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comp.sys.amstrad.8bit FAQ v1.27 1 / 16 1/1 |
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has a twist in it. The B: connector is the other one!)
4 Plug it into your DDI-1 drive unit. You may have to file the keyway
on the connector off. (Different PCs have different keyways on their
connectors, so you may not have to attack it with a file. So much for
standardisation!)
5 Turn the DDI-1 drive on first, then the PC. When it does the
Power-on test, press DEL to enter the setup menu (you have got an AMI
BIOS haven't you?). Tell it you have no A: drive and a 360K 5.25" B:
drive. (See note 2)
6 Use 22DISK to read (not under OS/2 or windows 95), write and format
your 3" disks to your heart's content ! You could also use ANADISK I
suppose.
7 When you've finished, restore the machine its original state. As
well as using CPC disks, you'll probably be able to use Spectrum 3
disks if you have an appropriate CPMDISKS.DEF. If of course you want
to use Speccy disks...
Note 1 : Amstrad's disk drive is reasonably standard, but not quite!
When you install it, it claims to be both your physical drive 0 and
physical drive 1. As such, if you expect it to be just drive 1 (B:),
and leave unit 0 (A:) still plugged in, it will promptly ram the heads
of unit 0 hard against the end stop, promptly trashing your unit 0. I
found this the hard way, and had to buy a new 3.5" floppy drive.
Note 2 : If you don't have an AMI BIOS, then this will be different.
You may have to run a program from a system disk which came with your
computer.
The pin-outs of the 3" drive are _identical_ to the ones of a 5.25"
drive - it will just plug in. It's a long time since I was inside my
Einstein, but I'm pretty sure that drive is a 40track SS unit - what a
PC would call a 180K drive. Things like the Disk Change line may be
different, but if you set up your PC to ignore that (and possibly tell
it it's a 360K drive), you should be OK.
I've used a 3" drive (actually a Double-sided model) with an original
IBM XT in this way.
A reply to the last two paragraphs :
It actually depends on the type of 3" drive. Some of them had a 34 way
connector like the IBM PC 5.25 " drive (i.e. PCB gold plated edge
connector) and are compatible. Genuine Amstrad drives on the other hand
have a 26-way PCB header which contains all the useful signals, although
some have been removed.
I remember, that the 34 way connectors are only nearly compatible. In
those days around 1985, I connected a CPC 464 External drive to
another CPM computer with standard 5.25" drives like the PC-drives.
It was necessary to swap the lines since the pin numbering was mirrored
compared to the standard.
I also think that the exact layout depends on the version of the
computer (CPC 464/664/6128). So be careful and do not ruin your
hardware by building sh circuits! (It shouldn't be very difficult to
verify which are the GND-lines )
A complement to this reply
The Amstrad and PC disk connections are as follows:
26 pin Amstrad disk drive:
Index 2 * * 1 GND
DS0 4 * * 3 GND
DS1 6 * * 5 GND
Motor 8 * * 7 GND
Dirn 10 * * 9 GND
Step 12 * * 11 GND
Wdata 14 * * 13 GND
Wenable 16 * * 15 GND
Track0 18 * * 16 GND
WProt 20 * * 19 GND
Rdata 22 * * 21 GND
Side 24 * * 23 GND
N.C ? 26 * * 25 GND
34 pin Standard disk drive:
Head Load 2 * * 1 GND
In Use ? 4 * * 3 GND
DS3 6 * * 5 GND
Index 8 * * 7 GND
DS0 10 * * 9 GND
DS1 12 * * 11 GND
DS2 14 * * 13 GND
Motor 16 * * 15 GND
Dirn 18 * * 17 GND
Step 20 * * 19 GND
Wdata 22 * * 21 GND
Wenable 24 * * 23 GND
Track0 26 * * 25 GND
WProt 28 * * 27 GND
Rdata 30 * * 29 GND
Side 32 * * 31 GND
N.C. ? 34 * * 33 GND
Note that on the Amstrad drive, DS3 and DS2 are missing.
The pins marked with a ? may have been redefined on some
drives (e.g. on high density PC drives, one of them is used
to change the drive current - I can't remember which now),
also on very old single sided drives, the Side signal used to
be used to reset the drive. If you are using a 34 way
connector drive in an Amstrad, you may want to hard wire
Head Load to be permanently enabled (if it is used - not
all drives do).
