VTech PRECOMPUTER POWERPAD PLUS User Manual

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Precomputer Power Pad

User’s manual

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Dear Parent:

At VTech

we know that children have the ability to do great

things. That’s why all of our electronic learning products

are uniquely designed to develop a child’s mind and allow

them to learn to the best of their ability. Whether it’s learning

about letters, numbers, geography or algebra, all VTech

learning products incorporate advanced technologies and

extensive curriculum to encourage children of all ages to reach

their potential.

When it comes to providing interactive products that enlighten,

entertain and develop minds, at VTech

we see the potential

in every child.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................ 1

CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED ........................ 2

MAIN BATTERY INSTALLATION ...............................2

BACKUP BATTERY INSTALLATION ........................... 2

AC ADAPTOR CONNECTION ................................... 3

PRINTER CONNECTION ..........................................4

MOUSE CONNECTION ............................................ 4

GENERAL OPERATION .......................................... 4

CHAPTER 3 THE KEYBOARD ............................ 6

SPECIAL KEYS ........................................................6

ACTIVITY SELECTOR ............................................... 9

CHAPTER 4 ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS ........ 11

HOW TO PLAY..................................................... 11

CHAPTER 5 WORD PROCESSOR .................... 20

FILE OPTIONS...................................................... 21

EDIT OPTIONS ..................................................... 22

FORMAT OPTIONS .............................................. 23

TOOLS OPTIONS .................................................24

PRINT OPTIONS .................................................. 24

HELP ................................................................... 25

EXIT..................................................................... 25

CHAPTER 6 SYSTEM SETUP ............................. 26

PRINTER SETUP ................................................... 26

TIPS OF TODAY ...................................................26

SCREEN SAVER ....................................................27

CLEAR LAST SCORE .............................................. 27

ICON BOX ...........................................................27

QUICK MENU SETUP ............................................ 27

CUSTOMIZE SETUP ............................................... 27

DEMO MODE ...................................................... 28

RAM CART MANAGER.......................................... 28

POWER LINK ....................................................... 29

CHAPTER 7 BASIC.......................................... 30

INTRODUCTION ................................................... 30

GETTING STARTED .............................................. 32

BASIC COMPUTER TUTORIAL................................ 34

REFERENCE SECTION ........................................... 47

ARITHMETIC FUNCTIONS ......................................52

STRING FUNCTIONS............................................. 53

GRAPHICS FUNCTION ..........................................54

SUBSTRINGS .......................................................54

LOGICAL OPERATORS ......................................... 59

APPENDIX ...........................................................65

THE ERROR MESSAGES ....................................... 74

CHAPTER 8 CALCULATOR.............................. 76

BASIC CALCULATOR OPERATIONS ....................... 76

USING THE MEMORY FEATURES........................... 76

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS .......................................77

TRIGONOMETRY FUNCTIONS .............................. 78

CHAPTER 9 TIME LIMITS............................... 79

CHAPTER 10 SCORING .................................. 79

CHAPTER 11 POWER LINK ............................ 81

CONNECTING THE CABLE ..................................... 81

CONTROLLING VTECH POWER LINK™ ................. 81

CHAPTER 12 HOW TO USE AN EXPANSION

CARTRIDGE ............................... 83

CHAPTER 13 CARE AND MAINTENANCE ......... 84

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Thank you for buying the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning toy by VTECH®. We at VTECH® are committed to providing the best possible products to develop a child’s mind. Should you have any questions or concerns, please call our Consumer Services Department at 1-800-521-2010 in the U.S. or 1-800-267-7377 in Canada.

PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS is a powerful learning computer tool featuring 120x32 full dot matrix LCD screen and a standard sized computer style keyboard that gives the user the look and the feel of a real laptop computer. PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS offers 38 activities that include tenses, antonyms, synonyms, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, basic and advanced mathematics, 1000 trivia questions, logic games, a word processor, BASIC programming with tutorial, a built-in calculator, a 75,000 word spell checker and more. Get ready for hours of learning fun with the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™

PLUS learning unit.

CABINET LOCKS

9 LED STATUS DISPLAY BAR

MEMBRANE

ACTIVITY

SELECTOR

EXPANSION CARTRIDGE DOOR

LCD SCREEN

CONTRAST SWITCH

VOLUME SWITCH

SPEAKER

ON SELECTOR

OFF SELECTOR

COMPUTER KEYBOARD

AC ADAPTOR PORT

PRINTER PORT

MOUSE PORT

PULL OUT CARRYING HANDLE

CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED

The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit operates on 4 “AA” (UM-3/LR6) size batteries for the main compartment or a 9V AC adaptor. 2 “AA” (UM-3/LR6) batteries are required to backup the unit.

MAIN BATTERY INSTALLATION

1. Make sure the unit is OFF.

2. Locate the main battery cover on the back of the unit and open it.

3. Insert 4 “AA” (UM-3/LR6) size batteries as illustrated. DO NOT USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES in this unit. (The use of Rayovac Renewable/Rechargeable Alkaline batteries is encouraged.)

4. Replace the battery cover.

5. Turn the unit ON.

BATTERY NOTICE

• Install batteries correctly observing the polarity (+,-) signs to avoid leakage.

• Do not mix old and new batteries.

• Do not use batteries of different types.

• Remove exhausted or new batteries from equipment when you are not going to use it for a long time.

• Do not dispose of batteries in fire.

• Do not attempt to recharge ordinary batteries.

• The supply terminals are not to be short-circuited.

• Non-rechargeable batteries are not to be recharged.

• Rechargeable batteries are to be removed from the toy before being charged.

• Rechargeable batteries are only to be charged under adult supervision.

NOTE: If the unit suddenly stops working, or the sound seems weak, turn the unit off for

15 seconds, then turn it back on. If the problem persists, it may be caused by weak batteries. Please install a new set of batteries and try the unit again.

BACKUP BATTERY INSTALLATION

1. Make sure the unit is OFF.

2. Locate the backup battery cover on the back of the unit and open it.

3. Insert 2 “AA” (UM-3/LR6) size batteries as illustrated. DO NOT USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES in this unit. (The use of Rayovac Renewable/Rechargeable Alkaline batteries is encouraged.)

4. Replace the battery cover.

5. Turn the unit ON.

NOTE: While replacing the backup batteries, the 4 “AA” size

batteries must be kept in the unit or the unit must be connected to the 9V adaptor while the adaptor is plugged in. If not, the information stored in the following activities will be lost:

•Word Processor

• BASIC

• User Name and Personal Message

• Last Scores

• Quick Menu Icons

AC ADAPTOR CONNECTION

Use a standard 9V 300mA AC adaptor.

1. Make sure the unit is OFF.

2. Locate the adaptor jack on the back of the unit.

3. Plug the adaptor into a wall outlet.

4. Plug the adaptor into the unit’s adaptor jack.

5. Turn the unit ON.

NOTE: Do not leave the adaptor plugged in for a long period of time if the unit is not

in use. If the unit suddenly stops working or the sound seems weak, it may be the result of the adaptor connection. Turn the unit off and unplug the adaptor from the unit for 15 seconds. Next plug the adaptor back in and turn the unit on. If the problem persists, it may be the result of the adaptor's wiring or the unit. Please call our Consumer Services Department at 1-800-521-2010 in the U.S., 1-800-2677377 in Canada and a service representative will be happy to help you.

The VTECH® AC adaptor is perfectly suitable to operate this product. Many retailers carry the adaptor, however, if you are unable to find one locally, you can send $10.00 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling (Illinois residents please add an 8.25% sales tax.) to:

Adaptor c/o

VTECH® Industries, LLC

101 E. Palatine Road Wheeling, IL 60090-6500

Please do not send cash.

