PSION Series 3/3a palmtop FAQ part 1/6

Archive-name: psion-faq/part1
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6 (Jun 1997)
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm

PSION SERIES 3/3a FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

Original author: Chris Wesley
Actual author & maintainer: Daniel Pfund

Jun97 - v2.6

Welcome to the FAQ for the comp.sys.psion.* Usenet hierarchy. Find the
contents table below. Questions and constructive comments are welcome.
Send them to me at: Pfund3@uni2a.unige.ch

IMPORTANT NOTE: this article does not contain any software infos on
the Series 3c or the Siena. I will NOT include specific informations
concerning these new machines (except hardware stuff). Maybe there
will be a Series3c/Siena FAQ written by someone else in the future?
_________________________________________________________________

-CHANGE-Indicates a change since last version
- NEW! -Indicates an addition since last version
_________________________________________________________________

Contents

part 1


I. DISCLAIMER
II. CREDITS
III. COPYRIGHT
IV. FAQ UPDATES
V. WHERE CAN I GET THIS FAQ?
VI. NEWSGROUP NETIQUETTE

1. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION


1.1 What is the Psion Series 3/3a?
1.2 Which model should I buy?
-CHANGE-1.3 When will the "new" Psion come out?
-CHANGE-1.4 What other machines does Psion make?
1.5 What other palmtop alternatives are there?

part 2


- NEW! -1.6 Where can I purchase a Psion?
1.7 How can I contact Psion?

2. HARDWARE


2.1 Hardware specifications
2.2 What batteries does the Psion use?
2.3 How long do the batteries last?
2.4 How does the Psion measure the battery usage?
2.5 How can I make my batteries last longer?
2.6 Can I use an external power supply?
2.7 Can I upgrade my Solid State Disk (SSD)?
2.8 Can I upgrade my internal RAM?
2.9 Can I change the keyboard?
2.10 Can I use a big (normal) keyboard?
2.11 How can I build a serial link?
2.12 How can I build a parallel link?
2.13 What is this "soap on a rope" thing?
2.14 How do I print with my Psion?
2.15 Can I take my Psion through an X-Ray machine?
2.16 Can my Psion wipe out magnetic data?

3. SOFTWARE


3.1 How do I reset my Psion?
3.2 What is killing a process?
3.3 How can I save what's on the screen?
3.4 What is the soak test?
3.5 How can I find a text in my memos with Agenda?
3.6 How can I make the cursor bigger?
3.7 How can I take out the "hum" when I record sounds?
3.8 How safe is password protection?
3.9 How can I change the icon of a program?

part 3


3.10 How can I permanently change the distance units in World?
3.11 Why do some programs crash with an "Invalid arguments"
error?
3.12 Why is my Psion not switching itself off automatically
anymore?
3.13 How can I change the fonts in the system applications?
3.14 Is Perl ported to the Psion?
3.15 How do I undelete a file if I've accidentaly deleted it?
3.16 How can I synchronize my desktop agenda with my Psion's?

4. TIPS & TRICKS FOR GENERAL USE


4.1 Known hardware problems & solutions
4.2 Known software problems & solutions
4.3 Other official Psion repair centres
4.4 User groups
4.5 Online services
4.6 Bulletin boards (BBSes)
4.7 Magazines
4.8 "Anti-thief" tips
4.9 Lost/stolen Psions

5. SHAREWARE AND FREEWARE


5.1 Relevant FTP sites
5.2 WWW internet sites
5.3 Shareware for those without online access

part 4

6. CONNECTING YOUR PSION


6.1 With an IBM or clone
6.2 With an Amiga
-CHANGE-6.3 With a UNIX machine
6.4 With a Macintosh
6.5 With an Atari
6.6 With an Acorn Archimedes or Risc PC
6.7 With a serial modem
6.8 With a PCMCIA modem
6.9 With a packet radio TNC
6.10 With a cellular phone
6.11 Via the IrDA port (3c/Siena)
6.12 Terminal emulation
6.13 TCP/IP stack

part 5

7. THE EMULATOR


7.1 Limitations & bugs
7.2 Tips & tricks
7.3 Changing permanently the keyboard mapping

8. PROGRAMMING


8.1 Overview of development possibilities
8.2 OPL programming directly on the Psion
8.3 OPL programming from a PC
8.4 C Development on PC
8.5 Advanced C Development on a PC
8.6 Available books
8.7 How to do various things: tips & tricks

A. SHAREWARE/FREEWARE AVAILABLE SOFTWARE


A.1 Applications
A.2 Games

part 6

B. COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SOFTWARE, SERVICES & ACCESSORIES


B.1 Business & Legal
B.2 Education
B.3 Drawing, Leisure & Guides
B.4 Navigation
B.5 Communications & Utilities
B.6 Diet, Health & Safety
B.7 Time Management
B.8 Mapping & Surveying
B.9 Databases
B.10 Services
B.11 Books & Accessories

_________________________________________________________________

I. DISCLAIMER

This article is provided "as is" without any express or implied
warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy
of the information contained in this article, neither the authors, the
maintainer or the contributors will assume responsibility for errors
or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein. This document is compiled in spare time for free,
and I cannot resource thorough checking of all its contents. However,
I am interested in making the FAQ as good as it can be, so your
constructive feedback is welcome.

This FAQ is not sponsored or endorsed by Psion PLC or any subsidary
companies they may own in any way.

This FAQ is *NOT* intended as a replacement of the User Guide which
comes with each Psion. Be sure to read that first and - most important
- please double read the manual and this FAQ before posting any
questions to the comp.sys.psion.* hierarchy!

II. CREDITS

To create this document Chris (the original FAQ author) reviewed the
Newsgroup activity of the old comp.sys.psion (it has split on the 19th
of June 1996) group over some months, used that to generate a list of
Frequently Asked Questions, used THAT to generate a FAQ structure,
then populated it with extracted wisdom from the news traffic. So a
lot of information here is provided by the newsgroup contributors, who
are too numerous to credit individually. (Chris said "I'm just the
clerk that put it all in one place.") Special thanks go to Markus
Illenseer, who owned the first (Series 3) FAQ - from which Chris also
extracted useful information. Chris also thanked Clive D.W. Feather,
Daniel Senie, Roger Burton-West, for extensive helpful comments on his
preliminary FAQ. I would like to thank Mark Gould and Jason Savage for
their precious help and comments. Other contributors are credited in
the sections they provided special help in compiling.

If you have a question which is not answered in the actual FAQ, please
Email it to me (Daniel Pfund, see address at the top of this FAQ),
otherwise if you want more information from one specific section of
this FAQ, please try to contact the author of that section first. All
the Email addresses of people mentioned in this FAQ are listed here
for convenience (in alphabetical order):

Andrew Baldwin Andrew-Baldwin@psion.com
Michael Baas Michael@psiologic.com
Daron M. Brewood dbrewood@nest.demon.co.uk
Roger Burton-West rburtonw@nyx10.cs.du.edu
Mark Chapman mavc@cix.compulink.co.uk
Steve Clack sclack@cix.compulink.co.uk
Nick Craig-Wood ncw@axis.demon.co.uk
Alban Debeaupuis A.Debeau@ellis.fdn.org
Mike Dolan m.dolan@bcs.org.uk
Tom Dolbilin tdolby@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Paul DuBois dubois@primate.wisc.edu
Clive D.W. Feather clive@demon.net
Mark Gould Mark.Gould@bris.ac.uk
Roman Habrat romek@robix.comp.waw.pl
Steve Hawtin steve@tsort.demon.co.uk
Jochen Hollmann jnhollma@immd4.informatik.uni-erlangen.de
Charlotte Holmquist ch@advivum.se
Markus Illenseer Markus@tiger.teuto.de
Erik Johansen ej@it.dtu.dk
Uwe Kallmeyer uwek@yedik.escape.de
Edwin Klement eklement@crcg.edu
Dan Ko daniel@danielko.demon.co.uk
Philippe Lebreton lebreton.p@ccmail.cgi.fr
Steve Litchfield slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk
Neil Masson nmasson@datlog.co.uk
Roger Muggleton hzk@cix.compulink.co.uk
Blake Nancarrow blaken@computer-ease.com
Daniel Pfund Pfund@POBoxes.com
Angus Rae angusr@festival.ed.ac.uk
Dan Ramage Damage@juno.com
Alan Roberts alanr@rd.bbc.co.uk
Konstantin I. Saliy kis@ipmce.ru
Jason Savage Jason_Savage@mbnet.mb.ca
Daniel Senie dts@world.std.com
Jochen Siegenthaler jochen.siegenthaler@alcatel.ch
Bruce Stephens stephens@math.ruu.nl
Toby Smith tcs@cs.bham.ac.uk
Oliver Wagner owagner@lsd.wupper.de
Lloyd Wasser LWasser@infowave.net
John A. Watson JAWatson@thelcastle.win-uk.net
Chris Wesley Chris@people.demon.co.uk
Walter Wright wally@ceemore.demon.co.uk

If you happen to change addresses or know the new address of someone
on this list, please Email it to me, thanks!

III. COPYRIGHT

I assert copyright on this document. I encourage you to distribute it
widely, but only in its complete and original form and if you do not
make any money out of it.

