HP-71B and PILBox - How to transfer Program

[rprosperi]

(10-12-2018 09:23 AM)Harald Wrote:  And how do I transfer lex files?

Transferring a DOS text file to a 71B BASIC programs is possible, but it requires several steps, which I will try to detail later today.

But transferring a LEX file is very quick and easy, assuming the LEX file you have is in a 'LIF image' file, such as those found in the OLDP.

1. Connect 71B to PIL-Box
2. In ILPer, open the LIF image
3. Confirm the filename, etc. by listing the image file contents: CAT :TAPE(1), then down-arrow to step through the files
4. When you have found the file to transfer, copy it to the 71B: COPY FILENAME:TAPE(1) TO FILENAME:MAIN.
5. If you want to retain the same filename and copy the file to main RAM, you may shorten this to: COPY FILENAME:TAPE(1); the filename is retained and the default target location is main RAM.
6. If you wanted to copy the LEX file to an IRAM (e.g. in port-2), do this: COPY FILENAME:TAPE(1) TO :PORT(2)
7. You can also rename the file in the copy process: COPY OLDFILE:TAPE(1) TO NEWFILE:PORT(2).

The above process will also work to copy a text file, if the source file is already in a LIF image, but that is unlikely. Once this is done and FILENAME has been copied as a LIF text file, you would have to TRANSFORM FILENAME INTO BASIC, to have the 71B convert it. Lines with any syntax errors are converted into comments so you can correct them.