What is significant is that the Eee 701 is the same price as the Maplin/Elonex Onet netbook device, but instead of insufficient RAM/ SSD space to handle modern applications, it's quite a handy little device and capable of running XP (the XP shipping with various SCCs is not drastically crippled, it's just XP Home - however, many users prefer to install an 'nlite' installer packaged version of XP with non- essential and cosmetic aspects removed. Bear in mind that XP was developed when 4GB HDs in laptops were commonplace, it's more than capable of surviving on a 2GB or 4GB machine. It's the size of the applications and the media we work with that presents the real issue with storage). All of these machines bar the Elonex derivatives are full PC hardware. The 1.6GHz Atom CPU is perfectly capable of running fairly serious apps; I have a device called a FlipStart which is a 5.6 1024x600 display based pocket PC, with a Pentium-M CPU at 1.1GHz and Windows XP. I've used Adobe CS3 on it, Lightroom and even played World of Warcraft on it, despite the meagre 512MB RAM. The Atom is certainly comparable with that CPU, though I've yet to test Lightroom's performance on one of the Atom based machines. The original 900 with 900MHz CPU is no more capable than the 700. It simply has a larger screen and SSD. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 4 Sep 2008, at 10:42, hitchies wrote: Thanks Richard for your informative and helpful machine assesments. However, about (8GB) SSD... I am ignorant! SSD = Solid State Disc. Smaller, more expensive per GB, and slower - but very hard to break. The primary drawback of a machine with a smaller one, is that upgrading it will be very expensive and difficult. For experimentation and most applications, I prefer HD equipped models in theory; in practice, mine are all SSD equipped because they're the models most available. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 4 Sep 2008, at 20:26, Malcolm Cadman wrote: In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Richard Kilpatrick [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes Hi Dilwyn, I have just bought the October issue of PC Pro magazine, and Asus, who make the Eee Pc have a massive 12 page advertising booklet within it. So, they do a very wide range of products. In the notebook ( mini-laptop ) PC range the lowest priced is the Eee PC 4G - with an Intel Mobile processor, Linux OS, 7 ( 800 x 600 ) display, 512Mb memory, 4GB SSD - priced at £169.36 RRP ex VAT. So, a sub-£100 notebook is still a way off, as yet. No, it isn't. PC Pro might not have featured one, but Elonex launched the Elonex One in February; shipments are happening now - a £99 notebook. It is a rubbish device, with 128MB RAM, 1GB storage, 800 x 480 non- touch 7 LCD (a small trackball is on the rear of it) and a 300MHz MIPS-clone CPU, running an antique Linux kernel, but it is a sub £100 notebook. The Eee is under £150 ex VAT now. Acer's Aspire comes in 8GB, 120GB and 160GB versions. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 2 Sep 2008, at 19:04, Dilwyn Jones wrote: We had a brief discussion of using the WINE/QPC2 combination on the new Linux-based notebook PCs such as the Asus Eeepc. I notice that Maplin are selling a £160 notebook and Elonex a £99 notebook along the same lines. Anyone tried these machines to see if either uQLx or WINE/QPC2 could be run on them. Details are at www.maplin.co.uk (product code A98HX) and www.elonex.co.uk (Elonex One). The Elonex machine is reviewed in the current Computeractive issue 275. The Elonex machine in particular being a sub-£100 machine would make a decent cheap portable WINE/QPC2 or uQLx system if those emulators work on it. Seriously. These machines are rubbish. The Elonex Onet - not their £99 one - is the same as the Maplin. They are underpowered, based on a Chinese knock-off MIPS CPU, in the case of the One (rubber keyboard tablet) at 300MHz/128MB RAM/1GB SSD, and the Onet at 400MHz. They run a dated version of Linux and lack hardware resources. They're also very overpriced for what you get in the case of the Onet/Maplin - the Asus Eee 701 is under £150 if you shop around and offers superior specification, the £189 price point mooted for the Elonex Onet is a mere £10 saving on the Acer Aspire One, which at £199 offers greater resolution display (1024 x 600), 8GB SSD (£229 gives 120GB HD), 512MB RAM (expandable to 1.5GB) and a 1.6GHz Intel CPU with decent cache and performance. There are many good SCC (Small, Cheap Computer) models, Asus and Acer leading the market, but the MSI Wind (also sold as an Advent), and Dell's forthcoming machine also offer good specifications for a decent price. The £40 (at most) saving you make on the Maplin model is costing you useful screen resolution, useful storage, useful RAM and most significantly, a useful CPU that can handle modern Linux distros comfortably. In addition the Acer offers the hardware hack inclined motherboard pads for a Mini PCI-e slot and SIM card slot that will allow an internal 3G modem, 3 USB ports, VGA out (lacking on the Elonex/Maplin, IIRC), and a very useful feature on the SSD models - TWO card slots. One SDHC slot for storage expansion, and one card reader with support for various formats. QL on a SCC? Fantastic idea. Love to have a good QL environment running under Linux on my Acer or Eee. Elonex, however, have not produced something worthwhile for the marketplace here. When the specifications became apparent, I cancelled my order with them (and getting a refund, despite a vague 28 days delivery after waiting since February for the machines to ship from the pre-order date - even though the computers are rebranded Chinese machines that have been in production for some time already, was rather difficult and took threats of discussing the matter with the card clearing company). Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] ICL OPD with no real interest...
