Issue no. March 1994

fa Commodore 64 4*3 1Z6-I'M'!■!<!<t* *.■ .■ .■ .■ ■■.'.••••••••.••.••.•_•-•.•.•.•.•.■.■.•

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theThe 8-bit, 9-pin, Commodore Mini-Mag!

4 Romance by Computer by Karen Allison

6 C128 Software Exchange - Review

by Scott Eggleston

10 Bits and Bytes by Kenneth Peindl

13 Sticks and Stones: The NOT-Modem by Karen Allison

14 geoZone New Stuff for Geos by Scott Eggleston

17 C64 Advanced Basic Dynamic Keyboard Technique

by Ross CapdeviTle

21 C64 ML Applications: Screen Stasher

by Ross CapdeviHe

2 From the Editor

3 Rumblings from Beneath / Soap Box

15 PO/Shareware Gems

25 the InterGround

12 Sidebar: Disk Only by Scott Eggleston

26 Check Please! Checksum Program

27 Writer's Guide for the Underground

29 Advertising Information

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I FROM THE EDITOR]

Welcome to the first issue of the

Underground: a refuge for Commodore

64 and 128 users! I am proud to

present to you the newest magazine in

the Commodore arena. It may be small,

and a bit scruffy, but it's here, and

wants to wholeheartedly support these

fine computers that we have grown to

rely on.

Why subscribe to the Underground?

Well, this magazine has value for

several reasons.

First of all, after being burned

several times by magazines that ran

off with my subscription money, I

decided to take matters into my own

hands. I knew that if I used sound

business practices, along with moral

values (honesty, integrity, and hard

work) I could produce a quality

publication that was affordable to the

frugal Commodore user. Not to

mention one that would honor every

subscription.

Second, I wanted to produce a

magazine for users, by users. I believe

I've stumbled upon (thanks to QT.PIE on

GEnie, and Jiadar on Delphi) a great

idea for article submission. It makes

the process very easy for many users

formerly not willing to contribute to

any magazine, just because it was too

dang involved and expensive (write an

article, put it on a disk, produce a hard

copy, get a disk mailer, and mail the

whole mess to the editor). For those

who have been published before, it is

now all that much simpler. For further

details, see the writer's guide at the

back of this issue.

Good information supplements good

information, it doesn't replace it. No

matter how many Commodore

magazines come and go, the mainstays

are valuable, helping and inspiring

others to survive. As Fender Tucker,

managing editor of LOADSTAR put it,

"LOADSTAR sees each new player in the

C-128/64 game as a sign of health, not

competition." Don't drop your current

subscription to subscribe to the

Underground—just add it to the Ust!

Finally, I wanted to give every

Commodore product developer the

chance to have an afforable method of

advertisement. Established companies

have advertising budgets, but what

about the "little guy" who has developed

something really cool for our

computers? Where does he go to

advertise his wares? The Underground

is the place to be.

Advertising ain't free (that's not

good business), but it's very

affordable, with a full page ad running

only $20. AH it takes is one or two

customers coming from the

Underground, and your ad has paid for

itself. Complete information about

advertising is located at the back of

this issue.

So there you have it. These are the

reasons the Underground was born, and

these are the reasons (I hope) that it

will have a long life. The most

important part of this magazine is you.

Yes, you, reading this editorial We

need your help, and the help of every

Commodore user you know to support

us. Send us your comments, complaints,

suggestions and articles. The best way

to keep our computers alive is to

actively feed the information loop,keeping up the Interest

Commodore eight-bit computers are

only dead when we, the Commodore

owners, allow it to be so. There is so

much that we haven't done with them

yet, so many avenues left to explore.

We may have been booted out of

the mainstream, but we've just

enteredJhe Underground. Q

Letters to the Editor

Since we are a brand nev magazine,

we have not received any letters as of

yet We have, however, been receiving

some general questions through the

networks. This month I win answer

some of these questions.

Does the Underground offer a

companion disk?

No, we don't offer a companion disk

at the present time, and it is most

certain that we will not in the future

(at least not on a monthly basis). We

do offer all programs mentioned fa the

magazine as "free," provided that you,

the reader, send us a 1541 or 1581 disk

(in a disk mailer), complete with return

postage. We, in turn, copy the

programs onto your disk, and return it

to you (in the mailer you sent us).

Please specify Issue number or specific

programs when sending a disk.

What will be the length of

each issue?

Each issue will vary according to

available content, but will never drop

below 28 pages (four of which are

cover pages, so it's more like 24 if

you want to get picky).

What topics would you like

writers for?

Well, this could cover any topicabout Commodore eight-bit use. So far

we do not have anyone writing about

Commodore 128 programming, or Geos,

Hack 1994

or Telecommunications, all of which

could be addressed in a monthly column.

We are also soliciting Commodore

users in other countries (see the

InterGround) to write a column, but so

far no luck. See the Writer's Guide at

the end of this issue for complete

details on writing for the Underground.

Are you going

users group list?

to print a

This I am not sure about. I am not

sure I have the space, however, if

there is an overwhelming response for

me to print a list (and users groups

send me information), 111 do it. Q

Did you ever wonder if Commodore

engineers had girls on the brain when

the Commodore 128D was created? I

mean, the original 128 had no nickname

until it's cousin, the 128D emerged.

From then on the former was known as

a "flat" 128, with its "amrtT video chip

of only 16k. The newer, more improved

model, with its built in drive, detachedkeyboard, and 'large" amount of 64k

video ram, was given the distiction of

being a 128 TX" HmmmnL. -Ed

feo*n4*ce iyby Karen Allison

We've all heard about Computer

Dating, but the 1990*3 revolutionized an

old ball game into a brand new arena.

Now we 'computer date* by modem,

doing it ourselves, somewhat in the

old-fashioned way.

I speak from experience. My last

two great romances were through my

phone lines and my Commodore

Computer. I was a member of Qlink

when I met a man in RabbitJack's

Casino, and we started playing bingo

together a lot As

we talked (or typed

divorce were not incompatibility as

most folks would see it Just leave it

to say that one preference of his was

non-negotiable for me. I don't chalk it

up to a bad experience, far from it! I

will always love that man and care for

him deeply, and having known more

about him by computer before we ever

met, was a great tension reliever.

My latest experience with computer

dating has not turned out as well I met

someone via GEnie around the first

[part of 1993, and

[as it was a lowas the case was), There IS Still no better Way time in my life (my

£u™MlLWJ Jo meet other people than ^ - 'held many of the through an Online Service communicatingsame interests. It like Qlink, GEnie, Delphi, and a anymore), we gotdidn't hurt that we u* f +h Thr™ inh » t° be friends This

Through adidn't hurt that we

both lived in

to be friends. This

new man was alsouvui iitvw in , , ., - new man was also

Texas, although we modem and a monitor, all in a bad marriageth ' d td twere still a state

apart. After

hundreds of hours

you see is the person's and^ wanted

personality, not their

to

and with physical trappings.online,

voice

communication, we

finally met in person. Was it love at

first sight? Who can say, but we did

click right away and had a marvelousweekend with each other. It was

heartbreaking to put him back on a

plane heading north, while I had to stay

in the south. Several months later, he

proposed over the phone, and we were

married shortly thereafter.

As it came to pass, our divorce was

final in August '93, but the reasons for

didn't have a lot in

common, except

that I wanted

someone to help me out financially, and

he wanted to get out of the situation he

was in. It was more of a roommate

coalition, than anything else.

My husband moved out in May '93,

and my roommate moved in the first

week of August. We got along

fantastically well for a few weeks,until he started treating me like a blond

bimbo (I have brunette hair with a 140+

IQ). Being a true Redneck, I didn't

appreciate being treated like I had

never done anything for myself before.

Trying to explain to him that justbecause I vas physically disabled, didn't

mean I vas mentally disabled as veil,

was unsuccessful

It became frightening when this

person started talking of

homicide/suicide. I have a 17 year olddaughter from my first marriage, and I

could no longer allow this situation tocontinue. I took drastic measures while

he was at work, and changed the locks

on the doors. During the next few

days, I moved all his stuff out to the

garage, and made sure the police were

standing by while he picked up his

things. He owes a lot of money to me

for the bills he was supposed to pay,

but I am chalking this one up to

experience, and going to try and get byas best I can on my own again.

