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THE : PLOTTER CLACKAMAS” i NS ul COMPUTER “ a \ appiiep “THE ne a TRAINING .~ Me X CLACKAMAS COMPUTER APPLIED SOCIETY” PLOTTER ‘ : TRAINING SOCIETY rs NEWS LETTER 4 KKKK VOLUME 12 xx NUMBER 11 NOVEMBE 1994 IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY EDITED BY: DICK WAGNER FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK CHAIRMAN: JACK ARMSTRONG V/CHAIRMAN: BILL DUNLOP Here it is November, close to the SECRETARY: DICK WAGNER end of the year and the end of TREASURER: ROD GOWEN Volume #12. I am amazed that we PR OFFICER: BOB EVANS started this 12 years ago with most LIBRARIANS: BILL DUNLOP of the CCAT members (30-40 then) ALICE DUNLOP trying to decipher the TS1000 computer and thursting for programs

MEETING The NOVEMBER meeting will be: on: SUN., NOVEMBER 13, 1994 MEETING 2:00 TO 5:00 P.M. at: Rod Gowen's home 14784 S. Quail Circle Oregon City

eee WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS ISSUE:

MEETING--~-----------~------____ PAGE 1 FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK=~--=<—- PAGE 1 AERCO QUITS!-~----------------- PAGE 2 GOOD THINGS------------------- PAGE 3 LETTER TO EDITOR-------------- PAGE 3 KADFONT-~~-------------------__ PAGE 4 OPEN #,"D"-----------------___ PAGE 4 SPREAD SHEET APPLICATION------ PAGE 5 UPDATE NEWS------~----~-----~__ PAGE 7 NOTICE, SUBSCRIPTION,

AD RATES---------------------- PAGE 8

on tape--any program that would load

and run. And did we ever have trouble loading those tapes. I even made a tape drive tester for head

adjusting to get the peak output. I recall that Rod Gowen habitually adjusted (tweaking) his recorder for maximum volume and best tone "by ear", and he was usually successful.

This issue is kind of a "clean out the files" issue as I have ae few articles saved on disk and MSCRIPT I have never used. I'll see how one or more fits in.

My article on using a spread _ sheet program was an after thought. I

spent a lot of time trying different concepts before I finally settled on using AS-EASY-AS V5.5. I had tried V 4.0, shareware which I had never seriously used because the "manual" >> >>

G@LACKAMAS OMPUTER

SPSLPSSSSSSSSSESS— ]-SBSESSSSESSESESSS55US

Continued from page 1

was difficult to get HELP from. Vv 5.5 has a 119 page manual-yes I printed it- that really is a great help, although I still have difficulty in getting good answers in some cases. If I was conversant with spread sheets I probably would

know what the author is describing. I had purchased the share ware version recently hoping it was

better than V 4.0. After testing it I decided to really polish up my payroll program with using it (my son was a great help in this). And then I investigated the word processor included with the program (the manual does not help on this feature). It was on a menu so I tried it. I was delightfully surprised to learn that I could send the text to the spread sheet and then input data into the text.

I am vacating my position as THE PLOTTER editor at the end of this year. Caring for my wife at home (she has advanced Alzheimer disease) has stretched my endurance. I _ have nether the spirit or time to do justice to this editor work. We have been married for 57 years, she has not taken a step since July 27 so she is hospital bed and wheelchair bound. Night time sleep is in spurts as I normally am up at least twice to care for her, several times it was 5 times. Advanced Alzheimer disease is terrible to be around, particularly seeing a _ loved one waste away, knowing that the end can be soon or some years away. The lack of speach (just sounds) tries my understanding of her wants.

In thinking about being a newsletter editor, I see that it has forced me to do many things with my computers that I probably would not have given thought to. It has been a monthly task that often started before the last issue was mailed, and continued intermittenly untill the next issue. Sometimes I was completing a program or article while assembling an issue, just as I am doing right now with this article. Hardly the way desktop publishing is done. When doing DTP I am sure all material is at hand before it is even started.

The lack of member participation in this writing process has been a disapointment. Well, I soon will not have these problems to think about. I have had some nice contacts from outside readers as well as our own membership. There have been ae few programs and articles from our readers far away for which I am thankful. In a few cases I have been able to help fledgling users as well as more seasoned programmers. Mostly my help has been from my library of books, old newsletters, and magazines.

Yes, I will miss much of this, part of my computer world.

by: Rod Gowen

As of this writing, RMG Enterprises has just received the last stock of TS hardware that AERCO had left. Jerry Chamkis told me that becsuuse of the low demand and the fact that he is too busy with his current work to make it cost effective for him to worry about the little that TS business would bring in, he wanted out of it. RMG will make available all existing hardware items that AERCO had left as soon as they have been inventoried and priced out.