IV. FAQ UPDATES

For the time being, I (Daniel) am the keeper of the FAQ. If you have
comments or suggestions, corrections, or you have some information you
want to see added or a request that I find some new answers, please
let me know. Please contact me via the Email address at the top of the
FAQ, or if that address doesn't work anymore (will stop working around
the 20th of October 1997), then contact me at: pfund@poboxes.com which
(should) work all the time by forwarding me my mail to my current
account. If all else fails, do a web search on my name or check out my
current homepage for more info at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/

V. WHERE CAN I GET THIS FAQ?

You're reading it aren't you? SAVE it :-). This FAQ is part of the
"official" news.answers FAQs and is posted monthly to
comp.sys.psion.announce and cross-posted to comp.sys.palmtops,
comp.answers, and news.answers. If you don't have reliable Usenet
access, you can also retrieve the FAQ by:

FTP
This article is archived at any site that archives
news.answers.
News.answers' main archive is at rtfm.mit.edu, and this article
is available there via anonymous ftp in the directory
/usenet/news.answers/psion-faq/partX
Other news.answers FAQ archives are:

+ cnam.cnam.fr in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/FAQ
+ ftp.uu.net in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/usenet (also
available via mail server requests to netlib@uunet.uu.net, or
via uunet's 1-900 anonymous UUCP phone number)
+ ftp.cs.ruu.nl in the anonymous ftp directory pub/NEWS.ANSWERS
(also accessible via mail server requests to
mail-server@cs.ruu.nl).


You probably will find a location closer to you with the help
of archie or some other search tool. Usually, the news.answers
FAQs are held in a directory like
"usenet/usenet-by-group/news.answers/" and you would be looking
for the "psion-faq" subdirectory in there.

EMail
You can use the mailserver at rtfm: send a message containing
the lines "send usenet/news.answers/psion-faq/*" to receive all
parts or send a message containing "help" and "index" to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu for more information on how to obtain
seperate parts.

WWW
There is a HTMLized version of this FAQ on my homepage at
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm (Note that
there is no "l" at the end of "htm", this is not a typo!)
Please use this site for any reference from your own web pages
because it is under my direct control and easily changeable. It
contains links to all the Psion HTML FAQ mirrors available in
the world as well as an archive file of both the text and the
HTML versions of the FAQ for easy downloading and offline
reading.
There are also numerous WWW sites archiving all the
news.answers FAQs. My favorite site is in Oxford at:
http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/

Please do NOT Email me or anybody else mentioned in this FAQ for the
latest version. We simply cannot handle such matters effectively.

If the date at the top of this FAQ is more than a couple months old,
there is probably a new version available online.

If you're interested to learn how I prepare this FAQ, you can check
out my page about that at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/howfaq.htm

VI. NEWSGROUP NETIQUETTE

I thought it might be useful to include a few words about using the
comp.sys.psion.* newsgroup hierarchy. We get a steady trickle of
transgressions and the ensuing admonishments. Maybe we can fix these
before they happen in future. Egg-sucking grannies may skip this
section. (Does that work outside the UK?)
1. READ THE FRIENDLY MANUAL (RTFM) and then the FAQ before posting
any questions! Remember that thes groups are here to help you out
but only if the answer can't be found by yourself. Also remember
that each time you're posting a question to the group, hundreds
(if not thousands) of people will read your question. If the same
questions come up again and again, people will just get bored and
not answer anymore...
2. DON'T BE RUDE. Obvious? Apparently not. Our newsgroup is an oasis
of civilization in a sea of adolescent vitriol and worse. Let's
keep it that way. Say it nicely or don't say it at all. If you
need to be uncomfortably direct, do it in personal mail - don't
post it.
3. When responding to a post, most handlers will give you an edit pad
with the original post inserted. Delete most of this, leaving only
the part which will set the context for your reply. This is more
effective communication, it cuts down on crud to scan through, and
reduces phone bills for those that pay them.
4. Official NETIQUETTE says you should not use the net for
advertising, but the prevalent view here is that the current level
of activity is useful without being obtrusive.
5. Posting binaries is definitively not recommended in the
comp.sys.psion.* usenet groups! There is a seperate Psion binaries
group called comp.binaries.psion which is a moderated group. The
moderator is Erik Johansen. If you wish to post to this group,
either Email your binary directly to the news group's Email
address: psion-binaries@it.dtu.dk and it will arrive to the
moderator or if your news program is configured correctly, post it
directly to the group. You will receive a message in return
usually in a laps of 2-3 days maximum to confirm your binary. It
has been agreed that very large programs which are not Psion
specific (ie: don't run directly on the Psion) should NOT be
posted there but to the relevant computer group. But you should
send a small message to the comp.binaries.psion group stating that
you have just posted your program. It is also common practice to
send a description of your binary; it helps to know if it's worth
downloading it or not! Usually, this description has the same
subject line but with part0(/x) suffix. All postings to this group
have been archived and are indexed on the following FTP site:
ftp.it.dtu.dk/pub/psion/index.html
6. Consider whether you should be mailing or posting. PING-PONG
personal dialogues may - or may not - be of interest to others. If
not, please don't post.
7. Post to the relevant newsgroup, and please don't cross-post!
Here's a guide to help you:
+ comp.binaries.psion
Used for ALL Psion binaries. Also used for large source code.
+ comp.sys.psion.announce
Used for posting announcements about new programs/hardware;
the FAQ is also posted to this group. This is a low volume
group and it's moderated, that means that all postings must
get approved first by the moderator (Michael L. Kaufman). If
your news server does not send your post to the moderator
(but they all do generally), you can send it yourself
directly for approval at psion@acm.org.
+ comp.sys.psion.apps
Used for posting questions/answers to all Psion related
programs; frequented by all Psion programmers to get your
feedback and ideas of course ;-)
+ comp.sys.psion.marketplace
Used for selling/buying Psion articles
+ comp.sys.psion.misc
Used for any subject which does not fall into one of the
other categories...
+ comp.sys.psion.programmer
Used for posting programming questions ( OPL / C / ... ), NOT
programs!
+ comp.sys.psion.reviews
Used for posting reviews about Psion programs/hardware. This
group is also moderated by Michael L. Kaufman and again, if
your news server is not set up correctly, you can also send
your postings directly to him at psion@acm.org.

_________________________________________________________________

1. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

1.1 What is the Psion Series 3/3a?

I will describe the more advanced 3a here. Refer to the hardware
section to see what you lose on the Series 3.

The Psion Series 3 and 3a are palmtop computers. Though packaged as
personal organisers, they are fully general, programmable, powerful
computers. The quality of the built-in applications, coupled with the
power saving hardware make Series 3's excellent personal organisers.
The sophisticated operating system, the hardware, the built-in
programming language, and the options to program in C and assembler
make them excellent general-purpose computers, with the major benefits
of compactness and battery endurance.

Optional link facilities can connect the Series 3 to desktop machines,
allowing data backup and access to the resources of the larger machine
from the Series 3. Modems, fax modems, printers and other peripherals
may also be connected via industry-standard serial and parallel
interfaces.

The built-in applications include a database manager, a sophisticated
word processor, time manager, world date/time and dialling codes
database, calculator and spreadsheet. The latest models (1Mb and 2Mb
RAM models) also include the spell checker/thesaurus and a patience
game (solitaire card game). Many other applications are available
commercially and from shareware outlets. More details in the last part
of this FAQ.

The built-in OPL programming system provides a structured BASIC-like
programming language with access to all the features of the machine.
This includes the ability to program polished Windows/Icons/Menus
interfaces like those found in the built-in applications.

The sound interface can record and playback digital sound. DTMF
dialling tones can be created which allow the Series 3a to dial
numbers directly through a telephone.

1.2 Which model should I buy?

This question is really a personal matter. I would definitively
suggest getting a Series3a (and not 3) because of the greater screen
resolution. As for which memory model, this depends entirely of your
needs and what you plan on doing with your Psion. In general, the more
memory the better (and keep in mind also that the 1/2Mb models offer
the spell checker/thesaurus and solitaire game which you might need).
If you're reading this, you probably have access to Psion
free/shareware also. You will see that these programs will quickly
fill up your memory ;-) so I would suggest to get the biggest model
(2Mb). If on the other hand, money is tight and you don't plan on
using much more than the Agenda and the built-in apps, then I think a
512k is big enough for you. As you can see, there is no simple
solution to this answer!

1.3 When will the "new" Psion come out?

Good question... next please!

Joke apart, nobody really knows. So please folks, just stop asking!
Before the 3c was announced, people didn't expect a new Psion until
1997, but Psion was 3 months early (just in time for Christmas,
heh?!).

The reason no one knew exactly is that Psion is quite relunctant to
give such information simply because they've learned from the past
(from Osborne computers to be more precise ;-) .

Psion have formally announced that their will be new machines during
the year 1997. By the time you read this, the new "Series 5" will
probably be available as it has been rumoured to come out during June
97. That will mean the end of this FAQ... as I'm sure the Series 5
will be a must-have fantastic palmtop!

People were hoping for Infrared comms (IrDa compliant), PCMCIA (most
debated!), RISC (ARM 7100) 32bits, pen for navigation (but hopefully
still a keyboard!), backlight ... You see that Psion have added most
of these features into the 3c!

1.4 What other machines does Psion make?

1.4.1 WorkAbout

This is the latest Psion machine. Very comparable to a Psion Series
3a, it is more robust and has an A-Z keyboard for size reasons. One
nice point: a back lit screen is present. Targeted at the vertical
market, thus not so well known to the general public.

1.4.2 Acorn Pocket Book (by Acorn)

Re-badged Series 3a, aimed at education-related markets. Contains all
the 3a applications, though named differently, plus a spell checker,
thesaurus and a graph plotting application in a 2MB ROM. Password
protection capability is removed. Costs about 20 GBP more than a 3a.

1.4.3 Series 3

The immediate predecessor to the Psion Series 3a is the Series 3. It
is the same machine in size and concept, but is more limited in many
respects. See the hardware comparison table in section 2a for a list
of differences.

