Install a
clock card in
your computer
Most computers these days are supplied with
a real time clock but older machines usually
do not have one. You can remedy this
situation easily by installing a clock card.
You will then have time and date available at
the touch of a key.
By LEO SIMPSON
There are many programs which
require a real time clock and others
which will make use of the clock
facility if it is fitted. For example, if
you are using Sidekick or Popcorn
in your machine, the calendar function will always be correct if you
have a clock card installed.
If you have a program which
keeps track of appointments or a
diary, again you need a clock card
to make it function properly.
A clock card can also be useful
when you consider that any file
created under DOS will be labelled
with the date and time. This can be
very handy if you want to check
when files were actually created or
last updated.
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SILICON CHIP
Anyway, you get the picture - a
clock card is a handy facility. And
considering that you can have a
clock card in your computer for just
$50, why should you have to put up
without it any longer?
What's involved
So what is involved in installing a
clock card? To tell the story of what
is involved, we obtained a sample
card from Electronic Solutions.
Their clock card comes in a standard "half card" size, ready to be
plugged into one of the vacant slots
in your IBM PC or compatible.
The card is supplied packed in
foam and accompanied with a small
instruction book and a 5 ¼-inch
floppy disc containing one program
entitled "RTC-EXE". The card is apparently a multipurpose board as
quite a few IC positions are vacant.
In its clock card form, it has three
14-pin ICs, one 16-pin IC, one 20-pin
IC and the main chip which is a
24-pin type.
Also in evidence is a 4-way DIP
switch, the clock crystal, marked
"XTAL2", and the button-style 3V
lithium battery.
Before you install the card, you
should remove the plastic sleeve
from the positive terminal of the
battery holder. If you don't do this,
the clock will not run when the
machine is turned off.
Installing the card is simply a
matter of removing the cover from
your IBM PC XT or compatible,
removing the expansion slot cover
strip/retaining bracket from one of
the vacant slot positions and then
inserting the card. Push down firmly on the card to make sure it sits
properly into its connector on the
motherboard and then secure the
retaining bracket with the single
screw.
As supplied, the DIP switch has
all four switches in the ON position
and it should not be necessary to
touch these. You can now put the
cover back on your machine.
The next step is to turn on your
machine and boot it up in DOS. You
then put the clock disc into drive A,
type in "RTC" and hit return.
The program will then put a
menu on the screen which gives you
three options, numbered 1, 2 and 3.
To set the time and date, you hit 3
and then it leads you through the
steps of giving the day, month, year,
hour, minutes and seconds. It will
then say "Bye" and throw you back
to the A) prompt. If you then type
RTC again and hit 1, the machine
will be initialised with the correct
time and date values.
If you then ask the machine for
the Time (type 'time' and hit
return), you will get the correct
time. Similarly, if you ask for the
Date (type 'date' and hit return),
you will get the correct day and
date, in the American format; eg,
Mon 10-23-89.
All these steps are detailed in the
clock instructions.
Making it automatic
With the operation side confirm-
THE PLASTIC SLEEVE MUST BE removed from the positive terminal of the
battery holder before the clock card is installed. If you don't do this, the clock
will not run when the machine is turned off.
ed, you then need to make the whole
process automatic by incorporating
the clock program into your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your normal
boot disc or hard disc drive. You
can do this by either modifying your
existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file or by
creating a new one. Either way, the
instruction manual that comes with
the clock card will tell you how to
do it.
So why wait? The clock card is
available from Electronic Solutions,
PO Box 426, Gladesville, NSW
2111. Phone (02} 906 6666. Fax (02)
906 5222.
~
THE CLOCK CARD IS INSTALLED in a vacant expansion slot on the computer's motherboard. Push it down firmly to
ensure good contact, then secure the retaining bracket with the single screw.
DECEMBER1989
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