High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR4/WBD134S.ZIP/WB.DOC

Text File | 1994-01-20 | 37KB | 912 lines

        ************************************************************
        *                                                          *
        *  The Weather Board (R) Weather Forecast Retrieval System *
        *                                                          *
        *                                                          *
        *            Copyright (c) 1993-94 By Rhino Ware           *
        *                                                          *
        ************************************************************
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  1




                        TABLE OF CONTENTS
                        -----------------


     TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................  1

     COPYRIGHT NOTICE .................................  2

     WARRANTY .........................................  2

     TRADEMARKS .......................................  2

     INTRODUCTION .....................................  2
         Feature Summary ..............................  3

     HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ............................  5

     INSTALLATION .....................................  5
        Basic Setup for Weather Board .................  5
        The Configuration File ........................  6
        Color Codes ...................................  6
        About Modem Settings ..........................  7

     HOW IT WORKS .....................................  8

     REGISTRATION INFORMATION .........................  9
        How to obtain your Registered Version .........  9
        Registration Policy ...........................  9

     WEATHERMATION NUMBERS ............................  A-1

     CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES ...........................  B-1

     SPECIAL NOTES TO DESQVIEW USERS ..................  C-1

     REGISTRATION FORM ................................  D-1

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  2

     COPYRIGHT NOTICE
     ----------------

     Weather Board is a copyrighted program being distributed under the
     shareware concept.  As such, you may operate Weather Board for a
     period of 30 days without registering the software.  After the 30 day
     evaluation period, you must register your copy of Weather Board or you
     will be in violation of United States and International copyright
     laws.

     As a shareware program, Weather Board may be freely distributed
     through a BBS.  Shareware distributors may distribute copies of
     Weather Board on disk for a modest disk duplication charge not to
     exceed $6 per disk.

     It is a violation of the Weather Board license agreement to modify the
     EXE file in any way.


     WARRANTY
     --------

     Weather Board is distributed without warranty.  In no event will Joe
     Rhinehart or Rhino Ware be liable to you for damages, including any
     loss of profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential
     damages arising out of your use of or inability to use the program,
     even if Joe Rhinehart, Rhino Ware or an authorized representative has
     been advisedoof the possibility of such damages.  Joe Rhinehart or
     Rhino Ware will not be liable for any such claim by any other party.


     TRADEMARKS
     ----------

     Weather Board is a registered trademark of Joe Rhinehart and Rhino
     Ware.  All other brand and product names mentioned in this manual are
     trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.


     INTRODUCTION
     ------------

     Welcome to Weather Board!  To many people's surprise, a BBS Sysop can
     provide callers with the local weather forecast.  The whole process is
     very low cost, possibly free!  Many airports around the country run a
     system which provides weather information to pilots, called
     Weathermation.  Although the service is mainly for pilots, to assist
     them in filing flight plans, etc., anyone is permitted to access the
     information.

     The Weathermation system has many options, one of which is called
     Metro Weather.  This option produces a plain English weather forecast
     for any area of the country, based on the three letter airport ID that
     you supply.  Weather Board will call the airport's Weathermation
     number, select the Metro option and write an editied text file
     containing your local area's forecast.

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  3

     The National Weather Service updates the forecast about every six
     hours.  The appoximate times are 9:00 am, 3:00 pm, 9:00 pm and 3:00
     am.  This varies, up to plus or minus 45 minutes.  Of course, if the
     weather changes profoundly between normal update times, the NWS will
     issue "updated" or "corrected" reports.  These can become available at
     any time.

     You'll have to call the closest airport to get your local
     Weathermation number, if its not in the list that is presented later
     in this document.  Ask for their airport ID also, if you don't already
     know it.  Bear in mind that the closest Weathermation system may still
     be a long distance call for you.  That's why I said it is very low
     cost and POSSIBLY free.  There is no charge for the service, but you
     may have to pay long distance telephone charges.  Typically, you can
     capture the forecast in less than a minute, so even if you do have to
     call long distance, your cost for providing this service should be
     minimal.

