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1992-11-07
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built and tested in the NORD><LINK - Net
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SYSOP Manual for Version 1.5
Due to rather limited time, only a brief description of the software for The
Box is currently available and thus users are advised to experiment where
necessary. If anyone is interested in writing a more thorough instruction
manual, please feel free to do so, as I would also be interested in that.
The Box can be entirely configured by external files.
In essence there are four separate areas administered by The Box:
The BOOT area
The SYSTEM area
The USER area
The INFO area
Each area corresponds to a subdirectory of a MS-DOS disk (either diskette or
hard disk), whereby the BOOT and SYSTEM areas can be combined, but the USER
and INFO areas must remain separate.
1. The BOOT Area
As a minimum, the following files must be available in this subdirectory:
BOX.EXE.......mailbox program itself
BOX.MSK.......screen display at program start
BOXINIT.TXT...configuration file for the individual TNCs
BOX.MSG.......configuration file for the texts in the box
SF-LISTE.SFW..Store & Forward file
PWLIST.TXT....password table
QRT.*.........disconnection sign-off text
START.*.......connection startup text
CONFIG.BOX....configuration file
All of these files are expected to be in the subdirectory in which The Box is
started. This subdirectory is not accessed again during execution of the pro-
gram, except when the Ctrl-U key is pressed.
1.1 BOX.EXE
This is the program file for the mailbox.
Prior to calling up the program, all TNCs must be turned on. The Box then
empties all serial port buffers and commands the TNCs into the host mode.
The program is terminated by pressing Alt-X. The program should only be ex-
ited this way so that the TNCs are switched back into the terminal mode with
monitor off and any incoming connects are disabled with Y0. The monitor re-
mains off when The Box is started again.
If The Box is exited properly, it can be restarted without having to reset
the TNCs, otherwise reset the TNCs first. If this isn't done, The Box has to
resynchronize the TNCs at the next startup before it will run normally.
The screen display is split into three sections:
Upper: commands and system output
Middle: receive and box operation
Lower: channel monitor
The topmost line shows the count of the frames sent to the TNC (SF), the
count of the frames waiting in the TNC buffer (TF) and the retry count for
the frames waiting in the TNC buffer (TR).
All TNCs can be used for monitoring a channel, although it is questionable
whether this is sensible. Each monitored header is preceded by a number in
square brackets indicating which port received the frame.
The individual channels are selectable with the function keys F1-F9 as well
as F10 for the monitor channel.
The channel activity can be captured on the printer with Shift-F9 or with
Ctrl-F9 into the file 'PROTO.TXT' in the SYSTEM area. The same key switches
this function off (toggle). The current medium is indicated in the top line
by the letter F for file or P for printer. All output is captured from the
middle screen area and for the monitor channel from the lower screen area.
Only the activity in the currently visible screen is logged.
Warning: Be certain that the capture medium is actually present
(printer) or has adequate capacity (file).
Alt-F9 shuts off the screen. It can be reactivated by pressing one of the
function keys F1-F10.
Ctrl-Y generates a CR without sending a frame.
Ctrl-'_' switches the mailbox function on and off for the currently visible
channel. The actual status is shown in the top line by 'Mailbox' or
'Terminal'. When switching from Mailbox to Terminal, all current mailbox op-
erations are interrupted. Files still open for the SEND command are closed
and saved.
Ctrl-U causes the Store & Forward list file 'SF-LISTE.SFW' to be loaded from
the BOOT area as well as the user information from the SYSTEM area. Further-
more the file 'BOX.MSG' is loaded from the BOOT area.
Ctrl-R removes unneeded entries from the files 'LOG.SFW' and 'SHOW.LST' in
the SYSTEM area. The old files are saved under the same file names with the
'BAK' extension.
Pressing Ctrl-T while on the monitor channel (F10) switches into the system
mode, which is indicated in the first line with the word 'System'. The system
mode is only possible on the monitor channel! Text entries in system mode
are limited to a length of 254 characters, approximately one frame.
In this mode the sysop is quasi logged into the mailbox as a privileged user
and can do everything that a privileged user can do from the outside. There
is no log entry however. In the system mode, all monitor output is sup-
pressed, so that the entire monitor screen is available for text display.
This mode is terminated by pressing Ctrl-T again. Text output in the system
mode can be suspended and resumed by pressing the space bar.
Ctrl-X closes files opened for READ or SEND, thus terminating the read or
write operation on the channel. The file is still saved. This makes it easy
to cancel interminable output. Ctrl-X is usable on all channels.
Following a disconnect on a channel, the mailbox function is automatically
enabled again. This only occurs however, when a LOGOFF also takes place, not
when a link failure occurs during a connect attempt. Furthermore the callsign
of each channel is reprogrammed every minute, except when the channel in
question is connected or the mailbox function is disabled.
The up and down cursor keys can reposition the lower status line, so that
hidden text becomes visible again.
ESC precedes a command to the TNC and must be at the start of the input
buffer. If it is erased, the input is then regarded as a text entry. If the
ESC key is pressed on the monitor channel (F10) in system mode (Ctrl-T), the
previous command is redisplayed. Pressing it once again recalls the preceding
command. The last six commands are always saved.
Input can be made on channels 1-9 only when the mailbox is disabled. Commands
to a TNC are only possible in the terminal mode on that channel.
The Box expects to find the user information in the two files 'USER3.IDX' and
'USER3.DAT' in the SYSTEM area. The Box presumes that these files are avail-
able and will cancel the program startup if it cannot find them. The number
of users is virtually unlimited in this version.
1.2 BOX.MSK
This is the screen display shown when the program starts up. It has no fur-
ther importance.
1.3 BOXINIT.TXT
This file informs the program at startup how many TNCs are attached and how
they are configured. Sample files for one, two, three and four TNCs are pro-
vided. It is important that in multi-TNC operation the monitor channels of
all attached TNCs always be initialized first. All channels of an attached
TNC do not need to be used, however always the monitor channel at least.
