Useful Newbie Links
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:34 pm
When someone is new to the QL and QL emulators, some subjects are a baptism of fire. Among these subjects, one of the hardest to get to grips with initially is that of file transfer, archiving and unzipping stuff downloaded from the web. I've got articles on these subjects on my website at https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/, but there's just so much QL-related stuff on there it can be hard to find what you want when you're just starting to use a QL.
So here's a list of the links that might prove most useful to those just starting out with a QL, and also perhaps for those who may have used QLs for some time, but aren't yet confident of their knowledge and experience.
Some of the links specifically mention 'PC' and 'Windows'. In many cases the information may be at least partly relevant to other operating systems too. I don't have the experience of using Linux, Mac etc to know.
I'm aware that some of these pages were written a while back, so if you become aware of any issues that need updating, please let me know!
Note: the links below have been edited, as appropriate, by Norman Dunbar (moderator) to point at the new location for the Sinclair QL Homepage.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/backtoql/backtoql.html - general article for those new to or returning to the QL.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/pcqlxfer/index.html - PC-QL file transfer
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/serial/serial.html - Serial cable links between QL and PC
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/pcqlxfer/index.html - Using Unzip for QL. (Scroll down the page to the Unzip heading). See also Job2Bas below.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/glossary/index.html - Like most computers, the QL scene is full of terminology. This article might help you a little.
http://www.theql.co.uk/Iwant2learn2 [broken link] - Our very own Mr Navigator came back to using a QL after many years' absence. On this site, he shares his experiences with you!
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/index.html - need a QL manual? Need a replacement manual for second hand hardware you've bought for a QL? Articles? eBooks? Try here!
These days, a lot of QL software is available to download from the internet. Most of it comes as Zip files. By and large, don't try to unzip this in Windows or other such operating systems, they don't understand QL file headers. If you unzip a program in Windows and transfer it to a QL, you may find it doesn't work and simply gives an error message such as "Bad parameter". This is all to do with a subject called "QL file headers" - other operating systems don't understand these and simply lose them, with the result that a program you'd normally start with an EXEC or EXEC_W command ceases working.
The solution is to transfer the zipped file to the QL or emulator first, and unzip it there with the QDOS version of Unzip, by Jonathan Hudson, available from http://www.daria.co.uk/qdos/ or https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/arch/index.html. However, here is where you run into catch 22 - in order to be able to unzip a copy of unzip you first need a copy of unzip to unzip it with! Are you keeping up?
There is a self-extracting version of the Zip programs, but it's rather old an may not work on all modern QL systems, so I came up with a simpler solution. QL BASIC programs survive being transferred via other operating systems so I wrote a program which can convert QL EXEC programs into QL BASIC programs which when run rebuild the original program. This is called Job2Bas and is available at https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/arch/index.html. On the same page, there are versions of QL unzip and zip programs converted to QL BASIC. Transfer these to a QL or emulator, run them, and they'll build temporary copies of Zip and Unzip to get you started. Once you've done that, try the articles above. Happy unzipping!
Another subject which crops up from time to time is that of how to connect a QL to a monitor. These days, it is hard to get old-fashioned RGB TTL video display monitors, and the QL does not connect readily to a VGA monitor. You can connect a QL to a TV or monitor with SCART/PERITEL video connectors - see Scart Video Connection article at
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/hardware/index.html
but this is rarely completely satisfactory as you tend to lose a character or two at the edge of the 85 character QL Monitor Mode Screen and have to resort to using the narrower TV display mode instead. A workaround for this is to use one of the new video upscaler devices to modify the video signal. I've put details of three such devices in a VGA Monitors With QL article at
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/hardware/index.html
Some of these upscaler boards will let you use a flat screen TV with HDMI inputs as a QL monitor, for example. Cost varies, a few tens of pounds at the time of writing.
Speeding Up Disk Loading Of Large Files On Minerva - Hint (from Silvester on QL Forum)
There has been a long-standing problem with Minerva >v1.93 using FLP on non-Gold machines. The reintroduction of the IPC interrupt can add enough overhead to upset disk sector interleave. The solution was simple enough, use POKE!!53,128 in boot files to disable it (restored using POKE!!53,192 or upon reset). It can make a considerable difference to the time taken to load large files!
