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GEOCLOCK (TM) 7.2, 96/03/01,(C) 1996 Joseph R Ahlgren, BBS 703-241-7980 Help Master Menu Use the up and down arrow keys or mouse to select the topic of interest. Pressing ENTER or clicking the left button will display a menu of detailed topics, while pressing ESCAPE or the right button will return to GeoClock. If you are new to GeoClock, you should read the "Getting Started" section. As you become familiar with the program, you should browse through the other topics to learn about the GeoClock options and features. 1. Getting Started 1.1 GeoClock Files 1.2 Initial Setup 1.3 Running GeoClock in Windows 3.x 1.4 Configuring for SVGA Graphics 1.5 Mouse 1.6 Editing ASCII Files with the TED Editor 1.7 Common Problems 2. Running GeoClock 2.1 Getting Help 2.2 Selecting A Map 2.3 Measuring Distance 2.4 City/Country Names 2.5 Latitude/Longitude Lines 2.6 Time 2.7 Options 2.8 Where 2.9 GeoGlobe 2.10 Quitting 3. About... 3.1 About GeoClock 3.2 About Time Zones 3.3 About Sunrise and Sunset 3.4 About the Terminator 3.5 About Latitude and Longitude 4. Commands 4.1 Command Summary 4.2 Icon/Mouse Controlled Commands 4.3 Help Control 4.4 Map Selection 4.5 Map Annotation 4.6 Time Control and Display 4.7 Map Display 4.8 Sun and Moon Display Control 4.9 Time, Zone and Format Control 4.10 Special Commands 4.11 Mouse, Graphics, and Color Control 4.12 Zoom 4.13 Distance Measurement 4.14 Scripts 5. Advanced Topics 5.1 Configuring for Your Time Zone 5.2 City Locations on Maps 5.3 Configuring for Your City 5.4 Finding Your Latitude and Longitude 5.5 City Name Placement and Time Display 5.6 Make Zoom utility 5.7 Colors and Default Colors 5.8 Changing GeoClock Defaults 5.9 Calendars and Daylight Saving Time 5.10 Ephemeris Data and Accuracy 5.11 Software structure 5.12 Map Generation System 5.13 Elevation Maps 6. Utilities and GeoGlobe 6.1 GeoGlobe Spinning Globe program 6.2 GeoSetup Customize GeoClock 6.3 MakeZoom Rebuild zoom tables 6.4 XXGeoDat Delete unnecessary GEOn.DAT files 6.5 GeoNoDup Delete unnecessary MAPn.EGA files 6.6 SunData 7. HAM package 7.1 HAM package features 7.2 Starting the HAM package 7.3 HAM CD-ROM 7.4 Call Sign Analysis 7.5 Use of other GeoClock features 7.6 Twilight zone definition 7.7 HAM data base 7.8 Support 7.9 Call Sign Analysis Algorithm 8. Registering/Updates 8.1 Updates 8.2 Available Maps 8.3 About the GeoClock Bulletin Board 8.4 GeoClock 7.1 special pricing 8.5 Ordering GeoClock 7.1 1. Getting Started Use the up and down arrow keys to select the topic of interest. Pressing ENTER will display information about that topic. Press ESCAPE to return to the main help menu. If you are new to GeoClock, you should read all the topics listed here. 1. Getting Started 1.1 GeoClock Files 1.2 Initial Setup 1.3 Running GeoClock in Windows 3.x 1.4 Configuring for SVGA Graphics 1.5 Mouse 1.6 Editing ASCII Files with the TED Editor 1.7 Common Problems 1.1 GeoClock Files The following describes and identifies the files associated with GeoClock. GEOCLK71.LZH (or ZIP) contains the DOS version of GeoClock, this help file, a set-up program, and several utility programs and data files to help you get started in customizing the program. README.1ST Special information - read this first GEOCLK.COM GeoClock/GeoGlobe master program GEOCLK.EXE GeoClock DOS program for EGA/VGA/SVGA GEOCLOCK.HLP Help files text GECONFIG.DAT Text file with configuration data GEOZONES.DAT Text file with time zone data GEOCLOCK.DAT Text file with default map overlay data GEOCLOCK.ICO Win 3.x icon for GeoClock TED.COM Text editor program VGATOEGA.EXE Program to convert VGA maps to EGA GEOSETUP.EXE Program to help set up GeoClock USCITY.BIN Data base of US cities WRLDCITY.BIN Data base of World cities MAKEZOOM.EXE Program to make the zoom hierarchy GEOSCR9.DAT "Screen Saver" script MAILER Order form MAP1.EGA Map of the world MAP2.EGA Map of the 48 states MAP2000.EGA North polar projection map MAP2501.EGA View from space (orthographic projection) map GEO1.DAT City file for MAP1 GEO2.DAT City file for MAP2 GEO2000.DAT City file for MAP2000 GEO2501.DAT City file for MAP2501 WHATSNEW.71 Short description of new features in 7.1 FILE_ID.DIZ Shareware file description VENDOR.DOC Shareware vendor requirements There is an optional GEOXTR71.LZH (or ZIP) file which contains some extra files. The files have not changed since GeoClock 6.0 was released: MAP3.EGA Map of North America MAP4.EGA Map of South Pacific MAP5.EGA Map of Europe GEO3.DAT City file for MAP3 GEO4.DAT City file for MAP4 GEO5.DAT City file for MAP5 ZIPCODES.BIN US zip code lookup for GEOSETUP XXGEODAT.EXE Program to delete unneeded GEOn.DAT files GEONODUP.EXE Program to delete unneeded MAPn.EGA files SUNDATA.EXE Program to produce tables of sun rise/set and twilight FILE_ID.DIZ Shareware file description VENDOR.DOC Shareware vendor requirements The Windows version of GeoClock is in GCKWIN71.LZH (or ZIP) and contains: README.1ST Special information - read this first GEOCKWIN.EXE GeoClock Windows program GEOCKWIN.HLP Help files text GECONFIG.DAT Text file with configuration data GEOZONES.DAT Text file with time zone data GEOCLOCK.DAT Text file with default map overlay data USCITY.BIN Data base of US cities WRLDCITY.BIN Data base of World cities GEOSCR9.DAT "Screen Saver" script MAILER Order form MAP1.EGA Map of the world MAP2.EGA Map of the 48 states MAP2000.EGA North polar projection map MAP2501.EGA View from space (orthographic projection) map GEO1.DAT City file for MAP1 GEO2.DAT City file for MAP2 GEO2000.DAT City file for MAP2000 GEO2501.DAT City file for MAP2501 WHATSNEW.71 Short description of new features in 7.1 FILE_ID.DIZ Shareware file description VENDOR.DOC Shareware vendor requirements The registered version of GeoClock includes these files, plus many map files, customization files for each map, and some utility programs. Several types of data files are used while GeoClock is running: GECONFIG.DAT This text file contains the data to configure GeoClock for your system. It has information about your graphics system, your local time zone and location, and any commands you want to establish as defaults. GEOCLOCK.DAT This text file contains the default overlay data for all GeoClock maps. The first line in this file gives the local time zone. The second line gives the latitude, longitude, and city name for the primary city (i.e., the city listed in the map legend). Subsequent lines give the names and locations of other cities to be displayed. GEO*.DAT * is any integer. These text files contain similar data to GEOCLOCK.DAT, including a primary city for the map, but the data apply only to MAP*. For example, GEO3.DAT contains the data for MAP3. If a map has no corresponding GEO*.DAT file, cities and other data in GEOCLOCK.DAT are used instead. These files can also contain other commands for display on the indicated map. MAPn.EGA These binary files contain the maps. The extension (.EGA) is the file format, and is used for EGA, VGA, and SVGA maps. By convention, map numbers (n) have the following designations: 1 - 99 640x480 (VGA) resolution world and regional maps 100 - 299 North America detailed maps 300 - 399 Central/South America detailed maps 400 - 599 Europe detailed maps 600 - 699 Asia detailed maps 700 - 799 Middle East detailed maps 800 - 899 Africa detailed maps 900 - 999 Pacific detailed maps 1000 - 1999 Other VGA resolution maps 2000 - 2499 Polar or other large area non-rectangular projection 2500 - 2999 Orthographic (View from Space) projection 3000 - 3999 Small area (city) maps 4000 - 5999 640x480 (VGA) resolution special maps 6000 - 6999 800x600 (SVGA) resolution maps 7000 - 7999 350x640 (EGA) resolution maps 9000 - 9999 Azimuthal-equidistant (great circle) projection GEOZONES.DAT This file contains all the time zone definitions (ZONE commands) in text form. GEOZONES.BIN This file is a processed version of GEOZONES.DAT and speeds the start-up of the GeoClock program. GEOINDEX.BIN This file contains the map directory used for the map selection (S) and Zoom (Z) functions. It is built automatically by GeoClock, and is automatically updated each time you add or delete a map. GEOZOOMU.TXT This text file contains the zoom-out hierarchy for the maps. For each map, the file gives the map to zoom-out to. The file is produced by the MAKEZOOM program, but can be edited by any ASCII text editor, including TED, to change the hierarchy. GEOZOOMU.BIN This binary file contains the zoom-out hierarchy in the format used by GeoClock. It is produced by MAKEZOOM from GEOZOOMU.TXT. GEOSCRn.DAT These files contain scripts, which are activated by pressing the corresponding key (for example, 9 to start GEOSCR9.DAT). USCITY.BIN, WRLDCITY.BIN, ZIPCODES.BIN These files contain the data bases used by GEOSETUP and by the Where function in GeoClock. 1.2 Initial Setup GeoClock requires a hard disk, a minimum of 300K available RAM (up to 350K to use the HAM package), and a graphics adapter and monitor. GeoClock is contained in GEOCLK71.LZH and is designed to support computers with a 256K EGA, VGA, or SVGA boards with a compatible color monitor. To get the program running, do the following: 1. Un-LZH GEOCLK71.LZH (by typing LHA e GEOCLK71) to the directory you will run from. It is best to have a directory dedicated to GeoClock. If you have special map files, also un-LZH all these (by typing LHA e GEOMAP*). 2. Customize GeoClock for your location and time zone. Run the GEOSETUP program (see below), or follow the directions in "Configuring for Your Time Zone" and "Configuring for Your City." 3. If you are a registered user, you need to run the REGISTER program to enable the special features. This is run automatically by GEOSETUP. 4. Run the MAKEZOOM program. This is run automatically by GEOSETUP. 5. Run GeoClock by entering GEOCLK on the DOS command line. The F1 key provides help, and the Q key (Quit) terminates the program. If you have a VGA or better, the mouse is always active, and the Icon Bar at the top of the screen allows you to click on several common GeoClock commands to immediately explore the capabilities of the program. Alternatively, pressing the highlighted letter gives access to the command. Running GEOSETUP The GEOSETUP program performs all the necessary initial customization of GeoClock for your location. It sets up time zone and primary city data, and sets GeoClock for EGA, VGA, or SVGA operation. Start GEOSETUP by typing GEOSETUP at the DOS command line. GEOSETUP tries to detect the type of video card you have. If you have a VESA compliant SVGA (800x600x16), GEOSETUP will optionally test the card by producing a 800x600x16 display. If the display is correct, GEOSETUP will customize GeoClock for SVGA display. If you have a US zip code (other than APO or FPO addresses) and the ZIPCODES.BIN file, GEOSETUP will automatically supply the proper time zone and latitude/longitude information. All you need to do is enter your zip code and city name when prompted. If you do not have a US zip code, you can select a city from the list displayed. Pressing a letter key will advance the cursor to the countries starting with that letter, the PageUp and PageDown keys move to the next country, and the arrow keys allow you to move through the list one at a time. Press ENTER when you have found your city, or a city close to your city. In either case, you must specify whether you have an EGA or VGA or SVGA based display. With this information, GEOSETUP builds an initial GECONFIG.DAT. 1.3 Running GeoClock in Windows 3.x The windows version of GeoClock (GEOCKWIN.EXE) is functionally and graphically vert similar to GeoClock for DOS, but runs in windows in the 16 bit windows mode. It supports windows style multitasking, will run in an arbitrarily sized window, and in the foreground and background. The DOS version of GeoClock runs well under windows 3.1 and is significantly faster than the windows version, but as with any DOS graphics program, there are a few limitations. Most important, GeoClock will only run in the full screen mode, and all other windows applications will be suspended while GeoClock is running. You can switch to another window by pressing ALT-Escape, or by quitting GeoClock. The GEOCLOCK.ICO file is a windows icon that can be used with GeoClock. After GeoClock is installed, you can add GeoClock to a windows group by following these steps: 1. Select group you want GeoClock in (single click any icon in the group) 2. Click File on Program Manager 3. Click New... 4. Click Program Item 5. Click OK 6. Type Program Description (GeoClock) 7. Click Command Line 8. Type c:\geoclock\geoclk.com (or whatever the correct path/program are) 9. Click Working Directory 10. Type c:\geoclock (or whatever the correct path is) 11. Click Change Icon (if you get the "no icons" message, click OK") 12. Click Browse 13. Select the drive and directory where GeoClock was installed 14. Double click GEOCLOCK.ICO 15. Click OK 16. Click OK GeoClock can then be run by clicking the GeoClock icon. 1.4 Configuring for SVGA Graphics GeoClock can display maps in the 800x600x16 SVGA format. Unfortunately, each manufacturer of video cards has chosen a different way to enter this graphics mode. Worse, as new cards are introduced, these codes change. If you have an SVGA and want to use the 800x600x16 mode with GeoClock, you must add the appropriate SVGA command for your graphics adapter to your GECONFIG.DAT file. Most new graphics boards support the VESA standard (although some require a special driver). The GEOSETUP program automatically test for a VESA compliant SVGA card. SVGA with no parameters uses the VESA standard. Some other codes that have been verified are: SVGA VESA standard SVGA24 Tecmar VGA/AD SVGA31 Realtek SVGA41 VEGA VGA,Orchid,STB,Genoa,Sigma,Allstar Peacock (VGA) SVGA41 Tseng ET4000 chipset,definicon,Diamond SVGA71 AT&T VDC600 SVGA82 Oak SVGA84 ATI SVGA88 Paradise VGA,AT&T VDC600,AST VGA Plus, Western Digital, SVGA88 Compaq VGA,Dell VGA,Hewlett-Packard D1180A,NCR SVGA91 Maxxon, SEFCO TVGA, Imtec, Trident TVGA 8800/8900, Phoebes SVGA94 Logix, ATI Prism Elite SVGA98 VEGA VGA,Tatung VGA,Video7 V-RAM VGA SVGA100 Morse VGA SVGA106 Ahead A, Ahead B, Genoa 6400, Hi Res 512 SVGA106 Zymos Poach, Epson LT-386SX,CompuAdd 316SL, ATI VGA Wonder SVGA112 Cardinal, C&T chipset SVGA112/2 Everex SVGA113 NSI Smart EGA+ SVGA121 Quadram Ultra VGA SVGA20226/258 VESA SVGA BIOS SVGA20226/514 S3 based windows cards, Orchid 1280 You can use any ASCII text editor to edit the GECONFIG.DAT file, such as EDIT included with DOS 5.0+, or TED, which is included with GeoClock (see section 1.6). Add the appropriate command to the end of the GECONFIG.DAT file. Unfortunately, there is no consistency between manufacturers and even between models of a given manufacturer for the operation of SVGA modes. Above is a list of some of the manufacturers and codes. You can use the VESA code if you have a VESA driver for your video card. In particular, the ATI Graphics Ultra card requires an ATI supplied VESA driver. If your adapter is not listed, check with your board supplier or user's manual. The syntax is SVGAa/b/c/d, where a, b, c, and d are the decimal vales of the AX, BX, CX, and DX registers to enter the 800x600x16 graphics mode by executing INT 10. 1.5 Mouse Certain GeoClock functions can be controlled by a mouse. In particular, Zoom, Distance Measurement, Lat/Long Toggle, City/Country toggle, Speed, Time, Help, and Quit can all be controlled with a mouse. In addition, execution of the zoom and distance functions use the mouse. GeoClock is designed so that the mouse is always active when the program is initially activated. The most common GeoClock commands have been included in an Icon Bar, and selections are made with the mouse buttons. Several mouse commands are also available (and described later in this help) to modify availability/visibility of the Icon Bar for individual users. However, you may move the mouse-controlled cursor off the screen, or press the ALT key, to remove the Icon Bar at any time desired. To use your mouse device with GeoClock, the INT 33 driver must be loaded. This driver, which comes with most mice, is usually called MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS. You need this driver even if you are running under windows and the windows mouse driver is loaded. It is likely that it is already installed if you have been using your mouse with other computer programs. Also, except for special versions of the Distance and Zoom functions, the mouse can only be used on a VGA or better display. It will not work well with an EGA display because of its hardware characteristics. Two special function, the Distance function activated by the @ key, and the Zoom function activated by the Z key (available only to registered users) use a graphics cursor which can be operated either from the keyboard or by a mouse. The mouse buttons and functions match the keyboard as follows: Left Mouse Button Control (CTRL) and Page-Up keys Center Mouse Button Escape (ESC) Key and Enter (if available) Right Mouse Button Alternate (ALT) and Page-Down keys Mouse Motion Arrow and Shift-Arrow keys All the keyboard functions work, even if a mouse is activated. For example, the arrow keys may be used to "fine-tune" the cursor position after the mouse has moved the cursor to the vicinity of the desired point. The Escape or Enter key is used if your mouse does not have a center button. 1.6 Editing ASCII Files with the TED Editor Some customizing GeoClock may require editing the various GEO*.DAT files. Any ASCII text editor can be used. If you use a word processor to edit the files, be sure to save the files in ASCII (DOS text) format rather than the word processor's format. The public domain editor TED (Tiny EDitor) is supplied with GeoClock. It is a simple text editor, perfect for customizing these text files. To edit a file (for example, GEOCLOCK.DAT), enter TED <file name> at the DOS prompt. For example: TED GEOCLOCK.DAT The file will appear on the screen, with a function key reminder block at the bottom. The arrow and other cursor positioning keys can be used to move the cursor around the file. The delete, insert, and other keys can be used to change the text in the file. Five function keys are especially handy: F1 ABORT Exit editor without saving changes F7 EXIT Exit editor and save changes in ASCII format F8 DEL EOL Delete from cursor to end of line F9 DEL L Delete line F10 UDEL L Undelete line 1.7 Common Problems 1 The sun is not in the right place. This is usually caused by your PC's system clock not being set to the correct time, or a wrong or missing PCZONE command in the GECONFIG.DAT file. Run GEOSETUP to quickly configure GeoClock for your home town and time zone. Alternatively, see "Configuring for Your Time Zone." GeoClock is initially set to assume your PC is in Eastern US time. 2 Your home town or your local time zone is not displayed. The world and U.S. maps in GeoClock (Maps 1 and 2) are initially configured for Eastern Time and Washington DC. Run the GEOSETUP to quickly configure GeoClock for your home town and time zone. Alternatively, you can customize each map. The first line of every GEO*.DAT file gives the time zone to display. The second line of each GEO*.DAT file gives the latitude, longitude, and city name to be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Use an ASCII text editor to change the GEO*.DAT files for your situation. See "Configuring for Your City" and "City Locations on Maps." 3 Your hometown is not displayed in the right place. The most likely problems is that the coordinates you used are not accurate. The coordinates that GEOSETUP produces from zip code data are not always accurate, especially in sparsely populated areas. You might get better coordinates from your local airport, weather service, a good atlas, or call the GeoClock BBS. Also be sure that you have the correct direction for the coordinates (most locations in the US are North (+) Latitude and West (-) Longitude). 