If the channel number of a TNC channel is initialized with -1, this channel
is excluded. In any case 9 channels must be initialized. If a TNC with only 4
channels is available, the remaining channels must be initialized with -1, so
that The Box recognizes them as invalid. (Example: see 'BOXINIT1.TXT')
In all, only 9 channels for all TNCs plus the associated monitor channels can
be initialized.
The specified MAXFRAME parameters can be changed as desired, but should agree
with the O parameters of the corresponding TNCs.
When using a TNC1 be certain that the callsign on channel 0 of the TNC agrees
exactly with the callsign including SSID of all other channels. In the case
of a TNC2, any callsign may be used, but an unused callsign (ex. TE0ST)
should be used on channel 0.
If a channel is designated as a Store & Forward channel, only privileged sta-
tions and mailboxes which receive forwarding have access.
The file format of 'BOXINIT.TXT' should be preserved as provided, so that er-
rors will not occur.
1.4 BOX.MSG
All texts sent by the mailbox are contained in this file. Thus The Box can
easily be converted to other languages.
For each implemented language exactly one block of information must be pre-
sent. Each block starts with any eligible language designator, which should
match the normal prefix of the associated country as much as possible. The
desired language is then selected with the command SPEAK <designator>.
In all, six equally long blocks of messages must be present in BOX.MSG. Lan-
guages having the same designator are output only once when using the SPEAK
command without parameters, so that it is sufficient to assign a previously
allocated designator to the remaining blocks if only one or two languages are
to be supported.
The line length in the file including the CR/LF at the end of each line is 78
characters maximum. There are no guarantees if this is exceeded. This line
length should not be exceeded by extra spaces at the end of the lines.
1.5 SF-LISTE.SFW
This file contains the data about the Store & Forward times.
An entry consists of 70 characters, including the CR/LF at the end. In the
first field from left to right is the callsign of the mailbox to receive for-
warded traffic. This call is always without SSID. The following field con-
tains the hours when Store & Forward should be initiated to this mailbox, and
in the next field the associated minutes. Per mailbox, a maximum of 24 hour
entries and 10 minute entries are possible.
The designated format of the line must not be changed under any circum-
stances. Times when forwarding should not occur are excluded with 'XX'.
The first 22 lines (hence the first 1540 characters) in the file 'SF-
LIST.SFW' are loaded into memory at program begin. Changes in this file thus
only become effective either following a new program start or after pressing
Ctrl-U.
Mailboxes listed in this file have access to the privileged channel and are
also supported for S&F. All other callsigns are not supported for S&F, in-
cluding any unauthorized mailboxes.
Store & Forward may also be performed on the normal channels.
If the word WASHUP in capital letters is entered in place of a valid mailbox
callsign and supplied with a time, the function of the Ctrl-R key will be
performed at this time.
1.6 PWLISTE.TXT
This file contains a table of 1620 random characters which serve to select a
password. These characters should be generated with a random number generator
where possible. If this file is not found, the password check will always end
negative.
The password is always four characters long and is based on the date and time
at login in conjunction with the table in 'PWLIST.TXT' according to the fol-
lowing scheme: the minute portion of the login date is added to the day. If
the total exceeds 59, 60 is subtracted. This result is multiplied by 27 and
the hour portion of the login date is added. The resulting number provides
the offset from the start of the file 'PWLIST.TXT' and the subsequent 4 char-
acters become the password.
A station is only privileged after it has successfully executed the PRIV com-
mand with the correctly determined password. PRIV may be used at any time. If
PRIV was successful, the user sees an abbreviated command line, otherwise
nothing changes.
Privileged stations are able to erase entries which were not written by them
or directed to them. Furthermore there are extended commands for privileged
users.
SETLIFETIME The lifetime of a general message can be altered. Syntax:
SETL Filename Startnumber - Endnumber # Lifetime.
Example: 'SETL ALL 1-23 # 33'
This sets the lifetime to 33 days for the messages 1-23
under the topic ALL.
EXPORT Output of messages. It functions in essence just like
Ctrl-F9 except that a filename must be provided. Ex.
'EXPORT FILE.TXT'. EXPORT is ended by using the command
without argument.
IMPORT This command was created to assist in integrating text
files written with a text editor into the mailbox. Ex.
'IMPORT FILE.TXT'. Since IMPORT causes a redirection of
the input from the keyboard to the file, the first line
of the text file must be a valid mailbox command. In or-
der to save messages, the SEND command must therefore be
used.
An example for such a text file:
S DF3AV TEST
Test text for demonstrating IMPORT
***end
If this file is imported, it saves the test text for
DF3AV. The import is active until an error occurs or the
end of imported file is reached.
READFILE Read a file directly from the disk. All files may be read
that are located on a valid drive and the characters '\',
'.' and ':' may likewise occur in the filenames. The
length of the file names is limited to 50 characters how-
ever.
Syntax: READFILE d:\filename.ext
SENDFILE As above, but for writing files.
Syntax: SENDFILE d:\filename.ext
Contrary to the prompt from The Box, the file is termi-
nated only with Ctrl-Z. It is therefore possible to in-
clude the sequence ***END without closing the file.
COPYFILE Copies any file in the computer to any other. Exercise
care with the supervisory files for The Box! Caution also
in remote operation: if a file is copied to A:, there
must be a formatted diskette in the drive, otherwise the
message "Abort, Retry, Ignore" appears on the console
screen and everything comes to a halt.
ERASEFILE Erases any file in the computer. Exercise care with the
supervisory files for The Box!
RESTART Has the same effect as Ctrl-U from the keyboard. Syn-
tax: RESTART
SENDTNC Sends a TNC command on the current channel. Allowable
channels are 0 to 9. The response from the TNC is NOT re-
transmitted. All TNC commands are possible, therefore:
CAUTION: THINK FIRST! The monitor channels for up to
four TNCs have the numbers 10, 20, 30 and 40, where 10 is
assigned to the TNC on COM1, 20 to COM2, etc.