So here's a list of the links that might prove most useful to those just starting out with a QL, and also perhaps for those who may have used QLs for some time, but aren't yet confident of their knowledge and experience.
Some of the links specifically mention 'PC' and 'Windows'. In many cases the information may be at least partly relevant to other operating systems too. I don't have the experience of using Linux, Mac etc to know.
I'm aware that some of these pages were written a while back, so if you become aware of any issues that need updating, please let me know!
Note: the links below have been edited, as appropriate, by Norman Dunbar (moderator) to point at the new location for the Sinclair QL Homepage.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/backtoql/backtoql.html - general article for those new to or returning to the QL.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/pcqlxfer/index.html - PC-QL file transfer
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/serial/serial.html - Serial cable links between QL and PC
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/gen/pcqlxfer/index.html - Using Unzip for QL. (Scroll down the page to the Unzip heading). See also Job2Bas below.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/glossary/index.html - Like most computers, the QL scene is full of terminology. This article might help you a little.
http://www.theql.co.uk/Iwant2learn2 [broken link] - Our very own Mr Navigator came back to using a QL after many years' absence. On this site, he shares his experiences with you!
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/index.html - need a QL manual? Need a replacement manual for second hand hardware you've bought for a QL? Articles? eBooks? Try here!
These days, a lot of QL software is available to download from the internet. Most of it comes as Zip files. By and large, don't try to unzip this in Windows or other such operating systems, they don't understand QL file headers. If you unzip a program in Windows and transfer it to a QL, you may find it doesn't work and simply gives an error message such as "Bad parameter". This is all to do with a subject called "QL file headers" - other operating systems don't understand these and simply lose them, with the result that a program you'd normally start with an EXEC or EXEC_W command ceases working.
The solution is to transfer the zipped file to the QL or emulator first, and unzip it there with the QDOS version of Unzip, by Jonathan Hudson, available from http://www.daria.co.uk/qdos/ or https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/arch/index.html. However, here is where you run into catch 22 - in order to be able to unzip a copy of unzip you first need a copy of unzip to unzip it with! Are you keeping up?
There is a self-extracting version of the Zip programs, but it's rather old an may not work on all modern QL systems, so I came up with a simpler solution. QL BASIC programs survive being transferred via other operating systems so I wrote a program which can convert QL EXEC programs into QL BASIC programs which when run rebuild the original program. This is called Job2Bas and is available at https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/arch/index.html. On the same page, there are versions of QL unzip and zip programs converted to QL BASIC. Transfer these to a QL or emulator, run them, and they'll build temporary copies of Zip and Unzip to get you started. Once you've done that, try the articles above. Happy unzipping!
Another subject which crops up from time to time is that of how to connect a QL to a monitor. These days, it is hard to get old-fashioned RGB TTL video display monitors, and the QL does not connect readily to a VGA monitor. You can connect a QL to a TV or monitor with SCART/PERITEL video connectors - see Scart Video Connection article at
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/hardware/index.html
but this is rarely completely satisfactory as you tend to lose a character or two at the edge of the 85 character QL Monitor Mode Screen and have to resort to using the narrower TV display mode instead. A workaround for this is to use one of the new video upscaler devices to modify the video signal. I've put details of three such devices in a VGA Monitors With QL article at
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/docs/hardware/index.html
Some of these upscaler boards will let you use a flat screen TV with HDMI inputs as a QL monitor, for example. Cost varies, a few tens of pounds at the time of writing.
Speeding Up Disk Loading Of Large Files On Minerva - Hint (from Silvester on QL Forum)
There has been a long-standing problem with Minerva >v1.93 using FLP on non-Gold machines. The reintroduction of the IPC interrupt can add enough overhead to upset disk sector interleave. The solution was simple enough, use POKE!!53,128 in boot files to disable it (restored using POKE!!53,192 or upon reset). It can make a considerable difference to the time taken to load large files!