Section 7: Cranmer Brailler

The Serial Card and Cable

Use a Super Serial Card or an Apple IIc port. If you have an Apple Super Serial Card, set it for the standard parameters (see Section 3 for details).

You need a 6M cable to connect the Cranmer Brailler to the Super Serial Card. You need a 10M cable to connect the Cranmer Brailler to an Apple IIc port.

Devices like the Cranmer Brailler add a new wrinkle to braille. When you are producing regular braille, there would never be a situation when you press the space bar while you are brailling a letter. Most of the commands to the brailler are made by pressing the space bar while brailling a character. This is called chording. See the Cranmer Brailler manual for a fuller explanation.

Connect the cable from the serial card to the brailler. Turn on the Apple with the BEX disk or with the Apple master disk. Insert a piece of paper in the brailler. Turn on the Cranmer Brailler. The brailler should make a double beep (like a door bell). Braille an H chorded with the space bar followed by a regular H. There should be a pleasant beep. Braille an R chorded with the space bar. The brailler makes a soft beep.

Type a control/reset on the Apple. The Apple beeps and shows a close square bracket character. On the Apple, type PR#2 <CR> (if the serial card is in slot 2). Use PR#A for port one on the Apple IIc. The brailler should wake up and emboss an er sign (dots 1-2-4-5-6). Anything you type on the Apple comes out on the unit in computer braille. If you are not getting anything in braille, something is wrong. It may be the switch settings, the cable, the serial card, your use of the brailler, or the brailler itself. One possible problem may be the internal switches in the Cranmer. There is a way to test the internal switches. Turn the Cranmer off and then on again. Enter chord-H H Chord-B dropped F chord-R R. Now type a word on the Apple. If they show up on the Cranmer, then the internal switches in the Cranmer need changing. The switch settings for use with BEX should be: OFF ON OFF OFF OFF OFF ON OFF.

Setting the BEX Configuration

When you are asked for the printer slot, give the appropriate number. Answer B (for brailler) for the printer class. Give brailler type 3 (for Cranmer Brailler). Give a carriage width up to 42 (depending on your application) and form length 25. It is critical that you match the form length in the configuration with the page length of the Cranmer. The default page length on the Cranmer is 25 lines.

Operation of the Brailler

When you are ready to send grade two braille to the Cranmer, turn on the brailler. Next enter chord-H H chord-S Y chord-R. When you print, give the appropriate printer number. The brailler should start up.

When it gets to the end of a page, the brailler beeps. Put in a new page. Press a chord-(dots 4-5) to indicate a new page is inserted properly. To force a page eject, enter a chord-(dots 4-5-6).

If you do not enter a chord-S Y when you start up the brailler, you will have trouble with the Cranmer buffer. When characters are sent to the brailler, they are stored in the brailler memory buffer. The chord-S Y tells the brailler to wipe out part of the buffer when the buffer is almost full. If you run into problems, you can clear the buffer with a chord-N followed with a chord-(dots 1-2-3-4-5-6).

Reprinting Pages on the Cranmer

You can reprint a sheet on the Cranmer when using BEX. It takes a little longer at the page change, but it gives you extra insurance in case the paper jams.

When you set up a configuration, reserve two printer descriptions for the Cranmer. For one of the descriptions, follow the script given previously. For the other description, use the same answers, but answer YES to the question about pause on form feed. Use the first description for routine brailling. Use the second description if you want "insurance" against a messed up page.

When you turn on the Cranmer, issue four commands: chord-H H; chord-(number sign) C 7; chord-S Y; chord-R. At each page change, simply insert the next sheet, press chord-(dots 4-5) on the Cranmer, and press the spacebar on the Apple. The Cranmer has to be set for 7 data bits to be able to move by lines in its buffer. That is why the command chord-(number sign) C 7 is required in the start-up commands.

If you wish to reprint a sheet, insert a new sheet and then issue five commands. On the Cranmer keyboard, enter: chord-(dots 3-6); chord-E; M B; M U 25 chord-Q; and finally P 25 chord-Q. You've just instructed the Cranmer to enter Command Mode, then enter the Editor, move to the bottom (end) of the buffer, move up 25 lines, and finally print 25 lines. To resume printing with the next sheet, insert a new sheet, press chord-(dots 4-5) and chord-R on the Cranmer, then press the Apple spacebar. Because this procedure can be tricky if you are not use to the editor mode on the Cranmer, you might want to have a practice "fire-drill" to make sure you can reprint a page.

Section 8: Tape-Based VersaBraille

The Equipment

The Serial Interface

For the purposes of this discussion, assume you are using slot 1 on the Apple for the Super Serial Card. Actually any free slot except slot 3 will do. If you have an Apple IIc, either port 1 or port 2 can be used. You would use a Cricket in port 2, so these examples will use port 1. If you have an Apple IIgs, you must install a Super Serial Card to use the VersaBraille transfer functions.

There are a number of critical parameters that describe how communication is conducted between two machines. On the Super Serial Card, these parameters are set by flipping little tiny switches. On the VersaBraille, the parameters are set from the keyboard.

Set the Super Serial Card for the standard parameters. See section 3 for details.

Cable Adapter

To connect the Apple and the VersaBraille, you need a cable adapter. These are available from Raised Dot Computing. If you have a new VersaBraille cable with a male end, you still need a cable adapter. If you have a model C or D VersaBraille, you need a 1F adapter. If you have a model B VersaBraille, you need a 1M adapter. The sex of the VersaBraille end of the cable adapter depends on the sex of the VersaBraille interface cable.

Interfacing to the Apple IIc

If you have an Apple IIc and a model C or D VersaBraille, you need a 2F cable. If you have an Apple IIc and a model B VersaBraille, you need a 2M cable. This cable connects the Apple IIc to the VersaBraille I/O cable.

Connecting Things Together

Place the VersaBraille next to the Apple computer. Connect the cable adapter to the serial card on the Apple. Connect the VersaBraille interface cable to the cable adapter and the VersaBraille. Connect the VersaBraille to the power cube.

Turn on the Apple. Then turn on the VersaBraille. It is a good idea to always turn on the VersaBraille after the Apple when they are wired together. When you want to turn them off, first eject the VersaBraille tape. Turn off the VersaBraille, and then turn off the Apple. The VersaBraille should be last on and first off. If you turn on the Apple when the VersaBraille is turned on, you will not damage any equipment, but you may confuse the VersaBraille. The VersaBraille may start to format a tape if it thought it received a format command from an Apple being turned on.

Setting Up an Overlay

Load the master overlay tape into the VersaBraille. Press the braille select switch. Inspect the table of contents when the tape loads. The first chapter is called terminal. The second chapter is called duplicate. Load the first chapter (when the table of contents says terminal, press the advance bar). The display says "terminal loaded." (On a model B VersaBraille, the display says "open new chapter." Ignore this message). Eject the master overlay tape. Do not turn the power off. Load your newly formatted tape.

