Amstrad Notepad NC100

My Amstrad Notepad NC100

Introduction

AlphaSmart Comparison

File Transfer Steps

File Transfer Issues

Running BASIC: Life

Further comparisons and conclusion

Original page design from a 2001 version of Amstrad's page on the Wayback Machine

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Back in 2023 I acquired this Amstrad Notepad NC100 for a reasonable price due to it supposedly having a faulty keyboard... but weirdly enough it worked fine for me, more or less.

In July 2026 the Amstrad officially replaced my AlphaSmart 3000 (right) due to a preferred typing experience and increased versatility, and I copied Usagi Electric's example and created "life" on the device...

Click here for the details

"The Amstrad NC100 Notepad is a portable Z80-based notebook computer, released by Amstrad in 1992. It features 64 KB of RAM, a word processor, various organiser-like facilities (diary, address book and time manager), a simple calculator, and a version of the BBC BASIC interpreter.

The computer's design, evocative of the TRS-80 Model 100, features a screen that is 80 character columns by eight rows, and while not backlit, the NC100 can run for up to 20 hours on four standard AA cell batteries. There is an RS-232 serial port for communication, a parallel port for connecting a printer, and a PC card socket, by means of which the computer's memory can be expanded up to 1 MB." - Adapted from the Wikipedia article on the device.

Initial AlphaSmart Comparison:

Amstrad NC100	AlphaSmart 3000
More capable word processor along with other tools	Basic text input mostly
Nicer keyboard	(perhaps the keyboard is more prone to deterioration with age)
Serial RS-232 data transfer	Transfer via USB as if it's a keyboard connected to your computer
4 x AA batteries	3 x AA batteries (lasts longer)
Higher resolution screen	Screen more visible outside
Adjustable feet, but somewhat flimsy	More robust/rugged design (partly due to simplicity) Quirky design.

File Transfer Steps:

I finally got round to transferring a file from the NC100 over Serial to an old laptop. The procedure I used is as follows (adapted from ncus.org.uk):

Connect the NC100 with the serial cable to my Windows PC (98/XP) (I noticed on my second PC to try this on that within the Word processor on the NC100 with the serial cable connected it was receiving erroneous data that was messing up my document or flitting through menus as if keys were being pressed, so I needed to delay connecting it until ready to begin the transfer).
In Windows open up HyperTerminal (Programs > Accessories > Communication)
Setup the new connect there (it will be saved to the menu above for next time): COM1 (or 2, or whatever), 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.

From the Word processor menu on the NC100, choose to List Stored Documents
Press Secret/Menu on highlighted document of choice
Press T (for Transfer)
In HyperTerminal go to Transfer > Receive File..., specify where you want to save the file, and the protocol as Xmodem. Click Receive.

Choose your Filename (include .txt)
Back on the NC100 immediately press X - for XModem send
Note that the transfer will not actually start until the 3rd retry and the Error checking changes to Checksum (I wonder if there is a way to instigate this from the get-go, without having to wait).

File Transfer Issues:

I have found the transfer process to be error-prone and I'm not sure why. In the resulting document where I had typed notes from a book there are a number of eroneous "boxes" where I assume Notepad can't interpret the character. There are numerous spaces/tabs which I thing occured in the original as I typed. There are also Š characters at the at the beginning of many lines, and also the page formatting is transferred across so the new line appears as it did on the Amstrad making further formatting in the transferred file problematic.

Above all of this I do prefer typing on the Amstrad compared to my AlphaSmart 3000 though, they keys just function nicer, even if the end result isn't perfect.

Running BASIC: Life:

In Usagi Electric's July 2026 video on Youtube 'BASIC on This 80's Mini Computer is Terrible' he explains the program 'Life' and manages to install and run it on his system. It made me think I could surely install and run it on my Amstrad NC100 with its 8-line display. With the aid of ChatGPT, here's how I did it.

