peelings-ii-v4n1-1983

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Super-MX Interface Cardby John SpiesSpies LaboratoriesP.O. Box 336Lawndale, CA 90260213-644-0056$175 for basic card, $30 for each additional 2-fontEPROMEpson MX-80, MX-80 FIT, or MX-100Reviewed by Michael L. WeasnerINTRODUCTIONWith the popularity of the Epson series of printers has come amultitude of software and hardware products that support the manyfeatures of the Epson printers but very few add features. Some addvarious fonts by using the Epson's graphics capabilities or makeusing the Epson considerably easier. None have really improved onthe basic Epson until the SUPER-MX interface card from Spies (pronounced"speez") Laboratories.Perhaps the only complaint ever heard about the Epson printersis that they are dot matrix and hence not really suitable for purposesrequiring high quality text printing, so the user turns to a daisy wheelprinter and gives up the outstanding graphics and speed of a dotmatrix printer at a considerable increase in cost. Of course, there area lot of Epson printers in use today and to have to buy an additionalprinter for high quality printing is usually beyond the means of mostusers. The solution is to improve the quality of the dot matrix printingand with the design of the Epson such a solution is possible; that iswhat the SUPER-MX card does.DOCUMENT A TI ONThe SUPER-MX documentation is an Apple-sized 30-page manualprinted using the SUPER-MX card and an Epson MX-80. Becauseof the quality of the SUPER-MX printing the manual is muchmore readable than dot matrix printing and approaches typeset printing.The manual covers installation and use of the various commands.While there is no index, the table of contents will refer you tothe proper one or two page appendix for quick and simplified explanationsof each option. Once the manual has been read theappendices will be the only part used. Since the command structureis easily used from the keyboard or from within your programs (orword processor) the manual is complete enough and is well written.Some minor errors were noted during this evaluation and will be correctedwith an addendum to the manual.INSTALLATIONAs with most printer interface cards, SUPER-MX can be used inany slot except 0 and installs just as any card. No modifications toyour Epson or Apple are required. Additional font chips can be purchasedat a later date and inserted in the empty sockets in theSUPER-MX card (the card must be removed and reinstalled).FEATURESThe SUPER-MX adds the following to the MX-80 (F/T) with Graftraxor Graftrax-Plus and the MX-100 with Graftrax-Plus:Roman font (standard)Letter Gothic and Orator Large fonts (optional)Script and Olde English fonts (optional)Pica or Elite printing in any font (standard)Graphics dump capabilities (standard)See the sample printout for examples of each style. None of the40normal Epson print modes have been eliminated and the standardEpson mode is the default.To initialize any of the SUPER-MX features from within text requiresan "@A" to be inserted at the start of your document followedby the command you wish, i.e. @A@H for high quality pica printingin the default (Roman) font. Once initialized you can switch modeswith single @-commands. Returning to the normal Epson modes isvia the "@N" command. If you use a lot of at-signs in your text thenthe at-sign prompt to the SUPER-MX can be changed at the beginningto whatever character you wish as long as it h.as an ASCII valueless than 63, including Ctrl-characters but excluding numbers. Onevery nice feature for those having word processors that prohibitusing all the Epson control and ESCape sequences is that theSUPER-MX card will recognize the string "@E" as an ESCape character.Any of the normal Epson modes are therefore available fromwithin all word processors. Alternatively the high quality SUPER-MXmodes can be activated from the keyboard before the actual printingis begun. This feature means you can get high quality printouts fromprotected software without the need to setup the printer before RUNningthe protected program.HIRES graphics dumps and text page dumps are possible fromwithin your programs or from the keyboard. This mode is similar tothe popular Grappler interface card from Orange Micro. Of courseany RUNning program that generated the HIRES picture must beexited before you can use the keyboard commands. The followinggraphics modes are available:Dump page 1 or 2Double sizeEmphasize for darker printsInvert (black for white)Rotate 90 degreesPrint picture with 4 lines oftext at bottomSide by side (MX-100 only)Set left marginWhile not a graphics command, the 40 column text screen can alsobe printed with simple commands from the keyboard or from withinyour programs.Normal-sized, non-rotated, printouts will appear squashed in thevertical due to the dot-to-dot conversion of the Epson. Double