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Thanks 😊 Unlikely. This series has not attracted enough attention to make further videos on BBC Basic for beginners at this time. But thanks for your comments as always.

Thanks for watching!

Glad you liked it!

Thank you, glad you liked it

Wow, you were on it instantly ;D - Have a great day

Hi Ray, Welcome to the channel. Glad you liked it 😀 👍

OK Its a standard 34 pin Flat cable ( same size as the old 3.5 inch floppy disk drives use.) The Connectors are IDC connectors. Search for "34 pin IDC Connectors" on Google. You will find them along with a number of suppliers, or you can try Amazon, or Ebay etc. Hope that helps.

Yes, you are correct. The mistake was in the reference to the legend. I have cut the reference to the legend out which is about 3 seconds which now makes the statements correct on the example without the incorrect reference to the legend.

Hi I have a Beeb here, and it's true that the code back then was not as tight as now on the Agon light / 2. As you say in this example it would allow a few transgressions at least. However, if you call the Gosub inside a never ending repeat loop in this scenario, it's not to long before it generates "Too many FOR's", so yes it allows it but it can ultimately fail depending on the code. On the *Edit NN facility, yes I agree the BEEB is a pain in the backside, thats why when I do code from time to time on the beeb in BBC Basic, I always use an Emulator where I can, as you can code it into Notepad++ and paste it in, but you have to remember, this was done almost 44 years ago, so its not surprising really, and in fact its a miracle that they managed to get the product out at all frankly given their constraints and with so few bugs to be fair. So, One has to be grateful that the UK Schools at the time benefited from this effort, and the fact that the following today is still remarkably strong. You only have to look at the numbers on the excellent 'Startdot' ( *.) forum and the willingness of admins and members to participate giving their time and energy to support those who still have a soft spot for acorn products from that era.

@@TELsBENCH thanks for your detailed reply. So as far as loops are concerned, I'm assuming any GOSUBS are considered local to the loop they are within, which is why it doesn't recognize the RETURN.

Kinda.... The issue is that in the GOSUB ( Also the start of the FOR So effectively contained inside it, in itself this is not a problem ), BUT it leaves the FOR LOOP with a 'THEN 140' ( Implicitly a GOTO ) to hit the RETURN at 140 which should be a GOSUB RETURN. At this point It is expecting to see a return Address of type 'GOSUB' but finding the last Address on the stack from the origin to be a 'FOR' which does not match. In the Agon Light, this is caught, but in the BBC it allows things not to be popped off the stack in this case at least, but it continues until it knows there are too many FOR's ( Still has not returned properly ) and that is where the BEEB catches 'THAT' problem but never gets back to where it should end properly, i.e. never exiting a loop by breaching the loop legal exit mechanism as explained in the episode. I dont have the code for the BBC or frankly the time ( or life force :) to prove it, other than by using empirical evidence of behaviour. But I beleive this to be the case. Hope that answers your question.

@@TELsBENCH That makes sense, so Agon uses 1 stack for everything. The BBC Micro actually has a separate stack for each of these 3 constructs: REPEAT (max 20), GOSUB (max 26) and FOR (max 15); plus the main stack for machine code calls and function calls and parameters - so I guess it allows for more flexibility.

It also helps enforce better coding to some extent too. This thread has been really good, so thank you for that.

I had never heard of that game until you posted. yeah you would have to look really hard you are right. Seems like its another memory game as well . But the lights are out on forks I wanna say. Does it make sounds as well as flash lights ?

@Cianmoriaty7345 . For flashing new versions of the firmware, yes you are right. But there are others who want to create variants of it and may want to be able to debug it that is where this interface comes in. Most ordinary mortals will not need this but some will.

Yes, there is. I assume this is a late mod. This is between pins 7 and 8 which are Green and Blue grounds, so assume that there was a production issue with some boards and they needed to be joined to provide that. No need to worry.

