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1988-06-09
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6KB
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199 lines
QRB/QTE Beam Heading and Distance Program
Version 1.01
Copywrite 1987 by Harold G. Peach, Jr.
Notice
------
A limited license is granted to all users of this program to
make copies of this program and distribute them to other
users under the following conditions:
1) The program is not to be distributed to others in a
modified form and must be accompanied by this
documentation.
2) This program may not be offered for resale or be included
as part of a package offered for resale.
YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO COPY AND SHARE THIS PROGRAM WITH OTHERS
This program is considered freeware. If you find this
program of value, a contribution ($10.00 suggested) will be
appreciated. Also, as a contributing user, you are entitled
to a copy of the source code if you include a business size
self-addressed stamped envelope. Contributing users may also
receive program modification updates by sending a s.a.s.e.
and diskette.
Disclaimer
----------
This program is licensed as is without any warranty as to its
performance, accuracy, or freedom from error, or as to any
results generated through its use; including, but without
limitation to, any implied warranties of merchantability or
of fitness for a particular purpose. You assume the entire
risk as to the results and performance of the program. I do
not warrant that the program will meet your requirements or
operate without interruption or error.
Harold G. Peach, Jr., N4FLZ
P.O. Box 24124
Lexington, Kentucky 40524-4124
(606) 273-3242
INTRODUCTION
Every effort has been made to make this the best and most
accurate beam heading and distance program available. The
author was prompted to write this program after several
failed attempts to find an existing program that would work
for all points on the earths surface. This program has been
tested and found to work at the poles, exact antipodes, and
for the same point on the globe. While rounding errors may
exist, our tests have found the program to be very accurate
at both great and small distances. (Tested accurate using two
points 10 miles apart.) The most important thing is to be as
exact as possible when entering the points.
CONVERTING MIN/SEC FORMAT TO DECIMAL FORMAT
As pointed out above, the more accurate the points entered
the more accurate the results. So, lets go over how to
convert from Minute/Second Format to Decimal Format. This is
done by using the following formula:
Decimal Format = Degrees + Minutes/60 + Seconds/3600
Lets say your latitude was 32 degrees, 12 minutes, and 34
seconds. In order for this to be used by the program, the
format must be converted to decimal as follows:
Decimal Format = 32 + 12/60 + 34/3600
= 32 + .2 + .00944
= 32.20944 Degrees
NORTHERN/SOUTHERN LATITUDES
EASTERN/WESTERN LONGITUDES
In most cases you will also need to enter the hemispheres and
meridians using a different format than is used by most
books. Northern latitudes and Western longitudes should be
entered as positive numbers. Southern latitudes and Eastern
longitudes should be entered as negative numbers. Examples
of this are as follows:
50.25 Degrees North latitude would be entered 50.25
139.00 Degrees South latitude would be entered -139.00
114.52 Degrees East longitude would be entered -114.52
79.34 Degrees West longitude would be entered 79.34
You do not need to enter plus (+) signs as any number without
a sign is assumed to be positive.
PROGRAM OPERATION
This program is completely menu driven and requires no
additional documentation. The program itself is designed to
run on all IBM personal computers and compatible. It has
been tested on an IBM PC, XT, and PCjr using PC-DOS 2.1. The
only file needed to run the program is QRBQTE.COM. To begin
simply type QRBQTE from the default drive prompt.
A FINAL NOTE
The question has been asked, what does the name QRB/QTE stand
for. Most radio amateurs are familiar with Q signals. So,
the filename is a concatenation of two Q signals. QRB
literally means "The approximate distance between our
stations is _____ miles." QTE literally means "Your TRUE
bearing from me is _____ degrees at _____ hours."
73's
Harold G. Peach, Jr.
N4FLZ