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Big Blue Reader in the 21^st Century

By Dick Estel

As Commodore becomes less and less a factor in most people’s computing activities, one of the most useful and important programs for the C128 becomes more important. The name, “Big Blue Reader,” ( BBR ) gives us a hint as to its origins in the misty past – the reference is to IBM , known as “Big Blue,” which dominated the PC scene when the program was written.

Although the program came with a fairly clear manual, and most of its capabilities can be carried out via on-screen menu choices, there are subtle nuances that can only be discovered through use, experimentation, or help from another users, especially when using BBR with today’s machines.

At its most basic level, BBR quickly and easily converts almost any Commodore 64/128 word processor file to a text file that can be loaded into any Windows-based word processor for further use and editing.

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive re-stating of the manual – rather it is a series of hints and tips about things that may not be obvious when using the program, to help the user avoid some of the pitfalls that serve to frustrate and delay the conversion process.

Converting Commodore files to PC requires the original source disk, which can be a 5.25 or 3.5 disk, and a 3.5 disk formatted to 730 Kb. Back in the day, your PC would give you this option when formatting a floppy, but I believe starting with Windows 98, you could only format a disk at 1.38 Mb. Fortunately, BBR has a utility to format a MS-DOS disk on the 1581.

BBR runs only on the 128 in 80 column mode. When it boots up, the opening screen offers three options:  

            1. Use standard ASCII translation

            2. Use screen code

            3. Format 1571 disk

For text files, if you’re not sure what format your CBM word processor used, you can view the directory (from within BBR , or before booting it). If your files are SEQ, choose option 1; if they are PRG , choose option 2. If you are converting any kind of file other than text, always use option 1, which loads by default of you don’t make a selection within a certain time limit.

Once the program finishes loading, you are presented with a number of menu options. One of these is Utility, which is where you can format your PC disk if necessary. Normally the first choice I use is Drive I/O, which is where you set your source and target drive. Since there is a Disk Command option, it is possible to copy files from a partition on a hard drive. You should make a note of the exact partition and subdirectory name in advance, since you have to type them in without recourse to the directory. The source can be any 15XX drive and probably most third party clones; the target needs to be a 3.5” drive. I no longer remember if the program will create and write to an IBM formatted 5.25” disk, but it is not likely that you will have such a drive available in any PC outside a museum (or a major tech geek’s garage).

The next step is to load the directory of your source disk, using the LOAD DIR option. You will be asked what type of disk ( CBM , MS-DOS, or 128 CP/M), and be given the option to enter a pattern (for example, just files beginning with a specific word or group of letters). The directory then loads very quickly. Now you select the files you want converted, using the COPY command. After putting the cursor on COPY and pressing RETURN, you press RETURN again on each file you wish to copy. An asterisk appears next to the file name, and once you are finished, the conversion process begins.

This is where the author did what I think was some low level “copy protection” – there is nothing on screen to tell you what to do next (of course, it is in the manual). What you do is hit the UP ARROW key. Once again you are given a choice as what type of disk to write to ( CBM , MS-DOS, CP/M), and once you have made your choice, you will be asked three questions, the answers to which are critical to the success of your conversion.

The first is “Convert to standard ASCII?” Answer YES if you are converting text files, and you chose option 2 (screen code) from the opening screen. For all other situations, answer NO.

The second is “add line feeds?” Answer YES if you are converting text files, regardless of the choice made at the opening screen. For other types of files, answer NO.

The third is “retain same file names?” I recommend answering YES in most cases, and here I need to get into a detailed discussion of one of idiosyncrasies of Big Blue Reader. In the early days of PCs, they could only accept a file name of eight characters, plus an optional three character extension (this was at a time when Commodore file names could be much longer). Therefore many of us gave nice long descriptive names to our CBM files – for example, “Family History 1940s,” “Family History 1950s,” etc.

BBR automatically uses the first eight characters of the existing file name, discarding spaces and non-alpha-numeric characters. Therefore both file names in the example would be converted to “familyhi.” When BBR encounters such a duplicate file name, it stops and waits for you to enter a different file name (a good choice here might be “famhist5”) This requires you to sit there during what is a fairly slow process. If you say NO to retaining the same file names, then you have to be on duty throughout the entire conversion process.

Once you have converted your first disk of files, you should check it on your PC. If you let the program create the file names, you will not have a file extension, and your PC will not recognize the program type. There are several easy ways to deal with this. The simplest (in my opinion) is to open the files from within your Windows word processor. Most such programs will recognize the file as text, and may offer a conversion option. Select the default option.

Another way is re-name all the files, adding .txt to the file name. Your word processor will recognize the files as text, but may still ask for a conversion option. You can also open these files in WordPro or WordPad, but editing capabilities are limited.

