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A surgical guide to the Amstrad NC

2020-12-06T12:01:10Z

Genesis8bit: author web page doesnt exist anymore, using archive.org

== A Surgical Guide To The Amstrad Notepad Computer ==
This page is based on Hans-Jürgen Böhling's "surgical guide to the Amstrad NC". The original document is avaliabe here [https://web.archive.org/web/20141214160211/http://home.arcor.de/h.boehling/nc100.htm] (author's website) or here [[Media:sg-nc100.zip]] (local copy)

=== Amstrad Notepad Computer - What is it? ===

The model [[NC Series|NC100]] is about DIN A4 size with a LCD 8 lines * 80 characters
screen, nearly full size keyboard, a PCMCIA memory card slot on the right
hand side and four coloured keys. The Notepads have standard Centronics
parallel port (DB-25 pin famale connector) and RS232 (DB 9 pin male)
serial port. The system has drivers for 9 and 24 pin dot matrix, Canon
inkjet and Laserjet printers. The serial connector support 300, 1200,
2400, 4800, or 9600 bps. As power supply the NC100 use 4 * AA sice
batteries or an AC adapter. As backup battery ther is also a CR2032 3 Volt
lithium cell.

The model NC150 (it seems) is retailing only in Italy and Fance. It has
512K bytes firmware ROM and 128K RAM. The extra 256K bytes ROM contains a
spreadsheet and the arcade game 'BLOCKADE' (similar to TETRIS).

The model NC200 include the additional features of the NC150 but also a
720K MS-DOS compatible 3.5 inch floppy disk drive and a 16 lines by 80
characters screen witch had to be fold up like a laptop.

[[File:NC100_Diagram1.png]]

=== Specifications ===

<pre>
Model : NC100
Processor : Z80 compatible CMOS
Operating
frequency : 6 MHz
Memory : 64K byte internal
(15K system-, 11K upper-, 38K lower memory)
Storage : PCMCIA/JEIDA Memory Cards (PC-Cards) Type I
max. 1M byte SRAM 5 Volt
Display : 480*32 pixel disply (usually 80*8 characters)
Weight : 930 g
Height : 22 mm
Width : 295 mm
Length : 210 mm
Power Consumption ON : 40 - 60 mA
Built in firmware : 256K byte with

- Texteditor with mailmerge and spellchecker
- Address book
- Time manager (diary with alarm-clock)
- Calculator
- Terminal-programm (serial Tranfer with ASCII or XModem)
- BBC-BASIC with Assembler support
</pre>

=== How to get the Firmware Number? ===

When you are in the main Menu (text editor, calculater, calender) push the
secret-button and the system-settings menu appears, the version number
will be shown in the first line of the sceen. I have a german NC100 and the
firmware number is v1.06.

=== PCMCIA Memory Cards ===

A battery buffered PCMCIA SRAM-Memory Card will preserve you from data loss
even if your Notepad crashes and increases the available memory. It also
allows you to create a file with BBC-BASIC bigger than 1024 bytes. This is
because BBC-BASIC allocates all available memory on startup except 1024
bytes. The maximum size to use with the NC100 is up to 1M byte.

=== How to open the NC100? ===

Before disassembling the Notepad you should save all your data! Then put
the Notepad on the table face down. Remove the four AA size batteries, then
unscrew the five screws (one under the battery cover). In the drawing below
they are marked with a "*"-sign. One screw fixes the cover of the firmware
EPROM.Place the Notepad the right way up and lift off the upper part of the
case. Be careful, because the display is still connected to the main-board
via a folio-flat-cable and so is the speaker! Don't be nervous, the cables
can be simply pulled out of their sockets. Now you can separate the covers.

[[File:NC100_HowToOpen.png]]

=== What is inside? ===

Inside the NC100 is a SMD layout. I have a german NC100 and the circuit board is
labeled Amstrad plc 4500-001P-1, NA999-32142, manual marked C (A-H) and
1 (1-8). All IC's are SMD apart from IC303 which is on the backside of the
NC100 (behind the firmware EPROM cover). On the drawing below I have
labeled all ICs, but you can find it on the layout also!

[[File:NC100_Inside.png]]

The table below gives a description of the IC's in the NC100:

<pre>
╔════Ð═══════════════Ð════════Ð═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║IC-#│Label │Pin's │Description ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║301 │ZILOG │4*11= 44│Z84C00 ║
║ │Z84C0006FEC │PLCC 44 │CMOS, 6 MHz ║
║ │Z80 CPU │ │Z80 compatible Microprocessor ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║302 │NEC Japan │4*34=136│µPD 65034 ║
║ │D65034GD093 │PLCC 136│Custom ASIC ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║303 │NEC Japan │2*16= 32│27C2001 = CMOS EPROM 256K*8 bit ║
║ │D27C2001 │DIL 32 │Firmware EPROM ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║304 │NEC JAPAN │2*14= 28│µPD 43257 A = CMOS SRAM 32K*8 bit ║
║ │D43257AGU-10LL │SO 28 │Memory layouted as an SO 32 (32 pin)! ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║305 │NEC Japan │2*14= 28│µPD 43257 A = CMOS SRAM 32K*8 bit ║
║ │D43257AGU-10LL │SO 28 │Memory ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║306 │MEMORY CARD │2*34= 68│PCMCIA/JEIDA Memory Cards Slot Type I ║
║ │ │PCMCIA │for max. 1M byte SRAM Memory, 5 Volt ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║307 │T 9224 HB │2*10= 20│TC8521 ║
║ │ 8521 AM │SO 20 │Real-Time-Clock ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║308 │NEC Japan │2*14= 28│µPD 71051 ║
║ │D71051 GU │SO 28 │UART (parallel to seriell transpose) ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║309 │NEC Japan │2*10= 20│µPD 4711 ║
║ │D4711 AG │SO 20 │RS232-driver (shift level to +/- 10V) ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║310 │not placed │2* 7= 14│74HC00 = CMOS-Logic 4 * NAND ║
║ │ │SO 14 │(only used if IC304/IC305 = 43256) ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║311 │D4584G │2* 7= 14│4584 = CMOS-Logic 6 * Schmitt-Trigger ║
║ │ │SO 14 │ ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║312 │C339 G │2* 7= 14│LM339 = 4 * Comparator ║
║ │ │SO 14 │(used for battery level detection) ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║313 │D4013G │2* 7= 14│4013 = CMOS-Logic 2 * D-Flip Flop ║
║ │ │SO 14 │with set and reset ║
Ã────┼───────────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────────────────Â
║314 │D4584G │2* 7= 14│4584 = CMOS-Logic 6 * Schmitt-Trigger ║
║ │ │SO 14 │ ║
╚════¤═══════════════¤════════¤═══════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

=== Amstrad NC100/NC150 Simplfied Bock Diagram ===

[[File:NC100_BlockDiagram.png]]