PRINTER CONNECTION

The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit can support 12 different kinds of printers. For details, please refer to Chapter 6.

MOUSE CONNECTION

Use our standard mouse, included with the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS.

1. Make sure the unit is OFF.

2. Locate the mouse jack at the back of the unit.

3. Slide open the mouse port door and insert the mouse connector into the unit.

4. Turn the unit ON.

5. The mouse will work best if it is kept on the mouse pad.

Left Mouse Button

Right Mouse Button

This 'ARROW' shows the unlocking direction.Lock by pushing to the opposite side of the 'ARROW'

The mouse functions the same as a real computer mouse. Move the cursor on the screen by moving the mouse in the direction you would like the cursor to move. The Left mouse button functions as a select key (Enter key) while the Right mouse button functions as an Esc key.

GENERAL OPERATION

ON BUTTON & OFF BUTTON

Tu rn on your PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit by pressing the ON button located at the upper right-hand side of the Membrane Activity Selector. A welcome animation will be displayed and you can begin play. Turn the unit off at any time by pressing the OFF button.

Automatic Shut Off

If there is no input into the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit for about 20 minutes, the unit will automatically shut off to save power. To turn the unit back on after an automatic shut off, press the ON button again. We recommend turning the unit OFF when not in use. If the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit is not in use for a long period of time, remove the main compartment batteries or unplug the adaptor.

CONTRAST SWITCH

Depending on your lighting conditions, slide the Contrast Switch to the left or right to allow for better viewing.

VOLUME SWITCH

Adjust the volume by sliding the Volume Switch to the left or right.

LED STATUS DISPLAY BAR AND LCD SCREEN

LED Light

There are 9 icons on the LED status display bar. Each icon represents an activity or function.

LCD SCREEN

On top of the LCD screen, a status bar is displayed.

Left Player's

Right Player's

CHAPTER 3: THE KEYBOARD

The computer keyboard on PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS combines the operation of a standard computer keyboard with several other functions described below.

SPECIAL KEYS

Enter Key:

Press this key after typing or choosing an answer to input your selection.

Shift Key:

Press this key to type capital letters or the symbols shown on top of the number keys.

Esc Key:

Press this key to exit an activity. By repeatedly pressing the ESC key, y ou can return to the main menu.

Caps Lock Key:

Press this key to make all letters appear in upper case. Press this key again to return to normal typing mode. When the Caps Lock function is activated, the Caps Lock light will turn on.

Answer Key:

Press this key to see the correct answer to any question.

Right Player/Left Player Keys:

Press these keys with activities featuring a 2-player mode. The first person to hit his or her appropriate left or right player button will get the opportunity to answer the question first.

Cursor Keys:

Press the key to move the cursor to the right.

Press the key to move the cursor to the left.

Press the key to move the cursor downward.

Press the key to move the cursor upward.

Help Key:

Press this key at any time and you will see helpful hints to assist you with the current screen.

Hint Key:

Press the Shift key and this key simultaneously when inputting text in Trivia activities when you need a hint. You will be given three multiple choice answers to choose from. In Rocket Fuel, you may replay the current stage.

Break Key:

Press the Shift and Break keys simultaneously when you want to interrupt a program in the BASIC activity while it is running.

Alt Key:

Press this key and the letter ‘P’ to activate the printing function in the activities. Press this key and the “3” key to get the symbol “#”.

Erase Key:

Press this key when you are inputting text. This will clear the entire input line so that you can re-enter the text.

AC Key:

Press this key for an ‘All Clear’ screen in the Calculator activity.

Insert Key:

Press this key when you want to insert text in the Word Processor, BASIC and Design A Card activities.

Delete Key:

Press this key when you want to delete the character at the cursor position.

Backspace Key:

Press this key when you want to delete the character before the cursor position.

3, #, and £:

Press this key to type the number “3”. Press Shift and this key simultaneously when you want to type the symbol “£”. Press Alt and this key simultaneously when you want to type the symbol “#”.

ACTIVITY SELECTOR

There are 38 activities in the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit and they are divided into 5 categories. This includes Word Games, Mathematics, Computer Skills, Games and Trivia. Press any one of the activities to go into the activity directly.

MAIN MENU

/DEMO

Mystery

Letter

Word Recall

Plurals

Tenses

WORD GAMES MATHEMATICS

Word

Puzzles

Comparatives

Synonyms

Antonyms

Letter Drop

Word

In Word

Vocabulary

Builder

Word

Maker

Sentence

Scrambler

Grammar

Quiz

Addition

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

Fractions

Flip Flop Fractions

Ratios

Algebra

Story

Problems Equation

Builder

COMPUTER SKILLS

Keyboard

Skills

Typing

Challenge

Word

Processor

BASIC

Tutor

BASIC

GAMES TRIVIA FUNCTION

Spy Trap

Rocket

Fuel

Design A Card

Spell

Checker

Calculator

Science

English

Geography

General

Screen

ON OFF

Level

Player

Cartridge

On Key:

This key is used to turn the unit ON. When the unit is OFF, press this key to turn the unit ON.

Off Key:

This key is used to turn the unit OFF. When the unit is turned ON, press this key any time to turn the unit OFF.

IMPORTANT:When using an AC adaptor, always make sure to FIRST PRESS THE OFF

KEY on the unit before unplugging the adaptor.

Player Key:

Press this key to change from 1-player mode to 2-player mode and vice versa for activities with 2-player mode. If you want to change the player mode, press this key first and then select a player mode by typing the number 1 or 2. If you select the 2-player mode, you will be prompted to enter the names of the first player and second player.

Level Key:

The unit provides 4 levels of challenge in most of the activities. If you want to change the level, press this key first and then select a level by typing a number 1, 2, 3, 4. The first level is the easiest and the fourth level is the most difficult.

Cartridge Key:

This key is used to access VTECH® PRECOMPUTER expansion cartridges that are compatible with the unit. An expansion cartridge must be inserted into the unit to operate the cartridge feature.

NOTE: Cartridges are sold separately. Please refer to Chapter 12 for details and a listing

of VTECH® PRECOMPUTER expansion cartridges.

Print Screen Key:

This key is used to print the current screen. Press this key at any time, and the current screen will print through the connected printer.

Main Menu/DEMO Key:

This key is used to return to the main menu. Press this key at any time and you will return to the main menu immediately. When you are already in the main menu, pressing this key will show the demo of this unit.

CHAPTER 4: ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS

HOW TO PLAY

SELECTING/CHOOSING/HIGHLIGHTING

During the course of entering the activities and during game play, you will be asked to either select, choose or highlight an object, a number, a letter or a word. This can be done in two different ways:

Mouse

You can move the cursor arrow with the mouse. When the cursor arrow is on the item you want to choose, press the left mouse button, or the Enter key.

You may also move the cursor to highlight text. To highlight, select text by pressing the left mouse button and dragging the cursor over the text.

You may exit an activity, go to previous menu, and close pop-up windows by pressing the right mouse button, or the ESC key.

Cursor Keys

You can move the cursor arrow with the cursor keys on the keyboard. When the cursor arrow is on the item you want to choose, press the Enter key.

Also, you may select a highlighted option by pressing the cursor keys. If the highlighted option is the one you want, press the Enter key.

CUSTOMIZED SCREEN AND TIPS OF TODAY

After turning on the unit, a welcoming animation and the customized screen will appear. You can change the name and the message of the customized screen in System Setup. Please see Chapter 6 for details.