1.4.4 Series 3c

The immediate sucessor to the Psion Series3a; was launched 05Sep96
(same time as the Siena). It has the following added features:
* Infra Red connector for Psion to Psion or Psion to printer
connections
* RS232c internal connector for fast connections (upto 57k6)
* Toggleable backlight screen (US model only?)
* Data APP includes a table view and sort option
* Agenda supports a month view (finally!)
* Jotter application added
* Calc application cosmetically changed
* Sound editor included
* Filer app (sort of File manager) with the much awaited "move"
command ;-)
* OVAL run time in ROM (for programmers)
* Tips on startup a la MS
* Optional add on synchronizers for Lotus Organizer and Schedule+
* Optional self powered PC-CARD (PCMCIA) adapter

But, it must also be noted that the 3c does NOT have the definitions
in it's spelling checker/thesaurus application. Psion didn't have
enough room in the ROM to keep them.

1.4.5 Siena

This is not really a palmtop computer, but should more be classified
as a "PDA" (Personal Digital Assistant). It is basically the same as a
3a but available only in 512k/1Mb RAM versions with a half-sized
screen (240*160 pixels). It also includes Jotter but not Files nor
Oval. Next to the top half of the screen you can find a numeric
keypad. Unexpandable (no SSD slots built-in, but you can buy an SSD
adapter); has built-in RS-232 port. See Psion's web site for more
infos.

1.4.6 Organiser II series:

* CM - available in 16K only, 16x2 screen, limited software
* XP - available in 16K or 32K, 16x2 screen, limited software
(database, OPL)
* LZ - available in 32K or 64K (LZ64), 20x4 screen, introduced
notepad (basic text processor), dialing codes database, on-screen
clock)

There is an Organiser II homepage at
http://homepages.enterprise.net/djw/psion/psion.html

1.5 What other palmtop alternatives are there? (by Jason Savage)

See section 2.1 for the Psion Series 3 and 3a hardware specifications.

Make: Apple
Model: Newton MessagePad 120

Processor
Model: ARM 610
Speed: 20 Mhz
Bit size: 32-bit

Display
Type: Monochrome, reflective LCD
Pixel Screen size: 320 x 240

Memory
Size: 1MB RAM (385K user data & 639K system) or 2MB RAM (1,361K
user data & 687K system)

Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 10.16 x 20.32 x 2.9 cm (4.0" x 8.0" x 1.2")
Weight: 480 grams (16 ounces)

Power Requirements
Batteries: 4 x AA (main) & 1 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): Up to 22 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, RS-422 8-pin DIN (230,000 bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes, (38,400 bps)
Other: Optional FAX modem

Keyboard: Yes, Popup virtual keyboard (QWERTY, Numeric, & Phone pad)

Included Applications:

+ Newton Intelligence (Handwriting Recognition, Object Oriented
Database Programming language and Communications services)
+ Calendar (like Agenda)
+ NewtonMail (email client)
+ To-Do Lists (like Agenda)
+ Rolodex-like Address Book (like Data)
+ Digital Ink ScratchPad
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ World Time Clock (like World)
+ Dictionary (13,000 words)
+ Notion List Manager (like Data)

Make: Casio
Model: Z-7000 (AKA: Zoomer, Tandy Z-PDA, AST GRiDPad 2390)

Processor
Model: NEC V20
Speed: 7.7Mhz
Bit size: 16-bit

Display
Type: Monochrome reflective, touchscreen
Pixel Screen size: 320 x 256

Memory
Size: 1 Mb (384K user data & 640K system)

Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 10.76 x 17.62 x 2.6 cm (4.2" x 6.8" x 1")
Weight: 430 grams (15.2 ounces)

Power Requirements
Batteries: 3 x AA (main) & 2 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): 100 hours (catalog: 90 hours)
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 10-pin, (19,200 bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes, (9600, Casio)
Other: Round telescoping pen

Keyboard: Yes, Virtual Pop-up software QWERTY, A-Z or International

Included Applications:

+ Date Book (like Agenda)
+ Address Book (like Data)
+ Note Book (Digital Ink Scratchpad & Document Manager with
outliner)
+ Pocket Quicken (Financial Organiser)
+ America Online (Access software for the service provider of
the same name)
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ Forms Calculator
+ World Clock (like World)
+ Language Translator (26 languages & up 1000 words per
language)
+ Games (Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire & UKI)
+ File Manager
+ Consumer Information
+ U.S. Information
+ World Information

Make: Hewlett Packard
Model: 200LX

Processor
Model: variable speed Hornet
Speed: 7.91 MHz
Bit size: 16-bit

Display
Type: CGA-compatible FTN liquid crystal
Pixel Screen size: 640 x 200

Memory
Size: 1 or 2MB of RAM

Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 16 x 8.64 x 2.54 cm (6.3" x 3.4" x 1")
Weight: 312 grams (11 ounces)

Power Requirements
Batteries: 2xAA (main) & 1xCR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): 80 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 9-wire (115K?)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes
Other: No

Keyboard: Yes, QWERTY

Included Applications:

+ Pocket Quicken (Financial Organiser)
+ cc:Mail (E-mail client)
+ Data Communications (VT-100, ANSI & TTY emulation)
+ Lotus 1-2-3 r.2.4 (like Sheet)
+ Laplink (like Remote Link) for file transfers
+ Appointment Book (like Agenda)
+ Phone Book (like Data)
+ HP financial calculator (like Calc)
+ Memo editor with outliner (like Word)
+ Notetaker (like Notepad)
+ Database (like Data)
+ Filer (like File Manager)
+ Worldtime & Stopwatch (like World)
+ System Macros
+ Application Manager
+ Setup Utility


See also the following WWW site for a more complete comparaison
of Psion3a-HP200lx with over 170 articles:
http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/d...ion/index.html

Make: Hewlett Packard
Model: OmniGo 100 Organizer Plus

Processor
Model: Intel 80C186 compatible
Speed: 16 Mhz
Bit size: 16-bit

Display
Type: FSTN LCD with Touchscreen
Pixel Screen size: 240 x 240

Memory
Size: 1MB RAM

Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 1.0: SRAM memory cards no Flash
or Modems)
Number: 1

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 15.3 x 9.5 x 2.6 cm (6" x 3.7" x 1")
Weight: 329 grams (11.6 ounces)

Power Requirements
Batteries: 2 x AA (main) & 1 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): ?
Provision for AC Adaptor: No

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 10-wire, (?)
Parallel: No
Infrared: No
Other: Yes, Pen

Keyboard: Yes, QWERTY (5 function keys)

Included Applications:

+ Appointment book (like Agenda)
+ Phonebook (like Data)
+ Notepad (like Word)
+ Database (like Data)
+ Worldtime and stopwatch (like World)
+ Jotter (Digital Ink Scratchpad)
+ Geoworks Book Reader
+ Financial Tools
+ Spreadsheet (like Sheet)
+ Emulated HP 12C financial calculator (like Calc)
+ Graffiti handwriting system (handwriting recognition)
+ Transfer (like Remote Link)
+ Setup Utility (like Install)
+ Solitaire

Make: Motorola
Model: Envoy Communicator

Processor
Model: Motorola Dragon 68349
Speed: 16 Mhz
Bit size: 32-bit

Display
Type: Reflective FSTN Touch Screen
Pixel Screen size: 480 x 320

Memory
Size: 1 MB

Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0) slots
Number: 2

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 14.8 x 19.2 x 2.9 cm (5.8" x 7.6" x 1.2")
Weight: 770 grams (1.7 pounds)

Power Requirements
Batteries: Rechargeable Ni-Cad (main) & 1 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): 8 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes, combined with Charger

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 14-pin MagicBus (38,400 bps)
Parallel: Yes, MagicBus
Infrared: Yes, FSK compliant
Other: 2 round full length pens, 4800 bps send/receive radio
packet modem, 9600 bps FAX send modem & 2400 bps data modem

Keyboard: Optional, QWERTY

Included Applications:

+ Date Book (like Agenda)
+ World Time Clock (like World)
+ Address Book (like Data)
+ Notebook (like Agenda To-Do List)
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ America Online (connection software for the service provider
of the same name)
+ AT&T PersonaLink (connection software for the service
provider of the same name)
+ SmartWallet

Make: Sharp
Model: ZR-5000 & ZR-5000FX AKA: Zaurus K-PDA

Processor
Model: Sharp Proprietary
Speed: ?
Bit size: 16-bit

Display
Type: DFSTN LCD, Touch screen (finger or stylus)
Pixel Screen size: 320 x 240

Memory
Size: 1MB RAM (750k user data & 250K system)

Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 17.0 x 10.0 x 2.54 cm (6.7" x 3.9" x 1.0")
Weight: 385 grams (13.6 ounces approx.)

Power Requirements
Batteries: 2 x AA (main) & 1 x CR-2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): Up to 60 hours (~2 months)
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 15-pin proprietary, (19,200 bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes, (IrDA & ASK Compliant)
Other: Round pen & FAX modem with ZR-5000FX

Keyboard: Yes, QWERTY configuration

Included Applications:

+ Activities (like Agenda)
+ Contacts (like Data) limited to 3 files
+ Data Files (also like Data) limited to 3 files
+ Notes (Digital Ink Scratchpad)
+ Documents (like Word) with Spell Checker
+ Outline (like Outline mode in Word)
+ Home & World Clocks (like Time & World)
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ Filer (Manages Printing, Faxing, Email & File transfers)
+ Messaging (E-mail client)
+ FAX/Sending (FAX client)
+ Terminal Mode (ASCII & VT-100 emulation)

Make: USR
Model: Pilot

Specs thanks to David Richards at dr@rci.ripco.com

Processor
Model: Motorola 68328 "Dragonball"
Speed: 16 MHz?
Bit size: 16-bit

Display
Type: Monochrome, reflective LCD
Pixel Screen size: 160 x 160

Memory
Size: 512K ROM
128K RAM (Pilot 1000), 512K (Pilot 5000), or 1Mb upgrade

Expansion slots
Type: Proprietary memory (replaces RAM)
Number: 1

Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 3.2" x .7" x 4.7"
Weight: 385 grams (5.7 ounces approx.)