=== Amstrad NC100/150 Power Supply Bock Diagram ===

[[File:NC100_PowerSupply.png]]

== IC Pinouts ==
On the next pages folowing the pinouts off the most important ICs used in
the NC100. '*' indicates active Low and 'NC' is Not Connected in the NC100

=== The Microprocessor (MPU, IC301) ===

<pre>
Type : Z84C00
Manufacturer : Zilog Inc.
Description : Microprocessor, 8-Bit
Power Consumption : 15 mA typ. at 6 MHz
Process : CMOS
Supply Voltage : +5V
Operating frequency max. : 6 MHz
Package : PLCC 44 pin

Features :

- Commands compatible with Zilog Z80 MPU
- Powerful set of 158 instructions including the 78 of the 8080A
- 10 addressing modes
- Power down mode when the system clock is stopped

Pinout :

1 A11 23 *RD
2 A12 24 NC
3 A13 25 NC
4 A14 26 *WR
5 A15 27 *BUSACK
6 NC 28 *WAIT
7 CLK 29 *BUSREQ
8 D4 30 *RESET
9 D3 31 *M1
10 D5 32 *RFSH
11 D6 33 GND
12 NC 34 A0
13 VCC 35 A1
14 D2 36 A2
15 D7 37 A3
16 D0 38 A4
17 D1 39 A5
18 *INT 40 A6
19 *NMI 41 A7
20 *HALT 42 A8
21 *MREQ 43 A9
22 *IORQ 44 A10
</pre>

=== The Custom Chip (IC302) ===
<pre>
Type : µPD 65034
Manufacturer : NEC Electronics
Description : Custom Chip with multiple funktions
Process : CMOS
Supply Voltage : +5V
Package : PLCC 136

The chip has multiple functions:

- Clock generator for CPU and UART
- Peripher Interface Adaptor (to printer, LCD-screen, keybord,)
- Memory Management Unit
- PCMCIA-Interface
- Sound generator for speaker

Pinout :

1 VDD 35 GND 69 VDD 103 GND
2 KBI1 36 GND 70 TEMP 104 GND
3 KBI5 37 AO18 71 UCLK 105 *STRB
4 KBI7 38 AO19 72 RRDY 106 *CD2
5 KBI6 39 GND 73 TRDY 107 *CD1
6 KBI4 40 CLK 74 *STBY 108 *CE1
7 KBI3 41 HALT 75 LD0 109 *OE1
8 KBI2 42 *MREQ 76 LD1 110 *WE1
9 KBI0 43 *IORQ 77 LD2 111 *REG
10 A0 44 *BACK 78 LD3 112 BVD2
11 A1 45 *BREQ 79 FRM 113 BVD1
12 A2 46 *WAT 80 DF 114 WP
13 A3 47 *M1 81 LOAD 115 MD3
14 A4 48 *INT 82 CP 116 MD4
15 A5 49 *RD 83 POFF 117 MD5
16 A6 50 *WR 84 SP 118 GND
17 GND 51 DO 85 GND 119 MD6
18 GND 52 D1 86 GND 120 MD7
19 A7 53 D2 87 BD1 121 MD0
20 A8 54 D3 88 BD2 122 MD1
21 A9 55 GND 89 *NMIC 123 MD2
22 A10 56 D4 90 *RES 124 TEST (NC)
23 A11 57 D5 91 URES 125 KBO9
24 A12 58 D6 92 *BUSY 126 KBO8
25 A13 59 D7 93 *ACK 127 KBO7
26 A14 60 RRD 94 PD7 128 KBO6
27 A15 61 *CS0 95 PD6 129 KBO1
28 AO14 62 *CS1 96 PD5 130 KBO2
29 AO15 63 *CS2 97 PD4 131 KBO5
30 AO16 64 *CS3 98 PD3 132 KBO4
31 AO17 65 *CS4 99 PD2 133 KBO3
32 X2 66 TRXC 100 PD1 134 KBO0
33 X1 67 GND 101 PD0 135 GND
34 VDD 68 GND 102 VDD 136 GND
</pre>

=== The Firmware EPROM (IC303) ===
<pre>
Type : µPD 27C2001
Manufacturer : NEC Electronics
Description : EPROM, 2Mb, 8-Bit, UV-eraseable
Org. : 256K x 8 Bit
Process : CMOS
Supply Voltage : +5V
Standby : 0.5 mW
Operation : 150 mW
Package : DIL

Pinout :

1 NC (A19) 17 O3
2 A16 18 O4
3 A15 19 O5
4 A12 20 O6
5 A7 21 O7
6 A6 22 *CE
7 A5 23 A10
8 A4 24 *OE
9 A3 25 A11
10 A2 26 A9
11 A1 27 A8
12 A0 28 A13
13 O0 29 A14
14 O1 30 A17
15 O2 31 NC (A18)
16 GND 32 VCC

The NC100 can also control 27C4001 (512K), 23C2001 (256K), 23C4001 (512K),
23C8001 (1M byte) EPROM's! By the type of the EPROM there had to be set
some different connections, this connections are set by zero Ohm
SMD-resistors from the backside of the board close to IC303:

╔═════════Ð════════Ð══════Ð══════Ð══════Ð══════╗
║ IC303 │ Kbyte │ J301 │ J302 │ J303 │ J304 ║
╠═════════Ï════════Ï══════Ï══════Ï══════Ï══════╣
║ 27C2001 │ 256 │ │ │ + │ + ║
Ã─────────┼────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────Â
║ 27C4001 │ 512 │ + │ │ + │ ║
╠═════════Ï════════Ï══════Ï══════Ï══════Ï══════╣
║ 23C2001 │ 256 │ │ │ + │ + ║
Ã─────────┼────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────Â
║ 23C4001 │ 512 │ │ + │ │ + ║
Ã─────────┼────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────Â
║ 23C8001 │ 1024 │ + │ + │ │ ║
╚═════════¤════════¤══════¤══════¤══════¤══════╝

+ = use

I have double my ROM-space by set in a 27C4001 EPROM, remove J304 and set
in J301 by a pice of wire.
</pre>

=== The Static Random Access Memory (SRAM, IC304 and IC305) ===
<pre>
Type : µPD 43257A
Manufacturer : NEC Electronics
Description : SRAM, 256K Bit
Org. : 32K x 8 Bit
Process : CMOS
Supply Voltage : +5VBK (Lithium battery buffered)
Standby : 0.5 mW
Operation : 225 mW
Package : SO 28

Pinout :

1 A14 15 DQ4
2 A12 16 DQ5
3 A7 17 DQ6
4 A6 18 DQ7
5 A5 19 DQ8
6 A4 20 *CS
7 A3 21 A10
8 A2 22 *OE
9 A1 23 A11
10 A0 24 A9
11 DQ1 25 A8
12 DQ2 26 A13
13 DQ3 27 *WE
14 GND 28 VCC