After the customized screen appears, the Tips of Today pop-up on the screen. There are 55 different interesting facts that will be randomly shown each time the unit is turned on.

ENTERING ACTIVITIES

After the Customized Screen and Tips of Today are displayed, the Main Menu will appear.

There are 5 large icons on top of the Main Menu. You can choose from the following: Word Games , Mathematics , Computer Skills , Games , and Trivia

. Use 1 of the following 2 ways to enter into one of the five categories:

1. Press any one of the five activity buttons from the Membrane Activity Selector.

2. Choose an activity icon on the screen.

After choosing the category (Word Games, Mathematics, etc.), you may select an activity: Choose an activity on the screen. Due to the limitation of the screen, you will have to scroll through the activity list by using the UP and DOWN arrow icons located on the right side of the screen. Or you can use the UP or DOWN arrow keys on the keyboard. Press the Enter key or the left mouse button to enter the selected activity.

During any of the activities, press the ESC button to quit the activity and return to the main menu.

During any of the activities, press the Main Menu/Demo key to return to the main menu.

At the bottom of the Main Menu, there are three smaller icons. Choose from: Demo Icon

, Help Icon and System Setup .

Demo Icon

When this icon is selected, the demo mode begins. The unit will automatically enter one of the Word Games, Mathematics, Computer Skills, Games or Trivia activities, and answer a question. This process will repeat until you press any key, or move the mouse.

Help Icon

When this icon is selected, helpful text will assist you with the current screen.

System Setup

When this icon is selected, System Setup is entered. Please refer to Chapter 6 for details of System Setup.

PLAYER MODES:

The unit will automatically begin in 1-player mode when the unit is turned on. To enter the 2-player mode, press the Player key first and then type the number “2”. The unit will prompt you to enter the names of the first player and the second player.

NOTE: The following activities do not feature the two-player mode:

•Word Puzzles

•Spy Trap

• Rocket Fuel

• Keyboard Skills

•Typing Challenge

•Word Processor

•BASIC Tutor

• BASIC

• Design A Card

• Spell Checker

• Calculator

GENERAL DISPLAY

In most of the activities, you will see a display with status information, useful icons and a working area. The status information will include the players’ scores, the number of chances remaining to answer a question, the current level, and the time indicator. At the right side of the screen, there are several icons displayed. They include the Quit icon, the Help icon, and the Up/Down arrow icons. The Up/Down icons are used to scroll the text, if the text is too long to be displayed on one screen. Besides clicking on the icons with your mouse, you can also press the Up/Down cursor keys on your keyboard.

WORD GAMES

MYSTERY LETTER

A word (missing a letter) will appear on the screen. Type in the missing letter and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

WORD RECALL

The unit will first display a word on the screen. After 3 seconds, the word will disappear. Type in the same word as originally displayed. The underlines tell you how many letters are in the word. Press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

PLURALS

A singular form of a noun will appear on the screen. Type in the plural form of the given word and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

TENSES

Tw o tenses of a verb will appear on the screen. Type in the missing tense (present, past or past participle) of that verb and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

WORD PUZZLES

This is a crossword puzzle game with 10 missing words in each puzzle. Use the cursor keys or mouse to select one of the missing words. Press the Enter key to receive a clue for the chosen word. Type in the word for that clue and press the Enter key to confirm your answer. If you need to see the clue again, press the Hints key and the clue will appear. Also, you may use the Erase key to clear any word you have typed in, and the unit will delete the word. After you have answered this clue, choose another word until you have entered all of the 10 missing words.

COMPARATIVES

This activity shows three forms of adjectives or adverbs. Two comparatives will be displayed on the screen, and you need to input the third one. Type in the missing comparative and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

SYNONYMS

The unit will display a word on the screen. Type in a word that has the same meaning. The underlines tell you how many letters are in the word. Press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

ANTONYMS

The unit will display a word on the screen. Type in a word that has the opposite meaning. The underlines tell you how many letters are in the word. Press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

LETTER DROP

An incomplete word will appear on the bottom row with its missing letter above it. Use the Left/Right cursor keys or mouse to place the missing letter in its correct position and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

WORD IN WORD

The unit will display a word on the screen. Use the Left/Right cursor keys or mouse to move the pointer and select a letter to be removed. Try to remove a letter so that the remaining letters still make a word. Press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

VOCABULARY BUILDER

The unit will display a word on the screen with three definitions of the word. Only one is the correct answer. Choose the correct definition of the word and enter your selection by pressing the corresponding number or pressing the Enter key or clicking your mouse.

WORD MAKER

The unit will display a prefix or a suffix of a word at the bottom of the screen. Several suffixes/prefixes scroll across the screen above the word. When the correct suffix/prefix is above the word, press the Enter key to input your answer.

SENTENCE SCRAMBLER

A group of words will appear on the screen. You must rearrange the words to form a correct sentence. Select the word you think is the first word of the sentence with the arrow keys or the mouse cursor, and then press the Enter key or the left mouse button. The word will move to the answer line. Repeat the same process for the second word, the third word and so on until the entire sentence is constructed. If you make a mistake, you can select the word from the answer line with your mouse and the word will move to the top of the screen. When you select the last word of the sentence, the unit will check whether your selections are correct or incorrect.

GRAMMAR QUIZ

A sentence will appear on the screen with one grammatical error. Choose the grammatically incorrect word with your arrow keys or the mouse cursor. Then press the Enter key or left mouse button. If you pick out the grammatical error, 3 multiple choice options will appear on the screen. Select the option that makes the sentence grammatically correct by pressing its corresponding number, or moving the mouse cursor or pressing the Up/ Down arrow keys to highlight your choice then press the Enter key to input your answer.

MATHEMATICS

ADDITION

An addition problem will appear on the screen. Type in your answer, from right to left, using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

SUBTRACTION

A subtraction problem will appear on the screen. Type in your answer, from right to left, using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

MULTIPLICATION

A multiplication problem will appear on the screen. Type in your answer, according to the position of the blinking cursor, using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

DIVISION

A division problem will appear on the screen. Type in your answer, from left to right, using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

FRACTIONS

A fraction will display on the screen. 3 multiple choice options will be given. Decide which option is the correct answer and press its corresponding number or click on the answer with your mouse.

FLIP FLOP FRACTIONS

An equation which involves turning a fraction into a decimal/percentage will appear on the screen. Type in the answer using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer. When inputting your decimal answer, place a zero before the decimal point when the answer is less than 1. Example: "0.94" is correct. ".94" is incorrect.

RATIOS

A ratio problem will appear on the screen. Type in the answer to make the ratios equal by using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

ALGEBRA

An algebra problem will appear on the screen. Type in the value of “x” or “y” using the number keys on the keyboard and press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

STORY PROBLEMS

In this activity the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit challenges you to find answers to math problems that are presented as story problems instead of numerical equations. The question will appear on the screen. You may type your answer or press the Hint key to choose from 3 multiple choice options. Select your answer by typing in the corresponding number, using the mouse or use the Up/Down arrow keys to highlight your selection then press the Enter key to confirm your answer.

EQUATION BUILDER

The unit will display an equation. Three signs < (less than), > (greater than) and = (equal to) will scroll across the screen. When the correct sign is at the middle of the equation, press the Enter key to choose the correct sign to complete the equation.

COMPUTER SKILLS

KEYBOARD SKILLS

You can learn keyboarding skills through this helpful typing tutorial. This activity is divided into Basic and Expert courses.

Basic Course

In the basic course, you will type the letters displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. The hand and the keyboard on the screen indicates which finger should be used

to type each letter. Each correct letter equals 1 point. After typing 100 letters (50 for the left hand, 50 for the right hand), the score and the rewarding screen will be shown.