A3.1.2) 3" drive on PC (part two) 02/17/98
Here is other information by Juan Perez Delgado, as I know nothing
of hardware, be cautious. This doesn't apply for Schneider drives.
1. Read all first
2. Then you open your PC, and unplug and take off the cable that goes
from the FD controller to the FD drives. The cable looks something
like this: (including the twist between the B: and A: connectors)
(ctlr = Floppy Disc Controller)
to FD ctler to B: drive to A: drive
/-\ /-\ /-\
2 -|---------|-|---------|-|2
4 -|---------|-|---------|-|4
6 -|---------|-|---------|-|6
8 -|---------|-|---------|-|8
10-|---------|-|-\ /----|-|10 ) 16 of ctler, A: thinks it is 10
12-|---------|-|- \/ ----|-|12 ) 14 of ctler, A: thinks it is 12
14-|---------|-|- /\ ----|-|14 ) 12 of ctler, A: thinks it is 14
16-|---------|-|-/ \----|-|16 ) 10 of ctler, A: thinks it is 16
18-|---------|-|---------|-|18
20-|---------|-|---------|-|20
22-|---------|-|---------|-|22
24-|---------|-|---------|-|24
26-|---------|-|---------|-|26
28-|---------|-|---------|-|28
30-|---------|-|---------|-|30
32-|---------|-|---------|-|32
34-|---------|-|---------|-|34
\-/ \-/ \-/
3. Using a screwdriver and a cutter I reordered the wires that go to
the A: drive (I left some of them not connected):
to FD ctler. to B: drive to A: drive
/-\ /-\
2 -|---------|-|------- You can see that signals
4 -|---------|-|------- 2,4,6,10(16 from the ctler)
6 -|---------|-|------- are not used.
8 -|---------|-|---------\
10-|---------|-|-\ /-nc \-|-| 2 (connected to ctler pin 8)
12-|---------|-|- \/ -------|-| 4
14-|---------|-|- /\ -------|-| 6
16-|---------|-|-/ \-------|-| 8
18-|---------|-|------------|-| 10
20-|---------|-|------------|-| 12
22-|---------|-|------------|-| 14
24-|---------|-|------------|-| 16
26-|---------|-|------------|-| 18
28-|---------|-|------------|-| 20
30-|---------|-|------------|-| 22
32-|---------|-|------------|-| 24
34-|---------|-|------------|-| 26
\-/ \-/ |-| 28
|-| 30
|-| 32
|-| 34
\-/
Of course, odd pins must be connected to wires of ground (odd
pins in the drive with odd pins in the ctler, doesn't matter the
number).
4. Next, you open the CPC6128, and get the 3"FD, unplug only the cable
that comes from the controller (the one in the 26-pin connector).
5. Plug-in the cable you have 'build' in step 3 to the FD cntler (as it
was before you disconnected it), and connect the CPC 3"FD to the
connector whose wires you have reordered. As the connector is 34 pin
wide, and the drive is 26-pin, there will be a side not connected
(corresponding to pins 28 to 34).
Now you have the controller cable from the PC controller connected to
the 3" drive. I think you can still connect another driver to the
other free connector, but I didn't try it because I read some people
have burned its controller doing similar things. You leave the power
cable of the 3" drive connected to the CPC, as it was before.
6. Now, you switch on your CPC (monitor, then keyboard). The FD will
start running continuously.
7. Now, you switch on your PC. If all is Ok, nothing should burn :), and
the 3" FD will stop running. Then in the bios setup you tell you have
a 360Kb 5.25" drive A. You boot the PC again if needed.
8. In order to use with CPDRead, you must set your drive
(cpdread.cfg) as a 360Ko drive with 360Ko disks, and you must set
#STEP to 2)
#STEP set to 1 worked for somebody else.
A3.2.1) 3,5" or 5,25" drive on CPC 06/29/98
See A5.2 after installing your new drive.
You can use a 3.5" or 5.25" drive on a CPC. You have to take care
about the cabling, as some 6128s use a 36 pin port and the drive only
has 34. A normal PC floppy cable (5 connector) can be used to connect
drives, although some connectors may need changing. The six problems
which can arrive are:
- The drive has no ready signal. That is true for some older PC
drives. In this case, forget it, if you are not able to solder some
IC's to simulate the signal.