So what does all this say for the

computer dating experience? GO FOR

IT! There is still no better way to

meet other people than through an

online service like QM, GEnie, Delphi,

and a host of others. Talking live' to

someone without a face helps to quell

any prejudices you may have about

meeting that person.

How many times have you met

someone in a bar, church picnic,

whatever, and been turned off by their

appearance? Maybe their nose was a

little too big or they had a zit, or their

weight was a little more than you think

it should have been, etc. Through a

modem and monitor, all you see Is the

person's personality, not their physical

trappings. You get to know the person

inside first, and many love matches

have resulted. I know several other

couples who have met online and are

still very happily together. Others, like

mine, didn't work out so well, but we

aren't giving up!

There are some drawbacks to dating

through an online service. It can beexpensive! And, you are never sure If

the person that you are conversing

with is really telling you the truth

about themselves. This happened to me

on my last experience. You just can't

tell that someone is psychotic when you

type or talk to them. Then again, many

people can't1 tell that until you actually

start living with someone either. Even

people who date the 'real* way on a

regular basis, still make bad mate

choices.

It's a crap-shoot, but at least you

are 'safe' when dating on your

computer. It most surely is the safest

sex you can conduct! And cheaper than

dinner and drinks at a local nightclub,

worrying about If the person you are

with is going to abduct you to some

secluded spot and murder you.

I will continue to converse with

people through my computer until I can't

afford it any longer. As my computer

is my only entertainment, I win find thefunds somewhere. I have met so many

wonderful people an across the

country, that to let a few bad apples

spoil my experiences would be a

tragedy. Although I am not looking for

love and romance, you just cannot

predict when it will find you.

If you aren't on an online service, I

suggest you join one! I never would

have found so many great Commodore

people without having been on QM,and now GEnie. Can Delphi be far

behind for me? I think not. Hugs to am

Internet addresses:

Ylr.Roseegenie.geis.comKaren.All1son*F14H388.Z1.Fidonetorg Q

REVIEW

C126by Scott Eggleston

As Commodore users, we are

always thirsting for new avenues of

information and software. We scour

the areas in which we live for

second-hand programs and hardware,

and spend endless hours sifting through

online networks and local bulletin

boards. Occasionally we find a good

deal, or a useful program.

Well, how would you feel if you

found the mother lode of

Commodoredom? The C128 Software

Exchange may not imm^—1

onto them. You provide the postage, heprovides the programs.

Too good to be true? Well, I

decided to test his good will I bought a

box of normal density 3.5" disks and

sent it to him, along with a money

order for six dollars (per his request)

to cover return postage. I really had

no programs to give him so I sent them

blank. The cost to ship the box to

Texas was about $2.13 from California.

About a week later, I received my

disks back, almost

completely filledbe the ultimate gift , ,to commodore J recommend engaging nusers, but it sure the 028 Software Exchange, programs. And

comes dose ^ a worthwhile venture. If Jy *»* J*Late last year, I DDr, disks were three

was reading YOU Tun yOUT Own BBS or One dollarmessages on my users group, this IS a great bills—the guy had

local BBS, and chance to expand vour 9iven «* *# •came across some

yourW8S ecstatic, of

echo mail from a library and Share it With course, and thrilledguy named Ernest others.Tipton, a sysop of Mlillili

his own BBS in Kempner, Texas.

Ernest proposed a wonderful idea to all

who read his message. He talked about

the C128 Software Exchange, which

would take place between him and

anyone who sent him 1581 or 1571 (but

no 1541) disks. Here's how it was to

work: you send him some disks (he

said about ten 1581s ought to do it, the

equivalent of one box) with whatever

C128 public domain programs you may

have on them. He would then copy

what programs were on the disks, and

then copy his entire C128 PD library

that Ernest had

come through for

me.

Now comes the true test of this

whole package—is the PD software any

good? Well, that can be strictly a

matter of taste. Public Domain stuff

can sometimes be really good, and

sometimes o complete waste. Some of

us may have no use whatsoever for

some programs, while others may seem

invaluable. And so it goes.

The ten disks that I sent came beck

under the following disk names:

database, games, telecommunications,

disk utilities, music/graphics, text

utilities, programming, and extra stuff.

ATI of the files were archived to

maximize disk space, and easilydissolved on their own (.SFX), or with

a utility program such as Omega-Q

(.ARC), also provided on one of the

disks.

The only problem that really arises

Is finding a large enough area to dumpfiles Into. I emptied out a 1581

partition on my RamLink, but that soon

fffled up. Dumping ten 1581 disks Into

umpteen million 1541s Is not my Idea of

a good time, so I have only been

dissolving them when I feel the need

for a program, or have some spare

time. What would be Ideal for this

kind of operation is a huge native

partition on a hard drive (which I don't

have). Then you could dump at will,

and then review the results.

Despite this small drawback, this isa definite value. Ernest seems to be

doing this for no other reason than to

perpetuate the existence of his

computer—the ssme thing we all want

So I recommend engaging in the C128

Software Exchange, it's a worthwhile

venture. If you run your own BBS or

users group, this is a great chance to

expand your library and share it withothers.

To get an idea of what is contained

In the Exchange here Is a list of all the

programs I received. Keep in mind that

this list is out of date, as Ernest hassaid he will constantly update the listwith programs that are sent to him by

other users. The names appear as they

do on the disks, minus the archive type.

Database** Apiedger.128,

BudgetButler3.0, Cat128, Cat128v2.4,

Cat80v3.01, Checkiedger, Checkbkkeep,

Checkexpress.v5, Checkregister3.0,

Datafile4.8, Dfile128vt2,DirJ)8tebese.3.7, D1sk.Org.Sys,

HrevjewI

Diskat.v3.1, Diskfile5.0, Diakfiler.v4,2,

Disklibrary.10, Dts.128, 6ocat128,

Gradebook.128, Hamlog128vl11, Has10,

Hashbase.128, Infoflow, Jetter+,

Mall/Phone, Mbudget.1990, Movieiog,

Musiclibrary.v3, 0ffbase128,

Ph1lemasterl8, Quikiist.128,

RoH-o-Dex128, Sbase Yideo,

SuperADJXyII, Track.Bet.Calc,

Ubase2.0, Ultracat.v2, Yideo8O.v4/Videolog.v3.1

Database^ Addressbook, Baseball,

Checkbook/80, Database128,

Databaseffle, JJsmailibis, TaxJtecords,

Addressbook 128, Checkbook/80,

Datdbase128basic, Database File

Disk Utility** Astromenu3.1, Auto

Load-Return, Autoboot, Autobooimgr,

Autobootmake, Autobt128-64, Automenu,

BamJiapper41/71, Bdos, Bootmaker,

Commnd.Com, Compress-dir,

Copy128v3.6a, CopyaH128,

CP/MJrensla, CPM271168,

Customlabel3, Diag.1581, Dirlditor,

DirJiler81, Dir.Sleeve, DislcCommand,

DiskJMr71, DisWdit40, Disk.Util71,

D1sk.Ut11s80, D1skdoctor128.v2,D1skgoody5, DisklabeH28, DiskiabeiZO,

D1sknoser128, Diskprinter, Diskwhfe,

Displafile, Dos.SheH5.1, Doswedge,

Doublesider, Drive.Align.40, Dual71copy,ExpansionJtem, Explored), Fflecopy,

F11emax128, F11etype.chg, Fix1581dir,

Format Mfm, Gulpcopy71, Guru80,

Labelmake128, Library1.3, Maxfiles.81,

Megagulp128, Menu, Menu/1571/128/80,Menu40&80, Menu4080v2, Minidos128,Msdosformat, Msdostransfr, Nerdcopy,