sizedprintouts will print with a normal appearing aspect ratio and rival thatof graphics dump software having the ability to specify the horizontaland vertical magnifications.THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWSAll of the SUPER-MX modes as well as the normal Epson modescan be used in Apple DOS, CP/M, or Pascal without change, makingthe SUPER-MX card truly versatile. The card is warranted for 90days and Spies Laboratories has demonstrated excellent customersupport to date. The card is compatible with MXPLUS from DresselhausComputer Products (reviewed in the Nov 82 issue of PeelingsJI).Some minor changes in the way you print text may be required.The SUPER-MX works on a line of text at a time (until a carriage return)and hence some printouts may be different than what you mightexpect. Example: when first using the SUPER-MX card I could notget some modes of PIE Writer to print as desired. The problem wasthat the SUPER-MX was changing high quality modes before Iwanted it to. As long as you don't mix modes, or add a blank line ifyou do mix, then you will never have this problem. For the same reason,it is not possible currently to change modes in the middle of aline as you can with the normal Epson fonts. Some other changeswere required in my data base program as a result of the way theSUPER-MX handles line feeds. This is not a problem but just somethingthat one needs to be aware of when changing printer interfacecards.Peelings II
Super-MX (cont.)When dumping HIRES pictures with thekeyboard commands you will get a SYNTAX ERROR printed above your printout ifyou use the Ctrl-1 or @ sequence sinceBASIC tries to interpret these. To avoid theerror message you can use a PRINT statementwith the same commands in quotes butthis results in the PRINT statement appearingabove your dump. While not a problem itdoes point out the benefit of doing your printoutsfrom deferred mode. The capability ofdoing printouts at any time is useful andworth the distraction of the message beingprinted.To get the highest quality text out of thedot matrix pattern it is necessary to slow theprinting speed down, way down. The normalSUPER-MX prints at about 14 characters asecond. The SUPER-MX also makes twopasses per line which means that ribbons willbe changed more frequently. Considering thequality of the printing the speed sacrifice isbearable. If speed is necessary but qualityisn't (like program listings or draft documents)then the normal Epson modes can beused.SUMMARYFor Epson printer owners the SUPER-MX card will add neardaisy wheel text printing at a fraction of the cost of a new printer andwithout giving up any feature of the Epson. For those looking for aprinter, the Epson now looks even better than it did before. If youneed (or just want) better printing than is available from a dot matrixprinter, then the SUPER-MX card in combination with the Epsonprinters will satisfy that need. The additional features and ease of useof the card as well as still having access to all the standard Epson featuresmeans the combination is unbeatable at the price. Highlyrecommended for Epson owners. DLet the0-Forcebe with you!PLUGS INTOCOMPUTERGAME PORTOPTIONS-BO IS NOWAVAILABLE FOR APPLEII PLUS AND III, ASWELL AS THE TRS-80MODELS I & III, ANDTHE IBM PERS. COMP.OPTIONINVESTINGTHE SYSTEM INCLUDESPROGRAM DISK AND ACOMPREHENSIVE MANUIT HANDLES PUTS,CALLS, SPREADS, INAND OUT. INCLUDESCOMMISSIONS, RISK,COST OF MONEY, ANDDIVIDENDS. PRINTSTABLES AND GRAPHS,STORES. $125 VISAM/C. FREE BROCHUREOPTIONS-80,BOX 471-FCONCORD, MA 01742-Volume 4, Number 1, <strong>1983</strong>Scooter's ,0-Force external socketsaves wear and tear oncomputers and game portsComputer game port access can be a realpain with opening the computer every time andrisking damage to fragile plug pins on joy sticksand paddles.But Scooter's 0-Force X-Port turns gameport access into a real joy. Even repeated insertionsof delicate game accessory plug pins areno problem with Scooter's high quality 0-Forceinsertion socket. And Scooter's 3-foot cableallows the game port access to be re-locatedand easily mounted in a convenient user location.So start making computer games a real joywith Scooter's 0-Force X-Port and let the0-Force be with you.#ZFXP-3$20.00(SUGGESTED RETAIL)High Grade Electronic ComponentsIf your favorite computer dealerdoesn't have Scooter components yet, write to:ohm/electronics7 46 Vermont Ave.Palatine, IL 60067(312) 359-5500• Extends game port outsidecomputer with 3-foot cable.• Prolongs life of game accessorieswith 0-Force insertionsocket.• Mounts anywhere in secondswith pressure sensitivebacking.• Offers better performance andreliability with high gradecomponents.41
Page 1 and 2: TMVOL, 4, NO. 11983$2.506 DOS ENHAN
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Page 51 and 52: NEW Unlocked .Ai>Ple Utility Disksl
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