     One of Weather Board's chief design goals is ease of installation and
     use.  It is designed specifically to be run from a batch file, called
     as an event from a BBS program or front end mailer.  Thus, it can run
     completely unattended.  If desired, it can also be run manually from
     the Dos prompt, or under a multi tasker.


     Feature Summary
     ---------------

     Although Weather Board is a relatively new program, it comes equipped
     with many powerful features.

     * - The program transforms the output file into upper / lower case,
     and removes many of the unnecessary or unsightly items from the raw
     Weathermation capture file.  It also checks for incomplete and garbled
     weather reports.  Some blank lines are added for improved readability
     of the output files.

     * - Weather Board can make use of "primary" and "secondary" telephone
     numbers.  The primary number is the number you perfer to call most
     often.  The secondary number is a "backup" number, in case the primary
     number is down, busy, etc.  The program will automatically switch to
     the secondary number if the forecast can't be obtained from the
     primary Weathermation site.  You can disable this feature if you wish.

     * - You can customize screen colors, the modem initialization string,
     Tone or Pulse dialing, communications port and baud rate,
     Weathermation phone numbers, number of busy retries and output files.
     All this is done in a plain text configuration file, which is similar
     in layout to one used in a BBS door.

     * - Error level support for batch files:

     0 - Normal Completion. The weather information was retrieved.
     1 - Minor Error: Shareware version of the program has expired.
     3 - Minor Error: Weather Information not retrieved. Program restart
         is possible, depending on the batch file setup.
     5 - Major Error: Weather Information not retrieved. Program restart
         is not possible.
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  4

     * - There is a sound option that will make the program beep once for a
     return code of 0, and three and five times for error codes 3 and 5,
     respectively.

     * - Multiple Forecasts to let you do two local city forecasts and two
     state summary forecasts with one run of the program.  If you put CMH
     LAX in line 4 of WB.CFG, you'll get the reports for Columbus and Los
     Angeles in the local forecast output file.  If you put OH CA in line
     8, you'll get the state summaries for Ohio and California in the state
     summary output file.

     Here's the neat part.  If you put OH CA in line 4, you'll get a local
     forecast output file that contains forecasts for most major cities in
     both states.  What cities you get will depend on where the National
     Weather Service offices are in that state.  Couple this with OH CA in
     line 8, to get the state summaries, and you'll obtain a wealth of
     weather information for a fairly wide area.  This is handy for people
     that live near state borders and need weather reports for both states.
     See the Configuration Examples section for details.

     * - Edit Mode.  There are two options for Edit Mode, FULL and JET.
     FULL edit does lower case translation, and capitalization all over the
     place, as required.  It doesn't get everything all the time, but it
     handles about 98% of the situations it encounters.  But this takes
     time.  JET bypasses the lower case phase of the editor.  It also will
     not add blank lines in quite as many places as FULL does.  However,
     the same file size that takes FULL 10 minutes can be done by JET in
     about 25 seconds.

     If you are getting forecasts for one city and state, or at least not
     very many cities and one state, use FULL.  It doesn't take very long
     on small capture files, and it will make your output files look the
     best.  If you need reports for a large area, or the reports you ask
     for tend to generate large capture files, use JET.  Your output files
     will be in upper case, and they might not look quite as nice as with
     FULL, but your BBS will come back up a LOT faster with JET.  You'll
     just have to experiment and see which option is right for you.

     * - State Summary File.  The program will get the weather summary for
     the state(s) of your choice and place it in a file name of your
     choice.

     * - There is a log file so you can see what went on during a batch
     run. You can turn logging off if you don't want it.

     * - Most Dos error codes are handled by name, and clear error messages
     are printed, explaining what went wrong.  If an error code pops up
     that isn't recognized, it is printed also.

     * - The program will check for the modem responses of OK, CONNECT,
     BUSY, ERROR, NO DIAL TONE, NO CARRIER, NO ANSWER, VOICE and RING.

