15/09/94 Questions and Answers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. I want to connect another IDE hard disc to my Risc PC. What links must I set? A. Assuming you are fitting a second hard disc similar to the one already fitted (a Conner CFS series), you need to make sure that the (not)A/C link is fitted to both drives and that the M/S link is only fitted to the drive connected directly to the motherboard. (not)C/D should be left in the state it was in at shipping. Serial Ports, Printers and Modems: Part 2 ----------------------------------------- Unlike IBM PC compatibles, Acorn machines default to using the DSR line to flag readiness to transmit, and require the presence of the DCD signal. On machines fitted with the 82710 or 82711 serial controllers and the Risc PC, it is possible to change which signals are used for flagging in software, using the SWI"OS_SerialOp",0 command. Thus an IBM compatible cable may be used; the option to reprogram the serial port in this manner is currently provided by some serial communications software. If you have a suitable machine and prefer to use an over-the-counter IBM standard cable rather than resort to making your own, check with the supplier of your communications software that there is an option to reprogram the serial controller. It is possible to transfer data between a 32-bit Acorn computer and an 8 bit BBC Model B / Master series via the Serial Port; the wiring diagram for the appropriate cable is presented below. On the transmitting system (assumed to be the Model B / Master), issue: *FX8,4 *FX3,1 The first call sets the transmission rate to 1200 baud, and the second selects the serial port as the output device. From BASIC on the receiving machine, (assumed to be a 32 bit Acorn machine), issue: SYS"OS_SerialOp",1,0 SYS"OS_SerialOp",5,4 *FX2,1 The first command configures the parity and word size: note that the Model B defaults to one stop bit per word, whereas the 32 bit range defaults to two. The second sets the receive rate to 1200 baud, and the third sets standard input to be via the serial port. Performing a LIST on a BASIC program stored in the BBC's RAM, or a *TYPE on a plain text file stored on disc, will cause the program or text to be loaded into whichever RISC OS application has the caret on the receiving machine. To terminate communication, issue *FX3,0 *FX2,0 on both machines; the receiving machine should terminate communication first. Updates to the RISC OS Applications Disc ---------------------------------------- Following on from the release of !Printers 1.22, Acorn has released another disc containing improved versions of applications originally supplied with RISC OS 3.1. The disc contains: !Alarm, version 2.61 !Calc, version 0.53 !ChangeFSI, version 0.95 !Chars, version 1.17 !PrintEdit, version 0.38 !T1ToFont, version 1.26 3Dupgrade The applications have been changed in various ways. As well as feature enhancements, known problems with the applications have also been fixed. The applications now automatically contain the 3D icons and templates supplied as part of !NewLook, so there is no need to use the !NewLook templates. !ChangeFSI ChangeFSI has been updated to support further image formats, and the formats previously supported have been updated. !PrintEdit PrintEdit has been updated to allow support for the new options available within the Printer Definition files supplied with !Printers 1.22. !T1ToFont T1ToFont has been updated in various ways: If you have a Type 1 file but no corresponding AFM file, you can produce a usable font by simply leaving the 'AFM file' field blank. The resulting font will lack kerning information, so do use the AFM file if you have it. Most alphabetic fonts should convert successfully with the Encoding field set to "Acorn Extended Latin". Some symbol fonts have their own private encoding; for these it is recommended that you select "As specified in Type 1 file" from the Encoding menu. This causes the font's internal encoding to be used, ensuring that the glyphs are placed at the correct character codes. The encoding is also deposited in a file named "Encoding" in the font's directory, where the font manager and printer drivers can make use of it. 3DUpgrade The directory 3DUpgrade contains two BASIC programs, one called 2D and the second called 3D. The programs can be used to set the correct bit in CMOS RAM to ensure the templates and icons are shown in 3D or 2D depending on your choice. !Alarm, !Chars and !Calc have had minor fixes made to them. The disc containing this upgrade suite should be available from all Acorn dealers.