Expert Course

In the expect course, follow the screen and type the given text. After you have completely typed the text, your typing speed and accuracy will appear on the screen.

TYPING CHALLENGE

This activity helps to improve your keyboarding skills through this exciting typing game. The cannon on the right side of the screen will fire letters to the castle on the left side. Type the letter before it hits the castle. If the castle on the screen is hit 8 times, one chance is deducted. You will win the game if you can type all the given letters before your three chances are up.

WORD PROCESSOR

This activity offers word processing for your documents. Please see Chapter 5 of this manual for further details.

BASIC TUTOR

This activity will acquaint you with the fundamental BASIC computer programming concepts. At the end of the text, there is a program for the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” You can learn the technique of a BASIC program by writing your own game.

BASIC

This is an intensive computer programming activity. Complete instructions are provided in Chapter 7 of this manual.

DESIGN A CARD

The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning toy has several built-in pictures, including holiday, birthday, and celebration scenes. With these pictures, you can print letter greetings and folded cards along with your personal messages to give to your friends and relatives.

To create and print a Letter Greeting:

Select Letter Greeting. Choose a picture to be used in the Letter Greeting. Type in your text message. You are allowed up to eight lines of text. Press the

Enter key several times. The unit will ask you if you have finished entering your message. Select yes or no.

Select Print.

To create and print a Folded Card : Select Folded Card. Choose a picture to be used in the folded card. Type in your text message. You are allowed up to eight lines of text. Press the

Enter key several times. The unit will ask you if you have finished entering your text. Select yes or no.

Select Print.

SPELL CHECKER

Spell Checker is an electronic word list that contains approximately 75,000 words and is used to check the correct spelling of words. This program can work independently or within the Word Processor activity.

The Spell Checker searches words phonetically. English words can be difficult to spell because the same sound can sometimes be spelled several different ways. Remember, Spell Checker never actually spells a word for you but will check for spelling errors and gives you suggestions for correcting the possible misspelling.

Type a word the way you think it is spelled and press the Enter key. PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS will spend a few seconds checking the dictionary. If the word is spelled correctly, the unit will respond with “Correct!” If the word you typed is not in the dictionary, it will give you a list of possible words to correct the misspelled word. To continue checking additional words, continue typing without pressing the Enter key.

CALCULATOR

This activity allows you to use the unit as an advanced, scientific calculator. Please see Chapter 8 of this manual for instructions.

GAMES

SPY TRAP

The object of the game is to catch all of the four spies within the time alotted. The spies are hidden behind the numbers. The only way to reveal a spy is to select 2 to 3 continuous numbers that add up to the number stated in the middle of the screen. When a spy is revealed, select the spy to send him to jail. There is a time limit to catch the spies. If you cannot catch the spies within the time limit, you will lose a turn. The following are

the rules of the game:

1. Press the number key or use your mouse to select the numbers. You may select any number. If all nine of the squares fill up, you will lose a turn.

2. Try to select the numbers so that 2 to 3 continuous numbers that you choose, add up to the number in the middle of the screen.

3. A spy appears in one of the blank squares. Press the Space bar or click on the spy immediately to put the spy in jail. If you don’t catch a spy within 5 seconds, he will disappear.

4. If you cannot catch four spies within the time limit, you will lose a turn.

Repeat the above steps until all four spies are in jail.

ROCKET FUEL

Robot Fuel

Rock

The object of the game is to push all of the fuel into the rocket so that the rocket has enough fuel to travel to the next planet.

Use the cursor keys to control the robot in pushing the fuel into the rocket. The following are guidelines when playing this game:

1. The robot can only push the fuel. It cannot pull fuel.

2. The robot can only push one fuel tank at a time. It cannot push two fuel tanks simultaneously.

3. If you find that you cannot continue pushing the fuel tanks into the rocket, you may press the Hint (Shift & Help) key. This restarts this stage. You can then try again with another approach. Remember: you have only three chances to use the Hint key.

4. The rocket will start travelling to another planet only after you have pushed all of the fuel into the rocket.

Note: You may click on the Help icon to learn playing tips.

The game also gives you the opportunity to load the game for different levels . You need to enter the password that appears in the top right hand corner of the screen to reload the stage.

TRIVIA

This challenging trivia game has 1000 questions in 4 different topics: Science, English, Geography and General. All topics are available with a 2-player mode and 4 levels.

Once you have selected a topic, a question will appear on the screen. If you know the answer to the question type in your answer and the press the Enter key to input your answer. If you don’t know the answer, you may select 3 multiple choice options by pressing the Hints key. Decide which option is the correct answer and press its corresponding number. Using the Hints key will result in losing one chance.

DEMO MODE

To access the demo mode, press the Main Menu/Demo key. You may also select the Demo icon located on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This mode demonstrates some of the activities in the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS. When the demo mode starts, the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS enters the activities in all categories. After the unit demos one activity it will return to the Main Menu. This process is repeated until you press any key or move the mouse.

SYSTEM SETUP

System Setup allows you to change various defaults. These include printer setup, quick menu setup, customize screen setup and more. Please see Chapter 6 for further details.

CHAPTER 5: WORD PROCESSOR

The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS offers you one of the first and most important applications found in computers: word processing. With this word processor, you will be able to create, edit, save and print documents you have created. The unit can hold approximately 3500 characters or 500-600 words before data has to be saved or printed.

The bottom line represents the status of the text on the screen. L=1 “L” stands for a line of text. The number (i.e. “1”) represents the first line of text. L=2 would mean the user is editing the second line of text. A “line of text” refers to one

line (60 characters) on an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper - not one line on the LCD viewing screen. PLEASE NOTE THAT 60 CHARACTERS WILL TAKE UP 3 LINES ON THE LCD VIEWING SCREEN BUT TRANSLATE TO ONE LINE OF TEXT ON AN 8 1/2 X 11 SHEET OF PAPER WHEN PRINTED (SEE PRINT SECTION). This feature allows the user to effectively print documents using a standard 8 1/2 X 11 format.

J=L means the current line is justified left. NB means the current word is not bolded. B means the current word is bolded. CH means which character the cursor is on in a particular line. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE VT-25 THERMAL PRINTER PRINTS 25 CHARACTERS PER

LINE ON A STANDARD ROLL OF THERMAL PAPER. YOUR PREPARED TEXT WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE ADJUSTED TO FIT THIS FORMAT WHEN YOU SELECT THE VT25 THERMAL PRINTER IN PRINTER SETUP. WHILE THE FORMATTING WILL NOT CHANGE ON THE LCD SCREEN, THE TEXT WILL PRINT CORRECTLY TO FIT THE VT25 FORMAT.

The Word Processor has a menu with many functions. You may view the Word Processor menu by pressing the Help key. The Word Processor menu will appear with the following options: File, Edit, Format, Tools, Print, Help and Exit.

FILE OPTIONS

Under the File Options menu, you may select four different functions: New, Load, Save and Delete. To enter the File Options menu, press the Help key and select File Options.

New

New is the command to create a new file. Every time you enter the Word Processor activity, you will see the same document you worked on the last time you were in Word Processor. To create a file, select New from the FILE options and it will ask if you want to create a new document. If you select “Yes”, it will ask if you want to overwrite the current document. If you select “Yes”, the document will be deleted, allowing you to create a new one. Selecting “No” will return you to the existing document. If you want to save your document in order to create a new one, you must have a RAM cartridge. This cartridge allows you to save multiple documents and is sold separately.

Load

Load is the command used to retrieve an existing file from the optional RAM cartridge. Select Load from the File Options and it will list all of the files in the RAM cartridge. Select the file you want to retrieve and press the Enter key. The chosen file will then appear on the screen.