Stock will include a_ few CP-68 Parallel printer interfaces as well as some card edges and FD-68 disk.

interface PCBs. lf you are interested, write or call RMG- for prices and availability. Phone 5@3- 655-7484 1@AM-7PM Tue-Sat Pacific time. FAX 563-655-4116 24 #4xhours. Address is the same as the return address on this newsletter.

| THINK I'M HAVING STRESS!

GOOD THTNMC ; ; VV AHLINGYD relationship. If there is someone by: Rod Gowen from our organization that you wish to write to, please feel free to do Remember That: Old sayings. All good so. If you watch the December issue things must come to an end"? Well, (the next and final issue) of THE @)it is very true in this case. Our PLOTTER, you will find a list of all _ group, CCATS, has been a good thing paid local members for 1994 and for quite @ Pew years and now it is their addresses. I know that we coming to an end. After more than 13 would all like to know that what we years, CCATS will be no more after have worked on for so many years did December, 1994. With flagging not go unnoticed. interest and low member. involve- ment/attendence, there seems to be I will try to write an article or little reason to try to continue. two every so often and send it in to Zxir Qlive Alive! for publication, We have done everything we could to so this is not "Goodbye" just "So

generate renewed life and interest long for nor".

over the past couple of years, but to no avail. Ke opened the group up Taite “Capes to ALL computer types and even advertised for members. All with no Ro ee eee results. Now it is time to let go JG THE Fpitok GF THE PLOTTER: and move on with our lives. , a ’ l ware one f the oridqinni members af ~ WN Bo yee ch a) oc “el j 4 AY I am not going to write another SES ee Bee ae ig goer ee = Seen Taoliiing to Cet Lo Ineetlings. retrospective, as 1 have already Have ne eseuse My 2066 ise to ths done that a couple of years ago. In point where 1 have the progrem: I this column, I merely want to say use in my daily home upkeep. I have that I have really enjoyed my assoc- put everything into the computer iation with CCATS over the years. As that Il am able to. I have toyea with (pone of the first 5 members of the the idea of up dating to a HC. Wall \Velub, we have had over 85 members I had the chance to use one while my over the years, 1 have been here for had one here at my heme until he almost since the beginning. I was Got his office open in” Umetiile. I the first editor of THE PLOTTER and ote reir RC eRe aio ae enjoyed that experience as well. 1 Aaa aD = Pye Pee a learned a lot and, hopefully, helped ahaa eee een Ree wanes Re other members to learn a Iot over the PC would he to go to school. tr the years, 1 was able to ‘produce the have been content with the 20668 for 1988 Mini-Fair in Portland for TS what my needs are. Yes I woulo like users everywhere, as well as to have a PC, mut 1 think back to my, attending several other TS computer firet days with the 1060. then the shows over the years. I have made 2068 and just dread what F would many, many long time friends that I nave tu learn to get started on a intend to keep in the world of TS. 1 Pe.

was able to start and keep running a

. : i think there are more support company, RMG_ Enterprises, sets z pea ia

Lie

12 7 there and the G noes 4} for TS and other computer users. RMG es ea cia eure I want oe will continue even though CCATS and but, can I handles it, as 1 willing THE PLOTTER are no longer’ around. to put in tlhe time it takes to

master tie FC. I just want to say “Thank You" to all of those who have supported I don't knew about the rest of the CCATS and THE PLOTTER over the years readers but I have every iseve of and I am sorry that it could not the PLOTTER T heve received mn file. have continued for a while’ longer. Every so often i need something 1

@dacain, 1 have made and enjoyed many remember I have read and Go Enrough

the back issuee and f3ne it, The PLOTTER end the CCATS users group have been of graat heip tame and Jj Cam use ail the hein J can aat.

friendships that I hope to. retain. We, the founders and Supporters of CCATS, are not going anywhere, we are just ending the formal club 3

SGVt.——x«eaa_———

I have said hefore thet mest ordqeéen-

jeations Fall ante the category that OPEN t ee

$0% of the work ia donc by if3 of y

the members. I UR GNE WISH TO ‘'THAKK Dick Wagner

THRT 16% FOS KEEPING ME JNPORMED. 7 I recently had occasion to make a

cen't nsed to teli vau whe they are printer copy of the text of a

we all Know then, program that was the result of

Bie Cea a mae ag engi eat PRINTS and RUN. Not wishing to

THANK YOU AGAIN change all of the PRINTs to LPRINTs,

a I found that entering OPEN #2,°p"

Vansarcnes #2 before pressing RUN, the printer Se ie Pee ee printed out the text as it had

appeared on the screen. OPEN #2,"p" is a Sinclair BASIC command.