On my NC100 the IC304 is layouted as an SO 32 (32 pin). I belief you can
put some bigger RAM-chip in the circuit, but there is nothing about that in
the electronic diagram! There is only that the NC100 can control a 43256
RAM-chips. By the type of the RAM-chip there had to be set some different
connections and use IC310:

╔═══════════Ð══════Ð══════Ð══════Ð══════Ð═══════╗
║IC304, 305 │ J305 │ J306 │ J307 │ J308 │ IC310 ║
╠═══════════Ï══════Ï══════Ï══════Ï══════Ï═══════╣
║43256 │ + │ │ │ │ + ║
Ã───────────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼───────Â
║43257 │ │ + │ + │ + │ ║
╚═══════════¤══════¤══════¤══════¤══════¤═══════╝

+ = use
</pre>

=== The PCMCIA card slot (IC306) ===

The NC-100 can use PCMCIA/JEIDA Memory Cards (PC-Cards) Type I, max. 1024K
(1M) byte static ram card, 5 Volts. You can bye them in 64Kb, 128Kb,
256Kb, 512Kb, and 1024Kb sizes.
The flash memory cards are not suitable for the NC-100. These have a
control register that must be written to before any read or write can take
place. Data transfers are then be done in sector chunks.

<pre>
PCMCIA Card Connector Type I, 5 Volts:

1 mm 1 mm
││ ││
││ 34 1 ││
┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐│────────────
1.6 mm ───└┐ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ││ 3.4 mm
───┌┘ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ └┐─── 1 mm
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘────────────
│ 68 35 │
│ 54 mm │

PCMCIA Version 2.0 Pinout:

1 GND 35 GND
2 D3 I/O 36 *CD1 O
3 D4 I/O 37 D11 I/O (NC)
4 D5 I/O 38 D12 I/O (NC)
5 D6 I/O 39 D13 I/O (NC)
6 D7 I/O 40 D14 I/O (NC)
7 *CE1 I 41 D15 I/O (NC)
8 A10 I 42 *CE2 I (NC)
9 *OE I 43 RFSH I (NC)
10 A11 I 44 RFU I (NC)
11 A9 I 45 RFU I (NC)
12 A8 I 46 A17 I
13 A13 I 47 A18 I
14 A14 I 48 A19 I
15 *WE/PGM I 49 A20 I (NC)
16 RDY/*BSY O 50 A21 I (NC)
17 VCC 51 VCC
18 VPP1 52 VPP2
19 A16 I 53 A22 I (NC)
20 A15 I 54 A23 I (NC)
21 A12 I 55 A24 I (NC)
22 A7 I 56 A25 I (NC)
23 A6 I 57 RFU (NC)
24 A5 I 58 RESET I (NC)
25 A4 I 59 *WAIT O (NC)
26 A3 I 60 RFU (NC)
27 A2 I 61 *REG I
28 A1 I 62 BVD2 O
29 A0 I 63 BVD1 O
30 D0 I/O 64 D8 I/O (NC)
31 D1 I/O 65 D9 I/O (NC)
32 D2 I/O 66 D10 I/O (NC)
33 WP O 67 *CD2 O
34 GND 68 GND
RFU = Reserved Future Use
</pre>

=== The Real-Time-Clock (RTC, IC307) ===
<pre>
Type : TC8521AP/AM
Manufacturer : Toshiba Corporation
Description : Real Time Clock
Process : CMOS
Supply Voltage : +5VBK (Lithium battery buffered)
Power Dissipat. max : 1.25 mW
Package : SO 20

Features :

- Clock funktion (hr, min, sec, date, day of week, year and leap year)
auto-calendar
- Clock system of 24-hour or 12-hour selectable
- +/- 30 sec correction funktion
- Alarm signal or pulse of 16Hz or 1Hz can be output
- Built-in 26*4 bit RAM
- 4-bit bidirectional data bus
- 4-bit address input
- Directly connectable with CPU bus
- Capable of battery backup

Pinout :

1 *CS
2 CS
3 ADJ
4 A0
5 A1
6 A2
7 NC
8 A3
9 *RD
10 GND
11 *WR
12 D0
13 D1
14 D2
15 D3
16 *ALARM
17 NC
18 XIN
19 XOUT
20 VCC
</pre>

=== The Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART, IC308) ===
<pre>
Type : µPD 71051
Manufacturer : NEC Electronics
Description : UART Serial Control Unit
Process : CMOS
Supply Voltage : +5V
Package : SO 28

Features :

- Synchronous and asynchronous operation
- Full duplex, double buffered transmitter / receiver
- Error detektion at parity, overrun and framing
- 5 to 8 bit characters
- Low power standby mode
- Functionally equivalant to the 8251A UART

Pinout :

1 D2
2 D3
3 RxDA TA
4 GND
5 D4
6 D5
7 D6
8 D7
9 *TxCLK
10 *WR
11 *CS
12 C/*D
13 *RD
14 RxRDY
15 TxRDY
16 SYNCBRK (NC)
17 *CTS
18 TxE MP
19 TxDA TA
20 CLK
21 RES ET
22 *DSR (NC)
23 *RTS
24 *DTR (NC)
25 *RxCLK
26 Vdd
27 D0
28 D1
</pre>

=== The RS232-Driver (IC309) ===
<pre>
Type : µPD 4711A
Manufacturer : NEC Electronics
Description : RS232-Driver
Process : MOS-IC
Supply Voltage : +5V
Power Dissipat. : 60 mA
Package : SO 20

The RS232-driver shift up the TTL-level (0V/+5V) output from UART to
RS232-level (+10V/-10V).

Pinout :

1 Vdd
2 C1+
3 Vcc
4 C1-
5 STB
6 Din1
7 Din2
8 Rout 1
9 Rout 2
10 GND
11 Rcon
12 Rin2
13 Rin1
14 Dout 2
15 Dout1
16 Dcon
17 Vss
18 C4-
19 GND
20 C4+
</pre>

=== The RS232-connector pinout ===
(DTR just duplicates RTS)

<pre>
Pin I/O Description
5 GND Signal Ground
9 <─ RI Ring Indicator (NC)
4 ─> DTR Data Terminal Ready
8 <─ CTS Clear To Send
3 ─> TD Transmit Data
7 ─> RTS Request To Send
2 <─ RD Receive Data
6 <─ DSR Data Set Ready (NC)
1 <─ CD Carrier Detect (NC)
</pre>

Author:

<pre>
Hans-Jürgen Böhling
Bülowstr. 2
40476 Düsseldorf
Germany

e-mail : 101.107378@germanynet.de
homepage: http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/101.107378/index.htm
</pre>

[[Category:NC Series]][[Category:Amstrad Products]][[Category:Non CPC Computers]]

NC Series

2019-04-08T18:58:37Z

Genesis8bit: dead link, using archive.org instead with last known version

''The following text was copied in part from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_NC100 English Wikipedia article].''