NewJMrectry, Nosecopy, Notator.128,

Omegabyte.80, Omegaquick,

Probe8O.15xx, Quick Scratch128,

Ramdiskli, Ramdos plus, Ramdos4.3,

Read Mfm disk, RelFile, Relocate,

Rename1581, REUxferxpm, Run64,Run64Jrom128, Ryan-Dos3.O,

SectorSurgeontO, Seq.Cheihr,

1 REVIEW 1

Servent4.82a,

Servant4.82c,

Side(format),

Sort1581.Dir,

Supersveep,

Servant4.82b/

Servant4,82d,

Single71bkup,

Superboot128,

Tracksectr80,

Turbosave128, Uni-Copy, Unicopy128,

Utility158U0, Utility1581,

Utility1581v1.2, Utility1581v15,

Yerify2di3k, YirtualDir, XM2.1,

Xlink4Ocol, Zip21zh

Games*1: Abc123, Airport4O,

Aldehedron, Alienattack, Arena,

Arena.Death, Astra.v3, Bigieague.128,

Brain.Qui2, Bugervhop.128, Ca3ino.128,

Castlequest, Catacombs3,

Cavern.Riches, Chess128.40,

Chess128/40, Clubhouse, CollosalCave,

Country.Golf, Deepsix128,

Dice-Poker4O, Dragon.128,

Earth.Fighter.4O, Electro128, Empire.40,

Fillor.Bust, Galactic128.v7,

GreatPyramid, Guessword, HexAVars,

Homeworkhunt, Invader128,

LabeHa.Lucie, Lexitron, Lunariander,

Mah-Jongg.v2.O, Mastermind, Miamllce,

Moon Rescue, Nebergall, Nightmare128,

Obstacle, Participle, Pigsforbucks,

Planetduel, Presidents, Pro-Football,

Psionics, Qui2.Meker, Reverse,

Riskey.Warfare, Road.Piz2a, Saucers,

Sequence128, Solitare.128, Space Dust,

Spacedog, Starfleet80, Startrek.v2.0c,

Startrek80, Starvars, Stranded,

Svitchbox, Tetris4O, Tetris8Ocol,

Tetris80ev, Tictactoe, Tictactoe3d,

Tricky-Tic, Trivia.Game, Triviamaster,

Trucker128, Ultimatrisk, Unscramble,Usa.Map.Qui2, Wargames,

WheelFortune, WheelFortune87,

Wild/Eights, WordJumble.40,

Wordorama, Yaht2ee128, Zimba2ibingo

Games*2/Extra: Landslide80,

Princesquest, Bigben-Clock, Calculator,

Calendarjog, Cassetteibl, Circuitformu,

Colorte3t8O, Fuelgauge128, Hurricane,Keybrd.Ovrly, Labels128, Loananalys,

6

Morse.Code.v2, Orbitcalc, Patterns128,

Resfetorcaic, Resistorval, Speakerdsign,

TvAlignment, Typingtutor, VOCUpgrade,

Weatherforca, Omega-Q, Oimga-Q

ILDocs

Music/Graphics #t 3-Prong Thing,

AmerPatrol, Animal Show, Artist128,

Automaton, Bach is Back, Bargraph.80,

Basic8j)ic3, Basic8demo, Bible, Blast

Off, Brushes128, Cad3d, Chart.v2,

Composer128, Cpaint5.0, Create4.0,

Csiideshov, Ddmegacolor,

Deluxfonteditti, Demomaker128,

Digi-Sound, Disso1ve128, Doodle Loader,

Doodle Yiever, DoodleDrav,

DrawPaint, Draw128, Ear.Trainer,

Flickermac, Flickermac3, Fontier128,

Fontshop.80, Fractals128, Funky Box,

Gas128v4, GDS.Gifviewer, Gfxwhi25,

Graph2d/3d, Graphmagic, Grext128,

Guftar/Guide.128, Halo, Hireslditor,

Hyprapaint40, Irish Jig, Isometric,

Joystkdrav, Kaleidoscope,

Laceview8v0.4, Logo128v4.O,

Mac.Yiew80, Macview64k, Maneateri,

Ma2e, MciMaker128.6.0, Mickey Mouse,

Mousekataar, Movie.Shov,

Movie/Maker, Moviemaker2,

Mo2art/Magic, Musicmanv8, Painter128,

Param.Graph, Pcwars2, Plot128-8O,

PrestoJiusic, Prntshoplabl, Seascene,

Sidmaniac+3.3, Sidmaster128,

Sidplayt5, Sidplayer128, Slinky, Snake

Charmer, Sounddemo128, SpriteJEditr,

Spriteseer2, Starwarmusic, Ultradraw,

UltrahiresPrntr, Ultrahiresti, Vertical

Printer, Windy2, Xmas.Card, Xwing/PicProgramming^i: Amiga-BasicB,

Assemb1er.v2, Assembly&edit3.5,

Basic7.1, Basix128, C128iomap,

C128tokens, C64/C128J?ef, Code.128,

Compres128, Cross-Ref128,

Cs-DosAssist1, Cs-DosJ)ocl5,

Cs-Dos1.5, Diamondbasicedit,

Disas3emble.v1, Di3a3sembler6.4,Do-lt-AH128, Escapin128, E2keys.1.0,

Fancy Scrclears# Functionli,

Grep£s-Dos, Hugo.128, Interputer,

Keypad128-64# LheraCa-Dos,

Merge/128, Metebesic128, Mfpp2.1, Ml

Finder, MMo-Dete, M11281oad, Mlx128,

Mon£s-Dos, Overlay.Edit, Pooter

Peeker, PrgAid, PrgaheUbes,

Ramm.Contro1.v4, Rem Highlighter,

Rev.A$3embly128, ScreeaSave, Sda128,

Sort128, Squ3q.C3-Do3, Sy3Pok128,

Twin8O.Reloc, Uncr233csdoa,

YerJinder, YDCMemory

Telecommunication3#1:

Arbterm.128, Cgterm128v7.5,

Commterm128.87, Commmunicator.128,

CP/MJerm, Creb'aterm.128, De3200-1,

Des200-2, De3200-3, De3200-4,

Ebb3term128.4.5, Hayesterm225,

Kermit22, Multiterm128.3.7,

NeztermiO, Novaterm128.v2,

Paceterrav3, Pro128term16.1,

Prototerm2.O, Q-Term.v3.0.80,

Quasimodem, Qvkrrv20,

Reflexterm.v3, S8vageterm128,

Ultraterm128.v2, Wizardtermt5

Telecommunications^:

Autodial167O, Boomerang128term,

DawnatarJermtO, De3note3, De3term

Pate, Ebb3i28v4.5, Envoyterm2.3,

Exchangebb33.2, Jbb3/v2.5, Keepbbs128,

La3erbb32.0, MegavaraJerm,

Multiterm128.v4, Nyceterm3.0,

Phoenixterm8.7, Uparrow.Term,

Zbb3i28v2.3

Text Utiiitie3*1: 2colPrntr12,Archetype128, Autotype, Bidi128,

Ea3y.Letter128, Easyeditor, FileiditW,

Filereadprin, Goofed, Indexer,

Lettrvrit3.1, Line.Count, LfetJormatr,

Li3tmaker, Memo, Notep8dl3,Outlineidit, OutiineXaker, Pageback128,

PenpaH28, Peraonldiary, Plotter128,

Quick Read 128, Reed.Write, Seq Lister,

Seqfdit6, Seq.Editor, SeqJ?ead,

Shoppingiist, Sprint.v2, Sprtit128,

TextJ?eader, Typeright2, Typi3t128,

I REVIEW I

Yelveeta, Vertical Printer, Word

Count128, Wor4ro.v5, Wordprocessr,

ZedO75

To participate in the C128 Software

Exchange, direct all inquiries to:

Ernest Tipton

Route *1, Box 2257

Kempner, TX 76539

or

Aladdin's Lamp BBS

(817) 547-6865

Handle: the Genie

So, Ernest (or anyone else out

there), when do we see a C64

Software Exchange? □

Any programs in the Underground

catch your fancy? No access to

the networks? Wen, step right up

and cash in on "free" UnderWare!

Just send us a blank 1541 or 1581

disk In a disk mailer, indicating

the issue number you would

like—don't forget to include

return postage! The Underground

will, in turn, put all featured

public domain, shareware, and

listed programs (reviewed items

not eligible) on your disk, promptly

returning it to you in the mailer

you provided! What a deal! Send

your disk to:

UnderWare Request

4574 Via Santa Maria

Santa Maria, CA 93455

4by Kenneth Peindl

Greetings and welcome to Bits end

Bytes, a brief look at some of the

latest in news and information as read

from the various CBM Fidonet echos

and bulletin boards of GEnie's

Commodore Flagship, The CBM echos

and the Flagship's BBS are a never

ending list of messages that provide a

wealth of information from around the

world. One has only to experience this

electronic highway to feel the warmth

of belonging to a family of loyal

devoted Commodore users. It is the

intention of this column to bring to you,

the user, some of the more interesting

bits of news and information so as to

assist you in getting the most out of

your Commodore systems.

