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1991-12-13
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Short Wave Log
Version 1.13
Copyright c 1991 Lee Consulting
P.O. Box 71301
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Acknowledgements
Short Wave Log started out as a series of dBASE/Paradox tables
and C code. As the program grew, so did the bugs. Thanks to the
great team of beta-testers who not only found the bugs, but also
gave great suggestions.
The code to spawn Short Wave Log to EMS/XMS memory or disk was
written by Ralf Brown.
The Finnish language module of the QSL Writer is Copyright c 1991
Veli-Matti Anttila. Used with permission.
The Spanish language module of the QSL Writer is Copyright c 1991
Joe Piskor. Used with permission.
Trademarks Trademarks Trademarks
CXL is a trademark of Innovative Data Systems.
DESQview and QEMM are trademarks of Quarterdeck Office Systems.
IBMR, PCR, and PC-DOSR are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines.
MS-DOSR, HIMEMR, and XMSR are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
Turbo AssemblerR, Turbo CR, dBASER, and ParadoxR are registered
trademarks of Borland International.
Development Development Development
Short Wave Log started as a dBASE application and has evolved
into a Turbo C 2.0/Turbo Assembler 2.0 program using the Paradox
Engine 1.0 for database functions and the TCXL 5.52.06 library
for screen management.
Introduction Introduction Introduction
Many listeners of short wave/international radio log broadcasts.
With personal computers now affordable to almost everyone,
listeners can store their logs in a database such as dBASE or
Paradox or a flat-file database. This requires the listener not
only to purchase a database, but also to learn the database
language. The Short Wave Log program allows the listener to
Page 1
enter logs directly into a database and harness the power of a
database without the cost and time of purchasing and learning a
database.
What exactly does the Short Wave Log program do? Each record of
a listener's logbook corresponds to a record in a database table.
The table is indexed so that the listener can sort and print his
logbook by:
date and time
frequency
station name
transmitter location
In addition to storing the log entries, Short Wave Log also
stores station frequencies and addresses, which are used to
speed-up the entry of logs and QSL requests. Short Wave Log also
writes reception reports in a variety of languages: English,
German, Finnish, Spanish, and Swedish. More languages will be
added in subsequent updates.
Hardware and Software Requirements Hardware and Software Requirements Hardware and Software Requirements
Short Wave Log runs on the IBM PC family and on 100% compatibles.
At least 512 kB of conventional memory is required. If present,
approximately 400 kB of EMS or XMS memory is used. A hard disk
and at least 2 / MB of free disk space is recommended; however,
Short Wave Log will also run on a 720 kB or higher capacity
floppy or RAM drive (although some features will be disabled).
DOS 3.0 or later is required. With DOS 3.30, Microsoft added
National Language Support (NLS). Short Wave Log uses the NLS
functions to format the date, time, and sort order according the
country statement in the CONFIG.SYS file. (See an DOS manual for
more details.) The QSL Writer is heavily dependent upon the NLS
functions and cannot be accessed under DOS 3.0, 3.1, or 3.2.
Short Wave Log places rather heavy demands on the system. The
minimum number of file handles recommended is 30. (Put a
FILES=30 line in the CONFIG.SYS file.)
Short Wave Log is written to take direct advantage of the
DESQview multitasking system. When running under DESQview, all
screen writes are written to the logical screen buffer.
Therefore the "Writes Directly to the Screen" option can be set
to "No" even on 8086/8088/80286 machines.
Short Wave Log is compatible with the EGA 43-line and VGA 50-line
modes. Set the monitor to one of these modes before running
Short Wave Log. Three batch files (25.BAT, 43.BAT, and 50.BAT)
are supplied for this purpose.
Page 2
Short Wave Log will detect the DOS country code and set the date,
time, and floating-point formats accordingly. The sort order of
the tables is also determined by the country code. Three sort
orders are supported: International, Norwegian/Danish (country
codes 047 and 045), and Swedish/Finnish (country codes 046 and
358). The three sort orders differ in how they treat accented
Roman characters. The International sort order does not
differentiate between accented and unaccented characters. The
Norwegian/Danish sort order puts accented characters immediately
after unaccented. The Swedish/Finnish sort order puts accented
characters at the end of the alphabet.
Installation and Upgrading Installation and Upgrading Installation and Upgrading
Because of the number of archive programs available for the IBM
PC and compatibles, Short Wave Log may arrive packaged in almost
any format. To extract the file from the archive, follow the
instructions of the archiving program. Once the files have been
extracted to a subdirectory (e.g. C:\SWLOG), the program is ready
to run.
Upon starting the program for the first time, Short Wave Log
creates the SWL table in which the log entries are stored. After
the SWL table is created, all the tables are keyed. This can
take anywhere from one to fifteen minutes, depending on the speed
of the machine and hard drive. After the initial keying of
tables, the program is ready to run.