[[Image:NC100.jpg|200px|thumb|Amstrad NC100]]

The '''Amstrad NC Series''' was a series of A4-sized, portable [[Z80|Z80]]-based computers, released by [[Amstrad]] in 1992-1993. All models featured 64 or 128 KB of RAM, the [[Protext]] word processor, various organiser-like facilities (diary, address book and time manager), a simple calculator, and a version of [[BBC Basic]].

The screen of the first two models (NC100 and NC150) was small, eight rows by 80 columns, and not backlit, but this let the NC100/150 run for up to 20 hours on four standard AA cell batteries. There was an [[RS232]] serial port, a parallel port for connecting a printer, and a PC card socket, by means of which the computer's memory could be expanded up to 1 MB.

==Design==
The NC100 was designed to be a portable computer which was simple to use. That was the brief given by Sir Alan Sugar (then chairman of Amstrad) to his design staff. The NC100 project was internally referred to as Alan's "Baby" and Alan Sugar himself tested the machine for usability during the design phase. The specifications for the computer were not considered important - as long as it could serve its purpose.

The simple to use features of the NC100 come from the software which is included on the internal ROM chip. The Word processor and other applications have been written with a computer novice in mind - although experienced users can find and use a large array of more complicated features.

Alan Sugar actually wrote the first chapter of the NC100's user manual in order to show that even he could use it.

The design also included terminal emulation and XMODEM file transfer software which enabled the NC100 to communicate through dial-up analogue modems. UK tech journalist Sue Schofield used one to upload a review of the NC100 directly into the online filing computer of the Independent newspaper in 1993. The review was written on the machine, and transferred from it over a 300 baud modem.

==Hardware==

===NC100===
The NC100 was the first model of the Amstrad NC Series.
<gallery caption="NC100">
Image:NC100_RetailBoxGerman.jpg|Retail box (german version)
Image:NC100_Top_EN.jpg|Top view (english version)
Image:NC100_Top_DE.jpg|Top view (german version)
Image:NC100_DE_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view (german version)
Image:NC100_DK_Top.jpg|Top view (danish version)
Image:NC100_DK_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view (danish version)
</gallery>

'''Dreamwriter 225'''<br>
The NC100 was sold in the USA and Canada as the Dreamwriter 225 with the NTS brand. NTS will then sell other models with similar form factor as the NC100 but with a Nec V20 processor and different software to schools. The computer identifies itself as "Amstrad NC100 v1.06" on the settings screen.

<gallery caption="Dreamwriter 225">
Image:NTS_Dreamwriter_225_Top.jpg|Dreamwriter 225 Top
Image:NTS_Dreamwriter_225_Bottom.jpg|Dreamwriter 225 Bottom
Image:NTS_Dreamwriter_225_DR_1.06_Rom.jpg|Dreamwriter 225 ROM
</gallery>

===NC150===
The NC150 was only available in Italy and france; Its case had the same design as the NC100, but it included the additional Software from the NC200 (Three Tetris-like games and a spreadsheet)

<gallery caption="NC150 (French)">
Image:NC150_Top.jpg|Top view
Image:NC150_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view
</gallery>

<gallery caption="NC150 (Italian)">
Image:NC150_IT_Top.jpg|Top view
Image:NC150_IT_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view
</gallery>

===NC200===
An upgraded version, the ''NC200'', appeared in late 1993, featuring a 3.5" floppy disk drive able to read/write MS-DOS-formatted double density disks, 128 KB RAM, some extra software - most notably a spreadsheet and three Tetris-like games - and a larger, backlit screen. However, this change required much greater power use, using 5 C cell batteries. The disk drive could only be used at near full-charge, which meant that it could only be used a few hours after putting in new batteries. However, the laptop could function for considerably longer than this without using the disk drive. The backlight can be manually toggled off to save power by pressing the Control and Caps Lock keys at the same time.

<gallery caption="NC200">
Image:Amstrad NC200 System s1.jpg|The NC200
</gallery>

==NC200 Functionality==

Function+B - BBC Basic
Function+R - Some form of reset, disc is accessed and returns to main menu
Function+Secret Menu - Asks you to enter a password so you can password protect your NC200
Function+Red - Word processor
Function+Green - Calculator
Function+Blue - Diary
Function+White - Spreadsheet
Function+T - Time manager (alarm, date, time zone)
Function+P - print
Function+S - Serial
Function+A - Alarm
Function+D - Address book
Function+F - File manager (for disk)
(on menu E Edit, D delete, D delete marked files, R (rename), C (copy files to memory), N (make new directory), F (format disk), SHIFT+CONTROL+H to toggle display of hidden files)
Function+G - games
Function+L - lapcat data transfer
Function+Z - time zone manager
Function+C - Calendar
Function+N - new document (wordprocessing)
Function+X - change file display options (from main menu)

Holding [Function][Control][Symbol] and then pressing the power key will cause the machine's self test mode to begin with the general test and then continue with the disc drive test (a disc must be in the drive for the test to operate!).

==NC200 Disc access==

To format a disc go to file manager (Function+F, Press menu and select F)
Discs are formatted to double density, 80 track, 2 sides with FAT filesystem. They can be read directly by a PC.
There is 712K free. A directory called "NOTEBOOK" is created by default.

The disc interface is turned off if there is no activity for a few seconds, or if it is not required by the application. When it does this the drive seeks to track 0.

By default, the NC200 will work from RAM. All files are read/written to it's internal memory. This includes from BASIC when SAVE and LOAD and *. (list directory)
are used.

Reading files from Disk:

If you wish to transfer files to memory to use them, you need to go to the file manager (Function+F, select each file with space, press menu and then select "copy marked files to memory").
The files will be read from disc and read into RAM.

NOTE:
1. Any file can be read from disc and transfered to RAM. The file is then visible in the list of documents. All files are transfered this way including binary files.
2. You can load a document from disc into the word processor. However, it actually transfers the file from disc and makes a RAM file. It then loads the RAM file.
This means that if you try to load a large document you will run out of RAM.
3. Using BASIC, there is approx 40K free RAM (using LOMEM and HIMEM variables to find lower and upper limit respectively) on a NC200 machine without RAM card.

Writing files to Disk:

If you wish to transfer files to disc, you need to press Green to go to the list of documents. Press space and highlight each document you want to copy, press menu and then select "Copy marked files to disk"). The files will be read from RAM and written to disk.

== BASIC program transfer ==

To transfer a BASIC program *to* the NC computer you will need it to be stored as ASCII and not in it's native tokenized binary form.
You can save a BASIC program to RAM in it's tokenized form, but it will not display in either the wordprocessor OR the spreadsheet document list.
Therefore you can't copy it on/off the NC this way.