4 The screen blinks. This is a problem on some EGA and VGA boards with the Trident chip set. Add the FLICKER and/or NOBLINK commands to the GECONFIG.DAT file. 5 The program does not work on a CGA or Hercules systems. That is correct. The capability of these modes is too limited for GeoClock. 6 The maps and other data are hard to see on a grey scale or LCD VGA system. GeoClock is configured to look best on a full color VGA or EGA. If you answer the "Do you have a color display" question from the GEOSETUP program 'NO", it adds the following color commands to give good grey scale appearance: COLOR00307 COLOR10902 COLOR20228 COLOR31806 These may not the best for your particular system. Use the CSET command described in section 4 to experiment to find the best values for your system, then change the lines in GECONFIG.DAT to the selected values. 7 The program always starts with the help menu. This menu is bypassed only on registered copies of the program. If you have registered a previous version, you need to re-run the REGISTER.EXE program supplied on the original distribution disks (and probably on your hard disk) to register the updated version. 8 The Icon Bar does not appear. You have moved the mouse controlled cursor off of the screen, or pressed the ALT key. Press ALT again, or move the mouse back on screen. If you have an EGA system, the mouse cursor will not appear and the Icon Bar is controlled by the ALT key only. Also, see the MOUSEX command (4.11) 9 The mouse does not work. You have an EGA system, or you have not installed the DOS mouse driver (INT 33 driver) that should have come with your mouse. 10 Zoom does not work right. The zoom data file may be out of date. Rerun the MAKEZOOM program. 11 The BuckMaster CDROM does not work with GeoClock. Starting with the October 1995 release, BuckMaster has dropped the file (HAMCALL.129) that GeoClock uses, and will not release the format of the replacement file. GeoClock does support the QRZ CDROM. 2. Running GeoClock These topics give you a quick overview of how to run and control GeoClock. More detailed explanations of these features, and details of more advanced features, are in the other sections of this help system. 2. Running GeoClock 2.1 Getting Help 2.2 Selecting A Map 2.3 Measuring Distance 2.4 City/Country Names 2.5 Latitude/Longitude Lines 2.6 Time 2.7 Options 2.8 Where 2.9 GeoGlobe 2.10 Quitting 2.1 Getting Help Clicking the HELP icon, or pressing the "?" or F1 key, brings up this help system. You can navigate through the help system using the cursor keys or a mouse. You can print help by pressing ALT-P and answering the questions. You can "C"hange the print to print to a file or to control the pagination. If you use "C" to specify a file for printing, subsequent sections will also be printed to the file by default. You can contact GeoClock for technical help: BBS 703-241-7980 (v.32bis, N81) FAX 703-241-5809 CompuServe 70461,2340 (Joe Ahlgren) Internet jahlgren@capaccess.org 2.2 Selecting A Map There are several ways to change the map being displayed. If you move the mouse cursor over a point on the map, and click the left mouse button, the most detailed map containing that point will be displayed (zoom-in). Clicking the right button zooms out through successively less detailed maps. Clicking the MAPLIST icon, or pressing the "M" key, brings up a list of all available maps. You can pick a map by using the cursor keys and pressing enter, or by clicking the map name directly with the mouse. Pressing the "F" key brings up a list similar to "M", but provides more detailed information about each map. Pressing "K" displays the penultimate map. You can use this to repeatedly toggle between two maps. The "+" and "-" keys move one map forward or backwards in the current sort order (the sort order from the MAPLIST function). 2.3 Measuring Distance Clicking on this icon, or pressing D, starts a special two point distance measuring function. One point is fixed and the other is controlled by the mouse. Pressing a mouse button, or pressing ENTER, moves the first point to the current mouse position. At the bottom of the screen, the coordinates of both points, the distance between them, and the azimuths between them are displayed. To exit the distance function, click the reset icon in the upper right, or press ESCAPE. In this function, if you do not have a physical mouse and a VGA or better, the cursor can be moved with the arrow keys, and shift-arrow will move the cursor 8 times faster than arrow. In this function, the cursor can be moved with the arrow keys. Shift-arrow will move the cursor 8 times faster than the arrow keys alone. If you do not have a physical mouse and a VGA or better, this is the only way to move the cursor. 2.4 City/Country Names Clicking on this icon, or pressing Y, toggles between display of city names ("city") and names of countries, states, and other geographic features ("country"). 2.5 Latitude/Longitude Lines Clicking on this icons alternately displays and hides latitude and longitudes lines. It is equivalent to the GRID and NOGRID commands. 2.6 Time When properly set up by running the GEOSETUP program, GeoClock converts your current local time to the various times around the world. There are several ways to vary the displayed time. By clicking the SetTime icon, or pressing the "T" key, you can enter a new time. This display will correspond to this new time, but your system clock will not be changed. By clicking the Speed icon, or pressing the "S" key, you can change the rate of time passage. For example, by entering 1 at the rate prompt, the displayed time will change by one hour every time the screen is updated. This shows very quickly how the sunlight changes over time. If you set the rate to 24 or 48 hours, for example, you can see how the sunlight curve changes over the seasons. Clicking the Reset icon, or pressing the "R" key, will set both the time and the rate back to the real time. Note that the RESET icon only appears when the time or rate has been changed. 2.7 Options Clicking to Options icon, or pressing the letter "O", allows you to change some of the basic display parameters for GeoClock. Repeat clicking (or pressing right or left arrow or tab) a selected item cycles the item though its possible values. Clicking an unselected item, or using the up and down arrows, selects a new item. Pressing "Escape" quits without making any changes, while pressing "Enter" applies the changes to the current map being display, and makes the new values the default values until GeoClock is exited. Pressing Function Key 3 makes the current values the permanent default values, which will be used every time GeoClock starts. Pressing Function Key 4 makes the current values the permanent values for the map currently displayed. 2.8 Where Clicking the Where icon, or pressing the letter W, starts GeoClock gazetteer. This system can locate any of the approximately 4000 cities included in the GeoSetup program. Pressing or clicking a letter moves the display to the state/country starting with that letter. The cursor control keys can be used to navigate through the city list. Tab, or clicking the appropriate data base name, will shift between US cities and world cities. Local time for the highlighted city is displayed. Clicking a city, or pressing enter, will return to the map display, with the selected city highlighted with time and ephemeris data. The map displayed is the highest resolution map showing the city. Pressing "R" or clicking reset returns the map to the original city. 2.9 GeoGlobe If you have the GeoGlobe program and start GeoClock using GEOCLK.COM (this the default start program), clicking this icon will start GeoGlobe. When GeoGlobe is terminated, GeoClock will restart. You can pass parameters to the GeoGlobe program with the WCGLOBE command. The GeoGlobe icon appears only if the GeoGlobe program is named GEOGLOBE.EXE, is in the same directory as GeoClock, and GeoClock was started with GEOCLK.COM rather than GEOCLK.EXE. 2.10 Quitting Clicking the DOS icon terminates the program and returns to DOS. You can also quit the program by pressing the Q key, or quickly pressing the escape key twice. 3. About... These topics provide information about GeoClock and the astronomical and geographical "facts of life." 3. About... 3.1 About GeoClock 3.2 About Time Zones 3.3 About Sunrise and Sunset 3.4 About the Terminator 3.5 About Latitude and Longitude 3.1 About GeoClock "It's inconceivable that you won't like this program." -- Jerry Pournelle, BYTE GeoClock shows the current time (based on your computer's clock) with a high quality map of the earth. The current sun position is displayed, and the parts of the earth in sunlight and twilight are highlighted. This display is automatically updated every few seconds. Local sunrise, sunset, the sun's azimuth and elevation, and times around the world are also displayed. A variety of map backgrounds and other options are available. A graphics adapter and a hard disk are required. GeoClock is an EGA-VGA-SVGA program operating in the 16 color mode. GeoClock is distributed as shareware. This means that if you use and enjoy the program, you are expected to register it. See "Ordering GeoClock" for details. The registered version includes the zoom, distance measuring, and city time display functions, and at least 40 maps. GeoClock Joseph R Ahlgren 2218 N Tuckahoe St Arlington VA 22205 CompuServe 70461,2340 (Joe Ahlgren) Voice 703-241-2661 BBS 703-241-7980 FAX 703-241-5809 3.2 About Time Zones Time zones are more complicated than most people think. To begin with, they change with longitude, so that the sun is approximately overhead at noon. However, various political decisions based on uniformity, local custom, and how to handle daylight saving time (or summer time), have made time zones very complex. There are a number of changes every year, and countries can change their time systems without warning. Data for all known time zones (about 100, including permutations of daylight saving time) are distributed with GeoClock. They are included in the GEOZONES.DAT file. To specify a time zone, several items are needed. First, how the time zone relates to the standard time zone must be defined. This zone is variously called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) or Zulu Time (Z). US Eastern Standard Time is five hours behind (earlier than) GMT. Next, the dates and times when the zone changes to and from summer time must be defined. US Eastern Time goes to summer time on April 7, 1991 at 0700 GMT, and returns to standard time on October 27, 1991 at 0700 GMT. Finally, names for the time zone and the standard and summer times must be specified. As an example, US Eastern Time from April 1991 to April 1992 is specified by: ZONE ET EST -5 EDT -4 91/04/07:7 91/10/27:7 ET is the name the time zone is referred to by all GeoClock commands. The definition states that the zone is called EST and is 5 hours behind GMT, except between 91/04/07 0700 GMT and 91/10/27 0700 GMT, when it is called EDT and is 4 hours behind GMT. A special time zone called ST gives true local sun time. If the ZONE commands are not for the correct year, GeoClock will automatically update. This update is close but not always correct, and countries' summer time definitions can change. Therefore, I recommend that the ZONE commands be kept current. A GEOZONES.DAT file with current time zone data is available on the GeoClock Bulletin Board. The PCZONE command sets the relationship between the local time on the PC's clock and GMT, i.e., declares which time zone the PC's clock is in. It takes one parameter - a time zone code, as defined in the ZONE command. For example, if you use Eastern Time, specify: PCZONE ET This command is best used in the GECONFIG.DAT file. 3.3 About Sunrise and Sunset GeoClock calculates the sunrise and sunset times for your location. The times are usually within one minute of local newspaper data. The precise moment of sunrise or sunset is difficult to determine. It depends not only on the position of the Earth and sun, but also on the terrain near you (it appears to rise later from behind a mountain than from the sea), and on the earth's atmosphere. Another complication is that the sun appears quite large, and takes about two minutes to shift position by its own diameter. All these factors together mean that even at sea level, the sun appears to just break above the horizon when it is in reality almost one degree BELOW the horizon. By default, GeoClock uses the value of 0.833 degrees below the horizon to compute sunrise and sunset. This agrees well with observed times at moderate latitudes and flat terrain. The SUNANGLE parameter, which is the angle GeoClock uses for the sunrise and sunset calculations, can be adjusted to correspond to your local conditions. 3.4 About the Terminator The terminator is the boundary between day and night. Its position changes during the day (it makes a complete circuit around the Earth in one day), and it also changes during the year. Daylight is longer in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere from about March 21 to September 21, and daylight is longer in the southern than in the northern hemisphere during the rest of the year. You can see the changes by using the time control features of GeoClock. The terminator more or less divides the Earth into halves: facing the sun and facing away from the sun. Like sunrise and sunset times, the pre- cise location of the terminator is hard to define. By default, GeoClock shows the optical terminator, which corresponds to visual sunrise and sunset. The SUNLIGHT command can be used to control the precise terminator position. If it is set to the same value as SUNANGLE, the terminator position will agree with sunrise and sunset. GeoClock also shows the twilight terminator. By default, GeoClock uses -6°, which corresponds to the civil definition of twilight: the time when it is so dark that you must use your headlights. The TWILIGHT parameter is used to control the precise definition of this terminator. 3.5 About Latitude and Longitude Every point on the Earth's surface has an address. The first part of the address is the latitude, which is the distance north or south of the equator. The second part of the address is the longitude, which is the distance east or west of a line going from the north pole to the south pole through Greenwich, England (this is called the Greenwich meridian). Since the Earth is a sphere, these distances are expressed as angles. There are several ways to express these angles. The first system was invented by the Babylonians about 5000 years ago. It divides angles into 360 degrees (°), each degree into 60 minutes ('), and each minute into 60 seconds ("). The Washington Monument is 38° 53' 21.5" north of the equator, and 77° 2' 8.0" west of the Greenwich meridian in this system. This location is accurate to about 60 feet, or 0.5 seconds. GeoClock can use this system. For example, the Washington Monument is at 38x53x21.5N 77x2x8.0W A more modern system gives these same angles as decimal degrees. North latitudes and east longitudes are positive, while south and west are negative. GeoClock can use this system also. It is used for data files distributed with GeoClock. For example, the Washington Monument is at +38.8893 -77.0356 4. Commands GeoClock has a variety of commands, keys, and icons to control the display. 4. Commands 4.1 Command Summary 4.2 Icon/Mouse Controlled Commands 4.3 Help Control 4.4 Map Selection 4.5 Map Annotation 4.6 Time Control and Display 4.7 Map Display 4.8 Sun and Moon Display Control 4.9 Time, Zone and Format Control 4.10 Special Commands 4.11 Mouse, Graphics, and Color Control 4.12 Zoom 4.13 Distance Measurement 4.14 Scripts 4.1 Command Summary GeoClock has a large number of commands which may be used to control the display. The most commonly used commands have been implemented in an Icon Bar, which is displayed at the top of the screen. A mouse device may be used to activate any of these commands simply by moving the mouse controlled cursor to the appropriate icon and clicking on it with the left mouse key. The commands consisting of a single letter (such as S) are activated by pressing that letter. The other commands (such as MAP) may be included in the configuration file, in a data file, on the GeoClock command line, or entered interactively by pressing the C (for Command) key while GeoClock is displaying a map. The available commands are listed below. More detailed information is available in other sections of Help. Each group of commands listed below is described in a separate section of this part of Help. *** Icon/Mouse Controlled Commands Quit Quit to DOS Reset Reset time and speed Help On line help Set Set time Speed Set speed to time passage Country/City Toggle between city and country display Lat-Long Toggle latitude/longitude lines Distance Measure Distances Maplist Select a map from a list Zoom Zoom in (left button) or zoom out (right button) Globe Start the GeoGlobe program (if available) *** Help Control HELP (or H) Activates Help system ? Activates Help system F1 Function Key 1 - Activates Help system REM Remark - remainder of line is ignored *** Map Selection M select a map from compact list F Find map in list MAP Find map in list MAPn Changes to map number n MAPPLUSn Selects the next sequential map using sort method n MAPMINUSn Selects the previous sequential map using sort method n RANDOM Picks a map at random to display NOMAP No map displayed MAPCENTERn Center world map on longitude n *** Map Annotation FULL City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend NONE No legend TIME Local time only legend SUN City, sun rise/set, local time legend DATECHANGEn Control display of next/previous date HTA Display specified city as primary city on all maps HTS Display specified city as primary city on maps it appears HTN Do not display specified city as primary city NOHT Same as HTN MARKLIMIT Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city HIDEMN Do not display map name and number SHOWMN Display map name and number POSMN Set position and color of map name and number TEXT Display text on all maps NAUTICAL Display distances in nautical miles STATUTE Display distances in statute miles *** Time Control and Display YEAR2 Show 2 digit year (e.g., 91) YEAR4 Show 4 digit year (e.g., 1991) NOMONTH Show month number SHOWMONTH Show month name NODAY Do not show day of week SHOWDAY Show day of week NOSECONDS Show time to last minute SHOWSECONDS Show time to nearest second DST Control Daylight Saving Time ZONE Define time zone PCZONE Specify PC time zone *** Map Display DATAFILE Select extension for data files COUNTRY Display country names NOMARK Do not display location markers MARK Display location markers FORCEMARK Always display location markers NOCITY Do not display city names CITY Display city names FONT-E Set default font to 8x14 FONT-M Set default font to 8x8 FONT-S Set default font to 4x8 FONT-T Set default font to 4x6 FONT-X Set default font to external font FONTLOAD Loads an external font SYMDEF Loads an external symbol SYMBOL Display an external symbol GRID Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines NOGRID Do not display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines NOLINE Do not display incremental latitude/longitude lines LINE Set lat/long line increment and display lines TLINC Set latitude line increment GLINC Set longitude line increment GLSPEC Display specific longitude line TLSPEC Display specific latitude line CLINE Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines LINEPERM Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent HIDELL Do not show Latitude/Longitude values SHOWLL Show Latitude/Longitude values LLCOLOR Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels INCLUDE Include data file GINCLUDE Globe include data file DRAWLINE Draw line on map VECTOR Continue a line started by drawline DRAWCIRCLE Draw circle on map DRAWFCIRCLE Draw filled circle on map *** Sun and Moon Display Control SUNANGLE Sun rise/set definition SUNLIGHT Terminator definition TWILIGHT Twilight terminator definition TLMASK Twilight area pattern NOFILL Do not display building of sunlit area NORMAL Normal Display LIGHT All sunlight is displayed DARK No sunlight is displayed BLANK Highlighting is not used MOON Control display of moon EPHEMERIS Control display of ephemeris data with Distance *** Time, Zone and Format Control T Set new time S Speed to time change U Change display update interval R Reset time and speed *** Special Commands C Enter a command K Go back to previous map displayed D Measure distance (two point) @ Measure distance (three point) Z Select another map (Zoom) L Toggle between Lat/Long displayed Y Toggle city and country display NETWORK@server@local@ Network control FAST Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations SLOW Use high accuracy but slower calculations 387 Activate speedup with 80387 or i486 HAMCD Specify HAM CD-ROM data base HAMDB Specify HAM data base - maximum speed configuration HAMDBX Specify HAM data base - minimum memory configuration HAM Activate HAM features NOHAM Deactivate HAM features CALL Specify initial call sign NOBLINK Required for some Trident graphics boards FLICKER Required for some Trident graphics boards QUIET Does not beep on cycle completion SOUND Beeps on cycle completion HALT Terminate script and return to DOS REPEAT Start script over from first line SCRIPT Invoke specific script WCGLOBE Set parameters for GeoGlobe program ZOOMFRACT Set screen active area for zoom *** Mouse, Graphics, and Color Control FMOUSE Use fast mouse reset EMOUSE Mouse with EGA restrictions RMOUSE Reset mouse with video mode switch MOUSEX Control Mouse/Icon interaction SAVER Special screen save mouse/keyboard action ICONSIZE Set initial icon size EGA Specify EGA graphics system VGA Specify VGA graphics system SVGA Specify 800x600 super VGA (SVGA) graphics system SHOWVGA Convert EGA maps to VGA for display SHOWSVGA Convert EGA and VGA maps to SVGA for display CSET Color change menu COLOR Set color ECOLOR Set color for elevation maps TEXTBG Set text background color MCOLOR Set color for Distance cursors FCOLOR Set map frame color *** Zoom (Z) *** Distance Measurement (D) *** Scripts 4.2 Icon/Mouse Controlled Commands Each of these commands is activated by moving the mouse over the icon and clicking the left button. There is a keyboard equivalent for each of these commands. The Icon bar itself can be removed by moving the mouse cursor off the screen, or pressing the ALT key. Moving the mouse back on the screen, or pressing ALT again, will return the icon bar. Quit Quit to DOS Clicking on this icon, pressing Q, or pressing Escape twice quickly stops GeoClock and returns to DOS. Reset Reset time and speed Clicking on this icon, or pressing R, sets the time, speed of time passage, and update interval to their default values. The icon is not displayed unless at least one of these values is not the default value. Help Online help Clicking on this icon activates the online help system. The top level menu of the Help system gives a list of a number of topics. The selected topic is highlighted, and the selection can be changed by using the arrow keys. More details can be obtained about the selected topic by pressing the ENTER key. The cursor keys, including the arrows, page up, page down, home, and end can be used to scroll through the information. ESCAPE returns to the top HELP menu. The + and - keys select the next and previous topic without returning to the top menu. The mouse can be used to control help. Click the left button on a topic will display that topic. Clicking the right mouse button will return to the previous topic (or exit help if you are at the main menu). Clicking the == icon also will return to the previous topic. Clicking any of the symbols at the bottom of the screen will have the same effect as pressing that key (e.g., clicking the HOME symbol will move the beginning of the current topic). Set Set time Clicking on this icon, or pressing T, pops up a time window and allows you the edit the current time in yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss format. This does not change your PC's clock. All times in GeoClock use the 24 hour format. You can use the cursor keys to edit the time, use ENTER to accept the new time, or ESC or click outside the box to reject the new time. Speed Set speed to time passage Clicking on this icon or pressing S, prompts you for the rate of change of time per display update. The prompt asks for the number of hours (possibly fractional or negative) for the displayed clock to be incremented during each cycle, e.g., 0.25 for 15 minutes every 1 to 20 second cycle. The hour:minutes:seconds format can be used if desired, e.g., 0:15 for 15 minutes, or 0:0:5 for five seconds. Country/City Toggle between city and country display Clicking on this icon, or pressing Y, toggles between display of city names and country names. Lat-Long Toggle latitude/longitude lines Clicking on this icons alternately displays and hides latitude and longitudes lines. It is equivalent to the GRID and NOGRID commands. Distance Measure Distances Clicking on this icon, or pressing D, starts a special two point distance measuring function. One point is fixed and the other is controlled by the mouse. Pressing a mouse button, or pressing ENTER, moves the first point to the current mouse position. At the bottom of the screen, the coordinates of both points, the distance between them, and the azimuths between them are displayed. To exit the distance function, click the reset icon in the upper right, or press ESCAPE. In this function, if you do not have a physical mouse and a VGA or better, the cursor can be moved with the arrow keys, and shift-arrow will move the cursor 8 times faster than arrow. MapList Zoom up to next higher level map Clicking on this icon, or pressing the M key, displays a list of all available maps. The arrow keys or mouse can be used to select the desired map, and pressing ENTER or clicking on a map name will display that map. Zoom Zoom in or out Clicking the left mouse button anywhere on the screen (except on the icon bar), zooms in to the lowest level (most detailed) map containing the point under the cursor. Clicking the right mouse button selects the next higher level map in the zoom hierarchy. GeoGlobe Start GeoGlobe program If you have the GeoGlobe program and start GeoClock using GEOCLK.COM (this the default start program), clicking this icon will start GeoGlobe. When GeoGlobe is terminated, GeoClock will restart. The GeoGlobe icon appears only if the GeoGlobe program is named GEOGLOBE.EXE and is in the same directory as GeoClock. 4.3 Help Control HELP (or H) Activates help system ? Activates help system F1 Function Key 1 - Activates help system The help system can be activated any time a map is displayed (except when Zoom or Distance is active) by clicking the help icon, or pressing the ? key or function key 1. It can also be activated by entering HELP or ? at a command prompt. The top level menu of the Help system gives a list of a number of topics. The selected topic is highlighted, and the selection can be changed by using the arrow keys. More details can be obtained about the selected topic by pressing the ENTER key. The cursor keys, including the arrows, page up, page down, home, and end can be used to scroll through the information. ESCAPE returns to the top HELP menu. The + and - keys select the next and previous topic without returning to the top menu. The mouse can be used to control help. Click the left button on a topic will display that topic. Clicking the right mouse button will return to the previous topic (or exit help if you are at the main menu). Clicking the == icon also will return to the previous topic. Clicking any of the symbols at the bottom of the screen will have the same effect as pressing that key (e.g., clicking the HOME symbol will move the beginning of the current topic). REM Remark - remainder of line is ignored Remarks can be used within *.dat files for additional documentation of the various text files you may change to customize GeoClock maps. Printing help You can print the help information for a particular topic or print the entire help text. To print a particular topic, bring up the detailed help screen for that topic and press ALT-P. To print all the help topics, bring up the help main menu screen and press ALT-P. The menu will prompt you for a device name (LPT1 selects printer 1, but you can print to any device or to a file), and the number of lines printed per page (select 0 for a laser printer, because laser printers automatically produce margins at the top and bottom of every page). Finally, press ENTER to start printing, or ESCAPE to abort the print. 4.4 Map Selection M compact Map list Pressing this key displays a list of maps in compact form. The arrow keys can be used to select a particular map. Pressing ENTER displays the selected map. The list is normally sorted in order of decreasing size. It can be sorted in alphabetic order of title by pressing T, or in numeric order by pressing N. F Find map in list Pressing this key displays a list of available maps. The arrow keys can be used to select a specific map from this list. Pressing ENTER dis- plays the selected map. The list is normally sorted in order of decreasing size. It can be sorted in alphabetic order of title by pressing T, or in numeric order by pressing N. MAP Select MAP from list This command works identically to F. If it is included on the GeoClock command line (for example, GEOCLK MAP), the selection menu will appear before the program starts. MAPn Changes to MAP number n This command displays a specific map. For example, MAP5 displays map number 5. If this command in included in GECONFIG.DAT, the map specified will appear as the first map displayed. MAPPLUSn Selects the next sequential map using sort method n This command chooses the next map in sequence. If n is 1, it chooses the next high map number. If n is 2, it chooses the next map in alphabetical order. If n is some other number, it chooses the next map in coverage area. If n is missing, it uses the method last selected in the "M"aplist or "F"indMap function. MAPMINUSn Selects the previous sequential map using sort method n This command chooses the previous sequential map using the sort mathod described above. RANDOM Picks a map at random This command chooses another map at random from those available in the directory (the same list as produced by the "F" command). NOMAP The map annotation and sun highlighting from the previous map is displayed without the map background. MAPCENTERn Center world map on longitude n Centers any rectangular projection world map on longitude n (more or less). For example, MAPCENTER-77 centers the world map on Washington. It does not have any effect on non-rectangular projection or non-world maps. Like FCOLOR, this command does not take effect immediately if used in the GEOn.DAT files (except GEOCLOCK.DAT) or scripts, but does work correctly in GECONFIG.DAT, the command line, and "P". 4.5 Map Annotation Asterisks (*) indicate default values in GeoClock FULL * City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend GeoClock can display a time legend at the bottom of the screen. FULL displays the full range of time and sun-related information on the legend. This includes primary city name, its time and date, including local time zone name, and sunrise and sunset time. (The time zone is the one specified in the corresponding GEO*.DAT file.) It shows sunrise and sunset times for the primary city, the sun's subpoint coordinates, and the azimuth and elevation of the sun from the primary city. The format of the time and date can be controlled with other commands (see "Time, Zone, and Format Control"). NONE No legend TIME Local time only legend SUN City, sun rise/set, local time legend DATECHANGEn Control display of next/previous date If n is 0, the date is not indicated. If n is 1, the local time shows a ":" if the local date is the same as the current date, it shows an up-arrow if the local date is one day ahead of the current date, and it shows a down-arrow of the local date is one day behind the current date. HTA Display specified city as primary city on all maps HTA/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName forces the specified city to be the primary city on all maps. It overrides the first and second lines in every GEOn.DAT file, and thus is a shortcut method to configure GeoClock for your city. For example, HTA/38.90/-77.03/ET/Washington forces Washington to be the primary city on all maps, and displays ET (Eastern Time) for all ephemeris data. HTA is an acronym from Home Town Always. HTA with no parameters uses the current primary city. HTS Display specified city as primary city on maps containing it HTS/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName It works identically to HTA, except that it uses the specified city only if the city appears on the map. For example, HTS/38.90/-77.03/ET/Washington would force Washington to be the primary city on MAP2 (US - 48 States), but not on MAP5 (Europe). HTS is an acronym for Home Town Showing. HTS with no parameters uses the current primary city. HTN Do not display specified city as primary city HTN/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName It works identically to HTA, except that it does not display the specified city. HTN is an acronym for Home Town Never. HTN with no parameters uses the current primary city. NOHT Same as HTN. MARKLIMIT Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city This sets the minimum distance from the home town city that a city must be to be displayed. For example, MARKLIMIT5 means that any mark within 5 pixels x and y of the home town mark will not be displayed. The distances can be set independently, e.g., MARLIMIT5/10 means x of 5 and y of 10. The default is -1, or no restriction. HIDEMN * Do not display map name and number Map number and name are not displayed. SHOWMN Display map name and number The map number and name are displayed in the upper right corner of the map. This is especially useful with the ZOOM function. POSMN Set position and color of map name and number POSMNxp/yp/fg/bg xp is the horizontal (x) position of the title. 0 means center, x > 0 means start the title at x pixels right of the left edge, x < 0 means end the title x pixels left of the right edge. The default value is -1. yp is the vertical (y) position of the title. 0 means center, y > 0 means the upper edge of the title is y pixels below the upper edge, y < 0 means the lower edge of the title is y pixel above the bottom edge. 1 is the default. fg is the text color, and 7 is the default. bg is the background color. -1 means transparent and is the default. TEXT Display text on all maps TEXTx/y/font/color/bg*text No spaces before the * are allowed. x is the horizontal coordinate of the starting pixel for the string (if negative, from the right of the screen), y is the vertical coordinate of the starting pixel (if negative, from the bottom of the screen, font is 0 for 8x14, 1 for 4x6, 2 for 8x8, 3 for 4x8, and 4 for the Xfont. color is the color number for the text, and bg is the background color (-1 means transparent). The text itself can be anything. The underscore (_) is interpreted as a space. NAUTICAL Display distances in nautical miles STATUTE * Display distances in statute miles 4.6 Time Control and Display Asterisks (*) indicate default values in GeoClock GeoClock displays time in a most significant to least significant format, i.e., year/month/day hour/minute/second. The following commands control the details of the time display format. YEAR2 * Show 2 digit year (e.g., 91/05/01 12:14:45) YEAR4 Show 4 digit year (e.g., 1991/05/01 12:14:45 NOMONTH * Show month number rather than name. SHOWMONTH Show month name rather than number (91 MAY 01 12:14:45). The standard 3 letter English abbreviations are used by default. The text for the month names can be specified by giving the 12 strings to be used for the 12 months. For example: SHOWMONTH JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC NODAY * Does not show display the day of the week. SHOWDAY Show day of week This command displays the day of the week (1991/05/01 WED 12:14:45). As in SHOWMONTH, the default is the standard 3 letter English abbreviation, but other names can be specified: SHOWDAY SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT NOSECONDS Shows time to last minute This command shows time to the last minute (1991/05/01 12:14) SHOWSECONDS * Show time to nearest second This command shows time to the nearest second (1991/05/01 12:14:45). DST Control Daylight Saving Time The method GeoClock uses to handle summer time when current data is not available in GECONFIG.DAT is close, but not perfect. This command specifies for which years the GeoClock computed correction is to be applied. By default, GeoClock does not use summer time before 1980. DST is used to change this date. The syntax is: DST year1 year2 extrapolation Year1 is the earliest year in which to use summer time under the current specification, and year2 is the latest year in which to use summer time. If year2 is omitted, there is no upper limit. For example, DST 1950 specifies that summer time is to be used from 1950 on, while DST 1985 1995 specifies that summer time is to be used only between 1985 and 1995. "extrapolation" specifies the algorithm used to estimate summer time dates which are not included in the GEOZONES file. If extrapolation is 1, the date used is the one closest same day of the week to the specified date (for example, 95/04/02 (a Sunday) would become 96/03/31 (also a Sunday). If "extrapolation" is missing or any other value, and the original date is in the first or last week of the month, the new date is the same day of the week also in the first or last week of the month. For example, 95/04/02 would become 96/04/07. ZONE Define time zone This command defines a time zone: it relates the time zone to the standard time zone (variously called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) or Zulu Time (Z)); it specifies the dates and times when the zone changes to and from summer time; and it names the time zone and the standard and summer times. As an example, U.S. Eastern Time is specified by: ZONE ET EST -5 EDT -4 91/04/07:7 91/10/27:7 ET is the name the time zone is referred to by all GeoClock commands. The definition states that the zone is called EST and is 5 hours behind GMT, except between 91/04/07 0700 GMT and 91/10/27 0700 GMT, when it is called EDT and is 4 hours behind GMT. If the offset to GMT is 100 or larger, the time zone will give true local sun time (i.e., the sun is at its highest elevation at exactly 12:00 every day). A special time zone named ST (for sun-time) is defined in the GEOZONES.DAT file for this zone. If the ZONE commands are not for the correct year, GeoClock will automatically update them by changing each date to the closest date in the correct year which falls on the same day of the week. PCZONE Specify PC time zone The PCZONE command sets the relationship between the local time on the PC's clock and GMT, i.e., declares which time zone the PC's clock is in. It takes one parameter - a time zone code, as defined in the ZONE command. For example, if you use Eastern Time, specify: PCZONE ET This command is best used in the GECONFIG.DAT file, and it must follow the ZONE command that it references. 