     * - You can control whether the program takes the modem offhook during
     its file edit phase or not.

     * - Weather Board should run under any operating system that supports
     MS-Dos applications.  I developed it under Windows 3.1.
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  5

     HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
     ----------------------

     Weather Board has very small hardware requirements.  It will run on an
     IBM PC or compatible computer with 640K of memory, a 100% Hayes
     compatible modem, monochrome monitor and a 360k floppy drive.


     INSTALLATION
     ------------

     The first step in using any computer program is to install it.
     Weather Board was designed with the Sysop in mind.  So, if you've
     ever installed an online door, you should have no difficulty
     installing Weather Board.


     Basic Setup For Weather Board
     ------------------------------

     Typically, Weather Board is set up as an external event to be run from
     a BBS or front end mailer package.  Weather Board should run with any
     program that supports external events.  After step 3 below, you can
     run Weather Board standalone, from a Dos session, by typing Z.  Step 4
     is just for event setup.

     1.  Create a directory for Weather Board, usually C:\WB, and move all
     files in the Weather Board archive to it.

     2.  Edit the WB.CFG file for the correct com port, and other options.
     The init string should turn off your modem's error correction and put
     the phone back on the hook, if its off hook.  The default
     configuration file is set up to call the Virginia Tech number and get
     the forecast for Columbus, Ohio.  Change it accordingly for your area.
     See the following sections for more details on this subject.

     3.  Edit the copy statements in the Z.BAT file so the program output
     files will be copied to one of your BBS's display or bulletin files.
     The default batch file is set up for the Wildcat BBS package.

     4.  Set up an external event in your BBS or front end mailer program
     to run at the appropriate time(s).  Make sure the event is set to
     "forced", "non sliding", "hard" or whetever your package needs to
     ensure that the event runs on time.

     To run Weather Board under Windows, copy WB.PIF to your main Windows
     directory, then add a program item for Weather Board to any program
     group that you choose.  See the Windows online help for more
     information on this procedure.

     To run Weather Board with Front Door, add the contents of the
     FDBBS.TXT file to your main Front Door batch file, in the proper
     places.  Set up an eXternal event in Front Door to run Weather Board
     at the appropriate time(s).  The default error level in FDBBS.TXT is
     45.

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  6

     NOTE:  Some Front End / Fossil driver combinations leave the driver
     active when they shell out to run external events.  While I have not
     found this to be a problem with Front Door and X00, some problems have
     been reported with other combinations.  If Weather Board can't open the
     comm port, or send the init string to the modem, you will have to
     temporarily disable the fossil driver before WB is started.  Then
     reenable it before you restart your front end or BBS.


     The Configuration File
     ----------------------

     Weather Board uses a configuration file to govern its appearance and
     operation.  Its name is WB.CFG, and it must exist in the Weather Board
     directory for the program to run.  Below is the format for the file.
     Lines can be in upper or lower case, but all of them must be present.
     See the Configuration Examples section for setup help.

     --------------------------------------------------------------------
      1. The communications port (COM1: or COM2:)
      2. The baud rate (9600 maximum, 1200 - 2400 usually)
      3. The airport ID(s) for the local forecast(s) (See examples)
      4. Complete output file name for the local area forecast(s)
      5. Phone number of the Primary Weathermation System (no dashes)
      6. Tone / Pulse dialing string (ATDT or ATDP)
      7. Modem init string or NONE
      8. State code(s) for the state summary forecast(s) (See examples)
      9. COLOR or MONO screen attributes
     10. Foreground color (0 - 15)
     11. Background color (0 - 7)
     12. Number of dial retries (0 - 32767)   3 to 6 usually
     13. Log Status - LOG or NOLOG
     14. Sound Option -  BEEP or NOBEEP
     15. Phone number of the Secondary Weathermation System or NONE
     16. Edit Mode - FULL or JET
     17. Complete output file name for the state summary forecast(s)
     18. Modem Hook Control - YES or NO
     --------------------------------------------------------------------


     Color Codes
     -----------

     The following is a list of DOS color codes.  The "Blink" background
     means that the foreground character will blink on and off when the
     background is set to one of the background color codes 8 through 15.
     The "Blink" codes are not supported by Weather Board.