Now you want to change the communications parameters on the VersaBraille. The "switch settings" are controlled by software. They are not physical switches, but electronic pulses stored on tape that can be loaded to and saved from the VersaBraille's memory. Nevertheless, try to imagine that the VersaBraille has 17 or 18 different "switches" that control the communications parameters.

Type a chord-R E on the VersaBraille. Remember that chord means pressing the space bar at the same time you braille a letter. A chord-R means striking dots 1-2-3-5 and the space bar all at once. To change the parameters, you use just two buttons, the word button (the one with the single stroke beneath it), and the advance bar (the one just above the braille display). The first characters tell what switch is being examined. The second group of characters gives the switch setting. For example, if the display shows b 1200, this means that the baud rate is set at 1200. Press the word button several times until the display shows b 9600. You just changed the baud rate to 9600 baud. To advance to the next switch, press the advance bar.

Communications Parameters

Actually, you do not have to scan all the parameters. You can stop after handshake. Type a chord-R S to go back to whatever you were doing before changing parameters. You must type chord-R S to get out of the "parameter setting mode." If you don't, the VersaBraille beeps at almost any button you push.

Saving the Overlay

Press the new chapter button (the one with the little square). Type TERM as a chapter title. Do not press the advance bar. Type a chord-O to save the overlay on the new tape. You have just saved a one page chapter called TERM on the VersaBraille tape. This chapter contains the instructions and parameters for communicating with the Apple computer.

Using the VersaBraille as a Computer Terminal

Press the new chapter button. Enter an arbitrary chapter name like DEMO. Press the advance bar. The display should be blank except for the cursor in the first character position. Enter a chord-R R to put the VersaBraille in remote. Enter a chord-U to set the VersaBraille at upper case lock.

Press Control-Reset on the Apple. The computer should show a close square bracket on the display. If you are using port two on the Apple IIc, follow the instructions for using slot 2. If the serial card is in slot 2, then type PR#BUT <CR>. Then type IN#BUT <CR>.

You should see an er sign on the VersaBraille display. The er is the braille equivalent of the close square bracket. This is known to computer people as the BASIC prompt. The computer is trying to tell you that it's ready to execute any legal command. At this point, the VersaBraille should be in complete control of the Apple. For example, you can braille CATALOG carriage return on the VersaBraille to get the Apple disk catalog. To braille a carriage return on the VersaBraille, you use two characters: a "special symbol" followed by an M. Just to keep things interesting, the "special symbol" is different for each VersaBraille model. On a model B, use dots 4-5-6; on a model C, use dot 4; and on a model D, use chord dots 4-5-6.

When you can braille the Apple commands on the VersaBraille's keyboard and get the Apple to respond, then the connection is working normally.

Troubleshooting

Sometimes people call to say that they cannot get the transfer functions working. It is critical to get the VersaBraille working as a computer terminal first.

If there are problems, review this procedure, especially if you have never used the communications features of the VersaBraille before. The first things to suspect are the switch settings on the serial card and the communications parameters on the VersaBraille. The second thing to suspect is the cable adapter. Have your adapter checked out by a technical person to make sure that it is connected right. If RDC supplied it, contact us about getting a free replacement. Next, make sure the serial card is functioning right. You may get someone else to lend you a spare card. Finally, there may be a problem with the VersaBraille. It is our experience that this is quite unlikely.

Setting Up Two More Overlays

To operate the VersaBraille with BEX, you need two more overlays. One overlay is for transfers To the VersaBraille. The other overlay is for transfers From the VersaBraille.

Make sure the modified terminal overlay is still loaded. If you have turned off the VersaBraille since the last session, load the chapter TERM that you put on your new tape. Type a chord-R E. Press the advance bar until you see t c. Press the word button twice so it says t n. Press the advance bar several times until the first characters are ak. Press the word button so the display shows ak y. Now type chord-R S. Press the new chapter button. Type the chapter name TO VB. Do not press the advance bar. Type a chord-O to save this overlay.

When the tape stops moving, type a chord-R M. This wipes out the overlay from the VersaBraille memory. Eject the tape. Load the master overlay tape and load the second chapter, called duplicate. Eject the master overlay tape and load your own tape. When tape has been loaded, type chord-R E. Change the first four parameters. These should be b9600, d8, pn, and s2. When you have set these four parameters (using the word button and the advance bar), type chord-R S. Press the new chapter button. Type the chapter name FROM VB. Do not press the advance bar. Type chord-O to save the overlay.

You have just set up the three overlays that you need to work with the Apple. If all goes well, you may not have to set the communications parameters again for a long, long time. Save the new overlay tape in a safe place. Better yet, make additional copies of these three overlays on other tapes. If you load the overlays from your new tape, there is no need to change the parameters. Remember that if an overlay is loaded, and you want to load another one, you first have to get rid of the first overlay. Type a chord-R M to get rid of the first overlay.

Using the VersaBraille with BEX

Setting up your Configurations

When you test the VersaBraille interface for the first time, establish a configuration with Echo, Cricket, or other voice output.

Answer Yes to the configuration question Do you have a tape-based VersaBraille? Give the model type (But, C or Do) and the slot number. Answer No to the question about a set up sequence unless you know specifically what sequence you will use. (If you choose to use non-standard switch settings on the Super Serial Card, you could establish the appropriate parameters with an automatic set-up sequence.)

While it is possible to use the VersaBraille for both input and output for the Apple, we don't recommend it--especially not as your first interface. It's quite tricky to use the VersaBraille both as a computer terminal and as a source or receiver of whole chapters. More details on this appear last in this section.

Transferring from the VersaBraille

Cable the VersaBraille to the Apple. Turn on the Apple, turn on the VersaBraille. Give a voice or screen configuration name on the Apple. On the VersaBraille, load the FROM VB overlay. Put the VersaBraille in remote; type chord-R R.

To start the transfer, use the From VersaBraille option on the Main Menu. If you are transferring a grade two chapter, press <CR> to accept the default No answer to the Do you want control characters? question. Press <CR> to the question about VB page breaks. The computer says Enter chord-X H at the VB chapter name

It is time to pay attention to the VersaBraille. You did load the FROM VB overlay, didn't you? Eject the overlay tape and load the tape containing the chapter you want to send to the Apple. Find the chapter title in the table of contents. Do not press the advance bar to enter the chapter. Just stay in the table of contents. Enter a chord-X H on the VersaBraille. The rest is automatic. You should hear the VersaBraille tape begin to move the moment you enter chord-X H.

