ftp.whtech.com/ftp.whtech.com.tar/ftp.whtech.com/articles/archives/limanews.exe/PGRAM.TXT

Text File | 2006-10-19 | 16KB | 330 lines

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LIMA NEWSLETTER JANUARY 1992

                THE P-GRAM PLUS WITH CLOCK
        reviewed by Charles Good and Jack Wolhaupt
                   Lima Ohio User Group
     //////////
     Charlie's part:
     ----------
      WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A GRAM DEVICE?

     The PGRAM and PGRAM+ are manufactured by Bud Mills
Services.  Like other battery backed GRAM devices such as
the GramKracker and the Gramulator, this device allows you
do three things:
    --1.  You can save any command module to disk and then
load the module from disk back into the device.  Once
loaded, the module remains in memory even if the computer
system is powered down because of the battery backup.  Minor
modifications to modules can be easily be made such as
changing screen colors, default device names, and (for
example in the case of extended basic) default save/load
drive names.  These modifications can be made to the module
disk files using a sector editor, or directly into the
PGRAM's memory with the PGRAM's built in memory editor.
     --2. The PGRAM can be used as a supercart, giving
running software such as Y.A.P.P. and some Infocom games
needed access to 8K of CPU RAM normally accessed via the
cartridge port.
     --3. GRAM devices can provide some of the same
functions as a RAMdisk.  They can be used as ROM disks for
storage in GRAM memory of EA5 software such as DM1000.  The
stored software will boot very quickly from a powerup menu.
Because loading a Gram device with code is rather
cumbersome, and because you usually only have access to that
software when you first turn on the computer, gram devices
cannot be used to store text files or data files and are not
as flexible as RAMdisks, which can store such files.  Files
created using any of the other GRAM devices, as well as
files created by the Geneve's module save software can be
loaded into the PGRAM's memory and will work.  In addition,
many of the various utilities written for other GRAM devices
to add TI BASIC programs to the powerup menu and to add
extra features to extended basic will work with the PGRAM.
Using the now difficult to obtain JP Software program called
GRAM PACKER, it is possible to store most (but not all)
assembly PROGRAM image software that boots from option #5 of
the EA module or loader 2 & 3 of Funnelweb in the PGRAM for
instant access at the powerup menu.  I had to borrow a copy
of GRAM PACKER from a local user group member to do this.
GRAM PACKER is a commercial product not available from Bud
Mills.
     ----------
      GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PGRAM

     Unlike other GRAM devices, the PGRAM resides in the PE
box and thus is not affected by what may be the Ti system's
weakest link, the cartridge (aka grom) port.  The other GRAM
devices mentioned above plug into the cartridge port.

     The regular PGRAM has one bank of memory that simulates
GROMs 3-7, plus two 8K banks of RAM to simulate the bank
switched ROM that is in many TI cartridges.  The "PLUS"
version has three extra banks of GRAM (a total of four
banks) which can be switched in and out with the PGRAM's
memory editor and which can also all be accessed at system
powerup using the 99/4A console's built in "Review Module
Library" feature.
     ----------
      ADVANTAGES OF PGRAM+ COMPARED TO OTHER GRAM DEVICES:

     I have had extensive experience with a GramKracker and
am familiar with the Gramulator, so I can make first hand
comparisons between these devices and the PGRAM+.  I sold my
GramKracker and purchased a PGRAM+ because I wanted a real
time clock for my TI system and the PGRAM+ seemed a good way
to obtain such a clock.

     ----MULTIPLE MEMORY BANKS:  You can store lots of
software in the four memory banks of the PGRAM+, allowing
the PGRAM+ to act somewhat like a "romdisk".  Other battery
backed gram devices have only one bank of memory.  Using
GRAM PACKER I have loaded up my 4 banks of memory so that
the following menus are displayed with I "PRESS ANY KEY TO
CONTINUE":
     PRESS
     1 FOR TI BASIC
     2 FOR TI EXTENDED BASIC
     3 FOR FUNNELWEB
     4 FOR PRINTER SETUP
     5 FOR REVIEW MODULE LIBRARY (If I press 5 then I get
the next menu for the second memory bank)
     PRESS
     1 FOR TI BASIC
     2 FOR EDITOR/ASSEMBLER
     3 FOR MAC FLIX
     4 FOR DV80 WORK COUNT
     5 FOR DISK MANAGER 1000
     6 FOR REVIEW MODULE LIBRARY (If I press 6 then I get
the next menu for the third memory bank)
     PRESS
     1 FOR TI BASIC
     2 FOR AMBULANCE
     3 FOR TENNIS
     4 FOR REVIEW MODULE LIBRARY (If I press 4 then I get
the follwoing menu for the fourth memory bank)
     PRESS
     1 FOR SPACE AGRESSOR
     2 FOR FIREBALL
     3 FOR AUTO RACE
     4 FOR GHOST SPELL
     6 FOR REVIEW MODULE LIBRARY (If I press 6 then I go
back to the first menu above for the first memory bank)