Save

Saving a file is a very important option in Word Processor because if you forget to save the file, your document will be lost permanently. You must have a RAM cartridge in order to save a file. Select Save from the File Options and it will prompt you to input the name of your file. Type in your file name and press Enter to save the file. The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS can store one page, 8 1/2 X 11. But if you would like to save the document before creating a new one, you must have a RAM cartridge. To rename a file, enter System Setup and select RAM Cart. Manager. Please note that the filename can only be up to 8 characters long.

Delete

When you no longer need a file, erasing it from the optional RAM cartridge is a good idea because it will free up more space for other files. Select Delete from the File Options and it will prompt you with a list of files in the optional RAM cartridge. Select the file to delete and press the Enter key. A message will appear on the screen asking you to confirm your selection. Be careful when deleting a file because whatever you delete will be gone permanently.

Note: If you have purchased our VTECH POWER LINK™, and connect it to the unit correctly,

you may also Save, Load or Delete a file on the connected PC. In the File Options, select Load. The unit will ask you whether to load a file from RAM Cartridge or from PC. If you select PC, the files on the PC will be listed. You may then select a file on the PC to be loaded into the unit’s main memory. The same applies to the Save and Delete functions. Please refer to Chapter 11 for more details about our VTECH POWER LINK™.

EDIT OPTIONS

Most simple editing can be accomplished by using the Backspace, Insertion (INS) and Deletion (DEL) keys. When you want to change large blocks of text, you need to do block editing. The EDIT menu is for editing blocks of text. You can find Edit Options by pressing the HELP key.

Define a Block

The first step in block editing is to define or mark a block of text. There are two ways to define a block of text. 1) Drag the mouse over the desired text to highlight it. 2) Place the cursor at the first character of the block you want to edit, then select Block Begin from the EDIT menu. When the cursor is at the end of the block, select Block End from the EDIT menu. After a block of text is defined, you can use one of the four blocking tools: block copy, block cut, paste block or clear block.

Block Begin

This marks the beginning of a block of text.

Block End

This marks the end of a block of text. The text between the Block Begin mark and the Block End mark will be highlighted, up to 60 characters or one line of printed text.

Block Copy

After a block of text has been defined, select Block Copy from the EDIT menu. The original block will remain and you can paste the block in any location in the document.

Block Cut

To cut a block of text, first define the block of text and select Block Cut from the EDIT menu. The block will be removed from its current position and will be placed in memory. You can now paste the block in any location in the document.

Paste Block

After you have used the Block Cut or Block Copy option, move the cursor to the position where you want the block of text to be pasted. Select Paste Block from the EDIT menu and the block of text you defined will be pasted to the new location.

Clear Block

To erase a block of text, first define the block of text and select Clear Block from the EDIT menu to clear the block. The defined block will be permanently cleared from the document.

FORMAT OPTIONS

There are four options in the FORMAT menu. They are: Justify Left, Justify Right, Justify Center, and Bold.

Justify Left

By default, the text is aligned left with the margin, Justify Left.

Justify Right

To align your text to the right margin, choose Justify Right.

Justify Center

To align your text so it is centered within your document, choose Justify Center.

Important note:

You will not be able to view the format you selected on the screen. It will be reflected in the printed document. This is due to the differences between the screen size and the printed document.

Bold

There are two types of fonts, bold font and normal font. If you want to bold a word, place the cursor on any letter of the word, and then select Bold from the FORMAT menu. The entire word will be bolded. You may also use your mouse. Click and drag on the word you want bolded to highlight it. Then select Bold from the FORMAT menu. Your word will be bolded. The Bold command also applies to a block of text. After you have defined a block of text, select Bold from the FORMAT menu. The entire block of text will be bolded.

TOOLS OPTIONS

The TOOLS menu provides two functions: Check Spelling and Symbols.

Check Spelling

Spell checker checks a word to see if it is in the unit's dictionary. To check the spelling of a word, highlight a word using your mouse. Then choose Tools Options and select Check Spelling. Press the Enter key. If the word does not exist in the unit’s dictionary, it will give you a list of possible words for reference.

Also, you may spell check an entire document. Select Check Spelling from the TOOLS menu. The entire document will be checked word by word. When there is a word that is not found in the dictionary, several options will be provided: Ignore Word, Edit Word, or Suggestions.

Ignore Word

If you think the word is spelled correctly, select Ignore Word and press the Enter key. The Spell Checker will skip this word and continue checking the remaining text.

Edit Word

If you know the correct spelling of the misspelled word, select Edit Word and press the Enter key. Type in the correct spelling of the word and press Enter. The Spell Checker will change the word within your document automatically.

Suggestions

If you don’t know the correct spelling of a word, and you would like the unit to provide you suggestions, select Suggestions and press the Enter key. A list of similar words will appear on the screen. You may scroll from a list of possible suggestions, and then press the Enter key to select a choice. There may be instances where the unit does not have any suggestions. The unit will then say “No Suggestions.”

Symbols

Symbols gives you a list of useful characters to use in your documents. Press the Symbol key located on your keyboard or select Symbols from the TOOLS menu. A window will appear showing all of the different symbols you can choose from. Press the scrolling arrows on the screen or the arrow keys on your keyboard to locate a symbol. Press the Enter key to select it. The symbol window will close automatically and the symbol you have chosen will appear in your document. Press the Esc key to close the window if you do not choose a symbol. Remember you can also select additional symbols located on the number keys.

PRINT OPTIONS

To view the printing options, press the Help key and you will see the Word Processor menu. Select Print Options. There are three features in this menu: Printer Setup, Print and Print Preview.

Printer Setup

Printer Setup allows you to select a printer. This can also be done through System Setup. Please see Chapter 6 for details.

In order to use the print feature, you must connect it to one of the printers compatible to the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS. Please see the list of printers listed in Chapter 6 under Printer Setup.

When this option is selected, the unit will ask you whether to print the text in Single or Double Line Spacing. Select one as you like. The unit will then ask if you are ready to print. Select yes or no. The current text will be printed if you selected yes. Make sure the printer cable is correctly connected, and the correct printer is selected in Printer Setup. Please note that 60 characters take up 3 lines of text on the LCD Viewing Screen, but translate to one line of text on an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper when printed. (See Examples)

On screen:

Printed on paper:

What kinds of graphics are you referring to? Am I going to recei

Print Preview

If you have purchased our VTECH POWER LINK™(sold separately), you can use the PC monitor to view your text before it is printed. Make sure the VTECH POWER LINK™ is correctly connected, then select Print Preview from the PRINT menu. The text will be displayed on your PC screen. Use the Up/Down arrows to scroll through the text, and press the Esc key when you have finished viewing the file.

HELP

Several pieces of Help Text will be shown when this option is selected. These helpful hints will provide you with additional information to guide you through play.

EXIT

Selecting this option will bring you back to the main menu.

CHAPTER 6: SYSTEM SETUP

To enter System Setup, click on the System Setup icon located at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The System Setup menu will appear with the following options: Printer Setup, Tips of Today, Screen Saver, Clear Last Score, Icon Box, Quick Menu Setup, Customize Setup, Demo Mode, Ram Cart. Manager and Power Link.

PRINTER SETUP

Due to the extensive varieties of printers, not all compatible printers are listed. Please check with your printer manufacturer for information on reconfiguring your printer.