The third option is to open Windows Explorer (AKA My Computer), right click on the file, and use the OPEN WITH option, selecting the desired word processor. In all these cases, the final result is the same – whatever BBR has created will appear on the screen for further processing.

There are times when following my instructions regarding ASCII vs. Screen Code, or converting to ASCII when you start the conversion process will turn out to be wrong – you will get a screen full of garbage, or more likely, upper and lower case will be reversed. In this case, go back to BBR and change your choice, then test it on the PC until it looks right.

Many CBM word processors put commands such as Bold or Underline into the file as a hidden text string. This information cannot hide from BBR , and will be converted, usually into unintelligible garbage. Here’s where you have to go to work with your Windows word processor, editing the text to your liking. I have also seen files that convert with extra spaces here and there, or several blank lines, all fixable.

So far I have focused mainly on text file conversion, but it is possible to convert other types of files. To do so, you should ALWAYS use option 1 (Standard ASCII) from the opening screen, and ALWAYS answer NO to the two questions regarding converting to standard ASCII and adding line feeds.

I have successfully converted geoPaint graphics to .jpg via BBR . To do so, you must first use the GEOS utility Convert to change the files from GEOS USR format to CBM SEQ format. This is a simple, though somewhat time-consuming process, but the instructions on screen are fairly straight forward. There are several versions of Convert, and as far as I know, all of them will do the job correctly.

Once these former GEOS files are in SEQ format, then you simply load BBR and follow the instructions for converting as described above.

I have also converted Commodore programs that were downloaded from a BBS via a MS-DOS computer. Such downloads can’t be executed on a PC, but they can be converted to Commodore format and then should run normally on a C64 or whatever computer they were written for.

It is also possible to convert Windows text files to Commodore format. While the process is fairly straight forward, there is one point to consider – if the ultimate plan is to convert to geoWrite, use all UPPER CASE characters in your file name. In fact, I recommend using upper case for any files that are created or will be used in GEOS.

The Windows to CBM to geoWrite conversion can be outlined as follows:

1. Convert your Windows word processor file to a plain text file by selecting File/Save as. From the Save as Type drop-down, chose Plain Text (*.txt) (Note: These file commands are from Microsoft Word; other word processors may express them differently.)

2. Copy these files to a 3.5 disk formatted to 730 Kb.

3. Follow the conversion instructions above, using option 1 from the opening screen. Select MS-DOS as the source and CBM as the destination.

4. Answer NO to the Standard ASCII question (it’s already in that format). You may have to experiment with whether to add line feeds for not.

5. The converted result should be a standard ASCII file, which can be converted to geoWrite using the Wrong is Write utility. It can be loaded as is with The Write stuff and presumably many other Commodore word processors, but TWS is the only one I can vouch for.

From this point you can add GEOS or Commodore commands for bold, underline or other desired formatting.

A few final comments:

If you have a CMD hard drive, I can vouch that Big Blue Reader works just fine from a 1571 emulation partition.

If you make the wrong choice at the early steps, it will normally be obvious when you look at your converted file on the PC. If upper and lower case are reversed, you probably said YES to standard ASCII, and need to change it to NO. If there are extra line feeds, say NO to the linefeed question. And if the text on the screen is gibberish, you probably made the wrong choice at the opening screen.  

Converting Commodore Files to PC Format
By Dick Estel

Some of you reading this are probably like me – you don’t use your Commodore anymore, having moved on to a Windows PC. Some don’t even have Commodore equipment any longer. 

What you DO have are some disks of text files that you created with Speedscript, The Write Stuff or some other Commodore word processor. These may be a diary of your trip to the Grand Canyon, a stab at the Great American Novel, or just records, letters, and the other typical stuff we do on the computer. Whatever it is, you’d like to be able to read it and print it out again.

That’s where Big Blue Reader comes to the rescue. This commercial program runs on the C64 or C128, and converts Commodore files to PC format and vice versa. Of course, “runs on the C64” means you either need to have your old classic in working shape, or know someone who does. 

BBR is relatively simple to use, and all required entries and actions are indicated on screen, with one important exception. 
The program requires a 1571, 1581 or comparable third party drive, and let’s face it, you’re probably not using a PC that has any place to stick a 5.25” disk, so a 3.5” drive is a necessity. The first step is to choose the appropriate drive In/Out settings, and to select the correct format for each drive (CBM or PC). For example, I usually convert from a 1571 with CBM files to PC format on a 1581. Next you must load the directory, and choose the desired files, all guided by on-screen prompts. Once you’ve done this, you’re at a loss if you don’t have documentation or a friend who knows the secret – press the up arrow key (next to Restore) to launch the conversions. 