Welcome to the channel Ray, thank you for the comment.🙂

I am aware, but thanks very much for your comment.👍

Hey @xoxRAVERxox1, thanks for the compliment on the vid. It's a really annoying problem isn't it. Good luck on the weekend. - Cheers TEL 👍

Hi there. I dont know how much of the video you watched, but I do address this concern early on the video in as much as I also would have preferred a HDMI as well . My assumptions as to why they settled on VGA are . . . 😊 * It fits with the retro profile and HDMI adapters are very cheap. * It keeps the price point low. * Some people still use VGA monitors especially in the groups who are likely most interested in it. * It may have resulted in more complexity on the board for very little ultimate benefit. However these are assumptions, and you would have to ask the designers, Bernard at the 'Byte Attic' as to what the actual reason was. I'm using a converter which cost me only £5, so although its a little annoying, I'm willing to put up with it. I hope that helps. Cheers TEL

@@TELsBENCH Thanks, I must overheard that. VGA makes real no sense today.

hobbyist retro board designers don't want to pay the multi-thousand dollars licensing fees for licensing HDMI

That is very true, good point.

@@TheSulross USB-C or Thunderbolt ?

Hey thanks, much appreciated. What make is your guitar?, I just use a Yamaha Pacifica which was not expensive, had it for about 5 years now and its been great, stays almost on tune 95% of the time I have to say ;D

@TELsBENCH the Pacifica models are well built. They used to be premium built in japan years ago but Yamaha let them slide until this year. I've got like 6 ibanez guitars, mostly prestige models and a 7 string headless and 5 string bass. You probably just need your string nut cleaned and the trus rod adjusted a tiny bit. You know it's properly intonated if the 12 fret note and harmonic over the fret between the 12 and 13 fret sound the same on each string. New strings and clean the white plastic nut and saddle with a bit of contact cleaner. Any guitar place will do it for 40 beans.

Thanks for the advice, the tuning is ok, but I have more of an issue with a bit of side buzz on the upper 'e' and also on the 'b' string sometimes, I'm not quite sure what is causing the problem so any advice on that would be appreciated. I used to use regular acoustic guitars before that for over 15 years and I miss being able to beat the body of the guitar, but the string action is way better really and you can do so much more on an electric. I did toy with the Ibanez originally before I bought the Yamaha , and it sounds like you really like them so next time instead of buying off line I might go down to a guitar shop first.

Cool🙂

Ive had a root around for information regarding any benchmarking between the two and cannot find any. Noel's retro Lab did a benchmark against a lot of computers, but the MEGA65 was not on the list. If it was £60 like the Agon Light I might be tempted to buy one and do some. testing. - I actually like the physical arrangement for the Mega65, but I guess it all comes as part of the premium price tag.

You are right and I was and am fully aware of that, but I like to live on the wild side occasionally . 🤣

Can't deny that I did the same!! Lol but never again!!

It's a very acrid smell isn't it. I found that it takes several weeks for the smell inside to fully dissipate even if you thoroughly clean the PSU and case, it lingers for some time if you get close enough to smell the case. Good luck with the repair/recap , it will be fine. ;D

@@TELsBENCH i now need to find someone to service it rofl. it was horrid ahhah

You can do it yourself actually. You can just remove the power supply obviously with the power off and if you have some alcohol swabs you can run that over the PSU bay and let it dry. As for the power supply itself, if you dont have the tools and experience to do it, you can simply remove the burnt out capacitor, and clean the board with some alcohol and the inside of the PSU case if it has infused itself into that ( Assuming it is one of the RIFA caps which has blown ), then you can still use the machine with the cap removed. These RIFA caps are only to prevent electrical noise from coming out of the machine and wont affect the operation of the machine itself. However, if you want someone to service the power supply for you, you can call 'RetroClinic' assuming you are in the UK and they will either optionally send you a set of capacitors to recap it, as per my video, or will likely offer to do it for you for a price. Hope that helps.

