Re: [time-nuts] OT Systron-Donner Basic

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:05:37 -0700 

Alan,
This Basic has not the reserved word USING, and by the context I'm pretty sure that USING sets the format for subsequent PRINT's until changed. No luck playing with commas, brackets and other punctuation so far. 


About Chuck's snippet, there is a pity that it don't make use of STYLE.  
By the way, probably the controller was a previous model, the SD-3520, 
which has the same look but doesn't include a UV light eraser for the 
EPROM program cartridges.  (And yes, I had reverse engineered and built 
a cartridge without any sample or info on them, just deducing its 
existence from the presence of a Centronics like connector on the top, 
the UV eraser and the commands PROG ROM, READ ROM and CART INFO).



The SD-3520 also uses a previous version of Basic with some differences, 
for example it seems that the BUS OUT command has been replaced by BUS 
PRINT.



I have to repeat my tanks to all who had sent me on the list or directly 
their help.
And to the ones who wonder why I'm taking so much effort for 
resurrecting this device I can respond something that I heard some 30 
years ago when some Nuts began to build home computers: they are as 
useful as a golf clubs set, they are fun!


Best regards,
Ignacio EB4APL


El 21/03/2011 1:18, Chuck Harris wrote:

I found a little snippet for the SD-3250 in a synthesizer manual:

1) BUS CLR Return            # Prepare controller for Bus operation
2) BUS REM Return            # Clear the bus and command 1702 to operate
3) BUS OUT GO256540 Return        # Set frequency to 25.654 MHz.

4) BUS OUT GO256000 or C000 Return    # Change frequency to 25.6MHz, 2 
methods

5) BUS OUT L0555 or L3355 Return    # set level to -25.5 dBm, 2 methods
6) BUS OUT MO Return            # Select AM mode
7) BUS IN A Return Print A Return    # Check operating status

Comments were added by me, and there is no indication that "#" is a valid
comment indicator.

So, basically, it looks a bit cruder than even BASIC.

-Chuck Harris



Alan Melia wrote:

the problem is trying to guess the syntax....I was thinking of 
somethings

like.....

Set Style ##.###   // or may be just Style ##.###  try this  "##.###" as
well.
Print using style, a,b,c

It may be possible to define a number of styles, then it might be......
style 1; ##.###
style 2; #####.#
print using 1; a, b:
print using 2; c

Once again try the ### in inverted commas.

I seem to recollect a similar syntax somewhere but I dont recognise the

reserved word STYLE either  you can obviously play games with the 
commas,

colons and semi-colons to see what works. the print statements you have

discovered will give a lead to that. Wrong synatx on an "immediate" 
command

(at the prompt) should show an error straight away. If you can find one

manual for any programmable instrument from S-D you will probably 
find an
example that will show most of the command syntax.  Think of the 
parsing and

what chars are needed as delimiters to make this easy for the processor.

I cant help there I have no S-D equipment. but there must be some around
with manuals :-))

Alan G3NYK

----- Original Message -----
From: "EB4APL"<[email protected]>
To:<[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 9:13 PM
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] OT Systron-Donner Basic


Alan,

It doesn't work, neither (####.#), "#####.#" and a lot of other
combinations that I already tried.
I was able to get the other commands syntax even the non "standard
basic" ones even with several parameters, but this one is very resilient
to all my efforts after diving in old Basic, Fortran, Algol, etc.
manuals but never found a STYLE statement.    I always get  ILLEGAL
STYLE error and no other cues.

Thank you anyway, I appreciate all efforts.
Ignacio EB4APL


El 20/03/2011 18:12, Alan Melia wrote:

Hi Ignacio try the "print like" format with ######.##  to define 
decimal

places etc
Alan G3NYK

----- Original Message -----
From: "EB4APL"<[email protected]>
To: "Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 4:41 PM
Subject: [time-nuts] OT Systron-Donner Basic



This is clearly OT, but maybe somebody in this list can give me some 
help.


Recently I bought an old GPIB controller, a Systron-Donner Busser II
model 3522.  As my daughter said it looks like technology coming from
"Lost", but I want it to learn how to do some basic control of my GPIB
instruments before immersing in a more logical solution using a NI card
and a PC.

For starting, I made  simple programs to record OCXO's drift and aging
against my Rb and for studying the charge and discharge of batteries.

This device is a small 6802 based computer that runs a Basic dialect
(Systron-Donner Basic v 2.a) and while the unit came without any
documentation I was able to reverse engineer its command set and other
information.
There is only a command that resist all my efforts so far, the command
STYLE that seems to be a kind of format facility for the PRINT command.
Anybody was exposed in the past to this technology or remember anything
about a Basic command named STYLE?
I can´t find the right syntax for this command.

Thanks in advance.
Ignacio, EB4APL

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