The last of my QLish bits (until we reorganise and buy an as-new- boxed one for our proper collection) - I popped it on eBay and it's attracted one bid and few watchers. Since I listed with no reserve, I figured someone here might like the chance of getting it cheap. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ViewItemrd=1item=320273556352ssPageName=STRK:MESE:ITih=011 Whatever it ends at, that's it :/ Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] ICL OPD with no real interest...
On 17 Jul 2008, at 01:04, Ade Vickers wrote: Hmm, I'd looked at it, decreed that Sutton Coldfield was too far away for me to go to pick it up. And, while it happens I will be in Birmingham on Friday, I will be long gone by the time the auction ends :( No-one has asked if I can deliver it to them, though. I have friends in Enfield, Cheltenham, and I'm always going up and down the M6 to Carlisle... it's just that with the last auctions, I've had daft requests :D - in fact, my NeXT system sold to a guy from France! He's going to collect it in October, but paid already. I'm getting a new Citroen this month, I'll be wanting to run it in. Did you see the odd-cased one that ended up in Scotland? I was tempted to get the manuals from it to make this one complete. Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Bluetooth
On 10 Dec 2007, at 20:22, Tony Firshman wrote: SMSQ wrote: snip It is not difficult, and it is very handy to have. But, no replacement for DSL if you don't have 3.5G or at least 3G. Vodafone have an addon for any monthly contract that gives 120mb per month for £7.50. T-Mobile give you: £7.50/month - Unlimited (1GB fair use - not a cap but they ask you to use less, IM/IRC not officially allowed but work anyway) £12.50/month - Unlimited (3GB fair use, IM/IRC etc. allowed officially (i.e. supported)). £22.50/month - Unlimited (10GB fair use, all services allowed including VoIP). Or if you don't have a contract with them, you can have a web-only package for £20/month which gives you a USB or PC-card modem (maybe only USB now) for £20/month which allows everything. Finally, if you buy a PayG SIM card, data is capped at £1/day. So in any 24 hour period, you can use all the data you want for £1. IRC and IM work. O2 have the worst deal - £7.50/month for Unlimited 200MB with a cap, after which you pay £1.80/MB. Which strikes me as 200MB, not Unlimited. And they block everything bar websites, pretty much. Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Hardware
On 13 Nov 2007, at 18:36, Roy wood wrote: Sorry to use this list for a kind of advert but I have just come into possession of a Super Gold Card, a Gold Card, a QXL and two Miracle dual DD disk drive units. Someone asked me about a QXL card at the Birmingham show but I cannot remember who - maybe they could get in touch again. I did, and about Aurora, but I haven't had chance to chase up the other items I was asking about there, so I've probably lost them :( Was nice seeing people at the show, though! Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] This is worth a look and laugh
On 10 Sep 2007, at 21:03, Rich Mellor wrote: Actually quite a snip at that price - after all, the software was one of the original best selling points about the QL and with the current dollar-pound exchange rate, it's only about a fiver? lol The one which really puzzled me is http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=110167130062 Wonder if that was for a One Per Desk? I think it's more likely to be unrelated to QLs at all - looks like it would be the modem board for a late 80s/early 90s laptop, of which Zenith made many! Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] This is worth a look and laugh
On 10 Sep 2007, at 22:12, Tony Firshman wrote: Yes it is definitely not QL. A modem was my first thought. Not early 90s I think - those look more modern surface mounted components. Tut tut, by the 80s we had pretty good surface mount ;) You need to crack open an Enterprise 64/128 someday! (I did work experience in 1990 at one of the scottish Fabrication/assembly plants for PCBs; we were using some very sophisticated surface-mount stuff then even on simple boards like a delay timer for a Nissan interior light). But what leads me to think late 80s, other than the laptop in question being an 8086 jobbie, is what looks like a date code of 8852 on one of the ICs, the SC11006CV... Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[Ql-Users] OPD bits on eBay!