Power Requirements
Batteries: 2 x AAA (main)
Battery Life (Approx): 30 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: No

Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, Proprietary edge connector (57,600
bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: No

Keyboard: Yes, Popup virtual keyboard (QWERTY, Numeric, accent)

Included Applications:

+ Date book
+ Address book
+ To Do List
+ Memo pad
+ Calculator

End of part 1/6
_________________________________________________________________

[Go to next part]
_________________________________________________________________


All pages coming from http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
(and this is one of them!) are copyright 1996 Daniel Pfund.
--
|\ |\ PSION specialists: http://www.planet-pfund.com
| )|/ *--------------------------------------------*
|/ | http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/

Archive-name: psion-faq/part2
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm

part 2

See part 1 for complete table of contents of this FAQ (including this
part's).

1.6 Where can I purchase a Psion?

Prices for 2Mb Psion are quoted for each when known, but you should
contact vendors for latest prices, as they change quite a bit, and I
don't track those changes here very often.

Numbers marked "[US/CA only]" means that the number can only be called
from the USA or Canada (sometimes both, sometimes only one). If no
other number is specified, the person or company presumably does not
want to deal with customers from elsewhere.

Usually, you will get the best deal from a UK vendor (but keep in mind
that you will also get a UK version!) If you travel to London, you can
get a good deal at the "Duty Free" shops in the airports or by
haggling in the Tottenham Court Road shops.

Important note: these addresses have NOT been verified, so check
before you intend to buy from one of them! Also, I am NOT listing any
more vendors without web sites. For a (maybe) more up to date listing,
you may want to check out the PDA Page homepage at:
http://www.pdapage.com which lists the best sites which sell PDAs.

Byson Computers [UK]
Fax: +44 1635 874 022
Email: ian@byson.demon.co.uk
http://www.hiway.co.uk/~byson/

Clove Technology [UK]
+44 1202 302 796
Email: 100255.3642@compuserve.com
http://intertrader.com/computers/clove/

Internet Shopping Network (usually have very cheap prices but actually
restricted to the USA)
http://www.internet.net

New World Technologies
110 Greene St, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10012 USA
Phone: 1 800 886 4967 [US/CA only] Will price match
Phone: +1 212 941 4633
Fax: +1 212 274 8527
Email: ajai@nwt.com, (GidNEW on AOL)
http://www.nwt.com

NDS Distributing
11875 Dublin Boulevard, Suite D-270
Dublin, CA 94568 USA
Phone: 1 800 425 7725 [US/CA only]
Phone: +1 510 803 8790
Fax: +1 510 803 8792
http://www.ndsdistributing.com

Planet Pfund
Daniel Pfund
19, ch. Tirelonge
CH-1213 Onex
Phone / Fax: +41 (0)22 792 10 82
Mobile: +41 079 350 60 64
Email: info@planet-pfund.com
http://www.planet-pfund.com

PSIOlogic GbR
Matthias & Michael Baas
Taunusstrasse 4
D 63589 Linsengericht
Phone: +49 (0)6051 470065
Fax: +49 (0)6051 470066
Email: 106044.2274@compuserve.com
http://www.psiologic.com

Official Psion distributors/importers:

For an upto date list, you may like to take a look at Psion's web
site.

Argentina
PSIAR
Avendia de Mayo 963,
3rd Floor
Buenos Aires
Phone: +54 1345 4052
Fax: +54 1345 3705

Australia
Psitech Ltd
Kangy Angy
Phone: +61 4362 2014
Email: psitech@cix.compulink.co.uk or psitech@ozemail.com.au

Belgium and Luxembourg
Micro-Connection
Korte Winkelstraat 15,
2000 Antwerpen
Phone: +32 3 232 34 68
Fax: +32 3 226 17 49
BBS: +32 3 226 20 79
Email: ferre@cix.compulink.co.uk

Canada
Compulys Data Inc.
Place Montreal Trust
1800, Avenue McGill College, Bureau 2102
Montreal (Quebec) H3A 3J6
Phone: 1 800 361 0609 [US/CA only]
Phone: +1 514 98 PSION [International]
Fax: +1 514 987 9611

Denmark
Mobi Data Ltd
Phone: +45 38 33 55 01

Finland
Hand Held Systems
Torikatu 6-A, 451000
Kouvola
Phone: +35 8513 710 017
Email: Pekka Aikas - Paikas@cix.compulink.co.uk

Italy
Videocomputer Spa
Via Antonelli 36
Collegno (TO) 10093
http://www.videocomputer.it

Kuwait
Nascorp Kuwait
c/o Anwar Essa Al-Saleh Est.
P.O. Box 4704
Safat, Kuwait 13048
Phone: +965 573 7684/5
Fax: +965 571 6674
Email: Essa Al-Saleh - esaleh@kuwait.net

Netherlands
Psion Nederland B.V.
Avio Trade Park
Zandsteen 52
2132 MR Hoofddorp
Phone: +31 20 446 9444
Fax: +31 20 653 3427
BBS: +31 20 653 1075
Email: psionnl-support@psion.com

New Zealand
Pocket Solutions Ltd
PO Box 44 070
Lower Hutt
Phone: +64 4 566 7808
Fax: +64 4 569 6452
Email: psol002@ibm.net

Poland
Centum Informatyki Energetyki
Phone: +48 22 625 22 83
Fax: +48 22 693 32 6

Portugal
Comp 3 Lda
Rua Augusto Gil 30 A/B
1100 Lisbon
Phone: +35 11 7972 259
Fax: +35 11 7951 928

Saudia Arabia
Nascorp
P.O. Box 2951
Jeddah 21461
Phone: +966 2 667 6204 (Jeddah)
Phone: +966 1 231 1785 (Riyadh)
Email: Essa Al-Saleh - esaleh@kuwait.net

South Africa
Psionet Distributor CC
Phone: +27 21 683 1192

Spain
Paresa SA
c/ Balmes 113, ppal 1a
08008 Barcelona
Phone: +34 3451 6505
Fax: +34 3451 6231

Switzerland
Excom AG (Psion importer)
Moosacherstrasse 6, Au
8820 Wadenswil
Phone: +41 1 782 21 11
Fax: +41 1 781 13 61
http://www.excom.ch

1.7 How can I contact Psion?

1.7.1 World Headquarters

UK Offices:
1 Red Place
London W1Y 3RE
Phone: +44 990 134 224 Main desk
+44 990 143 050 Sales & customer services
Fax: +44 990 561 046
Email: Psion_corp@cix.compulink.co.uk
http://www.psion.com

UK Service centre:
17-19 Bristol Road
Greenford
Middlesex UB6 8UP
+44 181 575 9919

1.7.2 USA (Psion Incorporated)

Corporate Headquarters
150 Baker Avenue
Concord, MA 01742
USA
Phone: +1 800 54 PSION
Phone: +1 508 371 0310
Fax: +1 508 371 9611
Email: usa-support@psion.com
http://www.psioninc.com

Midwest Office
225 West Washington St., Suite 2242
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 1 312 419 5300
Fax: 1 312 419 7142

West Coast Office
800 Airport Blvd. #417
Burlingame, CA 94010
Phone: 1 415 373 1234

1.7.3 Germany

Psion GmbH
Daimlerstr. 16
61352 Bad Homburg
Germany
Phone: +49 6172 6630
Fax: +49 6172 663100
Fax-on-Demand: +49 6172 663179 (FaxAbruf)
Mailbox (BBS): +49 6172 663170
(Dacom GmbH is on +49 6172 9654-45, Hotline on -42)
Email: gmbh-support@psion.com (technical support)
Email: gmbh-vertrieb@psion.com (Sales)
http://www.psion-gmbh.com

2. HARDWARE

2.1 Hardware specifications

All Psion machines are based around the "SIBO architecture", which was
developed to meet common goals which span the SIBO range, including
Series 3.

Of paramount importance is low power usage. To this end CMOS circuits
are used, the CPUs are static - meaning their clocks can be slowed
down or stopped and restarted without impairing function, and the
specially designed ASIC chips implement sophisticated power
management, which always ensures that only those parts of the machine
which are needed, are powered up. Power is provided by 2 AA batteries
during normal operation. A Lithium backup battery, a CR1620, is
provided which maintains memory during battery changes. A mains
adaptor inlet is provided.

A system clock runs independently of the CPU even when the machine is
"off". This allows it to keep time and to wake the machine up when
(for example) alarms expire.

A six-pin outlet is provided, through which serial and parallel ports
may be connected. This outlet has exactly the same signals as the two
expansion ports (SSDs).

A sound system implements beeps on the Series 3 through a low power
piezo-electric element at two volumes. On the 3a there is a more
sophisticated system employing bi-directional digital-to-analogue
conversion, a conventional speaker, and a microphone, which together
support the recording and playback of digitally-recorded sound.
Digital sound data is compressed and expanded between 8 and 13 bits by
hardware in an ASIC using the Alaw algorithm during recording and
playback respectively, at a sample rate of 8KHz. This performance
conforms to the ISDN standard for digital phone systems. A Series 3
buzzer emulation is also available on the 3a.

For both machines, there are two expansion ports, also called SSD
drives, into which RAM or EPROM memory modules may be placed.