When upgrading to a new version of Short Wave Log, move the old
version and its associated files into a temporary directory.
Extract the new version into the SWLOG directory. Finally copy
the *.DB, *.PX, *.X??, and *.Y?? files from the temporary
directory to the SWLOG directory. This will copy over the
starter tables with your own tables.
Registration and Support Registration and Support Registration and Support
Short Wave Log is distributed as shareware. It is not and never
has been in the public domain. Short Wave Log may be freely
distributed in any format so long as the archive is kept in tact.
The demonstration program can be used on a trial basis. If you
find the program useful, please register by sending $20 (U.S.)
(check or money order) to Lee Consulting, P.O. Box 71301,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
As an alternative to the registration fee, a language module for
the QSL Writer can be provided. In particular French,
Portuguese, and other European languages are needed. An
Page 3
Internet, CompuServe, or GEnie e-mail address is required for
this option. Please contact Lee Consulting for more details.
With registration comes a printed copy of the manual, the latest
version of the program, and support via either e-mail or
telephone. More importantly, you will receive notification of
updates and new versions.
The latest versions of the Short Wave Log can be found on these
systems:
ANARC 913/345-1978
Binklink 412/766-0732
CompuServe HamNet Forum
GEnie Radio Roundtable
Pinelands 609/859-1910
Red Onion Express 914/342-4585
If you have any problems with the program or have any comments --
positive or negative -- feel free to use one of these e-mail
addresses:
CompuServe: 71251,1407
Internet: 71251.1407@compuserve.com
GEnie: R.SILLETT
Changes from version 1.12 to 1.13 Changes from version 1.12 to 1.13 Changes from version 1.12 to 1.13
Trap for Escape before entering the Browse function.
If run on A: or B:, the program uses only the
primary key and blacks out the OS Shell, Browse,
Import, and Export functions to conserve disk space.
The help file is optional to conserve disk space on
floppy installations.
Fixed problem where the abbreviation for Afrikaans
would not be displayed.
The Display Stations function can now display more
than 500 stations.
The OS Shell function is blacked out if running
under DESQview as it can spawn DOS processes.
The TCXL video library has been upgraded to 5.52.06.
This fixes some anomalies with the data entry forms.
The FREQLIST table has been updated with data for
winter 1991-92.
General clean-up of the documentation.
Known Problems Known Problems Known Problems
Page 4
There is an incompatibility between the Paradox Engine and the
Zenith EZpc. Unfortunately Short Wave Log cannot run on the
Zenith EZpc.
Some EMS memory managers on 286-based computers are incompatible
with the memory calls used by Short Wave Log. Short Wave Log
requires real hardware EMS 4.0 memory, not software EMS 4.0
memory emulation.
Demo vs Registered Versions Demo vs Registered Versions Demo vs Registered Versions
The demonstration and registered versions of Short Wave Log are
identical with one exception: the "please register me" message
only appears in the demonstration version.
Environment Variable Environment Variable Environment Variable
Short Wave Log displays a clock in the upper right-hand corner of
the screen. The clock can be set to either local time or
GMT/UTC. If GMT/UTC is the preference, then Short Wave Log must
know the time difference between local time and GMT/UTC.
The time difference is read from the DOS environment variable TZ,
where TZ=zzz[+/-]d[d]lll. zzz is a three letter abbreviation for
the standard time zone. The [+/-]d[d] field contains one or more
digits telling the number of hours the local time zone is west of
GMT/UTC. For zones east of GMT/UTC, prefix the number with a
minus sign (e.g. -1 for Continental Europe). The lll field is
used if daylight savings time is currently being used; it too is
a three letter field.
Time Zone: Set TZ to:
Eastern Standard EST5
Eastern Daylight EST5EDT
Central Standard CST6
Central Daylight CST6CDT
Mountain Standard MST7
Mountain Daylight MST7MDT
Pacific Standard PST8
Pacific Daylight PST8PDT
Configuration File Configuration File Configuration File
The environment variables and command-line options of earlier
versions have been replaced by the ASCII configuration file
Page 5
SWLOG.CFG. The following items are set in the configuration
file:
Registration number
User name and address (used for QSL requests)
BIOS screen writes
CGA snow elimination
Swap to EMS/XMS or disk
Display the clock using local time or GMT/UTC.
Monochrome display
Frequencies shown in MHz or kHz
Name of an ASCII editor to edit the QSL requests
Main Menu Main Menu Main Menu
Once the program is started, an initial welcome screen and
copyright notice is displayed. To remove the message, press any
key or wait a few seconds until the delay is over. If the
demonstration version is run, a "please register me" screen is
displayed.