     Background Color              Foreground Color
     --------------------------------------------------
      0 - Black                     0 - Black
      1 - Blue                      1 - Blue
      2 - Green                     2 - Green
      3 - Cyan                      3 - Cyan
      4 - Red                       4 - Red
      5 - Magenta                   5 - Magenta
      6 - Brown                     6 - Brown
      7 - White                     7 - White
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  7

      8 - Black Blink               8 - Dark Grey
      9 - Blue Blink                9 - Light Blue
     10 - Green Blink              10 - Light Green
     11 - Cyan Blink               11 - Light Cyan
     12 - Red Blink                12 - Light Red
     13 - Magenta Blink            13 - Light Magenta
     14 - Brown Blink              14 - Yellow
     15 - White Blink              15 - Bright White
    ----------------------------------------------------

     To add color to your display file or bulletin, edit the WTOP.ASC and
     WBOT.ASC files.  Add whatever codes are recognized by your BBS package
     to activate color.  For Wildcat 3.x, it would be something like this:

     @06@ at the beginning of the bar in WTOP
     @0B@ at the end of the bar in WTOP
     @06@ at the beginning of the bar in WBOT
     @0F@ at the end of the bar in WBOT

     B and F are Wildcat's codes for 11 and 15.

     For BBS packages that use straight Ascii to generate color, you would
     need to add the Ansi escape sequences manually, with a text editor, or
     with an Ansi editor, such as The Draw.


     About Modem Settings
     ---------------------

     Weather Board will run only on com port 1 or 2.  Its maximum connect
     rate is 9600 baud.  Standard IRQ settings should be used.  Also, the
     Weathermation software does not get along with error correcting
     modems.  In order for these modems to connect and retrieve the weather
     forecast properly, you need to temporarily disable your modem's error
     correcting feature.  This is done with the Init String option in the
     WB.CFG file.  The string must start with the letters AT followed by
     whatever command disables the feature for your modem.  Here are some
     examples:

     USR Sportster   : AT&M0     USR Courier HST : AT&M0
     Cardinal 9600   : AT\N0     Intel 144I      : AT\N0
     Digicom Scout + : AT*E0     Boca 14.4k      : AT&Mn
     Compucom Champ  : AT&F\N0

     Using the above strings will not write the setting into your modem's
     NRAM.  See your modem manual for the setting you need.  It should be
     listed under something like "error control" or "error correction".
     This explanation only applies to error correcting modems.  If you are
     running a modem that does not support /ARQ or /MNP connections, you
     can use the word NONE in the Init String line of WB.CFG, and get a
     proper connection to Weathermation.

     Another use for the Init String is to disable call waiting service, if
     you have it.  If your computer is using a phone line that has this
     service, and a call comes in, your modem will be disconnected.  For
     touch tone telephones, use AT*70, for pulse (rotary) systems, use
     AT1170.  This will disable call waiting for the current call only.
     The service will reactivate when the current call ends.
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  8

     One other use for the Init String is to increase the intelligence
     level of your modem, by adding an X value.  Most BBS packages set the
     X value to X1, which provides minimum modem capabilities.  For Weather
     Board, you should use the highest X value that your modem supports.
     This is usually between X4 and X7.

     Another interesting note is that some modems return a result code of
     RINGING while the remote telephone line is ringing. This will give
     Weather Board fits, because the code will be taken as a RING, or
     incomming call. If your modem returns RINGING, reduce the X value to a
     number that will disable the RINGING result code.

