Just got a Plus/4 and I have a couple of questions!

[DistantStar001]

Like the title says...  New (to me) Plus/4.  Came with the original PSU which I'm glad to say works!  Mostly because the person who sold it to me tested it to power, so a good PSU means it didn't fry any chips.  I've already replaced the 4-pin square jack with a C64 style 7-pin DIN so I can use my after market PSUs that I know are and will remain safe to use.

 

Overall, everything works, and the only other "mod" I made was to add a heat-sync to the CPU.  8501s are nearly impossible to replace.  Yeah, you can use a 6510 with an adaptor, but that requires a new Kernal ROM, and my C16 had some bad luck with that as of late.

 

In any case, on to my questions.  

 

1) How do I access the Data Base program?  I've figured out the Word Processor and there was a YouTube video where someone showed the Spread Sheet, but they lost interest before getting to the Data Base.  It's not that I intend to use it, but I'd still like to know how to get to it.

 

2) Is it possible to replace the builtin software?  Specifically, can I program some games or something a little more useful on an ePROM?  Word Processors and business software is nice, but I have other machines for that.  So something like a builtin game of Tetris or Asteroids would see far more use from me.

 

Other than that, Any advice? Game recommendations? Add-ons that I should look into? I've had my C16 for a while, but I really only got it working and stable last week. So this is all really new to me.

[Arnuphis]

Ah the Plus/4. I loved mine back in the day. As far as I remember you hit f1 to get into the applications. Then hit the C= key and C to get to the command line and type TF and enter. You may want to look online for the manual for the built in apps. 

 

As for replacing the built in software I defer to greater minds on that.

 

When I had my Plus/4 my fav games were ACE, Mercenary, Trailblazer and Icicle Works. But I mainly used it for Word Processing. Not with the built in one but a cartridge.

 

As for addons, the 1551 was the disk drive to get but obviously the modern SD card devices are so much more useful. 

[DistantStar001]

On 3/16/2024 at 8:49 AM, Arnuphis said:

Ah the Plus/4. I loved mine back in the day. As far as I remember you hit f1 to get into the applications. Then hit the C= key and C to get to the command line and type TF and enter. You may want to look online for the manual for the built in apps. 

 

Thanks!  It worked, but how do I go back?  Do I really have to reset the computer every time I want to switch between a spread sheet/database and a word processor? 

 

On 3/16/2024 at 8:49 AM, Arnuphis said:

When I had my Plus/4 my fav games were ACE, Mercenary, Trailblazer and Icicle Works. But I mainly used it for Word Processing. Not with the built in one but a cartridge.

I'll look into these.

 

On 3/16/2024 at 8:49 AM, Arnuphis said:

As for addons, the 1551 was the disk drive to get but obviously the modern SD card devices are so much more useful. 

I have a pi1541 and have been looking into an SD2IEC for convenance, but I would need an adaptor for power since they typically use the cassette port for that.  Also I have a Promenade C1 that I want to figure out how to use, so will I need my user port open.

[+OLD CS1]

On 3/16/2024 at 11:49 AM, Arnuphis said:

As for addons, the 1551 was the disk drive to get but obviously the modern SD card devices are so much more useful. 

The 1551 connects to the Plus/4 via the cartridge port.  Is there a modern SD2IEC-alike 1551 replacement?

[Bodhi]

There is Plus/4 World with nearly every app around and also many additional info.

[Arnuphis]

13 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

The 1551 connects to the Plus/4 via the cartridge port.  Is there a modern SD2IEC-alike 1551 replacement?

Not that I am aware of. I don't think it would be cost effective to make that passthrough connector.