     The only actual cartridge software in this list is
EXTENDED BASIC and  EDITOR/ASSEMBLER.  Everything else is
either assembly PROGRAM memory image software or short
TI BASIC  programs. (AMBULANCE and TENNIS are available both
as assembly PROGRAMs and as module software.)  I don't
actually have Funnelweb on my PGRAM since doing so would
make Funnelweb hard to configure.  The FUNNELWEB menu item
is a short TI BASIC "CALL" which loads Funnelweb from my
Horizon Ramdisk.  PRINTER SETUP is a short TI BASIC program
to set up my printer for particular fonts.
     Bud Mills includes a public domain program called GMENU
you can load into the PGRAM which will simultaneously
display all the choices in all four memory banks on one
screen.  For those who can't get hold of GRAM PACKER, Bud
includes some sample multiple item packs that can be loaded
directly into the PGRAM.  Bud also includes a version of
John Johnson's BOOT designed for PGRAM use.

     ----ROCK STABLE EXTENDED BASIC:  The Extended Basic
module is notorious for locking up our computers if it
doesn't make perfect contact with all the pins of the
cartridge port.  Other Gram devices that plug into the
module port have gold plated contacts, so when loaded with
Extended Basic, they don't lock up the computer AS
FREQUENTLY as does the XB module.  However, my experience
with a GramKracker indicates that XB does lock up all too
often with other gram devices because they plug into the
cartridge port.  Contacts of this port are easily worn
and/or abused.  Such a lockup requires the user to remove
and reinsert the gram device.
     Because the PGRAM+ is in the PE box it eliminates any
problems caused by worn cartridge ports.   I have never had
an Extended Basic lockup using my PGRAM.
     ----------
      LIMITATIONS OF THE PGRAM+:

     ----ONLY ONE PAIR OF RAM BANKS:  Note this section well
before purchasing the "plus" version of PGRAM, because what
I am describing is potentially a major limitation.
     There are four banks of GRAM that simulates cartridge
GROM.  But there is only one pair of RAM memory banks that
simulates the two ROM banks that can be found in many
modules.  This means that only one module at a time that
uses ROM can be loaded into the PGRAM+.  If you wonder why
much of my PGRAM+ memory is populated with games, this is
because some of the modules I would like to use are not
simultaneously compatable with each other in the PGRAM+.
     Most GRAM device users like to keep Extended Basic in
their Gram device most of the time.  Other "important" TI
modules are TERMINAL EMULATOR II (for unlimited speech),
EDITOR/ASSEMBLER (some software will ONLY load using an EA
module that resides starting at grom memory location >6000),
MULTIPLAN, and perhaps PLATO and LOGO II.  Of these only
EDITOR/ASSEMBLER and MULTIPLAN do not use ROM and can thus
reside in a PGRAM+ simultaneously with Extended Basic but in
a different PGRAM+ memory bank.  To use any of the other
"important" modules it is necessary to load them from disk
into the PGRAM+ GRAM bank 1, erasing Extended Basic.  Later,
XB must be reloaded into the PGRAM+ GRAM bank 1 from disk.
     I thought when I bought my PGRAM+ that it would be
possible to keep Extended Basic and TEII both in the PGRAM+
and have access to unlimited speech from within Extended
Basic.  It can't be done.  The XB and TEII modules compete
for the same single pair of 8K RAM banks in the PGRAM+.
Many of the better cartridge games manufactured by TI,
including most of those with 1982 and 1983 copyrights, use
ROM and cannot coexist in the PGRAM+ with Extended Basic.
The only TI game I really like that CAN coexist with XB is
CAR WARS.

     ----NO ACCESS TO GROMS 0, 1, AND 2 WITH A PGRAM+:  Gram
devices that plug into the console allow the user to modify
or completely replace the three grom chips that are on the
console motherboard.  These comprise the console's operating
system (Grom 0) and the TI BASIC interpreter (Grom 1 & 2).
Usual mofifications of Grom 0 include a custom title screen
("Charlie's TI computer") and a nice lower case character
set with true descenders.  Since TI BASIC isn't used very
much, other software can be loaded into the Grom 1 & 2
memory space.
     These Grom 0, 1, and 2 manipulations are not possible
with a PGRAM.  I do miss the nice lower case character set I
had with my GramKracker, but other Grom 0, 1, and 2
modifications are not important.

     ----GMENU LIMITATIONS AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM:  If you
use the GMENU utility to simultaneously display all software
options available from all GRAM banks, and you have Extended
Basic in bank 1 (the usual place for XB in a PGRAM), there
are some circumstances in which Funnelweb will fail to
recognize the presence of Extended Basic.  From Funnelweb's
Disk Review, if you move the cursor next to an XB PROGRAM
file and press "R" to run the program, Disk Review may
respond with "XB MODULE NOT FOUND" even though it is there
where it belongs in GRAM bank 1.  The solution is to load
GMENU into whatever GRAM module or pack you intend to keep
in GRAM bank 2.  With GMENU in bank 2, both GMENU and
Funnelweb seem to work properly.
     I don't like GMENU's white on light blue default
colors.  I prefer white on dark blue.  To make this change
use a sector editor and search both of GMENU's disk files in
hex for >F5.  Change this to F4.  There are two F5's that
should be changed, one for the screen border and the other
for the central text bearing part of the screen.

