What is the best BASIC Pocket Computer

[ijabbott]

(11-23-2019 07:22 PM)ijabbott Wrote:  I've got an FA-1 and an FA-2 working with an old, 1980s "computer compatible" cassette recorder. I've changed the belt and cleaned the heads. The audio still sounds bloody awful, but seems good enough for loading and saving Casio tapes. (The next challenge will be ZX Spectrum fast loaders when or if my "ZX Spectrum Next" finally shows up.)

I suppose I now need an FX-700P to use with the FA-2, and so it continues....

EDIT: It's the FX-702P (not the FX-700P) that uses the FA-2 cassette interface (which can also be used by the FX-501P, FX-502P, FX-601P and FX-602P).

As a follow-up, I've now obtained an FX-702P, along with another FA-2 and an FP-10 printer. (The wonders of eBay!). They all seem to work after removing ancient batteries from the peripherals and cleaning up the terminals. Now I just need to find some of the special, aluminized paper rolls for the printer (it came with a partially used roll).

[ZQ8000_dude]

I'm really sorry to dig up an old thread, but this one has mention of the Sharp ZR/IQ-8x00 computers and I am on an HP forum! So at risk of starting a new off-topic thread, I'd thought more people would appreciate this.

I saw several users Katie Wasserman and rprosperi mention the old IQ-8100 Pocket Organiser/PC with BASIC cards. I'm trying to get hold of a BASIC card for mine, do you have any spare or does anyone on here know how to acquire one?

Edit: I'll equally take a BASIC ROM burned onto the EPROM card.

Ebay seems to be devoid of any of the BASIC cards, although the money manager, various translators and odd games seem to be available, none of which interest me - at least not at the price offered.

I'm also really intrigued by programming in BASIC to POKE/PEEK on the organiser functions and extend them. Is it recorded how this works anywhere unofficially?

[Dave Britten]

(07-07-2020 10:03 AM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  I'm really sorry to dig up an old thread, but this one has mention of the Sharp ZR/IQ-8x00 computers and I am on an HP forum! So at risk of starting a new off-topic thread, I'd thought more people would appreciate this.

I saw several users Katie Wasserman and rprosperi mention the old IQ-8100 Pocket Organiser/PC with BASIC cards. I'm trying to get hold of a BASIC card for mine, do you have any spare or does anyone on here know how to acquire one?

Edit: I'll equally take a BASIC ROM burned onto the EPROM card.

Ebay seems to be devoid of any of the BASIC cards, although the money manager, various translators and odd games seem to be available, none of which interest me - at least not at the price offered.

I'm also really intrigued by programming in BASIC to POKE/PEEK on the organiser functions and extend them. Is it recorded how this works anywhere unofficially?

There's one on ebay right now (not my listing), though it's about $80. It appears to be in like-new condition with the manual, at least. The part number is OZ-707 if you have any trouble finding it.

I was just tinkering with mine yesterday, adapting the program mentioned here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestat...sps_tunes/

Surprisingly, very little had to be changed to get it working.

I have one of the Sharp EEPROM cards (64 KB ROM/32 KB RAM) which was originally Commission Plus from Integration Systems - some sort of finance software for mortgage brokers, based on the labeling - but it seems the bits have rotted away. It just displays "PROGRAM" when I try to run the card. No clue how to burn a fresh image to it!

EDIT: Correction, it's an EPROM, not EEPROM. There's a small sticker on the back to expose the chip for blasting it with UV.

[ZQ8000_dude]

(07-07-2020 01:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(07-07-2020 10:03 AM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  I'm really sorry to dig up an old thread, but this one has mention of the Sharp ZR/IQ-8x00 computers and I am on an HP forum! So at risk of starting a new off-topic thread, I'd thought more people would appreciate this.

I saw several users Katie Wasserman and rprosperi mention the old IQ-8100 Pocket Organiser/PC with BASIC cards. I'm trying to get hold of a BASIC card for mine, do you have any spare or does anyone on here know how to acquire one?