I feel that with this being the

maiden voyage of the Underground, that

it would be only appropriate to cover

some of the new and upcoming

publications for the Commodore 8 bit

systems. Unlike the competitive days of

the 80's, Commodore publications of

today tend to be more supportive of

each other. Gone are those major

publishers who provided us with such

magazine's as RUN, AHOY, and INFO to

name a few; and although not gone,

Computers Gazette has seen it's last

printed page. Now, I don't blame them

for dropping out of the 8 bit arena for

they too are in the business to make a

profit and with most of the major

advertisers being that of MS-DOS, it's

inevitable that change takes place. As

for Compute!, I feel fortunate that they

are still supporting the Commodore 8

bit system with the continuing

JO

production of the Gazette disk, and it's

success will depend on us, the users,

supporting it

Let us begin with the magazine in

hand. It is the vision of Scott Eggleston

coming to reality, to provide a quality

publication for the Commodore user.

Scott, like so many others, has also

been a victim of failed publications

who went out of business and left him

high and dry. Scott knows that for his

publication to be successful he must

make devotion his primary goal. He

wants the Underground to be a

magazine that you can come to depend

on for the latest news and information

For only $11, a one year subscription to

the Underground is a investment for

which you will get your money's worth.

If you're not yet ready to commit, then

a trial issue can be purchased for only

$2.

Moving along, there comes a posting

I read on GEnie for a publication called

Random Magazine which is being billed

as the successor to RUN.' Now I don'tknow how such a magazine could have

gone unnoticed, but its said to have

over fifty pages of Commodore

information and looks similar to that of

RUN. A subscription to Random

Magazine starts at $23.70 for one yearand if ordered with the monthly disk it

would then be $35.70.

Another publication that has

emerged is dieHard magazine out of

Boise, Idaho. DieHard is not new to the

8 bit scene, and has been around for

the past few years. Only recently has itcome into the spotlight, with the death

of RUN, and Gazette now on disk. A

quality publication that Is devoted to

the Commodore 8 bit system, dieHard

is reasonably priced at only $16.97 for

a one year subscription of ten issues,

and a trial issue is only $2.95.

Yet another long time publication

who has increased it's coverage to now

include the C64 is Twin Cities 128/64.

Once devoted only to the 128, Twin

Cities has answered the call of 64

users to expand it's publication to

include them. Twin Cities owner and

chief editor, John Brown, has recently

posted new subscription rates that now

include the monthly disk, which used to

be a seperate purchase. The price for

twelve issues is only $48.00 which is

not a bad buy when you consider the

Gazette's disk is going for $49.95

without a magazine.

Now I know that you must be saying

to yourself "WOW, this is greet!" Wait,

there is still more. Creative Micro

Designs, Inc. has decided to get in on

the act and produce a magazine of their

own for 8 bit users. CMD has said that

a publication is forthcoming and,

although still in the planning stage as

of this writing, it looks to be

somewhat of a major production

(Rumor has it being called Commodore

World, with eight issues per year, at

$29.95). CMD has remained a leader in

providing some of the best support for

Commodore users and is one of the

only companies left still designing and

producing some of the best upgrades

for the 64 and 128 computers. I am

looking forward to the release of the

CMD publication and wish them nothing

but the best for 8 successful run.

So with all this going for the 64and 128 user It's no wonder that this

Commodore legend is still defying the

odds. Mark Twain once said "Rumors

of my death have been overly

exaggerated" which brings to mind

something Jack Yanderwhite, publisher

of CEE-64 Alive, posted on the 64/128

echo. Responding to various messages,

Jack made mention that Commodore has

entered into a agreement to distribute

the 64 once again in the USA. I guess

Commodore has finally given up on

killing off the 8 bit computer and

instead try making some money to help

support its failing line of Axxgx's.

Who knows, maybe they will produce a

US version of the C65, which caused a

tremendous wave of excitement

throughout the country. It put such a

strain on the Grape Vine Group that

they are still recovering from orders

as far back as October of '93.

We only touched on a some of the

hotter topics that are present every

day on the CBM echos and bulletin

boards of GEnie. One of the greatest

things about computing is this ability to

communicate with those that share a

common interest. Your local BBS is

your window to the world of

Commodore and only with your

continuing support does the 64 and 128

computers keep on going strong. Join

me next month for another packed

filled column of news and information

from the scrolls of the CBM Fidonet

echos, and the GEnie Commodore

Flagship. Support your local BBS and

continue supporting a system that has

withstood the change of time. Bye!

Random Magazine

7161 N. Maine

Clovfe, CA. 93611-8200

dieHard

P.O. Box 392

Boise, ID. 83701-0392

w

Twin Cities 128/64

c/o Parsec Inc.

P.O. Box 111

Salem, MA., 01970-0111.

Commodore World

Creative Micro Designs, Inc.

P.O. Box 646

East Longmeadov, Mass.

01028

orders: (800) 638-3263

info: (413) 525-0023

Editor's Note: Since many

Commodore publications are produced

independently, there has become a risk

factor to subscribing. Some of these

people will take your money, produce a

few issues, and skip town. This was

the case with me and geoYISION

International CMD and dieHard have

good reputations of delivering what

they have promised, but others are

more inconsistent. John Brown still

owes me five issues of a subcription

of TC 128/64 that I haven't seen since

August of last year (not to mention a

$50 refund for the failed Zip Chip

project), 8nd I have yet to hear of

RANDOM producing an issue (please

write to us if this isn't true). I'm not

knocking other magazines, just advising

that you always check out the place

you're about to send your money to.

Getting a trial issue is always a good

idea, but doesn't guarantee that

whoever owns the magazine won't run

off with your money. It 1s easy to get

discouraged when dealing with these

kind of circumstances, but I know that

there are many people out there who

are honest, and want to produce quality

stuff for our computers. One of the

reasons the Underground exists is to

help counteract negative experiences,

and keep our Commodores alive. Q

tz

by Scott Eggleston

As mentioned. Computers Gazette is

no longer going to be a printed

magazine, but a disk-based one. In

fact, until March 15 of this year, the

Gazette Disk will be offered for

$29.95, which covers an entire year's

subscription. You've got to act fast,

though, because after the fifteenth, the

price shoots up to $49.95. Call (800)

727-6937 for more information, or to

place an order.

Another long-time staple in the

Commodore arena has been

LOADSTAR, a disk-based publication

well known to many users. Each

monthly issue contains original

programs as well as features, and

comes on one 3.5" or two 5.25" disks.

LOADSTAR is currently offering a trial

issue at no cost! If you like it, you pay

$29.95 for a trial 3-month

subscription, which also comes with 8

free bonus disk. See the ad in this

issue for more details.

A newer entry into the software

based magazine (or "diskzine," as its

creator likes to call it) market is the

Commodore Online Information

Newsletter, or COIN. This nifty item

is very similar to a fancy demo

program. "Pages" are "turned" via the

joystick while a snazzy soundtrack

plays in the background, and colorful

graphics fin the screen. Like many

magazines, there are features,

interviews and reference material

Several public domain programs are

also included. COIN can be found on the

major networks, or could be on your

local BBS. The only cost to you is the

price of downloading. Q

Tfe1 STICKS AND STONES I

by Karen Allison

This article win give you

instructions on how to build a

null-modem connection, so that you can

connect two computers, by modem,

WITHOUT phone lines!

To build the NOT-Modem, you need

four simple parts, plus the basic tools

needed in making electrical connections.

2 Surface mounted modular phone

jacks (Radio Shack part * 279-355)

1 Snap connector for 9-volt battery

(Radio Shack ♦ 23-583)

19-volt battery with snap terminals

If you are familiar with telephone

wiring, just connect the two jacks

together green to green, tie off the

yellow and black, and connect the

battery between the two red terminals.

If not familiar with the above,

follow the steps below:

I Look closely at your modular

jacks. Some types have screw

terminals, while others have wires

with spade lugs or similar terminations.

Whichever type youVe got, it will have

four colored wires or terminals—red,

green, yellow, and black.

2. The yellow and black wires are

not used in this application. Depending

on the configuration of your jacks, they

should be taped, cut off, ignored, or

otherwise taken out of the picture.

This will leave you with four wires in

all - two green and two red.

3. Connect the two green wires

together. Tape it to avoid shorting, if

necessary.

4. Connect the two red wires

through the 9-volt battery. To do this,

attach one wire from the battery

connector to the red wire on one

modular jack; attach the other battery

wire to the red wire on the other jack.

