Ahoy!’s Bug Repellent v3 (Buck Childress)

Title – Bug Repellent (V3)
System – Commodore 64
Author – Buck Childress
Publication – Ahoy! Magazine, May 1987 onward
Page Scans – 1
Preserved by – eboy71
Recommended Emulator – VICE

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Loading the Game –

• Mount the disk image (ahoy utilities.d64) in your emulator. In VICE, this is done by selecting File → Attach Disk Image
• Load the app by typing LOAD”BUG REPELLENT”,8
• Once loaded, type RUN to start

Overview:

Bug Repellent is a proofreading utility published by Ahoy! Magazine, designed to make typing in programs from that magazine more accurate.

When running, it will display a 2-letter value (e.g. “AA”, “AB”, etc.) in the upper-left corner of your screen after typing in a line of code. If the value matches the code that is printed in the magazine, your line of code is correct.

After the utility runs, Bug Repellent resides in memory location 49152. To toggle it on or off, type SYS49152.

Article Text

Please note: the Bug Repellent programs listed here are for Ahoy! programs published from the May 1987 issue onward! For older programs, use the older version.

Type in, save, and run Bug Repellent. You’ll be asked if you want automatic saves to take place. If so, you’re prompted for the device, DISK (D) or TAPE (T). You then pick a starting file number, through 99. Next, you enter a name, up to 14 characters long. At this point, Bug Repellent verifies your entries and gives you a chance to change them if you want. If no changes are needed, Bug Repellent activates itself. (Pressing RETURN without answering the prompts defaults to disk drive and begins your files with “00BACKUP”)

Type NEW and begin entering an Ahoy! program. As you enter program lines and press RETURN, a Bug Repellent code appears at the top of your screen. If it doesn’t match the code in the program listing, an error exists. Correct the line and the codes will match.

If used, automatic saves take place every. 15 minutes. When the RETURN key is pressed on a program line, the screen changes color to let you know that a save will begin in about three seconds. You may cancel the save by pressing the RUN STOP key. The file number increments after each save. It resets to 00 if 99 is surpassed. After saving, or cancelling, the screen returns to its original color and the timer resets for 15 minutes.

When you’ve finished using Bug Repellent, deactivate it by typing SYS 49152 [RETURN] for the Commodore 64 or SYS 4864 [RETURN] for the Commodore 128.

Editor’s Note:

• This is the third version of Bug Repellent, and it only works for Ahoy! type-ins published after May 1987. Other versions:
• Bug Repellent V1: Used from April – May, 1984
• Bug Repellent V2: Used from June, 1984 – April, 1987