Month: February 2025

Formatting the Psion II Datapack

The Psion II range was well ahead of its time when it came to saving data on its machines, however there was an element of strangeness in its design and usability.

You have to realise we are talking early eighties technology and to be totally honest it was the infancy of computing, or hand held computing to be precise. There are three drives on this range of handhelds, they are A:, B: and C:

A: is the internal memory of the unit and it is RAM memory and ranges from 8KB in the CM model, to 16KB in the XP model right through to 32 or 64KB in the LZ/LZ64 models.

Datapaks on a Psion II unit

B: and C: drives are found on the rear of the unit. Into these slots you can place memory modules that are the equivalent of disk drives you’d find on a computer, however they are pretty much early solid state in design as they have no moving parts. These modules can come in sizes between 8-128Kb in size. B: is always the top slot closer to the screen, C: is the bottom slot closer to the battery compartment.

Types of memory

Rampaks are as it says on the label – Ram based plug in memory modules. When you store something in the units internal memory or on a Rampak, and then you later erase it, it really is erased in its entirety and space on the unit or Rampak is freed up, ready to be used again. Rampaks will have their own small “Coin” type battery as part of the module, this allows the unit to allow the constant input and deletion cycles. They use very little power and are probably the best medium for writing programs.

Datapaks are a different beast. They are known as EPROM (Erasable Programmable read only memory) Erasing a record is comparable to crossing out a piece of work written on paper, it has now been deleted but will always remain on the paper, just crossed out. It’s exactly the same on the Datapak. Hence in time the memory space will dwindle due to the deleted files that remain still occupying dead space. The benefit of the Datapak is that they are more secure and are not affected at all when battery power runs low.

With a Datapak there will come a time when the available memory space remaining is insufficient for what you are trying to achieve. At this point you need to format the drive and this is a particular problem if you don’t have the access to equipment to carry out this task. Here’s why…. They need exposure to Ultraviolet light to erase the memory.

Mk2 version of a Datapak formatter

You need one of these, a Datapak, Ultraviolet formatter. Quite a rare beast to be honest, there’s not many on sale at the moment, specific to the Psion. However there are other systems available for EPROMs used in other branches of electronics. The Datapak has to have its label removed to expose the crystal glass below on the EPROM in preparation for being placed inside the formatter. In theory it is just like an oven that exposes the EPROM for around 30 Minutes, the door is closed prior to formatting to keep the light source from damaging the users vision, as the light is in the UV wavelength spectrum likely to cause some quite serious damage or long term conditions.

Here you can see a Datapak that i have taken the lid off of. On the circuit board you can see a piece of crystal glass with a silicon die below, this is the component that will need approx 30 mins of Ultraviolet exposure to format its contents.

The crystal that the UV light needs focusing on

The formatting process

Erasure of the EPROM begins to occur with wavelengths shorter than 400nm. Exposure to sunlight for one week or to Fluorescent indoor lighting for three years could cause erasure, this is why the Datapak has a label covering the crystal portion of the EPROM. The recommended procedure is to expose the EPROM to a UV light source at a wavelength at or close to 253.7nm that usually achieves the format process within 20-30 minutes, with the lamp at a distance from the glass lens of around 2.5cm.

Then how do I achieve a format of a Datapak without this equipment?

There was always the option of trying a standard UV bulb or torch. However the UV wavelength on these items for public safety is usually in the 395nm wavelength spectrum. There really is very little available to the general public that is as strong as the bulbs required in the 253nm range to complete this task, as they are a serious danger to health if you are exposed to it for any length of time. This then was not an option i was able to pursue.

I now have a few options available to me if i wish to get these Datapaks formatted.

Purchase a cheap Chinese manufactured unit with a European plug. They seem to work and do the job, however you will be lucky if you get a couple of uses from it.

Trawl EBay. As i write there are two working ones including this MK2 version listed at a reasonable asking price that have a lot of people watching them, so I expect the price to rise accordingly as it gets towards the close of the auction.