There are a number of printers which PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS is compatible with. Printer Setup allows you to select a printer to print your documents. PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS supports the following printers:

VTECH Thermal VT-25 EPSON LQ-X70 EPSON 24 Pin EPSON 9 Pin EPSON Stylus EPSON Stylus Color II Canon BJC 4100 Canon BJ 200 Canon BJ 30 Canon BJ 300/330 HP Laser IV L HP DESKJET

Before selecting a printer, make sure the printer is correctly connected to the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit. After setting up the printer, you can print a document from the Word Processor activity or print any screen. When you want to print a screen, press the Print Screen key on the Membrane Activity Selector.

If no printer is selected, you will be unable to choose a printer using this feature.

Note: In Printer Setup, Epson® Stylus Color II is displayed as Epson® Stylus Color.

TIPS OF TODAY

The Tips of Today will provide an interesting fact every time the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit is turned on. You may turn the Tips of Today ON or OFF, by pressing

the Enter key or selecting it with your mouse.

SCREEN SAVER

The unit features a screen saver option. The screen saver will appear after two minutes with no input. You can turn this feature ON or OFF by pressing the Enter key or selecting it with your mouse.

CLEAR LAST SCORE

The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit will store all players’ last scores in memory. This will allow you to check future scores to measure your progress.

Select the Clear Last Score option. Last scores cleared will appear on the screen. Select OK to clear the last scores stored in the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit.

ICON BOX

You may turn the Icon Box ON or OFF by pressing the Enter key or selecting it with your mouse. When the Icon Box is turned ON, the unit will specify each icon when you place the mouse cursor over an icon for 1 second.

QUICK MENU SETUP

Quick Menu is a useful tool for advanced users. You can select three activities to put into Quick Menu. This allows you to quickly access your favorite three activities directly from the Main Menu instead of selecting from a list of activities.

Go to System Setup. Select Quick Menu Setup and press the Enter key. Check to be sure the Quick Menu feature is “ON”. You can turn this feature ON/OFF by pressing the Enter key or selecting it with your mouse.

Select First Icon using your mouse or the Up/Down arrow keys and pressing the Enter key. The unit will display all the activities to choose from. Scroll through the list and select your first activity. Press the Enter key. The unit will then return to the Quick Menu Setup screen.

Select Second Icon and repeat this process. Select Third Icon and repeat this process. Return to the Main Menu. There you will see the three icons you selected at the

bottom of your screen. You can enter the activities you chose immediately when you select these icons.

CUSTOMIZE SETUP

In Customize Setup, you can customize your opening screen, opening sound effect and closing sound effect.

Customize Screen

The Customized Screen is the screen shown after the opening animation. You may personalize the screen by entering your name and your message. This information will be displayed each time you turn on the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit. Also, we have provided three different default messages for you to choose from. To customize your screen, select Customize Screen and press the Enter key. A Customize Screen menu will appear.

To enter your name, select Enter Name and click on the left mouse button or press the Enter key. Then type in your name and press the Enter key.

To enter your personal message, select Enter Message and click on the left mouse button or press the Enter key.

If you want to choose a default message, select Default Messages and click on the left mouse button or press the Enter key. Choose from: VTech - Precomputer Power Pad (TM) Plus COPYRIGHT (C); Proverb 1 - “Triumph” is try added to umph.; Proverb 2 - Reach for your potential and your potential will reach for you.

After you have typed in your personal message, or selected a default message, you may preview it. Select Preview Screen and click on the left mouse button or press

the Enter key. The message you input will appear on the screen. To see your customized screen, turn the unit off and then back on. Your customized screen will appear.

Opening Sound

There are three different sound effects that you can choose from for the opening

sound. Select Opening Sounds and press the Enter key. Then choose either Opening

Sound 1, Opening Sound 2 or Opening Sound 3 and press the Enter key or click

on your left mouse button.

Closing Sound

There are also three different sound effects that you can choose from for the closing

sound. Select Closing Sounds and press the Enter key. Then choose either Closing

Sound 1, Closing Sound 2 or Closing Sound 3 and press the Enter key or click on your left mouse button.

DEMO MODE

In System Setup, select Demo Mode and press the Enter key. The unit will show several activities from all categories (Word Games, Mathematics, Computer Skills, Games and Trivia) automatically. This process will repeat until you press any key or move the mouse.

RAM CART. MANAGER

The RAM Cart. Manager can be accessed through System Setup. The RAM Cart. Manager is functional only when utilizing a RAM cartridge. RAM cartridges are sold separately. Insert the cartridge into the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit, located on the left side. The RAM Cart. Manager has the following functions: List Files, Save File, Load File, Rename File, Delete File and Format Cartridge.

List Files

When this function is selected, the files stored in the RAM cartridge are listed on the screen.

Save File

When this function is selected, you will be asked to choose whether to save a BASIC program or a Word Processor file. After you have made your selection, provide a filename for your file. This process allows the BASIC program or Word Processor file to be saved into the RAM cartridge.

Load File

When this function is selected, the files stored in the RAM cartridge are listed on the screen. You can select one of the files and load the file into the main unit. If it is a Word Processing file, the unit will take you to the Word Processor activity. If it is a BASIC file, the unit will bring you to the BASIC activity. To view the BASIC program, type LIST and press the Enter key. Continue pressing the Enter key to view each line.

Rename File

When this function is selected, the files stored in the RAM cartridge are listed on the screen. You can select one of the files and provide a new filename for the selected file. The file will be renamed.

Delete File

When this function is selected, the files stored in the RAM cartridge are listed on the screen. You can select one of the files. When you confirm that you want to delete the file, the file is removed from the RAM cartridge.

Format Cartridge

When this function is selected, all files stored in your RAM cartridge will be cleared. After you select Format Cartridge, the unit will prompt you to confirm you would like your files cleared. If you select Yes, all data on the RAM cartridge will be cleared.

POWER LINK

If you have purchased our VTECH POWER LINK™, you can connect the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit to a Personal Computer. Please see Chapter 11 for details.

CHAPTER 7: BASIC

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS BASIC?

BASIC is a computer language. The name BASIC stands for Beginner’s All-purpose

Symbolic Instruction Code. It was developed by professors at Dartmouth College in the mid-1960s. It was designed for students who had no previous experience in programming computers.

BASIC is a basic language; however there are differences in the language based on the computer that uses it in much the same way that English is different depending on which country it is spoken in (Great Britain or the United States) or which part of the country the language is spoken in (East Coast, Midwest, South or the West Coast).

The differences in the language will depend on the computer that is being used and on the computer that produced the language for the computer manufacturer. Microsoft BASIC is found on Apple II+, IBM PC and PC jr., Laser Computers, Commodore VIC20 and Commodore 64 and others. Other computers such as the Timex Sinclair ZX80 and the Texas Instruments 99/4 use versions of BASIC similar to MS-BASIC.

WHAT IS A PROGRAM?

A computer program is a series of instructions that tells a computer what tasks you want it to perform. Computer programs are written in a programming language. BASIC is one of the languages that both a human and a computer understand and so BASIC can be used to write a program that a computer can carry out for you.

WHY SHOULD I LEARN TO USE A COMPUTER?

Computers can do many things if they are given instructions. For a particular job to be done, by a person or a machine, we must specify the steps which must be done to do the job. The computer becomes an extension of our capabilities. To do this requires us to learn how to talk to our computer. This chapter will help you to get started.

WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER FOR?

This chapter is a step-by-step guide for understanding programs and learning to use the computer language called BASIC.

WHO IS THIS CHAPTER FOR?

This guide is written for students and adults who have little or no computer experience. With a little time and effort you will discover that there is nothing difficult about learning to talk to a computer.

WHAT IF I MAKE A MISTAKE?

Don’t worry about making a mistake, this program allows you to experiment. The more you experiment, the more you will learn.