5. When an wiring is done, examine

your jacks to insure that you have:

Two black wires disabled, two yellow

wires disabled, two green wires

connected together, and two red

wires, each attached to a battery wire.

If everything is in order, your wiring is

complete.

6. Connect a 9-volt battery to the

snap terminals. You don't need an

on/off switch, since there's no load on

the battery unless something is plugged

into both jacks.

7. Complete the job by wrapping

everything up neatly. Test the setup

with two phones, one plugged into each

jack. You should be able to talk

between them. If you can not talk or

hear between the phones, then recheck

your wiring.

8. Set one computer to originate,

and the other to Answer, using your

terminal software. With today's

software, you can 'dial' a dummy

number, then when the originating

computer is waiting for a 'connect1, set

the other Answer mode computer

software to answer the 'caff. This

should have you an set to talk to each

other by modem without phone lines.

Some terms may require a 'Carrier

Detect', which can often be turned on

through the software. Check your

particular program till you get it to

work. Q

n

GEQZQNEl

lotby Scott Eggleston

Nate Fiedler has come out with a

sequel to his popular geoPaint

replacement, geoCanvas, entitled

geoCanvas 3.0. It allows the adding

and deleting of tools at will, a speedy

preview option, multiple windows, and

many of the same features that made

the original a boon to Geos users.

There is also a 128 version, which

supports color in 80 column

mode—even without 64kVDC! Nate sent

me the demo which looks promising,

although too many of the features were

disabled to make an adequate judgement

about what the actual program will do.

Both versions of geoCanvas sell for

$28 each ($43 for both), and the demo

sells for $3 (which basically covers

shipping). Nate says he will offer an

upgrade to geoCanvas 1.2 owners who

send him the old disk along with $13.

He also offers a Geos utility disk for

$13. Direct all inquiries to: Nate

Fiedler, 5711 Mt. Pleasant Road,

Bernville, PA 19506-9313

CMD has developed a new product

that will prove very interesting to

many Commodore users. Due to the

shortage of computer mice for the

Commodore, CMD has once again taken

matters into their own hands! The CMD

mouse is of the three button variety,

completely 1351 compatible, and retails

for $49.95. They also have a trackball

version, which goes for $69.95. These

guys are amazing! For more

information contact Creative Micro

Designs, P.O. Box 646, East

Longmeadov, MA 01028 - or call:

(413) 525-0023 Q

For 16K: Mono works, but could use Colorond 176 Lines. Con't use 208 Lines.

For (4K: Color ond 2M lines is best, butuou con use omj combinotion.

□ Mono Hi Color

176 Lines 208 Lines

You hove 64K of video memory. Q[( |

by Scott Eggleston

1581 Device * Changer

Remember when you first bought

your 1581 disk drive? At lest, you said,

a drive with speed and space to boot!

Unfortunately, for your new drive to

co-exist vith your 1541, it could never

be device 8, which a lot software out

there looks for. The only answer was

to constantly flip dip switches or have

one drive on and the other off.

It made you wish your 1581 had one

of those nifty SWAP buttons found on

CMD hardware, right? Well, with Jim

Collette's 1581 Device # Changer, you

can have the next best thing.

Upon running this tiny program

(from the 64 or 128) a brief message

displays itself on your screen. It says:

"This program creates an autostart file

called 'COPYRIGHT CBM 86' that, when

the 1581 is turned on or reset, will

auto-execute, and change the 1581's

device number. To restore it to the

dip-switch setting, you must reset the

1581 without a disk containing the

COPYRIGHT CBM 86 file inserted."

The program then 8sks you for the

current device number, and then what

you want the number to be upon

power-up (most of us will choose 8,

but you don't have to).

So put that unprotected software on

a 3.5" disk, leave your 1541 alone, and

take advantage of your newfound speed

and storage capacity. Your 1581 can be

so much more than a data drive, and

you can now boot directly from it—and

isn't that the reason you bought the

darn thing in the first place? Thanks

Jim!

Alien Attack

Sometimes we don't want to use our

computers for practical purposes.

Sometimes we just want blow the

universe to smithereens. Terry Roper's

Alien Attack (for the 128 in 40 column

mode) is a game which fits perfectly

into this mold.

Your colorfully rendered ship flies

on its merry way from the left side of

the galaxy to the right. In the

background, a colorful, twinkling

starscape (punctuated by lo-res

starships, planets and space stations)

smoothly scrolls by. In the foreground

there are numerous flying saucers

(which uncannily resemble flying fire

hydrants) just waiting to be blasted.

Finally, a status bar at the bottom

displays the high score, your score, and

your remaining ships.

Control of your ship is rendered by

a joystick in port two. You can move

in four directions, but always travel in

a left-to-right fashion. Upon pressing

the fire button, a volley of three

rockets rapidly shoot from your

fighter Hold the fire button down, and

rapid rocket launching ensues.

At first many of the ships simply

sit in space, while the rest come at you

at varying speeds from the right side

of the screen. As time passes,

however, no ships sit still and theybegin to move faster as well as firing

upon you. Be careful if you pass an

alien ship without destroying it, as it

will quickly attempt to shoot you in the

back!

With smooth sprite movement.

colorful backgrounds, and good sound

effects, Alien Attack is simple, fast

and fun. So take your shoes off, sit

back, and enjoy target practice!

DirMaster

Over the past couple of years we

have seen many replacements for the

Geos deskTop. While these fine

programs have many important and

useful features, they all seem to have

one shortcoming: effective file

management.

Enter Kent L. Smotherman. He

apparently felt the same way, and

developed an excellent file management

system for Geos which he calls

DirMaster. It runs on both the 64 and

128 (in 40 columns).

Upon double-clicking this application,

we are presented with a command bar

and a blank screen. Click on "disk" or"drive" and the screen fills with the

appropriate listing of files. The

"display" command determines if the

files are displayed just as filenames,

or complimented by the file's type anddate. Two sets of clickable arrows let

you scroll through the list one file or

page at a time.

Other commands available are

"sort," which allows alphabetic (both

A-Z and Z-A) sorting as well as sorting

by date. "Global" allows toggling,

deselection, and selection of all files.

"Compact" removes all unused or

deleted file entries, which show up in

the display as blank lines. And, of

course, there is the self-explanatory

"save" and "quit"

Directly next to the list of files lie

arrows which point to the spaces in

between the filenames listed. Suppose

you want to move a group of files to a

specific place in your file list. No

longer do you have to clear out files

one at a time to make room for the

new ones. Simply highlight the files on

DirMaster's list, move your pointer to

the arrow where you want the files to

be, click, and presto) File

rearrangement.

DirMaster is compatible with all

disk drives and ram devices (it works

great with RamLink!), and is a useful

addition to any geoUser's setup. Q

qeos j disk j drive j sort j global} compact

RAM_

GEOPUBLISH

128 DESKTOP

128__DUALTOP

6EOPAINT

4 6E0WRITE 128

Under coverPhoto Scrap

Undercover

names only

+types

+types+dates

3-28-89

"Appl Data 2-7-94System 2-18-94

Appl Data 2-1-94

■

DDJ

:< QEQPA1NT U

- UQ labels

;[ Point-Scrap U2.1■ c64ml.apps

- Graphic Storm

= [ UG.March94.a

Appl

Appl

Appl

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maData

Data

Data

8-28-9)1-22-94

1-5-98

2-18-94

9-4-88

2-19-94

IDflffKJ(n0GQff by Kent L. Smotherman, Kent LS on Q-Linkl

IC64 ADVANCED BASIC I

by Ross Capclevffle

The dynamic keyboard technique

always puzzled me. It seemed so

powerful, and something that powerful

must require pretty complicated

programming. I always had things I

could use this for, but I never did

understand it - until I tried it

First of an, what do we mean by

the Dynamic Keyboard Technique',

anyway? This means that the computer

will enter BASIC statements for us. We

can enter entire lines this way, and

alter the basic program while it is

running. We can also use one program

to write another program, and then

erase itself when it is finished. Sprite

and character data can be entered into

BASIC program memory, and the

original program erased. That is

precisely what we are going to do.

One day I was sick of writing my

sprites down on paper block for block,

and then figuring out all those blasted

binary numbers, translating them to

decimal, and finally putting them into

data statements. There must be an

easier way to do it. I quickly developed

an algorithm to code in a sprite from

screen memory, but I still would have

to PEEK the sprite data locations and

write data statements. In the early days

of this simple sprite editor, I would

clear the screen and then just print the

data to the screen The user would

have to enter the data himself. That

worked for awhile, but I wanted it to

be automatic, so I decided to tackle the

Dynamic Keyboard Technique.

