Micro­power

eight pin socket on the rear panel, and that simply taking the required pin to logic low briefly was enough to operate an internal latch which enabled the appropriate function. This was eventually done direct from the Nascom output port, but could easily have been done via a reed relay similarly driven. Only one modification was made to the deck internally, and this was to bring a connection out from a reed relay which monitored the tape digital counter, pulsing to logic low ten times every digit. This enables ECOS to calculate tape speed, and hence use timing to fast-forward and reverse the tape, to speed up searching operations.

Having achieved total control of the tape transport via the computer, the next task was to decide upon the features to be included in the operating system, and the additional information to be recorded at the start of the tape and as header to each program stored. At the start of each tape there is a header which gives the tape number and name, and at the start of each program on the tape there is a header giving program number; name (up to 16 characters); type of record (machine code, zeap file, basic, data file, erased); length of program; and execution address. This information enables ECOS to create a catalogue on request by reading off the headers, fast-forwarding automatically between programs, and fast rewinding when the end of tape marker is found. Any tape errors which occur are handled automatically by ECOS which rewinds one block and attempts to reread the faulty block up to four times before abandoning it, leaving the standard ‘?’ to denote an unresolved tape error. This sometimes occurs with old tapes not recorded on the deck. A dodge sometimes used in this case is to re-read the block with only one of the stereo channels, and this usually retrieves the situation. Once recorded on the logic deck via ECOS loading is usually foolproof, and the computer can be left to ‘do its own thing’.

Once loaded ECOS is controlled via a menu which gives one letter command for:–