• Hardware for free

    From Folderol@general@musically.me.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sat Jun 6 18:09:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It powers up but only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a number of programmed EPROMs and wonder if they've faded over time.
    I also Have a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is 5.25 and the other is 3.5
    Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25 and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham
    --
    Basic

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  • From Folderol@general@musically.me.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sat Jun 6 18:11:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:09:22 +0100
    Folderol <general@musically.me.uk> wrote:

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It powers up but >only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a number of programmed EPROMs and >wonder if they've faded over time.
    I also Have a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is 5.25 and the other is 3.5
    Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25 and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham

    Forgot to mention I also have a fully working Microvitec Cub monitor, with a pin
    sharp and bright display!
    --
    Basic

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  • From Nigel Reed@sysop@endofthelinebbs.com to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sat Jun 6 23:09:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:11:05 +0100
    Folderol <general@musically.me.uk> wrote:

    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:09:22 +0100
    Folderol <general@musically.me.uk> wrote:

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It
    powers up but only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a number of >programmed EPROMs and wonder if they've faded over time.
    I also Have a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is 5.25 and the
    other is 3.5 Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25 and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham

    Forgot to mention I also have a fully working Microvitec Cub monitor,
    with a pin sharp and bright display!


    I've been after a Cub monitor...problem is I'm in the US and nobody
    will ship :( It's going to need a lot of careful packing.
    --
    End Of The Line BBS - Plano, TX
    telnet endofthelinebbs.com 23


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  • From Nigel Reed@sysop@endofthelinebbs.com to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sat Jun 6 23:12:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:09:22 +0100
    Folderol <general@musically.me.uk> wrote:

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It
    powers up but only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a number of programmed EPROMs and wonder if they've faded over time.
    I also Have a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is 5.25 and the
    other is 3.5 Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25 and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham


    It's probably because the battery is dead. Try holding CTRL-D and press
    break to see if it'll bring you into BASIC with a DFS 1770 prompt or
    similar.

    also try *STATUS and see what Language number is configured, if it's
    not 12 then try

    *CONFIGURE LANG 12
    *CONFIGURE BOOT

    then press break.

    If either of these work and you turn the computer off and back on and
    get the * prompt again, it's your CMOS battery.
    --
    End Of The Line BBS - Plano, TX
    telnet endofthelinebbs.com 23


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  • From Chris Newman@mec@npost.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sun Jun 7 19:11:04 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <20260606231238.7656cbed@wibble.sysadmininc.com>, Nigel Reed <sysop@endofthelinebbs.com> wrote:
    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:09:22 +0100 Folderol <general@musically.me.uk>
    wrote:

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It
    powers up but only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a number of programmed EPROMs and wonder if they've faded over time. I also Have
    a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is 5.25 and the other is 3.5 Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25 and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham


    It's probably because the battery is dead. Try holding CTRL-D and press
    break to see if it'll bring you into BASIC with a DFS 1770 prompt or
    similar.

    also try *STATUS and see what Language number is configured, if it's
    not 12 then try

    Interesting. That prompted me to check my FAST Pi Compute Module 4
    RISC OS 5.31 and it showed language 11.
    Is there somewhere a list of the numbers related to languages?
    Couldn't find anything in the User Guide.
    --
    Chris Newman
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin@News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sun Jun 7 19:25:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce553d02amec@npost.uk>,
    Chris Newman <mec@npost.uk> wrote:
    In article <20260606231238.7656cbed@wibble.sysadmininc.com>, Nigel Reed <sysop@endofthelinebbs.com> wrote:
    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:09:22 +0100 Folderol <general@musically.me.uk>
    wrote:

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It
    powers up but only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a
    number of programmed EPROMs and wonder if they've faded over
    time. I also Have a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is
    5.25 and the other is 3.5 Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25
    and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham


    It's probably because the battery is dead. Try holding CTRL-D and
    press break to see if it'll bring you into BASIC with a DFS 1770
    prompt or similar.

    also try *STATUS and see what Language number is configured, if
    it's not 12 then try

    Interesting. That prompted me to check my FAST Pi Compute Module
    4 RISC OS 5.31 and it showed language 11. Is there somewhere a
    list of the numbers related to languages? Couldn't find anything in
    the User Guide.