The memory is split into two types: process and storage. Storage
memory is only used for storing data. Process memory is the memory
used by the processor. Programs run in this type of memory. Process
memory is limited on all Psions to 512k maximum. There is no storage
memory on Psions with 512k RAM or less. To be honest, this is a not a
big problem, since the Psion implements a real good memory management
and "windows" the memory needed for each application. In practice,
this means that you can open several huge databases for example and
only need 10k of memory for each one.

In tabular form, the differences are summarised below:
Item Series 3 Series 3a
HARDWARE

PROCESSOR
name V30H (80C86 compatible) V30H(80C86 compatible)
Bitwidth 16 16
Speed 3.84 MHz 7.68 MHz
video mem access 8 bit - half speed 16 bit - full speed

DISPLAY
Type Monochrome LCD Monochrome LCD
Physical size 97 x 39 mm approx 126 x 45 mm approx
Display size 240x80 480x160
Display depth 2 - black/white 3 - black/grey/white

MEMORY
Internal 128 or 256Kbyte 256Kb,512Kb,1Mb,2Mb
Expansion 2 slots = 16Meg max 2 slots = 16 Meg max

DIMENSIONS
Size 16.5 x 8.5 x 2.2 cm (6.5" x 3.3" x 0.9")
Weight 275 grams including batteries

SOUND
Output device Piezo beeper Loudspeaker
Capability variable pitched Beeps Any sound
and DTMF[*]
Digital system NONE DAC/ADC 8/13 bits
Sound recording NONE 8K samples per second
Telephone dialler DTMF capability DTMF capability

*Further sounds can be generated if a custom device driver is written

PARALLEL PORT Via optional link Via optional link

SERIAL PORT Via optional link Via optional link
Software Installed in link pod In Psion 3a ROM
Max speed 9600 baud 19200 baud

SOFTWARE

SYSTEM SHELL Controls applications Upgraded on Series 3a

DATA Database application Upgraded on Series 3a

WORD Comprehensive document Upgraded on Series 3a
processing system

AGENDA Personal management Major upgrades on 3a
application

TIME Clock and alarms manager Upgraded on Series 3a

WORLD World info database Cosmetic upgrade on 3a

CALC Calculator Calculator
Allowing OPL extension Cosmetic upgrade on 3a

SHEET[*] Spreadsheet application Speadsheet application
available as add-on[*] built-in

*In the US, and latterly in the UK, the "Series 3s" includes the
spreadsheet as standard (not for 128k models)

SPELL CHECKER/THESAURUS add-on Only on 1/2Mb models *

PATIENCE GAME add-on Only on 1/2Mb models *

*Spell checker/thesaurus and patience game are apparently only
available on UK/US country specific 1/2Mb models (ie: not available
for french nor german models!)

OPL Programming application Series 3 compatibility
mode also available.

2.2 What batteries does the Psion use?

Normal power is provided by two AA (also known as LR6) batteries.
Standby power is provided by a small Lithium backup battery, a CR1620,
which maintains system data during main battery changes or failure.

2.3 How long do the batteries last?

It all actually depends on what type of batteries you use. Here are
the advantages and disadvantages of the different battery types:
* Alkalines. These are the "normal" batteries and work well.
* Carbon/Zinc. These batteries are cheaper than alkalines but of
course don't last as long. Might be interesting if you can get
them really cheap and are ready to change batteries often.
* NiCad rechargeables. These proivde less energy than conventional
batteries (reports suggest maybe half) and they fade rapidly once
their charge is nearly gone, but - they are rechargeable, and so
offer a cost effective alternative. Note that NiCads are NOT
recharging while the machine is powered by the adaptor.
* Lithium AA batteries. They are 30% lighter than alkalines, and
they last longer, but they are more expensive. Recommended if you
really need long battery life and in extreme conditions. These
batteries have a very long shelve life.

The link causes high battery loadings, as does the sound system.
Accessing the SSDs also increases power drain. Because of the static
architecture, a busy CPU drains more power than a sleeping one, so
compute-intensive tasks will burn power. For these reasons, it is
difficult to quote battery performance exactly, but the table below
summarises reports received on the net (for a 512k version).

Alkaline NiCad Lithium

Running time (Hrs) 40-80 20 65-100
Power delivered (mAh) 1500 800 1600-2700
Price each (UKP) 0.5 4.5
Comment 30% lighter

1/2Mb models use more battery power since they use memory bank
switching which is processor intensive.

The backup battery typically lasts 15 months.

2.4 How does the Psion measure the battery usage? (by Alan Roberts)

Actually, the battery consumption is only estimated, there is no real
voltage meter inside the Psion. The Psion knows the average battery
consumption in each state (ie: xx mA when playing a WVE file; yy mA
when writing on flash ... ) and keeps a record of the time spent in
each state. When the voltage drops below a threshold, the "replace
batteries" and "emptying batteries" display appear.

2.5 How can I make my batteries last longer?

The most important thing is to always turn the serial link OFF when
you don't use it. This is the number one power eater on your Psion.

Here are some other more or less obvious tips:
1. Be sure to set the "auto power off" feature ON
2. Turn the auto update list to OFF, set it to use the System button
3. When you want tu update just one list, use delete and ESC. This is
much quicker than pressing the System button (and should save
battery power).
4. Avoid switching on with the System button, as this would update
all the lists.
5. Let the applications open multiple files. Preferably set the
preference to "Enter" instead of "Shift-Enter" as you often forget
to press shift-enter. Saving and opening files uses more battery
power than to leave the files open.
6. Avoid playing long or loud sounds
7. Set volume low
8. Avoid saving many files to Flash SSD
9. Avoid reformatting, particularly Flash SSD

Thanks must go to Philippe Lebreton and Blake Nancarrow for these
great tips.

2.6 Can I use an external power supply?

Yes, the Psion comes with a standard power outlet so you can use
either the official Psion power supply or a general-purpose mains
adaptor (which is cheaper). Negative polarity should be selected - ie
the tip should be negative. The power supply should be able to deliver
150mA at 9V. The Psion adaptor has an indentation around the outer
conductor near the tip which facilitates snug fit for improved
reliability.

You can plug the external power supply in/out while the Psion is on.
It will then immediately use the external power or batteries. The
Psion also has an automatic turn off possibility. This is very useful
if you often forget to turn it off! One of the choices for this auto
turn off feature is "If no external power", so you can safely use it
on external power and it will not turn itself off anymore until you
unplug it again.

2.7 Can I upgrade my Solid State Disk (SSD)?

Flash SSDs are cheaper than RAM SSDs because the filesystem doesn't
actually allow you to recover deleted space on them. Even if they're
cheap compared to real RAMs, they're still quite expensive because
they're not manufactered on a big scale (they're Psion proprietary).
This tempted several people to accomplish upgrades. It has been
successfully done, but I decided not to describe it here for several
reasons:
1. It wouldn't be fair to Psion PLC. Think about it: it would prive
them of rightly owned money for their R&D and that wouldn't make
us many friends, would it?
2. The chips you need aren't easy to find.
3. It is quite easy to do for a trained electronics technician, so
that person wouldn't need any instructions anyway. If you don't
have the expertise, don't even think about it!

In the mean time, there has been a company that has specialised in
making SSD upgrades: Exportech in London. You can contact them by
email at: 100121.1165@compuserve.com

2.8 Can I upgrade my internal RAM?

The big question when the 1/2Mb models came out: can I upgrade my 512k
to a 2Mb model? Well, sorry, but the (short) answer is no. The new
models use a new ROM to access the extra memory. Psion PLC does not
offer upgrades for new models either. The best solution is to sell
your old model and get a more recent one.

In mid 1996, several companies have offered their services to upgrade
512k models to 2Mb models. They will change the motherboard
completely, so I suppose you'll have an exact 2Mb version with spell
checker/patience?...

Try to contact the following company:
* Broadway Management Services Ltd
Room 1604, CLI Building
313 Hennessy Road
Wanchai , Hong Kong
Price: about 303 USD!

If you own a 128/256k or 1Mb model, upgrading it is just a matter of
adding more RAM to it. Psion PLC or other official repair centres can
do this for you, contact them about it. For info, Pinnock Organisers
will upgrade your 256k Psion to a 512k model for 65 UKP.

For the help of us all, Fionn Behrens has made a nice web page with
details on how to upgrade your internal RAM with pictures and step by
step instructions. You can find his pages at:
http://www.informatik.uni-siegen.de/~fionn/e/Psion/

For the time being, process memory is limited to 512k on every model
and you cannot add more whatever you do.

2.9 Can I change the keyboard?

A lot of people buy their Psions in the UK because of the huge price
difference compared to their own country. This is not a problem in
itself if you just remember that you will be getting the UK version,
thus the UK keyboard, applications and manual. This also the reason
why so many people would like to change the keys of their keyboards.
For these people, there is no simple solution. The keyboard map is not
just a file held in RAM, so basically, you're stuck with your
keyboard, but there are workarounds to this:
1. In many applications, you can enter special characters (for
example foreign characters not found on the keyboard) by holding
down control, then typing the three digits of the ASCII code for
the character (ASCII code table on page 246 of the User Guide).
This works for all characters in the range 32 to 255. Some lower
codes are used for control purposes.
2. There is also a quicker way to enter letters with accents, umlauts
etc. CONTROL can be used with the number keys as a character
modifier directive. For example, "2" is the "Add an Umlaut"
command, so you can hold down CONTROL then press "2" and "o" to
get a umlauted "o". Most numbers are chosen as convenient
mnemonics: 2 has " above it - which looks like an Umlaut; 3 has \
which simulates a grave accent but 4 has ~, which produces
(oddly!) and acute accent, whereas 5 which has a ' produces a
tilde! See the Character set section of the user guide for
details.
3. Use Tom Dolbilin's excellent Macro System package to assign a
"macro" to a regular key, thus emulating another key.
4. Use Konstantin I. Saliy's keyboard map program to remap the keys
in a very efficient manner which works with all programs and only
uses 10k of memory!