For NC200 you can use the floppy drive and use the file manager to copy files from the disc into ram.
For all NC computers you can use the memory card OR serial interface to transfer files.

To transfer a BASIC program *from* the NC computer will need to convert it to ASCII.
Do this with

*SPOOL <filename>
LIST
*SPOOL

The ASCII version of the file will now be in the NC computers ram.

For NC200, you now need to list all wordprocessor documents and then you can copy the ascii file to disc.
For all NC computers you can also use the serial interface.

To load a BASIC program as ASCII do this:
*EXEC <filename>

This will load the basic program and you can then LIST it and RUN it.

== Technical ==

* [[NC 100/150/200 IO Specification]]
* [[NC100 IO Specification]]
* [[A surgical guide to the Amstrad NC]] (NC100 Hardware Reference)
* [[NC Series Mainboard Versions]]

=== Datasheets ===
* [[Media:Z84C0006FEC_Z80_CPU.pdf|Z84C00]] Zilog Z80 CPU
* [[Media:Tc8521.pdf|TC8521]] Real Time Clock (NC100/NC150)
* [[Media:MC146818.pdf|MC146818]] Real Time Clock (NC200)
* [[Media:UPD71051_USART.pdf|µPD71051]] USART for serial data communications (NC100/NC150)
* [[Media:UPD4711_RS232_Line_Driver.pdf|µPD4711A]] RS232 Line Driver (NC100/NC150)
* [[Media:NEC_43257_SRAM_32K.pdf|µPD43257]] 32K-WORD BY 8-BIT SRAM (NC100)

==Software==
The Notepad comes with various software included on the ROM chip. The included software can be started at any time by pressing the ''Function'' key and one of the colored keys or letter keys simultaneously. These programs are included on the NC:
* Word Processor: A full featured port of Protext, including Mail Merge and spellchecker. (YELLOW-RED)
* Calculator: A very basic Calculator. Supports only basic arithmetic operations. (YELLOW-GREEN)
* Diary/Clock/Address Book: A simple calendar, address book and world clock application. (YELLOW-BLUE)
* BBC Basic: BASIC interpreter with graphics and sound capabilities. Includes a two-pass Z80 assembler. (YELLOW-B)
* Serial Terminal: A (VT52 compatible) terminal program with XModem file transfer function. (YELLOW-S)
* Spreadsheet: (NC150/NC200 only) A version of 'The Cracker' spreadsheet ported to the NC. (YELLOW-WHITE)
* Blockade/Super Blockade/Trikade: (NC150/NC200 only) Three very similar Tetris-like games. (YELLOW-G)

===Serial Terminal===

NC100:

Press FUNCTION+S to enter Serial terminal. You can press MENU to change the settings.
Here characters that are received will be shown immediatly.

If you want to transfer a file, the best method is to use XMODEM. First you will
need to create a dummy document. (Press FUNCTION + Left Arrow, then Left Arrow, enter
name of doc, and then ESC to quit).

Now if you go to view documents, you can press MENU. From here you can choose
.... and do a xmodem receive document.

NC200:

Press FUNCTION+S to enter Serial terminal. From here you can press MENU, and choose
to do a xmodem receive or send or to setup the terminal. If you press RETURN instead of
MENU, you will enter the terminal like the NC100.

===XMODEM transfer===

NC100:

1. Enter wordprocessor.
2. Start a new document
3. Quit wordprocessor
4. Go to list documents.
5. Press MENU key
6. Here you can navigate the menu to find "XMODEM receive document".
7. Start XMODEM send on PC.

NC200:

1. Enter serial/terminal program.
2. Press MENU
3. Press R (for XMODEM receive)
4. Start XMODEM send on PC.

=== Third-party software for the NC Series ===
* ZCN: CP/M 2.2 compatible operating system. Requires at least a 256K PCMCIA Memory Card. [http://www.ibiblio.org/zcn/]
* NC100.EXE by Prowort Service. MS-Dos program for transferring files to and from the NC. (Download below)
<gallery caption="NC100.EXE by Prowort Service">
image:NC100EXE_Disk_Top.jpg|Disk Top
image:NC100EXE_Disk_Bottom.jpg|Disk Bottom
image:NC100_EXE_Screenshot_01.gif|Splash screen
image:NC100_EXE_Screenshot_02.gif|Screenshot
image:NC100_EXE_Screenshot_03.gif|Screenshot
</gallery>

== The NC and relatives ==

The NC series has a remarkable resemblance to the Nakajima series of electronic typewriters!

<gallery caption="NC and Relatives">
Image:Ncandrelatives.jpg|The NC's and Nakajimas
Image:Nakajima ES210 System s1.jpg|Closeup of Nakajima ES-210
</gallery>

These computers appear to use the same hardware as the NC100, except a NEC V20 (8086 compatible CPU) is used in place of the Z80.

== Books ==
At least five book were published about the NC series!

* Ian Sinclair, ''' Getting The Most From The Amstrad NC100 Notepad''', Dabs Press, ISBN 1-870336-68-2
* Vic Gerhardi/Dave Hampson, '''NC100 Magic''', Rakewell, ISBN 0-7457-0236-8
* Patrick Hall, '''How To Program The Amstrad NC100 Notepad''', Sigma Press, ISBN 1-85058-511-3
* Robin Nixon, '''The Amstrad Notepad Advanced User''', Sigma Press, ISBN 1-85058-515-6 (CC License, available at [http://books.google.de/books?id=6vP5WtCdApgC Google Books])
* Kim Wilson, '''Getting The Best From Your Amstrad Notepad''', Sigma Press

==Competitors==

<gallery caption="NC100 vs Z88">
Image:Z88vsNC100.jpg|The Z88 next to NC100
Image:Z88startup.jpg|Z88 startup
Image:NC100startup.jpg|NC100 startup
</gallery>

== Downloads ==

* [[Media:NC100_UK_A2.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A2 English)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Nc100_gr_a1.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A1 German)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Nc100_dk_a1.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A1 Danish)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Nc100_sv_a1.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A1 Swedish)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Dreamwriter225_ROM.zip|Dreamwriter 225 Rom (v1.06)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC150_FR_B2.zip|Amstrad NC150 Rom (version B2 French)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC150_IT_B1.ZIP|Amstrad NC150 Rom (version B1 Italian)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC200_UK.zip|Amstrad NC200 Rom (English)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC100EXE.rar|NC100.EXE by Prowort Service (German)]] (rar compressed .exe file)

== External links ==
*[http://www.ncus.org.uk Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site]
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech/home-computer-how-computers-should-be-sue-schofield-shoulders-her-amstrad-notebook-and-takes-a-swiss-army-knife-to-the-opposition-1483758.html How computers should be: Sue Schofield shoulders her Amstrad notebook and takes a Swiss Army knife to the opposition]
*[http://mycalcdb.free.fr/main.php?l=0&id=6391 More NC-100 pictures (even internals)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141214160211/http://home.arcor.de/h.boehling/nc100.htm Boehling's Amstrad NC100 website (hardware reference, BBC Basic reference, some NC100 programs)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171102151719/http://www.8bit-micro.com/amstrad-nc100.htm Screen upgrade for NC100]
*[https://www.simulant.uk/shop/retro-computers-games-consoles/amstrad-cpc/Amstrad-NC200-Gotek-Floppy-Emulator-usb-drive USB Gotek internal floppy emulator drive upgrade for NC200]

[[Category:Non CPC Computers| ]][[Category:NC Series]][[Category:Amstrad Products|*]]

NC Series

2019-04-08T18:51:17Z

Genesis8bit: dead link about screen upgrade for NC100, using archive.org instead with last version known

''The following text was copied in part from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_NC100 English Wikipedia article].''

