Franklin Ace 1000 Assembly instructions

FRANKLIN COMPUTER
t 9 §
FRANKLIN ACE fi
User Reference Manual
FRANKLIN
COMPUTER CORPORATION
Prepared by the Documentation Department,
Franklin Computer Corporation

FRANKLIN COMPUTER
©1982 by Franklin Computer Corp.
7030 Colonial Highway
Pennsauken, N.J OS 109
609/488-1700
This manual is copyrighted. All rights are reserved. This document
may not, in whole or part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced,
translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable
form without prior consent, in writing, from Franklin Computer
Corporation.
The cartoon character of Ben Franklin appearing throughout
this publication constitutes atrademark of Franklin Computer
Corporation.
Franklin ACE is atrademark of Franklin Computer Corporation.
The following registered trademarks belonging to the
indicated parties are referred to in this manual:
APPLE Apple Computer Inc.
APPLE II Apple Computer Inc.
CP/M Digital Research, Inc.
Space Invaders Taito America Corp.
PAC-MAN Bally Midway Mfg. Co.
WARNING: This equipment complies with the requirements for a
Class Acomputing device in FCC Rules Part 15 Subpart J.
Operation of this device in aresidential area may cause harmful
interference requiring the user to take whatever steps may be
necessary to correct the interference.

FRANKLIN COMPUTER
Table Of Contents
Uncertainties, Mysteries, and Doubts 1-1
They Won't Bite —But You Can Bite Yourself 1-3
The ON/OFF Switch Is Never Out Of Reach 1-3
Getting AFeel For Computerdom 1-5
The World Can Live Without Bits and Bytes 1-6
Dealing With The Knowledgeable 1-7
You're Not AProgrammer —It's ADirty Job 1-9
What Can The Computer Do, Anyway? 1-10
What It Can And Can't Do 1-1
1
What You Have To Remember About Memory:
Si/c Counts 1-14
AGood Firne To Be Interested In APersonal
Computer 1-16
Compatibility -The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly 1-18
Be Choosy About The Company You Keep 1-20
The Dealer 1-21
True Grit: The Adventure Of Mail Order 1-22
Clubs 1-23
There's More To It Than Just The Computer-
Additional Equipment 1-24
TVs And Monitors 1-25
Printers For Paper Copies Of What You Do 1-26
Disk Drives 1-29
Video Cards For Lines Longer Than 40 Columns 1-31
Communications Devices —For Talking To Another
Computer 1-35
Computers In AComputer If One Is Good,
Two Are Better 1-38
Programs 1-40
Paddles And Joysticks 1-43

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Before You Try To Set Up APersonal Computer 1-45
It Isn't All That Difficult y.46
What You Have To Know: Seven Commandments
(Developing The Uncommon Sense Of Computerdom) 2-1
I. Electrical Power -Don't Change
ABulb With The Power On 2-1
II. Diskettes Are Not Dry Cleanable .... 2-1
III. Reset Switches Are Your Worst Enemy 2-4
IV. An Elephant Never Forgets, But
You Didn't Buy An Elephant 2-6
V. You Can't Fix It But You Can
Make It Worse 2-10
VI. Promises: Take Each With AGrain Of Salt ...2-11
VII. Be Patient —It's Not APerfect World 2-13
Agood title for this section might be ...
The Territorial Imperatives Of The Trumpeter Swan 3-1
It's Out Of The Box! Now What? 3-2
Getting It Ready 3.3
Getting The Lid On And Off 3-3
Attaching The Cables 3.4
The Video Cable 3.4
The Disk Drives 3_5
The Power Cord 3_7
Turning It On -What It Should Do 3-8
Why It Might Not Be Working 3-9
The Communications Connection 3-1 I
Say Hello To Your Keyboard 3-1 1
Lower Case And Alpha Lock 3-1
1
Numeric Pad .3-13
Special Keys 3-13
Keycode Differences 3-14
Just Where Is The Reset Switch? 3-15

