The ‘level 0’ reset usuallyoccurs only at power-on time. It may occasionally occur when you reset, if a program has gone berserk and overwritten reserved memory locations. A level 0 reset reinitialises everything. This includes the RAM disk, the contents of which will be lost, and the character set, including any specially changed display characters you have produced. Switch selection - colour, boot, etc Prior to Version 3.1e EPROMS, switch 2 (numbering 0, 1, 2, 3) of the quad DIL switch on the motherboard was used to inform the 1616/OS about the type of video monitor you are using, so that the appropriate colours or grey scales are used for your display.
If you have EPROMS prior to Version 3.1e, set switch 2 off if using a colour monitor. Set switch 2 on if using a monochrome monitor. This monitor selection is not required on Version 3.1e and later, and switch 2 is now used to select an external serial terminal as the console, for test purposes. If the switch is open (off), serial port A is used as the console, provided no disk controller is present. If you do accidently leave the switch open, a rude message appears on the video to remind you of what has happened. If you have a disk system, the selection of a serial port can be made by software on the disk, so the setting of this switch is used differently.
If a disk controller is present, switch 2 now determines whether you will attempt to boot first from the floppy drive or hard disk. Monitor types The best monitor for the Applix 1616 is a colour Multisync (or greyscale multisync if cost is a problem). Since these are costly, the alternatives are discussed below. A standard Applix 1616 is compatible with an ordinary, old fashioned, IBM style RGBI CGA colour monitor. The style of monitor was selected because it is readily available, and more moderately priced than multisyncs. These displays are rela- tively cheap because they use standard TV video refresh frequencies, are easy to make, and are built in great numbers.
It does however have the great disadvantage that, like a TV, it does not provide a very clear or readable text display. Look for them at sales! Don’t buy a new one these days, as they are obsolete. The standard Applix can also use a composite monochrome display to display shades of grey (well, green or amber usually). You can connect a non-IBM composite video monitor as used by Apple and MicroBee (that is, you don’t need an IBM Monochrome or Hercules style monitor ... but read on). These composite monitors are considerably cheaper than colour displays. Again, check out sales, and look for prices well under $100.
If you decide upon a monochrome monitor, I strongly recommend that a ‘dual scan’ monitor be used. These are intended for use with IBM PC clones, and can readily be adjusted to accept both standard IBM RGBI CGA video (as provided by the Applix), and also the higher scan frequency IBM monochrome or Hercules graphics monochrome output. You should note that many (most) monochrome Page 104 User Tutorial Manual Appendix A