EBay spares or repair. There is one unit, a Mk1 version that has a buy now price and it seems to have been hanging about in someone’s junk box for a few years and could possibly need repair. This is a tempting option however if the UV light inside is damaged then i have to look for a suitable replacement, and to be honest there are not a lot of compatible low pressure mercury discharge tubes of these sizes available now. You may have to look for suitable alternatives and I’m not sure i want all that messing around. Do i take the risk and go for one that may need repair? A guy called Dave Curran has combined this drive with one of the Chinese low cost options to create this hybrid eraser: Eprom eraser/upgrade

Get someone else to do it. There is this option and a service is available on line that allows you to send your Datapaks off for someone else to format for you. But do you want to entrust data to a third party? For me it’s not really a problem as none of my units have any of my data on them, but it is something to take into consideration. Whilst I’m searching for a suitable unit this may be a route i consider.

So these are my options. I’ve an idea what I’m going to explore, so im just going to take a little time to look into it all.

My decision

EBay spares and repair – seeing that this is a site where i like to purchase and repair items, i have gone for this option and purchased a used and typically untested Mk1 Psion Datapak formatter from EBay. I have had some good dialogue with the seller and i am confident that this unit can be made good with only a small amount of intervention. The UV tube inside is potentially 40yrs old now, i’ve secured it at a very reasonable price as i got in there and was able to complete the deal relatively quickly.

My plan is to get this unit opened, check its mechanical and electrical stability, get it cleaned, reassembled and then Pat tested. Only then can i look at attempting a full format on it for the first time. And for that i will put together another post incorporating the repair of the unit and the formatting of the Datapak.

Here is my restoration of this unit: Psion datapak formatter

Thanks for passing by.

Exec Helper 8200 electronic organiser

What the listing stated:

Good condition – with instructions and original box

EBay

No beating about the bush, straight to the point. No messing. Cost me the grand total including postage of £9.94Gbp

What? You’ve never heard of it? Have a google and I think you will agree there is very little information anywhere regarding this unit. There may be a few items on eBay, where you will see a couple on sale (normally faulty) for a very reasonable price, however all are missing two very important items, a box and instructions, the latter being as rare as hens teeth.

Exec Helper 8200 electronic organiser

I’m fortunate to have an excellent example now, with both with only one polystyrene insert and not two, a box and instructions. They call it an organiser, that really is an overstatement, because if you read below you will see it is a really difficult unit to get to grips with. However it can be done, it just takes patience. The unit has three functions that are: Dictionary, Address book and Calculator.

This isn’t a repair video. As there is not a thing wrong with it, it’s absolutely cosmetically perfect. It just requires you to read thoroughly through the instructions, if you are fortunate enough to have some that is, and in this instance I can be very smug. I do have those original instructions, and there are probably more copies of the Magna Carta out there than there are instructions for this unit, or so it seems.

This video was from a chap, who posted it on YouTube a couple of years back. In the video the presenter had no instructions to follow. He also knew nothing at all about this unit. Its origin, age and use was a mystery. Using the Exec Helper 8200 can be both perplexing and frustrating.

Exec Helper 8200

What it does

  • Dictionary

One of the main features of this unit is its dictionary function. Users can Type in a word and press enter to retrieve its confirmation as a valid word. However, the device does not provide definitions or additional information beyond confirming the existence of the entered word. While it does allow scrolling through words, the lack of comprehensive definitions limits its utility as a traditional dictionary. Additionally, any misspelled words will not be recognized, resulting in a “not in memory” message.

  • Address book

The address book feature of the unit offers the potential to store and search for contact information. However, the functionality of this feature is somewhat confusing and not user-friendly. Users are prompted to enter a name, but pressing enter does not submit the entry. Instead, a separate search button needs to be pressed. The device’s scrolling and next line buttons suggest the ability to store multiple addresses, but the precise method of doing so remains unclear. Overall, the address book feature of the unit lacks intuitive design and may frustrate users attempting to utilise it effectively.

  • Calculator

In addition to its dictionary and address book capabilities, the unit functions as a calculator. When numbers are entered, the device immediately switches to calculator mode, allowing for basic mathematical operations. The calculator feature includes memory recall, addition, subtraction, percentages, and other commonly used functions. Unlike the address book and dictionary functions, the calculator feature of the unit appear to be straightforward and functional.

Date of manufacture?