Damnit! Nearly outbid on a Telestore. Oh well, the seller's going to profit from this one :D Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Old Iron
On 29 May 2007, at 23:55, David Tubbs wrote: At 15:12 29/05/2007, you wrote: An Mdv can be connected at the side How so, spectrum microdrives? I was not aware that cased mdvs were exclusively Spectrum. The internal mdv sockets are bridged so the first external comes in as No 1, chain upto eight. PS, forgot to mention I still have the QXL, original enquirer did not respond. Interested! Emailed... Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Any old iron.
On 24 May 2007, at 14:23, dan volvo wrote: Hi Richard I'll post some OPD monitor schematics on the QUANTA website when I get a moment. I'm compiling a troubleshooting guide for OPD-ers: http://www.quanta.org.uk/systems/opd/index.asp#troubleshooting Meanwhile, let me know if you want copies of the OPD schematics and pin outs for the monitor or base unit. Hi Dan, I need the pinouts internally, not externally - for the PSU. I've got a spare Astec switch-mode PSU which has all the required outputs, but is larger than the OPD one, and if I can work out how to wire up the internal cabling for the OPD monitor/PSU connection to test it, then I can - if it all works - have my OPD PSU repaired (or repair it myself, but I'm not great at diagnosing PSU faults!). Basically I want to know if my OPD base unit has survived whatever killed the monitor! Schematics for the proper OPD monitor - not just the Microvitec schematics, which I have currently - would be a great help. My Microvitec OPD monitor I was lead to believe had just had the lead changed, but it's had the OPD PSU and support bracket removed too. So if anyone has a medium-res OPD colour monitor with, say, a blown line driver, or failed monitor PCB, I would be very interested in acquiring the PSU, bracket and leads from it (and PSU power indicator, which I think went high up on the panel above the contrast control). Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Any old iron.
On 23 May 2007, at 18:57, Malcolm Cadman wrote: I'm still after a working ICL OPD monitor! Or PSU from the mono display model... Or even pinouts for the PSU module... Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] OPD Expired!
On 3 Apr 2007, at 12:40, dan volvo wrote: ii) The sound of the modem 'clicking' and the led lights flashing. If the relay in the modem clicks and the lights flash, you're in business. I think I have a power problem, in that I get the Modem chattering with the LEDs for the line acitivity flickering, nothing from the monitor, and no bars/power/POST of any kind apparent on the OPD itself. If I can try either a new lead in my current OPD Medium-Res display (it's been modified to be a QL monitor with the power line detached at both ends and an 8-PIN DIN connector fitted) or have another way of powering up the OPD (mostly, I need the connector to the OPD), then I can verify my base unit/modem works (as it had been for several days quite happily) and I'll gladly pay a TV engineer to refurbish my OPD mono display. Full capacitor replacement! It was a bit wobbly when powered up - ripples on the display - so I suspect that may have been a sign of incoming PSU failure. Are there any boards other than the large Microvitec one in the colour display? I think the OPD must take 12V from there, but I'd like to be certain - there's an unused connector on the 240V cables inside. Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] OPD Expired!
