$5.95 P in| @ p44 04) Personal Computing on the Ws ? nn) commodore a friendly computer guide : COMPUTER eae aaa Y|.INFORMATION TO USER “Warning: this equipment has been certified to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device, pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules. Only peripherals (computer input/output devices, terminals, printers, etc.) certified to comply with the Class B limits may be attached to this computer. Operation with non-certified peripherals is likely to result in interference to radio and TV reception.” “This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: — reorient the receiving antenna — relocate the computer with respect to the receiver — move the computer away from the receiver — plug the computer into a different outlet so that computer and receiver are on different branch circuits “If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radioltelevision technician for additional suggestions. The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications Commission helpful: ‘How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems.’ This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00345-4."" Published by COMMODORE ELECTRONICS, LTD. 324034-01 Sth Edition Second printing —1982 Copyright ©1982 Commodore Electronics Limited and Avalanche Productions. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or ‘otherwise without the prior written permission of Commodore Electronics. V9eeeeeeoeoeooooooooooooooeoooooo0oeoo9gda t10) 7 COMPUTING ON THE vic2o A friendly computer guide COMMODORE ELECTRONICS, LTD. AVALANCHE, INC. LPREFACE You are about to meet a friendly computer! Friendly in price, friendly in size, friendly to use and learn on and experience. Most important — you don't have to be a computer Programmer, or even a typist, to use it! If you're a first time computerist, this manual will provide an excellent introduction to computing. Unlike most instruction manuals, you don't have to read through this whole book to get to the “good stuff.” After reading Chapter 1 (GETTING STARTED), you can go directly to a chapter that interests you and start reading. If you're interested in animation turn to Chapter 4. If you like music, try Chapter 5. The first page of each chapter has a sample program to start you off. Just type the program exactly as shown (‘Try Typing This Program”) and see what happens. The rest of the chapter explains what you did, and shows you how to do more. Chapter 7 summarizes some important programming concepts, and explains the techniques used in the sample programs. If you’re an experienced programmer, you can use the VIC like any microcomputer. Familiarity with Commodore computers will help, since the BASIC and graphics are nearly identical to those used in the PET/CBM. Advanced reference material and programming information are included in the Appendix. For more sophisticated programming, see the VIC PROGRAMMERS, REFERENCE GUIDE, available from your Commodore dealer. If you’re a noncomputerist and have no interest in programming, per se, you should check out the VIC’s growing library of plug-in cartridges and program tapes. VIC cartridges plug directly into the back of the console and work automatically. Programs are also provided on cassette tapes for use with the Commodore Cassette Tape Recorder. Cartridges and tapes include exciting “arcade-type” games such as “VIC INVADERS” as well as educational programs to help you develop special skills, and home utility programs to help you solve problems and perform calculations. Peripherals and accessories for the VIC include the VIC tape cassette recorder, single disk drive, telephone modem and printer, to name a few. (See Appendix A) Computers are becoming an increasingly important part of our everyday lives — in our homes, at school and in business. Those who become familiar with computers now will have an important advantage in the coming months and years. The VIC not only introduces you to the world of computing, but also gives you the features and flexibility you need to expand that world. Enjoy your new world! 