     Special note to users of the new USR HST Dual Standard 16.8k modem:
     You may need to add an &F as the first command of your init string.
     Also, if you are running with an X value of X7 and experience
     connection problems with the Weathermation system, try a more
     conservative setting, like X4.  It seems that these modems tend to
     "outsmart" themselves, and these two changes usually fix the problem.


     HOW IT WORKS
     -------------

     Here's an overview of Weather Board in operation.  First, it calls the
     Weathermation number listed in the Primary Number line of WB.CFG. If
     there is no answer, the number of busy retries is exceeded, etc., then
     the Secondary number is called. The connection attempt process is
     repeated. If Weather Board still can't connect, it gives up and exits.

     If a connection is made to either number, Weather Board attempts to
     get two weather reports: The local Metro forecast, and the State
     Summary forecast. The uneditied capture file names are as follows:

     The local forecast file is made up of the entry on line 3 of WB.CFG
     plus "L.DAT".  Example:  CMH on line 3 creates CMHL.DAT.  The state
     forecast file is made up of the entry on line 8 of WB.CFG plus "S.DAT".
     Example:  OH on line 8 creates OHS.DAT.

     The editied display file names are as follows:

     The local forecast file is made up of the entry on line 4 of WB.CFG.
     The state forecast file is taken from the entry on line 17.  You must
     specify a full filename and extension on both of these entries.

     At present, there isn't an option to get one report or the other, but
     provisions have been made to allow the display of either or both
     reports, via the Z.BAT file.  Here's how:

     In the example configuration files, the editied forecasts are stored in
     CMH2.DAT and OH2.DAT.  The batch file simply appends these files
     together with the WTOP.ASC, WMID.ASC, and WBOT.ASC files and copies
     them to the proper places.  So, depending on how you set up the copy
     statements in Z.BAT, you can dispplay either or both forecast files in
     one or more bulletins or display files.

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                  9

     REGISTRATION INFORMATION
     ------------------------

     Skeptical about registering Weather Board?  Its understandable.  I
     want to say right up front that I'm not one of those "grab the money &
     run" guys.  Running a BBS and doing PC programming is my main hobby.
     Its the thing that I do with my spare time.  I've been a Sysop since
     1986, and I intend to be one for a long time to come.  I'm no 90 day
     wonder kid either.  As of this writing, I'm closing in on age 39, and
     have been in data processing for 20 years.  So, when I tell you that
     you're going to get certain things in exchange for your money, you can
     believe it!

     Registration of Weather Board is $10.00.  Payment must be made in US
     funds, drawn on a US bank.  Check or Money Order is accepted, made
     payable to Joe Rhinehart.  The registration form is on page A-2.
     Mail to:
                      Rhino Ware
                      c/o Joe Rhinehart
                      760 Cherryhurst Drive
                      Columbus, Oh 43228-2795


     How to obtain your Registered Version
     --------------------------------------

     Once you're sent in the completed registration and payment:

     1.  Allow a few days for the mail to reach here!

     2.  Call The Comm * Port at 1-614-870-6544 (9600)

     3.  When you log on, from the Main Menu, pick M to go to the message
     section. Then select R to read messages, and U for unread personal
     messages. Press enter to search selected conferences.

     4.  Your registered copy of Weather Board will be attached to your
     personal message. Select D to download it.

     That's it.  I think you'll find this a faster, less complicated way to
     get your registered copy.  You won't have to wait to get a return
     package, or have it get lost in the mail.  And I can put your message
     & file online within minutes of receiving your payment.


     Registration Policy
     --------------------

     What do you get when you register?  Ok, let's say you register version
     1.00.  First, you get a registered program that will never expire, or
     display any shareware "nag" messages to you or your users.  The
     shareware version expires every 60 days.  Next, you'll be entitled to
     all minor updates (1.01 to 1.xx) free of charge.  After you obtain your
     first registered copy, I'll upgrade your security so you will have
     access to a special Weather Board conference and file area on my BBS.
     That way, you can get all future file updates and ask questions about
     Weather Board.  You can also get help on setup or other program related
     matters.
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                 10

     If there is a major update (1.xx to 2.00), then you'll have to pay for
     it.  But, since you are a registered user, your cost is only $5.00 as
     opposed to the $10.00 for a new registration.  Then, any minor updates
     (2.01 to 2.xx) will once again be free.  I'll notify everyone about
     major updates via message in the Weather Board conference.