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The DOS Diskette 4-1
Giving The DOS Diskette ABoot Up 4-1
Now What? 4-3
How To Use The Programs On The DOS Diskette 4-4
How To Use The COPY Program 4-5
How To Use DOS 3.3 .4-11
CATALOG (Displaying The Table Of Contents
Of ADiskette) 4-13
RUN (Running ABASIC Program) 4-16
BRUN (Running ABinary Program) 4-17
LOCK (Protecting AFile) 4-18
UNLOCK (Removing The Protection From AFile) 4-19
RENAME (Renaming AFile) 4-20
DELETE (Deleting AFile) 4-20
LN1T (Initializing ADiskette For Use) 4-21
AFew Generalizations About File Names 4-25
How To Use FUD 4-26
Diskette Management Commands 4-28
Selection F(Format ADiskette) 4-28
Selection M(Make AMaster Diskette) 4-32
File Management Commands 4-36
Selection S(Show The Files On ADiskette) 4-39
Selection D(Delete Files) 4-41
Selection L(Lock Files) ... 4-42
Selection 1J (Unlock Files) 4-42
Selection V(Verify Files) 4-42
Selection C(Copy Files) 4-43
FUD Error Messages 4-44
oops, diskette is write-protected 4-44
oops, wrong volume ID 4-45
oops, file is locked 4-45
oops, no more room on diskette 4-45
oops, can't find that file 4-46
oops, bad diskette or none in drive 4-46

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How To Use Boot13 4-46
ASynopsis Of The Programs On The DOS Diskette 4-48
APPENDICES 5-1
Glossary 6-1
Index 7-
1
DOS And FUD Command Formats 8-1

Uncertainties, Mysteries,
and Doubts
/K lot of people find computers overwhelming, even
threatening. That's sad because, in reality, they're neither. If
you're curious and interested but still alittle bit wary, that's
only natural. Until recently, doing anything with computers
required special skills, even special languages, and those who
knew what it was all about weren't very interested in initiating
everyone else.
Personal computers like the Franklin ACE changed all of
that. True, no computer is as easy to use as atoaster or a
calculator, but what you need to know to operate apersonal

FRANKLIN COMPUTER
computer is explainable and comprehensible. What's more,
it's quick and almost painless to learn. This booklet will give
you astart.
If you want to learn how to program, how computer
graphics work, what disk transfer rates are, or how to master
the dozens of other exotic sounding skills you hear about in
computerdom, there arc hundreds of other books on the
market to help you learn all those things.
This one won't.
What you will find in this booklet and throughout all
Franklin manuals is plenty of practical information,
suggestions, and answers to questions that you might
otherwise have to learn the hard way. You'll find advice about
computer products -what they're for, how they work, what
their quirks arc, and so forth. In afield that's growing and
changing as fast as computer science, you'll need this sort of
information in order to make sound purchasing decisions.
Someone may already have begun to persuade you that a
Franklin ACE will make your life complete. It may; it may not.
People use computers for all kinds of reasons. Some people
buy them simply to keep their kids quiet. There are, however,
many other practical applications for a computer, ranging
from financial forecasting to Space Invaders™, from word
processing to setting up ablind date.
If you're having second thoughts about your curiosity, your
interest, or your purchase, dispel those doubts. With alittle
practice you can put acomputer to work and enjoy the
process.

FRANKLIN COMPUTER
They Won't Bite —But You Can
Bite Yourself
liven though computer types are always talking about bits
and bytes (pronounced "bites"), most people aren't afraid that
they're going to get bitten. But many worry that the machine
will do something they won't understand or that it will
suddenly start to spit out all kinds of symbols and nonsense.
Computer phobia is the fear of feeling incompetent and
helpless in the face of high technology. With personal
computers, however, there's nothing to fear.
The On/Off Switch
Is Never Out of Reach
One of the joys of using apersonal computer is the feeling of
complete control that you get by having the ON OFF switch
so close at hand. You're in charge. Nothing is going to happen

FRANKLIN COMPUTER
unless you make it happen. And if the machine gets you
confused, all you have to do is turn it off and start over. Your
computer will do whatever you ask, whenever you ask.
True, computers do have areputation for being fussy about
the way you phrase your questions and commands. Some
people even think they're evasive, somewhat like awitness in
court who manages to avoid providing information by
sidestepping the intent or spirit of aquestion. The fact is, you
do have to develop something of arapport with the way the
computer understands what you tell it. That comes with alittle
practice. If you ever find yourself frustrated, just remember
that ON OFF switch.
As in all of life, awesome power is not without some
responsibilities. Since you're in charge, if something goes
wrong, then you're probably the one who's to blame. Exercise
some discretion when using the machine, and look at
instructions and directions as away of developing acommon
sense about computers, as well as away to assemble the
components of your machine and get it running.