Using OLIGER SAFE disk drive and printer interface, it is necessary to use LET / P=G, POKE 23324,10 (if line feed is required), POKE 23323,32 to override the 255 line length Oliger uses for default, thus printing 32 character lines. If a left margin is required, say of 15 characters, use OUT 127,27: OUT 127,108: OUT 127,15: This is the code for ESC 1 15.

A simple test program in Oliger format to show the action could be like this:

10 LET /P=0

20 POKE 23324,10: POKE 23323 ,32

3O OUT 127,27: OUT 127, 108: OUT 127,15

40 OPEN #2,""p"""

50 PRINT “This is a test of OPEN #2, "“p’."

60 CLOSE #2

A

ir

oy

The LARKEN is equally as simple

UAL ada

10 RANDOMIZE USR 100: OPEN #2, men ps

20 RANDOMIZE USR 100: POKE 16090, 32

30 REM 32 for line length

40 RANDOMIZE USR 100: POKE 16092, 10

50 REM for line feed

60 RANDOMIZE USR 100: POKE 16094, 15

70 REM left margin

80 PRINT “This is a test of OPEN #2, "LP"

90 RANDOMIZE USR 100: CLOSE #2

A SPREADSHEET APPLICATION

Dick F. Wagner

While my comments pertain to the spreadsheet, AS-EASY-AS V5.5, a MSDOS type shareware program, I am sure there are other spreadsheets in use that are similar.

I had a need for a way to calculate a weekly payroll and withholdings for a caregiver for my invalided wife. I am making appropriate federal and state income tax withholdings as well as medicare and social security. My preferance was to have the computer make all calculations from the number of hours worked per week so I would eliminate my error-prone calculations and improper. reading of withholding tables.

Having obtained detailed information on the appropriate formulas, I considered I could use these in the spreadsheet. Both the federal and state have income ranges so the formulas had to have limits as well as less than taxable income situations. Of course, Oregon State is different than the federal method so formulas had to be carefully converted to the spreadsheet format. Also some calculations had to be rounded to the nearest cent and one to the nearest dollar. I found that the results from using the formulas did not always correspond to the tables but were within one dollar. The Internal Revenue manual indicated that the formula results would not necessaruly be identical to the tables.

After a lot of formula testing I was able to arrive at a net weekly pay and the appropriate withholdings. In a year there will be about 40-50 lines of input and calculations. A permanent record is printed each week and the latest printout includes all previous weeks so only one hard copy is necessary for the file.

I provide a suitable pay record for the care giver. At first I developed a QBASIC program that accepted my data. This included date, day hours worked, night hours worked, gross pay, various withholdings and net pay. This requires an explanation as the night hours worked is a special consideration. The desired working hours originally were 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, amd 7:30 to 8:30 PM. As the helper prefers to limit her night hours she actually puts in about a half an hour. So I essentially pay her for her travel time, making a minimum of one hour. I also had to allow for flexible time as sometimes I would he away and could not return by 2:00 PM. Also there were week ends when I would need a few hours of help. These things made a complicated QBASIC program to produce a weekly record for the worker.

AS-EASY-AS includes a simple word processor that seemed useable to generate a report. I found that when the text was completed, ENTER sent it to the spread sheet Starting at the top left corner of the text where ever the cursur was located. This made it

possible to format the report so a right hand column would be

reserved for my inputs.This column works just like any other

column, accepting data either from the spread sheet calculations Vy or from direct input. All of this made it easy and reduced

possible errors in transcribing data.

Printing is very easy. I simply set up the range of columns and rows for printing the spread sheet calculations and results. Then I again set up the range for the report and print it ona separate sheet.

All of this really simplifies the records. I have a hand written original daily record of the hours worked each day. At the end of the work week this is used to input the day hours worked and the night hours worked. I have to convert the night hours worked to full hours. The computer calculates all of the results from this raw data.

For this report data, I found I only needed to copy the

column/rows of each cell I wanted to input into the report. This

is a manual operation. I have a reference column outside of the

report that displays the appropriate column for each report

feature. Columns are variable while row is constant for each

week's calculation. By making text of each row item used in the

report, this part remains constant much as a form and the results

are changed for each report. One line is used for each report te item, such as State Withholding, etc. The following copy of a

report shows the results.