In the program, I will not explain

the actual VIC registers or sprite

1**4*1994

creation in detail I will explain the

algorithm and the Dynamic Keyboard

Technique. Looking at the program, you

will see things enclosed in brackets.

Do not type these in, but rather what

they mean. Here is what they mean:

[WHITE] ctl-2, [*D] CSR-DOWN *of

times. [LI CSR-LEFT, [CLR]

Shift-dr/home, pME] home. The

cursor controls in this program are

essential to its working.

Now really look at the program.

Lines 11-13 never get executed in the

main program, they are part of the

program we will write with the data

statements that do the actual displaying

of the sprite. Notice that in Line 10, we

GOTO 20, thus bypassing this section of

code. Lines 20-30 set up the screen

and put the sprite on the lower right

side of the screen. Here we draw our

sprite with periods and asterisks. An

asterisk means a particular bit is ON.

When we are finished drawing, we

go to the bottom of the grid above the

'ready' prompt and type RUN 100. The

routine (100-130) gets the data from

screen memory, performs some

calculations, and puts the sprite data in

memory block 13 (bank 1). If you are not

satisfied, then fix it in screen memory

and RUN 100 again to see theImprovement. Keep this up until you get

it right!

After the sprite looks right, then

you can either save the data to a raw

sequential file (RUN 200 saves, while

RUN 300 loads), or have the program

write a program for you that will

display the sprite (RUN 400). I like the

17

1C64 ADVANCED BASIC 1

last option better.

Here is how the dynamic keyboard

technique works. Examine line 400

from the program (listing at the end of

article). This sets the variables SN

and NB, starting memory location and

number of bytes. Then we ask what line

number to start at, and it defaults to

60000.

In line 410, we print the first line

of data THREE rows down from the top

of the screen. This line is not entered

into memory, yet. We must do some

tricks.

Line 420 prints the last data

element. We use simple PEEKs from the

memory locations we originally stored

the data in.

In line 430, the variable 0 is

introduced. 0 is the total number of

DATA bytes that have been entered. If

this is greater or equal to the Number

of Bytes (NB) then we are finished

entering data and goto 460.

Line 440 is executed after we

enter the line of data. This IS needed to

restore the variables and continue

entering the data. This technique (when

used in 64 mode) destroys all variables

in memory as a new statement is being

entered into memory. Notice how we

increase the total number of data bytes

(0).After reading line 450 you may say,

wh8t?!!! I have never seen those

memory locations before, what do they

have to do with sprites?!!! Ok, calm

down, here 1s the explanation. Location

198 ($C6) is the total number of

characters in the keyboard buffer. The

keyboard buffer starts at location 631

($277) and ends at 640 ($280). We

will put RETURN characters (13, $0d)

into the keyboard buffer. When we

press return on a line, the line is

entered, and it will be the same this

16

way. We set the number of characters

In the keyboard buffer to one greater

than the number of statements we

want to enter (just to be safe), and

then put that many carriage return

characters in the buffer.

After this, we HOME the cursor

(notice the semicolon, the cursor is

directly at 1024 ($0400) in screen

memory). We must do this because

when we END the program, the

keyboard buffer will be emptied when

we end. For a quick example of this,

use this little program:

IB forx=ito56ee:next

Type in some characters while it is

running. The characters are displayed

after the program is finished running.

When we end, the 'ready' prompt will

be printed after a CR by the operating

system. Then the cursor will be placed

on the data line, and when the buffer

empties, a return will be executed,

thus entering the line. Then the control

line is executed by the second CR and

the program is reinstated to perform

more entering of data.

We want to erase this nasty long

program (line 460), though. This will

be easy. Start Line number off at 0

(470).

The program is in increments of 10,

EXCEPT for lines 11-13 which we want

to keep. We print the line number 3

rows below the top of the screen (line

480). IT the line Is greater than 440,

then we must go to line 510. We cannot

erase the part of the program that is

executing, using that part to erase

itself. Well, we cannot do it directly,

anyway.

Then, in line 490, we print a direct

command to continue executing the

program.

IC64 advanced"bas l

Lines 510-520 delete lines 440-520 chaining programs in 64 mode. I he

by printing them on the screen and found that this does not work IT

storing 10 return characters in the program mode, as variables are in thebuffer, homing the cursor, and ending way and the program you are chaining

the program. Thus, all that is left is with must be of lesser length than the

the sprite data and a small routine to one calling it To get around this,

read in that data and display the sprite, include a dynamic keyboard subroutine

The dynamic keyboard technique has to load the program from direct mode.

many other uses. To name one, look at You win have to include RUN, though! Q

Numbers in OfflQlflfflS are checksums to ensure proper entry (see page 26).

©Bff e pokeS328e,6:printMCMHITE]ia:d=peekC186>:

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11 forx=832to832+63:ready:pokex,y:

nextx

12 v=53248:pokev+21,4:pokeu+41, 1:

pokev+4,255:pokev+5,288:poke2842,13

13 rew continue with your program here

(DSff 28 v=53248:pokeu+21,4:pokeu+41,l:pokev+4,255:pokev+5,288:poke2842,13

38 forx=832to832+64:pokex,255:next:for

x=832+64to832step-l:pokex,8:next:end

188 clr-c=8:fory=8to28:forx=lto24:p=peek

<1823+x+48*y>:c=c-l:ifp=42thenq=q+2fc

(DOS 118 ifc=ethenc=8:g=g+i:poke83i+g^q:q=8

®fl® 128 nextx:nexty

fiflS 138 end

fl@© 288 inpuf'save filename";a$:open2,8,2,

Mspr. lf+a5+M, s, wM

fi@7 218 forx=832to832+64:print#2,peek(x)mext:close2:printMC2D]M; :end

A6@ 388 inputMload f ilenamevl;a$: open2, 8,2,"spr. "♦a$*11, s, rM: forx=832to832+64

©fl© 318 input«!2,y

A(D7 328 pokex, y: nextx: close2

flflS 338 end

fl@@ 488 sn=83i :nb=64: inputl§start line number11

;a:i fa-8thena=68888

SS@ 418 printCCLRlC2Dl:printadata;:forx=lto5:

printpeek<sn+x+o>iitLl,tl; :nextx

19

ADVANCED BASIC!

428 printpeekCsn+x+oVCLl"

438 i fo=>nbthenprinfdone!9t: goto468

448 print"aB"a+±": o=lio^8ti: sn*"sn": nb»"nbM :

9Oto418M

458 pokel98,3:poke631,13:poke632,13:poke

633,i3prinf•LHOME]1'; :end

468 inpuf'erase program and Just leave

data";a£: if lefX$ta$, i)Oythen588

fl00 488 printlitCLRli:2Dlit:printl:printill=ill*ie; :

ifI>448then518

fl@@ 498 print":goto488":goto458

flSS 588 printlltCLR3C2D3listtigoto458

®0S 518 printMCCLR][2D]>>:forx=448to528stepl8:

printx:next:forx=631to648:pokex , 13

©SO 528 nextx

ASS 538 pokei98,ieprinf•CHOME3"; end

Public Domain

Telecomm.

Features

BASIC

Geos

Single Issue Rates (U.S. Funds)

liwide U.SA $2.000ut3ide U.S.A $3.75

1 Year - 6 Issues (U.S. Funds)

Inside U.SA $1100

Outside U.S.A $21.50

Machine Code

Shareware

Reviews

News

Tips

send check or money order to:

the Underground

4574 Via Santa Maria

Santa Maria, CA 93455

USA

20

*»1C64 ML APPLICATIONS!

een?taby Ross CapdeviHe

Have you ever wished you could

just stash a screen away in memory so

you could recall It later? Well, maybe

not, but in animation programs which

use character graphics, this technique

can be very useful. In the current game

I am writing, Eye of Leveta II, I use this

exact machine language program to

save and restore my graphics screen

when the character block moves.

Without this simple 83 byte machine

language program, my 300K game

would be worthless.

In this program, we will save the

screen in BASIC ROM. How can we save

something to ROM? Well, we cannot,

there is actually RAM under the ROM.

For example, in basic, when we POKE

to a ROM location, it bleeds through to

the RAM. When we PEEK that same

location, the computer returns the

value in ROM. When we use the basicstatements POKE and PEEK, the

computer takes care of the memory

management for us, but when we use

machine language, we must do it

ourselves.