The exact release date and availability of this unit remains uncertain. Judging from its design and styling, it is likely that the device originated from the late 80s or early 90s. However, due to its scarcity, finding a working unit or acquiring one in boxed condition can be challenging. I struck lucky with this one.

That said it probably was once a mass produced piece of tat that failed so miserably, that everyone who owned one threw them away, before they could ever be associated with owning one. They were that bad….or were they? I don’t know, there is so little out there about them that you can’t really make a reasonable judgement or gain constructive feedback regarding them.

It was probably a unit that was killed off in its infancy by one of the bigger names that were starting out around the mid 80’s that had a better, product and presence at this particular time. (Psion for example) A simple case of being in the right place at the right time.

Or is that the right place at the wrong time?

Edit: I have done some digging around and it seems to be that these units were sold via the UK newspaper “The Daily Mail” as a reader offer. I even have the original return form for it however there is no sign of a date. The only thing that ties it to the 90s is that refunds can go either to “Access or Visa. The Access “ Your flexible friend” card ceased in 1991 when the banks involved started doing their own card transactions. So it was definitely very early 90s maybe even late 80s. I’ll update this post if I uncover anything further.

Weird Uk laws

If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?

I’m going to inject a little humour into this prompt and I’ll tell you why. People see prompts such as this and then go into full dive mode to dig out a law that they disagree with, some rightly so others just because they have fallen foul maybe, and the rest just because it doesn’t fit with how they think it should be.

And then the arguments begin.

Here in the Uk and probably in a lot of other countries around the world, we have a whole load of laws still in place going back to times long past. It’s just like that drawer full of junk you have at home, no one ever has the time to open it up and get rid of all the clutter.

British law is sometimes just like that.

I’m not going to suggest any changes to the law, I’m just going to highlight a small selection of the weird and wonderful ones still in force today.

Here are a few that made me smile. They are still on the statute books, however i suspect they are rarely acted upon these days.

  • It’s illegal to linger after a funeral – A chap buried his wife in 2015 and waited an extra 20 minutes after the funeral as he was in no rush to leave. He ended up with a £160 fine! Apparently the law is there to stop gravediggers being prevented from doing their work
  • It’s an offence to handle a Salmon and look suspicious – WTF! See what i mean about strange laws. Under section 32 of the Salmon act 1986 this covers the suspicious handling of fish, and was aimed at preventing people selling fish through illegal means.
  • It’s illegal to be drunk in a pub – well I’m a convicted felon if this is the case. I must admit i have managed to get away with being arrested for many years now so i suspect this is one of those laws that are pretty much defunct now. The law that covers this is the Metropolitan act of 1839.
  • It’s an offence to be drunk in charge of a cow – the licensing act of 1872 forbids anyone to be in charge of a cow in an intoxicated state on any highway. (I have not been found guilty of this yet, Cows are hard to find in the city)

And the list could go on and on, there are literally hundreds of these old outdated laws still on the statute books today.

But i doubt anyone really falls foul of them nowadays.

Hope this shaped your wonderful faces into a smile…

Have a super day everyone, peace to you all.

Optimism & realism

Write about your dream home.

My optimistic side would say i’d love to live somewhere warm, who wouldn’t? I’d probably live in my favourite destination and that is the Western side of Cyprus. The people are friendly, the weather is warm and even the winter months can allow you the freedom of still being able to wear shorts. Yes, my old aching bones say that, that is the place for me.

However my realistic side thinks different.

I live in an old 1930’s house that did not have an ounce of insulation in its core fabric. Was it warmer back then? I think not. I am in a most fortunate position that our little old creaking, cold and demanding abode is ours. We are very fortunate.

I sit here writing about dream homes, when some people are dreaming for just a home, thats the problem, realising a dream. Sometimes its just out of reach. And here i am now thinking just what an idiot i am when in theory i have it all. Well, I don’t actually have it all, but in the eyes of many I’m well off. But i would have to disagree with that, comfortable yes, wealthy definitely not. What we have has taken a lot of self sacrifice, a lot of effort and more downs than there has been ups. We are nothing if not survivors, as are many others out there. We are bordering on retirement. It’s been a struggle to say the least.