- You can only use one side of the disk (180k). If you want to use
both sides, you have to solder in a switch, or get another DOS
(Vortex XDOS or Dobbertin X-DDOS), the best DOS is ParaDOS.
- High-density drives have a hi/lo signal not present on CPCs which
may cause problems, it is probably best to use older 720k drives.
- Some 5.25" drives, namely 720k QD drives, may cause problems,
however these are not very common and so shouldn't be a cause for
concern.
- Drives may not work properly on the CPC by giving read errors and
seek errors, etc. The first thing to do in this event is to clean
the edge connector on the CPC with some IPA (head cleaner fluid),
and then clean the drive heads in the same way if necessary.
- The jumper setting on the drive is wrong. On older 5.25" drives
you may find that they have been set to Drive 0 (DS0), in which case
you need to set the drive to drive 1 (DS1) or use a PC drive cable
which has a twist in it.
To copy disks from 3" in drive A to 3.5"/5.25" in drive B the
best method is to use Disckit2/3 that comes with CP/M, depending on
which version you have. If Disckit3 doesn't work, Procopy can tackle
most disks, and runs from drive B so you can copy it across to your CPC
fairly easily. You can read the CPC disks on the PC with 22DISK from
Sydex, or Ulrich Doewich's CPDRead, see A1.2.6 and A1.2.8.
The following diagram is a pin table comparing a modern 1.44Mb 3.5"
drive to the drive B connector on a CPC, which you may find useful.
Note that although the CPC connector is numbered backward, it is still
directly compatible.
1.44Mb 3.5" drive: CPC drive B connector
All odd pins: Ground -------------> All even pins: Ground
2: Hi/lo density -----------------> 33: N/C
4: N/C ---------------------------> 31: N/C
6: N/C ---------------------------> 29: N/C
8: Index -------------------------> 27: Index
10: Motor enable A ---------------> 25: N/C
12: Drive select B ---------------> 23: Drive select 1 (B)
14: Drive select A ---------------> 21: N/C
16: Motor Enable B ---------------> 19: Motor On
18: Direction select -------------> 17: Direction Select
20: Head Step --------------------> 15: Step
22: Write data -------------------> 13: Write data
24: Write gate -------------------> 11: Write gate
26: Track 00 ---------------------> 9: Track 0
28: Write protect ----------------> 7: Write protect
30: Read data --------------------> 5: Read data
32: Head select ------------------> 3: Side 1 select
34: Disk change ------------------> 1: Ready
A detailed guide more specific to 5.25" drives can be found at the All
Things CPC website, and there is also information at the other CPC
sites, see A2.2.
A3.2.2) 3,5" or 5,25" drive on CPC+ (by Simon Matthews)
See A5.2 after installing your new drive.
Adding a 3.5" drive to the CPC 6128 was a doddle - 34 way card edge
connector on one end, 34 way IDC on the other end and you were away.
The numbering on the pins was pretty easy, too. Looking at the
connector from the BACK of the machine, Pins 1 to 33 (odd) ran from
left to right along the bottom, pins 2 to 34 (even) ran from left to
right along the top. All of the top pins were grounded, and pin 1
(bottom left) was the READY line, which by convention would be denoted
by the "stripe" of the ribbon cable. At the other end, a simple IDC
plug connected to the external drive, usually with the "stripe"
nearest to the power connector.
The problem with the CPC+ is that the connector on the back of the
computer is 36-way, not 34 and is numbered back to front as well. So,
looking at the connector from the BACK of the machine again, pins 1 to
35 (odd) ran from RIGHT TO LEFT on the top of the connector, and pins
2 to 36 (even) ran from RIGHT TO LEFT on the bottom of the connector.
Again, all of the even pins were grounded. Here's where it gets
tricky...
This time, pin 33 is READY, pin 31 is SIDE 1 SELECT all the way to pin
7 which is INDEX. In other words, the lines are in the same order,
but different pin numbers. It all sounds quite hectic, but it's easy
to sort out in practice.