On 3 Apr 2007, at 17:06, Richard Kilpatrick wrote: Okay, can't get anything useful from the mono monitor without more research, but I'm not getting any 5v/12v - I think it needs connections to be made for these to work. But I am now 100% sure that modifying an ICL Medium-Res monitor to work with a QL actually, in this case, comprised ripping out the Astec PSU that powers the OPD and the chassis it sits on, and replacing the cable entirely. So I think I need more than just a cable to use that monitor and it is in fact just a big, rather ugly, QL monitor now. Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] OPD Expired!
On 3 Apr 2007, at 17:55, Richard Kilpatrick wrote: Just another quick update sort of thing :D Schematics of the OPD mono monitor and PSU would be really handy for testing purposes, as I just remembered that I have an Astec Switch- mode PSU from something which has +5v, +12v, -5v, -12v available. It's a slightly larger board than the one I just removed from the OPD's monitor, but if I can tell which wires are 5V, which are 12V, and be sure of the function of the purple wire with a blade connector (I think, ground, there are a few purples which I am assuming are all ground) then I can make a lead up and power up the monitor/OPD with it? Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[ql-users] OPD Expired!
My recently acquired BT Merlin Tonto just died! It's been on for a couple of days demonstrating the auto-answer function; the monitor has been switched off. However, earlier today the phone line went off the hook in an odd way, and the OPD appears to be dead - but I don't know if it's the PSU in the monitor which has failed (I get power lights so I am guessing not, but a disconnected monitor doesn't seem to do anything of note) or if the OPD itself has failed and that's why I am not getting anything out of the monitor. Are there any common failure points on these? And does anyone have a medium-res failed OPD colour monitor that has an intact lead? I could use that on my colour display to try and see if the OPD itself is still working. Richard, somewhat upset as he's only had the OPD a week :( -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[ql-users] A weekend of gathering
Thanks to eBay and a recent post on the BBC Mailing list, I ended up with more old computers - just as I'm packing them away! Jason Thacker was offering a box of bits (which of relevance, included a D15 build QL with a knackered membrane and Sandy 512K RAM; now repaired with the new membrane I fitted to a D07), and I bought myself an OPD off eBay. The OPD is now in my office scaring callers, but I have a couple of things I'd like to seek out for it. I've got a monochrome AND colour monitor for it; the colour monitor has been modified (i.e. different cable) to be used as a QL monitor (for which it is incredibly suitable). If anyone has a broken example of the squarer colour monitor, I'd really appreciate the cable from it removed from the internal connections so I can restore this one. I'm also looking for a 4-slot ROMPack/XChange 2.5 or an MEU, and if such a thing shows up I'm not actively disinterested in adding a floppy drive to the system, though I'm not worried about it. Cosmetically the OPD is missing the subscriber number paper and cover plate from under the handset, and the colour monitor has a switch mounted in a hole above the brightness control which either had a control or a blanking plate? Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
[ql-users] Am I blocked?
I don't seem to see posts I make here, but I get messages? Either BT is being very slow, or I'm blocked somehow? Is anyone seeing messages from me? Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] SDGC
On 13 Feb 2007, at 22:06, Dilwyn Jones wrote: But if a 'Super QL' were made to fit the original case, it would of course have nostalgia value, as the original QL case design was one of its great features. If a SuperQL was made as a new motherboard, but incorporating connectors for MDV, using Net connector locations for audio in/out, phonejack connectors (even with adaptors) for USB/Ethernet... I'd pay quite a lot for such a device, especially if it featured space for an internal HD. I'd even be happy for it to use the QL PSU if the power requirements were low enough. Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] The Quill, Infocom?
On 29 Nov 2006, at 02:28, Tony Firshman wrote: Richard Kilpatrick wrote: I'm googling like mad, and can't find anything. I'm giving my friend my spare QL system, and I want to give her some software with it aside from the 4 applications - looking ideally for The Quill adventure writing package which did appear to exist for it, and anything which will interpret Infocom adventures? Takes forever copying microdrives! I'd forgotten! And this is with the wcopy command! With qpac2 it is easy. FORMAT ram1_mdv1_ This does a quick direct sector read and flags files that will not copy. Repeated use will often recover files. Wait. Did I forget a format command trick to clone carts? My Games Cartridge seems to be worn out, sadly - I was trying to back it up. I need to figure out how to use the FORTH discs, too. Richard (I should join the club. I should also buy SMSQ/E but I don't actually know what it costs, or what it does - how it would affect my fairly light/trivial QL usage, but with a SCG and monitor etc, my QL is rather nice and I seem to keep wanting things for it!). -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Interesting software, networking?