4.7 Map Display Asterisks (*) indicate default values in GeoClock DATAFILE Select extension for data files This command sets the extension to be used for GEOn files. By default, it is DAT (the previous default). This allows multiple sets of GEOn files to be used with the maps. If the extension does not exist, then DAT is used. For example, DATAFILE XYZ would first check GEOn.XYZ, and if it does not exist, then check GEOn.DAT, and it that did not exist, check GEOCLOCK.DAT. COUNTRY Display country names Supporting the above capability is a control character used after the ! in GEOn entries: Z. Any city (or entry in the GEOn.DAT file) with a !Z is not displayed unless the COUNTRY command has been given. CITY reverts back to normal display, and cities with the !Z are not displayed. In the data files included, this capability is used to toggle between normal display of cities and times, and display of country names. NOMARK * Do not display location markers. MARK Display location markers for cities. FORCEMARK Always display location markers for cities, regardless of the presence of the "N" flag. NOCITY * Do not display city names CITY Display city names. The city names and locations are contained in the corresponding GEO*.DAT file. The name is usually displayed to the right of the location, but the name may be moved if it does not fit. The location can be controlled by the user, and local time can be added (see Advanced Topics). FONT-E Set default font to 8x14. This font size is used for city and time display on the maps unless it is overridden by an !E,M,S, or T on the corresponding line in GEO*.DAT. FONT-M * Set default font to 8x8 FONT-S Set default font to 4x8 FONT-T Set default font to 4x6 FONT-X Set default font to external font FONTLOAD Loads an external font FONTLOAD filename loads the external font specified by <filename> The format of the external font file is: Byte 0 horizontal character width in bits (w) Byte 1 vertical character height in bits (h) Byte 2 first character in table (c1) Byte 3 last character in table (c2) Bytes 4 through 4+(c2-c1+1)*h*entier((w+7)/8) character bits If the requested character is not in the c1..c2 range, the character is displayed as c1. SYMDEF Load an external symbol definition SYMDEF filename loads the external symbol specified by <filename>. The format of the external file is: Initial Byte length Meaning 0 2 Number of pixels in the x direction (nx) 2 2 Number of pixels in the y direction (ny) 4 2 x pixel corresponding to the symbol center 6 2 y pixel corresponding to the symbol center 8 8 Name of symbol (trailing spaces) 10 nx*ny Color of pixel (going horizontally from 1 to nx, then vertically from 1 to ny). 0- 15 displays as that color. 16-255 is transparent. Multiple symbol definitions can be included in a single file by concatenating the above structure. SYMBOL Displays on external symbol SYMBOL name lat long displays the symbol referred to by <name> (defined by a previous SYMDEF command) centered on lat long. This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data. SYMBOL filename lat long displays the symbol defined in <filename> centered on lat long. This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data. SYMBOL filename name lat long displays the symbol defined in <filename> and named <name> centered on lat long. This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data. GRID Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines This command overrides all the other Lat/Long commands and display GeoClock selected lines. It is equivalent to LINE, TLINCx, GLINCy, and SHOWLL, where x and y are selected by GeoClock on a map by map basis. NOGRID * Do not display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines This commands negates the GRID command. NOLINE * Do not display latitude/longitude lines NOLINE removes all latitude/longitude lines from the display. LINE Set lat/long line increment and display lines This command enables latitude and longitude lines on the display, and sets the spacing between the lines. For example, LINE15 draws latitude and longitude 15 degrees apart. TLINC Set latitude line increment GLINC Set longitude line increment TLINC and GLINC allow the spacing between latitude and longitude lines to be set independently. For example, TLINC 15 and GLINC 30 set the latitude spacing to 15 degrees, and the longitude spacing to 30 degrees. TLSPEC Specific latitude line GLSPEC Specific longitude line TLSPEC and GLSPEC allow specific latitude and longitude lines to be displayed. For example, TLSPEC -67 draws a latitude line at 67 degrees south (the antarctic circle). Up to 20 of these special lines can be specified. CLINE Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines CLINE removes all non-permanent special lines from the display. CLINE1 removes all line including permanent lines. LINEPERM Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent LINEPERM makes all currently defined TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent, i.e., they will be displayed on all maps. If TLSPEC and GLSPEC commands are followed by LINEPERM in GECONFIG.DAT, these lines will be permanent. A similar sequence in a GEOn.DAT file will make these lines permanent. CLINE1 clear all permanent lines. HIDELL * Do not show Latitude/Longitude values This command suppresses the latitude and longitude labels. SHOWLL Show Latitude/Longitude values This command labels all the latitude and longitude lines displayed. The labels appear on the top and left edges of the display. The labels may overlap other data. Optionally, SHOWLL can control which axis are labeled: SHOWLLn n and 1 = 0 show left latitude n and 2 = 0 show right latitude n and 4 = 0 show top longitude LLCOLOR Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels This command takes two parameters LLCOLOR a/b. a is the color number for the lat/long lines (the default is 6). b is the color number for the lat/long line labels (the default value is 7). If a is negative, the lines will overwrite all map features, while if a is positive it will only overwrite colors 1,2,3 (water, land, and land/water). INCLUDE (or I) Include data file When contained in a GEOn.DAT file, INCLUDE <file> suspends reading from the file being processed, and processes all commands in the <file>. When all commands in that file have been processed, reading resumes from the original file. INCLUDE may be nested up to ten levels. INCLUDE may also be used in response to the "P" command. In this case, the named file will be included at the end of the GEOn.DAT file for the map currently displayed. The effect of the INCLUDE command will be negated when a new map is selected or a new file is specified with INCLUDE. The INCLUDE command can be abbreviated by I (i.e., I DATELINE). An include file can be set on the command line or in a script by using the @ character as a separator (e.g., GEOCLK MAP1 I@dateline). This syntax is not allowed in data files or in response to P or C. GINCLUDE (or GI) Global include data file The commands works the same as include above, except that the file is included on all maps. Orindarily, the GINCLUDE command would be in GECONFIG.DAT, but it can be on the command line (using the @ character) or in response to P or C. The command is canceled by GINCLUDE or GI with no file name specified. If both GI and I are active on the same map, both files will be processed. DRAWLINE Draw line on map DRAWLINE lat1 long1 lat2 long2 color draws a line between (lat1,long1) and (lat2,long2) on the current map. Color is the color in which the line will be drawn. See "Color Control" for an explanation of the use of color. If omitted, color defaults to 5 (yellow). Example: DRAWLINE 38.9 -77.0 34.0 -118.3 0 draws a line between Washington DC and Los Angeles in color 0. The DRAWLINE command cannot be issued from the [C]ommand level. It operates ONLY when contained in a GEO*.DAT file that is processed for the map, or in a text file that is appended to a map with the INCLUDE command. VECTOR (or V) Continue a line VECTOR latx longx draws a line starting at the position of the last DRAWLINE or VECTOR, to (latx,longx) using the color specified in the last DRAWLINE. For example, if the following lines immediately follow the line in the DRAWLINE example: VECTOR 41.83 -87.75 VECTOR 38.67 -90.25 a line from Los Angeles to Chicago to St, Louis will be drawn in color 0. The VECTOR command may be abbreviated by V (i.e., V 41.83 -87.75). DRAWCIRCLE Draw circle on map DRAWCIRCLE latcenter longcenter latrad longrad color draws an ellipse centered at (latcenter,longcenter) and with latitude (vertical) radius latrad and with longitude (horizontal) radius longrad, and with color color. The command operates ONLY when contained in a GEOn.DAT file that is processed for the map. Color is the color in which the line will be drawn. If omitted, color defaults to 5, which is displayed as yellow. Example: DRAWCIRCLE 38.9 -77.0 10 20 6 draws an oval centered on Washington DC that is 10 degrees from the center to the northernmost point, and 20 degrees from the center to the easternmost point, and in color 6. Alternatively, the form: DRAWCIRCLE latcenter longcenter -radius 0 color can be used. This draws a circle of the specified radius (in kilometers) in the specified color around the specified center point. For example: DRAWCIRCLE 38.9 -77.0 -100 0 6 draws a 100 km circle in color 6 around Washington DC. The negative sign in front of the radius, and the 0 after the radius, are required to ensure compatibility with the older system. DRAWFCIRCLE Draw a filled circle on map DRAWFCIRCLE has the same syntax as DRAWCIRCLE, except that the circle or ellipse drawn is solid rather than outlined. 4.8 Sun and Moon Display Control SUNLIGHT Terminator definition SUNLIGHT angle specifies the sun's elevation angle for the terminator. The default is -0.8333, which corresponds to apparent sunrise and sunset, when the edge of the sun is just visible. 0 corresponds to the geometric terminator, which divides the earth into two equal halves. TWILIGHT Twilight terminator definition TWILIGHT angle specifies the sun's elevation angle for the twilight terminator. The default is 0. -6.00 corresponds to civil twilight, -12 corresponds to nautical twilight, and -18 corresponds to astronomical twilight. If this angle is greater than or equal to the SUNLIGHT parameter, the twilight area is not displayed. TLMASK Twilight area pattern TLMASK n specifies the fraction (in 16ths) of halftoning for twilight display. 4 is the default, which gives 1/4 light and 3/4 dark for the twilight area. You may have to experiment with this value to get the best display for your monitor. A value of 4 may give a better effect, particularly if you wish to emphasize the terminator relatively to the twilight line. NOFILL Do not display building of sunlit area Does not perform area fill operations directly to the screen when a map is initially displayed. The map will be displayed, and after a short delay the entire sunlit area will be displayed. This sometimes solves stack overflow errors during fill with some graphics cards. SUNANGLE Sun rise/set definition SUNANGLE angle sets the elevation angle of the sun used to compute sunrise and set. The default is -0.8333 degree, which corresponds to the sun just breaking the horizon, considering refraction effects. This parameter does not affect the terminator line calculations. NORMAL * Normal Display This highlights the sunlit area and displays the sun symbol at the sun's subpoint. LIGHT All sunlight is displayed This highlights the entire screen, and does not display the sun symbol. This often provides a better display of details of small-area maps, on which terminator display may be unimportant, e.g., city maps. DARK No sunlight is displayed This does not highlight any of the screen, and does not display the sun symbol. BLANK Highlighting is not used This does not perform any highlighting. This is appropriate for some specialized maps which use more than 7 colors. MOONdisp Control display of moon If disp is 0 or omitted, no moon is displayed. If disp is 1, a moon symbol is displayed with approximate phase information over the correct sub-point. If disp is 2, the text moon illumination fraction is displayed with the moon symbol. If disp is 3, the symbol, illumination, lat, long, azimuth, and elevation are all displayed. If disp is increased by 4, the moon is displayed using the calendar convention (i.e., the moon looks like the symbol in printed calendars). For example, if disp is 6, the moon symbol is displayed using the calendar convention, and the moon illumination fraction is displayed in text. EPHEMERISdisp Control display of ephemeris data with the Distance function. If disp is 0 or omitted, only coordinates and distances are displayed with the distance function. If disp is 1, the current local time and time zone are displayed, along with the sun rise, sun set, sun azimuth, and sun elevation, for the selected point. 4.9 Time, Zone and Format Control These commands are special - they are activated by pressing a letter key while a map is displayed. They can also be used in GE*.DAT files, in response to a "P" prompt, and on the command line. T Set new time Pressing the T key prompts you for a new display time in yy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss format. This does not change your PC's clock. All times in GeoClock use the 24 hour format. The EGA/VGA/SVGA version shows a pop- up window with this command. You can use the cursor keys to edit the time, use ENTER to accept the new time, or ESC to reject the new time. If this command is used on the command line or in a DAT file, the included data is interpreted as year month day hour minute second. The data must be given with no extra characters, and exactly two digits per item. Missing data is set to 2000/01/01 00:00:00. For example, T9205151207 is taken as 1992/05/15 12:07:00. A four digit year is allowed. When used on the command line or in a DAT file, the data may have a + or - followed by a number. With this format, the current vertual time is incremented or decremented by the specified number of days. For example, T+30 increments the time by 30 days, while T-0.25 decrements the time by 1/4 day = 6 hours. S Speed to time change Pressing the S key prompts you for the rate of change of time per display update. The prompt asks for the number of hours (possibly fractional or negative) for the displayed clock to be incremented during each cycle, e.g., 0.25 for 15 minutes every 1 to 20 second cycle. The hour:minutes:seconds format can be used if desired, e.g., 0:15 for 15 minutes, or 0:0:5 for five seconds. U Change display update interval Pressing the U key prompts you for the screen update interval in seconds. When this value is entered, the display is immediately drawn. Subsequently, the screen in updated at the specified interval and synchronized with the clock. Thus, if 15 is specified, the screen will be updated at 0, 15, 30, and 45 seconds past the minute. If your computer is not fast enough to achieve the specified interval, the smallest integer multiple of this interval which works will be used. R Reset time and speed Pressing this key restores the display time to the current time, and the display update rate to real time. R "undoes" F, T, and U. 4.10 Special Commands The first seven commands are special - they are activated by pressing a letter key while a map is being displayed. C Enter a command Pressing this letter key brings up a box for entering a command. Type the command and any parameters, followed by ENTER. The command will take effect immediately. K Go back to previous map displayed Pressing the K key returns the display to the previous map which was displayed. This is useful if you want to switch back and forth between two maps. D Measure distance (two point) Pressing the key starts the distance measuring function. This function is available only to registered users. See "Distance Measurement" for more information. This function only works with VGA and better displays. @ Measure distance (three point) Pressing the key starts the distance measuring function. This function is available only to registered users. See "Distance Measurement" for more information. This function works with EGA and better displays. Z Select another map Pressing the key starts the "Zoom" function. This function is available only to registered users. It is not a true zoom, but selects maps which contain the point under the cursor. See "Zoom" for more information. This function works with both EGA and VGA or better displays. L Toggle between Lat/Long displayed Pressing this key toggles between GRID and NOGRID. Y Toggle city and country display Pressing this key toggles between CITY and COUNTRY. NETWORK@server@local@ Network control This command sets GeoClock to run in network mode. For every file to be read, the directory "local" is check, and if the file exists there, it is used. If not, the directory "server" is used. When a file is written, it is always written to the "local" directory. Usually, GeoClock and all its files will be installed in the "server" directory, and each user will have his own "local". The user can then customize his GeoClock without affecting other users. Ordinarily, the NETWORK command should be on the command line (FILE/PROPERTIES/COMMANDLINE in Windows 3.x). For example, C:\SERVER\GEO\GEOCKWIN.EXE NETWORK@C:\SERVER\GEO@X:\LOCAL\GEO@ will start GeoClock using C:\SERVER\GEO as the server directory, and X:\LOCAL\GEO as the local directory. A special form of the command is NETWORK with no additional characters. In this case, GeoCLock uses the directory containing the GEOCKWIN.EXE file as the server directory, and the current default directory as the local directory. FAST Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations Forces GeoClock to use a faster but slightly less accurate algorithm for drawing the sunlit area. This is the default for systems without an 80x87. SLOW Use high accuracy but slower calculations Forces GeoClock to use the high accuracy algorithm for drawing the sunlit area. This is the default for systems with an 80x87. On systems with an 80x87, the difference in speed between SLOW and FAST is negli- gible, while on those systems without an 80x87, FAST is approximately twice the speed of SLOW. These options do not effect polar, orthoscopic, or azimuthal-equidistance maps. 387 Activate speedup with 80387 or i486 This command activates the use of special 387/486 commands which speed up calculations, especially on polar, orthoscopic, and azimuthal- equidistance maps. If you do not have a 387 type coprocessor, the results of using this command are unpredictable. It MAY work on IIT and CYRIX 287s, and Intel 287XLs. The following five commands control the optional HAM features. HAMCD Specify option HAM CD-ROM data base HAMCD file specifies that the QRZ or BuckMaster HamCall (April 95 and earlier) CDROM is loaded and should be used to obtain extra information about US call signs. If