              I hope you enjoy using Weather Board!


    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                A-1

     WEATHERMATION NUMBERS
     ----------------------

     These are all of the WeatherMation numbers I know about.  If you
     find any more numbers, let me know.  I'll update this list ASAP!

     California:        2400 baud

     Fresno             [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Illinois:          1200 baud

     Chicago            [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Michigan :         2400 baud

     St. Joseph         [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Minnesota:         2400 baud

     Minneapolis / St. Paul  [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Nebraska :         1200 baud

     Beatrice           [phone]
     Fall City          [phone]
     Lincoln            [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Ohio:              1200 baud

     Columbus           [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Pennsylvania:

     Erie               [phone]   (1200 Baud)
     Pittsburgh         [phone]   (9600 Baud)
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Virginia:          2400 baud

     Abingdon           [phone]
     Lonesome Pine      [phone]
     Manassas           [phone] or [phone]
     Mountain Empire    [phone] or [phone]
     New River Valley   [phone]
     Roanoke            [phone]
     Shannon            [phone]
     Shenandoah Valley  [phone]
     Virginia Tech      [phone]
     Winchester         [phone]
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                A-2

     Accomack           [phone]
     Charlottesville    [phone]
     Chesapeake         [phone]
     Chesterfield       [phone]
     Danville           [phone]
     Emporia            [phone]
     Hampton Roads      [phone]
     Lynchburg          [phone]
     Mecklenburg        [phone]
     Norfolk            [phone]
     Petersburg         [phone]
     Richmond           [phone]
     Suffolk            [phone]
     Williamsburg       [phone]

     If you have a problem with any Virginia number, call the VA Depertment
     of Aviation at [phone].
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Washington         2400 baud

     Seattle            [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

     Wisconsin:         2400 baud

     Appleton (1)       [phone]
     Appleton (2)       [phone]
     Brookfield         [phone]
     Burlington         [phone]
     Fond Du Lac        [phone]
     Green Bay          [phone]
     Hartford           [phone]
     Juneau             [phone]
     Kenosha (1)        [phone]
     Kenosha (2)        [phone]
     Manitowoc          [phone]
     Milwaukee (1)      [phone]
     Milwaukee (2)      [phone]
     Milwaukee (3)      [phone]
     Oconto             [phone]
     Oshkosh (1)        [phone]
     Oshkosh (2)        [phone]
     Oshkosh (3)        [phone]
     Racine             [phone]
     Sheboygan          [phone]
     Sturgeon Bay       [phone]
     Sylvania           [phone]
     Watertown          [phone]
     Waukesha           [phone]
     Waupaca            [phone]
     West Bend          [phone]
     Wilmot             [phone]
     --------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                B-1

     Configuration Examples
     ----------------------

     Here are some examples of WB.CFG to show you what Weather Board can
     do. Take note of lines 3 and 8 in each example.

     1.  The "basic" setup.  Get the local forecast for one city and the
     state summary for one state.  In this case, Columbus, and Ohio. Enable
     the sound option an do full editing with hook control on.

    COM1:
    2400
    CMH
    CMH2.DAT
    17032315001
    ATDT
    AT&M0
    OH
    COLOR
    15
    3
    3
    LOG
    BEEP
    18044214361
    FULL
    OH2.DAT
    YES

     2.  Get the local forecast for several major cities in one state and
     the state summary for one state.  In this case, all of Ohio. No sound
     and full editing without hook control.

