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1988-12-24
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FIELD DAY CALLS (FDCALLS.EXE)
MS-DOS Version 1.95 December 1988
*by Stanley Kaplan, WB9RQR
11541 N. Laguna Drive
Mequon, Wisconsin 53092-3119
(414) 242-6966
*With many thanks to Mr. Mark Siegesmund, Systems Analyst, who
did much of the programming and worked over the years with
WB9RQR to fully develop this version.
PUBLIC DOMAIN
-------------
Yes. Copy it, share it, modify it, etc. Do anything you want
with it, EXCEPT: 1. Don't sell it (you can charge a nominal
fee for the disk that its on, but that's all). 2. Do give
credit for it - don't remove the author's call from the
program or this DOC file. OK?
FILES
-----
There are two files in this package:
FDCALLS.DOC 7936 bytes 12/25/88 00:00:00
FDCALLS.EXE 13504 bytes 12/25/88 00:00:00
If your source of these two files was FDCALLS.ARC, the ARC file
itself should show:
FDCALLS.ARC 14997 bytes
The date and time of the ARC file will vary depending upon when
it was copied. However, when you unARC the DOC and EXE files, a
DIR should show 12/25/88 with no time stamp (00:00:00 is
reflected as a blank, at least under MS-DOS 3.3).
The DOC file is the file you are reading now. The EXE file is
the program iteself, compiled with Turbo PASCAL Version 5.0.
PURPOSE AND GENERAL FEATURES
----------------------------
FDCALLS is a FAST, efficient Field Day Logging program. It has
been in use by the Ozaukee Radio Club, PO Box 13, Port
Washington, Wisconsin 53074, for over 5 years with excellent
results. There is NO waiting; a call is logged practically
instantly when the ENTER key is hit. No visible time span can
be detected between the ENTER and the next prompt or DUPE beep
until there are well over several hundred calls in a file. You
will be pleased with its speed.
It can be used when Field Day is over, to log each tent or
transmitter site into a separate file. Alternatively, it can
be used at Field Day, if a portable MS-DOS computer is
available, to log each site into a separate file. This is
what we did (Ozaukee Radio Club) during 1988. Another
alternative, for clubs that have several portable MS-DOS
computers available, is to use it at each site; the no-wait
feature makes dupe sheets obsolete, provided you have a reliable
source of power. One caution that should be self-evident. If
you are using generators at your Field Day site, SAVE THE
DATA OFTEN. Also, work up some system of notifying all power
users when the generator is going down for refueling. Don't
just kill it, because all data will be lost that is not saved on
disk!
RUNNING THE PROGRAM
-------------------
To run, type FDCALLS <ENTER>. (Note that <ENTER> means pressing
the ENTER or RETURN key. A banner will be displayed showing the
program name and version number, as well as the upper limits for
variables (number of calls that can be placed in a file, prefix
first letters allowed, etc.). An explanation of filenames will
follow, followed by:
Enter the filename now, or press the ENTER key
without entering any characters to quit the program: ==>
Make up a standard filename and extension. Some examples are:
80PHONE.RQR 40PHONE.RXJ 20CW.CAN NOVICE.TNT SOLAR.CW
You need not use an extension, but its better if you do. In
the first three examples above, the extension consists of the
call letters of the head of that tent or site. Novice tent
and solar CW are the last two. Let us assume you wish to
work with a new file, NOVICE.TNT; type it in followed by
ENTER. You will see:
Enter the filename you wish to work with ===> NOVICE.TNT
NOVICE.TNT <-- Not found. Create this file (Y/N)?
Respond with a Y (upper or lower case), and you will see the
main prompt, shown below under ENTERING CALLS.
ENTERING CALLS
--------------
Calls may be entered in UPPER, lower or MiXeD case - case does
not matter. The main prompt is shown below, along with a call
you have typed in:
Enter a call, or L)ist, S)ave, R)esort or Q)uit: ==> WB9RQR<ENTER>
The next prompt will be:
Answering Y or y <ENTER> will log the call in the list, IN
ITS SORTED ORDER. That is, the program puts 9s after 8s, and
WB8ABC before WB8XYZ, at the moment you press ENTER. Therefore,
the list is sorted as it is being built. That is why dupes are
caught so fast; they are looked up in a presorted list.
Now is the time to make a point. It is very important for you to
press the letter S every now and then at the main prompt. Until
that is done, the data is not saved on disk. If the power
goes down, you loose the calls. It is suggested that you save
after every 20-25 calls. The number is not important, but that
you do it is. SAVE OFTEN. It takes very little time, a few
seconds with even 500 calls in the file. Do it; you will be
glad that you did. (Just in case you forget, the program will
automatically save all the calls after somewhere around 50
are entered, depending somewhat on how long the calls are, so
don't panic if you suddenly get a "Saving the data....."
message without requesting it. However, you are urged to save
more often than this.)
DUPES
-----
Let us suppose you type a duplicate call, followed by ENTER. You
will see:
*** DUPLICATE CALL ***
Do you wish to delete it from the file? (Y/N)?
and you will hear a beep. Answer N (or n) to this question and
continue with your next entry.
This is also the mechanism for deleting a call from the file, for
example, one you entered before you discovered it was typed
incorrectly. In this case, retype the incorrect call to get
the DUPE prompt shown above. Then answer Y or y to the
question, and it will be deleted from the list.
IMPROPER ENTRIES
----------------
The program will accept calls which begin with W, K, N, A or V,
and each must contain a number. If you miss the 3 and hit the
E, entering a call such as VEEABC, you will see:
*** IMPROPER ENTRY ***
with a beep, and the main prompt will again appear. Type it in
correctly and proceed. Note that each call may contain up to 7
characters. A single data file (80PHONE.RQR, etc.) may contain
up to 5,000 calls.
LIST
----
This command at the main prompt will list the contents of the
calls, in columns of four across. Each call is numbered.
Following the screen list, you will see the prompt:
Send to printer as well? Enter Y)es for a hard copy -->
No will get you back to the main prompt; yes will list the
calls to the printer, along with space to write in your club
name and a heading showing the filename. This hardcopy is ready
to go to ARRL.
SAVE
----
This command saves the call list to disk, as mentioned above in
ENTERING CALLS. Save often!
RESORT
------
This is a command which you will probably never use. As
mentioned previously, each call is inserted in its proper
position in the whole list, when first logged, the instant you
press the ENTER key. However, should some error cause a call
to be inserted out of order, this command will resort
everything.
QUIT
----
Returns you to DOS, after first S)aving everything to disk
(nice safety factor).
<<<<< END OF DOCUMENT >>>>>