the file parameter is missing, all online local CDROM drives will be checked for the data base. This will almost always correctly identify the CD, but you may specify the complete path to the data base (for example, HAMCD D:\CALLBK\CALLBKC.DAT or HAMCD D:\HAM0\HAMCALL.129 ) if GeoClock cannot automatically locate this data base. When a call sign is parsed, the CD will be checked first. If the call is not found, the GeoClock HAM data base (see below) will be used. HAMDB Specify HAM data base - maximum speed configuration HAMDB file loads the HAM call sign data base from file the named file. Only the first occurrence of this command in a GeoClock execution is effective (i.e., the data base will not be reloaded or changed). A good place for this command is in the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to your HAM map. The HAM data base and other required files are an extra cost option in GeoClock. HAMDBX Specify HAM data base - minimum memory configuration HAMDBX file specifies the file with the HAM data base. Whenever a call sign needs to be analyzed, the data base is loaded into temporary memory, and the memory is released after analysis. This slows the analysis slightly, but requires about 60Kb less RAM. If you are shelling to GeoClock from another program and get Error 203 messages whe you use the HAM features, placing this command in GECONFIG.DAT may solve the problem. HAM Activate HAM features This command activates the HAM features on azimuthal-equidistance maps. A good place for this command is in the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to your HAM map. NOHAM Deactivate HAM features CALL Specify initial call sign This commands allows the initial call sign, when a HAM map is brought up, to be specified. For example, GEOCLK MAP9009 CALL=K3NA will cause the HAM package to be activated with K3NA data displayed. The last displayed call sign will be displayed after switching away from and then back to a HAM map. The following two commands may be needed to control screen flickering or flashing on some graphics boards that do not follow the IBM standard exactly. NOBLINK Required for some Trident graphics boards This command prevents the markers from blinking on the Distance screen on some graphics adapters. You may want to use the MCOLOR command with NOBLINK to improve marker readability. FLICKER Required for some Trident graphics boards This command forces GeoClock to bypass the video BIOS and issue changes to the video memory start address and palette directly to the video hardware. This is necessary to prevent flickering or blinking of the display on some graphics adapters. QUIET Do not beep on cycle completion (default) SOUND Beep on cycle completion HALT Terminate script and return to DOS REPEAT Start script over from first line SCRIPT Invoke a specific script SCRIPTx invokes script x (i.e., the file GEOSCRx.DAT). x may be any number. This is especially useful from the command line. Note that if GEOSCR0.DAT exists, it is automatically invoked when GeoClock starts unless the SCRIPTx command is in the GECONFIG.DAT file or on the command line. WCGLOBE Set parameters for GeoGlobe program This command sets the parameters for the GeoGlobe program. All the parameters on the WCGLOBE line are passed to GeoGlobe when GeoGlobe is started by clicking the Globe icon. For example WCGLOBE P /X Causes GeoGlobe to be started with the P (preload the data base) and /X (display axis) parameters when the Globe icon is clicked. ZOOMFRACT Set screen active area for zoom This command sets the size of the active area on the map for zoom to prevent zoom to areas too close to the screen edge, and to allow map to map lateral zooming. ZOOMFRACT1.0 allows zooming to any area on the screen. ZOOMFRACT0.95, for example, does not allow zooming closer to the edge than 5% of the screen dimensions. This parameter also affects the Where function, ensuring that the selected city is not too close to the edge of the map. One consequence of this is that clicking near the edge of the map will bring up the highest resolution map containing that point but not near the edge, so the zoom function can be used to navagate laterally through the maps. 4.11 Mouse, Graphics, and Color Control The commands below specify the capabilities of your color graphics system and mouse. See also "Configuring for EGA/VGA/SVGA Graphics Systems." FMOUSE Use fast mouse reset. Use the fast mouse software reset (function 21h) to initialize the mouse. Microsoft and some other mice use a very slow (several second) hardware reset for the normal mouse initialize function, while the software reset works equally well. If there is a long delay when using Z or D the first time these functions are used, adding FMOUSE to the GECONFIG.DAT file may improve the speed significantly. Some mice do not recognize the software reset. In this case, the mouse will not work with FMOUSE. EMOUSE Mouse with EGA restrictions The EGA display does not support some mouse functions because the display's state cannot always be determined. If you have a true EGA system, rather than a VGA or better, this statement should be included in GECONFIG.DAT or the mouse may interfere with correct display. It is automatically added by GEOSETUP if appropriate. RMOUSEn Reset mouse with video mode switch This parameter controls mouse resets whenever the video mode is changed. While this should happen automatically, some mouse drivers, including the standard mouse driver with OS/2, do not follow this standard. By default, GeoClock resets the mouse every time the video mode is switched. If the mouse works but mode switches are very slow, or the system hangs sometimes when the video mode switches, try RMOUSE1. MOUSEX Control Mouse/Icon interaction This controls the interaction between the mouse and the icon bar. MOUSEX0 The icon bar and mouse cursor are not displayed until the mouse is moved or ALT is pressed. When a new map is displayed, the icon bar and cursor initially are not displayed. This is intended for scripts. MOUSEX1 The icon bar is controlled only by ALT. Mouse movement has no effect on the icon bar. The icon bar state is preserved through map changes. MOUSEX2 The icon bar is never displayed. MOUSEX3 The icon bar is controlled by ALT and by the mouse moving off and on the screen. The icon bar state is preserved over map changes. This is the default when GeoClock starts. SAVER Special screen save mouse/keyboard action When this command is execute, *any* mouse movement or click, or any keystroke, will cause GeoClock to terminate. This is usefull when GeoClock is used as a screen saver. ICONSIZE Set initial icon size ICONSIZE1 sets the initial icon to an 8 pixel bar with the function names, rather than the 46 pixel bar with true icons. The ALT key will toggle the icon size. EGA Specify EGA graphics system This command should be included in the GECONFIG.DAT file if you have an EGA system. The command prevents VGA and SVGA maps from being displayed. VGA Specify VGA graphics system This command specifies that you have a VGA system. This is the default for GeoClock, so the command is usually not required. If you have a super EGA (one that supports 640x480) rather than a true VGA, this command may be required. The format of the command is VGAa/b/c/d , where a, b, c, and d are the decimal values of the AX, BX, CX, and DX registers to enter the 640x480x16 graphics mode by executing INT 10. If you do not have a true VGA, but an EGA capable of 640x480 graphics, you may have to add the EMOUSE command to GECONFIG.DAT. SVGA Specify 800x600 super VGA (SVGA) graphics system This command specifies that you have an 800x600x16 color Super VGA (SVGA) display. The format of the command is SVGAa/b/c/d , where a, b, c, and d are the decimal vales of the AX, BX, CX, and DX registers to enter the 800x600x16 graphics mode by executing INT 10. If the parameters are omitted, the VESA standard parameters are used. "Configuring for EGA/VGA/SVGA Graphics Systems" has parameter values for a number of SVGA manufacturers. SHOWVGA Convert EGA maps to VGA format for display This command forces all EGA maps to be displayed in VGA format. GeoClock converts the maps on the fly by duplicating some horizontal lines. Using this command allows the higher resolution VGA characters and lines to be displayed on EGA maps, and prevents your graphics system from changing video modes when switching between EGA and VGA maps. It does NOT enhance the resolution of EGA maps. SHOWSVGA Convert EGA and VGA maps to SVGA format for display This command forces all EGA and VGA maps to be displayed in SVGA format. GeoClock converts the maps on the fly by duplicating some horizontal and vertical lines. Using this command allows the higher resolution SVGA characters and lines to be displayed on EGA and VGA maps, and prevents your graphics system from changing video modes when switching between EGA, VGA, and SVGA maps. It does NOT enhance the resolution of EGA maps. All the supported graphics adapters provides for the simultaneous display of 16 colors from a palette of 64. The 16 colors that can be displayed simultaneously are used to represent 16 features displayed by GeoClock. See "Colors and Default Colors" (4.7) for details. The following three commands are used to control the colors displayed on the screen for these 16 features. CSET Color change menu This command is activated by pressing P (to get the command prompt), followed by CSET. A menu is displayed with the 16 color feature names, numbers, and color values. The color values are expressed by combi- nations of the following letters: B = bright blue b = dim blue G = bright green g = dim green R = bright red r = dim red For example, white is rgbRGB (r + R = full red, full green, full blue), bright yellow is rgbRG (full red, full green, dim blue), and grey is rgb (dim red, dim green, dim blue). To change to color of a feature, enter the feature number, followed by a space and the color value. For ex- ample, to change the color of non-sunlit land (feature 2) to brown, enter: 2 gR and to change the color of sun-lit land (feature 10) to bright yellow enter: 10 rgbRG You can experiment with different color values to produce the most pleasing effect. CSET shows changes in the color palette as you enter them. COLOR Set color The COLOR command provides a way to change the GeoClock default colors. The format is: COLORnddbb where n is the feature number (0-7), dd is the color value for the non- sunlit feature, and bb is the color value for the sunlit feature (n+8). The easiest way to get the proper values is to use the CSET menu. The proper COLOR commands to produce the colors as modified by CSET are given on the right hand side of the CSET menu. For example, for the color values given in the CSET example, the command is COLOR22062. ECOLOR Set color for elevation maps The ECOLOR commands provides a way to change the colors used for elevation maps. The format is the same as the COLOR command: ECOLORnddbb These colors are not effected by CSET. TEXTBG Set text background color TEXTBGn changes the text background color number to n. The default value is 4. MCOLOR Set color for Distance cursors This command sets the colors of the Markers on the "D"istance screen. It may be required to improve the appearance of the cursors if the NOBLINK command was used. The syntax is MCOLORxxyy. Marker 1 is set to color value xx, and Marker 2 is set to color value yy. For example, MCOLOR5961 sets Marker 1 to 59 (bright cyan) and Marker 2 to 61 (bright magenta). FCOLOR Set map frame color FCOLORn sets the color of the frame around the map display to n. The default value is 15 (white). A value of 0 through 15 frames the map in that color. Any other value (for example, -1) does not display any frame. 4.12 Zoom The Zoom function comes in two forms. If you have a VGA or better display and a mouse, the first form is always active and can be used at any time. The second form is activated by pressing the letter Z, and works on all display types and is somewhat more precise. **** First Form **** If you position the cursor anywhere on the screen (except the icon bar) and click the left mouse button, GeoClock will display the highest resolution map containing the point under the cursor. If you click the right mouse button the next map in the hierarchy defined by the MAKEZOOM program will be displayed. If you click the left button while on a lowest level map, or the right button while on the top level map, a short beep will sound and the map display will not change. **** Second Form **** (registered users only) This function allows the user to change the map background using the cursor. A mouse or the arrow keys can be used. To invoke the function, press the letter Z. The screen will be stabilize without any time or sunlight information, and an Iron-Cross type cursor will appear. Among other things, the Zoom function can be used to identify all maps that include a given location. Use the mouse and/or arrow keys to locate a position on the map. (If you hold the shift key down with the arrow keys, the cursor will move 8 times faster than non-shifted arrows.) Each press of the right or left button on the mouse, or CONTROL or ALTERNATE keys on the keyboard, will switch to a new map containing that point. The left mouse button or CTRL selects the next smaller map containing the point under the cursor (zooms in). The right mouse button or ALT selects the next larger map containing the point under the cursor (zooms out). The "Z" key switches to the smallest map (most detailed) containing the point. The cursor will remain at the specified latitude/longitude during the switch. When the desired map is displayed, press the middle button or the ESCAPE key to return to time display. 4.13 Distance Measurement The distance measurement function comes in two forms. The first is activated by pressing D or clicking the Distance icon, requires a mouse and displays two points. The second is activated by pressing the @ key, displays three points and does not require a mouse. **** First Form **** Clicking on the distance icon, or pressing the letter D, activates the two point distance function. One pointed is fixed and the other is controlled by the mouse. Pressing a mouse button, or pressing ENTER, moves the first point to the current mouse position. At the bottom of the screen, the coordinates of both points, the distance between them, and the azimuths between them are displayed. If the EPHEMERIS command (see) is set to 1, the sun rise, sun set, sun azimuth, and sun elevation will be displayed for the selected point (the red cursor, the one fixed by a mouse click). To exit the distance function, click on the reset icon in the upper right, or press ESCAPE. **** Second Form **** This function provides a display of the coordinates of three selected points, and the distances between them, as controlled by a mouse or the keyboard. The function is invoked by pressing the "@" (shift 2). City names remain on the map, and two text lines appear at the bottom of the screen. They indicate latitude and longitude of three points, and distances between them. Point 3 is the current cursor position, which you can change with mouse motion or the arrow keys. (If you hold the shift key down with the arrow keys, the cursor will move 8 times faster.) Point 1 is selected by the left mouse button or the CONTROL key on the keyboard. Point 2 is selected by the right mouse button or the ALTERNATE key. To maintain smooth cursor movement, the distance and coordinate displays are updated only when the cursor is not moving. By default, the display shows distance (in km and miles) on the top line, and location (in degrees/minutes/seconds) on the bottom. By pressing "A", azimuth (in degrees, first from A to B, then B to A) and distance (in km) will be displayed. "D" returns to distance only. Pressing "." will display locations in degrees and fractions, while "'" will return to DMS format. To return to the normal GeoClock display, press ESCAPE or the center mouse button. 4.14 Scripts Up to 10 scripts can be played by GeoClock. Each script consists of GeoClock command lines (including a map selection command) and optionally a time (by default, 15 seconds). At the end of the specified interval, the next command line in the script is executed. One way to start a script is to press a number key (0 through 9). The corresponding script file is named GEOSCR0.DAT through GEOSRC9.DAT. Another way to invoke a script is to use the command SCRIPTx, where x is any number. The corresponding script file is GEOSCRx.DAT. If this command is on the command line or in GECONFIG.DAT, that script is executed as soon as GeoClock starts. If not, and if GEOSCR0.DAT exists, it is executed automatically when GeoClock is started. If the script encounters a REPEAT command, the script restarts at the beginning of the file. If the script encounters a HALT command, GeoClock immediately stops and returns to DOS. The script stops when the end of the script file is reached, or any key is pressed. Example: GEOSCR9.DAT contains: MAP1 LINE30 SHOWLL MAP2 LINE5 RANDOM 30 NOLINE REPEAT When 9 is pressed, MAP1 with LINE30 and SHOWLL is displayed for 15 seconds. then MAP2 with LINE5 is displayed for 15 seconds, then a randomly selected map is displayed for 30 seconds with NOLINE, and the sequence repeats. Scripts can also be used as macro keys. For example, if GEOSCR1.DAT contains: MAPP1 then when 1 is pressed, the next sequential map in map number sequence is displayed. If GEOSCR2.DAT contains: T+0.0416666667 then when 2 is pressed, the current time is advanced by one hour (1/24 day). 5. Advanced Topics These are topics of interest only to advanced users or are topics of specialized interest. 