020000080000006000000000000000000004TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER TITLE PAGE One Two Three Four PREFACE..... UNPACKING AND CONNECTING THE VIC20........... GETTING TO KNOW YOUR VIC * Getting Started... ¢ Your First Computer Prog! USING THE SCREEN AND KEYBOARD ... * Your First Graphic Character ¢ A Tour of the VIC20 Keyboard ¢ Printing on the Screen * The VIC20 Calculator. ¢ Introduction to Color COLOR AND GRAPHICS..... * Programming in Color * The VIC Color Keys. * Changing Screen and Border Color: * Screen & Border Color Combinations * Coloring the Screen. ¢ Screen Locations * Random Colors * Combining Sound and Color. © Keyboard Graphics.......... * Graphics in Headlines and Titles.. ANIMATIO! ° Flying Birds. © Bouncing Ball © Controlling the Cursor. * Animating with POKEs and PEEKs.Five Six Seven APPENDIX SOUND AND MUSIC... ¢ Making Music... ¢ The Four Voices of VIC. * The White Noise Generator. * Using the VIC as a Piano. Playing Songs..... * AFew Words About Poke CONVERSING WITH YOUR VIC....... * What's Your Name? .. * Introducing Variables * Choose a Note... * The GET Statemen: INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING... + Your First BASIC Commands ¢ Random Numbers ..... TITLE ZErASH-TOMNMIODyY VIC System Accessories Working With Tape Cassettes VIC BASIC Vocabulary... BASIC Command Abbreviations . Screen and Border Color Com! Musical Notes Sample Sound Screen Display Codes . Screen Memory Map Ascii and Character ($) Codes Deriving Mathematical Functions Pinouts for Input/Output Devices VIC Programs to Try Error Messages ....UNPACKING AND CONNECTING THE VIC 20 Welcome to computing! The following step-by-step instructions show you how to unpack the VIC, connect it to your television set and make sure it's working properly. Let’s begin by taking a quick look at the VIC 20: KEYBOARD (used to type information POWER LIGHT and instructions (glows when your into the computer) VIC is turned on) POWER CORD SOCKET (Attach power supply here) GAME PORT ONIOFF (for joystick SWITCH and other game control devices) EXPANSION <>, USER PORT PORT (For special (VIC Program accessories) cartridges Plug in here) 5 pin SERIAL CASSETTE VIDEO PORT PORT PORT (For special (Tape (For accessories cassette connection like printer, goes here) to TV set disk drive, etc.) or monitor)ah . following items; — VIC 20 Personal Computer Check the contents of your VIC container. You should find the — Power Supply (large box with 2 cords coming out of it) — RF Modulator (small metal box) and short cable+ — Video Cable ‘one for your television set. oN or desk. Find the ON/OFF switch on the right hand side of the VIC. Make sure it's in the “OFF” position. > There are two cords coming ‘out of the power supply box. Plug the power supply cord into an electrical outlet and plug the other cord into the power cord socket on the side of the VIC. NOTE: The power supply remains “on” while plugged in so you should unplug it when not in use. on Connect the video cable to the back of the VIC and to the RF Modulator box, as shown. Make sure to connect it to the video port and not to the 6-pin serial port, which is next to it. Connect the RF Modulator to = your television set. For this you'll need a screwdriver. The short TV connector cord runs trom the RF Modulator box to the 2 VHF Antenna leads on the back of your television. Simply connect the two wires to the VHF leads and tighten the screws firmly. * 8 Turn on the TV set. You will need 2 electrical outlets (sockets) — one for the VIC and Position the VIC and Television set so you can use the keyboard comfortably while viewing the television screen...ideally, a tabletop pease» ON/OFF SWITCH 2] \ POWER CORD SOCKET REAR VIEW OF THE VIC VIDEO PORT RF MODULATOR VIDEO PLUG VIDEO CABLE CONNECT WIRE LEADS TO ANTENNA LEADS ON YOUR TV | SET SO VHF REAR VIEW OF TV SET RF MODULATOR Note: Some VICs are provided with a “switchbox” which attaches between the RF modulator and TV set. ‘The switchbox contains a switch with settings for “computer” and “TV" and should be set to “computer” when using the VIC. viTROUBLESHOOTING CHART SYMPTOM CAUSE REMEDY NO PICTURE VIC not “on” Make sure power switch (POWER LIGHT OFF) is in “on” position VIC not plugged in ‘Check power socket next to power switch Power supply not Check connection with plugged in wall outlet Bad fuse in VIC Take VIC to your Authorized Commodore Service Center for replacement of fuse” NO PICTURE (POWER LIGHT ON) (Try turning VIC off for a few seconds, then back on) TV on wrong channel Check Channel 3 & 4 for picture Incorrect hookup VIC hooks up to “VHF” terminals on TV Modulator not plugged = Check connection at in 5-pin Video Port Modulator on wrong Flip switch on Modulator channel Video cable not Check connection on connected modulator PICTURE WITHOUT Poorly tuned TV Retune TV COLOR (TRY TV & MODULATOR ON CHANNEL 3 & 4) PICTURE WITH Bad color adjustment on Adjust color/hue/ POOR COLOR TV (see “picture without brightness controls on color") TV PICTURE WITH Adjust volume of TV EXCESS BACKGROUND NOISE color”) PICTURE OK, TV volume too low Adjust volume of TV BUT NO SOUND *The VIC uses a 3 amp SLO-BLO fuse. vil10. 