ADAM Inn ACTION!
by Robert w. Jones
As dedicated “Adamites” we can all agree that this
is a great little machine. It does word processing, plays games,
and is wonderful for just “hacking.” But what can it
REALLY do?
In the hotel I manage in Smithfield, RI, I have an ADAM hooked
up to our master TV amplifier and run cable-TV style bulletin
board messages to all 117 guest rooms. These messages provide
information about guest services, local restaurants and more.
The system is programmed in SmartLogo and runs continuously on
Channel 3.
The operating system is simple. In SmartLogo, single letters
or words can be “de-fined” to execute a long series
of commands such as screen color, sprite shapes, print statements,
and much more. For example, the “super” command that
runs my system is called simply: TV. This definition is:
TO TV
MOVIES PIZZA COFFEE EATS1 EATS2 CLUB TV
END
Each of those terms is a defined command that creates a new
screen of text. “TV” calls each routine in turn, executes
it, and moves on to the next. Note that the last command is TV,
calling the whole list over again (an endless loop.) Some of
the routines call sub-routines that scroll multi-page listings,
activate sprites (in Logo these are called “turtles”),
and other such “frills”.
Just as SmartBasic looks for and automatically runs a user-defined
“HELLO” file upon booting, SmartLogo auto-runs a “STARTUP”
file. I have written a STARTUP file that sets up the “turtle”
shapes: a stylized shield for our company symbol, a “happy
face” for our coffee shop, and so on. STARTUP then “recycles”
the system and loads and runs the TV file.
This is handy in case the system crashes due to power failure
or other reasons. All my desk clerk has to do is insert the SmartLogo
tape in the drive and hit the RESET switch. ADAM does the rest.
The entire operating system and TV file loads and be-gins running
in three minutes. The datapack can then be removed and put safely
away.
After SmartLogo boots up, there is enough RAM left in ADAM
for 8-12 screens of text, depending on how much use is made of
graphics. The more turtles that are programmed in, the less memory
space left for text. If anyone can think of a way to have access
to a memory expander in SmartLogo, please let me know. I would
like to run many more messages.
SmartLogo is so easy to program in due to the built-in (“resident”)
commands such as: CS for Clear Screen. These commands are pre-defined
by the operating system and are explained in detail in the operating
system manual supplied with SmartLogo.
I put the system on line last March, and naturally have made
several improvements and additions. That’s the really nice
part about SmartLogo. The more I use it, the better I get at
achieving the same results with tighter commands, leaving . more
RAM available for actual text.
For example, the definition:
TO SS
PR [ ]
END
causes the text to scroll up one line. Pretty easy programming,
huh? SmartLogo allows 28 text characters per line with 23 lines
from top to bottom of the screen. To avoid a cluttered
look, I type “SS” after each line of text. This command
prints a blank line between each two
lines of text, reducing the available text to 11 or 12 lines
per screen.
It is now only one step further to the definition:
TO S
TO S :N
REPEAT :N [SS]
END
...where N equals the number of blank lines you wish SmartLogo
to insert after a print
statement. If I type “S 23”, Logo will insert 23 blank
lines, in effect scrolling the current text
off the screen. Otherwise, I would have to type “ [ ] “
23 times in a row. That sort of thing
quickly fills the system, leaving less room for actual text.
The hardware hook-up wasn’t too difficult because TV
channel 3 is blank on our system. I
did have to install a low-cost VHF-RF (radio frequency) amplifier
to carry ADAM’s Channel 3 output from the front desk to
the utility room through a 50-foot co-axial cable.
Also, I found I needed a Channel 3 bandpass filter to avoid causing
interference on adjacent
channels 2 and 4, which are NOT blank. This whole procedure took
less than a day, including tuning the bandpass filter. This setup
has worked very nicely for over nine months.
Possibilities for your own use include putting a TV in a store
window with ADAM hooked up, and advertising your “hot specials”
or other attention getters. Since that would be a
single-set hookup, no RF amplifier or band-pass filter is needed.
If anyone is interested in installing a similar system, feel
free to call me for assistance. This
technique is ONLY easily applied to ADAM or other small computer
with an RF output designed to display on a standard TV... IBM
& Mac users need not apply!
--- Robert Jones (Compuserve ID # 71341,3372)
You can also contact me in care of:
SUSSE CHALET HOTEL
P.O. Box 17309
Esmond, RI 02917
Phone (401) 232-2400
FAX: Ext. 141
—Reprinted from the February, 1991 issue of MOAUG (Metro
Orlando ADAM Users Group)
To view the PDF version of this document, click
here
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