THE KEYBOARD

1. The numeric (top row) keys are used for entering numbers. The letter keys are

used for entering letters.

2. The cursor is the blinking symbol “_” on the display that indicates where the

next character that is pressed on the keyboard will be entered in the computer.

3. The SHIFT key is used with another key to enter a character into the computer.

For example to enter the “+” character, you must press SHIFT and the key marked “+ =”. If you just press the “+ =” key then the “=” character will be entered.

4. The Left Arrow key and the Right Arrow key are used to position the cursor left

or right, respectively. They do not erase any character that is displayed, but you can type over anything in their positions.

5. To enter a space, simply press the SPACE bar. Each time you press the SPACE

bar, one space is inserted on the display line.

6. The INS and DEL keys are used to insert or delete one character at a time

on the display where the cursor is positioned. When the INS key is pressed once, it will be in the insert mode. All characters

to the right of the cursor position will be shifted one character to the right to make room for the new character once it is input through the keyboard. Pressing the INS key again will go to the overwrite mode.

The DEL key is used to delete one character at a time on the display where the cursor is positioned. The DEL key will shift all characters on the display one position to the left, thereby erasing the character under the cursor.

7. Before anything on the display is actually sent, you must press the ENTER key.

This key acts much like a Return key on a typewriter. You press all the keys that comprise a statement to the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit and then press ENTER. PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS will process your command and the information.

8. Every time BASIC is selected, it is in the overwrite mode. That is, the character

you type will appear on the screen whether there is a character at the cursor position or not.

9. The “^” character on the ^ 6 key (which is used only in the BASIC program)

is used to tell the computer you want to raise the number preceding it to a power of the number following it.

10. The BREAK key is used to do the following. When you are typing a line, but

before you press ENTER, it will erase all that you have typed; or, if you are running a BASIC program, you can interrupt it by pressing this key. You can restart a program by typing CONT and pressing the ENTER key.

When using the INPUT command, PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS will ask you to supply it with some data from the keyboard. PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS tells you it needs input with a prompt. The prompt is the “?” symbol and it appears on the display indicating that the computer is waiting for you to type something. The letters and numbers that you press will appear on the LCD screen.

THE LCD SCREEN

The PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS learning unit uses a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen. Each line will display 20 characters at a time. The Left Arrow key and Right Arrow key are used to scroll the 20 character display window left or right, respectively.

In BASIC, pressing the ENTER key allows you to see the next printed statement that your program is displaying. You need to do this so the output doesn’t scroll off the end of the line.

GETTING STARTED

This activity lets you type in your own programs and run them. Follow these simple steps:

1) Turn on PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS.

2) Choose the BASIC activity from the Membrane Activity Selector. There are two modes available; Command and Run. Type in this program:

10 PRINT “HI THERE” press ENTER

This is a simple way of writing a program. Type in the program lines and remember to press the ENTER key. Each line starts with a number and is followed by a statement. PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS stores the line with the other lines into memory. Later you can execute the program by typing the command, RUN. Remember to press the ENTER key after typing RUN. The results appearing on the LCD screen are: HI THERE.

There is a short cut. Enter the following (no line number in front):

PRINT “HI THERE” press ENTER

This time PRINT was used as a command and the results appeared immediately on the display after the ENTER key was pressed. The computer executes the command right away, without waiting for you to type RUN. When you do this, the statements are not saved for future re-use. They are executed immediately and discarded. This is not recommended for creating programs but highly recommended for use as a calculator.

The following are some additional commands to be used:

NEW

This command clears the memory of any BASIC statements that have been previously entered.

LIST

This command displays each line of your program starting with the lowest line number. Each time you press ENTER, the next lines are displayed. You can stop this by pressing the SHIFT and BREAK keys. If you enter the command with a line number after the word, i.e., LIST 50, PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS will list the statement at line 50.

RUN

This command instructs PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS to begin executing each BASIC statement with a line number that was typed into memory. The computer will start

with the lowest line number and proceed up to the highest numbered statement.

EDIT

Use the EDIT command when you want to change a statement that has been typed into memory without re-typing the entire line. Type EDIT and the line number and press the

ENTER key. The statement will appear on the display. Use the LEFT-ARROW and RIGHT- ARROW keys to move the cursor. Use the DEL key to remove an unwanted character,

or type in a new character. You can type in line-numbered BASIC statements in any order. The PRECOMPUTER

POWER PAD™ PLUS will sort them out for you and LIST them or RUN starting with the lowest numbered statement to the highest numbered statement. It is a good idea to number your lines in increments of 10 (10, 20, 30...) or 100 (100, 200, 300...). This way you will have room to add more statements if you decide to change your program in the future.

You can insert an entirely new line in a program between two existing ones by using a line number that doesn’t exist. To delete an existing line-numbered statement, type the line number and press the ENTER key. You can also change an existing line by re-typing the entire line.

AUTO

When you want to type in a program, type in the line number before the statement. With the AUTO function, the line number will generate automatically.

e.g. AUTO generate the line no. starting from 10 with

increments of 10

AUTO 100 generate the line no. starting from 100 with

increments of 10

AUTO 100, 5 generate the line no. starting from 100 with

increments of 5 i.e. 100

105

“ “

To end the AUTO mode, press ENTER without input or press the SHIFT key and the BREAK key at the same time.

CONT

This command causes the program to resume executing after encountering the BASIC command called STOP. The program will be carried on with the next statement after STOP. Type CONT to resume the program after you press the SHIFT and BREAK keys.

BASIC COMPUTER TUTORIAL

EXAMPLE OF A BASIC PROGRAM

You and Teresa went to the local video store to rent some movies. Teresa brought back 12 but 4 were too scary for you so you returned them. On that trip you came home with 7 new movies. How many are you going to watch this afternoon? You could work this out yourself, but here is a BASIC program that can do the arithmetic for you.

Type in:

10 PRINT 12-4+7 press ENTER

20 END press ENTER

Now type RUN and press ENTER. What happens? The answer, 15, appears on the screen. In BASIC, you write a series of line-numbered statements that tell the PRECOMPUTER

POWER PAD™ PLUS what to do. The first statement, numbered 10, tells the computer to work out the sum of three numbers and then PRINT the answer on the screen. The next statement, number 20, tells the computer that this is the end of the program and that it can stop RUNNING. However, the last statement is not necessary in this program because you only want to print out the sum of 3 numbers, therefore, it could be removed.

Remove that last line by typing 20 and press ENTER. Now type RUN and press ENTER. What happens? You get the same results.

Suppose you typed:

10 PRONG 12-4+7 press ENTER

Now type RUN and press ENTER. What happens? You get a strange message, “? SYNTAX ERROR IN 10” in the display. That means you made a mistake in BASIC grammar and

this is the PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS unit’s way of telling you this. You need to EDIT the line or re-type it, changing “PRONG” to “PRINT” and then RUN the program again to get the correct answer.

You can use PRECOMPUTER POWER PAD™ PLUS as a calculator in arithmetic statements like the one above by not using a line number.

Just type:

PRINT 12-4+7 press ENTER

The answer will appear on the screen. Another short cut is that you could use the “?” symbol to stand for the word “PRINT.” When

you are using BASIC as a calculator in “command mode”, think of the question mark as meaning “What is 12-4+7?” When you are using the question mark as a “PRINT” command in a program, the computer will replace the “?” with the word “PRINT” for you.