Edit: I'll equally take a BASIC ROM burned onto the EPROM card.

Ebay seems to be devoid of any of the BASIC cards, although the money manager, various translators and odd games seem to be available, none of which interest me - at least not at the price offered.

I'm also really intrigued by programming in BASIC to POKE/PEEK on the organiser functions and extend them. Is it recorded how this works anywhere unofficially?

There's one on ebay right now (not my listing), though it's about $80. It appears to be in like-new condition with the manual, at least. The part number is OZ-707 if you have any trouble finding it.

I was just tinkering with mine yesterday, adapting the program mentioned here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestat...sps_tunes/

Surprisingly, very little had to be changed to get it working.

I have one of the Sharp EEPROM cards (64 KB ROM/32 KB RAM) which was originally Commission Plus from Integration Systems - some sort of finance software for mortgage brokers, based on the labeling - but it seems the bits have rotted away. It just displays "PROGRAM" when I try to run the card. No clue how to burn a fresh image to it!

EDIT: Correction, it's an EPROM, not EEPROM. There's a small sticker on the back to expose the chip for blasting it with UV.

Hi, yes I did see that one on ebay, but that's prohibitively expensive for me especially, as I'm from the UK. I don't really think it's worth that much, so I'll let others buy it. I'm better waiting it out. Looks like that seller has had a number of those cards (at least 1 or 2 others) he's sold before, but probably with shipping to US it's more reasonable.

I had some experience blasting ROMs with a BBC Micro! I think Sharp did sell the EPROM adaptor... CE-170 (https://sharppocketcomputers.com/#printers)

[rprosperi]

(07-07-2020 01:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  There's one on ebay right now (not my listing), though it's about $80. It appears to be in like-new condition with the manual, at least. The part number is OZ-707 if you have any trouble finding it.

The OZ-707 was designed for the OZ/IQ-7xxx series which have a 16-comumn display, and although it will work in an 8xxx series machine, only the leftmost 16 columns (of the 40 available) are used, so it's really not a good answer.

A version for the 8xxx series was also released, though I can't recall the model number at the moment, it may have been simply OZ-807? (the OZ/IQ-7xxx machines had OZ/IQ-7xx model accessories and the latter had OZ/IQ-8xx accessories). I'll check this week.

[xerxes]

(07-07-2020 05:58 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  A version for the 8xxx series was also released, though I can't recall the model number at the moment,

Here is an overview of all cards : http://www.ralf-beckmann.de/

[ZQ8000_dude]

(07-07-2020 01:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  I have one of the Sharp EEPROM cards (64 KB ROM/32 KB RAM) which was originally Commission Plus from Integration Systems - some sort of finance software for mortgage brokers, based on the labeling - but it seems the bits have rotted away. It just displays "PROGRAM" when I try to run the card. No clue how to burn a fresh image to it!

EDIT: Correction, it's an EPROM, not EEPROM. There's a small sticker on the back to expose the chip for blasting it with UV.

Are all the cards like that or was yours a custom one?

[rprosperi]

(07-07-2020 06:16 PM)xerxes Wrote:  

(07-07-2020 05:58 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  A version for the 8xxx series was also released, though I can't recall the model number at the moment,

Here is an overview of all cards : http://www.ralf-beckmann.de/

WOW, A really nice collection, the most complete I've even seen, thanks Xerxes!! Are these all yours??

This includes many I no longer have, including the rarest of them all the PenCell Spreadsheet for the 9000 series (and later built into the Zaurus). Nearly a year of my life (though in the SF Bay area so could have been worse) went into getting that card done, and ultimately only a few were sold (for the 95xx and 96xx), though it's still easily the best PDA spreadsheet I've ever seen.

And now I recall exactly why I didn't remember the model number of the 8xxxx BASIC card; calling it the IQ-807 (as the successor to the IQ-707) would have been too confusing, so instead they went with the more obvious IQ-8B03 so everyone could recognize it...

