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DelphElectronics80col.txt
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DelphElectronics80col.txt
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REVIEW - DELPH CONVERTER BOARD
By Brian Grainger
Delph Electronics Ltd.,
4, Deeping Rd., Baston, Peterborough
Tel. 07786 535
I must at the outset of this review declare an interest,
have been slightly involved in the testing of the product
and wrote the instructions so I will limit this review to
an indication of what the product will do.
For some time now there have been companies willing to
convert FAT40 CBM machines to 8032 machines. Now Delph
Electronics have provided the means to convert a 'thin' 40
(9" screen) into an 8032. The hardware consists of a neat
PCB which fits above the ROMs on the existing 4032 (or 3032
upgraded to BASIC4) motherboard. The board plugs into the
existing 1E 1 ROM socket and other connections go to the
memory expansion connectors and the character generator.
All connectors are provided and are simple to make. The
character generator from the CBM is placed in the board.
The software is a new 1E' ROM which is provided with the
board.
Having connected the board your 'thin' 40 will behave
exactly like an 8032 with all its functions and mor"e.
Because of differences between the CBM and business
keyboards the latters new keys, such as 'Repeat' and
'Escape' are accessed in a different way. However the
software has been written to ensure that all the graphic
characters of the CBM are still accessible from the
keyboard, something that the 8032 cannot do.
All the functions of the 8032 are made available. The
80 column display is very crisp. LISTings can be paused and
restarted. Sreen windows can be set. Tabs can be set on the
screen. Automatic indication of line end will be given via
the bell (if user port sound is provided). All the
additional screen editing commands are available, i.e.
INST/DEL Line, ERASE Begin/End, SCROLL Up/Down, SET
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Top/Bottom, Text/Graphic mode, Set/Reset Tab. A repeat key
toggle is provided so that 'repeat' operates either on
cursor control and space keys only, or on all keys.
One nice touch is that by use of the technique of
multiple key press detection (See Vol.5 No.1 p.81) all the
additional screen editing commands are available from the
keyboard. Something that is not completely possible on the
8032.
The basic board is fitted with the capability of
replacing the character generator with a 4K version. A
software switch between either of the 2K character sets is
provided. The 'E ' ROM of the basic board is fully decoded
allowing a 4K. 'E ' ROM to be used provided locations
reserved for I/O ports are not used.
A number of versions of the board exist. Apart from
the basic board described above a version exists which
includes a 4K 'E' ROM, 4K character generator and RAM for
an additional screen display (located at $8800-$8FFF). The
extra 2K of character generator is used to store a
mid-resolution character set which allows a plotting
density of 160 x 200. Simple POKEs are used to switch
between either the normal character generator or the
mid-resolution characters. The additional screen memory can
be used to store a second screen display or a
mid-resolution plot. Part of the extra 2K in the 1E' ROM
has been used to provide a 'flash' routine which very
quickly alternates between the two screen displays with or
without change of character set as well. This allows for
example the possibility of a graph plot and annotated text
to be mixed on screen.
The cost of the basic board is £ 149 plus VAT, the
enhanced version £ 160 plus VAT. Contact John Bickerstaff,
Discounts Officer, for special ICPUG prices.