Firstly, take a length of 34-way ribbon cable and crimp the 34-way
IDC connector on as usual. At the other end, peel away the cable on
the other side of the "stripe" for a few centimetres. Now
place this cable in the 36way Amphenol connector so that the stripe
corresponds to pin 33; in other words, make sure the LEFTMOST 3
blades are left empty. The other edge of the cable should be lying on
the RIGHTMOST blade, with the wire you peeled away not connected to
anything.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"stripe" --->|||||||34 WAY RIBBON CABLE||||||||
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| \
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| \ <--- Peel away
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Goes to pin 33->||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| <--- Goes to pin 1
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
pin 35 --------------------------------------- pin 1
\ /
\ 36 WAY AMPHENOL CONNECTOR /
pin 36 ------------------------------------- pin 2
* LEFTMOST 3 pins (36,35,34) NOT CONNECTED *
Double check all is Ok, then crimp together. Now you can test the
cable on your external drive. If the drive is unresponsive, or just
spins constantly, try plugging the IDC cable in the other way around;
most drives want the "stripe" nearest to the power connector, but a
few want it the other way around.
I know it sounds complex, but have a look at the pin-out diagrams and
it's not too bad.
A3.3) parallel cable 06/08/2001
The CPCEMU emulator has documentation on how to make such
a cable yourself and includes utilities for both the PC and CPC that
allow two-way communication and file transfer. However CPCPARA.BAS
supplied in this package can extract files from CPC disk drives, not
those saved on cassette tape. For files on tape, see A1.2.14.
following line to be removed on next FAQ
See A8.1.1.1 for getting this cable in France.
If you have a problem with PCPARA.BAS, coming with CPCEMU, load the
program into the emulator (put it in the TAPE directory) and save it
as an ascii file with this command : SAVE"PCPARA.BAS",A
or use SEND2
A3.4) RS 232 & RS 422
Neither the CPC nor the PCW have a RS 232. You can buy it, you then
just need a communication program on PC and CPC/PCW and a null modem
cable to exchange files between the computers.
Get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/misc/rs232cpc.lzh for a circuit plan for
a RS 232 interface, by Tim Riemann.
A3.5) Companies
Commercial companies can transfer your files
A3.5.1) Locoscript Software (was Locomotive Software) 05/08/2000
The Locomotive name and products has been sold to SD Micros (SD
Microsystems Ltd). For sales write to sales@locomotive.com,
for support write to support@locomotive.com
See C3.1
A3.5.2) Rowansoft
Contact Tony Gill at tgill@alystra.win-uk.net for rates.
ROWANSOFT, ROWANCRAIG, ARDFERN,
BY LOCHGILPHEAD, ARGYLL, PA31 8QN
Tel. 01852 500 257
A3.5.3) Holland Numerics Ltd 09/07/97
Converts PCW data to PC format. A price list can be obtained by email
from on the web page :
http://www.hollandnumerics.demon.co.uk/PCWPRICE.HTM
or by post from:
Philip R Holland
Holland Numerics Ltd
94 Green Drift
Royston
Herts SG8 5BT
United Kingdom
A3.5.4) David Simpson
David Simpson (DAS@picknowl.com.au)
PO Box 187
Mitcham Shopping Centre
South Australia 5062
Ph +61-8-83731693
Contact me for rates.
I also supply belts and/or do the replacement for 3" drives
I am the contact for Amstrad Computer Club Incorporated in South
Australia.
The club meets weekly on Tuesday evenings between 6:30 and 9:00pm at
Torrensville Primary School, Hayward Avenue, Torrensville, SA. While
the club is primarily a no-brand PC compatibles club, I and several
other members are familiar with CPC and PCW machines and are only too
happy to help.
* A3.6) Tapes 03/28/2002
* A3.6.1) Using AIFF decoder 03/28/2002
- digitalize the tape as AIFF or WAV files, using Cool Edit for example,
- use AIFFdecoder (A1.2.10) for transforming an AIFF file to
plain Amstrad files to put in the TAPE directory of an emulator,
or use CPCFS (A1.2.4) to put the files into a .DSK,
- run the Multi-Machine emulator which can directly read .WAV files.
You can use CPC2TAPE (A1.2.17) to transfer a tape directly from PC to CPC.
+ A3.6.2) Using vox2tzx and playtzx 03/28/2002
+ Voc2tzx is an utility to transfer cassette programs into CDT tape
+ images for use with emulators. There are instructions at the ADATE
+ archive which describe how to identify and convert various loading
+ systems.
+ Playtzx is an utility to convert CDT tape images to a real cassette
+ for use on a real CPC. You can play the CDT through the sound card of
+ your PC.
+ Get voc2tzx and playtzx at Word of Spectrum
A4) Maps, solutions, pokes, basic loaders ?