[rprosperi]

(07-07-2020 07:16 PM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  

(07-07-2020 01:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  I have one of the Sharp EEPROM cards (64 KB ROM/32 KB RAM) which was originally Commission Plus from Integration Systems - some sort of finance software for mortgage brokers, based on the labeling - but it seems the bits have rotted away. It just displays "PROGRAM" when I try to run the card. No clue how to burn a fresh image to it!

EDIT: Correction, it's an EPROM, not EEPROM. There's a small sticker on the back to expose the chip for blasting it with UV.

Are all the cards like that or was yours a custom one?

There were 32KB (not seen here) and 128KB EPROM cards, sold for VARs, ISVs, etc. to distribute custom apps, written in C w/a custom SDK Sharp provided.

Also, the 770, 870, 871 cards were simply the same as the 707 and 8B03 cards with generic labels, also intended for VARs that preferred to program in BASIC. The ROM within these was identical to the "BASIC Cards", only the labels were different.

It's odd that it faded, unless the cover over the window fell off and over time ambient UV erased some bits, but that's pretty unusual.

[Dave Britten]

(07-07-2020 07:16 PM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  

(07-07-2020 01:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  I have one of the Sharp EEPROM cards (64 KB ROM/32 KB RAM) which was originally Commission Plus from Integration Systems - some sort of finance software for mortgage brokers, based on the labeling - but it seems the bits have rotted away. It just displays "PROGRAM" when I try to run the card. No clue how to burn a fresh image to it!

EDIT: Correction, it's an EPROM, not EEPROM. There's a small sticker on the back to expose the chip for blasting it with UV.

Are all the cards like that or was yours a custom one?

This is the only custom EPROM card I have, so I can't say if others are similar. It's thicker than the ROM/RAM cards I have (BASIC, 3D Spreadsheet, 32 KB RAM).

[ZQ8000_dude]

(07-07-2020 09:00 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(07-07-2020 07:16 PM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  Are all the cards like that or was yours a custom one?

This is the only custom EPROM card I have, so I can't say if others are similar. It's thicker than the ROM/RAM cards I have (BASIC, 3D Spreadsheet, 32 KB RAM).

Sorry I misunderstood, I thought maybe the cards with the "fixed" commercial software on e.g. 3D spreadsheet could be re-burnt with new data as they were just an EPROM "under the hood". I imagine this isn't the case though. But if I ever get one, I'll probably undo/undscrew it out of curiosity!

[Dave Britten]

(07-08-2020 11:52 AM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  

(07-07-2020 09:00 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  This is the only custom EPROM card I have, so I can't say if others are similar. It's thicker than the ROM/RAM cards I have (BASIC, 3D Spreadsheet, 32 KB RAM).

Sorry I misunderstood, I thought maybe the cards with the "fixed" commercial software on e.g. 3D spreadsheet could be re-burnt with new data as they were just an EPROM "under the hood". I imagine this isn't the case though. But if I ever get one, I'll probably undo/undscrew it out of curiosity!

The mass-produced ones are most likely just a mask ROM - or possibly a PROM - plus some SRAM. I'm not sure how the EPROM ones were programmed, but I'm guessing it involved inserting them into a Wizard and connecting it to a PC via serial cable, which would be fine for small production runs by an ISV.

[ZQ8000_dude]

(07-08-2020 12:05 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(07-08-2020 11:52 AM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  Sorry I misunderstood, I thought maybe the cards with the "fixed" commercial software on e.g. 3D spreadsheet could be re-burnt with new data as they were just an EPROM "under the hood". I imagine this isn't the case though. But if I ever get one, I'll probably undo/undscrew it out of curiosity!

The mass-produced ones are most likely just a mask ROM - or possibly a PROM - plus some SRAM. I'm not sure how the EPROM ones were programmed, but I'm guessing it involved inserting them into a Wizard and connecting it to a PC via serial cable, which would be fine for small production runs by an ISV.

