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Amiga Collections: MegaDisc
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MegaDisc 39 (1994-04)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 2 of 2).zip
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MegaDisc 39 (1994-04)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 2 of 2).adf
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Readers_Hints
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Readers_Hints
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Text File
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1994-05-01
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7KB
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159 lines
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READERS' HINTS, ADVICE, ACCUMULATED WISDOM...
If you have any useful hints at all, and you like reading this
part of Megadisc, please take the time to hit the keyboard and
send in a file with your hint or tip - even if it seems obvious to
you (now), it isn't necessarily so to others. There is a dearth of
them this issue, so please start typing for the next!
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = -
Join Jolts the Injudicious
When using the Join CLI command, make sure you understand the syntax; look
up the syntax first if you are unsure of it. The logic used in this
command may have suited the programmer, but it is definitely not friendly
to the user.
The correct syntax is JOIN file1 file2 AS file3 (or use TO instead of AS)
This means that file1 is to be joined to file2 and saved as (or to) file3.
Note that file3 MUST be a different name to file1 and file2.
And how did I learn this syntax? By goofing! On a dopey day, I decided to
JOIN a small file to a very large one. Simply because of its size, I
didn't make a current backup copy of the big file first (though I did have
a backup copy of a slightly older version). I decided that I'd just
replace the old file with the newly-joined one (the sort of thing I'd done
with this file in QED before the file grew too big to edit this way).
Trouble is, you can't.
If, as I did, you say JOIN file_1 file_2 as file_1 without a unique third
filename, the system first opens file_1 for write, neatly clobbering it in
the process, before looking for the input files. In my case, it then had
the nerve to tell me that it "Can't open file_1" - which wasn't surprising
after it had got its sticky paws on it...(#?@#)... My huge file_1 was
reduced to a 0-byte nonentity; and it was not undeletable, as far as I
could see (I tried, I really tried!).
The JOIN command would be quite safe if it first checked that file3 was a
unique filename, and issued an error message if it wasn't. But it doesn't.
So be careful.
Leigh Murray
Queanbeyan NSW
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = -
Keyboard info
Dear Tim,
The only way I can find to send the keyboard info is by trying in
some way to type it into Notepad and copy that onto a copy of the
workbench disk. I have just done that and Hooray, she works. I
have saved and gone away to M/dsk in DF1, then back to W/B, and got
back what I saved. A first time for me, so I hope you can get it
into printed format at your end. So..here we go.
I read Mike Simpson's article in MD 10 on keyboards. I had been
having trouble with an "E" that didn't always appear when it was
supposed to, so undid screws and lifted covers as instructed.
On opening the machine and removing the keyboard I quickly
discovered that "keyboards ain't keyboards"! Apparently there are
more than one type, maybe several used with the Amiga. So..here are
my findings...
I turned my keyboard over and found it looked a bit different from
Mike's description. My keyboard has a sheet of thin clear plastic
covering the P.C. board which was quite visible. This sheet was
retained by slots cut in two corners and hooked over the corners of
the P.C.B. One largish round head screw in the vicinity of the
underside of the Del Help keys kept it in place. On removing this
sheet I found 15 small self tapping screws apparently holding the
P.C.B. to whatever was under the keys. By carefully removing them
I found that the P.C.B. was still firmly attached to the metal
plate through which the stems of the keys seemed to operate. Not
wishing to force anything, I turned the keyboard over and proceeded
to lift a key top from a key on the edge of the numeric pad. The
top came away quite easily with the aid of the broad blade of my
pocket knife. Then exposed to view was a plastic block to which the
key top clips, and in view inside it two sets of tiny, three
fingered, gold plated contacts. These were separated by a portion
of the moulded plastic in such a way that when the key is slightly
depressed, the barrier piece descends and the contacts close
together, thus making the circuit for that key. This seems a far
superior arrangement to that described by Mike. I had to hand a
spray can of Electrolube purchased some time ago from Dick Smith.
The nozzle takes a piece of stiff plastic tube which makes it easy
to direct a small amount to the desired spot.
My A500 is a fairly old Revision 5 machine. Agnus is branded
2687, which I'm informed means that the chip was manufactured on the
second of June, 1987. A price tag on the box says $999, so that
also says something.
It is evident with this type of keyboard that attention can be
made to the contacts without dismantling the computer. Attack the
keys gently from either side, and with a gentle lift the key top
will disengage from one side and can be lifted away to expose the
contacts. After lifting one and examining it, no trouble should be
encountered lifting others. The contacts appear very frail, so do
not attempt to clean them except by using a proprietory electrical
contact cleaner such as Electrolube. I don't know how the P.C.B.
is secured, but obviously any attempt to prise it free after taking
out the 15 screws, could cause damage to the contacts, so my advice
is, if you are having key problems, lift a top first to see what
type of keyboard you have. Replacing the key tops is done by
repositioning them and pressing down firmly but gently with a
finger.
Cleaning between the keys can be done fairly successfully with the
aid of an artist's flat hog bristle brush. A gentle blast of low
pressure compressed air is handy, provided it is oil and moisture
free.
John Luxton.
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