11. 12. Turn on the VIC (the red power light on the top of the computer should come on). If the power light does not, consult the accompanying troubleshooting chart. There is a switch on the RF Modulator for selecting either Channel 3 or 4. Choose the channel with the weaker reception in your area, and set both the TV and the Modulator to that channel. The fine tuning on your television may need some adjustment. Here is what you should see on the screen — sometimes it takes a second or two to activate. If you don’t get the following display on your screen, turn the computer off, wait a few seconds and turn it ‘on again. Adjusting the color and tinthue depends on the color controls provided on your television set — naturally, sets with better controls yield better color. Some sets show some colors better than others. If you have trouble with any of these steps, consult the accompanying troubleshooting chart. NOW...you are ready to start using the VIC. ate al NOTE: You can use a monitor instead of a television set — in which case you can go directly from the VIC to the monitor cable, without the RF Modulator. TO AVOID CONFUSION, PLEASE NOTE: O = letter O as in OPEN 0 = ZERO = letter | as in INPUT | 1=n umber ONE = type the large asterisk key villGetting to Know Your VIC ® Getting Started © Your First Computer ProgramTry typing this program: Type this program exactly as shown and see what happens! This line tells the VIC to print Said le7seamm RETURN poo what's between the x quotation marks. @eeee0d00006 2 GOTO1 Mijai This line tells the VIC pg Sy to go back to Line 1 and print it again. Ti} Ne aun Typing the word RUN makes the program To stop the program, press the Fay key. 0e@200000000000000000000080 | | | i i | |GETTING STARTED— EXPERIMENT A LITTLE You made it! Your VIC is aglow with color and ready for you to tell it what to do. The dark blue, blinking rectangle, called the cursor, is a signal from the VIC that it is waiting for you. **** CBM BASIC V2 **** 3583 BYTES FREE READY. 2 The VIC is saying it’s ready. VIC TIP: If you type a character on the screen that you don’t want, press the UE key. ; This key will erase the character immediately to the left of the blink- ing cursor. Use this key as often as you like to delete unwanted characters. Now, on with the tour! Begin by pressing the following keys: P) (A) (N) See how the cursor moves over one position every time you press a key? The cursor tells you where the next character is going to appear on the screen. OK, now find the SHIFT key, it looks like this: SHIFT There are two of them, both the same. 3Hold the Ei key down, and while it is being held, press: You can release the key after you press the a key. The screen should look like this: “** CBM BASIC V2 **** 3583 BYTES FREE READY. aaa you typed this Pressing the Ba key while holding down the Ea key caused the quotation mark to appear on the screen.* Let’s continue. Now press the following keys: (R) (A) IN) (8) (0) wW Finally, hold down the key, and press the B key once again. The screen now shows: **** CBM BASIC V2 * 3583 BYTES FREE alae eh a Everything you typed Pt "9 is on this line. al ela Alls ie) “Note: if the number 2 appeared on the screen instead of the ” sign, you didn’t hold down the shift key. Hit the once to erase the 2 and try again. DEL 4Look for this key: Press the key and look at the screen. **** CBM BASIC V2 **** Kile) aloes READY You typed PRINT “RAINBOW” The cursor was here when you pressed RAINBOW the RETURN key. The VIC typed these. Pressing the key told the VIC you were finished typing. The VIC then looked at what you typed, recognized that it was being asked to do something (actually, you told it to print something). The VIC then PRINTed everything between the two quotation marks (RAINBOW). When the VIC finished PRINTing the word RAINBOW, it let you know by displaying the READY message and blinking the cursor. It’s your turn. Go ahead and enter some other