A4.1) Maps & Solutions 02/14/2000
Post solutions in the newsgroup, I will store them on lip6.
- http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/inside/angl/people/pdd/advent.html
("PDD's adventure page")
It features much informations about the beginnings of the text
adventures and gives a lot of links towards other related pages.
All major companies are mentioned with a brief historical
explanation. To be especially noticed is a link towards the ftp
"IF-archive" which contains tons of informations, in particular
solutions of most classic adventures.
- http://hjem.get2net.dk/gunn
A lot of adventure games solutions
- WOS games maps
a lot of games maps
A4.2) Pokes 03/05/99
Starting with CPCEMU 1.3 you can easily poke games with an external
database file. If you have new pokes, send them to
tous@club-internet.fr which maintains a database for CPCEMU. The last
database is 1.641 pokes for 576 games, get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/mix09.zip
Amstrad CPC poke database (for CPCEMU), you can submit your pokes to
be added in the database : http://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/~sergio/cpc
A4.3) Basic loaders 06/12/99
See http://cpc.purespace.de
A5) Hardware problems
A5.1) Internal drive 07/22/2000
If you have the error : 'disk missing', the drive belt should be the
problem. The best solution is to come with your old belt in an
electronics shop and see the available belts. You should look for
one with the dimensions 72mm x 3 mm x 0.5 mm (although I believe it is
OK to use belts in the length range of 69-72 mm long and either 3 or
4mm wide).
You can find belts at Paris (75011), reference Koenig 7093.00 for
22 FF at Espace Composants Electronique, 66 rue de Montreuil,
m‰tro Nation, phone 01 43 72 30 64, fax 01 43 72 30 67,
web http://www.ibcfrance.fr
Cibotronic at Paris (France) used to sell them, but they
don't have them anymore. The reference was MASTER type CR 4092,
dimensions 71.0 x 0.6 x 2.8 mm.
An U.K. address : Andre Howard at 65 Altyre Way, Beckenham, Kent BR3
3ED. Price is #2.25 (UK pounds) including P&P.
Still in U.K., CPC components sells them as reference AVBELT3 for 18
pences. Phone (01772) 654455.
Pinboard Computers can supply belts, ask Pinboardcomputers@btinternet.com
A working reference in U.K. : maplins reference RK99.
For Germany, see A8.1.4.4 and A8.1.4.5
Now it is time to change the belt of an Amstrad CPC 6128/6128+ :
- open the CPC by unscrewing the screws at the back of the CPC,
without disconnecting anything. For a CPC+ there are screws and 3
clips,
- unscrew the drive from the CPC,
- disconnect the 2 cables (data and electricity),
- if you have a CPC+, get out the drive from its metallic place, there
are 4 screws and you have to push the drive,
- put the drive to let you see the green electronic card,
- unscrew the card from the drive,
- disconnect the items which goes from the card to the drive to let
you lift enough the card and see the belt (you wont be able to detach
completely the card from the drive),
- remove the belt with your fingers or a screwdriver. In all cases,
keep always the drive with the head down, or a nail will fall.
It is used for the detection of write protection.
- buy a new belt (see above),
- put the new belt, reconnect all items, screw again the green
electronic card, reconnect the drive to the CPC, close the CPC.
The other possibility is a fault with the index hole detection. As
well as the large shutter on a 3" disc, there is also a smaller one
through which the disc drive can watch for the index hole to go past.
There is a LED and an associated detector that watch for this, and if
either has gone wrong or got covered in dust you may get disc missing
messages.
A5.2) External drive 05/15/99
See A3.2.1 and A3.2.2 for adding a 5,25" or 3,5" drive to your CPC.
Then, when the drive is installed, you can't format your disk to the
full 720 Ko unless you have a ROM box and another operating system
such as RoDOS, ROMDOS (not CPC+ compatible) or ParaDOS (the best one).
Parados recognise all ROMDOS formats and can replace ROM slot 7
(Amsdos).
A5.3) Components
The place to go for CPC spares is (coincidentally) a company called
CPC Spares in United Kingdom, at +44 1772 654477.
There are 3 Gate Array, two types being used on 464 (a very old cpc uses
400007, the newer ones have 400010).
The AM40007 is the type used in most CPC464's and they should be
available from CPC Ltd. +44 1772 654455. They're gonna be expensive
though, probably about 25-35 pounds.
