M600AD.THD --- Copyright 1988 by Phil Wheeler An original compilation of Compuserve Model 100 Forum messages for use by Forum members only. This is the fourth in a series of general THD files for the Tandy 600. Topics include the Basic ROM, enhancing the capability of Basic, comm download protocols, accessories (in general), battery packs, support, Club 600, etc. I've thought about adding one of these to my collection, but they are too common (read numerous). Now the Cambridge Z88 --there's a computer for the guy who wants to be the first, last and only person on his block to own one! Message range: 177543 to 178068 Dates: 12/8/88 to 12/22/88 Sb: 600 basic rom Fm: RICK RICHMOND 70641,47 To: wiliam c rodriguez 72077,3330 [In response to a query re the T600 Basic ROM] Re: T-600 BASIC Call (303) 241-4358 8:00a--6:00 MST (voice) Sb: #600 Accessories Fm: Keith Horne 72137,2445 To: All I'm new to CIS & T600, and would like to know if there are other sources for accessories (96K Upgrade, Carrying Case, BATTERY PACK!,etc.) other than TS. Local TS has 'ordered' battery, but, other items seem to be on the ol' 'HAPPEN UPON THEM' basis.(KNOWHUTIMEAN?) I really enjoy this forum. Some of the messages are as entertaining as what's in the DL's !! Being new to the 600, can't offer much input, but will offer comments when I can. Keep Up The Good Work(?) Y'all. Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Keith Horne 72137,2445 Unfortunately, Keith, one of the reasons that the 600 has been discontinued, is that it was never supported by the "Third-Party" suppliers. There were only two companies willing to make the RAM expansion units available, and nothing else ever came out for the 600, including anything in the way of commercial software. Undoubtedly, along with poor planning, this contributed to the demise of the 600. In other words, no, there is no specific source for upgrades and accessories for the 600. Clarification, please. You mentioned "TS" twice in your message. We generally understand "TS" to stand for Traveling Software, a company in Washington which supports the Tandy portables; which support is dwindling. In the context you used "TS", I don't think that's the company you meant. For example, unless you live in the Seattle area, there probably isn't a "Local TS".. Fm: Keith Horne 72137,2445 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 SORRY, Seems like the ol' brain to hand connection was a little fuzzy during that session. Actually meant 'RS' as in local Radio Shack. Have since talked to RS and they informed me that battery had been on B/O and should be recieving in couple of days. Also, found out they can order 96K pack and would sell for 299. Still have not found Carrying Case. Guess I'll have to shop around for that. Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Keith Horne 72137,2445 Tandy/Radio Shack maintains that they will support any discontinued items, including the Tandy 600, for a period of seven years. This means that all parts for it, batteries, RAM modules, whatever, should be available directly from Tandy's National Parts Center during that time frame. I don't believe there was ever a case made specifically for the 600. However, you might like to jot down the National Parts phone number for future reference. It's (817) 870-5662 Fm: Mike Nugent (TMN East) 71426,1201 To: Keith Horne 72137,2445 Keith, there may be some better sources of RAM. Purple Computing is putting an ad in the February issue of Portable 100, and I seem to recall the prices being way better than Shack's. Another source to check is American Cryptronics, who should have an ad in March. For other T600 hardware stuff, you might want to check with Club 600. I don't have the addresses and phone #'s handy, but if you want to give me a call at the magazine (603-924-9455), I'll look 'em up for you. Best to call Monday through Wednesday, as I'm flying out Wednesday night and will be gone for a week (VACATION -- FINALLY, HAHAHAHAHAHHA!). If you should miss me, Dave Klein or Terry Kepner can find the info for you. Fm: Dean Metzgar 76537,2657 To: Keith Horne 72137,2445 Tony has pretty much told you the situation for our machine. I am a real fan of the 600 and have been using mine extensively for over a year and a half. As for the battery pack, go to DL11 and Read file 600BAT.THD. This describes a very easy method of making a new pack for significantly less expense than RS wants. Mine has been in continual use for well over a year without missing a beat. Also, give "Club 600" a call at (713) 933-0542. Fm: Keith Horne 72137,2445 To: Mike Nugent (TMN East) 71426,1201 I'll try to give you a call at the office before you go 'VACATING'. I sure hope you're right about the RAM prices. BTW, Does 'PORTABLE 100' also support the Portable 600? I've seen it omag rack before but wasn't interested 'til recently. Well, I'll talk to you about that when I drop you a line. Fm: Keith Horne 72137,2445 To: Dean Metzgar 76537,2657 I guess you could say I'm 'just' a hobbyist. That's what this 600 was originally bought for. Ya know, just to 'play' with. Well, it seems to have slipped it's way into the