    No, because I think the number refers to the module number (see
    *modules) in the ROM for that machine, and the of modules has varied
    over time.

    Here it is 18, which is Desktop in the Titanium.
    --
    Martin Avison
    Note that unfortunately this email address will become invalid
    without notice if (when) any spam is received.
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  • From Chris Newman@mec@npost.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sun Jun 7 19:44:47 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce555181cNews04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce553d02amec@npost.uk>,
    Chris Newman <mec@npost.uk> wrote:
    In article <20260606231238.7656cbed@wibble.sysadmininc.com>, Nigel Reed <sysop@endofthelinebbs.com> wrote:
    On Sat, 6 Jun 2026 18:09:22 +0100 Folderol <general@musically.me.uk> wrote:

    I have an Acorn Master that appears to be partially working. It
    powers up but only to the * prompt. I notice that it has a
    number of programmed EPROMs and wonder if they've faded over
    time. I also Have a mismatched pair of disk drives - one is
    5.25 and the other is 3.5 Finally I have a *huge* mix of 5.25
    and 3.5 floppys.

    I'm in Chatham


    It's probably because the battery is dead. Try holding CTRL-D and
    press break to see if it'll bring you into BASIC with a DFS 1770
    prompt or similar.

    also try *STATUS and see what Language number is configured, if
    it's not 12 then try

    Interesting. That prompted me to check my FAST Pi Compute Module
    4 RISC OS 5.31 and it showed language 11. Is there somewhere a
    list of the numbers related to languages? Couldn't find anything in
    the User Guide.

    No, because I think the number refers to the module number (see
    *modules) in the ROM for that machine, and the of modules has varied
    over time.

    Here it is 18, which is Desktop in the Titanium.

    That sort of think could confuse a bear of little brain.
    --
    Chris Newman
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin@News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Sun Jun 7 22:54:29 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce556e582mec@npost.uk>,
    Chris Newman <mec@npost.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce555181cNews04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce553d02amec@npost.uk>,
    Chris Newman <mec@npost.uk> wrote:

    [Snip]

    Interesting. That prompted me to check my FAST Pi Compute
    Module 4 RISC OS 5.31 and it showed language 11. Is there
    somewhere a list of the numbers related to languages? Couldn't
    find anything in the User Guide.

    No, because I think the number refers to the module number (see
    *modules) in the ROM for that machine, and the of modules has
    varied over time.

    Here it is 18, which is Desktop in the Titanium.

    That sort of think could confuse a bear of little brain.

    If you do a *Modules (or more exactly a *RomModules) command, it will
    list the modules that are in the ROM at the start. They are in a fixed
    position (as they are in ROM) for each version/machine combination.

    The Language number is set by a *Conmfiguration command, and specifies
    the module that will become active as a 'language' after the machine
    has booted.

    Normally this is the Desktop module (which starts in the desktop), but
    it could be the BASIC module (which would start with a BASIC prompt),
    or the UtilityModule (which I think is the one to start with an *
    command prompt). No doubt others are available!
    --
    Martin Avison
    Note that unfortunately this email address will become invalid
    without notice if (when) any spam is received.
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  • From Dave@dave@triffid.co.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Mon Jun 8 07:26:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce568446bNews04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:

    [Snip]

    If you do a *Modules (or more exactly a *RomModules) command, it will
    list the modules that are in the ROM at the start. They are in a fixed position (as they are in ROM) for each version/machine combination.

    The Language number is set by a *Conmfiguration command, and specifies
    the module that will become active as a 'language' after the machine
    has booted.

    Normally this is the Desktop module (which starts in the desktop), but
    it could be the BASIC module (which would start with a BASIC prompt),
    or the UtilityModule (which I think is the one to start with an *
    command prompt). No doubt others are available!

    There's an app I've been using for a lot of years called "Verma" (By
    Lenny and it's noted as Freeware), which does that business, and it has a switch for all or either modules displays, including number positions.

    It does work on RISC OS 5.nn as well.