PRINT messages for your VIC to display. Try these or make up your own: [P) (RC) (N) (7) Press RETURN here PRONMHAABL Remember, hold the SHIFT down to get this character. [9] P] [R} (1) (N) (7) [*] [kK >] al x} ( < ), and brackets ({ ]) This concludes your tour of the VIC keyboard. Using only words, it’s difficult to convey just how flexible and powerful the VIC keyboard is. The best way to discover everything the VIC can do is to begin your own “touring”. Experiment with the keyboard. Try out the various upper/lower case features mentioned above. See what you can create with the rich VIC graphics set. The keyboard is your direct link to the VIC. Knowing the Keyboard will help you know your VIC 20. 20Clear the screen and enter the following lines: The screen shows: NEW 1 ) READY = (the VIC typed DADRA A, PRINT ‘A’ {tren you typed ) Bony —{and the VIC 4 displays pays Now, enter this line and press : PRINT “A”; “B” The screen now shows: NEW READY PRINT “A”, “B” ae — VIC shows 4 LAA 21When the comma was used in the first PRINT statement, the VIC placed the letters on the screen, but separated them by several spaces. When the semicolon was used, the VIC displayed the two letters close together. In the first case, the letters are exactly 11 spaces apart. That fact gives a clue to what’s happening. The VIC divides the screen area into two equal parts. When the VIC is PRINTing two messages or numbers separated by a comma, it puts the first item on the left side of the screen and the second on the righ' The first item is longer than 11 characters. If the first item is less than (or equal to) 11 characters, the VIC PRINTs it and then moves to the center of the screen to display the second item. If the first item is longer than 11 characters, the second item appears on the next line. Clear the screen, and try this example: PRINT “ABCDEFGHIJKL”, “X” The screen will show: Look for me on PRINT “ABCDEFGHIJKL”, “ honed! line ABCDEFGHIJKL This goes on the first line The first part of the message is 12 characters long, so the “X” ends up on the next line. Repeat this example with a semicolon (;) between the two items. 22PRINT “ABCDEFGHIJKL”; “x” Does your screen show this result? PRINT “ABDEFGHIJKL”; “ ABCDEFGHIJKLX «———_] Now | am on the same line iia Get the idea? The VIC acts like a typewriter with an automatic tab set near the screen’s center. When it sees the comma, it either “tabs” to the center of the screen or the beginning of the next line, whichever is next available. Clear the screen and type the following line into the VIC: PRINT 1, 2 Aha! With numbers you can leave off quotation marks. {he ecrean. shows: PRINT 1, 2 nae | v2 Do you see the space in front of the first number? When the VIC displays numbers, it leaves a space at the beginning for the sign of the number. If the number is positive, you see a blank space. If the number is negative, a minus sign (-) would appear on the screen. 23Try it and see. Enter this line into the VIC: PRINT -1, -2 Look at the screen and see what is displayed. PRINT -1, -2 minus sign numbers in the same place The numbers appear in the same places as in the previous example; they are preceded by the minus signs (-). These few examples give you some idea of how the VIC can help you get your messages and information on the screen. The VIC has many other ways to assist you with this task, and you will learn what they are as you continue to use your new computer. The VIC Calculator The VIC can also be used as a 9 digit calculator. The + and — sign are used just like in mathematics. The VIC multiplica- tion sign is the asterisk (*) and the division sign is the slash (/). Type these calculations and check the results. See Appen- dices C and K for more information. PRINT 1+1 [mua PRINT 2*(4/2) (imag mathematica) PRINT 3-2 (amy PRINT 5000/5 slash is the PRINT 5*2 RETURN PRINT 2/3 lash on PRINT 6/3 PRINT 343 VIC automatically performs the If you PRINT a calculation you should put it outside the quota- tion marks. Try these examples: 1 prinT2*(4/2)" Qi Py, 1 PRINT“ THE ANSWER IS"2*(4/2) 24 the quotes and prints the result everything inside the quotesINTRODUCTION TO COLOR The VIC can print letters, numbers and graphic symbols in 8 different colors. It can also print characters in reverse. With the screen clear, hold down the CTRL key and press this key: Fé) Now let go of the CTRL key and put your finger on the SPACE bar at the bottom on the keyboard. Hold the SPACE bar down. What happens? Is there a blue line being drawn across the screen? Hold the SPACE bar down as long as you want. As the cursor disappears off the right edge of the screen, it reappears on the left and the blue line starts forming a larger blue color bar. Release the SPACE bar and do this: the key with 30n top Hold down the CTRL key and press the RED key. The cursor should now be red. Press and hold the SPACE bar once again. Does a new red color bar start to form? Yes! Well, keep painting! 