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Wrap
Text File
|
1995-03-21
|
7KB
|
149 lines
Thank you for agreeing to test this early version of the KY1T-NTS
software. I sincerely appreciate the time you're taking to assist.
Some background:
Having participated in about 25 years' worth of Amateur Radio public
service events of all types, I had come to the conclusion that the
software available for NTS traffic generation was generally excellent,
but was of course designed for the Amateur Radio control operator, rather
than the general public to easily interface with. I thought it was about
time that I tried my hand at designing something that would serve the public
much better, rather than just ourselves as radio amateurs.
Then, in 1995, I became aware of an event -- the '95 International
Special Olympics -- that required enormous amounts of Amateur Radio
participation and was quite likely to dwarf even the largest of events
that I had previously participated in. And, if my past experiences with
these events was any indication, I was confident that it would be problematic
to count on having NTS traffic "booths" manned to the extent that was
probably optimal. Thus, the need for software that the public could
easily deal with without control operator assistance became even more of
a consideration. Time to get moving on this, I thought...
Mindful of the International Olympics in Atlanta the following year,
and the typical amateur's wonderful propensity for making many many public
service events happen all over the world, it struck me that my software
might indeed be useful for much more than just the '95 Special Olympics.
You're now in possession of at least one of the early test versions
of KY1T-NTS.exe, and I need your help in tracking down any problems or
even suggestions for improvement. You won't hurt my feelings.
I would appreciate answers to the following questions, which I'd like
to have emailed back to me at your earliest possible opportunity. I can
be reached at KY1TLUCK@AOL.COM or if you're on packet, I'm KY1T@N4GAA.CT
Thanks in advance for your help.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
KY1T-NTS Test Version Survey
1. Are you a licensed radio amateur? Callsign?
2. Do you generally understand what "NTS traffic" is, even if you're not
necessarily clear on how to make it happen?
3. Which specific version of KY1T-NTS are you testing? (1.3, 2.0, etc)
4. Tell me about your computer. Hardware? Software - Windows or OS/2?
5. When "Install"ing the software, was it absolutely clear how to install
it? Did it install properly?
6. Once installed, was there an icon available with which to run it
properly? Did you try to run it from the Windows file manager?
In either case, did you succeed without difficulty?
7. Recognizing that monitors and resolutions are different among different
machines, I'd like your opinion on whether the colors of the various
screens are pleasing and not annoying. Be specific. I'm also very
interested in knowing whether the "info" files are readable, font-wise
on your machine, and if not, whether a slightly smaller font would be
required. Try changing fonts from within Windows to see if that has
any adverse effects. I suspect it will. No problem, though, because
if you're smart enough to know how to change fonts, you're just as
capable of knowing how to put 'em back!
I'm especially curious about how this looks on monochrome-screen
laptops and/or monochrome-screen desktops. If you have one of those
available, PLEASE give me some feedback on the color schemes.
One of the Beta-testers has already suggested that I allow for
some color scheme flexibility, from the user's point of view, I.E.
the SYSOP could decide during the setup process whether to change
color schemes. If that strikes you as being a good idea, I'd
appreciate knowing precisely WHERE those changes should be allowed.
8. This is an early test version of the software. But to the extent
that the various features are implemented at this point, do you see
any difficulties that need fixing? Be specific. How would you improve
the software?
9. With regard to the writing-to-disk of the actual radiograms:
A. Was the preamble absolutely correct with regard to all portions
including the message number, precedence, check, etc?
B. Were the messages placed in the correct subdirectory, per
your 'general' and 'radiogram' SYSOP setup instructions?
C. Did the messages have the correct FILE name (which as of
this version, should be identical to the message number)?
D. Did you spot any errors in the formatting of the messages? If
so, please be very specific, so I can correct them.
10. If you're a licensed radio amateur, and if you were faced with setting
up all the radio and/or Internet hardware, how would you move the
traffic? By AX.25 PBBS? By TCP/IP? Would you want to move it message
by message automatically, or would you prefer to let a bunch of them
build up, get placed in single large files and then FTP'd hither and
yon?
11. Did you have an opportunity to attempt recording voicegrams, or
playing them back? Did it work as expected?
Please note that if you have a Soundblaster-compatable card, I've
included the VRECORD.exe and VPLAY.exe programs, so that
you can experiment with these features of the software. But even
if you have a card, but no microphone, you can still play back the
test.voc file that I've included. Here's how:
Go to DOS. Go to the subdirectory where you've placed my software.
Ensure that VPLAY.exe and TEST.VOC are there. From the DOS prompt,
type VPLAY TEST at which point, you should
hear the output of the file.
Please let me know if you tried this and how well it did or did not
work for you. All commentary appreciated!
Thanks again for taking the time to test out the software, AND for
responding to this survey.
-----------------------------------------------------
Luck Hurder, KY1T ** KY1TLUCK@AOL.COM **
AX.25 - KY1T@N4GAA.CT TCP/IP - 44.88.2.59 (KY1T-2)
Supporter of AMSAT, TAPR, HANDIHAMS and NARA
-------------------------------------------------------