5. Advanced Topics 5.1 Configuring for Your Time Zone 5.2 City Locations on Maps 5.3 Configuring for Your City 5.4 Finding Your Latitude and Longitude 5.5 City Name Placement and Time Display 5.6 Make Zoom utility 5.7 Colors and Default Colors 5.8 Changing GeoClock Defaults 5.9 Calendars and Daylight Saving Time 5.10 Ephemeris Data and Accuracy 5.11 Software structure 5.12 Map Generation System 5.13 Elevation Maps 5.1 Configuring for Your Time Zone GeoClock has a comprehensive system for handling all known time zones in the world. The GEOZONES.DAT file contains definitions of all time zones and daylight saving time systems identified to date. You can read or print this file for the complete list. These definitions include the dates for switching between standard and summer time (for example, 91/04/07 and 91/10/27 for most of the U.S. in 1991), the common names for standard and summer time (for example, EST and EDT), and a codename to refer to the definition (for example, ET). Ordinarily, you should not need to change these definitions. Each time zone is preceded by the keyword ZONE. To make sure that GeoClock gives the proper sun position, you must tell GeoClock what time zone your PC's clock uses. (For most users, this will be the time zone in which you live.) This is done by editing GECONFIG.DAT (use TED if you do not have a favorite ASCII editor) and adding the proper PCZONE command. This command should be placed in the GECONFIG.DAT file. The format is: PCZONE codename where codename is the codename for the time zone, as listed in the ZONE commands. There should be no other characters on this line. Some common codenames are: ET Eastern Standard/Daylight Time EST Eastern Standard Time all year (most of Indiana) CT Central Standard/Daylight Time MT Mountain Standard/Daylight Time MST Mountain Standard Time all year (Arizona) PT Pacific Standard/Daylight Time AKT Alaska HST Hawaii UKT United Kingdom, Ireland +1A Most of continental Europe +2A Eastern Europe JST Japan The GEOSETUP program will prompt you for the time zone code (or supply it automatically if you live in a US zip code area) and place the time zone code in the GECONFIG.DAT file. 5.2 City Locations on Maps GeoClock has great flexibility in displaying cities on the maps. For most maps (e.g., MAP2) there is a corresponding text file (e.g., GEO2.DAT) that contains the customization information for that map. GEOCLOCK.DAT is used for MAP1, and any other map that does not have a corresponding GEOn.DAT file. The first line of any GEOn.DAT file is the time zone codename that determines which time zone will be used for time display on that map. For example, ET indicates Eastern time, and CT indicates central time. (See "Configuring for Your Time Zone.") This should normally be the time zone codename for the first city listed (the second line of the file). This city is the "primary" city for the map. The rest of the lines in the file specify the names and locations of other cities to be displayed. The format for display of a city is "Latitude Longitude Name". Either decimal degrees or degrees minutes seconds (DMS) may be used. In the decimal degree format, the minus sign (-) indicates south latitude (south of the equator) and west longitude (in the western hemisphere). For DMS format, separate entries by an "x", and place the direction indicator at the end. For example, 31 degrees 15 minutes west longitude would be 31x15W in DMS, and -31.25 in decimal, while 45 degrees 12 minutes 38 seconds north latitude would be 45x12x38N in DMS and 45.2106 in decimal. Some examples of these lines are: 34.00 -118.25 Los Angeles 30x3N 31x15E Cairo -26.17 28.03 Johannesburg 27x49N 85x21E Katmandu Nepal The first city listed in a file is the "primary" city. It is used for the astronomical calculations which are normally shown at the bottom of the map. The sunrise and sunset time, azimuth and elevation to the sun, local time, and the sun's sub point (the point on earth where the sun is directly overhead) can be displayed for this location. 5.3 Configuring for Your City You will probably want to customize the display by entering cities of your choice on some maps. In particular, you may want to make the city where you live the "primary" city on one or more of the maps. This will give sunrise and sunset, plus other sun-related data for your city on the legend lines at the bottom of the each map. The simplest method is to use the GEOSETUP program. This will add the proper HTS command to GECONFIG.DAT. The syntax for HTS is: HTS/latitude/longitude/TimeZone/CityName. For example: HTS/41.98/-91.64/CT/Cedar_Rapids places a marker and the name Cedar Rapids on every map where the city appears, and gives sunrise, sunset, sun azimuth, sun elevation, and time for Cedar Rapids at the bottom of all maps. (The underscore _ is displayed as a space.) Alternatively, you can use HTA instead of HTS. This uses Cedar Rapids for the sunrise, etc., data, on all maps. This command can be added to the end of GECONFIG.DAT at the same time that the PCZONE command is added, or included on the GEOCLK command line. An alternative and more flexible method is to install your city as the primary city in only some GEO*.DAT files, (for example, GEO2.DAT). You can do this by editing the file at the DOS command line (e.g., TED GEO2.DAT). You can use any ASCII text editor, but TED is especially easy and is supplied with GeoClock (See section 1.6). Using the cursor and editor keys, replace the first line of the file, if necessary, so that the time zone codename corresponds with your time zone. Then position the cursor at the end of the first line and press ENTER. This will create a blank second line. Next, enter your latitude, longitude, and location name on the second line. Finally, press F7 to save these changes. (See "City Locations on Maps" (1.5) for details on entering the latitude/longitude definitions for cities.) Repeat this for every map you want to change. It is not necessary to change all the files, or to use the same city in every file. For example, here is part of the GEO2.DAT file that comes with GeoClock: ET 38.90 -77.03 Washington 33.75 -84.38 Atlanta 42.33 -71.08 Boston .... Suppose you live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and want Cedar Rapids to appear as the primary city on one or more maps. The first step is to determine your latitude and longitude (see "Finding Your Latitude and Longitude" (1.7)). Next, use the TED editor that came with GeoClock, or any other text editor, to edit the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to the map file you want to change. For example, to change MAP2 (the US map), edit GEO2.DAT. If you use TED, just enter TED GEO2.DAT. Change the first line to your time zone, if necessary. Cedar Rapids is in the Central time zone, so use the editor to change ET to CT. Next, make Cedar Rapids the first city listed. In this case, it is 41.98N and 91.64W. Adding this data to the GEO2.DAT file gives: CT 41.98 -91.64 Cedar Rapids 38.90 -77.03 Washington 33.75 -84.38 Atlanta 42.33 -71.08 Boston .... If you want Cedar Rapids to appear on a map, but do not want it as the primary city, enter its latitude, longitude, and name in the list of cities on the GEO*.DAT file, but not as the first city. 5.4 Finding Your Latitude and Longitude Accurate lat/long are essential for proper display of cities on a map, and also for accurate sunrise and sunset times of a map's "primary" city. An error of one degree of longitude changes sunrise and sunset by four minutes. The easiest way to find a particular latitude and longitude is to look it up in an atlas. The next easiest way is to call your local airport or weather bureau for the information. You can also leave a request for information on the GeoClock Bulletin Board, and you should get a reply in a short time. 5.5 City Name Placement and Time Display For registered users only, additional control over city placement, color, size, and local time display is possible. All are marked by characters appearing after an exclamation point (!) on a city line in GEOn.DAT. This new data consists of an optional string of characters as follows: A - show city name Above mark B - show city name Below mark L - show city name Left of mark R - show city name Right of mark Y - show city name in color 5 (Yellow by default) E - show city name in 8x14 font M - show city name in 8x8 font (default) S - show city name in 4x8 font T - show city name in 4x6 font X - show city name in external font (see FONTLOAD command) number - show city name in color number (e.g., 6 shows city name in color 6). Color numbers are described in "Color Control." N - show a name without a mark. This is particularly useful if you want to name an area, such as the Pacific Ocean Z - indicates a country name rather than a city name O - display the last symbol defined (see SYMDEF) instead of the normal marker for the city. After these optional codes, the line may be followed by a space and a time zone code. If included, this specifies that the local time for that city is to be displayed to the right of the city name. If a "*" is included, the name of the time zone will be displayed in addition to the time. THE SPACING OF THESE CHARACTERS IS CRITICAL. For example: ET 38.90 -77.02 Washington !E 42.65 -73.75 Albany !Y 35.08 -106.65 Albuquerque ! *MT 42.28 -83.75 Ann Arbor !A 33.75 -84.39 Atlanta !0 44.30 -69.76 Augusta 33.52 -86.81 Birmingham ! CT 46.80 -100.78 Bismarck !B6 *CT In this example, Washington will be displayed in the 8x14 font, Albany will be displayed in yellow, Albuquerque will be followed by the local time and MST or MDT as appropriate, Ann Arbor will appear above the marker, Atlanta will be displayed in color 0 (red), Birmingham will appear follow by local (central) time but without a CST or CDT, and Bismarck will be displayed below the marker in color 6 (black) and followed by local time and CST or CDT. 5.6 Make Zoom utility The MakeZoom utility allows the zoom-up sequence for the always active mouse zoom to be defined. Clicking the right button, or the zoom-up icon, uses this take to find the next map up. Initially, MAKEZOOM scans the map directory and builds a candidate zoom up text file named GEOZOOMU.TXT. This file has one line per map: mapnumber zoomoutmapnumber mapname -> zoomoutmapname Only the two numeric fields are processed, the rest is comment. Then the program makes the GEOZOOMU.BIN file, which GeoClock uses. This file is produced automatically when MAKEZOOM is run. If desired, the GEOZOOMU.TXT file can be edited to change the zoom sequence. When MAKEZOOM is run, if the GEOZOOMU.TXT file already exists, you are prompted to either use this file, or produce a new one. You should run this program every time you add or delete a map. You can use the MAKEZOOM utility for the windows version of GeoClock by: MAKEZOOM W 5.7 Colors and Default Colors The EGA graphics adapter provides for the simultaneous display of 16 colors from a palette of 64. The VGA graphics adapter provides for the simultaneous display of 16 colors from a palette of 262144. Most programs use the default palette, which roughly corresponds to the colors provided by the CGA in text mode. In order to make the map display the most at- tractive, the EGA/VGA/SVGA version of GeoClock does not use this standard palette. Instead, the 16 colors that can be displayed simultaneously are used to represent 16 features displayed by GeoClock. The first eight numbers are for features not in sunlight, and the second eight are for features that are in sunlight: The 16 color values are expressed by combinations of the following letters: B = bright blue b = dim blue G = bright green g = dim green R = bright red r = dim red For example, white is rgbRGB (r+R=full red, g+G=full green, b+B=full blue), bright yellow is rgbRG (r+R=full red, g+G=full green, b=dim blue), and grey is rgb (dim red, dim green, dim blue). These colors are also indicated with numerical values determined by the formula: Color value = 32*r + 16*g + 8*b + 4*R + 2*G +B Default colors in GeoClock are as follows: Feature Use Color rgbRGB Color Value 0 Political Bdy (dark) red ---R-- 4 1 Water (dark) blue -----B 1 2 Land (dark) dark green -g---- 16 3 Land/Water Bdy (dark) green ----G- 2 4 Text Background (dark) black ------ 0 5 Aux Text Color (dark) yellow rgbRG- 62 6 Lat/Long Lines (dark) black ------ 0 7 Frame and Text white rgbRGB 63 8 Political Bdy (light) bright red rgbR-- 60 9 Water (light) light blue --b--B 9 10 Land (light) green ----G- 2 11 Land/Water Bdy (light) light green -g---G- 18 12 Text Background (light) black ------ 0 13 Aux Text and Sun (light) yellow rgbRG- 62 14 Lat/Long Lines (light) black ------ 0 15 Frame and Text white rgbRGB 63 The "rgbRGB" designators are used for changing display colors with the CSET function. The color values are used with the COLORnddbb command at the [C]ommand line or in GECONFIG.DAT. In order to avoid an annoying "blinking" effect on every screen update, it is desirable that there be identical colors for colors 4 and 12, and for colors 7 and 15. 5.8 Changing GeoClock Defaults There are at least four ways to change default values in GeoClock. Most default values can be overridden for all operation by inserting another command in the GECONFIG.DAT file. This can be done with any text editor. For example, MARK, CITY, and LINEnn commands are often added to the GECONFIG.DAT file. Some users also add their favorite map at the end, so it (rather than Map 1) comes up automatically for display on initiating the program. The second way to change default values is by adding commands as para- meters when executing GeoClock (usually by typing GEOCLK at the DOS command line). The third way is through the normal [C]ommand process. The fourth is by adding commands in map data files (GEO*.DAT). With this method, you should be aware of which commands will apply only to a given map, and which ones will change all map displays until a contrary command is issued. Some commands in GeoClock are "global," while others are "non-global." Global commands remain in effect until they are countermanded with a contrary command, or the program is terminated. Non-global commands lose their effect once the user changes maps. Most commands regarding map display, map annotation, time control, the terminator, and twilight are global. INCLUDE, DRAWLINE, and daylight/darkness commands (NORMAL, LIGHT, etc.) are non-global. 5.9 Calendars and Daylight Saving Time Time zones are not built into the GeoClock program. Rather, they are defined in the GEOZONES.DAT file. These definitions are for the current year, and are usually updated at least twice a year. Time can be specified for individual locations by entries in GEO*.DAT files. (See "City Name Placement and Time Display.") In the abstract, time is an immutable commodity. However, its measure- ment and legal specification are constantly changing. Time zones, daylight saving time, and even the calendar itself have changed from year to year or century to century. Some important factors in the measurement of legal time (which is what GeoClock shows) are discussed below. Great Britain adopted Greenwich Mean Time as the first standard time by act of Parliament in 1880. The four standard time zones were adopted in the U.S. in 1883. The Meridian Conference, held in Washington in 1884, established the Greenwich (near London) as the reference point for world- wide longitude measurements, and for the general scheme of time zones. Some countries have switched from one time zones to another by law (e.g., Latvia). Also, time zone boundaries have been moved within coun- tries (e.g., Russia), and portions of some countries have been assigned to different time zones (e.g., western Ohio). Thus, if you specify dates in past years, times shown GeoClock are not always correct. GeoClock will display "standard" times for dates prior to 1884, But they obviously do not correspond to actual time measurements which were used then. These were usually based on local sun time. Daylight saving time is a special case. Much of the U.S. has observed DST since World War II, and a uniform set of dates was specified in 1967. The DST period (now in all states except Arizona, Hawaii, and part of Indiana) has been from early April to late October since 1987. All con- tinental European countries have observed summer time from late March to late September since 1980 or 1981, and some have done so for several decades. Great Britain and Ireland have summer time from late March to late October. The DST command allows daylight saving time to be used under the cur- rent set of specifications for a period of years selected by the user. (See "Time Control and Display.") The default period is back to 1980 and indefinitely into the future. However, there does not seem to be any practical way of selectively recognizing individual countries' different summer time patterns in the past, or in the future. For example, GeoClock (with GEOZONES.DAT set for current time patterns) will not correctly show times in 1979, when France observed summer time but Germany did not. The SHOWDAY function in GeoClock gives days of the week accurately back to the year 100 AD. It uses the Julian calendar up to October 4, 1582, and the Gregorian calendar from October 15, 1582 on. An error of less than one day in 100 years caused the Julian calendar to diverge from accepted benchmarks. By the 16th century, the vernal equinox occurred around March 11, rather than March 21. Pope Gregory XIII promulgated the "new style" calendar in 1582. Thursday, October 4, 1582 was followed by Friday, October 15. Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar immediately, or within a few years. Most Protestant countries on the Continent adopted the new calendar around 1700. England and the American colonies changed in 1752, by act of Parliament. Thus, days of the week shown by GeoClock for events in England and America between 1582 and 1752 are generally incorrect. Orthodox Christian countries adopted the Gregorian calendar later. Russia was the last European country to do so, after the communist revo- lution of 1917. As a result, the USSR celebrates the October Revolution (October 25, 1917 in the "old style" calendar) on November 7. 5.10 Ephemeris Data and Accuracy The ephemeris data in GeoClock is calculated using formulas from "Astronomical Formulae for Calculators" (Jean Meeus, Willmann-Bell Inc, Richmond VA). They were calibrated by comparing with data from "Interactive Computer Ephemeris" (ICE) (Nautical Almanac Office, Code FA, US Naval Observatory, Washington, DC 20392). For a period of 400 days including 1991, the maximum and RMS latitude errors are 0.0047383 and 0.0019377 degrees, while the maximum and RMS longitude errors are 0.0131104 and 0.0053660 degrees. This accuracy is approximately four times better than the method used in GeoClock 4.2 and earlier, and should provide better accuracy for past and future years. The terminator is shown as the locations where the sun's center is a specified angle above the horizon, ignoring atmospheric effects. For the default value of 0 degrees, the sunrise occurs earlier and the sunset occurs later than the terminator indicates. The sun rise and sun set times are also computed as the times that the sun's center is a specified angle above or below the horizon. The default value, -0.8333, corresponds to the normal definition of sun rise and set (as printed in newspapers and almanacs), where the visible top edge of the sun just breaks the horizon. 5.11 Software structure GeoClock is written entirely in Turbo Pascal version 5.0, except for the mouse interface routines and a few inline sections required for speed. It has approximately 14000 lines of source code. It uses 8 byte reals for most calculations, and thus relies on the 80x87 emulation package for systems without a math co-processor. It uses a custom graphics package which provides access to special hardware features (such as independent control of screen planes, fast fill, and preserving the graphics memory during text display) that are not available in the EGAVGA.BGI driver. 