If you want to send an entire tape to the Apple, use the chord-X T command instead of the chord-X H command on the VersaBraille. If you are sending a full VB tape to the Apple, then you need to use two data disks to receive the material. Once the transfer starts, replace the program disk in drive one with a second data disk. The program automatically switches disks when the first data disk gets too full.

Transferring to the VersaBraille

Cable the VersaBraille to the Apple. Power on the two devices. Use a screen or voice configuration. On the VersaBraille, load the TO VB overlay. When it is loaded, type a chord-R R (that puts the VersaBraille in remote). Eject the tape, and load the tape you want to send the chapter or chapters to.

On the Apple, use the To VersaBraille option on the Main Menu. Give the name of the chapters you are transferring. Press <CR> to the question about defining VB page breaks (unless you really know what you are doing). When it asks for a maximum page size, give a number under 950. Once you answer this question, the rest should be automatic. The VersaBraille is in local when the transfer is over. Enter another chord-R R if you want to send more material to the VersaBraille.

The VersaBraille as a Computer Terminal (Again)

To use the VersaBraille as a computer terminal with BEX, first cable the Apple and the VersaBraille together. Turn on the Apple, then turn on the VersaBraille. Load the TERM overlay chapter. Eject the tape and load a new tape. Open a new chapter. Type chord-R R chord-U (putting VersaBraille in remote, upper case lock). You'll boot BEX and establish a new configuration. When BEX prompts Enter configuration, enter four characters: *V1 <CR> (The digit one indicates you're interfacing through slot 1.) You should be able to answer the configuration questions through the VersaBraille. Answer Yes to the question about a remote keyboard. Answer Yes to the question about having a braille device for the computer dialogue.

Section 9: Disk-Based VersaBraille II

If you have a VersaBraille II Plus, you will need to get the appropriate cable from TSI.

For a VersaBraille II, use an Apple Super Serial Card, an Apple IIc serial port, or an Apple IIgs serial port. The standard parameters work fine. Use a 6M cable for the Super Serial Card or the Apple IIgs cable adapter. Use a 2M cable for an Apple IIc. Connect to the DTE port on the VersaBraille.

VersaBraille Parameters

Use the menus on the VersaBraille to set the VersaBraille communications parameters. Enter P for parameters, and S for serial. There is one very strange item in this list--you must specify 7 data bits. It may be difficult to understand why you need to set the Super Serial Card to 8 data bits while the VersaBraille is set to 7 data bits. This is a case where our previously stated rule of making parameters match is broken. Without a doubt, this is the trickiest aspect of the interface. The other parameters are straightforward:
9600 baud
7 data bits
2 stop bits
full duplex
no parity
DC IN no
DC OUT no
DTR handshake
DSR yes
CTS yes
RTS handshake

To send text from the VersaBraille II to the Apple, you use BEX's option I - Input through slot on the Second Menu. To send text from BEX to the VersaBraille II, you use a BEX printer defined as a class P - Paperless brailler. Establish a configuration that includes the serial card you use for VersaBraille-Apple communications. You specify this card twice in your configuration. The first time is when you answer Y to the Do you have a remote serial device to input text through slot? question. The second time is when you configure one of your printers as a Paperless brailler. More details on this and the actual data transfer appear in User Level Section 11.

Section 10: Kurzweil Reading Machine

The Kurzweil Reading Machine (KRM) is a device which takes printed material, reads it and speaks it using synthetic speech. It can also output the text on an RS-232 serial line. The text can be saved as a BEX chapter by using the Input through Slot option on the Second menu. Once the text is stored as a BEX chapter on disk, it can be translated and sent to a braille device, or any other combination of BEX options.

You need a Apple Super Serial Card or an Apple IIc port. You need a special cable to connect the serial card with the KRM. These cables are available from Raised Dot Computing. Select the appropriate cable as follows:

You must establish the appropriate BEX configuration. When BEX prompts: Do you have a remote serial device to input through slot?, answer Yes. Then BEX asks, Is this a Kurzweil Reading Machine? When you answer Yes, then BEX automatically sets communications for 4800 baud and 1 stop bit. This is the most common setting on the KRM.

Connect the cable to the lower port on the Model 3 Reading Machine, or the middle port on the Series 400.

On the Second Menu, pick I for Input through slot. The program prompts for the name of the chapter you are creating on the Apple. When you supply the name, BEX indicates that it is ready to receive text.

Start the KRM dump: Press Set Special command 45 The KRM responds text output mode. Press the page button. The text is spoken and sent to the Apple. The Apple makes a noise during the data transfer--like the noise made during Replace characters. Its pitch depends on how fast the characters are moving, so it may grind or chirp.

Controlling Data with Series 400 KRM'S

What happens during the transfer of data depends in part on your KRM model. There's less manual intervention with the newer, series 400 KRM. As the KRM sends text to the Apple, BEX is collecting characters in the page buffer. When these characters add up to approximately 3300, BEX sends the KRM a signal to stop, saves the page buffer to disk, gets ready to receive more data, and sends the KRM an "I'm ready now" signal. Your only concern is not overfilling the disk: thirty BEX pages is the limit on one data disk. Most printed material contains less than 3300 characters on a page. It's pretty easy to keep track of how many print pages you're scanning on the KRM; after you've scanned thirty print pages, press Q on the Apple keyboard. BEX saves the last page buffer and builds a directory; you can then insert a fresh disk, choose option I, and start on a new chapter.

Controlling Data with Model 3 KRM'S

More manual intervention is required for the older, model 3 KRM'S. These models don't understand BEX's "Hold it" and "I'm ready now" signals. To get around this limitation, you press P on the Apple keyboard which forces BEX to store the page buffer. If you press P while the KRM is in the middle of scanning a page, you'll lose data: get in the habit of pressing P after the KRM has finished scanning each print page. When you've scanned thirty pages or are done scanning the document, press Q on the Apple keyboard. BEX saves the last page buffer and builds a directory; you can then insert a fresh disk, choose option I, and start on a new chapter.

You can manually insert short comments into the text. When the transfer has stopped, press T, which signals that you wish to enter some text. The Apple beeps as a prompt. Type in text from the keyboard, signalling the end of the text by entering <CR>. The text is inserted in the BEX chapter. This feature is intended to allow the entry of page numbers or other critical marking information.

Reformatting scanned data

The chapter that you have just created has a carriage return at the end of each print line. Usually you want to strip these off. Use option R - Replace characters on the Main Menu; when BEX prompts Use transformation chapter: specify the chapter named KRM on your BEXtras disk. This strips off the carriage returns, and tries to put in paragraph ( $p ) indicators. You can then edit the chapter. You can fix any errors from the KRM, and adjust the paragraph markers. You can run the chapter through the Grade 2 translator and send the braille chapter to a VersaBraille or other braille device.

