Blue Line for Psion Series 5 and Revo
What it runs on
Psion Series 5, Series 7, and Revo. (Author has tested on Psion 5mx and Revo+, and on a Series 7 emulator.)
What it does
Blue Line can be used to view the line for any method and “ring” it from the keyboard. It can extract methods from the regularly updated place notation available free of charge from the web at: http://www.ringsoft.co.uk/change-ringers/ringing-programs/microsiril/method-libraries/mslibs.zip. Thus a ringer can have any line he/she would ever be asked to ring available at a moment’s notice in his/her pocket. Random touches, including spliced, can be “rung” on the keyboard to test one’s knowledge of the method(s) prior to grabbing hold of a rope. Touches of spliced can be entered and practiced, such as a peal of 23-spliced. This is particularly useful when wanting to test yourself on each lead at least once, by entering an “all the work” composition of your own choice (or creation) from http://www.bronze-age.com/elf/ . Comes complete with comprehensive help.
What it costs
FREE, but a donation to the St. Mary’s Cheltenham Bell Fund for an amount that you believe appropriate, will incline the author to send you any updates by email.
Where to get it and/or more information
http://www.abbey1.org.uk/blue_line/
iAgrams (blue line app for iPhone and iPod Touch)
What it runs on
Apple iPhone and iPod Touch running iOS 4 or newer. Will also run on the iPad, as an iPhone app.
What it does
iAgrams can display the line, grid or changes of any method in the Central Council method libraries – that is to say, any of the 17,000 or so named methods. It contains all of the information in the Central Council method libraries, including falseness groups and dates of first peals. It is, however, not a ringing simulator, and does not produce sound or allow methods to be rung. iAgrams is organised around the idea of a method collection, which is simply a group of methods that you want to think of together. There are pre-defined collections, such as the Standard 8 Surprise Major, and you can define your own. Accessing a method collection is quick and easy, and avoids the need to repeatedly search for a method in the complete libraries. It is also easy to step through the methods in a collection, which is useful if you are learning or revising several methods at once.
What it costs
Free
Where to get it and/or more information
Download it from the Apple App Store.
More information at www.iAgrams.co.uk
JBlueLineAE (method learning program for Android smartphones)
What it runs on
Android (Ver 1.5+) try before you buy.
What it does
Allows you to view and ‘ring’ methods in the simulator. Aiming for testing method recall from memory at speed, not ringing in time to anyone else. It uses the microSIRIL method libraries in order to make over 16,000 methods available to you to browse and ring. You can choose to ring plain courses, random leads and random touches, all while waiting at the church for your fellow ringers to arrive.
Library used
microSIRIL method libraries.
What it costs
£12 – proceeds to bell restoration
Where to get it and/or more information
JBlueLineAE can be downloaded from http://www.stmarkschelt.co.uk/JBlueLine/. Full help on using the application is available on-line there too. If you would like to see what the software is like before downloading, then please use the free on-line version available at http://www.cheltenhambranch.org.uk/jblueline.php#usage
JBlueLineME (method learning program for mobile phones and PDAs)
What it runs on
Any mobile device with a Java runtime environment. Specifically, mobile phones and PDAs (Palm, WinCE, Symbian) as long as they have support for J2ME, CLDC-1.1 and MIDP 2.0. If your phone was purchased recently and plays games it can probably run JBlueLineME – try before you buy.
What it does
Allows you to view and ‘ring’ methods in the simulator. Aiming for testing method recall from memory at speed, not ringing in time to anyone else. It uses the microSIRIL method libraries in order to make over 15,000 methods available to you to browse and ring. You can choose to ring plain courses, random leads and random touches, all while waiting at the church for your fellow ringers to arrive.
Library used
microSIRIL method libraries.
What it costs
£12 – proceeds to bell restoration
Where to get it and/or more information
JBlueLineME can be downloaded from http://www.stmarkschelt.co.uk/JBlueLine/. Full help on using the application is available on-line there too. If you would like to see what the software is like before downloading, then please use the free on-line version available at http://www.cheltenhambranch.org.uk/jblueline.php#usage
Mobel ringing simulator for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
What it runs on
Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad running iOS 3 or iOS 4
What it does
Mobel lets you practise any method on 4 to 16 bells, ringing a single bell or, for handbell ringers, a pair: just tap the screen to ring your bell(s). You can ring plain courses, or touches with bobs and/or singles that Mobel calls, or spliced. You can conduct touches of single methods. You can select from over 17,000 methods, and can edit methods to create new ones, including Doubles Variations. You can vary the speed of the ringing, and ring with handstoke gap or cartwheeling. You can have Mobel wait for you if you hesitate while ringing – or it can carry on in perfect rhythm.
Mobel can display the blue line diagram for any method, showing all the rows, or just the lines, or a grid. Mobel shows the diagram for bobs and singles, if these are defined for the method. You use pinch gestures to zoom the display, and swipe left and right if the picture is too big for the screen. For Handbells, Mobel displays the lines for both the bells you’d ring.
What it costs
£5.99 ($9.99 USA). All profits go to charities, including bell restoration funds.
Where to get it and/or more information
Buy it from the Apple App Store. More information there, and at www.abelsim.co.uk