[[Image:NC100.jpg|200px|thumb|Amstrad NC100]]

The '''Amstrad NC Series''' was a series of A4-sized, portable [[Z80|Z80]]-based computers, released by [[Amstrad]] in 1992-1993. All models featured 64 or 128 KB of RAM, the [[Protext]] word processor, various organiser-like facilities (diary, address book and time manager), a simple calculator, and a version of [[BBC Basic]].

The screen of the first two models (NC100 and NC150) was small, eight rows by 80 columns, and not backlit, but this let the NC100/150 run for up to 20 hours on four standard AA cell batteries. There was an [[RS232]] serial port, a parallel port for connecting a printer, and a PC card socket, by means of which the computer's memory could be expanded up to 1 MB.

==Design==
The NC100 was designed to be a portable computer which was simple to use. That was the brief given by Sir Alan Sugar (then chairman of Amstrad) to his design staff. The NC100 project was internally referred to as Alan's "Baby" and Alan Sugar himself tested the machine for usability during the design phase. The specifications for the computer were not considered important - as long as it could serve its purpose.

The simple to use features of the NC100 come from the software which is included on the internal ROM chip. The Word processor and other applications have been written with a computer novice in mind - although experienced users can find and use a large array of more complicated features.

Alan Sugar actually wrote the first chapter of the NC100's user manual in order to show that even he could use it.

The design also included terminal emulation and XMODEM file transfer software which enabled the NC100 to communicate through dial-up analogue modems. UK tech journalist Sue Schofield used one to upload a review of the NC100 directly into the online filing computer of the Independent newspaper in 1993. The review was written on the machine, and transferred from it over a 300 baud modem.

==Hardware==

===NC100===
The NC100 was the first model of the Amstrad NC Series.
<gallery caption="NC100">
Image:NC100_RetailBoxGerman.jpg|Retail box (german version)
Image:NC100_Top_EN.jpg|Top view (english version)
Image:NC100_Top_DE.jpg|Top view (german version)
Image:NC100_DE_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view (german version)
Image:NC100_DK_Top.jpg|Top view (danish version)
Image:NC100_DK_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view (danish version)
</gallery>

'''Dreamwriter 225'''<br>
The NC100 was sold in the USA and Canada as the Dreamwriter 225 with the NTS brand. NTS will then sell other models with similar form factor as the NC100 but with a Nec V20 processor and different software to schools. The computer identifies itself as "Amstrad NC100 v1.06" on the settings screen.

<gallery caption="Dreamwriter 225">
Image:NTS_Dreamwriter_225_Top.jpg|Dreamwriter 225 Top
Image:NTS_Dreamwriter_225_Bottom.jpg|Dreamwriter 225 Bottom
Image:NTS_Dreamwriter_225_DR_1.06_Rom.jpg|Dreamwriter 225 ROM
</gallery>

===NC150===
The NC150 was only available in Italy and france; Its case had the same design as the NC100, but it included the additional Software from the NC200 (Three Tetris-like games and a spreadsheet)

<gallery caption="NC150 (French)">
Image:NC150_Top.jpg|Top view
Image:NC150_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view
</gallery>

<gallery caption="NC150 (Italian)">
Image:NC150_IT_Top.jpg|Top view
Image:NC150_IT_Bottom.jpg|Bottom view
</gallery>

===NC200===
An upgraded version, the ''NC200'', appeared in late 1993, featuring a 3.5" floppy disk drive able to read/write MS-DOS-formatted double density disks, 128 KB RAM, some extra software - most notably a spreadsheet and three Tetris-like games - and a larger, backlit screen. However, this change required much greater power use, using 5 C cell batteries. The disk drive could only be used at near full-charge, which meant that it could only be used a few hours after putting in new batteries. However, the laptop could function for considerably longer than this without using the disk drive. The backlight can be manually toggled off to save power by pressing the Control and Caps Lock keys at the same time.

<gallery caption="NC200">
Image:Amstrad NC200 System s1.jpg|The NC200
</gallery>

==NC200 Functionality==

Function+B - BBC Basic
Function+R - Some form of reset, disc is accessed and returns to main menu
Function+Secret Menu - Asks you to enter a password so you can password protect your NC200
Function+Red - Word processor
Function+Green - Calculator
Function+Blue - Diary
Function+White - Spreadsheet
Function+T - Time manager (alarm, date, time zone)
Function+P - print
Function+S - Serial
Function+A - Alarm
Function+D - Address book
Function+F - File manager (for disk)
(on menu E Edit, D delete, D delete marked files, R (rename), C (copy files to memory), N (make new directory), F (format disk), SHIFT+CONTROL+H to toggle display of hidden files)
Function+G - games
Function+L - lapcat data transfer
Function+Z - time zone manager
Function+C - Calendar
Function+N - new document (wordprocessing)
Function+X - change file display options (from main menu)

Holding [Function][Control][Symbol] and then pressing the power key will cause the machine's self test mode to begin with the general test and then continue with the disc drive test (a disc must be in the drive for the test to operate!).

==NC200 Disc access==

To format a disc go to file manager (Function+F, Press menu and select F)
Discs are formatted to double density, 80 track, 2 sides with FAT filesystem. They can be read directly by a PC.
There is 712K free. A directory called "NOTEBOOK" is created by default.

The disc interface is turned off if there is no activity for a few seconds, or if it is not required by the application. When it does this the drive seeks to track 0.

By default, the NC200 will work from RAM. All files are read/written to it's internal memory. This includes from BASIC when SAVE and LOAD and *. (list directory)
are used.

Reading files from Disk:

If you wish to transfer files to memory to use them, you need to go to the file manager (Function+F, select each file with space, press menu and then select "copy marked files to memory").
The files will be read from disc and read into RAM.

NOTE:
1. Any file can be read from disc and transfered to RAM. The file is then visible in the list of documents. All files are transfered this way including binary files.
2. You can load a document from disc into the word processor. However, it actually transfers the file from disc and makes a RAM file. It then loads the RAM file.
This means that if you try to load a large document you will run out of RAM.
3. Using BASIC, there is approx 40K free RAM (using LOMEM and HIMEM variables to find lower and upper limit respectively) on a NC200 machine without RAM card.