Troubleshooting

If you follow the procedures in this section, and the text comes out as garbage, then your KRM is set for a baud rate other than 4800 baud. This means it's time for the favorite game of all interfacers: "baud rate roulette"! Re-configure, and answer NO to the Is this a KRM? question. BEX now leaves the SSC or IIc port alone, so it's set to 9600 baud. Try communicating with the KRM at 9600 baud--if it works, you're in luck. Otherwise, write a BEX chapter with the command sequence that changes baud rate for the SSC or IIc port--see Section 6 for what characters to use. Print this chapter to the download device slot--you can establish a New printer on the fly with N if you have to. Experiment with printing various baud rate commands to the slot until you discover the KRM'S baud rate. Now, re-configure again, answer NO to the Is this a KRM? question and answer YES to the Do you want to send an automatic set-up sequence? question. Enter the same command sequence that worked when you printed it.

Section 11: Apple LaserWriter

Use a 6M cable to connect a Super Serial Card to the Apple LaserWriter. If you have an Apple IIc, it must have the 3.5 ROM upgrade. Use a 2M cable to connect the Apple IIc to the Apple LaserWriter.

There is an important little knob on the side of the LaserWriter. It has four settings: AppleTalk, Special, 9600, and 1200. AppleTalk is for the Macintosh. Special means Diablo Emulation mode. The 9600 and 1200 settings are for working directly with PostScript, a graphics and typesetting language built into the LaserWriter. BEX can either work with the special Diablo emulation mode, or directly generate PostScript files. In Diablo emulation mode, you can produce high quality print output that looks very clear and sharp. The 9600 mode can be used to generate virtual typeset quality.

Diablo Emulation Mode

Set the four position mode switch on the LaserWriter to special. This sets the Diablo 630 emulation mode. Configure as follows:
Enter printer slot: # <CR>
Enter printer class: G <CR>
Enter carriage width: 65 <CR>
Enter form length: 55 <CR>
Do you want pause on form feed? N <CR>
Do you want auto line feed? N <CR>
Do you want a set up sequence for this printer? Y <CR>
control-I X (space) E control-I 255 N <CR> <CR> <CR> <CR> (8 spaces) <ESC> 9 <CR> <CR> <ESC> T <DEL>

Besides the nine spaces explicitly marked, there are no other spaces in this sequence. This sequence sets Xon/Xoff handshakes, line length 255, and sets the left margin and the top margin. You can vary the number of spaces and carriage returns in the sequence to set the left margin and the top margin to your taste. Escape 9 sets the left margin. By preceding the command with 8 spaces, this sequence sets the left margin at 8 spaces from the left edge of the paper. Escape T sets the top margin. By preceding the command with a total of 6 carriage returns, this sequence sets the top margin (top of form) at 6 lines from the top edge. If you are using an Apple IIc, substitute control-A for control-I in the above sequence.

The good news is that once you set up your configuration, you don't have to worry about sending out the sequence; it's all done automatically!

The only other thing to mention about using the LaserWriter in Diablo emulation mode is that you need to end each file with a form feed, or the last page won't be printed. You can use Multi-function print and specify one copy. That does the exact same thing that Print does--except it adds the desired form feed at the end of the print cycle.

PostScript Driver

The Apple LaserWriter is actually a very powerful computer. It uses a language called PostScript. BEX can directly generate PostScript code to give the LaserWriter detailed instructions on what type font to use, how to output characters, and how to go to the next line or page. This facility was put into BEX to allow Raised Dot Computing to produce its own manuals quickly. However, BEX falls quite short of using the LaserWriter to its full potential.

When we want to make something look very nice, we use the JustText software on the Macintosh. When we want large print very quickly from Apple disks, we use the BEX PostScript driver. Here are some of the biggest limitations with the BEX software: It is very hard to change font size and line spacing within the text. This makes it tough to make nice looking headings. In addition, BEX makes decisions on how to break words into lines based on fixed spacing (rather than proportional spacing). This can cause some ugly lines (especially when a line contains many capital letters). Why are we telling you about these problems? We want you to know that the BEX PostScript driver was written for a particular purpose. If you need fancier format on the LaserWriter, do as we do: shift to other software.

Set the four position mode switch on the LaserWriter to 9600. This tells the LaserWriter to expect PostScript code from the serial port at 9600 baud.

Configure as follows:
Enter printer slot: # <CR>
Enter printer class: A <CR>
Apple LaserWriter PostScript Driver
Enter font size: 16 (or whatever) <CR>
Enter line spacing: 20 (or whatever) <CR>
Enter carriage width: 68 (or whatever) <CR>
Enter form length: 32 (or whatever) <CR>
Do you want pause on form feed? N <CR>
Do you want auto line feed? N <CR>
Do you want a set up sequence for this printer? N <CR>

Notice that you do not have to give any set up sequence. BEX automatically sets the Super Serial Card for Xon/Xoff handshakes.

BEX supplies suggested values for all the parameters (except font size) if you press a carriage return after each question. Your configuration can have several printers using PostScript if you need to quickly generate output at several different font sizes. For example, printer one could be 8 point, and printer two could be 16 point. A BEX configuration cannot contain both PostScript printers and Specific printers.

To generate the output, print your BEX file to the appropriate printer number. You do not need to put a form feed at the end of your text, BEX makes sure that the last page is sent out.

There are some word processing commands which allow the user to switch between typefonts. Here is the list:

Raised Dot Computing has written a separate manual on the use of the PostScript Driver. Please write for a copy if you would like more information about this interface.

Section 12: Dipner Dots

Dipner Dots Embossed

Randy Dipner of Colorado has pioneered the idea of making simple modifications to a daisy wheel printer to produce braille. To produce Dipner Dots, you must have a daisy wheel printer (dot matrix printers do not work). The Dipner Dot method uses a single character, such as a period or center dot, to emboss dots into lightweight paper that is backed by a soft roller. BEX has all the software needed to produce grade two braille with this method. Although you do not produce Library of Congress quality dots, the dots are quite readable. This is absolutely not recommended for schools or transcriber groups. But it may be very appropriate for a blind professional in an office setting.

The most important modification needed for the printer is to change the roller. There are two approaches. One is to wrap some soft material around the existing roller. But then, switching from print to braille and braille to print is a bit of a production. It is recommended that you have a spare roller wrapped with soft material. Then, switching modes means literally switching rollers, which can be done in a few seconds. You do not need a removable roller if you are sheet-feeding your printer.

If you decide to go this route, there are two steps. First, buy a spare roller for your printer. This may cost about $100. Next, get in touch with the nearest Ames Supply. Ames sells printer and other computer supplies. Ask to have your roller re-covered with "low resilience" material. Ask for "30-Durometer rubber." Durometers are the unit of measurement of resilience. This should cost between $10 and $15. There are about 12 Ames Supply Houses around the country, one of them is located at 2537 Curtis St., Downers Grove, IL 60515.