You’re given the choice of keeping the original file names or entering them yourself. Here’s where things get tricky. I always choose the original name option, but the program was written in the old days of eight character DOS file names with a three character extension (e.g. DIARY98.TXT). No matter what the file name is, the program will select the first eight characters (eliminating spaces and any characters that are not alpha or numeric). Since Commodore users were used to using 16-character file names, you often find yourself with duplicate names, so you have to enter an alternative name. 

For example, names such as SUMMER TRIP 1, SUMMER TRIP 2, would both be converted TO SUMMERTR, and you would have to rename the second and subsequent duplicates. I just delete the last character and add a number (e.g. SUMMERT2). I also add the .TXT extension since it makes it easier to use the files on the PC. 

The program operates in computer memory only (no disk access other than loading the files), so if there are a lot of files or large files, it will load as many as possible, do the conversion, then load the next batch until the job is completed. 

Big Blue Reader includes several utilities, the most useful of which is the ability to format a 3.5” disk for the PC. Since the 1581 drive requires 800K disks, this is very useful. I’ve found that my newer PC does not want to format a disk at less than 1.2Mb, which is not recognized in the 1581. 

A number of options are available when converting. When the program boots, you can choose “screen code” as the source. This is helpful with The Write Stuff, Speedscript, and other Commodore word processors that save files in this format. During conversion, you can choose to have the files changed to standard ASCII, which is the normal format for text files. 

If you are converting non-text files, then you answer “no” to this question. This lets you convert any kind of file, but the end use of such files is limited. You can’t convert PacMan and expect to run it on a PC. Instead, this option is intended to allow you to upload or download Commodore files via the PC. 

Big Blue Reader is no longer supported by its creator, but you can probably find used copies (possibly without documentation). There is also a free public domain program, Little Red Reader, that performs the same tasks. I’ve never used it, so I don’t know if it’s as functional as BBR, but it IS an option. 

(The Fresno Commodore User Group offers file conversion service at a nominal cost; for details log on to www.dickestel.com/fileconvert.htm). In addition, we’ll be happy to provide answers and advice via Email to info@dickestel.com.

David “Lord Ronin” Mohr – a Tribute  

by Robert Bernardo

(In lieu of a memorial service for Dave Mohr, I wrote the following.) 

“Ow!  Dave, you're making me laugh too much.”

 Dave looked at me, grinning at the discomfort I was having.  He kept at it, telling me joke after joke, and I continued laughing and holding my chest, the physical pain very real.  He knew what he was doing; he was lifting my spirits after a tumultuous 36 hours for me.  Car packed full of Commodore and Amiga items, I had arrived in Portland that Tuesday in 2007 for MossyCon 3, the little Commodore event Dave put on every spring break.  That Tuesday night, an ambulance hauled me away to the nearest hospital emergency room for chest pains which I later found out was pericarditis (post-viral inflammation of the pericardium – the protective sac around the heart).  I missed MossyCon on Wednesday, me being still stuck in the emergency room, my only visitors being Andrew Wiskow and Jeremy L..  Later that afternoon I was released, and the next day, after a worried Jeri Ellsworth treated me to lunch, I drove out to Dave's place in Astoria . The chest was starting to hurt again at 4:30 on the road, and I downed three ibuprofens, according to the wishes of the doctors.  By the time, I reached Dave's place at 6, the pains had just subsided... until Dave started me laughing and laughing.

“You know, Robert, you didn't have to come,” as Dave gently chided me for traveling all that way in my condition.

“Nah, Dave, I said I would come to MossyCon.”  

For the next 3 ½ hours, Dave and I had our own MossyCon, the others having attended the day before.  His eyes would light up with every Commodore computer I pulled out of my car – PET 2001, PET 4032, PET 8032, modded SX-64, Amiga CD-32.  

“If you don't want to take that back to California , I can take it off your hands,” he would say, this being a long-running joke that I had heard for years and years.  

Years and years....  

Fast forward to MossyCon 5 in 2009, a different venue – the Moose Lodge in Astoria – and a different day – the first Sunday of spring break.  Dave and I were reminiscing about how long we had known each other.  

“I think it was 2001, Dave.”  

“No, Robert, it was before you knew Jeri Ellsworth.”  

“You know... you're right, Dave,” and we determined it was from the late 1990's.  I seemed to think it was from 1998 or 1999 when I first visited his Amiga-Commodore User Group on the way back from a visit to the Amiga computer dealer, Wonder Computers, in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada .  

Ten years of visits to him in Astoria .  I had only known Dave to come out of Astoria one time... to visit me one Thanksgiving in Canby , Oregon so that he could pick up a MSD-SD2 disk drive from me.  He had another person drive him over, but he couldn't stay too long.  He had to return for Thanksgiving dinner at his place two hours back.  

When the annual Commodore Vegas Expo started in 2005, I dreamt of methods to get him to Las Vegas , by bus or by train or by car or by a combination of those.  None of those plans came to fruition.  An airline flight would be a no-go for him.  