Syntax: SENDTNC CHANNEL#(0-9,10,20,30,40) TNC-COMMAND
PRIV This command is used by authorized users to become privi-
leged. Syntax: PRIV PASSWORD
SF Initiate store & forward to a station. Syntax: SF MAILBOX
where MAILBOX must be one of the mailboxes entered in the
file 'SF-LISTE.SFW'.
SETUSR Individual users of the mailbox may be assigned a new
status with this command. Users may be locked out or also
become privileged. Users who have not yet logged in are
added with the SETUSR command.
Syntax: SETUSR Call MBCall Status
Call......Call of the station, whose status is to be
changed.
MBCall....Call of the user's home mailbox (MYBBS). If the
callsign from channel 0 of the identical TNC is
entered, the messages to Call will not be for-
warded.
Status....A number from 0 to 2 can be given, where:
0 : Normal user
1 : Privileged user
2 : Disallowed user (locked out)
READFILE and SENDFILE are primarily intended for processing of the system
files of The Box (ex. 'SF-LISTE.SFW', 'SHOW.LST', etc). For SENDFILE only the
ASCII character set below 127 may be used, and none below SPACE except for
CR.
IMPORT and EXPORT are only usable from the console.
Privileged users are always subject to the mailbox timeout. Those stations
are privileged whose status has been set to 1 with the SETUSR command. The
privilege is only activated after the PRIV command has been successfully exe-
cuted.
If a link reset occurs on the channel during operation with a privileged sta-
tion, the privilege is immediately deactivated.
1.7 QRT.*
A sign-off text with a maximum length of one frame is stored in this file.
The asterisk must be replaced by the corresponding language code.
(last-minute-note: these files haven't to be in the BOOT.Area but in the
SYSTEM.Area)
1.8 START.*
A greeting text with a maximum length of 255 characters is stored in this
file. The asterisk must be replaced by the corresponding language code.
(last-minute-note: these files haven't to be in the BOOT.Area but in the
SYSTEM.Area)
1.9 CONFIG.BOX
This file has the following structure:
1 Standard language for channel 1
1 Standard language for channel 2
1 Standard language for channel 3
1 Standard language for channel 4
1 Standard language for channel 5
5 Standard language for channel 6
1 Standard language for channel 7
1 Standard language for channel 8
2 Standard language for channel 9
C:\MB\USER\
C:\MB\INFO\
C:\MB\MBSYS\
ALL
4
20
9600
UTC
014 Standard attribute
120 Display attribute for the two status lines
003 Attribute for the header in the monitor
000 not used
000 not used
000 not used
000 not used
000 not used
The first 9 lines of the file must have a number followed by at least one
space at the start of a line. This number determines the greeting language
for a new user who has not previously logged into the mailbox. Each line cor-
responds to one channel of the mailbox (1-9).
Example:
The sixth channel in the above list has a 5, which means that someone who
logs in for the first time on the sixth channel will be greeted in the fifth
language stored in 'BOX.MSG'. The user will continue to communicate in this
language until he changes it with the SPEAK command. Even when logging in
later on another channel, the user will retain the same language setting.
After the first 9 lines, the next 8 lines have the following meanings:
Line 1: Subdirectory of the USER area
Line 2: " " INFO "
Line 3: " " SYSTEM "
Line 4: Store & Forward destination
Line 5: User timeout in minutes
Line 6: Mailbox timeout in minutes (for Store & Forward)
Line 7: Baud rate of the TNCs in Baud (4800 or 9600)
Line 8: Time designator (e.g. UTC). Only the first three letters
are valid.
If no '@' designator is entered with the SEND command, the Store & Forward
destination (line 4) will be used as default.
Only whole numbers are valid for the timeout times.
The mailbox timeout for Store & Forward is in effect when a mailbox is logged
in (as listed in 'SF-LISTE.SFW') or a normal user is sending a message with
the SEND command.
No commentary may be added to these eight lines.
The last eight lines contain color attributes which are explained by the cor-
responding commentary.
2. The SYSTEM Area
The SYSTEM area is an MS-DOS subdirectory which merely serves the internal
management of the mailbox. The following files must be present in this subdi-
rectory:
*.DL All HELP texts in the mailbox
HELP.PR - removed - (see below)
SHOW.LST File displayed by the CHECK command
LOG.SFW File containing entries to be forwarded
PACK.LOG Logbook
USER3.IDX Index file for user management
USER3.DAT Data file for user management
BULLID.TXT File of bulletin IDs
*.SFW Files for Store & Forward
*.FOR Files for Store & Forward
2.1 *.DL (or *.F, etc)
Due to the multilingual capability of The Box, there must be a HELP message
for each language. This is a simple text file whose name consists of the com-
mand name, in place of the '*', plus the language code as extension, in place
of the 'DL'. These files contain the texts which the user receives after en-
tering 'HELP <command>'. These files must be present! The filename extension
MUST correspond to the language code in the SPEAK command, e.g. a French HELP
text would have the form '*.F'. Should one of these files be missing when the
associated HELP command is entered, the console bell will ring.
2.2 HELP.PR
This file is no longer present after version 1.3 and is replaced by HELP.*,
where the '*' is replaced by the language code.
2.3 SHOW.LST
This file is sent to the user when the CHECK command is entered. Each entry
is exactly 83 characters long, including '!' and CR/LF. Deleted entries are
marked with a '*' in the first column. This file may be altered with a text
processing program, but the line length of 83 characters must be maintained
for each entry. This file is output in reverse order, i.e. the last entry ap-
pears first.
'SHOW.LST' must be present and if missing must be created with a text editor.