In Zero Page, memory location 1($01, R6510) determines where the

6510 processor addresses RAM and

ROM. Bit 0 controls the LORAM signal/which selects RAM or ROM at

40960($a000). If the bit is 1, then the

basic ROM will be present; if it is 0,

then the RAM will be mapped in Bit 1

controls the HIRAM signal, which

selects RAM or ROM at 57344($e000).

Bit 3 controls the character ROM and

input/output devices. Normally, the

value of this location is 7 ($07),withbits one, two, and three ON. The other

bits are for the cassette control, and

need not be worried about. When the

value of location 1 is 7, then ROM is

mapped in at 40960-49151

($aOOO-$bfff) and 57334-65535($eOOO-$ffff).

We will be storing the screen in

under the BASIC rom at addresses

40960-41984 ($aOOO-$a4ff). Thus,

we have to switch RAM in at this

location. AH the ROM can be mapped out

by writing a 0 ($00) to location 1 ($01).

Let us examine the code:

ii

JMP

ldy

Ida

sta

sei

ldx

Ida

sta

Ida

save

561

##see

$61

nee

$6486,

saeee.

$6566,

3

3

3

3

i

3

x ;

x ;

x ;

a springboard to save the save screen routine

get the contents of R6510 in .Y to be restored

write a 0 to location $01 which turns

off all ROM and allows us to access the RAM

I do this in case an IRQ could get in the way and

try to jump to the IRQ handler which is not

and would cause a lockup.

x will be the index

stash the screen from $0400-$07ff under

basic in RAM from $a000-$a3ff

1C64 ML APPLICATIONS 1

sta $al88,x

Ida 58686,x

sta 5a288,x

Ida $8788,x

sta

inx

bne 11

cli

sty $81

rts

save ldy

Ida

sta

sei

Idx

si Ida

sta

Ida

sta

Ida

sta

Ida

sta

inx

bne

cli

sty

rts

$81

#t$88

$81

**88

$a888,x

$8488,x

$a!88,x

$8588,x

$a288,x

$8668,x

$a388,x

$0788,x

si

$81

go back until finished!

now we are safe and clear—the IRQ

remember, we saved the status of this register

in .Y before tampered with. Now it's restored,

and we return to basic now that it has been

mapped, with our screen stored underneath!

this is basically the same as above

except we are loading the screen from

$8000 and putting it back in $0400.

precautions, precautions^

opposite way now

are we finished?

yes, enable interrupts and restore

the ROM

jump back to BASIC

This program is easy to understand

if you know the meanings of the

instructions. The two probably

unfamiliar ones are SEI and CLI. These

instructions disable and enable the IRQ

interrupt, respectively. I use interrupt

driven music often, along with many

other ML support programs. Thus, I

must disable the music while this

routine is executing because I rely on

the routines within the Kernal and

BASIC ROM. The program above

noexecutes so fast, though, that

distortions heard in the music.

Assemble this anywhere, and SYS+3

<start address> to save a screen; SYS

<start address> to load a screen from

40160($a000). If you do not happen to

have an assembler or monitor, here is

the program in the form of a BASIC

loader.

Be careful typing in the data, and

type everything - even the zero's.

Numbers in (BOdSflBIO are checksums to ensure proper entry (see page 26).©Off 8 cs=8896±6

21

[C64 ML APPLICATIONS!

data833c88828

2 data4c6783a48ia9ee8Sei78a28ebdeee49d

3 data8ea8bdeeeS9d8eaibd88869deea2bd88

4 data879d88a3e8d8e558848168a48ia98885

5 data8i78a2e8bd88a89d8884bd88ai9d888S

6 databdB8a29d8886bd88a39d8887e8d8e558

7 data848168

48 dataeof

45 ck=e

flSS 46 readaS:ifright$<a$,3)=eofthen48

fory=ltolen<a$>:ck=ck+asc<*id$<a$,y,l>>:

next:goto46

48 ifck<>csthenprint"error!":end

fl@8 58 restore:hx$="123456789abcdef"

68 reada$:sasval(right$(a$iS)):print

"reading data...":op=sa

65 reada$:ifright$<a$,3>=Meof"thensysop:

printl-ml program activated.11:end

78 forz=ltolen(a$>step2

88 h$=»id$<a$,z,±>:l$=*id$<a$,z+±,l>

flS® 98 fGrx=ltol5:ift*id$(hx$,Xjl)<>h$thennextx:ifx=16thenx=8

188 fory-itoi5:ifMid$(hx$JyJi><>l$then

nexty:ify=16theny=8

118 pokesa^x*16^y:sa=sa-M:nextz:goto65

To use it, SYSOP+3 to save the screen and SYSOP to load the screen.

Here Is an enhanced version of the screen saver. This saves the color memory as

well as the character memory. But, this does not save ft under BASIC because of

memory restraints I warned you of. This occupies locations $cOOO-$cbff. This is

the only way I could do color memory saves.

18 forx=49152to49152-H12: ready :c=c^y: poke

x,y next

28 ifc<>13B83thenprintaterror!"

38 prinf'activate with sys49152 to load a

screen"

8(D@ 48 print11 sys49155 to save a

screen"

888 68888 data 76, 57. 132. 162. 0. 189

1C64 ML APPLICATIONS |

flSS 66081 data 6, 4, 157, 6, 196, 189

&SB 60662 data 8, 5, 157, 6, 197, 189

flS© 66663 data 6, 6, 157, 6, 198, 189

flSfi 66664 data 6, 7, 157, 6, 199, 189

SftS 60865 data 6, 216, 157, 6, 266, 189

SflQ 66666 data 6, 217, 157, 6, 261, 189

SSfl 66667 data 6, 218, 157, 6, 262, 189

gflS 66668 data 6, 219, 157, 6, 263, 232

CDS® 66889 data 288, 285, 96, 162, 8, 189

£.38 66816 data 8, 196, 157, 6, 4, 189

&S@ 66611 data 8, 197, 157, 6, 5, 189

ASS 66612 data 6, 198, 157, 6, 6, 189

&8fi 68613 data 6, 199, 157, 6, 7, 189

§a@ 68614 data 6, 266, 157, 6, 216, 189

Sfi© 68815 data 8, 281, 157, 8, 217, 189

gg& 66616 data 8, 262, 157, 6, 218, 189

66617 data 8, 283, 157, 6, 219, 232

66618 data 268, 265, 96, 263, 157, 6

The Underground Is produced on a "flat" Commodore 128, a four

megabyte CMD RamLink, one Commodore 1581 disk drive, and one

Commodore 1541 disk drive. A Panasonic KX-P2180 is used for

pre-proofing pages using the Epson FX-80 printer driver, and the

Epson 8pin3pass driver is used for creating masters.

All text is created or imported into geoWrite 128 v21, after which it is

then laid out in geoPublish vlOb, where editing is completed.

LtyoutThe Underground's layout is done completely on geoPublish vlOb

This issue uses the Arizona, Commodore, LW_Shattuck, and Universityfonts.

tkeby Scott Eggleston

In an attempt to unite Commodore

users world-wide, I have been sending

out letters overseas, informing people

of the existence of the Underground.

This is not necessarily an attempt to

get subcriptions (that would be swell,

however), but an effort to get users

from other countries to tell me what is

going on in their Commodore

community. Ideally, I am hoping to get

people from various countries to write

for me, telling me of software,

products and the like, which are unique

to their country. Hopefully, this

process can be instrumental in

introducing previously unknown

Commodore stuff here to the US.

Here are my responses thus far:

Robert A. Hunter of Canada,

formerly the editor for the New Users

column in geoYISION International, told

me that he was not interested in

contributing or subscribing to the

Underground (bummer!). He said that

he keeps up to date on Commodore

stuff via Meeting 64/128 Users

Through the Mail, and Commodore

Malink.

What are these services, you

ask? Well, I promptly wrote Robert

back asking him the very same

question. As of yet I have had no

reponse (it's only been about a week),

but win be sure to fill you in on all the

details—details in which I'm pretty

curious of myself.

Peter Hunt of Australia is incharge of geoClub Oz. He responded to

my letter with two double-sided disks

ffiled with public domain Geos goodies!