A6) How can I help the Amstrad world ?
A6.1) Updating the FAQ
By sending corrections, modifications, new informations for this FAQ
to roussin@noos.fr
A6.2) Commercial games becoming freeware
If you know addresses of authors who wrote programs on CPC/PCW, send
me their address, I will write them to ask the persmission for letting
their games to become freeware or shareware (they still will retain
the copyright, even after all these years).
See http://www.genesis8bit.com/gamecal.html
for the games that already became freeware, or almost freeware
(authors stating that they don't care for the distribution of their games).
A6.3) Adding files to ftp.lip6.fr 04/15/2001
You can send me your latest production. As there is no upload
directory on lip6, you will need to send me your programs uuencoded to
roussin@noos.fr, or send them to ftp.nvg.ntnu.no/pub/cpc/incoming,
I will then put it on ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad
* A6.4) Updating ALL_CPC, ALL_HW, ALL_ROM, ALL_UTIL 04/14/2002
* Frederic Herlem (frederic.herlem@planetis.com) is writing the complete
inventory of the CPC programs, get v08 and help him to update it :
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/misc/all_cpc.zip
Kevin Thacker (amstrad@aiind.upv.es) wrote :
- inventory of all hardware produced for the CPC (v1.0 is 02/04/97)
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/misc/all_hw.zip
- inventory of all CPC ROM software, (v1.0 is 02/04/97)
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/misc/all_rom.zip
- inventory of all CPC utilities, commercial or not, (v1.0 is 02/04/97)
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/misc/all_util.zip
A7) Commercial programs which are now PD, freeware or shareware
See http://www.genesis8bit.com/gamecal.html
A8) Useful addresses and information
A8.1) Addresses
See A3.4 for a PCW address.
A8.1.1) FRANCE
A8.1.1.1) removed 05/18/2001
A8.1.1.2) Futur's 10/31/99
Futur's is a french group, they do many things. They bring you the
Soundplayer (a better Digiblaster). It connects on the printer port.
The Soundplayer is used by Protracker and Digitracker. You can do it
yourself for about 30 FF of electronic components. The electronic
plan is in the paper zine Quasar issue 9, see A9.1.3. With this little
marvellous thing, you can have 8bit samples, instead of 4bit samples.
The SoundPlayer+ is a better SoundPlayer, which can include Virtual
Net 96 (see A10.5) for 10 FF more, or which can use a CPC+ port instead
of the normal CPC printer port.
The SoundPlayer II now exists. It connects on the expansion port and
permits to make mono 8 bits/22KHz digitalized sound. It offers one
more port to connect a second Soundplayer (for stereo) or to free the
printer port.
For ordering a SoundPlayer+ or 2, see A9.1.3
see http://www.chez.com/futurs or http://www.i-france.com/futurs
old A8.1.1.3 removed, A8.1.1.4 become A8.1.1.3
A8.1.1.3) Association des Fans de CPC (AFC) 10/31/99
AFC is a french association whose aim is to be a link between the various
CPC users. For more information, write to
Emmanuel Roussin
10 rue du Capitaine Menard
75015 PARIS
FRANCE
or see http://www.genesis8bit.com
A8.1.2) U.S.A
A8.1.2.1) Sinotech Ltd.
A source for Amstrad PCW, PC 1286/2286, PC1386/2386, PC 1512/6400, and
PC 1640 disks, ribbons, memory and drive upgrades, etc. in the USA is:
Sinotech Ltd.
218 Terrace Drive
Mundelein, Illinois
USA 60060
phone: (708) 566-0504
A8.1.3) United Kingdom
A8.1.3.1) Comsoft (was Campursoft) 05/06/99
This company is held by Peter Campbell (cam1@cix.compulink.co.uk).
Now on internet, http://www.systemed.u-net.com/cpc/comsoft.html
Comsoft
10 McInstosh Crt.
Wellpark
Glasgow
G31 2HW
United Kingdom
Tel/fax (044) 0141 554 4735
World wide credit card (visa, mastercard) are accepted, you can also
send an international postal money order, and of course checks (U.K.
only).