I'm not sure about that, but looks like you can get an adaptor (CE-170) to attach the EPROMs to a standard EPROM programmer. Mentioned here (https://sharppocketcomputers.com/) -- There is also a manual on that site for CE-170

Edit: Having just learned the difference between a PROM, EPROM and EEPROM. EPROMS are programmed by UV light. EEPROMS are programmed by electrical charge, but I don't think the Sharp would have that built in - it would cost a LOT more!

[Dave Britten]

(07-08-2020 12:16 PM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  

(07-08-2020 12:05 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  The mass-produced ones are most likely just a mask ROM - or possibly a PROM - plus some SRAM. I'm not sure how the EPROM ones were programmed, but I'm guessing it involved inserting them into a Wizard and connecting it to a PC via serial cable, which would be fine for small production runs by an ISV.

I'm not sure about that, but looks like you can get an adaptor (CE-170) to attach the EPROMs to a standard EPROM programmer. Mentioned here (https://sharppocketcomputers.com/) -- There is also a manual on that site for CE-170

Edit: Having just learned the difference between a PROM, EPROM and EEPROM. EPROMS are programmed by UV light. EEPROMS are programmed by electrical charge, but I don't think the Sharp would have that built in - it would cost a LOT more!

Oh yup, you're right, that makes more sense. Come to think of it, I doubt the card slot on the Wizard can provide the necessary programming voltage anyway.

Also, EPROMs and EEPROMs are both programmed electrically, but EPROMS are erased via UV light, whereas EEPROMs (and by extension, flash) are erased electrically.

[rprosperi]

These cards are normal (for the time) EPROM and indeed they were burned using the CE-170 using a vanilla EPROM burner, and could be erased (and later burned again) using a normal UV eraser over the small window on the back of the unit.

[ZQ8000_dude]

Interesting Sharp Zaurus 'FAQ' I found on Google's archived usenet and a quide to the IQ8B03 features (both attached).

Edit: IQ8B03.txt came from http://www.scss.com.au/family/andrew/iq8b03.txt

[rprosperi]

Thanks for sharing these ZQ, I haven't seen this FAQ in many years, and it was much shorter then. The file on the BASIC card is new to me. The author of that most likely had used previous Sharp Pocket Computers to figure much of this stuff out as the BASIC card's architecture and low-level words were all derived from them.

[ZQ8000_dude]

Well my IQ8100m did arrive today but sadly unable to get it to work. Gave it fresh new batteries and tried it with both the 32KB RAM Card in and out, but best I can get is some lines on the screen.

Edit: Well I just won an IQ7000 with an OZ703A for €32.50 including packaging. Let's hope this one goes better as it was sold as working.

[Dave Britten]

(07-10-2020 09:45 PM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  Well my IQ8100m did arrive today but sadly unable to get it to work. Gave it fresh new batteries and tried it with both the 32KB RAM Card in and out, but best I can get is some lines on the screen.

I've found that the 8000 series is not particularly durable, unfortunately. I have three - one of them works with some dead lines on the screen, and the other two won't power on at all. It seems like the 7000s might be a bit sturdier.

[ZQ8000_dude]

(07-10-2020 10:05 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(07-10-2020 09:45 PM)ZQ8000_dude Wrote:  Well my IQ8100m did arrive today but sadly unable to get it to work. Gave it fresh new batteries and tried it with both the 32KB RAM Card in and out, but best I can get is some lines on the screen.

I've found that the 8000 series is not particularly durable, unfortunately. I have three - one of them works with some dead lines on the screen, and the other two won't power on at all. It seems like the 7000s might be a bit sturdier.

I guess that's what you get for buying it untested? I think it was genuinely untested as all the batteries were showing 1.3v instead of 3v. It might be the fact the batteries are rubbish I'm not sur.e it's odd as marked as it's rated for 6v but you put in 4x3v batteries.

Does it only use two at once or limit the voltage?

I wonder if a good clean will do it any good. If not I may send it to YouTuber mymatevince!