workplace. I'm a CNC Operator and whenever I run a new job, edits have to be made to the program (9 out of 10 times). Once I find edits with the desired results, I type them into a WORD file. Next time I run that job, I call that file and Voila!, no more trial and error edits, and it eliminates havung to read thru someone else's scribble! Anyway, to the real subject at hand... Radio Shack has ordered the battery for me. I'm assuming 'Free Of Charge', since it was defunct when I purchased my 600. I did download the BAT600.THD and read it. Looks like a gem of a reference file. I'll keep it handy, because, I'm sure this new pack won't be an eternal fix!! Thanks, for pointing me to it. Thanks also, for the 'Club 600' number. I'll giv'em a call. Fm: Mike Nugent (TMN East) 71426,1201 To: Keith Horne 72137,2445 Okay, Keith, I'll be looking for your call. Make sure when you call, tell whoever answers that I told you to call. And remember, we're on Eastern time here. Yes, we try to cover the 600 as much as we can without getting trounced by our vastly-more-numerous 100/200 readers. Space is another problem. The T600-oriented submissions I usually get are way long and thus hard to fit into P100 without encroaching heavily on other editorial space. For most programs, we try to list modifications to make 'em work on other machines. This is a particular pain in the neck with NEC. And lacking a 600 here, it's darn near impossible. I suspect the magnitude of the necessary changes would make the listing hard to fit into the magazine. So here's my plan. I've written an article on converting 100/102 programs to work on the NEC. I'm waiting for a similar article on the T600, and I want to do the same for the 1400. That way, whenever we run an article, people can refer to the conversion articles to make it work on their machines. That way, I don't have to eat up pages with conversion data every time we run a program, leaving more space for new stuff. Also, it makes more of the programs useful to more readers with different machines. Plus, we sell more back issues and article reprints . (Actually, that's the least important reason. I really just want to quit using space repeating modifications every time and to include more machines as well.) Sb: #Model 600 Basic Fm: Robert Butler 76117,3645 To: all I recently bought a Basic ROM for the Tandy 600. We developed a data capture program using Basic and we wanted to dedicate the 600 for this purpose. When we received the ROM we noticed there was no provision for "ON COM". Is there anything we can do to get around this limitation? Is there a better version of basic for the 600? Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Robert Butler 76117,3645 There is only one BASIC available for the 600. It's a proprietary and copyrighted item. It's unlikely anyone else will ever develop a substitute. There are several other statements missing from 600-BASIC; notably the INSTR statement, PEEK, POKE, and SPACE$. Good luck. Sb: #silly 600 questions Fm: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 To: all Well, folks, I went and bought a 600...so I fear this is the beginning of a barrage of dumb first-timer questions. Was that manual written before the software was updated or something? I mean, I don't THINK I'm any dumber than the average keyboard pounder...but slogging through the manual has me wondering. Basic silly question #1: Is there any way of turning off the annoying line at the bottom of th screen that starts "Telcom session:" while I m online? Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 The 600 was an Internationally uncooperative project. The machine was designed by the same committee that started out to design a race horse and came up with a camel. It was built in Japan for sale in America. The Japanese manual was translated into English by a Ukranian, who was fluent in seven languages; none of which were English. There is no direct translation from the Japanese ideogram for "flush it". Seriously, the manual isn't the only part of the 600 that is flawed. Prior to it's release, Dave Thomas and I had pre-release versions of the machine, and we pointed out a long list of errors in the manual, which were never corrected. Apparently the manuals were printed in Hong Kong by sightless Arabs. At any rate, they weren't about to reprint them just because of a few mistakes or oversights. It's one of the reasons the 600 never caught on in the market. I know of no way to eliminate the bottom line on the TELCOM screen. It's part of the ROM code, and can't be changed, short of designing and burning an entire new operating system ROM. So sorry. a&*he rest of us, you'll have to learn to accept it's quirks. One of which is there's precious little support for the 600. No third-party support ever developed for it. But there is a small group of hard-core users in Texas, headed by Dennis Rogers, who runs a "Club 600", and provides some software support and hand- holding. They also publish a newsletter. Write to: Club 600, Box 218778, Houston, TX 77218 Sb: #More 600 queries Fm: Walter P. Klammer 72357,1246 To: all My introduction is similiar to those I have recently read ... I am a new 600 owner/operator and new to CIS. I need memory upgrades cheaper than offered by RS (some local RS stores MOST RS stores will not get back to me on info for that item) I have read some messages dating back to Tuesday the 13th and will folllow up on those suggestions. Any more to me are welcome. Another stupid question I have is what is there in the way of file transfer to and from the 600 ? Is there a KERMIT for the 600 ? Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Walter P. Klammer 72357,1246 Welcome to the 600 crowd, Walter. Message section 11 is used for correspondence with those who are interested in the Tandy 600. And Library 11 is where we store information and programs that support the 600. Unfortunately, since Tandy discontinued the 600, what little third-party support there was, has seemed to dry up. There is a file in Library 11, which lists the only two other suppliers of RAM expansions we knew about. And we're not sure if they are continuing to market the modules. You can call them and find out. The file is EXPAND.600 in Library 11. There is no Kermit available for the 600. The only options you have are already built into the TELCOM program. You can "capture" incoming data, either to the SESSIONS.TXT file, or a named file, or you can use Xmodem to transfer named files in and out of the machine as ascii text or in binary form, such as programs. Suggest you read through the initial TELCOM help files in Library 11, TEL001.600 through TEL005.600, a total of five files. If you expect to be able to run any programs, other than the ones on the main menu, you'd better put in your order for a BASIC ROM. There is a waiting list, and they are getting very scarce. Without BASIC, you are limited to what's on the main menu. Fm: Keith Horne 72137,2445 To: Mike Nugent (TMN East) 71426,1201 Conversion article sounds like a great idea and with that explanation you gave, seems to be THE way to go! Guess I'll go out today before work (2nd Shift, YEEECH!) and pick up the current issue. Hey, that'll be one less back issue I'll have to buy! Fm: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 Sounds about like the conclusions I have come to. Oh, well...the price was unbeatable (read unbelievable) and I can run CompuServe with it, which is all I really care about. Thanks for the help. I'll pester Club 600. But it's easier to pester youse guise (grin). Aren't there some fellow 600-sufferers hanging around here? For example: I can't figure out why I get doublespaced copy when I toggle the printer on with F4 during an online session. Nothing in the printer defaults seems to change it, and the manual is, as expected, no help. Anybody got any ideas? (Tony, don't answer unless it's easy...I can't afford to get you mad at me (grin)). Fm: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 Ignore the printer question in the last message. I just figured out how to install the printer driver. Boy, does that ever look like a work-around! Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 There are a few 600 users who drop in now and then, but because of the little that can be done for them, they don't hang out here, like the 100/200 crowd does. I see by the following message you solved the printer problem. It's really hard to believe anyone thought the 600 was a great step forward. But since they sold less than 20,000 of them, I guess you can't fool the public all the time. (grin) Fm: RICK RICHMOND 70641,47 To: Robert Butler 76117,3645 If you download the UTILTY.LIB file and documentation in the Tandy 600 data library, you'll be able to use BASIC's CALL to implement port-IN, port-OUT, PEEK, POKE, and VARPTR. In addition, UTILTY.LIB includes routines to perform BIOS interrupts and to call machine language subroutines. It's an unsupported, but invaluable, addition to BASIC. Sb: #trade 600 for 200 Fm: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 To: all I will trade a new in the box Model 600 for a used good condition Model 200 with all three memory banks. This 600 is a good machine, but the 200 suits my needs better. Fm: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 To: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 tee hee.... Fm: Doug Pratt (ModelNet) 76703,3041 To: Tony Anderson 76703,4062 Yeah, I thought you'd enjoy that. I can take it...you don't know what I paid for the 600. Fm: Dean Metzgar 76537,2657 To: Keith Horne 72137,2445 Glad we could help. The folks at CLUB 600 (Dennis Rogers) are in the business of selling S/W for the 600. However, this doesn't detract from the service Dennis is giving us. They also manufacture an external drive for the 600. You had mentioned something about a case for your 600. I purchased one at a RS Computer Center here in Oklahoma City back when I purchased my 600 in June or July of 1987. It's a sharp job made out of ballistic nylon or some such high-strength mystery fabric. I'm a pilot by profession and take the 600 all over the place and it does just fine sitting in the case in the corner of the Boeing 707 cockpit. Keep me posted on your progress with the equipment.