I am sending you a few bits for the Electron which you or readers in the group may find useful.

I have used both the MODE 7 SIMULATOR ROM and the PACE COMMS cartridge. I suspect the latter is quite rare now! You will not, of course, be able to surf the net but it works fine on Bulletin Boards up and down the country.

You seem to be a little confused about my recent request for back issue disks. I asked for the six issues that I lacked but I only got five so would you please send EUG #42, the missing item.

On the subject of disks, I had to return my copy of EUG #43 as there are many problems with it. One program is missing altogether!

I have enclosed a Lottery Predictor program. Yes, I know that everyone and his uncle has written one of these but before you start to yawn, hear me out. I compiled the program a couple of years ago when I was in a syndicate of about a hundred people. The BASIC program ran very slowly using a three-loop algorithm to compare the numbers. I rehashed it, treating the lines as strings and used INSTR to do the comparisons. This worked much faster but there was still a significant delay (especially on an Electron!). Now I've discovered assembly language! The part of the program that took up the time is now coded in assembler and of course this cuts the delay.

This is my first attempt at coding in assembly language and I have used the original three-loop scheme. If anyone can suggest improvements or alternative methods I would very much like to hear from you.

F Ray Thomas, EUG #43