You can take an ordinary roller and wrap it with soft material, such as several layers of "flannel rubber sheeting" available from medical supply houses. Make a layer several millimeters thick. Some of the early experiments in this area used bicycle inner tubes. This has been improved upon. If you do wrap your roller, you may mess up your form length. The form length is based on the number of times the roller spins per page. If you change the diameter of your roller, the form length changes.

Configure BEX as follows:
Printer slot: # <CR>
Printer class: B <CR>
Brailler type: 12 <CR>
This means Dipner Dots embossed.
Is that what you want? Y <CR>
Enter carriage width: 40 <CR> (or whatever)
Enter form length: 25 <CR> (or whatever)
Do you want pause on form feed? N <CR>
Do you want auto linefeed? N <CR>
What character are you using? <period> <CR>
Do you want a set up sequence for this printer? N <CR>

BEX automatically sets the spacing for standard braille. You may find that other characters besides a period improve the quality of the braille. Try using epoxy or nail polish to fill in the at sign or a degree sign if you want to change the spacing between dots.

To improve the quality of the embossing, remove your printer's ribbon. It is recommended that you have a printwheel reserved for braille production. The character that you are using to punch dots may get too worn down for regular inkprint use.

Printed Braille Dots

Closely related to embossed Dipner Dots is the ability to generate flat braille on an inkprint printer. Instead of trying to produce tactile braille, it is possible to print a pattern of inkprint periods that simulate braille.

Making inkprint dots requires no physical modification of any of the printer parts. Answer the configuration questions as you would for embossed braille, only use brailler number 13 (printed braille dots) instead of brailler number 12. BEX automatically adjusts the spacing on most letter quality printers to make closely spaced printed braille dots. If you have a dot matrix printer, you need to find the escape sequences to print compressed letters and to compress the vertical spacing. We used the following set up sequence to get proper spacing on an ImageWriter: <ESC> Q <ESC> T <zero> 8

Section 13: Sider Hard Disk

Equipment Requirements

A Sider hard disk is a product sold exclusively by First Class Peripherals. First Class Peripherals can be reached at (800) 538-1307 Ext. 240. You must be at the Master Level of BEX to use one. You cannot install a hard disk on an Apple IIc. This means you must have an Apple IIe (with an extended 80 column card) or IIgs. You need at least one 5.25 inch disk drive. Use of the Sider is incompatible with a regular slot RAM card, such an Apple Memory Card. They both change the disk operating system at the same spot. The program crashes if both are in your system.

Use the Sider instruction manual. This material is intended to be supplementary.

BEX works with only one Sider drive. You can use either the 10 megabyte or the 20 megabye drive. It is possible to cable two Sider hard disks together, but you cannot access any information from a second Sider using BEX.

Fundamental Concepts

The Sider works with up to four different operating systems (DOS 3.3, CPSTM, ProDOS, and PASCAL). When you format the Sider, you instruct it on how to divide up the space on the disk for the different systems. If you don't plan to use some of these operating systems, then you may want to minimize their allocated space.

BEX uses DOS 3.3. The Sider partitions memory into units called volumes. The Sider can allocate two sizes of volumes for DOS 3.3: small and large. The small volumes are 140,000 bytes (about the size of a floppy disk); the large volumes are about 400,000. You choose how the DOS 3.3 space is divided. My own preference is all small partitions except for about 10 large partitions.

As far as BEX is concerned, the volumes can be thought of as independent disk drives with permanently installed floppies. Volume 1 contains essential utility programs for the Sider. The BEX program takes up 2 more small volumes. The rest of the volumes are free for your data. It is imperative that you take the time to read the Sider User's Guide to learn more about how the Sider is set up and partitioned.

RDC has found no way to do the installation without the assistance of a patient sighted person. The installation process should take 2-4 hours. Once you've completed installation, BEX is completely accessible.

Installing the Hardware

Use the instructions that come with the Sider to connect the Sider to your Apple IIe. Install the interface card in slot 7 (the floppy disk controller should be in slot 6). The Sider should have a termination plug (one inch long jack) in the bottom plug, and the cable to the interface card in the top plug. The Sider has its own power cord. Pay close attention to the ventilation needs of the Sider.

Check for Recognition

Before we go any further, we have to make sure that BEX recognizes the disk controller card as being a Sider. Keep the Sider turned off. Insert your BEX boot disk in the booting floppy drive (slot 6, drive 1). Turn on the Apple. The disk will not boot. Press control reset followed by: PR#6 <CR>

At the Starting Menu, press W to find out what BEX thinks is in slot 7. If the display shows unidentified card in slot 7, then use option R to force BEX to recognize the Sider.

Formatting the Sider

As stated above, the formatting procedure requires the assistance of a sighted person. An attempt to use TEXTALKER causes the installation program to crash. Again, carefully review the Sider instruction manual before formatting.

With the Sider turned off, turn on the Apple computer. Press a Control-Reset on the Apple. Insert the disk labeled Installation Utilities into floppy drive one. Type:
PR#6 <CR>
Now turn on the Sider. After a few pauses, the installation program gives you some informational screens. Press <CR> to move through these screens.

The program asks: Is this Sider 1 or 2? Answer 1. You would only answer 2 if you had a SECOND Sider. BEX only supports one Sider. Next the program asks: Is this a 10MB or 20MB disk? Answer appropriately.

You are presented with a visual display of how the disk is to be divided. It took me a few tries to get the hang of this program. Please pay close attention. Basically, you have to work backward.

To compress one partition, enlarge the partition to its left. If you want to minimize the Pascal space, use the <CR> to move the "cursor" to the ProDOS square. Next press an L to indicate that you want the largest ProDOS size. This squeezes Pascal to its smallest possible size. If you don't want any ProDOS space, move the "cursor" to CPSTM and ask for the largest size. To compress CPSTM, ask for the largest size for DOS-LV.

Now comes the moment of decision: how to divide up the DOS 3.3 space. If you are going to do a lot of copying of data back and forth between Sider and floppies, ask for a lot of "DOS-SV" space (the size of a small volume is about the same as a floppy). If you have a lot of big documents that don't fit on one floppy, ask for a lot of "DOS-LV" volumes.

When the various partitions are assigned to your liking, press an I. The program asks whether you wish to continue.

The program displays a lot of numbers that you must copy down in the back of your Sider Manual. If you have problems and call Sider's technical support, you may be asked for these numbers. It is important to write down the total number of DOS volumes that you have set up. You will need that number during the BEX configuration. The total number of DOS volumes depends on how you have divided up the Sider's space.

