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1994-11-12
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SWL GUIDE Version 1
===================
INTRODUCTION
------------
SWL GUIDE helps Short Wave Radio Listeners (SWLs) select and
identify radio programs, stations, and transmitter locations.
A world map is displayed with the east and west map edges half-way
round the world from you. A solar illumination band overlayed on the
map shows areas of sunlight and darkness throughout the world.
Lists of short wave broadcast programs or stations are displayed
alongside the map. Detailed information for any list item can be
displayed at the top of the screen whenever desired.
Your home location and the sites of short wave transmitters are
highlighted on the map. The shortest transmission path between your
location and short wave transmitter sites is plotted on the map
whenever detailed Station information is displayed.
Short wave broadcasters usually base their schedules on UTC date
and time. SWL GUIDE does the same. Both local and UTC time are shown
above the map along with your local date and day of week. When using
SWL GUIDE remember that your local date may be different than the UTC
date. (In the United States the UTC date is one day ahead of the local
date whenever UTC time is less than local time, which occurs in the
evening hours).
GETTING STARTED
---------------
SWL GUIDE requires a VGA or EGA color display and 192KB or more of
memory.
All SWL GUIDE files (described later) must be in the same
directory and that directory must be the DOS default directory while
SWL GUIDE is running. The program will run from a diskette but
runs much faster from a hard disk. It is recommended you create a
separate sub-library (such as \SWL) on your hard disk and copy all the
SWL GUIDE files to that sub-library.
To run SWL GUIDE, set DOS to the appropriate default directory and
enter "SWL" on the DOS command line. The program screen will appear
with the world map on the right and Function Key choices listed at the
bottom.
The first time you run SWL GUIDE a message "Warning: User
location not defined" will appear. You'll need to use Function Key F9
to enter your location (name, latitude, and longitude) and possibly
your time zone relative to UTC. This is required for proper program
operation.
PROGRAM FUNCTION KEYS
---------------------
Program Function Keys 1 through 10 are used to initiate program
commands.
[F1] lists all programs that will be broadcast for the remainder
of the UTC day.
[F2] lists all strong-signal stations that are on the air.
[F3] lists both strong- and weak-signal stations that are on the
air. Weak-signal stations are indicated with a "-" sign.
[F4] lists all Stations that match a string of search
characters (such as "BBC").
[F5] lists all Programs that match a string of search characters
(such as "News" or "VOA").
[F6] changes the program date. A new date can be entered in
format "mm/dd/yy".
[F7] changes the program time. To change local time enter "hh:mm"
where "hh" and "mm" are one or two digits. Placing the letter "p" at
the end of the time will set the local time to PM (Example: "5:30p").
Placing the letter "u" at the end of the time will set UTC time rather
than local time (Example: "17:00u") .
[F8] updates the map display to the current date and time. Use
this to restore the current date and time after F6 or F7 has been used
to select a different date and/or time.
[F9] sets your home location and UTC time offset. Enter your
location name (such as "Sacramento CA"), then your latitude and
longitude. Latitude and longitude can be entered in either degrees and
minutes or decimal degrees, followed by the appropriate compass
direction (Example: "92d50mW" or "92.84W"). UTC time offset is
computed for your location and displayed. Your UTC offset may need to
be adjusted for local variations or summer time. If no change is
desired press the [Enter] key only, otherwise enter a signed decimal
number specifying the difference in hours between your local time and
UTC. (Example: Enter "-8" for Pacific Standard Time, which is eight
hours behind UTC).
[F10] Ends the program and returns to DOS.
THE MENU LIST
-------------
Using [F1] through [F5] causes a menu of Programs or Stations
to display on the left side of the screen. Enter the number of any
menu item to obtain additional information about that item. Press
[ENTER] only to advance through the menu.
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
-------------------
When sufficient memory is available SWL GUIDE loads the Program
and Station directories into memory to improve execution speed. If
this is not possible, the display of Program and Station information
will be slower.
The routines that draw the solar illumination band and the radio
signal transmission paths use repetitive trigonometry functions. These
routines may be rather slow if your computer does not have a math
co-processor.
PROGRAM FILES
-------------
SWL GUIDE uses the following files:
■ SWL.EXE: The program execution file.
■ SWL.INI: Contains information about your location and time.
This file is created by the [F9] function.
■ SWL.MAP: A world coordinates file used to draw the screen map.
■ SWL.PGM: A shortwave broadcasters' Program Directory.
■ SWL.SCR: A screen image of the world map. (This file is custom
created for your location).
■ SWL.STN: A shortwave broadcasters' Station Directory.
All files must be in the default DOS directory when SWL GUIDE is
executed.
Sample Program and Station directories are supplied with this
version of SWL GUIDE. These files were correct when this shareware
package was released but since short wave schedules change frequently
(usually twice each year) these files should be considered
demonstration files only.
The Program and Station directories are ASCII files in Standard
Delimited Format (SDF). If you want to add to or change these files
you can do so using most text editors. Copy the format of existing
records to create new records. Be sure all changes you make are
correct; a bad record in either of these files can cause SWL GUIDE to
malfunction. It's suggested you make copies of the files before
changing them and keep the copies as a backup precaution.
SWL GUIDE VERSION 2
-------------------
SWL GUIDE Version 2 is available. This version of SWL GUIDE is
improved in several areas:
1. Program and Station menus are scrollable forward and backward.
Menu selections are made by using cursor keys to position on-screen
pointers (eliminating the need to enter a selection number). This
makes SWL GUIDE much easier and faster to use.
2. Station listings show strong- and weak-signal stations in different
colors to make strong stations better stand out.
3. Station records can be defined for summer and winter schedules and
SWL GUIDE will limit the Station menus to stations that are active
for the current season. Many broadcasters use separate summer and
winter schedules to adjust for atmospheric transmission conditions
and/or daylight savings time. This new feature reduces the number
of seasonal changes needed to the Station file.
4. Favorite or frequently-used stations can be highlighted on the
Station displays.
5. Two characters of user data can be assigned to each station entry
to designate whatever you desire. For example, two-digit memory
settings for your shortwave receiver can be included on the Station
displays.
6. The UTC day of the week is shown above the map display along with
the local day of the week to reduce confusion regarding Program
listings which are based on the UTC day.
7. Computation times for the solar illumination band and transmission
paths have been halved. This will speed up execution on computers
that do not have math co-processors.
8. All Program and Station records are loaded into memory when SWL
GUIDE starts up. This improves program performance but means
Version 2 needs more memory than Version 1. The memory requirement
depends upon the size of the Program and Station directories.
Version 2 will run in 256K of memory with small Program and Station
directories, but will need about 384K with the directories that are
provided with Version 2.
9. Program and Station records are checked for accuracy as they are
loaded. An invalid record will terminate the file load with an
error message identifying the bad record. This prevents program
malfunction and can help you find errors in directory records
you add or modify.
An order form for SWL GUIDE Version 2 is included in this
shareware package. Version 2 is fully compatible with this version of
SWL GUIDE.
When you order SWL GUIDE Version 2 you will receive the latest
complete English language Program and Station directories (each
containing more than 600 entries).
As a bonus, you will also receive a report program that prints
Station timetables and frequency charts, useful when you travel or are
away from your computer.