On 22 Mar 2006, at 17:59, Tony Firshman wrote: Super Gold Card is the fastest QL expansion. He said Gold Card. You can recognise a SGC by the number of connectors. There will be one parallel printer connector, and two smaller floppy disk connectors for SGC. Yep - it has two floppy connectors - I have connected the 1.44 drive unit provided with his QL to the upright one, and the Miracle Systems unit I had for my QL to the second one - it is addressing flp1_ through 4 correctly. The box said Gold Card on it, but the card itself said Super Gold Card. To get the extra QL commands, type tk2_ext. You may well have the SGC manual. If not then I bet it is on Dilwyn Jones' site: http://homepages.tesco.net/dilwyn.jones/ I have a manual which is a bound A4 one, a Quanta manual for the Gold Card which has a couple of pages talking about the Super Gold Card's additional drives and... SGC also protects the clock, and offers some boot defaults, like protecting the date/time (PROT_DATE n). That is what the battery is about. ...these features. I think the boot has been set, since it skipped the press F1/F2 stage. You can only network to other QLs - or a QXL card on a PC. There is no other network for the QL. That's a shame. I've seen ethernet adaptors that work on serial ports modified for machines like the Atari 800; a card based around that solution exists for the Apple II range. I wonder if it would be possible to make something that works with the QL's serial ports. Look out for my emailshots - they will tell you about forthcoming shows. The next is the Quanta AGM in Manchester on 8/9 April. Don't know if I'll be able to make it to that, as I've got a lot on in April, but Manchester is not so far that I couldn't make it! Richard (reading a 1985 copy of the A-Z of Microcomputers that was in one box - has a lovely bit on the Enterprise with a picture of Mike Shirley, and a paragraph about Apple's preoccupation with mice - an animal whose utility, when all is said and done, remains less than that of a pig. So presumably whoever wrote that now feels a bit silly...) -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Free QL equipment
On 20 Mar 2006, at 16:55, Tony Firshman wrote: Witchy wrote: On Mon, March 20, 2006 12:37 pm, Tony Firshman said: I have just had the following email. Can anyone pick it up? I drive almost past south west durham every friday and sunday nights on my lovely* commute between north and south if that's any good. You will all have to contact him direct. Filling a car up with stuff on Wednesday! I'll make a list of everything - apparently there are more things turning up - and forward stuff on of interest. I'm primarily interested in the hardware (upgrading my QL a bit and seeing what a properly specced QL can do) and software related to making the QL 'do neat stuff' - anything overly obscure would probably be better off with someone with more QL experience! Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] ST-QL
On 18 Jul 2005, at 23:05, Derek Stewart wrote: Dilwyn, I have an a Mode 8 installed din a Atari STFM, 2 x Extended 4 boards. I will take a photograph of each of them. I was gong to try and sell them, but I guess they are too slow. Do tell? I have an Atari STE which I use for Mac emulation, the idea of a QL in it too amuses me... Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [ql-users] Free to a good home
On 7 Jun 2005, at 19:28, John Gilpin wrote: Hi Norman, You are probably aware (or maybe not) that Quanta collects and stores such unwanted equipment in order to help those in need of spares or upgrades to their machines. I have (together with Rich Mellor) become the repository for such equipment and if you would like me to arrange collection from you, please indicate which area of the country you are in so that I can arrange a trip. I've emailed Norman this morning in the hope that I can collect this hardware and make a suitable donation (and something for himself). I really want the Gold card and monitor etc, and I'm happy to check out the other QLs and replace membranes and so forth if necessary. Richard -- Tasty Other - Because Far Too Much in Life Makes Sense Music for download - coming soon (RIP MP3.com) G.A.S. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/music/ Platform: PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual, 20 LCD, Logic, Hammerfall. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