You are asked to insert the Support Utilities for Apple DOS 3.3 into the floppy drive. This is the flip side of the disk that is presently in the drive. Once this disk is in the drive, type:
GO <CR>
The initialization begins. This takes from 30 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of your Sider).

Copying BEX onto the Sider

BEX allows you to copy the Boot side and the Main side onto any Sider volumes. In this example, we copy the BEX Boot side onto volume 2, and the Main side onto volume 3. But you could use other volumes on your system. Note that you never want to use volume 1 since that is where the support programs are stored.

When initialization is over, the Sider's Main Menu is presented. Choose option 5 (Support Utilities). This takes you to the Support Utilities Menu. Choose option 3, DOS File Utilities. This takes you to a program similar to FID.

Insert the BEX boot disk into floppy drive 1. Choose option 1, copy files. Copy from slot 6, drive 1, volume 0 to slot 7, drive 1, volume 2. Answer the filename prompt with an equal sign followed by a carriage return. This has the effect of choosing all the files. Answer N to the question about prompting, then press two returns to start the copying. Here is what the screen looks like:
Copy Files
Source slot => 6
Drive => 1
Volume => 0
Destination Slot => 7
Drive => 1
Volume => 2
Filename? = <CR>
Do you want prompting? N
Insert Disks. Press <ESC> to return to the
Master Menu or any other key to Begin

When the Sider has finished copying the Boot side, choose option 7 to reset the slot, drive, and volume defaults. Insert the Main BEX disk in floppy drive 1. Copy from slot 6, drive 1, volume 0 to slot 7, drive 1, volume 3. Copy all the files using the equals sign.

When all the files are copied, choose option 11 to Quit. This takes you back to the Master Menu. Press <CR> (this takes you to option 3 of the Master Menu). You get the BASIC prompt. Type the following:
UNLOCK HELLO DOS <CR>
NEW <CR>
10 PRINT CHR$(4);"RUN HELLO,V2"<CR>
SAVE HELLO DOS <CR>
RUN <CR>

If you are not storing the Boot side on volume 2, then modify line 10 accordingly. If all goes right, BEX starts to load. If you have an Echo, then BEX starts to talk. You can dismiss your sighted friend. Give her or him some potato chips and a beer.

Setting Up the BEX Configuration

At the configuration prompt, enter an ampersand (and) and press <CR> to set up a Master Level configuration. Answer the questions as you would normally. When you are asked if you have an extended disk system, answer Yes. Here is a sample dialogue:
Do you have an extended disk system? Y <CR>
Virtual drive 1 is for the Main disk program disk.
For virtual drive 1
Enter slot: 7 <CR>
Sider Hard Disk
How many volumes: 48 <CR>
For virtual drive 49
Enter slot: 6 <CR>
Enter drive: 1 <CR>
For virtual drive 50
Enter slot: 6 <CR>
Enter drive: 2 <CR>
For virtual drive 51
Enter slot: 0 <CR>
Boot side volume: 2 <CR>
Main side volume: 3 <CR>

You must list the Sider slot as the first drive slot. For the question about how many volumes, use the number from the Sider initialization (the sum of the small and large DOS 3.3 volumes). For the questions about the Boot side volume and the Main side volume, give the volume numbers where you copied the program disks. Next you are prompted for information about more drives. Give the slots and drives of your other floppy drives. When you have no more drives, answer 0 to the disk slot prompt.

Keep your BEX disk in drive one of your floppy the first time you use BEX. BEX copies the serialization information onto the hard disk.

Using the Sider

When you boot up your system, you are presented with a Master Menu. Press return to get into BEX. Give your new configuration name (the configuration that refers to the Sider). You should get correct serialization information.

To switch from Starting Menu to Main Menu, just press the space bar. To switch from Main Menu to Starting Menu, just press the space bar.

BEX treats each volume in the Sider as a separate disk drive. To scan the contents of volume 18, enter 18 to the chapter prompt. If you refer to drive 1, you are redirected to either the Main volume or the Boot volume (depending on whether you are in the Boot side or the Main side). Your floppy drives are the last few drive numbers. If you have 48 Sider volumes and two disk drives, then floppy drive 1 is treated as drive 49, and floppy drive 2 is treated as drive 50. The BEX default drive is the last drive, which should be a floppy drive.

For example, you can enter 18TEST to the chapter prompt for the Editor. This opens a chapter called TEST on volume 18 of the Sider. If you want to print this chapter, you can just enter 18 to the chapter prompt to scan volume 18.

Of course, it may take some time getting used to having many megabytes of storage on a hard disk at your disposal. You may find it useful to learn how to use auto chapters to automate file manipulation on the Sider. The zero drive number in the target code was designed to make things easier for a Sider user.

One major problem with using the Sider is keeping track of all the chapters that you store in the different Sider volumes. The Whole Disk Catalog on the Page menu allows you to output a range of volumes (drive numbers). Use option W on the Page Menu. You are prompted for a drive number. Answer with + followed by a drive number followed by a carriage return. You are then prompted for the final drive number. For example:
Page Menu: W
Whole disk catalog
Which drive: +8 <CR>
through: 13 <CR>
(the computer lists the BEX chapters in volumes 8 through 13)

If you want a printout, you can use the Master Level feature to turn on a printer with the control-B P printer number command. For example, to turn on printer two, type three characters: control-B P 2. To turn off the printer at the end, type control-B P D.

If you are at the Master Level, you can replace the plus sign with an ampersand to save the catalog in a chapter. You will be prompted for a chapter name at the end of the catalogs. This feature has a limit of 2048 characters. It is recommended that you only catalog 3 or 4 volumes at a time. Here is an example of using this feature:
Page Menu: W
Whole disk catalog
Which drive: &8 <CR>
through: 11 <CR> L
(the computer lists the BEX chapters in volumes 8 through 11 beeping for each character absorbed)
Chapter: CAT <CR>
Chapter CAT now contains the list of BEX chapters on volumes 8 through 11.

Operating System Differences

BEX uses a variation of DOS 3.3 to speed up disk access. The Sider uses a more conventional version of DOS 3.3. You will notice that some accesses to floppy disks are slower on the Sider. On the Sider, you do not get the free sector count at the top of a catalog, but you can press # at any menu to check the sector count on a Sider volume.

Section 14: Cable List

All these cables and adapters are available from Raised Dot Computing. Write or call for a price list.

Cable Adapter 1F

VersaBraille C or D to SSC

Male RS-232 on Apple end, female RS-232 on VersaBraille end; wires 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 20 all straight through. Connect 4 on Apple end to wire 20. Do not connect wire 4 on VersaBraille to anything.

Cable Adapter 1M

VersaBraille B to SSC

Same as 16, except male on VersaBraille end.