So let’s approach this subject again probably from the angle i should have done in the first place.

I have an old house, it’s comfortable but cold in winter, and i love it. I wouldn’t ever want to be anywhere else and i am thankful for what i have and for those i have around me. I’m thankful to those who come into our little home and share the good and not so good times with us. Why would i ever wish to live abroad when i already live in my dream home. A new location does not fulfil the dream, those around you, the familiar landmarks and all those memories that we are creating on a daily basis are what make that thing of beauty. The bad times we learn from, we move on and become wiser.

This is my dream home. even though it’s bloody chilly.

Stay safe and warm. Peace to all.

Basically, It’s BASIC

And here we are after 40yrs still getting a lot of satisfaction out of pushing Basic to its limits.

Good post here, and very informative.

The BASIC language may be considered old-hat here in 2025, and the days when a computer came as a matter of course with a BASIC interpreter are far …

Basically, It’s BASIC

Be cautious

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

That’s depends on who breaks the news. Being naturally very cautious, I’d always seek clarification first before sharing it with my nearest and dearest. There is nothing worse than building someone’s hopes up and then knocking them back down like a lane of bowling skittles.

Fact checking always comes first.

Did your parents ever say, “ If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is?”

That ties in with what is written in the first paragraph.

Just like you protect yourself from all that’s bad, and always try to avoid trouble, it’s as plain as night and day that trouble will find you and affect you at some point in your life. And sometimes those occasions come in the shape of good news as misinformation.

You are not now protecting yourself, but all that you love in your life, your family, your friends. Well, it is in my case.

So to cut a long story short.

Fact check, get it confirmed. Check that the news is for you to give. Tell your loved ones. Spread the news far and wide.

And then bloody celebrate like it’s your last day on this earth.

Peace.

Psion organiser II XP

I’m so impressed with these Psion organisers from the 80s that I’ve now decided to go ahead and try to obtain some good examples of all the MkII models. I’ve recently posted about my CM version here: Psion organiser II CM but today I have obtained the next model from 1986 the XP version. You can find out more about the Psions I own on the main menu in the margin of this site.

With plastic caddy
Out of caddy
A couple of programs thrown in
Good condition
80’s tech in 2021

Above is a good video, using the XP in 2021

I’ve paid less than £20Gbp all in for this item and I think it’s a bargain personally. I’ve also obtained two programs that I’ll either keep or move on. There are some slight marks on the bezel but nothing too bad. I may be able to replace these parts with donations from some damaged sets I’m looking at. That’s a medium term plan, so there really is no urgency here. Let’s just make sure it’s running as well as it should do first.

I will be using these units to further learn the OPL programming language that they use.

As with the earlier CM model this unit also had the Y2K issue so I will have to run the TIMEINST program to ensure it updates the calendar accordingly.

The differences between these two units are very slight and it is basically around the available memory. Comparisons below.

  • The Cm – year 1986- Ram 8Kb- Rom 32Kb- Max datapack 64Kb
  • The XP – year 1986- Ram 16Kb- Rom 32Kb- Max datapack 2048Kb

CPU speed, clock speed and display are both exactly the same. It really is just an improvement in memory availability. Hence Spreadsheet programs could run with less of an issue on the XP units but not so on the CM units.

The Psion Organiser II XP model has a 6303 microprocessor with two-line LCD, two slots for memory cartridges and a connector for expansion. The keyboard is calculator-like with the keys arranged alphabetically, not in the Qwerty keyboard style. There is no off key the so the machine was switched off by a menu command. The case is also styled like a calculator, but it has a handy slide-on cover to keep the keyboard safe when the machine is not in use. 

Lost in translation

This is just one of those quick posts, i had to post as it made me giggle.

Store fronts such as EBay and others, are sometimes places where descriptions of items are at times questionable to say the least. However every once in a while a listing has a description that makes you smile. Today is one of those days.

A post on EBay today, the description is the seller for me 😂

This caught my eye and I thought I’d dig in a little deeper to read the description.

In a nut shell

I just love the part where it states the label translates for “Knackered” in German .

Made me giggle.