2.4 LOG.SFW
This file contains the entries which are to be forwarded or already have been
forwarded. An entry consists of 115 characters, including '!' and CR/LF, and
contains:
- Callsign of destination mailbox
- Callsign of file to be forwarded
- Entry number in this file
- Sender of the message
- Title of the message
- Bulletin ID of this message (if applicable)
- Addressee for Store & Forward
The format of the individual lines must be maintained! USER files are auto-
matically deleted after forwarding. The characters in the first column have
the following meanings:
'*' Entry was forwarded
'#' Entry was already present in destination mailbox
'$' Entry was deleted prior to forwarding
'@' Entry was deleted after forwarding (only USER files)
'!' Entry could not be deleted after forwarding
' ' Entry still must be forwarded
'-' Entry to be forwarded could no longer be found
If a particular entry is to be especially forwarded, an appropriate line cor-
responding to the above format may be inserted with a text editor. WARNING:
This entry must really coincide with a file and this file must also be pre-
sent!
2.5 PACK.LOG
This is the system logbook and is automatically maintained. It may be viewed
and edited with a text editor. Caution: do not delete entries when stations
are still logged on! (Only applicable for multi-tasking operation.) The file
must be present and is created with SENDFILE in the SYSTEM area.
2.6 USER3.IDX/USER3.DAT
These files are for user management and must be present. An empty set of user
files is supplied and will be installed by the INSTALL program.
After version 1.3 these files are called 'USER3.IDX' and 'USER3.DAT' and have
a different format from earlier versions. CAUTION: Do not use old user files
in versions beginning with 1.3! If an update from version 1.2c or earlier is
being performed by calling UPDATE on the distribution diskette, the program
'USERCONV.EXE' will be executed. This program performs the conversion from
the old to the new format and the files 'USER.IDX' and 'USER.DAT' can then be
deleted.
These are the only files in the mailbox which cannot be viewed or edited with
a text editor. They are automatically loaded at program begin or after Ctrl-U
is pressed.
2.7 BULLID.TXT
This file contains the bulletin identifier. Each entry is 19 characters long,
including CR/LF. Deleted entries are marked with a '*' and may be removed
with a text editor. However, deleted entries should be left in the file for 2
to 3 months.
2.8 *.SFW
Replace the '*' with the callsign of the destination mailbox for forwarding,
e.g. 'DB0GV.SFW'. If this file is not present, nothing will be forwarded to
this mailbox despite an entry in the file 'SF-LISTE.SFW'.
Each entry in '*.SFW' consists of nine characters. In order to prevent the
line from becoming too long, a line break can be inserted with the 9 charac-
ter sequence '*!!!!!!(CR/LF)', which does not occur in normal operation.
The entries are callsigns of mailboxes which cannot be reached directly, but
rather only via other mailboxes. For example, the file 'DB0GV.SFW' could con-
tain:
DL0FFM *H33 DG5NAX HB9F DB0CZ *TEST *!!!!!!
HB? OE? *!!!!!!
This indicates that the entries actually destined for DG5NAX, HB9F, DL0FFM or
DB0CZ should be forwarded to DB0GV.
The entries starting with '*' indicate which files are NOT to be forwarded to
DB0GV, in this example H33 and TEST. Therefore all entries under H33 and TEST
will not be forwarded to DB0GV.
Entries with question marks mean that the comparison whether to forward or
not ends with the character prior to the question mark. In the above example,
all messages to HB or OE mailboxes will be sent to DB0GV. Characters after
the question mark are ignored, i.e. HB??DX has the same effect as HB?
The length of the '*.SFW' files is limited to 900 characters, corresponding
to 100 entries. Entries beyond that are ignored.
Forwarding to individual stations can be blocked with the '#' character. For
example, forwarding is being done with LA6CU and LA9OK and the designator
'LA?' is in the file 'LA6CU.SFW' as well as 'LA9OK.SFW'. If a file addressed
to ALL comes from LA6CU, it will also be entered into 'LOG.SFW' for LA9OK.
After LA6CU sends the 'F>', an attempt will be made to send the file just re-
ceived from LA6CU back to LA6CU on account of the specific entry for LA9OK in
'LOG.SFW', since LA6CU forwards to all LA?. Therefore LA9OK, with which S&F
is also performed, must be blocked for LA6CU. This is achieved by placing
'#LA9OK' in the file 'LA6CU.SFW' (always 9 characters). When a file for LA9OK
is then found during a S&F transfer to LA6CU, it will not be sent to LA6CU,
but rather held until communication with LA9OK is established.
2.9 *.FOR
A valid mailbox callsign replaces the '*', e.g. 'DB0GV.FOR'. The type and
manner in which a connection is established for S&F is contained in this
file. Each entry consists of 70 characters, including CR/LF, whereby the last
character of the line prior to the CR/LF must be a '!'.
The first line only contains a number from 1 to 9 to identify the channel on
which Store & Forward to this station is to be initiated. The channel numbers
refer to the channels used by the mailbox, not to those in the TNCs.
The second line contains the count of the logical steps required to establish
connection. If no NET/ROM is used for the connection, a 1 must be entered
here.
The following lines contain the exact steps to establish connection. The
first line of this sequence is always a command to the local TNC, all others
are commands to intermediate NET/ROM nodes.
For each logical step, except for the first, there is a response line. If
five logical steps are required, there must therefore be four response lines.
The block of response lines directly follows the block of command lines. The
response expected at each step in establishing S&F connection is entered in
each response line. The Box scans the incoming string from the net node for
the appearance of the first character of the expected reply. If this charac-
ter is found, the rest of the expected reply is compared with the actual re-
sponse for the length of the expected reply. If there is no match or the
first character is not even found, the process is terminated.
For connections via NET/ROM or The Net nodes, the response string
' Connected to' is sufficient. This response string should always be used for
NET/ROM paths since the character before the first space is sometimes differ-
ent. Support for routes via KAM nodes is also provided. In this case the re-
sponse is '###LINK MADE'. Unfortunately the KAM nodes have the undesirable
characteristic of sending out their own greeting text, whereas NET/ROM does
not. The Box knows to skip this due to a number (1-9) in place of the '!' as
string delimiter in the file 'mailbox.FOR'. The number must always appear at
the end of the response line after which the skip is to be made and corre-
sponds to the count of frames to skip before continuing the routing.