He said he looks after a mere 50

members in Australia and New Zealand,

and didn't think he would be able to

contribute much to the Underground, as

they use Geos exclusively. He did

offer help if I wanted, though. You can

bet IH be writing him back. He also

referred me to Frank Cassidy in

England who is in charge of geoClub

members all over the world. FunnyJ

had already sent a letter to Frank when

I sent Peter's letter.

Frank Cassidy of England replied

to my query—whaddaya know! He

responded with a two page letter, usinga snazzy (Perfect Print, 111 bet) scriptfont He said that he formed geoClub

in 1991 83 Commodore support was

sadly lacking (imagine that!).

Apparently there was only one serious

source of C64 software which was

drastically overpriced, and turned out

to be fifty percent pirated! He says

his group numbers about 140, mainly

coming from those who have nowhere

else to turn for English support He

told me the Geos scene in Germany

(origin of TopDesk) is very healthy,

sporting 2,500 members! In closing, he

gave me some addresses to write to in

Belgium, Germany, and Norway. Those

letters are sent, and I win let you know

of the results.

Hopefully this transatlantic

effort will result in something tangible.

Who knows, maybe well find a

Commodore CD-ROM drive with disksfilled with thousands of shareware

programs (it could happen^). Q

29

CheckChecksum Utility for Programs found in the Underground

To help with program entry, type in corner of the screen. If this number

Check Please! and save it. After running matches the BBIffll&OIP in the listing,

CP!, a poke will be displayed which you have typed the line correctly. Ifdisables the program. To use CP!, type having trouble getting the number to be

in a line and press RETURN. A number displayed, disable CP! (use the poke),will be displayed in the upper left and type RUN again.

8 REM C-64 CHECK PLEASE! BV RATASTIC

1 REM UERSION 1.8 RELEASED 21 JAN 94

2 REM ALL RIGHTS RESERUED

IB CK=8:F0RX=828T0828+±24:READY:

CK=CK+V:POKEX,V:NEXTX

28 IFCKO14198THENPRINT"ERR0R !" : END

38 IFPEEK<773>=165THENSYS828

48 PRINT"CHECK PLEASE! INSTALLED."

58 PRINTMTB TURN IT OFF:"

68 PRINT"P0KE772,PEEK<943> :P0KE773,PEEK<944>"

78 END

68888 DATA 128, 173, 4, 3, 141, 175, 3

68881 DATA 173, 5, 3, 141, 176, 3

68882 DATA 169, 85, 141, 4, 3, 169

68883 DATA 3, 141, 5, 3, 88, 96

68884 DATA 168, 8, 148, 177, 3, 162

68885 DATA 8, 189, 8, 2, 248, 16

68886 DATA 281, 32, 288, 3, 232, 288

68887 DATA 244, 189, 177, 3, 141, 177

68888 DATA 3, 232, 288, 235, 56, 32

66889 DATA 248, 255, 142, 178, 3, 148

68818 DATA 179, 3, 169, 19, 32, 218

68811 DATA 255, 169, 18, 32, 218, 255

68812 DATA 169, 32, 32, 218, 255, 32

68813 DATA 218, 255, 32, 218, 255, 169

68814 DATA 19, 32, 218, 255, 169, 8

68815 DATA 174, 177, 3, 32, 285, 189

68816 DATA 169, 146, 32, 218, 255, 174

68817 DATA 178, 3, 172, 179, 3, 24

68818 DATA 32, 248, 255, 188, 175, 3

68819 DATA 124, 165, 93, 6, 8, 8

68828 DATA 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

26

fa1 Instructions for Article Submission

I need your help! The success of

the Underground depends on how much

you participate in making it successful

Below are the various categories that

you can submit written works for. An

asterisk (*) denotes a complimentary

issue which will be sent to you upon

publication of your article. This is

payment for your contribution.

Remember we're a low budget mag! If

you have a subscription, it will be

extended by one issue.

Letters to the Editor - Tell us

how you feel about our publication, both

what you like and don't, or tell us what

you'd like to see in the future. Ask a

question, and well answer it—send a

postcard if you want!

Soap Box - How do you feel about

Commodore related products? What

kind of programs would you like to

see? What kind of hardware do you

want? How about an observation or

two?

PD/Sharevare Gems* There is

a lot of good PD and shareware out

there that no one knows about Please

enlighten us! Give a DETAILED

description of what the program does,

and its various purposes. In order to

get published, you must send a copy of

the program on a disk (1541/1581

format), so we can make it available to

our readers. And make sure it's a good

program! No junk, please.

Sticks and Stones is for short

tips and tricks that can help with

various programs, hardware setups,

etc.

Feature Articles* can cover

Geos, Programming, Hardware,

Telecommunications, or anything you

feel can help the Commodore

community.

Regular Columns* If you wish

to be a columnist, with an article

you've written being published every

issue, please contact me and tell me

what topic you'd like to regularly cover.

In the event that two or more people

wish to do the same topic, I will ask

both of them for an alternate. If you

are firm in your decision, all parties

wishing to write for the given topic

will be asked to submit their articles,

and the editor will choose the person

he feels is more suited to the task.

Reviews* are reserved for

regular writers, and should only be

submitted if you are such. Contact me

for further questions on this subject.

Probably the most efficient and

cost-effective way to m8ke a

submission to the Underground is via

e-mail on GEnie or the Internet (mailing

addresses are at the end of this guide).

It's very simple and painless; just

prepare your article as a SEQ file, and

put it in my mailbox (don't forget your

address!).

If you (or someone who you intend

to pass this on to) does not have

access to any of the networks, then a

mail submission is fine. Again, to make

things as simple as possible for you, all

you must do is prepare a SEQ file,

place it on a 1541 or 1581 disk (saved

twice, please), and send it to my

mailing address. If your submission is

Z7

very small, such as for Letters to the

Editor, Soap Box, or Sticks and Stones,

sending a postcard is fine.

If you have access to Geos, and like

would like to submit an article in

geoWrite format—great! Just follow

the above rules and send it to me.

If you would like to submit a

program to the Underground, it is

possible to send it via GEnie or the

Internet In GEnie, simply attach the

file to your letter/article via the

appropriate menu selection. If your

program is in BASIC, then it can be

sent along the Internet by changing the

program listing to a SEQ file by

entering the following in direct mode:

0PEH2, (device**), 2:

"filename,s,w".

CMD2LIST

PRINT#2, CL0SE2

As a SEQ file, your listing can be linked

to your article and sent to me at my

Internet address. I can then enter the

program with an auto-program enterer,

which converts the file into a useable

format. The only rule is that you must

stay away from quote mode characters.

Hints for writing an article:

Do not use a left margin

Use wordwrap (no returns)

Check your grammar

ALWAYS use a spellchecker

No slang or bad language

Be innovative, creative, and original

Have fun!

The deadlines for all submissions

will be on the first day of the month

preceeding publication. The remaining

deadlines for 1994 are the first days

in the months of April, June, August,

October, and December. I follow the

same deadlines as well as some others,

so these dates have to be followed!

The editor of the Underground

reserves the right to accept or refuse

any and all work submitted as he sees

fit. If sent by surface mail, materials

will only be sent back if return postage

is included. If your article is published

in the Underground, you are agreeing

not to submit it to another magazine

for the space of six months. Q

l&ik to tke iditotfPlease send your articles, comments, complaints, contentions,

questions, support, programs, opinions, observations, information,

press releases, helpful hints, newsletters, BBS numbers, rumors,

surveys, sources, discoveries, and other Commodore goodies to the

Underground, 4574 Via Santa Maria, Santa Maria California 93455. Or:

26

SEggleston S.Eggleston@genkgeis.com

Advertising in the Underground

is very inexpensive. It is a way to

share your products with those

you may not have had previous

contact with. If just one or two

people purchase your product, the

ad will have paid for itself.

This grid represents the actual

size of accessable space on one

page of our magazine. This is the

size limit for all advertising. Each

cell can be purchased for $250

each (US. funds please), the

maximum being $20 for a full

page. It is up to you to provide

black and white camera-ready

copy to fit in the appropriate

cell(s). Reduction or enlargement

of your current copy (If

necessary) is up to you and will

not be provided You may also

submit an ad in the form of a

photo scrap, geoWrite file, or

geoPaint file; but again, it must be

the proper size of one or more of

the cells.

Anyone who places an ed in our

magazine win receive a free copy.

If you already have a subscription,It will be extended by one Issue.

We encourage all those who

advertise in our magazine to

please send in their products for

review. Expensive items will be

returned or purchased.

—Scott Eggleston, Editor

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