- ParaDOS v1.1, a ROM operating system, the best CPC OS, was available
too on cartridge for 6128+
- DES (Desktop Environment System), graphical interface for CPC, like
on MAC or PC Windows, on disk or ROM,
- ProPrint, Protext text enhancement program, fonts, font editor, on
disk or ROM,
- MicroDesign Plus, DTP package,
- MicroDesign Extra, disc of clip arts for MicroDesign,
- Maps for MD, British isles and worlds maps,
- 2in1, PC to CPC, runs under CP/M,
- The Basic Idea, tutorial of 42 pages and disc of examples for the
aimed basic programmer,
- Xexor, file management/disc backup utility (also for protected
discs),
- Soft-Lok v2.3, tape 2 disc, especially for speedlock protected
games.
- RoutePlanner PCW is now available as 10/22/97.
World copyrights on the CPC/PCW versions of the Protext word processor
(and derivatives), Maxam assembler and Utopia utility programs, formerly
published by Arnor Ltd, are now owned by WACCO.
A8.1.3.2) United Amstrad User Group 06/01/98
Martyn Sherwood
Sherwood
13 Rodney Close
Bilon
Rugby
Warwickshire
CV22 7HJ
United Kingdom
The group has been going for 10 years now. We publish a magazine
called "CPC User" every couple of months, and have other services
for members (disk and tape library, book library, and help-lines).
The magazine carries occasional articles on using CPCs in conjunction
with PCs (how to set up emulators, share files, and so on), and other
articles range from those aimed at beginners to experienced users,
with competitions, type-ins, tutorials, and fiction.
See A2.2 for web address and A9.1.2 for fanzine.
8.1.3.3) Brian Watson
Brian Watson
39 High Street
Sutton-in-the-Isle
ELY
Cambs
CB6 2RA
England
Tel (and FAX by arrangement, phone first): +44 (0)1353 777006
E-mail: brian@spheroid.demon.co.uk
Supplier or distributor of a number of products and services
for users of CPCs, CPC Pluses, PCW/PcWs and some other
computers. Fuller details with prices on application
- The Protext family, including Proprint, Protext Office,
Maxam, Utopia etc for the CPC and PCW (also the PC and
Atari versions and the Prodata PC database). Free user
support at normal phone rates is included with all items
- Montrac: a new monitor/tracing program to work with Maxam
- PcW16 operating system upgrades. Free for a DS/HD disc and
return postage with your address in a padded bag
- Pipeline Tutorials for the CPC: a printed tutorial course in
parts (and firmware guides) with free example files on disc
- Second-hand Software: an extensive range for the CPC, all
originals with documentation. From 50 pence UK.
Also editor of 8BIT magazine, and is the Publicity Officer of
WACCI CPC club and IEBA (Independent Eight Bit Association)
Send large Self Adressed Envelop (SAE) or two International Reply
Coupons (IRC) for Brian Watson Software catalogue.
A8.1.4) Germany
A8.1.4.1) Karl-Heinz Weeske
Karl-Heinz Weeske
Potsdamer Ring 10
D-71522 Backnang
Tel +49 7191 60078
Fax +49 7191 60079
supply of:
CPC hardware and software, printer ribbons (NQL401 & DMP), circuit
diagrams, manuals, etc..., demand an offer list !
A8.1.4.2) Walter Kuhn
Walter Kuhn
EDV-Zubehör
Hessenstrasse 7 (Frohnhausen)
D-35684 Dillenburg
Tel./Fax +49 2771 32688
supply printer ribbons Schneider/Amstrad, DMP 2000...3160 DM 6,50, NLQ
401 DM 6,50, Joyce, LQ 3500, PCW 8256/8512 DM 7,5, PCW 9512,
Multistrikeband DM 7, Maxell 3"-Disks 10 pack DM 83,
P & P (Germany): DM 9,50
out of Germany: pay in advance only, orders over DM 5,- only
A8.1.4.3) Wiedmann 06/15/97
A german company which provides somes Amstrad Support/spares, see
http://www.wiedmann.com
A8.1.4.4) Beratung Mewes 01/31/99
EDV-Beratung Mewes
Gartenstr. 2
53902 Bad Muenstereifel
Tel. +49 2253 932388
Fax +49 2253 932387
eMail: s.mewes@usa.net
http://www.online.de/home/newesedv
drive belts (CPC, PCW), 3" drives (PCW), RAM-Extensions, repair
service for disc-drives (3")
A8.1.4.5) Andreas 10/09/99
Andreas will send out replacement belts for 3 inch drives to anyone in
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