Cable 2F

DECtalk to IIc

Echo GP to IIc

Microbrailler to IIc

PED to IIc

Personal Brailler to IIc

VersaBraille C or D to IIc

Thiel to IIc

3 foot cable, 5 pin DIN on Apple IIc end, female RS-232 on other end. Using Apple's pin numbering system: Apple pin 1 wired to RS-232 pins 5 and 6; Apple pin 2 wired to RS-232 pin 3; Apple pin 3 wired to RS-232 pin 7; Apple pin 4 wired to RS-232 pin 2; Apple pin 5 wired to RS-232 pin 20.

Cable 2M

Cranmer to IIc

DEST to IIc

ImageWriter to IIc

LaserWriter to IIc

MBOSS-1 to IIc

VersaBraille B to IIc

VersaBraille 2 to IIc

Same as 26, except male on RS-232 end.

Cable Adapter 3F

VersaBraille C or D to Cranmer

[SlotBuster Modem Port to SSC cable]

Male RS-232 to female RS-232 cable adapter; wires 1 and 7 straignt through. Swap wires 2 and 3. Swap wires 6 and 20. On each end, short wires 5 and 6.

Cable Adapter 3M

VersaBraille B to Cranmer

Same as 36, except male on VersaBraille end.

Cable 4F

KRM 3 to SSC

12 foot cable, male RS-232 on the Apple end, female RS-232 on KRM end. Wire 7 straight through, swap wires 2 and 3. Short wires 4 and 5 on the Apple end. Short wires 6 and 20 on the Apple end.

Cable 4M

KRM 400 to SSC

Same as 4F except male on the KRM end.

Cable 5F

KRM 3 to IIc

12 foot cable, 5 pin DIN on Apple IIc end, female RS-232 on the KRM end. Using Apple's pin numbering system: Apple pin 1 wired to RS-232 pin 20; Apple pin 2 wired to RS-232 pin 2; Apple pin 3 wired to RS-232 pin 7; Apple pin 4 wired to RS-232 pin 3; Apple pin 5 wired to RS-232 pins 5+#6.

Cable 5M

KRM 400 to IIc

Same as 5F except male on the KRM end.

Cable 6F

DECtalk to SSC

Microbrailler to SSC

PED to SSC

Personal Brailler to SSC

Thiel to SSC

10 foot straight male to female cable, RS-232 each end. Connecting wires 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 20.

Cable 6M

Cranmer to SSC

DEST to SSC

ImageWriter to SSC

LaserWriter to SSC

LED-120 to SSC

MBOSS-1 to SSC

Ohtsuki to SSC

VersaBraille 2 to SSC

10 foot straight male to male cable, RS-232 each end. Connecting wires 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 20.

Gender Adapter 7F

KRM 3 to VersaBraille C or D

Female RS-232 each side, connecting all pins straight through.

Gender Adapter 7M

KRM 400 to VersaBraille B

Male RS-232 each side, connecting all pins straight through.

Cable 9F

IBM-PC to SSC

10 foot female to male cable, RS-232 each end. Connecting wires 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 20. Short wires 4 and 20 on both ends.

Cable 9M

VersaPoint to SSC

Same as 96, except male on both ends.

Cable 106

DECtalk to IIc

Echo GP to IIc

IBM-PC to IIc

Microbrailler to IIc

PED to IIc

Personal Brailler to IIc

VersaBraille C or D to IIc

Thiel to IIc

8 foot cable, 5 pin DIN on Apple IIc end, female RS-232 on other end. Using Apple's pin numbering system: Apple pin 1 wired to RS-232 pins 5 and 6; Apple pin 2 wired to RS-232 pin 3; Apple pin 3 wired to RS-232 pin 7; Apple pin 4 wired to RS-232 pin 2; Apple pin 5 wired to RS-232 pins 4 and 20.

Cable 10M

Cranmer to IIc

DEST to IIc

ImageWriter to IIc

LaserWriter to IIc

MBOSS-1 to IIc

VersaBraille B to IIc

VersaBraille 2 to IIc

VersaPoint to IIc

Same as 106, except male on RS-232 end.

No Cable Used

Cricket to IIc

Echo synthesizer to Apple

Echo GP to SSC

KRM 3 to VersaBraille B

KRM 400 to VersaBraille C or D

Section 15: Forcing Card Recognition

When you use option W - What is in this computer, BEX tells you about the interface cards plugged into the slots of your Apple. BEX recognizes different types of interface cards through their own unique hardware and software profiles. Option R - Recognition of cards on the Starting Menu lets you teach BEX about interface cards whose profiles BEX does not know. However, if you provide BEX with incorrect information, you can cripple BEX's abilities to communicate with peripheral devices. Therefore, it's very important that you read through this entire section before you start using Recognition of cards.

Cards and devices BEX already knows about

As shipped to you, BEX can recognize all members of the Echo family and the SlotBuster multi-function card. BEX recognizes a variety of disk controller cards, including the Sider hard disk. For RAM drive use at the Master Level, BEX recognizes auxiliary slot memory expansion cards on the Apple IIe and their cognates on the Apple IIc; memory expansion slot cards on the Apple IIgs; and regular slot memory cards in the Apple IIe or IIgs.

Finally, BEX recognizes a select group of printer interface cards: the Apple Super Serial Card, the Grappler parallel card, the Apple Parallel Card, and built-in ports on the Apple IIc and IIgs. When BEX doesn't know the unique profile of a card, then it reports Unknown card in that slot with What is in this computer.

When Not to Use Recognition of Cards

You must have an interface card to control communication between the Apple and any peripheral. For every printer class except large print, BEX does not care about the exact interface card. When you configure most printers and braillers, BEX checks to make sure that an interface card is present in a particular slot. Unless you're configuring large print, BEX allows you to proceed even if the card is not recognized. You don't need to use Recognition of cards in this situation.

When BEX does not recognize a member of the Echo family, an 80-column card, or an auxiliary slot memory expansion card, Recognition of cards cannot help you. In the unlikely event this happens to you, please call our Technical Support line so we can help you.

The Fussy Interfaces

BEX requires a particular make and model of interface card for large print printing. BEX also requires specific interface cards for tape-based VersaBraille transfers and option I - Input through slot. When BEX reports an Unknown card in slot 4, then BEX won't let you specify slot 4 when configuring a tape-based VersaBraille, or large print printers. We refer to these applications as the fussy interfaces.

How Recognition of Cards Works

As mentioned earlier, BEX recognizes interface cards by their unique profile. The binary file named CARDS.BIN on the Boot side contains the profile information for all the cards BEX recognizes. When you use option R - Recognition of cards, BEX modifies the information in the CARDS.BIN file. The information in the CARDS.BIN file is BEX's "final authority." If you tell BEX to put erroneous information in that file, then BEX would behave incorrectly.