Care should be exercised that as many lines actually follow as number of
steps given in the second line, plus the count of the 'steps-1' response
lines. No commentary may be present after line 2.
The following example is the forwarding file 'DB0GV.FOR' at DK0MAV, in which
DB8AS-4 is a KAM node and the greeting text arrives in a single frame:
5 Logical TNC channel for the Box !
7 Number of logical steps for S&F !
C BS77-5 !
C DL0RI !
C DB8AS-4 !
X DB0EAM !
C DB0EAM-1 !
C DB0MW-1 !
C DB0GV DB0MW DB0DA !
Connected to !
Connected to 1
###LINK MADE !
Connected to !
Connected to !
Connected to !
Be certain that the case of the letters in the response lines is correct.
3. The USER Area
This subdirectory contains all messages written to the users of the mailbox.
All message files begin with the callsign of the recipient and have the ex-
tension 'AMT', e.g. 'DF3AV.AMT'. If several messages are present for the one
user, they are gathered together into the one file.
Each message is supplied with a header according to the following structure:
^YPACKET-ACCESS FROM CALL 21.11.87 19:27 UTC 415 Bytes
TITLE
SENDER NOTE
BULLETIN ID
BLANK LINE
The lines TITLE, SENDER NOTE and BULLETIN ID can also be blank, but the first
line with the Ctrl-Y always has the same length and is preceded by a CR/LF in
all cases.
The actual text may only start in the line following BLANK LINE. The texts
can also be edited as desired, but the byte count must agree exactly with the
length, otherwise nothing is guaranteed.
4. The INFO Area
Messages, whose filename is not a valid callsign, are stored in this subdi-
rectory. The comments under point 2.0 apply here as well.
General Comments
When using diskette drives under MS-DOS, a maximum of only 112 entries fit in
the directory. (This does not apply to hard disks and subdirectories.) Since
temporary files are created when using the SEND and ERASE commands, be cer-
tain that there is always enough room in the directory for at least eight ad-
ditional files. Subsequent versions will incorporate routines to protect
against problems in this regard.
Before exiting from The Box, be certain that no stations are still logged in.
Otherwise the log entries for these stations will be tagged with a question
mark. The stations will not be recognized when restarting the program how-
ever, even though they may still be connected.
The critical nature of the ERASE command must be kept in mind. When entering
a command from the console after pressing Ctrl-T, the user is always privi-
leged, even when someone else is logged in. If for example the command
'E ALL <enter>' is entered, the file ALL is irreversibly deleted. Since the
file is written over, it is not therefore possible to recover it from the di-
rectory.
Store & Forward
The concept of regions is supported for store & forward operation. A region
is defined when it has a name of up to six characters in length and this name
is entered into all '*.SFW' lists belonging to the corresponding region. If
for example the region NORD refers to the two mailboxes DK0MAV and DB0KG,
NORD must then be entered into the files 'DK0MAV.SFW' and 'DB0KG.SFW'.
The following is a brief description of the store & forward connection se-
quence:
Every minute the mailbox scans the 'SF-LISTE.SFW' file loaded into memory at
startup to check whether one of the S&F times matches the current time. If
this is the case, the mailbox notes the callsign of the station to which the
process is to be initiated.
The file 'LOG.SFW' is searched for entries for this station. If an entry is
found, The Box creates a filename from the call of the destination mailbox
plus 'FOR' as extension. The SYSTEM area is then searched for this file. If
this file is not present, the process is terminated. Otherwise this file is
opened for reading and the mailbox channel determined over which the connec-
tion is to take place. This could be any channel except 0, the monitor chan-
nel.
An internal flag is then set for this channel to indicate that S&F is to oc-
cur here. The Box waits until this channel is free and then combs the file
ending with 'FOR' to ascertain the number of logical steps required to estab-
lish connection. At the same time the first step is retrieved from the file
and sent as a command to the TNC attached to the logical mailbox channel, as
stored in the 'BOXINIT.TXT' file.
There will be some sort of response to this command from the TNC. If this re-
sponse also contains the text 'Connected to', the next command from the 'FOR'
file will be performed, otherwise the process will be discontinued by sending
a disconnect command to the TNC.
If more commands are stored in the 'FOR' file, these will be sent to the TNC
as text, thus becoming commands to the NET/ROM or KAM nodes. After the last
command, The Box assumes that it is connected to the destination mailbox and
waits for a '>' followed by a CR.
If a '[' (left square bracket) is received during this waiting period, it an-
swers with a [MBL-$] after the '>', in order to indicate to the destination
box that this mode is also supported. It then waits for another '>' and CR.
Thereafter the entry of the first command to the destination mailbox begins.
If no further messages are to be forwarded, a 'F>' is sent to the destination
mailbox as the last command in order to exchange the forwarding direction. If
the destination mailbox does not have any messages, it will respond with a
disconnect. Otherwise the destination mailbox transfers its messages accord-
ing to the same scheme and sends the 'F>' when finished. This procedure is
repeated until both mailboxes have no further messages for each other. A dis-
connect then breaks the communication.
The WA7MBL software does not recognize the second direction change, as it was
not needed, since WA7MBL had not programmed the mailbox for multiconnect op-
eration. In the case of The Box however, it is certainly conceivable that ad-
ditional messages for the connected mailbox could have arrived, since other
users can be active in the mailbox simultaneously, or Store & Forward may
also be occurring with other mailboxes.
Following each receipt of the '>' with CR and the preceding SEND command, The
Box flags the corresponding entry in the 'LOG.SFW' file in the SYSTEM area.
If the entry concerns a USER file, that file will additionally be deleted.
The flags in the 'LOG.SFW' file have already been described.