Writing files to Disk:

If you wish to transfer files to disc, you need to press Green to go to the list of documents. Press space and highlight each document you want to copy, press menu and then select "Copy marked files to disk"). The files will be read from RAM and written to disk.

== BASIC program transfer ==

To transfer a BASIC program *to* the NC computer you will need it to be stored as ASCII and not in it's native tokenized binary form.
You can save a BASIC program to RAM in it's tokenized form, but it will not display in either the wordprocessor OR the spreadsheet document list.
Therefore you can't copy it on/off the NC this way.

For NC200 you can use the floppy drive and use the file manager to copy files from the disc into ram.
For all NC computers you can use the memory card OR serial interface to transfer files.

To transfer a BASIC program *from* the NC computer will need to convert it to ASCII.
Do this with

*SPOOL <filename>
LIST
*SPOOL

The ASCII version of the file will now be in the NC computers ram.

For NC200, you now need to list all wordprocessor documents and then you can copy the ascii file to disc.
For all NC computers you can also use the serial interface.

To load a BASIC program as ASCII do this:
*EXEC <filename>

This will load the basic program and you can then LIST it and RUN it.

== Technical ==

* [[NC 100/150/200 IO Specification]]
* [[NC100 IO Specification]]
* [[A surgical guide to the Amstrad NC]] (NC100 Hardware Reference)
* [[NC Series Mainboard Versions]]

=== Datasheets ===
* [[Media:Z84C0006FEC_Z80_CPU.pdf|Z84C00]] Zilog Z80 CPU
* [[Media:Tc8521.pdf|TC8521]] Real Time Clock (NC100/NC150)
* [[Media:MC146818.pdf|MC146818]] Real Time Clock (NC200)
* [[Media:UPD71051_USART.pdf|µPD71051]] USART for serial data communications (NC100/NC150)
* [[Media:UPD4711_RS232_Line_Driver.pdf|µPD4711A]] RS232 Line Driver (NC100/NC150)
* [[Media:NEC_43257_SRAM_32K.pdf|µPD43257]] 32K-WORD BY 8-BIT SRAM (NC100)

==Software==
The Notepad comes with various software included on the ROM chip. The included software can be started at any time by pressing the ''Function'' key and one of the colored keys or letter keys simultaneously. These programs are included on the NC:
* Word Processor: A full featured port of Protext, including Mail Merge and spellchecker. (YELLOW-RED)
* Calculator: A very basic Calculator. Supports only basic arithmetic operations. (YELLOW-GREEN)
* Diary/Clock/Address Book: A simple calendar, address book and world clock application. (YELLOW-BLUE)
* BBC Basic: BASIC interpreter with graphics and sound capabilities. Includes a two-pass Z80 assembler. (YELLOW-B)
* Serial Terminal: A (VT52 compatible) terminal program with XModem file transfer function. (YELLOW-S)
* Spreadsheet: (NC150/NC200 only) A version of 'The Cracker' spreadsheet ported to the NC. (YELLOW-WHITE)
* Blockade/Super Blockade/Trikade: (NC150/NC200 only) Three very similar Tetris-like games. (YELLOW-G)

===Serial Terminal===

NC100:

Press FUNCTION+S to enter Serial terminal. You can press MENU to change the settings.
Here characters that are received will be shown immediatly.

If you want to transfer a file, the best method is to use XMODEM. First you will
need to create a dummy document. (Press FUNCTION + Left Arrow, then Left Arrow, enter
name of doc, and then ESC to quit).

Now if you go to view documents, you can press MENU. From here you can choose
.... and do a xmodem receive document.

NC200:

Press FUNCTION+S to enter Serial terminal. From here you can press MENU, and choose
to do a xmodem receive or send or to setup the terminal. If you press RETURN instead of
MENU, you will enter the terminal like the NC100.

===XMODEM transfer===

NC100:

1. Enter wordprocessor.
2. Start a new document
3. Quit wordprocessor
4. Go to list documents.
5. Press MENU key
6. Here you can navigate the menu to find "XMODEM receive document".
7. Start XMODEM send on PC.

NC200:

1. Enter serial/terminal program.
2. Press MENU
3. Press R (for XMODEM receive)
4. Start XMODEM send on PC.

=== Third-party software for the NC Series ===
* ZCN: CP/M 2.2 compatible operating system. Requires at least a 256K PCMCIA Memory Card. [http://www.ibiblio.org/zcn/]
* NC100.EXE by Prowort Service. MS-Dos program for transferring files to and from the NC. (Download below)
<gallery caption="NC100.EXE by Prowort Service">
image:NC100EXE_Disk_Top.jpg|Disk Top
image:NC100EXE_Disk_Bottom.jpg|Disk Bottom
image:NC100_EXE_Screenshot_01.gif|Splash screen
image:NC100_EXE_Screenshot_02.gif|Screenshot
image:NC100_EXE_Screenshot_03.gif|Screenshot
</gallery>

== The NC and relatives ==

The NC series has a remarkable resemblance to the Nakajima series of electronic typewriters!

<gallery caption="NC and Relatives">
Image:Ncandrelatives.jpg|The NC's and Nakajimas
Image:Nakajima ES210 System s1.jpg|Closeup of Nakajima ES-210
</gallery>

These computers appear to use the same hardware as the NC100, except a NEC V20 (8086 compatible CPU) is used in place of the Z80.

== Books ==
At least five book were published about the NC series!

* Ian Sinclair, ''' Getting The Most From The Amstrad NC100 Notepad''', Dabs Press, ISBN 1-870336-68-2
* Vic Gerhardi/Dave Hampson, '''NC100 Magic''', Rakewell, ISBN 0-7457-0236-8
* Patrick Hall, '''How To Program The Amstrad NC100 Notepad''', Sigma Press, ISBN 1-85058-511-3
* Robin Nixon, '''The Amstrad Notepad Advanced User''', Sigma Press, ISBN 1-85058-515-6 (CC License, available at [http://books.google.de/books?id=6vP5WtCdApgC Google Books])
* Kim Wilson, '''Getting The Best From Your Amstrad Notepad''', Sigma Press

==Competitors==

<gallery caption="NC100 vs Z88">
Image:Z88vsNC100.jpg|The Z88 next to NC100
Image:Z88startup.jpg|Z88 startup
Image:NC100startup.jpg|NC100 startup
</gallery>