Hey that's great news, if you are not already a subscriber. why not subscribe and get notified of videos related to retro and other stuff I am doing on the channel. ;D

An interesting nugget there, I always wondered about that, but didnt bother to investigate. Thanks ;D

There is a fair list of world wide distributors of the "Agon Light" product now, around eight or so I think last time I looked. Olimex's version is different to the original from a hardware POV but it still does basically the same job as the original. Its all good for the consumer in the end as everyone ( creators/manufacturers ) are competing to bring something new, and maybe innovative and or cheaper to market and its an everlasting evolution I suppose. I was looking at new version of the Aquarius the other day which has been re-engineered, not really like the AL/2 is it more a revamp of the original as far as I can tell and accepts the original cartridges, but they have a few nice features like being able to connect to the network out of the box and get updates directly instead of having to download them. Not the same as I say but these kind of modern day features should really be an expectation rather than a wish or an add-on. Having said that the price points are vastly different, and thats one of the reasons that AL2 although still in a relatively early stage of its evolution is still an incredibly good buy IMHO

@@TELsBENCH I am new this, only recently coming across the AgonLight2. You say the hardware is different from original, in what way please and does it have an effect better/worse/neither?

There are some minor changes. So on the original, both the power and the Keyboard has a USB Type A connector, but on the AL2, the power connector is a USB Type c which fits in with standards power and auxilliaries should not have the same connector. Additionally, some changes were done to the PCB tracks and I beleive some protection added against surges with surge protector diodes. Plus a few minor alterations. In short AL2 was an improvement over the original. If you go to the 'Byte Attic' I think he does a video on the differences, but I beleive I got them all or most of them. In short you will not be disadvantaged by buying the AL2.

Thank you! Cheers!

Many many thanks

Thank you Igor. I've had this game in my mind for a long time, and it occurred to me that this would be as good an opportunity as any to make it a reality, and share it.

If you are referring to the drops I put into unstick the board, it Was Isopropyl Alcohol. Please do like and subscribe as this is a small channel trying to grow and cant do that without subscribers. 😀👍

@@TELsBENCH thank you very much, I’m currently experiencing the same problem, I have to give it a whack on the dashboard for the error message to disappear, the performance and driving of the car has not changed in any way except for the sporadic messages on the dashboard, your video might just save my life, I’ll give it a go this coming weekend! Thank you

Great, I wish you good luck and hope you solve the issue, when you have removed the two torque screws under the cluster of instruments, then get your fingers above the black cluster shroud and pull it down a bit and it should just come out ok. The cable connector has a latch on it , so just flip that over to release it.

Thanks D. I appreciate the comment, dont forget to like and subscribe as it all helps the cause :) Cheers

For the two screws at the base of the cluster in the care, you will need a TORQUE T25 Bit. This can be found in any motor tool outlet or online. For me I used a inexpensive multi tool set which I use for general repairs which has an extension from the ratchet of about 6 inches and also an additional flexible extension which can bend and then the T25 on top of that to easily reach through the Steering Wheel or the the side of it and into the two screws. For taking the Cluster apart, just flat blade screwdrivers really, its a bit fiddly really for some parts, you will need a soldering iron with a reasonably fine tip and some solder and some alcohol to clean the board after soldering if that is what is wrong with your cluster. Thanks for watching, I hope this helps you.

I will get it done later this week :) thank you I will update you with more, is it possible car does not start because of this? I mean i charged the battery full and everything is on but engine wont rev I after first try battery is drained to 10 % could be the starter also?@@TELsBENCH

I cannot answer that question on your repair as I dont provide advice in general only on my video. What I do know its that failures caused by this particular issue illustrated in the video can cause actual physical effects on the way the engine runs, in my case it reduced the ability to accelerate normally and also the speedo dropped out completely at one point momentarily. When my partner was driving it I was told that on one occasion she was unable to start it. As for draining the battery, I dont know but if the starter motor was jammed with power applied, that may drain the battery. Or perhaps the battery is failing as well. I wish you the very best of luck in your repair.

Thank you so much 😀

Hi ML, Thank you for your comment, allways appreciated.🙂 TEL

Glad you enjoyed it

I was more of an Acorn user BITD, but I have heard this from quite a few people. I might look into this and may do a video on it. Thanks for your reply.

Glad you enjoyed it