5.12 Map Generation System The maps used for the GeoClock program were produced by a custom data base and software system. This system consists of a highly compressed vectorized map data base and a set of programs to convert the data into custom maps. The data bases are used. The primary data base is a PC conversion of World Data Bank II. It contains approximately 5.7 million vectors covering coastlines, islands, lakes, rivers, and similar geologic features, together with political boundary data. It covers the entire earth, and included features are accurate to approximately 600 meters. World Data Bank II was converted to this custom PC format by an ad hoc program which took advantage of specific features of both data bases. In its operational form, the PC data base uses approximately 0.84 bytes per vector, and in archival form takes approximately 0.5 bytes per vector. The data base is therefore easily stored and manipulated on an AT class PC. A secondary data base is a PC conversion of 1979 1:2 Million Digital Line Graph data base from USGS. It includes highway and railroad data in addition to much more detailed physical and political features, and contains about 8.3 million vectors covering the 50 states, compressed to about 13 MB (1.6 bytes per record) on the PC. A third data base is a PC conversion of the 1992 "Digital Chart of the World", made by digitizing 1:1 Million ONC charts (and some other paper sources). The extracted the data (highway, railroad, coastlines, islands, lakes, rivers, and streams) contains about 30 million vectors and compressed to about 50 MB on the PC. A graphics tablet and several custom programs are used to add features than were not contained in the original data bases, for example, the borders of the countries of the former USSR. Custom maps are generated by using two programs. The first, MAPGEN, reads the appropriate parts of the map data base and produces separation files of the required feature data as EGA, VGA, or 800x600 raster images. Rectangular, polar, orthoscopic, azimuthal-equidistant, and Lambert projections may be used in forming these separation files. Depending on complexity and scale, this process takes between 30 and 300 seconds on an AT with a co-processor. The second, MOVIE, allows the user to process the separation files to select the features and colors for the final map, including filling areas. This program also writes the map in a rasterized compressed format with headers and trailers so that it may be easily used as background data for other programs (for example, the GeoClock program). Both these programs, and the converted data bases, are proprietary and not yet available to the general public. World Data Bank II is available from National Technical Information Center, Springfield, VA, for about $1000 on 5 reels of tape. Both the 1;2,000,000 DLG data base ($30 on one CD-ROM) and the Digital Chart of the World ($200 on 4 CD-ROMs) are available from the US Geological Survey (Earth Science Information Center) in Reston VA. 5.13 Elevation Maps GeoClock supports color-coded elevation maps. Since these maps use color in a radically different way that normal GeoClock maps, several commands are required to give good map display, and some GeoClock features do not work, or work poorly, on these maps. Very few such maps are available, and they are available on from the GeoClock BBS. The ECOLOR command sets the colors for elevation maps. While there is a built-in palette for elevation maps, it is highly recommended that ECOLOR statements be included in the GEOn.DAT files for these maps. Elevation maps use palette positions that correspond to the sunlit area on normal maps. Thus, the sunlight pattern cannot be displayed on elevation maps. The BLANK statement should be included in the GEOn.DAT to avoid display problems. Carefully designed elevation maps and palettes may support sunlight display. For the same reason, the colors for annotation may be different between elevation maps and normal maps. Also, the normal lat/long line drawing system, that overwrites only water and land, and not edges and political borders, does not work with elevation maps. An LLCOLOR command is required to prevent color corruption on these maps. Also, the icon display, and the distance function, will be distorted (the "advanced" distance function, activated by pressing @ (shift-2) works correctly but does have distorted colors). The GEOn.DAT files distributed with new elevation maps will properly handle all these factors. 6. Utilities and GeoGlobe GeoClock includes a number of utility programs, and the GeoGlobe spinning Globe Program 6. Utilities and GeoGlobe 6.1 GeoGlobe Spinning Globe program 6.2 GeoSetup Customize GeoClock 6.3 MakeZoom Rebuild zoom tables 6.4 XXGeoDat Delete unnecessary GEOn.DAT files 6.5 GeoNoDup Delete unnecessary MAPn.EGA files 6.6 SunData 6.1 GeoGlobe Spinning Globe program GeoGlobe is an optional program which displays a very smoothing revolving globe on a VGA screen. It shows the sunlight curve, and the globe revolves around the center of the screen as the earth revolves around the sun. It uses several advanced techniques to ensure smooth operation, and provides 60 or 72 frames per second animation (in contrast to 30 fps for TV, 24 fps for movies, and 15 fps for multimedia displays). The program is started by entering GEOGLOBE at the DOS command line or by clicking the GeoGlobe icon while GeoClock (GEOCLK.COM) is running. It is stopped by pressing any key. GeoGlobe runs best if you have at least 1.3 MB of free RAM (any combination of low RAM, EMS, and XMS). If you do not have this much free memory, GeoGlobe will be forced to read some data from the disk on each revolution. If you have a large enough disk cache, this may be acceptable. If the disk light comes on after several revolutions of the globe, you do not have enough memory to provide the best GeoGlobe performance. Here are all the options available on GeoGlobe: R Do not load data into conventional RAM E Do not load data into expanded (LIM) memory X Do not load data into extended (HIMEM) memory P Preload the globe data before starting display D Always retrieve globe data from the disk W Do not "walk" the globe All the above work WITHOUT a leading / The following options require a leading / and usually need a parameter: /Dn Wait n milliseconds between frame display. This is the minimum wait, and may be longer if the refresh rate of the monitor does not divide n, or if it takes longer to read and process the frame. You may have to use this parameter under OS/2 2.x or windows 3.x in the 386 mode, because of the way the screen refresh is emulated on these systems. /Wfile Read the walk data from named file (default is the internal table give an eliptical walk) /Wyyyxxx Show a fixed globe yyy pixels up from the lower right corner, and xxx pixels left from the lower right corner. /Cxxbbgg Use palette numbers (same as used in CSET) xx for background, bb for blue (ocean) and gg for green (land). /L - does NOT display the sunlight curve /Lbbgg - displays the sunlight curve, using color bb for water in shade, and gg for land in shade. The sunlit colors are still set by /C /Kn - performs one walk step every n globe frames. n=105 gives approximate synchronization between the day and the year. On a fast computer, GEOGLOBE /K105 gives one complete revolution around the screen in about 36.5 minutes, with each day taking about 6 seconds. /T - Show approximate date /X - Show rotation axis /B - starts the globe at a random position /Bmmdd - starts the globe at approximately date month mm, day dd. The actual starting point may be off by a day or two. The options are used on the GeoGlobe command line (for example, GEOGLOBE /T /X ) when GeoGlobe is started directly from DOS, or via the WCGLOBE command (for example WCGLOBE /T /X in GECONFIG.DAT) when GeoGlobe is execute from GeoClock. GEOGLOBE.DOC has more detailed documentation on GeoGlobe and its files. 6.2 GeoSetup Customize GeoClock The GEOSETUP program performs all the necessary initial customization of GeoClock for your location. It sets up time zone and primary city data, and sets GeoClock for EGA, VGA, or SVGA operation. Start GEOSETUP by typing GEOSETUP at the DOS command line. GEOSETUP tries to detect the type of video card you have. If you have a VESA compliant SVGA (800x600x16), GEOSETUP will optionally test the card by producing a 800x600x16 display. If the display is correct, GEOSETUP will customize GeoClock for SVGA display. If you have a US zip code (other than APO or FPO addresses), GEOSETUP will automatically supply the proper time zone and latitude/longitude information. All you need to do is enter your zip code and city name when prompted. If you do not have a US zip code, you can select a city from the list displayed. Pressing a letter key will advance the cursor to the countries starting with that letter, the PageUp and PageDown keys move to the next country, and the arrow keys allow you to move through the list one at a time. Press ENTER when you have found your city, or a city close to your city. In either case, you must specify whether you have an EGA or VGA or SVGA based display. With this information, GEOSETUP builds an initial GECONFIG.DAT. 6.3 MakeZoom Rebuild zoom tables The MakeZoom utility allows the zoom-up sequence for the always active mouse zoom to be defined. Clicking the right button, or the zoom-up icon, uses this take to find the next map up. Initially, MAKEZOOM scans the map directory and builds a candidate zoom up text file named GEOZOOMU.TXT. This file has one line per map: mapnumber zoomoutmapnumber mapname -> zoomoutmapname Only the two numeric fields are processed, the rest is comment. Then the program makes the GEOZOOMU.BIN file, which GeoClock uses. This file is produced automatically when MAKEZOOM is run. If desired, the GEOZOOMU.TXT file can be edited to change the zoom sequence. When MAKEZOOM is run, if the GEOZOOMU.TXT file already exists, you are prompted to either use this file, or produce a new one. You should run this program every time you add or delete a map. MAPZOOM go runs the program automatically, rebuilding the text file and selecting the highest resolution world map as the top of the heirarchy. MAKEZOOM W runs the program for the Windows version of GeoClock 6.4 XXGeoDat Delete unnecessary GEOn.DAT files This program scans the current directory and delete all GEOn.DAT files which do not have a corresponding MAPn.EGA file. 6.5 GeoNoDup Delete unnecessary MAPn.EGA files GEONODUP allows you to eliminate duplicate GeoClock maps and data files. If you have several identical maps, except for resolution and perhaps features displayed, this program will identify them and allow you to check and delete the unneeded maps. For example, it will show MAP6002 and MAP2 as duplicates. The algorithm used may identify non-duplicate maps as duplicates (for example, old format elevation maps), so you should display the maps using the "D" function before you delete them. This program searches the current directory for possible duplicate maps When potential duplicates are found, a list all the maps, their names, and resolution are given. The user can delete any of the maps, or view the maps, or continue the search. Maps selected for deletion are renamed to .OLD or .nnn . After the user verifies that the renamed maps are indeed to be deleted, DEL *.OLD will remove them from the directory permanently. After this program is run, you should rerun MAKEZOOM. GEONODUP go will run the program without interaction and will delete files automatically. 6.6 SunData SunData computes the sun rise and set, and twilight begin and end, for any place on earth for any date after 100 CE. It requires the files distributed with GeoClock 6.0 or later (GEOCLK6?.ZIP or GEOCLK7?.ZIP) To run SunData, enter SUNDATA at the DOS command line. The program first allows you to select a city using the GeoClock Gazetteer. If the city or location of interest in not in the list, and you know the latitude and longitude of the location, select a close by location *in the same time zone*. Next, press Y confirm the data, or N to change the city name, lat/long, or sunlight and twilight definition angles. Next, enter the start date in yy mm dd format (for example, 1995 Feb 10 is 95 02 10). For dates before 1950 or after 2049, you must use the yyyy form (i.e., 1582 10 01). mm dd gives the current year, while dd gives the current month and year. Finally, enter the end date (in the same format except dd is not allowed), or a single number to get that number of consecutive days. The program will list the date and day of week, the times of sun rise and sun set, the times of morning twilight begin and evening twilight end, and the local time zone name, for each date selected. See the documentation with GeoClock for details on how to operate the city selection system and about the algorithms used. The optional [output file] parameter on the SunData command line causes SunData to write the output to the named file in addition to the screen. SunData is offered without charge, but it does require the files from GeoClock. GeoClock is offered as shareware, which means that if you use and enjoy the GeoClock program, you must register it. See the documentation and MAILER file with GeoClock for more information. 7. HAM package The HAM package is an add-in to the registered version of GeoClock. It supports a variety of features to support HAM, SWL, and DX operators, and includes a custom Equidistant-Azimuthal (Great Circle) projection map centered on your location. 7. HAM package 7.1 HAM package features 7.2 Starting the HAM package 7.3 HAM CD-ROM 7.4 Call Sign Analysis 7.5 Use of other GeoClock features 7.6 Twilight zone definition 7.7 HAM data base 7.8 Support 7.9 Call Sign Analysis Algorithm 7.1 HAM package features The GeoClock HAM package activates several new features of particular interest to amateur radio operators and short-wave listeners. These include: Azimuthal-Equidistant (Great Circle) maps. Day, night, and twilight zone display: - Twilight zone parameters can be set to indicate boundaries of sun illumination on the F- and D-layers of the ionosphere. Amateur radio call sign analysis (based on a user-maintainable call sign data base). When a call sign (or prefix) is entered, the following information is displayed: - Remote station location - short and long great circle path - short and long path azimuth and range - remote station (reciprocal) azimuth - UTC, local, and remote station local time - DXCC and WAE country identifications - CQ and ITU zones - Continent, area, and location names The package has three major components: a custom Azimuthal-Equidistant map centered on your station; a call sign data base, and a utility program to process the text call sign data base into the GeoClock form. Your registered copy of GeoClock will use this data base to overlay HAM data on the custom map. The custom Azi-Equi map centered on your location is named MAP9009.EGA. A custom GEO9009.DAT file is also provided to control the display of HAM data. If the optional QRZ or Buckmaster HamCall (April 95 and earlier) CDROM is online, the GeoClock HAM package will use the CDROM to provide very accurate coordinates and headings for US call signs in the data base. These features are provided in addition to the other features of GeoClock. 7.2 Starting the HAM package To start the HAM package, enter "GEOCLK MAP9009" at the DOS prompt. The program will start with your custom map and an indication of the sun and terminator locations. In the present release, ham features are activated only on the custom map. TIP: Edit your GECONFIG.DAT file with an ASCII text file editor and add the command "MAP 9009" as the last line of this file. You will now be able to start the GeoClock program by simply entering GEOCLK at the DOS prompt. GeoClock will then start up automatically with your custom map displayed. You should see a color Equi-Azi map displayed on your screen against a black background. Your location at the center of the map is shown with a cross symbol. Around the edge of the map are tick marks for every 10 degrees of azimuth. In the bottom right corner, your name, call sign, and location will be displayed. In the bottom left corner two clock lines will be displayed: GMT clock and local time at your location. The format of clock information can be tailored to suit your taste in clock style. See the "commands" section of the help system. In a few seconds (depending on the speed of your computer), the current sunlight, night, and twilight zones will be displayed. A yellow "sun" will appear at the current sun subpoint (i.e., the spot on Earth where the sun is currently directly overhead). GeoClock will continue to adjust the display to keep up with real time, at a rate dictated by the processing power of your computer. The date/time of the present display is shown on the clocks in the lower left corner. Note: The rate of updates can be slower (approximately half as fast for the worst case) whenever the boundaries of the twilight zone approach the edges of the Equi-Azi map. This is because a larger number of calculations are required in order to accurately display the twilight zone boundary around the map edge. GeoClock automatically adjusts to this condition in order to insure that the map display remains accurate. 7.3 HAM CD-ROM If your computer has a CD-ROM drive, and the QRZ or Buckmaster HamCall (April 95 and earlier) CDROM is on line, GeoClock can use the database on the CD-ROM to provide very accurate locations (within a few km) and bearing for US call signs in the Data Base. In addition, the name and home town of the owner of the call sign is displayed when the call sign is keyed in. This feature is activated automatically if the HAMCD command is in GECONFIG.DAT. If the CD-ROM drive is on a network or otherwise non- standard, that command can be used to specify the exact path and file name of the data base. IMPORTANT: Starting with the October 1995 issue, the BuckMaster CD-ROM is not compatible with GeoClock because the publisher deleted the file that GeoClock uses. You can obtain the QRZ CDROM at retail, or directly from the publisher: QRZ Ham Radio CDROM Walnut Creek CDROM 1547 Palos Verdes Mall, #260 Walnut Creek CA 94596 Voice: 800-786-9907 or 510-674-0783 FAX: 510 674-0821 Internet: info@cdrom.com 7.4 Call Sign Analysis To activate call sign analysis, simply begin to type in the letters and numbers of the amateur radio call sign of interest. When the first key is depressed, a window pops open and the call sign you are typing is displayed in the window. Backspace and cursor keys may be used to correct any typing errors. When the call sign has been completely entered, press the RETURN key. To abort call sign entry, press the ESCape key. To clear the call sign display, press any letter, then BACKSPACE and RETURN. You do not need to enter an entire call sign. GeoClock will operate on call sign prefixes. However, GeoClock contains over 1,700 entries in its call sign analysis database. By entering a complete call sign, you will frequently benefit from more precise location information. Call signs containing "/" may be entered directly from the keyboard; e.g., FR5ZD/E, KN3T/KH6, HB0/DL7FT and SP9PBE/6. Once a call sign has been entered, GeoClock displays the following information: a. a cross "mark" at the location of the station is added to the map. The location chosen is the most accurate location known to the database. b. the local time at that distance location is added to the bottom left corner of the screen. This is the third clock time, labelled "mark:". This time is continually updated, along with all the other clocks on the screen. Rules for local daylight savings (summer) time are applied. c. short and long great circle paths from your location to the distance "mark" are displayed on the map. If you look carefully, you will see the long path has a yellow color. (On an Equi-Az map, the long path is obvious: it is the path which crosses the edge of the map.) In addition, the left side of the screen shows the following for both short and long paths: -- azimuth (direction) from your location to the mark. -- azimuth from the mark to your location. -- distance in miles and kilometers. d. on the left side of the screen, additional information about the call sign is shown: -- DXCC country: standard prefix and country name. -- WAE country: standard prefix and country name. -- area: state, region, or ooblast within the country for this particular call sign. For USSR ooblasts, the ooblast number is also shown. -- mark: the city or geographical spot which is displayed on the map and used for distance and bearing calculations. -- CQ zone(s) for the area named above. -- ITU zone(s) for the area named above. To erase the information, press the minus (-) key. 7.5 Use of other GeoClock features Most of the GeoClock commands and features described in the other sections of HELP are available while using the HAM package. In addition to real time operation, GeoClock can be instructed to operate at other dates and times, and to operate at accelerated rates. Distances and great circle directions can be determined between any locations on the globe. There are many commands which allow you to customize the type and style of information displayed on GeoClock. You should take time to read the remaining GeoClock help sections to learn about these additional capabilities. These will help you get the most out of your GeoClock system. GeoClock also includes many additional maps of the world, polar regions, continents, oceans, and individual countries. These additional maps allow you to zoom in on specific areas on interest in the globe; e.g., twilight zone crossings of Africa, etc. While using your custom map and ham features, you can enter these other GeoClock commands by holding down the SHIFT key while pressing the appropriate letter. For example, pressing SHIFT and T (for Time) allows you to change the date/time used to calculate the displayed day, night, and twilight zones. Note: The SHIFT key must be used. The CAPS LOCK key and caps-lock status is ignored. Any keys pressed without the SHIFT will be interpreted as characters for a call sign. GeoClock supports two commands which are specific to ham features. The HAMDB command specifies the name of the call sign database to be used. This command should be in the GECONFIG.DAT file. For example,HAMDB HAM.HDB specifies that HAM.HDB contains the call sign data base. This database MUST be in the format produced by GENHAMDB, not in text format. Only the first use of HAMDB in a given run has effect - the data base cannot be changed while GeoClock is executing. The second command, HAM, specifies that the HAM features are to be activated. The best place to this command is in the GEO9009.DAT file corresponding to your Azimuthal-Equidistant (Azi-Equi) map. In the current release of GeoClock, the HAM features may only be used when the Azi-Equi map is displayed. NOHAM deactivates the HAM features. 