25Change to other colors as you feel like it. Make the color bars as thick or thin as you like. Enjoy this newly discovered ability of the VIC that puts a little color into your life. Now, type fe and hit the space bar. Nothing happens except blank spaces. Type en Aue and the color bar reappears. Try typing some letters in “reverse”. Reverse letters make excellent headlines and are often used to highlight special words and numbers. You can also use reverse characters inside a program. For example, try this: NEW hold this while 10 PRINT “ typing this 20 GOTO 10 don’t forget to RUN RETURN type after each line! To get ready for the next chapter, type and type the word NEW and zw From now on, use this method to erase unwanted programs and start “NEW” 2627 Color and Graphics ® Programming in (ere) [old @ The VIC Color Keys ® Changing Screen and Border Colors @ Screen and Border Color Combinations ® Coloring the Screen ® Screen Locations @ Random Colors ® Combining Sound and Color CO erro Cic-] eli er) © Graphics in Headlines and TitlesTry typing this program: Type this program exactly as shown and see what happens! This means rint 505 1FOR H = 1 TO 505 hears on 2PRINT @ ?; <——— 7 the screen. 3NEXT re) Ce Ose Nan This changes 5POKE 36879, C the value of 6FOR T = 1 TO 500: NEXT C (color) 17 7NEXT steps ata time. ri pero This is a time delay loop that tells VIC to count to 500 before changing colors again. To stop the program, press the Bi key. 28 00000000064 e2e2e000000000000000000000 2COLOR & GRAPHICS The VIC and your color TV set give you the ability to put colors everywhere on the screen. When you first turn on the VIC, the border, the cursor, and any characters on the screen are already in color. But that's only the beginning. The VIC can display 8 cursor colors, 8 border colors and 16 screen colors! Let's start by using the keys on the VIC’s keyboard to make colors on the screen. Type any letter. The letter should appear in dark blue on a white screen. Now look at the top row of keys (the numbered keys from 1 to 8). Do you see the color names written on the front of each key? Now find the key marked [Gi on the left side of the keyboard. Hold down the key and hit the key marked MZ . Release the and MA keys and type any letter on the keyboard. This letter should appear in yellow. Now hold down the {agi key and hit another color, then type some letters. See how easy it is to change letter colors on the screen? Now find the key marked BA. Hold down the key and hit the A. Try typing some letters. All the letters you type (until you hit the key) appear in reverse on the screen, like a photographic negative. If you hold down and hit BA. the letters you type will be displayed normally. 29PROGRAMMING IN COLOR Now let's combine color control with a simple program command. Note that when you type and a color key inside quotation marks, a reverse graphic symbol appears. This is okay. Do this: Hold down the key and press the favm key. Type the letters: N} LE} |W) and press the key. mene: GF EFRON Ee vee HE 2 to make this graphic ball. This symbol appears when you press G: ao. and press RETURN Press Cin & MM. Type: 2 and press RETURN: 30 fi la f f iO i |o.If you have trouble typing this example, flip back to the section called ‘‘Getting Started” in Chapter One. You can’t hurt the VIC with anything you type, but you can get confused by certain key combinations. If you accidentally leave the jth key engaged, for example, the resulting display is difficult to decipher. If you make a mistake, hit a few times and retype the entire line. The new line will automatically replace the old one. When you have the two lines shown above on the screen, type: R] [u] [N] and press En. As soon as you press that final , you should see hundreds of red and blue balls float by on your screen. How? It’s easy with the VIC. Look back at the example above. See the