I think the label says something like “ Defect, Tailor in Oststeinbek. A region of Germany, however I may be wrong as my translation is basic at best.

However I know it dosen’t say Knackered as I believe that is “ Beschadigt” or “Geschlaucht” and that only translates as damaged! Which doesn’t quite fit the scenario does it?. Or maybe it does!

Hey ho!

Lost in translation as they say.

😂

Have a great day.

Simple OPL programming

I’ve been totally bitten by this coding bug for these Psion organisers. They use a code called OPL, Open Programming Language that is loosely related to the BASIC programming Language. This allows the consumer to write programs or to make amendments to the way their personal organisers can operate and carry out commands. It’s an amazing bit of kit, but as usual I am about 40 years late for the party, however there is still a big community out there who have created some amazing programs and routines, and fortunately they are all willing to share their skills. The language seemed to phase out into retirement sometime around 2010.

One of those people is the guy in the video below called Huw. He has a channel on YouTube called Handheld computing and he has made a series of six episodes teaching those who want to know, how to program in OPL. He also has a lot of retro based videos on his channel.

Huw – he’s very good 👍

This is only episode one, and using Huw’s teaching I have already produced my first thirteen line routine to carry out a simple command that asks you to input your first name, and then second name and then it presents that to you, in the centre of the organisers screen. A simple and basic operation that gets you to appreciate the requirements and individual inputs that are needed, to get such a string of information to present itself on a screen in a structured way.

My rough scribblings in a scruffy shorthand

In my notes above I’ve added a couple of new lines to reposition the presentation of the text on my screen. And as I used the 4 line LZ model, this required a different set of coordinates from the two line CM model that I have also used.

When using the techniques in the video I did notice that there were mistakes, as when I entered the information into the organiser it was coming back with a “Bad declaration” error. So I knew something was wrong. After a while of searching through the program I realised two of the string routines were presented wrong with the “$” dollar sign positioned wrong in the text. A quick change of position and the program translated fine and now runs well on both machines. Below is a tidy version of the code:

NAME:

LOCAL NAME1$(10),NAME2$(10)

PRINT “HELLO”

PRINT “ENTER 1ST NAME”

CLS

PRINT “ENTER 2ND NAME”

INPUT NAME2$

CLS

AT 8,2

PRINT “HELLO”

AT 5,3

PRINT NAME1$;” “;

PRINT NAME2$;” “;

GET

I apologise if there are any glaring mistakes or mis types that the more trained eye may witness, however it’s only day one for me so I’m quite pleased.

Below are a load of pictures of the code being input into the organisers

Screen shots of different stages of the input into the OPL system. You can see these routines in the code presented either on my rough sheet or the typed version above.

And below is the results as they appear on either the 4 line screen or the two line screen, dependent on what unit you are programming.

Enter 1st name
Enter second name
Hello Dave – 4 line version
Hello Dave – 2 line version

And that’s it for my first session really, seems a lot of work for such a simple routine. However I have learned a lot in just one session and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Im quite looking forward to Huw’s next five lessons, hence I will report back further as my learning and abilities hopefully improve.

Thanks for passing by.

Thanks, again

I have already thanked everyone on 26th January this year for your kind support on getting me up to 100 subscribers on this site. It really is appreciated and today I need to thank you again on getting me to a 10k views notification.

Thank you 🙏

I’m not a consistent blogger as my posts vary greatly, I know there is quite a range in quality but I make no apologies for that. I’ve always suffered with quite severe mood swings due to a number of factors that I won’t dwell on here, and this site was created as an extension of the journal I used to write at home. That journal had some extremely worrying matter in it and I always encouraged my wife to read it, (As I’m a bloke who doesn’t openly talk) and as a result she pulled me out of some deep ravines and I am eternally grateful to her for that. That said I decided to take the Journal one step further and it is now online for all my family as well as you good souls to see. As a result you will see the good and the not so good, but believe me I am in a much better place for having you all around me.

Thanks for just being there, you will never understand just how much it helps.

And yes, I do talk more and I suggest everyone who is suffering in silence breaks that mould, and talks to someone. Do not please suffer in silence. And I’m always here to lend a listening ear.

Eternal thanks to each and every one of you.

Peace 🙏