== Downloads ==

* [[Media:NC100_UK_A2.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A2 English)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Nc100_gr_a1.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A1 German)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Nc100_dk_a1.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A1 Danish)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Nc100_sv_a1.zip|Amstrad NC100 Rom (version A1 Swedish)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:Dreamwriter225_ROM.zip|Dreamwriter 225 Rom (v1.06)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC150_FR_B2.zip|Amstrad NC150 Rom (version B2 French)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC150_IT_B1.ZIP|Amstrad NC150 Rom (version B1 Italian)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC200_UK.zip|Amstrad NC200 Rom (English)]] (zipped Rom file)
* [[Media:NC100EXE.rar|NC100.EXE by Prowort Service (German)]] (rar compressed .exe file)

== External links ==
*[http://www.ncus.org.uk Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site]
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech/home-computer-how-computers-should-be-sue-schofield-shoulders-her-amstrad-notebook-and-takes-a-swiss-army-knife-to-the-opposition-1483758.html How computers should be: Sue Schofield shoulders her Amstrad notebook and takes a Swiss Army knife to the opposition]
*[http://mycalcdb.free.fr/main.php?l=0&id=6391 More NC-100 pictures (even internals)]
*[http://home.arcor.de/h.boehling/nc100.htm Boehling's Amstrad NC100 website (hardware reference, BBC Basic reference, some NC100 programs)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171102151719/http://www.8bit-micro.com/amstrad-nc100.htm Screen upgrade for NC100]
*[https://www.simulant.uk/shop/retro-computers-games-consoles/amstrad-cpc/Amstrad-NC200-Gotek-Floppy-Emulator-usb-drive USB Gotek internal floppy emulator drive upgrade for NC200]

[[Category:Non CPC Computers| ]][[Category:NC Series]][[Category:Amstrad Products|*]]

AST

2018-02-15T19:47:54Z

Genesis8bit: /* Tools */

[[Image:Alchimie12x5.jpg|thumb|AST the professor tamed the Crocodiles at Alchimie, circa 2017.]]
'''AST''' is still coding on a Mario-Bros clone for the PC :-) Since 2001 as i think :-D

Actually works on Amstrad Applications, maintains a '''[[Forum]]''' and helps new coders at Parties.

Often seen at '''[[Alchimie]]''' squatting other's monitors.

== Groups ==

*[[AST System]]
* AST Impact
* The Alchimie Asst DestroyerScrew feat. MacDeath the gras-fist from Gogolon System.

== Productions ==

* [[Demo 6]] (February 1991)
* [[Majestic Demo 2 - All Souls Day]]
* [[Only For Your Eyes]]
* [[Only For Your Eyes 2]]
* [[SOS Fanzine Info]] (February 1992)
* [[System Demo Number 3]] (September 1990)
* [[Take Off Mega Demo Preview]]
* [[Why Not?]] (with Chany)

== Tools ==

* iMPdraw v1.132 (2015)
* iMPdraw v1.2 (2016)
* iMPdos (WIP) : ROM to manage the Xmass and its FAT stockage

== Links ==

* '''AST Impact''' website : https://astimpact.weebly.com/
* '''Amstrad Plus forum''' : http://amstradplus.forumforever.com/index.php

* AST System at '''CPC-Power''' : http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=staff&stafftype=1&lenom=Ast%20System
* POUËT : http://www.pouet.net/groups.php?which=3919

[[Category:CPC scene members]]
[[Category:Stub]]

Desk-Royal

2017-04-04T15:29:56Z

Genesis8bit: add web site of Ulrich Corder

'Desk-royal' is a desktop shell that implements a [[History of Graphical User Interfaces for the Amstrad CPC|GUI]].

The diferent [[WIMP]] elements are implemented in [[machine code]]. And own programs using the WIMP elements can easily be programmed using using RSX commands.

Desk-royal was developed continuously from 1989 to 1996.

<gallery caption="Screen shots showing the Desk-Royal Desktop in action">
Image:Desk royal gui 0.png
Image:Desk royal gui 1.png
Image:Desk royal gui 2.png
Image:Desk royal gui 3.png
Image:Desk royal gui 4.png
Image:Desk royal gui 5.png
</gallery>

== Download ==

* [[Media:deskroya.zip|Desk Royal disk image]] (DSK for Emulators)

== Links ==

* [http://www.ulrich-cordes.de/cpc/english/droyal.htm Desk Royal's homepage]

[[Category:CPC GUI]]

Longshot

2017-04-04T13:28:56Z

Genesis8bit: new web page address

[[Image:Longshot1996.jpg|thumb|Longshot 1996]]

Longshot was a demo coder, founder and leader of the famous [[Logon System]] demo group. A pseudonym for Serge Querne, he was initially based in southern France but moved to Paris.

== Biography ==

Initially going under the pseudonym 'Logon 1' (the name Logon he explained in a scrolltext as "a Belgian idea"), he released a series of single-part demos each of them showcasing a new technique he had learned - or, in many cases, discovered. These included raster bars, overscan, and split modes in the earliest productions. The first demo was coded while he was working at [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisoft Ubi Soft]'s "castle" headquarters. Though some of these demos seem fairly simple in retrospect, at the time, Serge's demo-coding skill was only equalled by perhaps [[Fefesse]] and [[NWC]].

A stepchange came with the [[Longshot Demo]], the first in which he adopted his new pseudonym. This included hardware splitting and combined more effects on screen at once. [[Revolog]] (or Revolution) followed in a similar vein but was a level more accomplished again. At the same time, Longshot participated in the [[Amazing Demo]] with [[Naminu]] and [[P007]] of [[Malibu Crackers]].

[[Naminu]] would soon become one of the members of the new, expanded [[Logon System]]. The "supergroup"'s first release was the stunning [[The Demo]], where Longshot contributed three parts but, perhaps more significantly, oversaw the polished, coherent design that was unlike any CPC megademo previously released.

The [[Euromeeting Demo]] would turn out to be his last demo release, but a further innovation was the [[B-ASIC]] utility which enabled Plus programmers to use the new features of their machines from BASIC. Longshot went on to the PC in turn, but has recently participated in French CPC forums such as [http://phenixinformatique.free.fr/ Phenix Informatique] once again. His [http://www.logonsystem.fr/ homepage] contains screenshots from the Logon era, a brief history, and downloads of his personal disc collection.

Though most respected for his coding skills and innovations, Serge's main achievement was perhaps the creation and fostering of the Logon System supergroup, the like of which has not been seen since.

Longshot has written technic articles in some columns of the french magazine [[Amstrad Cent Pour Cent]]

== Demos ==

* [[Logon Demo 1]]
* [[Logon Demo 2]]
* [[Logon Demo 3]]
* [[Logon Demo 5]]
* [[Longshot Demo]]
* [[Revolog]]
* [[Amazing Demo]]
* [[The Demo]]
* [[Euromeeting Demo]]

== Other productions ==
* [[Atlantis]]
* [[B-ASIC]]
* [[AntiMultiface]]
* [[MagicDOS]]

== Groups ==

* [[Logon System]]

== Links ==

* [http://www.logonsystem.fr/ Longshot's homepage]

[[Category:CPC scene members]]