     ----THE PGRAM MEMORY EDITOR:  This has the look and
feel of the GramKracker memory editor, but it isn't quite as
easy to use.  It is, however, in the PGRAM's operating
system and thus always available, unlike the Gramulator's
memory editor which must be loaded in from disk.
     The PGRAM documentation has all the necessary
information needed to "turn on" the editor, but this
information is scattered over several pages.  To properly
EXAMINE grom memory, even if you don't intend to do any
editing, it is necessary to turn on the editor.  Otherwise
the screen display of grom memory will be incorrect.  Here
is what you do.  Select MEMORY EDITOR from the menu you get
when you type CALL PGRAM from BASIC.  Type FCTN/1 to enable
you to set the "CRU bits".  Type the PGRAM's CRU address,
usually 1700.  Then in the next field type "12" to change
the CRU bits so that memory editing can proceed.  THEN TYPE
FCTN/1 AGAIN to exit the CRU bit edit mode.  This is the
confusing part.  If you type FCTN/9 (back) you will also
exit the CRU bit edit mode but the CRU bits will not be
changed and you will not be able to examine or edit memory.
     ----------
      THE PGRAM CLOCK

     This battery backed clock shows the day of the week,
month, year, hour (only in 24 hour format), minutes and
seconds.  There is no provision in any of the various 99/4A
disk controllers for automatic time/date stamping files, but
there are some specific applications that can use the PGRAM
clock.
     From either BASIC you can get an on screen display of
the time by typing CALL PTIME to set the clock or CALL PGRAM
to access the PGRAM's loader/editor.  Neither of these gives
a clean exit back to BASIC.  You can also, from within
either BASIC (either in command mode or from within a
running BASIC program), display the clock information or set
the clock in the same way you would with a CorComp clock or
the MPB clock.  In these cases you remain in the BASIC
environment.  Everything is explained in the PGRAM user
guide.
     The following software will make direct use of the
PGRAM clock to display the correct time and/or date.  This
software is all public domain except for BOOT (which is
fairware) and is all available in the Lima User Group
library.
     --REMIND ME will, upon booting with a PGRAM clock in
the computer, correctly show the correct time, month, and
date, and place the cursor on the correct day of the
displayed month.  To have all this happen, it is necessary
for the user to use a sector editor, search the single
REMIND-ME file in ASCII for the text "CLOCK", and use the
space bar to cover over the word CLOCK with blanks.
     --BOOT will display the correct time and date on screen
if a PGRAM clock is in the computer.  It may be necessary to
space over CLOCK in BOOT as described above for this to
happen.
     --Mel Nomina's CHECKBOOK WRITER will automatically put
the correct date on your checks if you remove some REM
statements.
     --Harold Hoyt has written a program that will display
the current date and time, catalog a disk, and optionally
time/date stamp any DV80 text file on the disk.
     --Harold Hoyt has also written an extended basic
program that will put a time/date display at the top of the
screen and then erase itself, leaving the time/date display.
This will remain on display through the running of any
extended basic program and even if NEW is typed.
     ----------
      CONCLUSIONS:

     There are advantages and disadvantages to using a PGRAM
as opposed to a GramKracker or Gramulator.  For me, the most
important advantage is the stability of extended basic and
the fact that I may never have to use my console's cartridge
port again.  I appreciate never having extended basic crash.
Since I have a specially modified 99/4A console (modified
for use with an AVPC card and with internal speech) I would
hate to have to switch to a different console because of an
increasingly unreliable cartridge port.

     //////////
     Jack's part

     I just received the December newsletter, and noted that
you went home with a P-Gram+.  Well, I also got one from Bud
at Chicago.  Three of us came together to Chicago, and two
of us went home with a P-Gram+, so I am looking forward to
your comments in a future newsletter.

     After getting my P-Gram+ up and running, I installed
the GUMS system (the GMENU system mentioned in Charlie's
part above).   This is a super program, although it partly
duplicates the multiple BOOT system I have set up on my Hard
Drive.  I do not have a RAM disk (yet), so having Extended
Basic, Editor/ Assembler, Super Extended Basic, Debugger,
DM1000, DM-3, Boot, and who knows how many others I will
find possible to put on the P-Gram+.  All these available at
RAM-disk speed.  Fantastic.

     I just finished a letter to Bud, telling him how
pleased I am with thr P-Gram+.  I think he should promote
the saving of wear on the GROM port.  Mine hardly gets used
at all any more.  No trouble with compatability with my
HFDC, so this combination rates an A+.

     ----------
     PGRAM kit $150.  PGRAM+ kit $200.  Clock $20.
Manufacturer assembly $30.  Available from Bud Mills
Services, 166 Dartmouth Dr., Toledo OH 43614.  Voice phone
419-385-5946.
     .PL 1