Q. I want to transfer text files from an Oric Atmos to an HP150. Is this possible? What I have in mind is 'printing' the data from the Oric's Centronics port to either the RS232 or the IEEE port on the HP.

G. Wright
Ware, Herts

A. Do what? Pause for raucous laughter. You don't say how the 'text file' is stored in your Atmos, and quite why you'd want to transfer anything from an Atmos to an HP is beyond us.

If it will help you out at all, we'll swap you PCN's Oric 1 for the HP...

Probably the simplest way to do what you want is to use the printer port as an RS232 device. This will involve making up a cable and writing a machine code program to set up and manage the VIA 6522 chip. You'll need to get thoroughly familiar with the 6522 specifications, RS232 protocols, assembly language and electronics. It's easy when you know how, but you really will have to put in quite a lot of work on the technical front beforehand. At the HP end there'll have to be a comms package to access input from the HP's RS232 port.

Of course, life would be a lot easier for you if Oric hadn't scrapped its advertised plans for a modem, which would have had the interfacing and software.

Oric is on 0990 27641 and is supposed to have a direct line to a technical service on 01 755 0811.

Mind you, we've never been able to get an answer from this number...