I first asked ChatGPT if it thought the program should work and it confirmed it should, it even feigned interest in my project with "Looking through it, it appears to be a simple one-dimensional cellular automaton." and curiosity with "One question out of curiosity: was your intention to create a custom one-dimensional automaton inspired by Conway's Game of Life? The two-cell neighbourhood on each side is an interesting variation that isn't one of the more common elementary automata." Indeed.
I didn't want to type in the program by hand so from the link in the video description I copied and pasted the BASIC program into a text document (Kate on my Linux system - I had to go to Tools > End of Line > Windows/DOS to remove erroneous formatting not visible later on the Amstrad). I saved the file as life.txt

5 LET M=78
10 DIM X(M)
20 DIM Y(M)
30 FOR I = 0 TO M
40 LET R = RND(1) * 10
50 IF R > 5 THEN 80
60 LET X(I)=1
70 GOTO 90
80 LET X(I)=0
90 NEXT I
100 FOR I = 2 TO M-2
110 IF X(I) = 1 THEN 140
120 PRINT " ";
130 GOTO 150
140 PRINT "*";
150 NEXT I
160 PRINT
170 GOTO 200
200 FOR T = 0 TO 25
210 FOR I = 2 TO M-2
220 GOTO 500
230 NEXT I
260 FOR I = 0 TO M
270 LET X(I) = Y(I)
280 IF X(I) = 0 THEN 310
290 PRINT "*";
300 GOTO 320
310 PRINT " ";
320 NEXT I
330 PRINT
340 NEXT T
350 GOTO 30
500 LET C = 0
510 FOR Z = (I-2) TO (I+2)
520 IF Z = I THEN 550
530 IF X(Z) = 0 THEN 550
540 LET C = C + 1
550 NEXT Z
560 IF X(I) = 0 THEN 800
700 LET Y(I) = 0
710 IF C = 2 THEN 750
720 IF C = 4 THEN 750
730 GOTO 230
750 LET Y(I) = 1
760 GOTO 230
800 LET Y(I) = 0
810 IF C = 2 THEN 850
820 IF C = 3 THEN 850
830 GOTO 230
850 LET Y(I) = 1
860 GOTO 230

I removed line spaces (these are used in the video to explain the different parts of the program). I also had to remove spaces from lines 5, 10, 20, 60 and 80 due to "Array at line 60" and "Array at line 80" errors I got when I initially tried to run the program on the Amstrad (these might not have all been necessary but ChatGPT helped me here). I also changed line 5's value to 78 to make better use of the Amstrad's screen character width.
I transferred the text file to my Windows XP laptop and then with a serial cable connection to the Amstrad I roughly followed my File Transfer Steps above, but I needed to Send the text file to the Amstrad. Here the Amstrad asks for a file name, I chose 'life'.
The file transferred swiftly. Then into BASIC using Function + B. [ChatGPT gave me the impression I should have been able to load the text directly into BASIC using HyperTermnial, but I couldn't get anything to happen this way.]
Initially I thought I knew what to do from my days of loading programs from cassette onto ZX Spectrums (LOAD "life", but this resulted in "Bad program". The exact procedure [found here] was "*EXEC life" (which sounds somewhat contradictory...) The program loaded.
[With the syntax errors resolved] I typed RUN, and away it went, taking a few seconds to process each line.

If you too have also managed to run Life on random hardware, let me know.

If you've found my steps useful you can show appreciation here >

Or check out Usagi Electric's video.

Further comparisons and conclusion:

Typing on my Amstrad compared to my AlphaSmart 3000 is nicer, although the AlphaSmart's screen is more visible outside (not a grave problem if you can effectively touch-type).
There is a file length limitation on the AlphaSmart that I frequently run into, although continuing in a new file is not really an issue.
The file transfer process is more of a hassle to set up on the Amstrad, but it is potentially quicker with the Amstrad if the document is lengthy.
The Amstrad requires Serial cable transfer (i.e. my Windows 98/XP machine) whereas I can use any machine that accepts a USB keyboard with AlphaSmart.
There might be multiple files that make up "one" to transfer from the AlphaSmart whereas a single document can be longer on the Amstrad.
Transferring from the AlphaSmart means your "keyboard" is out of action for the duration of the transfer.
I often get a "Lithium Battery Low..." message on the Amstrad; I think this is due to something making poor contact because the battery itself seems fine.