2.10 Can I use a big (normal) keyboard?

Yes, if you have Tom Dolbilin's Macro System installed, there is a
macro called "BigKeys" which actually reads the serial port and sends
the key to the HWIM application you're currently running.
Unfortunately, it will not work with normal OPL applications. On the
other hand, you will still need another computer to send the keys over
the serial line, so it really isn't what people are looking for!

Keith Baker krb@ecs.soton.ac.uk has made a little interface for just a
normal keyboard (without the need for another computer) connected to
the Psion using the 3-Link interface . Note that it will not work with
OPL applications either.

2.11 How can I build a serial link? (by Konstantin I. Saliy)

For the common mortal: you can't (we're talking about 3a 3-Links
here). If you have the C/OPL SDK, there is a diagram of a TTL RS232
interface... BUT the diagram is based around a Psion custom chip
called "ASIC5". This chip converts the SIBO serial channel into
standard RS232 signals and back. According to the documentation this
chip is available from Psion for custom expansion development.
Documentation also provides information about modification of example
device for CMOS levels.

But this device is a serial link only, not a real 3-Link. The 3-Link
contains a ROM "SSD" with software. You can use the serial link
instead of 3Link but some applications (I'm not sure, it's only my
opinion) can check if disk C is present or even for disk C's serial
number. Of course if an application uses only device drivers interface
(VT100 emulators) it will work anyway.

The SIBO Serial Protocol is also described in the SDK. Refer to it if
you want know more about Psion expansion port.

For the 3c, this is entirely different! The 3c serial cable is just
that: a simple cable. Justin Buckland has been kind enough to send me
the pinouts for such a cable. He will also sell such cables himself;
you may like to contact him by email at jrb25@cam.ac.uk or by
telephone (+44 1223 570477) or simply check out his web site at:
http://www-sp.phy.cam.ac.uk/~jrb25/psicable.html

Justin found the parts from CPC (tel. +44 1772 654455). Connections
for Psion 3c / Siena serial cable are:

Psion:
___________
1 /___________\ 15

9-pin D socket:
---------------
\ 5 4 3 2 1 /
\ 9 8 7 6 /
---------

9-pin: Psion: RS232:
1 nc DCD data carrier detect
2 12 RD received data
3 8 TD transmitted data
4 11 DTR data terminal ready
5 1 SG signal ground
6 13 DSR data set ready
7 9 RTS request to send (= DTE ready)
8 14 CTS clear to send (= DCE ready)
9 10 RI ring indicator

2.12 How can I build a parallel link? (by Konstantin I. Saliy)

If you have read the previous section, you can realize that a one-way
parallel link is much easier to make for people who are familiar with
digital logic. Two way parallel link is possible also: typical
parallel link baud rate is 40K bytes/sec, and SIBO interface allows
you 1.5M bit/sec, but you'll need a hardware buffer and PDD/LDD pair
to receive data.

2.13 What is this "soap on a rope" thing?

The "soap on a rope" is simply another name for the 3-Link. It is
named like that because of it's ressemblence with (guess what ;-) the
well known soap on a rope.

2.14 How do I print with my Psion?

There are a number of ways you can print from your Psion
1. Through the parallel link, connect your Psion directly to your
printer but do not turn the link on in the system screen!
2. Through PsiWin. See your PsiWin manual for instructions.
3. Through the serial link - use the printer setup dialogues
appropriately and do not turn the link on in the system screen!
4. Use PRINT SETUP to select printing to a file called REM::C:\LPT1
Run MCLINK on your PC, and activate the link from the Psion. Now
all print requests will go through the link to the PC printer, and
MCLINK is available for file transfers - better than MCPRINT. This
solution also works with RCOM. On some PCs running Windows, it may
be better to print to LPT1.PRN, which traverses through the
DOS/Windows device drivers slightly differently. (by Daniel Senie)
5. Use RFM (see elsewhere in the FAQ) to make Psion drives visible,
then use a conventional PC tool to print files from the Psion.

2.15 Can I take my Psion through an X-Ray machine?

Yes you can without fear. Nowadays the airport's X-Ray machines are
harmless to palmtop computers and diskettes (hopefully ;-). In any
case, if you're really not assured, ask to pass it seperately.

2.16 Can my Psion wipe out magnetic data?

Yes it can! Be careful with the underside of your Psion because it is
actually the speaker which contains a magnet whom is responsible for
such problems. Credit cards and other magnetic data seem to be the
easiest "victims" of the magnet. Check out the first page of your User
Guide for Psion's own warning about this. You can try the paperclip
test which consists of taking a pile of paperclips and placing the
Psion on top of it. Lifting the Psion will typically take 5 paperclips
with it!

3. SOFTWARE

3.1 How do I reset my Psion?

You should not normally need to reset your machine at all. See "What
is killing a process?" to find out how to terminate misbehaving
applications. Doing a RESET re-initializes the system's processes. It
re-starts things as though it had just been powered up, and so will
make many error conditions go away. Doing a reset will also remove any
software patches you may have applied. These would need to be
re-applied after each reset. A soft reset will also make you lose your
user-defined groups and installed software icons (but the real
software, ie: the program, should still be there).

There are two kinds of resets:
* A SOFT or WARM reset will restart processes and lose your time
zone information, but leave the contents of the RAM disk, and
environment variables intact. Do this by gently pushing something
like a straightened paperclip into the small hole above the ESC/On
key to do a "warm reset".
* A HARD or COLD reset will completely re-initialize the whole
machine, removing all memory contents. Complete instructions for
performing this action are included in the "Troubleshooting"
chapter of your "User Guide".

3.2 What is killing a process?

Killing a process is like closing an application but without letting
it know. This will result in loss of data if the application didn't
save it before being killed, so be warned! Usually, you can exit an
application (from within it) with Psion -x (for english Psions) or
Psion-Esc. If the application doesn't respond to keypresses anymore
and nothing else works, you will have to kill it. For this, you can go
to the system screen and press Psion-shift-k (for english Psions). You
can also use other specific programs which allow killing of any
process (Spy is one of them).

3.3 How can I save what's on the screen?

From any point, you can take a screen snapshot, by holding down shift,
control, Psion, and S. The PIC file generated is placed in
M:SCREEN.PIC.

3.4 What is the soak test? (by Jason Savage)

WARNING: INITIATING THE SOAK TEST WILL CAUSE THE LOSS OF USER DEFINED
GROUPS AND USER INSTALLED SOFTWARE!!!

It has long been known in the computer and electronics industries that
electrical components, for the most part, fail either shortly after
they are first activated or after many years of service. Because of
this fact the concept of the soak test or burn-in or life test was
invented. Simply put, the machine (in this case a computer) is put
through a repetitive testing loop for several hours (24 for the Psions
to be more precise). This procedure would then filter out most of the
bad batches and prevent them from reaching the hands of the general
consumers.

To activate the soak test on the Psion series 3, press (See warning at
the beginning of this section) Control-Shift-Psion-K on the System
screen. This procedure will cause a soft-reset of your Psion.

3.5 How can I find a text in my memos with Agenda?

Actually, you can't! Psion hasn't implemented this feature yet. What
you can do, is use another program called "MemoFind" which will do
just that. It's a freeware program from Psion available at usual FTP
sites.

3.6 How can I make the cursor bigger?

It may get difficult trying to find the cursor in Word for example.
Unfortunately, there is no way to make it bigger. Some suggested
solutions are to press shift-right (to highlight a character) or home
(to find the cursor on the far left).

3.7 How can I take out the "hum" when I record sounds?

The hum (apparently a 60Hz sound) appears only when you record using
battery power. It is probably due to the voltage converter inside your
Psion (from 3V to higher). If you use the AC adapter, the hum
disappears.

3.8 How safe is password protection?

See also "Data security with link connected" in next section.

The Word password protection is not really good. It is known that it's
possible to "crack" the password (but not find it) and see the clear
text in a very short time (reported by Clive D.W.Feather in Dec94 and
now included in his Psionics files). Obviously, you do need some
programming skills to do it, but all in all, it is feasible, so be
warned!

Also, never use a single letter password! This could be way too easily
broken by brute force. It is recommended to have at least 6 characters
and even better, a mix of letters and numbers.

Another issue is power on password protection. Apparently, it is
possible to bypass it somehow; no infos are given!. Just don't rely on
it too much. Also, remember that if you keep some data on your SSD
Disks, the potential thieve can still read those informations by
simply transfering the disks into another Psion!

The bottom line is that the password functions of the Psion are useful
for keeping casual snoops from reading your data while you're off
making a phone call, but if you're seriously worried about security
then you shouldn't be keeping sensitive material on a handheld machine
in the first place.

3.9 How can I change the icon of a program? (by Matthew Powell)

1. Install the application on the System screen in the usual way.
2. Use the "create new list" command (Psion-E). Enter the same
working directory and file extension as for the original
application.
3. The "create new list" dialog will allow you to specify a custom
icon in exactly the same way as when creating a group.
4. Enter a name for the new list.

Once you've done this the application should have two lists on the
System screen. Remove the one with the original icon.

If you create a new list for Word, read this: The Word application
maintains a different template (which holds the styles and default
preferences) for each list. To carry on with the same template as you
had before, you will need to make a copy of the file Default.wrt in
the \WDR directory. The copy should have the same name as your list,
with a .wrt extension. For example, if your new list was called
"Notes", copy \WDR\Default.wrt to \WDR\Notes.wrt.