After the welcome screen disappears, the program is ready for
use. On the top of the screen is a five-part menu and a clock,
which displays the current local time or GMT/UTC. The main menu
is divided into five sub-menus:
______ System: Re-display the welcome screen; Show a list of
ASCII characters; Shell to DOS; Display
information about the system; Quit the
program.
________ Freqlist: Append, browse, edit, delete, and print the
records in the FREQLIST table.
_______ Logfile: Append, browse, edit, delete, and print the
records in the LOGFILE table.
________ Stations: Append, browse, display, edit, delete, and
print the records in the STATION table.
_____ Utils: Export the tables to CSV files; Import data
from CSV or dBASE III/III+ files; Generate a
reception report; Rekey the tables.
System Menu System Menu System Menu
General information about the program and computer is accessed
through the system menu. There are five choices to the system
menu:
Page 6
______ About: This function shows the welcome message that
appeared upon first entering the program.
The current version of the program is
displayed.
_____ _____ ASCII Chart: This function displays an ASCII
chart. It may be called at any time via the
[Alt-A] key combination. This is useful for
entering non-English character on a US/UK
keyboard (e.g. Sudwestfunk).
__ _____ OS Shell: This function temporarily exits the program
and presents the normal DOS prompt. While in
DOS, any DOS command may be issued; however,
if any of the database tables are changed or
deleted, irreparable damage may be inflicted
to the tables.
This function is not available when running
under DESQview as it can spawn DOS processes.
______ _____ System Info.: This function shows various details
about the system such as the type of CPU and
co-processor, the amount of free
conventional, EMS, and XMS memory.
____ Quit: This function quits the program by closing
all open files and reallocating all used
memory. This is the only safe way to exit
the program. It is not safe to exit by
rebooting or turning off the computer since
this may destroy all or part of the tables.
The program may be quit at any time by using
the [Alt-X] key combination.
Freqlist Menu Freqlist Menu Freqlist Menu
Access to the FREQLIST table is obtained via the freqlist menu.
FREQLIST is a Paradox table with the following structure:
Khz N
Station A35
Location A35
Kw N
The FREQLIST table is used to aid the entering of a record into
the LOGFILE table. For example, say the BBC on 9590 kHz is being
entered into the LOGFILE table. The program maps 9590 kHz into
the FREQLIST table and finds all matching entries. Both the BBC
and Radio Netherlands are found. The user then chooses the
correct station and the program presents the user with the
corresponding information for the transmitter location and power.
Page 7
If no matches are found, then the user is simply not presented
with any suggestions. If the suggestions are incorrect, the user
need only press the [Esc] key to disregard them.
Short Wave Log is shipped with a FREQLIST table containing
approximately 470 records. The frequencies are current for the
winter of 1991.
There are five choices to the freqlist menu:
______ Append: This function appends records to the FREQLIST
table. Once selected, the user is presented
a form in which to enter data.
______ Browse: This function allows the viewing and editing
of many records on the screen at one time.
This function is contained in the file
BROWSE.EXE. The Short Wave Log program is
swapped to EMS, XMS, or disk when this
function is called. The swapping method may
not be compatible with every expanded and
extended memory manager. If the swap crashes
the system, it can be forced to disk by
setting an option in the configuration file.
To make more disk space available for log
entries, the browse function is not available
when run from a floppy drive.
___________ Edit/Delete: This function edits and deletes
existing records in the table. The program
maintains keys, or indices, to the table.
Prior to entering the edit form, the user is
prompted to choose the desired key and enter
the search data. The corresponding record is
then found in the table.
If run from a floppy drive, only the primary
key is used to save disk space.
_____ Print: This function prints the table to a file
chosen by the user. The output is sorted
according to one of the table's keys:
frequency, station name, or transmitter
location. To print directly to a printer,
give the name of the port to which the
printer is attached (e.g. PRN:, LPT1:).
____ ___ Char Set: This function determines whether the Print
Freqlist function uses 7- or 8-bit ASCII
characters. While all PC's can display 8-bit
characters, some printers cannot.
Page 8
The Append and Edit/Delete functions share the same data entry
form; however, the Edit/Delete form has additional keys defined
to allow the user to move from record to record. While in either
function, the Escape key aborts the function. The key bindings
specific to the Edit/Delete function follow:
[F2] Choose a new search key.
[F3] Delete the current record.
[F9] Go to the first record in the table.
[F10] Go to the last record in the table.
[PgUp] Go to the previous record.
[PgDn] Go to the next record.
The browse function has the following key bindings:
[F1] Help screen
[UpArr] Previous record
[DnArr] Next record
[LtArr] Next field to the left
[RtArr] Next field to the right
[PgUp] Previous page of records
[PgDn] Next page of records
[Ctrl-PgUp] Top of table
[Ctrl-PgDn] Bottom of table
[Home] First field
[End] Last field
[Ctrl-End] Go to a specific record
[Delete] Delete current record
[BSpace] Edit current field
[Enter] Accept edit
[Esc] Abort edit or exit function
Logfile Menu Logfile Menu Logfile Menu
Access to the LOGFILE table is obtained via the logfile menu.