LET’S DO SOME ARITHMETIC

In the previous section you learned to program the sum of three numbers using the BASIC program. Numbers like 1, 3, 27, 14.3, etc., are called CONSTANTS, numbers that do not change value. The program added and subtracted the constants 12, 4 and 7. The order that you do addition is unimportant: 6+10 is the same as 10+6. In subtraction, the order is important: 10-6 is not the same as 6-10. So the order that you write numbers and do arithmetic operations is very important. In BASIC, operations are from left to right.

The * symbol is used to represent multiplication. Like addition, the order of the numbers is unimportant. Here’s an example. There are 2.204 pounds to a kilogram. How many pounds does a 6 kilogram parakeet weigh?

Type this:

10 PRINT 6*2.204 press ENTER

RUN

The symbol / is used for division. Here, like in subtraction, the order of the numbers is important since 15/3 is 5 and 3/15 is .2. How many kilograms does a 6 pound parakeet weigh?

Type this:

10 PRINT 6/2.204 press ENTER

RUN

You can also raise a number to a power. To do this you need the ^ sign. The expression 5^3 means 5*5*5 or 125; similarly, 3^5 means 3*3*3*3*3 or 243. There are fractional powers;

for example 2^.5 is the square root of 2 or 1.414.... Here’s an example: I bet you 1 dollar

and throw the dice 10 times; each time you double your money. How much have you won?

Type this:

10 PRINT 2^10 press ENTER

RUN

When you use all the operations together, it can get a bit complicated. After a winning baseball game, your 7 person team is awarded 3 cans of pop for the game plus another 11 cans because you finished first in the league. How many cans does each player get?

Type this:

10 PRINT 3+11/7 press ENTER

RUN

Is it really evaluated from left to right? Yes, but was it the answer you were expecting? If the answer came out to 4.57143, the computer first divided 11 by 7 getting 1.57143 and then it added 3 to the result giving 4.57143. You probably were expecting the answer to be 2 because 3+11 is 14, then divided by 7 is 2.

You can see that expressions are not simply evaluated from left to right. It is necessary to have an exact set of rules to follow.

Here they are:

Functions Order in which they are performed

( ) things in parentheses (1st) ^ raising to a power (2nd) * / multiplication and division (3rd) + - addition and subtraction (4th)

The computer will always look at an expression in parentheses first and follows those commands. It could be an expression or more sets of brackets. Among the expression, raising to a power is calculated first, followed by multiplication and division from left to right, followed by addition and subtraction from left to right. If you’re not sure how the computer will evaluate the expression, simply put brackets around the expression you want computed first. Remember the brackets must always be in pairs, one right bracket for each left one. If you don’t use both brackets, you will receive a “? SYNTAX ERROR” message.

NUMERIC VARIABLES

You have seen how you can use BASIC to print numbers and messages. You can also give values to a BASIC program yourself. The computer uses a letter to stand for a value. This is called a variable. For example LET D = 609. This statement puts the value 609 into a memory box called “D.”

Try this. Type:

10 LET A=8 press ENTER

The computer creates a box in memory and calls it “A”. It puts the number 8 in this box. Now type:

20 LET B=10 press ENTER

The computer creates a box called “B” and places 10 into it. Type:

30 LET B=15 press ENTER

Since there is a box called “B” already with a value of 10 in it, it doesn’t make another box called “B” with a value of 15 in it. The number 10 is just replaced with the number

15. Now type:

40 LET C=A+B press ENTER

This statement is a bit more complicated. Here’s how it works. First, the computer searches for a memory box called “B” and finds the number 15. The “+” sign tells the computer to add the numbers found in “A” and “B” together. It computes this and the answer is

23. Now, where is the answer placed? The “=” tells the computer to store the answer in a memory box called “C”. The computer searches for a box called “C”. It doesn’t find one so it creates one in memory and then puts the answer there.

Of course, if there was a memory variable called “C” that had a number in it from a previous operation, the old number would be replaced by the new one in this statement.

Now let’s finish this by typing:

50 PRINT “FIRST NUMBER”; A press ENTER

60 PRINT “SECOND NUMBER”; B press ENTER

70 PRINT “THE SUM IS”; C press ENTER

RUN

You will see the following on the screen:

FIRST NUMBER 8 press ENTER

SECOND NUMBER 15 press ENTER

THE SUM IS 23

Let’s take a look at the print statements on lines 50 through 70. The words in quotes are called a STRING or a LITERAL. Whatever you put between a set of quotation marks will appear on the screen exactly the way you typed it. Remember that quotation marks come in pairs!

Next, the semicolon tells the print statement to print what is immediately to the right of the end of the string. This is the number 8, which is the value in memory box A.

Suppose that you asked the computer to multiply 3 million times 3 million.

Let’s try. Type:

10 PRINT 3000000*3000000 press ENTER

RUN

The answer on the screen is 9E+12. This is the computer’s way of showing extremely large numbers. A number with the letter E and a number to the right of the decimal point is called scientific or exponential notation. You find the decimal point and move the number of places specified after the “E” to the right filling in with zeros. The long way to write out the above answer is 9,000,000,000,000. The procedure works in reverse for very small numbers. The number 9E-12 is .000000000009. This is a very small positive number. The number -9E+12 is a very large negative number while the number -9E-12 is a very small negative number.

STRING VARIABLES

String variables are similar to the numeric variables that we have been working with so far except that the variables contain alphabetic characters (numbers, letters and symbols). The name of the memory variable always contains a $ to distinguish it as a string variable. String variables are not used in arithmetic but allow you to store things like your pet’s name. Here are some examples:

VARIABLE NAMES CONTENTS

A 675

B 2.3434

C$ CURTIS

A$ ALPHABET SOUP

Here’s an example of storing a string variable:

10 LET A$=“ALPHABET SOUP NO 123”

You can have a numeric variable called A and a string variable called A$. The $ lets

BASIC know how to tell them apart. NOTE: For both numeric and string variables, only the first 2 characters of the variable

names are valid. Also, they cannot resemble the name of any command.

Examples: TOTAL is interpreted as the TO command and POTATO is interpreted as variable

PO.

CONSTANTS

A constant is something that doesn’t change. The computer stores it in memory just like a variable. However, since a constant doesn’t change it has no variable name. The number 6 is a constant; so is 4.567 or 28967.35. “QUICK BROWN FOX” is a string constant.

You can store constants to a variable. That’s usually done to start out a program; later the contents of the variables change. Suppose we want to count to 10.

Type in this program:

New press ENTER

10 N=0 press ENTER

20 N=N+1 press ENTER

30 PRINT N press ENTER

40 IF N<10 THEN 20 press ENTER

50 PRINT “THE ANSWER IS”; N press ENTER

RUN

The statement at line 10 stores the numeric constant zero into N, a numeric variable. In statement 20 the variable will have a numeric constant,1, added to itself and then the sum of that operation will be stored in place of the value previously stored there.

The program in the above example contains a programming construction called a loop. A loop is one or more BASIC statements, usually called a set, that can be executed as many times as you want. The statement in line 40 contains an IF statement. It is called a conditional statement and will be discussed in detail under the topic called Making

Decisions.

INPUTTING DATA

We have been putting information into the computer by typing constants into programs using statements like the following:

10 LET N=10 press ENTER

20 LET A$=“NANCY LIKES CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES”

Another way to supply data is by using an INPUT statement. Try this out by typing:

NEW

10 INPUT “GIVE ME A NUMBER”; N press ENTER

20 PRINT “YOUR NUMBER IS”; N press ENTER

RUN

The unit will prompt you to input a number with the character. Type any number of digits that you like and press ENTER.

You can also input alphabetic data into string variables like this program:

10 INPUT “WHAT IS YOUR NAME”; N$ press ENTER

20 PRINT “HI THERE”; N$

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