Alternatively, use a program called NEWICON2.OPA which does just that!

End of part 2/6
_________________________________________________________________

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All pages coming from http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
(and this is one of them!) are copyright 1996 Daniel Pfund.
--
|\ |\ PSION specialists: http://www.planet-pfund.com
| )|/ *--------------------------------------------*
|/ | http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/

Archive-name: psion-faq/part5
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm

part 5

See part 1 for complete table of contents of this FAQ (including this
part's).

7. THE EMULATOR

Psion, in their great generosity, have released their Psion emulator
for the Series 3 and later on for the Series 3a. This is a PC product.
Also please note that it is completely *unsupported* by Psion and do
not ask them for new versions, other platforms, etc... I think that it
was quite nice of them to offer their users (and potential users) such
a nice tool. We wouldn't want it to stop, would we? The files are
available as usual in the IC archive in the development directory.

7.1 Limitations & bugs

The following limitations & bugs were reported:
* The keyboard is only "British" and doesn't accept your regular
keyboard map (either use one of the techniques described in the
"Can I change the keyboard?" section or see below for a more
permanent way around this problem);
* No sound;
* The system screen "loses" your configuration each time you launch
the emulator;
* It only works in DOS with 4Mb RAM and at least a 386 processor;
* Caps lock works but doesn't show the symbol like on a real Psion;
* Shift diamond key doesn't work;
* It doesn't accept direct keyboard scan codes - this is mostly used
in games.

7.2 Tips & tricks

* Alt+Ctrl+shift+S makes a screen snapshot and automatically
increases the screen number in the file (unlike the real Psion);
* Alt+Ctrl+shift+C shows some memory parameters (useful for
development);
* Ins key on the numeric keypad (0 key) switches between
applications like Shift-System button on the real Psion;
* If you replace the 480 by 160 in the HHSERV.PAR file by 640 by
480, you will get a complete screen on your PC.

7.3 Changing permanently the keyboard mapping (by Uwe Kallmeyer)

The keyboard map is held internally in the file EPOC.DLL. You must
thus patch this file to suit your own keyboard. It contains three
tables, one for Psion/Ctrl keys, one for shifted keys and one for
normal keys. These tables start at locations (for the file dated
4.12.94, size 94736):

Psion/Ctrl $35D8
Shift $33D8
Normal $32D8

8. PROGRAMMING

8.1 Overview of development possibilities

There are a number of ways in which you can program the Psion. Choose
the one which fits your abilities, requirements, and budget.

8.2 OPL programming directly on the Psion

This is the most straightforward. If you can live with the cramped
keyboard and screen, you can pursue this option with no further
outlay, anywhere you can take your Psion.

If you haven't got the OPL Programming Manual, I suggest you order it.
It's really a great manual (unlike most others I've seen). If you are
impatient to receive it, it's also available online at:
http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/dubois/psion/oplman/

Some alleviators:
1. A database of the OPL commands is available from the IC archive
(see section 5) which you can load into the built-in DATA
application.
2. Switching off the clock in the OPL editor will give you more
active screen width. CONTROL/menu toggles this.
3. CONTROL/Word takes you straight to the OPL editor from the system
screen.
4. Get OPP from Andy Clarkson. This is really *the* programmer's tool
for programming directly on the Psion. It allows you to have
exactly the same functionnalities as with Psion's S3ATRAN and even
more directly on your Psion!
5. Get OPPDebug from Andy Clarkson. This is a fine debugger for OPL.
Psion haven't written one themselves, so this is a must for all
serious programmers!

You can also make use of some of the data which follows in this
section, so read on.

8.3 OPL programming from a PC

You can compose your OPL text files on your PC and send them down to
the Psion with the link for translation, or you can obtain S3ATRAN
from the IC archive (Section 5). S3ATRAN will translate your OPL
source into .OPO format which you can then use the link to move to the
Psion. In addition to translating simple OPL, S3ATRAN understands a
number of C-like pre-processor commands, which make source preparation
easier. As well as this advantage, source preparation on a PC allows
use of the full-sized keyboard and screen, use of whatever text editor
you favour, convenient storage and archival of important source code,
and access to printers. It also allows you to make bigger programs
since you are not limited to a 64k source like on the Psion.

For those using windows, you can use Psion's Opl Development
Environment (ODE) which is a *very* nice programmer's tool for
developing OPL in windows. ODE is commercial.

There is a Psion 3 emulator for the Series 3 and another one for the
Series 3a, both available in the IC archive, which allows you to run
OPL programs on the PC. For more details, see elsewhere in this FAQ.

The "Psionics files" are a collection of information for the OPL
programmer who wants to know more than is in the programming manual,
but who doesn't want the expense and effort of getting the SDK. They
include general explanations of system concepts, descriptions of all
the system calls usable from OPL, information about some useful device
drivers, and random other useful items. Much of the information is
taken from the official Psion SDK manuals, with permission. Clive D.W.
Feather is widely appreciated for having taken the time to bring this
information to the Psion community. You can get the latest set of
files (which change quite frequently), from the WWW site. See that
section in the FAQ for the address.

Psion offer Software Development Kits - "SDKs". The lowest level is
the documentation-only level. This currently includes two large
ring-binders which document vast amounts of detail about the Psion.
Though much is of prime relevance to C programmers, a lot of essential
information can be gleened by the astute OPL programmer. System calls,
file formats, transmission protocols, OS structure etc. are all to be
had. The SDK costs 75 UKP. See the contacts section if you want to
order it.

8.4 C Development on PC

The second level of SDK (see above) is called the "Standard SDK". It
includes the documentation mentioned above, and some software on
floppies. The software comprises the TopSpeed C language system, an
interactive Psion debugger, some customisation files, and some
examples. This costs 155 UKP.

"TopSpeed C" is a general purpose development environment and C
compiler. You can use it to write C programs for your PC, and the
development environment allows you to add other language compilers.

Psion's customisation files taylor TopSpeed C so that it can generate
image files which will run on the Psion.

The Psion debugger allows C programs to be debugged. Debugging can be
done at the C source code level, or at assembly language level, or in
a mixture of the two. The debugger also allows programs to be run
locally on the PC in a form of Psion emulator, or run on the Psion
itself through the serial link. A slew of very useful features are
included in the debugger.

Psion also provide some example programs which are referenced in the
manuals. Going through these with the manual is a good way to learn
about the Psion and the best way to program on it. The SPY application
is amoung the examples included.

It is theoretically possible to write C programs for the Psion using
other compilers, but extensive expertise would be needed to avoid the
pitfalls. For example, Topspeed C implements parameter passing in a
way which is compatible with the Epoc operating system.

Object-oriented programming is possible in this C environment.

8.4.1 Can I use another compiler than Topspeed? (by Dan Ramage)

"It is impossible to write sibo applications with anything but the
sibo sdk for several reasons.

Topspeed can output small memory model code staying within the 64k
code and data segment. In addition, Topspeeds calling conventions
don't use the segment registers (which can really mess up your
psion). Another reason is that topspeed code is compact and
executes quickly on sibo machines."

8.5 Advanced C Development on a PC

The highest level of SDK is the "Professional SDK". This adds the
source code of various device drivers to the Standard SDK. It costs
295 UKP.

8.6 Available books (by John A Watson)

In order of complexity, the following books are available.
1. First Steps in Programming the Psion Series 3 by Mike Shaw, 14.95
GB ISBN 0-7457-0145-0 An introduction to the basic principles of
programming.
2. Graphic Programming on the Psion Series 3 by Bill Aitken, 14.95
GBP ISBN 0-7457-0156-6 As the title suggests this is for those
interested in graphics.
3. Serious Programming on the Psion 3a by Bill Aitken, 16.95 GBP ISBN
0-7457-0035-7 (Series 3) ISBN 0-7457-0282-1 (Series 3a) A complete
OPL programming tutorial from basics to advanced especially
graphics including sprite design.
4. Machine Code Programming on the Psion Series 3a & 3 by John
Farrant, 16.95 GBP As the title suggests this book tells you how
to program in 8086 machine code and assembly language. The
price/package includes a fully functional two-pass assembler with
text editor and debugger.
5. Introduction to Using the Psion Series 3 by Ros Lawton & Isaac
Davis, 14.95 GBP ISBN 0-7457-0146-9 14.95.
6. The 100 Most Frequently Asked Questions for You and Your Psion
Series 3a & 3 by Richard Bloss & Adam Taylor, 9.95 GBP ISBN
0-7457-0300-3