two strange characters in the line that begins with ‘‘1''? They were created when you held the [ai key and pressed the Em and i keys. The symbols that appear are VIC’s shorthand to tell it to make the first ball red and the second one blue. VIC displays Hold down aie and press 7. a: 3Nothing to it. When you are tired of red and blue, press STOP. If you like free form exploring, try retyping line 1. Throw in some and color keys along with graphics characters and letters or numbers. The VIC can handle it all and will give you an enlightening color display. THE VIC COLOR KEYS In the last example, you discovered that you can insert color controls into a PRINT message by using the and the keys whose faces are labeled: 23 0 6 6 These keys are the number keys 1 through 8. When you press these keys in the middle of a PRINT statement, a set of ‘strange’ characters appear. To see what these characters look like, press an (if the program is still running), clear the screen, and enter: ieee Don’t forget to put in the quotation marks or to use the fim key with the color keys. Your screen should show: 32= fals ‘ER EABONNOOROE Last quotation mark is on this line. You typed Where is the ‘“‘A’’? R_ INBOWS READY. Vb, aN Where is the letter ‘‘A’’? Oh! The second color key is fa and the background is .. . you guessed it. . . white. PRINTing a white letter ‘‘A” on a white background gives you a space in your RAINBOWS. The other seven letters in the word RAINBOWS are each a different color. The last letter, S, is yellow. Note that the READY message Is also in yellow, along with the cursor. When color controls are put in PRINT messages, the VIC remembers the last color used and stays in that color. To change the cursor back to the regular blue color, hold down and press Es . If you wish, try PRINTing some color messages on your own. You will get a chance to see more uses for the color control keys in just a bit. Right now, there is an important announcement... EXTRA! EXTRA!! The VIC Color Show is on The Way!!CHANGING SCREEN & BORDER COLORS Now that you know how to change the colors of letters and graphics, we’re going to show you how to change the screen and border colors. You can display 255 different screen and border color combinations. To make sure the VIC is ready for what comes next, press and then , erase the screen. Next, type these lines into the VIC: Cs | (Press at the end of each of the following lines.) The left-most character on each line Poke what?! 1FOR X = 1 TO 255 For this one, hold down Ea and 2POKE 36879, X SPRINT “ [w] POKE 36879,” X 4FOR T = 1 TO 1000: NEXT T SNEXT X This is a ‘‘time delay”’. VIC counts from 1 to 1000 (whew!) between changes. Add one to “X’? — in other words — change ‘‘X”’ to the next number and do it over again. 34When you have typed these lines, look them over and see if they match what is shown on this page. If there are some that don’t match, retype those lines from the beginning. Use the to move back to any lines you want to retype. Once you are satisfied that the lines are all right, get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil and place it nearby. Then type: [R] [U] [N] and press Ey. Your screen should begin to blush and flash. The border changes colors. The background changes colors. Even the small message at the top of the screen is changing colors. The VIC is displaying 255 different color combinations. (Syntax error in one of the lines? Retype that line and then type: CR) ©) [N) ang again.) While the VIC is running, if you notice a particular set of colors that look interesting; write down the number of that combination. Only the number at the end of the printed message is changing. The ‘‘POKE 36879," stays the same. (Occasionally, you will not be able to read the message because it is the same color as the background. C’est la vie. The letters and numbers will reappear after a few additional flashes.) The VIC has eight border colors, sixteen background colors, and eight character colors. You can put characters in all eight colors over any background. That gives you a lot of combinations to explore. If you want to restore the screen to its original colors, simply hold down the M0) key and hit tz. Line two in the example above is responsible for making the VIC change colors. The line contains a POKE command. Every POKE command has two numeric values that the VIC uses: Where POKE 36879, X to poke What to poke 35