He did tell me about having a table at the annual Portland Orycon event, a role-playing gamers  convention.  Though in later years he boycotted the show, during the times he did go to it, he spoke favorably of it where he would dress up, talk RPG, promote Commodore computers, and espouse the Klingon way.  Yeah, Dave was a fan of the Star Trek original series.  When he found out about my taking sides with Starfleet, he looked at me and sniffed half-seriously, “Staaarfleeeet...”  

Dave could throw out a choice phrase in Klingon when needed.  For that matter, Dave could blurt out choice phrases in British English, German, and Yiddish.  And the speed with which he could turn a phrase would always amaze me.  

“Dave, how should I respond to this person who is bugging me?”  

“Robert, this is what you say...”  Needless to say, now I have a quick response in German.  

Dave could appropriately modulate his voice, too, being a former radio disc jockey.  He would turn on his radio voice and read a line from his radio station, and I would be properly impressed.  

 One thing he couldn't do was communicate in Spanish at a Mexican restaurant.  I had to teach him.  

“Robert, how do you say, 'I'm Jewish.  I cannot eat pork.'?”  

“This is the way, Dave.  Say, 'Soy judio.  No puedo comer cerdo.'”  

Dave loved his many and varied pet cats.  It didn't matter to him whether they slept on top of the Commodore keyboards or on his lap.  He would rescue those he could and rehabilitate them.  Every time I visited his house, I had to be aware of where the cats were for fear of stepping on them or for fear of them jumping on me.  Dave took great pleasure in my discomfort.  

“That one, Robert, has especially sharp claws.”  

I would then huddle on a chair with books, boxes, or computer parts covering my lap.  When he found out about my preferring dogs, he looked at me and sniffed half-seriously, “Doooogs...”  

It was only last year I found out that Dave was a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War.  Yes, I knew he was a veteran, but I never knew that he had been captured, that he had been in Army intelligence.  He was on a mission and had been captured by the Viet Cong.  He was tortured.  Five (or was it six) days later, he was rescued/freed by Americans.  He spoke that in those days the Viet Cong had a price on his head.  And he still couldn't watch the movie, the Deerhunter, because it cut too close... it brought back too many memories of his experiences during the Vietnam War.  

He was a fan of other movies and t.v. shows, especially British t.v. shows – Red Dwarf, Monty Python, Dr. Who, Gerry Anderson shows like UFO, and his supreme favorite, the Prisoner.  When he found out that I would be visiting Wales in 2008, he urged me to visit Portmeirion, site of the Village seen in the Prisoner.  The nearest I could get to it was Cardiff , the site of the new Dr. Who t.v. series.  I brought back details of my visit, and he would listen to all of it with great appreciation.  Not only was Dave a good talker but he was a good listener, too.

He enjoyed the souvenirs I brought to him from the U.K. .  He enjoyed the souvenirs that Peter Hanson, the Plus4 king of England , brought during his visits to Astoria .  Dave especially liked the various British tabloids, like the Sun with its famous/infamous Page 3 Girl; Dave's eyes would positively glow at the photo of a pretty girl.  Peter and Dave got along famously, Peter remarking that Dave had the English sense of humor.  Peter and Dave would be telling English jokes with each other, and I would be dumbfounded... not understanding anything of the jokes.  

The last Peter and I saw Dave was on our mid-June visit to Astoria .  It was on a Sunday, very quiet because the bar above the Mohr Realities RPG/Commodore shop was closed.  As usual, Dave was very hospitable; he even gave us a few of his Commodore disks-of-the-month.  And I thought this would always be.  I would visit Dave two or three or four times a year.  I would bring his Commodore goodies to Ray Carlsen in Washington State for repair, and I would dutifully bring them back.  I would buy unusual Commodore items from his shop and gladly pay him.  I would listen to his wisdom on Commodore games and GEOS.  I would listen to his explanations on various RPGs or comic books.  

Now I can only listen to that little part of him captured on my MossyCon videos.  Now I can only see him in the photos I took of him.  Now I can only read his musings in his Village Green newsletter or in the accumulated e-mails and postings I have from him.  Now I can only relive the memories I have of him, though those memories may fade in time.  He was the Master, the Sensei... and he always considered me the kid.  

The night before he passed away... 12 hours before... he made a posting on Facebook.  He was joking about his cats and about pretty girls.  He talked about “Slow now, only about an hour of online time a day.”  He talked about “Getting there, had a slight relapse on Monday.”  And he talked about his German Jew father and Scotch-Irish mother.  As he remarked, “So there may be a slight reason why I have a slight stubborn streak. (LOL)”  

A stubborn streak that kept him in Commodore, a stubborn streak that kept his club together, a stubborn streak kept him going through every trial and tribulation in his personal life; those tribulations he would try to explain to me, and I couldn't understand all of them.  

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