8.7 How to do various things: tips & tricks

(Thanks to Andrew Baldwin for material)
1. First - reading the programming manual which came with your Psion
more than once is thoroughly recommended !
2. REVTRAN - is a reverse translator available at the archive. It
turns OPO modules back into OPL - though variable names may be
lost. This program allows developers to see how others have
implemented their programs, and this may give valuable insights
into useful programming techniques. Please note that you should
not use REVTRAN to circumvent protection mechanisms, to avoid
paying shareware fees, to steal programs or fragments thereof, or
to do anything else illegal or anti-social. Some OPL programs are
protected against reverse translation (with the help of OPP for
example).
3. SPRITES - the manual doesn't make it clear. You can have only one
sprite. You must emulate any further sprite functionality in OPL.
4. MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ARRAYS - are not provided in OPL, but they can
be emulated. For example, a two dimensional array: ARRAY%(X%,Y%)
may be implemented by declaring ARRAY%(Z%) (where Z%=X%*Y%). You
can now access element (a%,b%) as ARRAY((b%-1)*X% + a%). Each
access requires arithmetic so this will incurr a speed penalty.
OPP, the OPL preprocessor, implements this (exactly like
described) but with complete transparency to the programmer.
5. SPEED - OPL can get slow. Here are some ideas for speeding them
up.
+ Where does your program spend the most time ? Find out, and
concentrate on those sections. It's pointless speeding up
code segments which will not impact overall speed
significantly.
+ The use of floating point numbers is very slow; the Series 3
calls code which emulates a floating point processing chip.
Major gains can be had if you avoid floating point numbers.
Often integers can be used with a mental shift of the decimal
point.
+ BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS like SIN can also be very slow. Sometimes
it is preferable to build a table of answers and use a
look-up strategy.
+ On the Series 3a, make use of the procedure cache, which can
keep often-used procedures in memory - thereby avoiding a
heavy time penalty for loading them in. On the Series 3 there
is no cache to use, but you can place the procedure code
inline to avoid the overhead. There will be a
readability/complexity overhead to trade off.
+ Use gUPDATE to restrict screen updates, as detailed in the
manual.
+ OPL allows the programmer to call machine code routines,
which can be highly optimized for speed. These can be built
from C programs using the SDK, or with an assembler
(available in the archive). Programming at low levels
requires extensive knowledge of the Series 3 Operating
System. During development crashes are common, and data loss
may well occur. Also note that re-implementing a code segment
at a lower level will not necessarily give significant speed
improvements; it depends on what the code is doing.
6. Various
+ The manual states that you can only load up to 3 modules with
LOADM, whereas it is 7 really.

A. SHAREWARE/FREEWARE SOFTWARE

Please note that the software described here is just a small part of
available software and that it would be impossible to track down every
single share/freeware Psion program. If there is a program which you
would like to see added to the list, please write a mini review in the
same style as these here and mail it me. I'll gladly add it and give
you credit!

Just some guidelines if you wish to submit a mini-review: mention the
author (and Email address if possible), the exact filename and the
type of program (free/share/cripple) as from the list below. Do not
write more than 2-3 sentences and do not mention any "this is great"
or "this is bad" comments, thanks!

If you want to know more about these programs, you may want to check
out my Psion programmer's on the web list at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/prgers.htm or
alternatively, check out Steve Litchfield's review section at:
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk

A.1 Applications

I've used the following definitions below. These may not accord with
their standard meanings as used elsewhere.

Shareware
a fully functional program is provided, but the user is asked
to pay for it.

Crippleware
as shareware, but the functionality of the program is
restricted in some way to encourage registration. (This may not
make it unusable - ANY restriction puts a program in this
category.)

Freeware
the fully functional program is given away free. It is probably
still copyright to the author and conditions may be imposed on
redistribution.

GNUware
the program is distributed under the GNU General Public
Licence: among other things, this means it will include source
code.

Note that when ``*'' appears, this means the version number. New
version come out very often, so I can't track down each program.

The following people have contributed their reviews (see the first
part of this FAQ for their Email addresses):

Roger Burton-West (RBW)
Andy Clarkson (AC)
Steve Litchfield (SL)
Neil Masson (NM)
Daniel Pfund (DP)

* APPMAN: Jeremy Wakefield jezar@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (RBW)

For the advanced OPL programmer only, how to use those cascading
dialogues and other flashy features of the built-in apps.
Challenging but very useful.
* BATCHK: Pelican software: freeware (SL)
Shows you the state of your batteries in a one-screened pretty
display. Even shows the state of the battery in RAM SSDs!
* CALC3A*: Richard Schmidt 100735.331@compuserve.com: nagware (RBW)
Not to be confused with all the other calculators out there! Solid
and stable scientific calculator, including editable preset
equations. A little bulky, but very impressive.
* CMDP: Psion, Inc.: freeware (RBW)
DOS-style command line interface for the 3a and Workabout. Handy
if you like command lines (I do). Slightly quirky.
* CON3A: Tim Bentinck: shareware (SL)
A comprehensive units conversion utiility. Allows every conversion
under the sun, and a few more.
* DUMP3A: Wolfgang Schirmer 100022.1371@compuserve.com: freeware
(RBW)
Elderly but still useful hexadecimal/ASCII file editor. Perfect
for inspecting and modifying binaries, finding resources, etc.
* DPBANK*: Daniel Pfund Pfund3@uni2a.unige.ch: shareware (DP)
A small and very easy to learn and set up bank accounts tracker.
Lacks all the bells and whistles of the "big shots" but uses much
less memory.
* DRAW: Rick Andrews: shareware (SL)
Painting and drawing application. Its basic function is to let you
create PIC files for use as icons or in slide-shows or in your own
programs etc. Allows PCX import/export.
* EIKON: Roger Burton West rburtonw@nyx.cs.du.edu: freeware (RBW)
One of a great many icon editors available - essential for anyone
writing applications, or just customising the look of the system
shell. Yes, this one is my own; it has more features than the
competition, it's faster than most, and it's free.
* FE830: Psion, Inc.: freeware (RBW)
Hex/ASCII file editor for the PC, optimised for TLV files. Needs
some technical knowledge, but invaluable for data recovery from
corrupted files. (An internal tool used by Psion themselves, I
gather.)
* FIREPIC: Andrew Baldwin baldwina@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware
(RBW)
Picture viewer. Nothing special there, but this one will read and
write PCX files as well as PICs; further DYLs may be written for
other formats; and it's being used by an increasing number of art
packages.
* FONT*: Steve Godfrey stevegodfrey@cix.compulink.co.uk: crippleware
(RBW)
Edits Psion fonts. You can use them in your own programs, but not
in the built-in apps or for printing.
* JBDAT*: John Boyce jboyce@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (RBW)
Replacement for Data, with much better functionality. Needs lots
of memory, but much more useful than the standard app.
* JBFND*: John Boyce jboyce@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (RBW)
Searches files (even open files) for a text or hex string, and can
auto-launch files that match.
* JBLAUNCH: John Boyce jboyce@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (NM)
Provides a single icon under which you can launch any program.
* JBSTOPGO: John Boyce jboyce@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (NM)
Stops all your programs before a backup and restarts them
afterwards.
* JBTREE: John Boyce jboyce@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (SL)
Allows you to browse round a Psion disk, tagging and deleting,
viewing or moving files. Lots of extra features too, such as
viewing the space that could be reclaimed on a flash SSD.
* INSTALL: Psion GmbH: freeware (NM)
Provides configuration for your Psion, so that your system layout
can be restored after a reset. (DP:Only works correctly with
english type Psions!)
* LOTTERY3: freeware (SL)
This application will run a complete simulation of thousands of
years playing, just for you, showing how often you would have won
(or, more probably, lost) during that time.
* MACSYS: Tom Dolbilin tdolby@prairienet.org: freeware (RBW)
The Macro System allows automation of most common Psion tasks. It
can record and play back a sequence of keystrokes: but macros are
actually full OPL programs, and can use all the power available to
the system. A little tricky to master, but very rewarding. Several
macros are available on the Net as separate files.
* MAP*: Steve Litchfield slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk: shareware
(RBW)
Huge geographical information system with multiple overlays. Maps
of the UK, Ireland and London are available (separate
registration). NOT a route finder, but handy for general
information and basic town plans.
* MEMOVOC: David Joyce djoyce@cix.compulink.co.uk: shareware (DP)
Instead of typing memos into your Psion, you can now speak them!
Allows for hands-free recording triggered by a loud sustained
sound.
* NOTEPAD: Pelican Software: shareware (NM)
A useful note-taking utility with links to other Psion
applications.
* OPP*: Andy Clarkson 100661.2440@compuserve.com: shareware (NM)
This is an OPL pre-processor with various C-like features, such as
#defines, includes, 2D arrays. Makes OPL much more readable. See
also section "Programming" for more info.
* OPPDBG: Andy Clarkson 100661.2440@compuserve.com: shareware (AC)
For OPL programmers. This is a run-time source level OPL debugger.
Shows which lines of OPL code are being executed. Examine and set
values of local variables in the running program. Requires the
separate OPL preprocessor utility (OPP 1.4F).
* PASON (NM)
Switches password protection on overnight. I use my Psion far too
often to put up with entering a password every time I switch it
on.
* PICPRINT & PRINTPIC (SL)
Two small utilities which allow printing from a PIC graphics file
(for example, a screen-dump of a spreadsheet) to an Epson or Canon
BJ printer.
* PIEDIR (NM)
Gives a graphical representation of where your precious memory has
gone. Can do files only or can sum all the space under
directories. Also shows space recoverable on a flash by formatting
it. (DP:still quite buggy, but a new version should come out
soon.)
* PLAN: Andy Clarkson 100661.2440@compuserve.com: crippleware
A project planning application. You enter task and resource
details and dependencies between tasks. Plan will then work out
the schedule for each task and the project as a whole (includes
Gantt and Pert charts, interface to Microsoft Project,...).
* READER* and TCREADER: Barry Childress 73510.1420@compuserve.com:
nagware (RBW)
Probably the best text file viewer for the Psion, with many
display options and good buffering. TCReader is a PC program to
compress text files that Reader can view on the fly; it usually
manages about 50% reduction in size.
* RFM110: Psion, Inc.: freeware (RBW)
TSR to mount Psion drives over serial link to a PC, allowing
normal PC software to access them. Old and sometimes unstable, but
still my favoured serial comms package (even over RCom/PsiWin).
* RVTRN*: Mike Rudin mrudin@cix.compulink.co.uk: freeware (RBW)
Extremely useful package to convert translated OPL programs back
to source code, in case you've lost the source or want to see how
someone else did something. Controversial, and some programs have
anti-Revtran "traps".
* SAIKAN: Jamie Packer