DICK F. WAGNER NAME--

ADDRESS-- SOCIAL SECURITY #--

DATE OF THIS PAY PERIOD 10/10/1994 TOTAL OF DAYTIME HOURS WORKED 24.00 NIGHT HOURS WORKED 2.25 TOTAL HOURS WORKED 28.00 PAY, GROSS 224.00 FEDERAL WITHHOLDING 15.00 SOCIAL SECURITY WITHHOLDING 13.89 MEDICARE WITHHOLDING 3°95 OREGON STATE WITHHOLDING 10.78 TOTAL WITHHOLDING 42.92 NET PAY 181.08 ad

OR NOVEMBER 1994

TI

RMG UPDATE NEWS

ema ry

TEMD A MINDED 11 LUilLb Uy NUDUN 2a uy MO VEO 8 Fit 9 RAG KEKS \ / What a year for changes! RMG is sorry to have to announce that we wiil

no longer be able to accept any credit cards Due to higher bank cosis and lower volume in sales by those uSing bankcards, we can no longer afford to offer the service. All orders will now require either a check of money order as we no longer ship C.O.D. either. he sincerely hope that all of our regular customers will realize that we are desperately trying to Stay in business to fill your computer needs.

Again, we Wish to apologize for the delay in getting the disks out for THE BEST OF THE PLOTTER. lt seems like we are always having to apologize for one delay or another. he can only hope that the wait 1s worth it for you. we will do our best to fill ail orders as soon ag possible. if you have a question about an order thai you have places with KMG, please do not be afraid to cal] or write and voice vour concern. he realize that doing business by maii is slow in the best of times and we are not out to make it any Slower. he just want to remind you that we usually do not forget you, we are usually just waiting for one of the items you have ordered before we Ship you order. Please bear with us.

It is beginning to look like THE PLOTTER, the newsletter of our local

user group, CCATS, will cease publication with the December. 1994 issue. Dick Wagner, the editor, is unable to keep up the work and no one else seems to want to carry on. l would be glad to do the

newsletter myself, but my vision prevents me from doing most of the

Fait py work involved. lf it were just a matter of typing items into a word processor and printing it out, 1 could do it. But newsletter seem to require a bit of cut and paste and a lot of page alignment (at least ours does) and I am unable to do that sort of work any longer. lf THE PLOTTER does cease publication, CCATS will be issuing pro-rated refund checks to those who have paid-up subscriptions not yet filled. lf you are a paid subscriber and do not receive a January newsletter, do not worry, we will be doing an audit of the treasury and will then issue refunds at least by March, 1995. Your continued support thas been greatly appreciated by all members of CCATS.

Along the lines of the above notice, CCATS may also be disbanding if the members are in agreement to do so. l will be reporting the final outcome on these issues in next month's RMG UPDATES.

AS promised last time, Wwe are enclosing pages CANSN-Y through CNSN-iZ this month. We are also enclosing a 25% UFF COUPUN that can be used on any and all items On our regular price sheets. Sorry, we cannot olter this discount On any item from any CNSN page or from our ciearance pages. These coupons” will be good until April 3@, 1995.

Next month we will be sending out a current 1604 price sheet along with

any CNSN~ page changes. Ihe following month we will send out the

currently 2668 price list and other changes as they occur. if you do

not want to wait for a complete set of price sheets, you can send us a cam jegal sized S.A.S.E. with 58 cents postage and we will send you all | ) current price sheets along with other information.

KEEP KATCHIN' FOR MORE NEKS! Rod Gowen, Owner, RMG Enterprises

14784 South Quail Grove Circle, Oregon City. OR 97045 5@3/655-7484 8AM-6PM PT * PAX/VOICEMAIL: 503/655-4116 24 HRS

SBS SSS SSS SPSSSSSSSPPSSSSPSPSPSPSPESSESIEPSPSPSPIESDS

SBSSSESOCSCSPSPPSEOPPESDESE

CCATS

14784 S. Quail Grove Circle Oregon City, OR 97045

INOS Cre

Opinions expressed in articles are wy not necessarily those of members) of

the Clackamas Computer Applied

Training Society . Meeting minutes

carry the consensus of members

present at meeting. This newsletter

nor staff will not be held liable for any damage or consequences due

to following instructions, or review of products as contained in this newsletter

SUBSCRIPTION’ RATES FREE SUBSCRIPTION WITH PAID CCATS MEMBERSHIP-$20.00/YR

AD RATES KKK

1 FOUR. LINE CLASSIFIED FREE WETH MEMBERSHIP wy

$ -50 / LINE $ 5.00 / 1/4 PAGE $ 8.00 / 1/2 PAGE $ 15.00 / FULL PAGE

ALL AD COPY MUST 8E IN BY THE 10TH OF THE MONTH PRIOR _ TO THE MONTH AD IS TO RUN.

ee) |

CHICAGO AREA TIMES USERS GROUP CATUG-C/O BOB SWOGER

613 PARKSIDE CIRCLE STREAMWOOD, IL 60107

CCATS

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