Here's an overview of how Recognition

But just recognizing the profile is not the whole story. For the fussy interfaces, BEX depends on finding a particular arrangement of hardware in the interface card. Many interface cards claim to be compatible with a well-known brand name card, for example, the Grappler parallel interface card. Ninety percent of the time, this compatibility does not mean that the hardware is the same. When you use Recognition of cards to teach BEX about a new card, you are not teaching BEX about the hardware on the card. Instead, you're telling BEX to pretend that the hardware on the card acts exactly like the hardware on a card BEX knows about already. If the new card's hardware is not exactly the same, then BEX won't perform correctly.

However, if you use Recognition of cards and realize you made a mistake, or if the recognized card does not work properly, there is an Undo feature. This feature only works on the last card recognized. The Undo feature is discussed below.

Why Recognition of Cards?

Recognition of cards lets you keep BEX up-to-date about the unique profiles of cards whose hardware BEX can work with. Card manufacturers are constantly improving their products. When Orange Micro designs a new and better Grappler Plus card, they change its unique profile. But Orange Micro takes care to maintain hardware compatibility: they don't want people who have used Grappler cards in the past to encounter nasty surprises.

The Circuit Cards BEX Recognizes

Here is a list of the card types BEX recognizes when you use this option:

There are many card types that BEX does not recognize. Cards such as mouse and joystick cards, clocks, co-processors, and modems are not relevent to BEX. If your card is "0 - None of the above" then BEX cannot do anything with your card anyway; do not use Recognition of cards on it.

When your card is one of the types listed above and is not recognized, then you need to use Recognition of cards.

() Warning! Be careful. Follow our instructions carefully. This option can cripple your BEX disk. Never use this option on your Master BEX disk. If you feel hesitant about using it, call our technical support. Never use Recognition of cards to explore all the possibilities of a circuit card. If you have used Recognition of cards and your card still does not work right, call technical support, and tell us you have used Recognition of cards.

Recognize one card at a time

If you recognize more than one card at once, remember that only the last recognition can be undone. When you have more than one card that needs recognition, make certain you have an unaltered copy of CARDS.BIN on your Master BEX Disk. Use option F - FID on the Boot side to copy the CARDS.BIN file onto another disk. Recognize your cards one at a time. Start with the card you are most confident about, and test that feature thoroughly before advancing to the next card. If you make a mistake, you have a back-up copy of CARDS.BIN and can start over.

Recognizing an Unknown Card

When you are certain of the function of your unrecognized card, move to the Starting Menu and press R. When all your cards are recognized, BEX tells you so and returns you to the Starting Menu. When one or more of your cards are not recognized, BEX asks for the slot number of the unrecognized card. Press ? <CR> if you are uncertain, and BEX tells you the number of the slots where the card is not recognized.

When you enter the slot number, BEX gives you a numbered list of the cards it recognizes, and asks for a number. You must enter a digit followed by <CR> to proceed. As a safety measure, BEX cancels recognition of cards and returns you to the Starting Menu when you enter ? <CR> or just <CR>, or zero <CR>. When you are certain of the card type, tell BEX that your card is one of those listed by entering the number of the card type. BEX then enters that card's profile into CARDS.BIN, listing it as the card type you specified.

Here's what the dialogue looks like:
Starting: R
This option forces BEX to recognize one
of your circuit cards. Only use this
option when you are sure the unknown
card acts like one card from the
following list.
Enter Slot: ? <CR>
Slot 4 is not recognized
Slot 7 is not recognized
Enter Slot: 4 <CR>
I know this card acts like this number:
1 - Super Serial Card
2 - Grappler parallel card
3 - Apple parallel card
4 - SlotBuster card
5 - built-in Apple serial port
6 - 5.25 inch disk drive
7 - 3.5 inch disk drive
8 - Sider hard disk
9 - Regular slot memory card
0 - None of the above
Which card is in slot 4:
When you enter ? <CR> or 0 <CR> or just <CR> at this prompt, BEX returns you to the Starting Menu. When you enter the card type number, BEX writes that recognition to disk:
Which card is in slot 4: 2 <CR>
Grappler parallel card

After BEX returns you to the Starting Menu prompt, your card is recognized. You may use option W - What is in this computer to confirm your forced recognition.

Reboot, and configure any of the fussy interfaces. Test these features thoroughly. If the features do not work, the usual reason is a problem with the card. Call for technical support, and tell us that you have used option R - Recognition of cards. In order for us to assist you, we need to know exactly what card you have, and that you have forced recognition of that card.

Undoing a Recognition

Once you have recognized a card, BEX gives you the option of undoing the last recognition. The next time you use option R - Recognition of cards, BEX tells you that you have forced recognition on a slot number, and asks you if you want to undo that recognition. When you accept the Y answer, BEX cancels the recognition, and erases the entry for that card in CARDS.BIN. When you enter N <CR> C you go immediately to the C Enter Slot: prompt.

You may undo only the last recognition. If you enter N <CR> at the undo prompt, and then recognize a second card, you cannot undo the first recognition.

Using FID to Start Over

There is one final method of undoing a Recognition of Cards when you need to undo a recognition other than the last. Since you have used Recognition of cards on a working copy of your BEX Disk and have not altered your Master BEX Disk in any way, you can use option F - FID on the Starting Menu to copy the CARDS.BIN file to your working backup.

FID is not a BEX operation; after you use FID, you must reboot to return to BEX. You must specify both the source and destination slot and drive number when you use any option on the FID Menu. So that FID recognizes file names, you need to press the Caps Lock key before typing any file name. Also, if you use an Echo, it is a good idea to use most or all punctuation mode while in FID.

To replace your altered copy of CARDS.BIN with the original version, first move to the Starting Menu. Place your original BEX disk in drive 1 and your backup in drive 2. Now you're ready to enter FID: FID dialogue is all uppercase, so following sample is transcibed in reverse capitalization mode
starting menu: f
fid
reboot to get back into bex
file developer enter option: <CR>
choose one of the following options:
1 copy files
2 catalog
3 space on disk
4 unlock files
5 lock files
6 delete files
7 reset slot & drive
8 verify files
9 quit
file developer
enter option: 1 <CR>
copy files
source slot? 6 <CR>
source drive? 1 <CR>
destination slot? 6 <CR>
destination drive? 2 <CR>
filename? cards.bin <CR>
insert disks. press <ESC> to return to
main menu or any other key to begin <CR>
file cards.bin
file cards.bin already exists.
type in a new file name for the copy or <return> to replace existing file or <ctrl-c><return> to cancel copy <CR>
file locked
do you wish to replace it anyway? y <CR>
done
press any key to continue

You have copied the original version of CARDS.BIN on your working BEX copy. Now you start over, using Recognition of cards again if you need to. If you had used Recognition of cards correctly for previous cards, you will need use option R - Recognition of cards on them again.