    COM1:
    2400
    OH
    CMH2.DAT
    17032315001
    ATDT
    AT&M0
    OH
    COLOR
    15
    3
    3
    LOG
    NOBEEP
    18044214361
    FULL
    OH2.DAT
    NO

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                B-2

     3.  Get the local forecast for several major cities in two states and
     the state summary for two states.  In this case, Ohio and West
     Virginia. Use sound, and Jet editing with hook control. Use the
     Monochrome screen settings.

    COM1:
    2400
    OH WV
    CMH2.DAT
    17032315001
    ATDT
    AT&M0
    OH WV
    MONO
    15
    3
    3
    LOG
    BEEP
    18044214361
    JET
    OH2.DAT
    YES

     4.  Get the local forecast for two cities in two states and the
     state summary for two states.  In this case, Columbus, Ohio and
     Phoenix, Arizona. No sound, and Jet editing without hook control.

    COM1:
    2400
    CMH PHX
    CMH2.DAT
    17032315001
    ATDT
    AT&M0
    OH AZ
    COLOR
    15
    3
    3
    LOG
    NOBEEP
    18044214361
    JET
    OH2.DAT
    NO

     Note that you can only specify a maximum of two report areas for both
     the local and state forecasts.  If you need more, you'll have to
     modify the batch file to do multiple runs of the program.  This is due
     to Dos file naming conventions.  Sorry, fortunes of war.

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                C-1

     Special Notes to Desqview Users
     --------------------------------

     Several people who use Desqview as a multitasker have said that Weather
     Board will not run in that environment.  Well, it will, if you do it a
     certain way.

     The most common complaint is a DEVICE UNAVAILABLE error at line 900.
     This is where WB attempts to open the communications port.  The problem
     is usually caused by spawning to another DV window, and trying to run
     WB while the BBS node or front end mailer is still up.  In this case,
     the program in the original window still controls the com port.  In
     order for WB to work, it MUST be able to get exclusive control of the
     port while it is running.

     This can be accomplished by having the BBS or front end shell to Dos in
     the original window, and run Z.BAT from that window.  This should cause
     the calling program (and DV) to temporarily release the port, so WB can
     have it.  Then, WB in turn will release the port when it ends, allowing
     DV and the calling program to reclaim it.

     Here's something else to check.  You must have the COM PORT setting in
     the .DVP set with the COM # or Y, like this:

     Options:

           Writes text directly to screen.......:  [Y]
           Displays graphics information........:  [Y]
           Virtualize text/graphics (Y,N,T).....:  [Y]
     ===>> Uses serial ports (Y,N,1,2)..........:  [1] or 2 or Y
           Requires floppy diskette.............:  [N]

     The line marked above MUST have one of the choices I've outlined, but
     never " N ".  Otherwise Weather Board will not find the port.  I'm
     not sure why it works like this, but many door programs have the same
     trouble.

     If you still experience problems running Weather Board from your BBS
     under Desqview, try these tests before spending money to call for help.

     1.  Shut Desqview down, and try running Z.BAT from native DOS.  Once
     you get that going, go to step 2.

     2.  Bring up DV, but shut down ALL nodes of your BBS / mailer.  Start
     up one DV window, and run Z.BAT from there.  If this works, try step 3.

     3.  Bring up all BBS / mailer nodes, EXCEPT the node that runs on the
     same port as WB.  IE, if you use COM1:  for WB, leave the BBS node that
     uses COM1:  down.  Now run Z.BAT from its own window.  If this works,
     go to step 4.

     4.  Re-check the settings for the node that uses the same port as WB.
     Be sure that Z.BAT is set to run as an external event, and that the BBS
     / mailer shells out to Dos, or leaves memory in some other way, so that
     the port and other resources of the DV window are released, BEFORE the
     WB program begins to run. Be sure the DV Pif is correct.
    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                C-2

     If the full setup still doesn't work, give my BBS a jingle, and leave
     me a message.  Please attach a ZIP file to the message, that contains
     your WB.CFG and WB.LOG file.  That way, I can get an idea of what is or
     isn't happening when you run the program.

    The Weather Board Weather Forecast Retrieval System                D-1
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