7.6 Twilight zone definition One of the strengths of GeoClock is the ability for you to use the TWILIGHT and SUNLIGHT commands to determine the boundaries of the day zone, twilight zone, and night zone. You can set these boundaries to any value desired. The value is the offset, in degrees, of the zone boundary from the edge of the (geometric) sunlight part of the earth. Typical values of interest for shortwave operating include: SUNLIGHT -6.596 Boundary where sun starts/stops illuminating the D-layer. This controls absorption on the lower frequency shortwave radio bands. TWILIGHT -14.165 Boundary where sun starts/stops illuminating the F-layer. These values are based on average D- and F-layer heights. They define the Ionospheric Gray Line: a twilight zone where shortwave radio signals can pass through the D-layer without absorption. Within this zone signals will encounter an illuminated F- layer whose ionization level will be normally enhanced over that found in the night zone. Other common values for these commands include: SUNLIGHT -0.833 Sunset/sunrise at sea level, taking into account the bending of light through the Earth's atmosphere and the apparent width of the sun. TWILIGHT -6 Boundary of civil (legal) twilight, where it is bright enough to work outdoors. TWILIGHT -12 Boundary of nautical twilight, where it is bright enough to see the horizon. One can take navigational sightings with a sextant in this zone. TWILIGHT -18 Boundary of astronomical twilight, where sunlight on the upper atmosphere interferes with the use of telescopes by astronomers. To use the same values for twilight definition on all maps, enter these commands in the GECONFIG.DAT file. To specify values for each particular map, the commands should appear in the GEO*.DAT file (where "*" represents the map number; e.g., GEO9009.DAT for your custom Equi-Az map). 7.7 HAM data base Analysis of amateur radio call signs is driven by information contained in the ham database. The database consists of three files: -- HAM42B.DAT: An ASCII text file containing information described below. The "42B" in the name indicates the version number of the database: "42" indicates that this database was prepared to support GeoClock version 4.2, and "B" indicates this is the second release of the database for this GeoClock version. You may have received a more recent version number. -- GENHAMDB.EXE: An executable utility which converts the ASCII text file into a binary format used by GeoClock for call sign analysis. Database validation is also performed by this utility. -- HAM.HDB: The binary format produced by the GENHAMDB.EXE utility program. HAM42B.DAT The text form of the call sign data base consists of lines specifying key data about a group of call signs. Each line consists of 11 data items: 1. CallPattern - the leading characters of the call sign group. For example, PY signifies all call signs beginning with the characters PY. Wildcard characters are used in describing call sign patterns as follows: # -- represents any single digit; i.e., 0, 1, 2, ... 9. @ -- represents any single alphabetic character; i.e., A, B, ... Z. ? -- represents any single character, either alphabetic or numeric. * -- represents any string of characters. For example, PY#Z* represents any call sign beginning with PY, followed by any single digit, then the letter Z, and then anything else. PY0ZZ would match this pattern. All characters are interpreted as upper case. This file has been created in lower case. If you add entries of your own, you may wish to make them upper case so that you can easily recognize your own additions for future maintenance and debugging purposes. 2. HamLat - the latitude of the location corresponding to this call sign. This may be in decimal degrees (-15.146 for 15.146 degrees South), or in degrees/minutes/seconds ("15 8 45.6S"). If the latter format is used, the latitude must be enclosed in quote marks. 3. HamLong - the longitude of the location corresponding to this call sign. This may be in decimal degrees (-15.146 for 15.146 degrees West), or in degrees/minutes/seconds ("15 8 45.6W"). If the latter format is used, the latitude must be enclosed in quote marks. 4. HamTimeZone - the time zone code for local time for this call sign group. For example, ET stands for US Eastern time. The time zone acronyms are defined in the GEOZONES.DAT file. 5. HamCQzone - the CQ zone for this call sign group. If the zone has imbedded spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes; e.g., "3 4 5". 6. HamITUzone - the ITU zone for this call sign group. If the zone has imbedded spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes. 7. HamContinent - the continent for this call sign group. NA, SA, AF, EU, AS, AN, and OC may be used as abbreviations. 8. DXCCprefix - the standard DXCC call sign prefix designation for this CallPattern. The DXCC country identification for this CallPattern is determined by this prefix. 9. AreaName - the name of the area within a country which is covered by this CallPattern; e.g., state, ooblast, region, or other political subdivision. This must be enclosed by quotes. 10. MarkName - the name of the specific place used to represent this call sign group. Ordinarily this should correspond to the latitude, longitude,and time zone specified above. If the MarkName is missing,the Areaname is used. This must be enclosed by quotes. 11. WAEprefix - the standard WAE call sign prefix designation for this CallPattern. The WAE country identification for this CallPattern is determined by this prefix. If omitted, it is assumed that the WAE country is the same as the DXCC country. NOTE -- Items enclosed in quotes must be separated from one another by at least one space. All items must be contained on a single line. Another type of line in the text call sign data base specifies equivalences in call signs. For example, ZY* =PY* specifies that any call sign starting with ZY should be treated as if it started with PY; i.e., ZY5EG can be processed as if the call was PY5EG. Through appropriate combinations of "equates" and wildcards, the database and analysis algorithm is capable of accurately determining the location of any call sign heard on the air, including special prefixes. Mobile call signs (K3NA/MM, for instance) will be processed but not result in a location display on the map, since the exact location of the station is not predictable in advance. You may add additional entries to the HAM42B.DAT (or later versions) file with a simple ASCII file editor, following the conventions outlined above. Any line beginning with a space in column 1 is interpreted as a comment. You can see a typical comment line in the first line of the HAM42B.DAT file, where columns are named for your convenience. GENHAMDB After the HAM42B.DAT file has been modified, it must be converted into a format which can be processed by the GeoClock program. The program GENHAMDB.EXE does this conversion. To start the program, enter at the DOS prompt: GENHAMDB (filename). Example: GENHAMDB HAM42B.DAT Conversion processing can take several minutes, depending on the speed of your computer. The GENHAMDB utility provides you with a cryptic status of the current state of the conversion process. When conversion is completed, GENHAMDB prompts you for a name for the converted file. The normal convention is to use the name HAM.HDB. If you do not specify a name, GENHAMDB will assume HAM.HDB. NOTE -- GeoClock is initially configured to look for the database under the name HAM.HDB. To change this, you must modify the GEO9009.DAT file with an ASCII file editor. The command line HAMDB specifies the name of the .HDB file to use when your custom map is displayed. For simplicity, you may wish to always tell GENHAMDB to name its output as HAM.HDB. After writing the .HDB file to disk, GENHAMDB allows you to test the database without running GeoClock. You will be prompted for a call sign. GENHAMDB takes the call sign given and looks it up in the data base, and displays the data base entry, including a summary of the equivalences used in the analysis. You can test as many call signs as you wish before exiting the program. Note -- You will also see other numbers displayed along with the data base entry. These other numbers are used by the GeoClock software developers in order to debug errors. To exit GENHAMDB, enter an empty call sign (i.e., just press the RETURN key). If you wish to conduct further tests on the HAM.HDB file, simple re-enter GENHAMDB by typing the following command at the DOS prompt: GENHAMDB HAM.HDB /D where "HAM.HDB" is the name of the .HDB binary file to be tested. GENHAMDB takes note of the "/D" debug switch on the command line, skips the database construction phase, and prompts you to enter test call signs. 7.8 Support The call sign data base included with the HAM version of GeoClock was developed by Eric Scace, K3NA. This is also a copyrighted software product. You may use the database for any other software which you have developed for your personal use (e.g., contesting software, QSL card processing programs, etc). However, the database can not be incorporated into any software product which is sold or distributed as shareware without prior permission. Questions, comments, additional data and corrections to the ham database are welcomed! These can be sent to Eric via the GeoClock RBBS, or by other means to: Eric L. Scace K3NA 10701 Five Forks Road Frederick MD 21701 home: +1-301-293-2448 work: +1-703-689-6556 fax: +1-703-689-5036 telex: +23-740-0368 ERIC UC X400 e-mail: C:USA A:Telemail O:Sprintmail FN: Eric SN: Scace MI: L. amateur radio BBS: K3NA @K3NA 7.9 Call Sign Analysis Algorithm Matching Algorithm (ALG-2): 1. Use ALG-1 on the input string. 2. If input string does not contain a "/", done 3. If there was no match, go to step 7 4. If the match after the / is exact, done 5. If the end string is /A, /M, or /P, done 6. If the end string is a single numeric, replace the first non-leading numeric in the string before the /. If ALG-1 produces a match, done. 7. If the string exactly matches one of the */ entries, use that entry 8. Use the shorter of the strings before and after the / (after if equal) and apply ALG-1 ALG-1: 1. Find the most stringent straight match on the input string 2. Find the most stringent equate match. If none, go to 4 3. Make the substitutions, and find the most stringent straight match (Can be done recursively up to a maximum limit.) 4. If only one match was found, done 5. If both a straight and substitution match were found, use the more stringent. 8. Registering/Updates GeoClock is distributed as shareware. This means that if you use and enjoy the program, you are expected to register it. See "Ordering GeoClock" for details. Registering your copy makes continued improvement and support for GeoClock possible. Furthermore, the registered version includes the zoom, distance measuring, and city time display functions, plus many additional maps. You also get access to additional map files from the GeoClock Bulletin Board System. 8. Registering/Updates 8.1 Updates 8.2 Available Maps 8.3 About the GeoClock Bulletin Board 8.4 GeoClock 7.1 special pricing 8.5 Ordering GeoClock 7.1 8.1 Updates If you have registered an older version of GeoClock, you can register a new version without cost. Just un-LZH the files from the newest shareware version of GeoClock and run the REGISTER.EXE program that was included on your original distribution disks. The latest version is always available from the GeoClock computer bulletin board system (BBS). 8.2 Available Maps GeoClock includes a large number of maps. All these maps have border data for the former USSR, former Czechoslovakia, and former Yugoslavia as of the release date of this version. While the specific maps included change from time to time to reflect changing interests, the following maps are currently included with registration: Africa Australia & NZ British Isles Canada Caribbean Europe Far East Former USSR Japan Meso America Mexico Middle East N America New York City (2) North Pole S America SW Asia/India South Pacific South Pole United States (2) US Regional (13) View-From-Space (6) World (3) These basic maps are also available in 800x600 resolution. There are four supplemental map sets providing detailed coverage of every country in the world, the US states, and the Canadian Provinces. North America has approximately 50 maps, including the 50 US states and the Canadian provinces. Europe has approximately 40 maps, including all the countries of the former USSR. Middle East / Asia / Pacific has approximately 35 maps. Africa / South America has approximately 35 maps including Central America and the Caribbean. The maps distributed are changed from time to time to reflect changing interests. The GeoClock Bulletin Board always has all the maps available to registered users. 8.3 About the GeoClock Bulletin Board A free computer Bulletin Board System (BBS) provides support for users of GeoClock. It always has the latest version of the program available for downloading. In addition, it provides a forum for all interested parties to exchange programs and information concerning GeoClock and high quality mapping for the IBM PC. Everyone is welcome to use this BBS, but registered GeoClock users have access to certain special files and have higher access limits. HAM package owners also have access to the latest version of the HAM data base. Please have your registration number handy when you log on for the first time. Except for these special files, the messages and files on the board are available to everyone. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. You need a modem (1200, 2400, 9600 v.32, 14400 v.32bis) and terminal emulation software (such as Procomm or Crosstalk) for your PC to access the BBS. The BBS uses N-8-1 communications. The BBS number is 703-241-7980. This is a Washington DC metro area number. GeoClock is also available from many Shareware catalogs, computer bulletin boards, and CompuServe (CSID 70461,2340). 8.4 GeoClock 7.1 special pricing License for multiple users at a single site (for LAN use, estimate the number of LAN users of GeoClock): Number Price 1 $ 35/User 2-9 $ 30/User 10-20 $ 25/User 21-40 $ 20/User 41+ $ 15/User Site licenses, corporate licenses, educational licenses, and other large quantity licenses are available. Contact GeoClock directly (voice 703-241- 2661, FAX 703-241-5809) for details. SVGA basic map set - $10. Supplemental Map Sets: $ 20 for one, $30 for two, $35 for three, $40 for all four ordered at the same time. Available sets: Basic (included with GeoClock registration) North America Europe Asia/Pacific South America/Africa/Middle East Spinning Globe: $15 HAM radio support package: $ 30 Custom maps - $30 for rectangular projection maps covering at least 120,000 square miles (at least 300 miles North to South) outside the US, or at least 800 square miles (25 miles North to South) within the US. Other projections and sizes by negotiation. Custom modifications to GeoClock - by negotiation. Custom modifications can generally be made on a fixed price basis after agreement to specifications. The supplemental maps and HAM package can be used by each registered user without additional charge. The supplemental map sets contain detailed maps of all individual countries in the areas listed above. Geo*.dat files accompany each country(s) map(s) and provide both city and country data. In all cases, the purchaser must make all required copies from the supplied master copy, and must protect the software the same way the purchaser protects its own proprietary software to ensure that the license is not violated. Terms: Payment must be by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or check in advance. Purchase Orders are accepted only for unlimited site licenses and custom programming. No CODs. 8.5 Ordering GeoClock 7.1 Registration of GeoClock includes a copy of the latest DOS and Windows versions of the program, a large set of maps (the basic set described in "Available Maps"), a file with the names and locations of many world cities for customizing the maps, a "starter set" of map overlay files, and an installation program for automatic set-up on a hard disk. Updates to the program are available to registered users at no charge from the GeoClock BBS. The supplemental map sets(North America; Europe; Middle East, Asia & Pacific; South America & Africa), and the HAM package, can be ordered with the initial registration or later. Custom maps and quantity license agreements are available. Write for details. Orders paid by cash or check are accepted by mail. VISA, MasterCard, and American Express orders may be made by mail, voice, FAX, or electronically via the GeoClock BBS. Purchase orders, and checks drawn on or payable to banks outside the USA, are not accepted. International postal money orders mailed separately have not proved reliable and should be avoided. In all cases, specify whether 5.25" (1.2MB) or 3.5" (1.44MB) disks are required. $35 GeoClock registration, DOS and Windows programs, and basic map set $5 Extra for international air mail and handling $10 SVGA basic map set $20 One supplemental map set $30 Two supplemental map sets $35 Three supplemental map sets $40 All four supplemental map sets $30 HAM package (include your call sign and QTH) $15 Spinning Globe program You can also order the basic GeoClock registered versions ($35) via CompuServe's SWREG (search for the keyword GEOCLOCK) GeoClock 2218 N Tuckahoe St, Arlington, VA 22205-1964 Voice: 703-241-2661 (normal business hours) BBS: 703-241-7980 (24 hours) FAX: 703-241-5809 (24 hours) CompuServe: 70461,2340 Internet: jahlgren@capaccess.org