All entries in the INFO area are automatically forwarded to the regional in-
dicator in the 13th line of the file 'CONFIG.MSG', except when they are ad-
dressed '@' local mailbox.
Lifetime Management
It has proved to be necessary to introduce a limit to the topics in the mail-
box, since the unrestrained growth in the number of different topics has lead
to increasing complexity in coping with the contents of the mailbox.
The possibility of only allowing the SYSOP set up topics was quickly dis-
carded since considerable flexibility and user friendliness would have been
lost. Consider the problems involving worldwide S&F.
Therefore the approach of setting a lifetime for the generally addressed mes-
saged was selected. This method is easily understood, requires no adaptation
in using The Box and was quite simple to incorporate into the existing de-
sign.
The Lifetime management functions as follows:
Each message, which is not addressed to a callsign, is assigned a lifetime in
days. This occurs in the customary manner with the SEND command, for example:
SEND ALL # 12
The title is then entered interactively. This means that this message to ALL
will be automatically deleted in 12 days by The Box.
For a maximum of 200 topics, the sysop may additionally assign a standard
lifetime which will be used in the SEND command when no duration is speci-
fied. Every topic, such as the example ALL, can have a different lifetime.
For topics that are not contained in this list, an extra standard lifetime is
available, which is also determined by the sysop.
The standard lifetime values are displayed by the DIR command, as follows:
DF3AV de DK0MAV>DIR
Info-Files:
ALLE.......10 ALL.......10 TNC2.....200
The numbers after each topic name indicate the standard lifetime in days for
that topic. Lifetime 0 means that the message will not be automatically
deleted.
Example: A sysop has set the lifetime for the topic ALL to 10 days. A user
sends:
S ALLE # 122 This message gets a lifetime of 122 days
S ALLE This message gets a lifetime of 10 days
S ALLE # 0 This message is not automatically deleted
Only the sysop can subsequently alter the lifetime of messages already en-
tered. As of version 1.5, lifetime numbers are not yet forwarded.
By means of the lifetime management, it may even be possible to convince the
users of The Box not to always create a new topic or to repeatedly address
everything to ALL. A maximum of 200 topics are allowed, not all of which need
to be used, so that it certainly should be possible to find a suitable topic
for the one subject or the other. If a user does start a new topic however,
he automatically agrees that his message will be handled with the typically
very short lifetime for new topics. Arrangements for setting up new topics
with longer lifetimes should be made with the sysop, and also between the
sysops. In any case the lifetime for transient topics should be at least long
enough that the message can be forwarded reliably.
On the distribution diskette for The Box, a sample of established topics is
included, which is essentially based on the topic names used in the past.
The actual lifetime values are stored in the file 'LIFETIME.BOX' in the BOOT
area and the existing format must be retained. If lifetimes are changed, they
will only become effective after starting The Box again or by using the
RESTART command remotely. The standard lifetime of a topic will not be
changed by use of the command SETLIFETIME.
The point in time, when The Box should be requested to look for files to be
deleted according to the lifetime value, is also set in the file 'SF-
LISTE.SFW'. The word KILL (in capitals) is inserted instead of a mailbox
callsign. If The Box encounters a KILL time, the file 'SHOW.LST' is combed
for exactly one entry that fulfills the lifetime criterion. If such an entry
is located, the corresponding entry will be deleted. Only ONE entry is
deleted per KILL command.
Messages directed to a callsign still have no lifetime setting and are
deleted by the sysop manually.
Conclusion
Andree, DC3AV, the sysop at DB0KG, is in the process of thoroughly revising
this guide. I expect his version to be much more thorough than what I was
able to prepare in the short time available. This new version will be dis-
tributed through the S&F net as soon as available.
I wish to emphasize at this point that The Box may be freely copied at any
time. A commercial usage of The Box or even portions of its source code is
totally disallowed! Every known violation will be pursued.
Within Germany operation of a mailbox requires special authorization! Please
comply when operating The Box.
I wish all 73's, lots of fun and only a few gray hairs.
DF3AV, Reinhard in Peine (West Germany)
(translated into English by Don Moe, DJ0HC/KE6MN)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Appendix A
Updates between version 1.0 and 1.1
The differences between version 1.0 and 1.1 lie mainly in the sysop inter-
face. This became rather Spartan, since a multitasking computer was available
for development. Many sysop tasks could thereby be performed under another
job while the mailbox operation continued undisturbed. The changes are essen-
tially as follows:
- switching on the journal medium, i.e. printer or disk file
- quicker screen display
- adjustable status line on the channels other than monitor
- improvement of the sysop interface. Ctrl-T on the monitor channel
- disabling the monitor and connects on all TNCs when exiting the pro-
gram
- exit the program with Alt-X instead of Alt-177
- new command for privileged stations: SETUSR
Differences between version 1.1 and 1.1a
- an error in handling of Ctrl-Z was corrected. If more than one Ctrl-Z
was entered at the end of a file, format errors occurred when saving
the file, sometimes causing the entire system to hang. If such a file
were then deleted, the system would most certainly hang.
- In the bulletin ID only the characters between space (#32) and delete
(#127) can be used. If a character outside this range is encountered,
the Bulletin ID is terminated at this point.
- The file 'SEMAPHOR.TXT' is no longer required and can be deleted.
- Screen display processing using direct video RAM access can be dis-
abled with F9. This is wise when The Box is running in the background
under a multitasking environment such as DesqView and should not write
directly into the video RAM of the foreground task. The screen can be
switched back on by pressing a function key, F1-F10.
- The command Y4 or Y8 during program startup is no longer sent to the
TNC. The channels must be configured by the sysop according to his own
situation.
- A hostmode resynchronization was incorporated and is activated when an
error occurs in the hostmode protocol. Warning: characters may be lost
when this happens.
- The number of characters sent to the user is now stored in the log-
book.
- A new logbook analysis program is now included.
- The S&F mailbox is now displayed with the CHECK command.