    Dave
    --

    Dave Triffid
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin@News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Mon Jun 8 09:38:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce5971c60dave@triffid.co.uk>,
    Dave <dave@triffid.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce568446bNews04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:

    [Snip]

    If you do a *Modules (or more exactly a *RomModules) command, it
    will list the modules that are in the ROM at the start. They are
    in a fixed position (as they are in ROM) for each version/machine combination.

    The Language number is set by a *Conmfiguration command, and
    specifies the module that will become active as a 'language'
    after the machine has booted.

    Normally this is the Desktop module (which starts in the
    desktop), but it could be the BASIC module (which would start
    with a BASIC prompt), or the UtilityModule (which I think is the
    one to start with an * command prompt). No doubt others are
    available!

    There's an app I've been using for a lot of years called "Verma"
    (By Lenny and it's noted as Freeware), which does that business,
    and it has a switch for all or either modules displays, including
    number positions.

    Yes indeed, but the numbers it gives are different to *RomModules!

    It does work on RISC OS 5.nn as well.

    Agreed.
    --
    Martin Avison
    Note that unfortunately this email address will become invalid
    without notice if (when) any spam is received.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Newman@mec@npost.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Mon Jun 8 10:04:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce5a34348News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce5971c60dave@triffid.co.uk>,
    Dave <dave@triffid.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce568446bNews04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:


    There's an app I've been using for a lot of years called "Verma"
    (By Lenny and it's noted as Freeware), which does that business,
    and it has a switch for all or either modules displays, including
    number positions.

    Yes indeed, but the numbers it gives are different to *RomModules!

    Do you mean version numbers or the count of how many modules there are?

    I've used both methods and inspected several mods and the versions are
    the same.

    It does work on RISC OS 5.nn as well.

    Agreed.
    It does.
    --
    Chris Newman
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Dave@dave@triffid.co.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Mon Jun 8 11:52:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce5a34348News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce5971c60dave@triffid.co.uk>,
    Dave <dave@triffid.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce568446bNews04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:

    [Snip]

    If you do a *Modules (or more exactly a *RomModules) command, it
    will list the modules that are in the ROM at the start. They are
    in a fixed position (as they are in ROM) for each version/machine combination.

    The Language number is set by a *Conmfiguration command, and
    specifies the module that will become active as a 'language'
    after the machine has booted.

    Normally this is the Desktop module (which starts in the
    desktop), but it could be the BASIC module (which would start
    with a BASIC prompt), or the UtilityModule (which I think is the
    one to start with an * command prompt). No doubt others are
    available!

    There's an app I've been using for a lot of years called "Verma"
    (By Lenny and it's noted as Freeware), which does that business,
    and it has a switch for all or either modules displays, including
    number positions.

    Yes indeed, but the numbers it gives are different to *RomModules!

    It does work on RISC OS 5.nn as well.

    Agreed.

    Well, well! As I've never used the *RomModules command... I was not aware
    of that little ointment fly.

    I wonder why it happens?

    Dave

    Just as an aside...
    Anyone know who "Lenny" is/was?

    D.
    --

    Dave Triffid
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  • From Martin@News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk to comp.sys.acorn.misc on Mon Jun 8 12:40:53 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.acorn.misc

    In article <5ce5a59df4mec@npost.uk>,
    Chris Newman <mec@npost.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce5a34348News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk>,
    Martin <News04@avisoft.f9.co.uk> wrote:
    In article <5ce5971c60dave@triffid.co.uk>,
    Dave <dave@triffid.co.uk> wrote:

    There's an app I've been using for a lot of years called
    "Verma" (By Lenny and it's noted as Freeware), which does that
    business, and it has a switch for all or either modules
    displays, including number positions.

    Yes indeed, but the numbers it gives are different to *RomModules!

    Do you mean version numbers or the count of how many modules there
    are?

    I meant the numbers down the left-hand-side, headed No. in *Modules
    and *RomModules, and ROM and RMA in Verma.

    But they all seem different to me, and I am now also confused which is
    referred to in Language.

    I think the Language as given by Status is historical, before !Boot
    (or even RISC OS) developed, for setting the language module that was
    started at Boot. Changing it these days (with a !Boot) seems to have
    no effect.

    And no, I cannot remember who Lenny is/was!
    --
    Martin Avison
    Note that unfortunately this email address will become invalid
    without notice if (when) any spam is received.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2