LOGFILE is a Paradox table with the following structure:
Date D
Gmt A4
Khz N
Mode A4
Sinpo A5
Station A35
Location A35
Kw N
Language A2
Detail1 A50
Detail2 A50
Detail3 A50
The LOGFILE table is used to store the user's logs. When
entering a record, the user is presented with pop-up windows for
Page 9
the mode, station name, transmitter location, power, and
language. The suggestions for the station name, transmitter
location, and power pop-up windows come from data in the FREQLIST
table. If there are no corresponding matches in the FREQLIST
table, then there is no pop-up window. If the suggestions are
incorrect, the user need only press the Escape key to disregard
them.
There are the same options to the LOGFILE menu as the FREQLIST
menu with one addition:
_____ ___ Print Key: This function prints only those
records matching a given key (e.g. only the
records from the BBC). The user is prompted
for the filename.
Stations Menu Stations Menu Stations Menu
Access to the STATION table is obtained via the stations menu.
STATION is a Paradox table with the following structure:
Name A35
Address1 A35
Address2 A35
Country A35
There are the same options to the STATIONS menu as the FREQLIST
menu with one addition:
_______ Display: This function presents the user with a pop-up
window of all the station names. The user
can choose a station (or abort the function
via the Escape key) and see the address of
the station.
Utils Menu Utils Menu Utils Menu
Contained in the utils menu are functions that do not fit in the
other menus. There are four choices to the utils menu:
______ Export: This function exports the data from the
FREQLIST, STATION, and SWL tables into ASCII
files formatted to the CSV (Comma Separated
Values) specification. A CSV file is a
comma-delimited ASCII file with double
quotation marks surrounding text fields. The
CSV files can then be imported by another
database or spreadsheet. The fields are in
the same order as described above.
Page 10
______ Import: This function imports data from a CSV or
dBASE file into the corresponding tables
(i.e. the data in a FREQLIST.DBF file is
imported into the FREQLIST table). Both the
CSV and DBF files must be in a specific
format. The required format for each table
can be found in the on-line help.
___ ______ QSL Writer: This function writes a reception
report (a QSL request) in a variety of
languages. Currently Short Wave Log writes
reports in English, Finnish, German, Spanish,
and Swedish. The QSL Writer cannot be
accessed unless running DOS 3.30 or later.
When this function is selected, the user is
presented with two forms. In the first form,
the user enters his name and address; the
name and address of the station; the date,
time, and frequency of the broadcast; the
quality of the signal strength, background
noise, and overall transmission quality of
the broadcast. Finally the user chooses the
desired language for the report. A list of
stations from the STATION table is presented
in a pop-up window for thestation name field.
If a station is chosen, its address is placed
into the appropriate fields of the form.
In the second form the user enters details
about the program that he has heard. If a
language other than English is chosen, a
pop-up window of program details is
presented. The chosen program detail is
translated into the appropriate language.
The text for the QSL request is stored in
files with the extension of QSL (e.g.
ENGLISH.QSL). These files can be edited to
the user's taste with any ASCII editor that
supports 8-bit ASCII.
When both forms have been completed, the
reception report is written to an ASCII disk
file. Note that this file is in 8-bit ASCII
(to accommodate the non-English characters),
and not all printers can print it.
After the QSL request is written to disk, the
user is asked if he wants to edit the report.
The name of the editor is defined in the
SWLOG.CFG file.
Page 11
_____ Rekey: Since there can be thousands, even millions,
of records in a table, there must be a faster
method to locate records other than to
traverse the entire table from start to end.
This is done with a series of keys, or
indices.
Sometimes the keys become corrupt. This can
happen if the disk drive becomes full or a
key is accidentally deleted. If so, the
program will detect the error and terminate
with an error message. Most often rekeying
the tables will eliminate the error.
The tables may have to be rekeyed if the DOS
country code is changed. Currently three
different sorting orders are used:
International, Norwegian/Danish, and
Swedish/Finnish. The sort order is
determined by the DOS country code. If the
tables and their indexes do not use the same
sort order, the program will abort with the
obscure error
Backing Up Tables Backing Up Tables Backing Up Tables
As with any program, it is a prudent idea to back up the tables
often. All the data for Short Wave Log is stored in the
FREQLIST.DB, STATION.DB, and SWL.DB files.
On-line Help On-line Help On-line Help
All of the information contained in the user's guide is also
available within the Short Wave Log program. To access the
on-line help, press the [F1] key at any time.
Page 12