- In the case of the SEND command the destination mailbox for a message
should be supplied, if required.
Differences between version 1.1a and 1.2
- Several new commands were added in version 1.2:
FORWARD, TRANSFER, IMPORT and EXPORT
The description of the individual commands can be found in the corre-
sponding HELP files. The access limitations for FORWARD and TRANSFER
correspond to ERASE and the privileged access conforms to the privi-
leged access for ERASE.
- The Y parameter of each TNC is set automatically. The prerequisite is
a linear progression of the TNC channel numbers in 'BOXINIT.TXT', as
also shown in the example files.
- Resynchronization was improved.
- A minor change was made in the structure of the messages. If a message
is entered by a station that is not a mailbox, a CR/LF is inserted at
the start of the message. This change is compatible to all other ver-
sions.
- Structure of the files 'LOG.SFW', 'SHOW.LST' and 'BULLID.TXT' has been
changed. Since these files all have a fixed structure, i.e. 80 for
'SHOW.LST', 115 for 'LOG.SFW' and 19 for 'BULLID.TXT', and the indi-
vidual data records were often filled out with spaces, difficulties
arose with several text editors, such as in Turbo-Pascal, which remove
trailing spaces in a line. From now on, the last character in each
data record is a '!' to mark the end of the record.
- Version 1.2 is now more resistant to structure errors in the data
files as well as in the control files for The Box. In the meanwhile,
all files may have up to 128 Ctrl-Z characters at the end of a file.
Although The Box does not terminate any of its files with Ctrl-Z, it
finds the end of file correctly.
In the case of a data file structure error for the files ending with
'AMT' in the INFO and USER areas, the error message 'Integrity Error
File: (filename)' appears on the second line of the screen. If an en-
try is added or deleted in this file, the error condition is cor-
rected. WARNING: If the error occurs at a location other than at the
end of the file, the file will end at the error position, after the
SEND or ERASE commands are completed. The list files 'SHOW.LST' and
'LOG.SFW' are NOT updated accordingly. It is seldom however that such
errors are not found at the end of a file, as they only can occur due
to improper handling of the file by a text editor. If a file is writ-
ten by a text editor that appends a Ctrl-Z, an integrity error will
occur, which is located at the end of the file and therefore elimi-
nated after the next ERASE or SEND command.
- The VERSION command has been added, but is not documented further or
shown in a list. VERSION displays the version number as well as the
running time to-date in tenths of seconds.
- Files that could not be found at the time for store & forward are
marked with a '-'. S&F halts and continues with the next file at the
next S&F time.
- The automatically created Bulletin ID has been changed and is struc-
tured as follows:
01380ADK0MAV
! !!! !
! !!! +----------- Callsign of local mailbox (max. 6 characters)
! !!+------------- running number in HEX (2 characters)
! !! begins new with 01 every day
! !+-------------- last number of the year, e.g. 8 means 1988
! ! (1 character)
! +--------------- Month in HEX (1 character)
+----------------- Day in decimal (2 character)
The bulletin ID is stored in the first position of the file
'BULLID.TXT'.
Differences between version 1.2 and 1.2a
- The resynchronization was improved once again for version 1.2a. As a
reminder, problems with resynchronization are always due to hardware
problems. An exception to this is an excessively slow keyboard driver,
such as KEYB in DOS 3.3.
Differences between version 1.2a and 1.2b
- The connection procedure for S&F was completely revised and made much
more flexible, thereby allowing connection routes that do not conform
to NET/ROM, such as KAM nodes. As a result the format of the files
'mailbox.FOR' has been changed.
- The privileged user is assigned the timeout for mailboxes.
- Files created with SENDFILE must terminate with Ctrl-Z. This allows
the end sequence '***END' to be relayed also.
Differences between version 1.2b and 1.2c
- Errors in the TRANSFER command were eliminated.
- Files sent to a user with an SSID are stored without the SSID and are
thus correctly recognized as USER rather than INFO files.
- The CHECK command support the entry '< Call' in addition to the previ-
ous entry, so that all INFO files can now be checked which were com-
posed by 'Call'. Areas can also be specified. The output still con-
tains the maximum of 50 lines.
- The sequence number for LIST is now three digits long.
Differences between version 1.2c and 1.3
- The command VERSION now counts the processor running time as a whole
digit portion of the previous hours since the The Box was started.
- The Box is now multilingual, supporting up to four languages simulta-
neously. This resulted in numerous changes in the management of the
HELP files and the 'BOX.MSG' file. Prior to installing or updating The
Box, please read the associated directions.
- Due to the multilingual capability, changes in the structure of the
user files were necessary. The program 'USERCONV.EXE' performs this
task.
- If messages are waiting for a new user, the LIST command is automati-
cally initiated upon logging in.
Differences between version 1.3 and 1.3a
- Only minor changes were made in version 1.3a relative to 1.3 and a few
errors were eliminated. Likewise a few special circumstances during
S&F operation were taken into account.
Differences between version 1.3a and 1.4
- The sysop command SETUSR can now install callsigns that had not yet
logged in. Although this was previously confirmed with OK, the entry
did not actually occur.
- The lifetime management for general messages has been added. The SEND
command was thereby enhanced and the format of the 'SHOW.LST' file was
changed. The program 'CHECKUP.EXE' converts the old 'SHOW.LST' to the
new format and supplies the entries with lifetime values. If a version
prior to 1.4 was in use, it is necessary to transfer the old entries
from 'SHOW.LST' before using version 1.4 for the first time. The old
entries acquire a random lifetime. The following steps are required:
Switch into MB system directory: CD C:\MB\MBSYS
Call program CHECKUP.EXE: CHECKUP 14.07.88 365
This means that the new lifetimes for the old entries
will only be randomly generated in the range 1-365 for
entries after the 14th of July. A message receiving a
lifetime of 10 days will thus be deleted 10 days after
July 14, 1988 regardless of the creation date of the en-
try.
Copy the file SHOW.NEW: COPY SHOW.NEW SHOW.LST
CHECKUP.EXE creates a file with the name 'SHOW.NEW',
which has the new format and the generated lifetimes.
This file must be copied over the old file.
Delete files: DEL CHECKUP.EXE
DEL CHECKUP.NEW
This procedure is requested by UPDATE.
- When the limit of 50 is exceeded during CHECK or LIST and more entries
are selected, a message to this effect is displayed.
- The sysop command READFILE now supports files longer than 4 KByte.
Caution: before reading, a copy operation is performed; make certain
sufficient disk space is available!
- Switching to SYSTEM on the F10 channel is now subject to a timeout
based on the mailbox timeout value. This timeout counts since the last
system input processed by The Box as a command.
- The file 'SF-LISTE.SFW' now contains 12 instead of 10 entries.
- During store & forward, user messages receive precedence over the gen-
eral information entries. Only when no further user messages are to be
forwarded to the destination mailbox will the forwarding of general
messages begin.
The maximum number of entries in the forwarding files '*.SFW', not in-
cluding 'LOG.SFW', is limited to 100. Now a kind of wildcard can be
implemented, such as LA? for all LA callsigns and individual callsigns
may be blocked, e.g. #DK0MAV. (Please be sure to read point 2.8 of
this manual!)
- Privileged logins were abolished. Any authorized station can now be-
come privileged on any channel.
- Store & Forward can now be initiated manually by the command SF. Syn-
tax: SF <mailbox>, where <mailbox> must be a mailbox with which S&F
has already been performed.
- WASHUP now functions at any time, regardless whether S&F is currently
occurring.
- The COMBIOS drivers for COM1 and COM2 are no longer necessary. The Box
now has its own drivers for COM1/2 and are activated if no COMBIOS
driver is found at startup. It is also possible to use both, i.e. the
internal driver for COM1 and COMBIOS for COM2. Users with more than 2
serial ports will still have to use the COMBIOS drivers.
- The Box now supports nine instead of only eight channels. This caused
the file 'BOXINIT.TXT' to be lengthened by one record, hence change it
before installation. The ninth channel is selected with F9. The screen
standby function has been relocated to Alt-F9.
- The Box is now capable of AMTOR, without multitasking but as normal on
any PC or AT. For this operation, a second port as well as an AMT1
AMTOR unit are required. Those interested in further details should
contact DF3AV @ DK0MAV.
- The use of the READ command has been slightly modified and the output
of the S&F header has been shortened. For each header only the time
and callsign are displayed. If the longer headers are still desired,
append a '+' to the READ command, such as 'READ DF3AV 2-33 +'.
- The file 'QRT.TXT', which contained a brief signoff message, has been
replaced by 'QRT.*', where the '*' stands for the relevant language
code, e.g. 'QRT.DL'.
- The welcoming text of maximum 80 characters is stored in the file
'START.*', where the '*' stands for the corresponding language code,
e.g. 'START.F'. This text supplants line 35 in the message blocks of
BOX.MSG.
- The Baud rate of the TNCs is now given in BAUD in 'BOX.MSG'. Only the
values 9600 and 4800 are allowed. If an invalid Baud rate found, the
port will be initialized to 9600 Baud.
- Two new privileged commands have been added:
ERASEFILE: erases files like the DEL command in DOS.
COPYFILE: copies file like the COPY file in DOS.
Exercise caution when using the COPYFILE command remotely! If a file
is copied to A:, a formatted diskette must be in the drive, otherwise
the message 'Abort, Retry, Ignore' appears on the screen and the whole
system comes to a halt.
Differences between version 1.4 and 1.5
- Version 1.5 supports a color display of the texts. The configuration
file was correspondingly modified.
- The Box now needs the file 'CONFIG.BOX' to determine the paths, baud
rates and colors.
- The file 'BOX.MSG' now only contains the languages, no longer any con-
figuration information. The eight lines of configuration have been
transferred to the file 'CONFIG.BOX'. (Refer to 1.9 in this manual)
- The number of different topics supported in 'LIFETIME.BOX' has been
doubled from 100 to 200.
- The number of users of The Box has been extended from 1500 to unlim-
ited.
- The number of languages has been increased from 4 to 6.
- The setting for the default language on a channel is stored in the new
file 'CONFIG.BOX'. (See 1.9 of this manual)
- The number of mailbox stations in 'SF-LISTE.SFW' was increased by ten
entries, requiring the new 'SF-LISTE.SFW' file to be enlarged. S&F can
be initiated to several mailboxes simultaneously (naturally not on the
same channel).
- If the commands LIST and READ are used for INFO files without argu-
ments, all new entries in the desired topic since the last login are
output. For LIST however never more than the limit of 50 entries.
- The command interpreter now has a FIFO (first-in/first-out) buffer, so
that commands can now be entered one after another even during contin-
uous output and will be processed sequentially without interrupting
the current output. The FIFO can be cancelled with an empty entry,
i.e. a frame with only CR at the start.
The sysop has a retrieve feature. His last six commands are buffered
and can be displayed by pressing the ESC key, modified and then
reused.
When entering lifetimes, there no longer is a limit associated with the
topic name. Indeed each entry in the INFO files can receive any life-
time between 0 and 999. As in version 1.4, lifetime 0 means that the
message is not automatically deleted. If no lifetime is supplied, the
lifetime of the corresponding topic will be used as default.
- The TRANSFER command was enhanced so that a destination mailbox as
well as a new lifetime may now also be supplied. If the destination
mailbox is omitted for USER messages, The Box looks for MyBBS of the
user. If nothing is found, the message is not forwarded. If the life-
time is not supplied for the destination INFOs, the lifetime of the
associated topic is assumed. Examples for the correct syntax are as
follows:
'TRANSFER ALLE 23 > ALL # 30'
or 'TRANSFER DF3AV 1 > DG3SAJ @ DB0CZ'
- Store & Forward mailboxes must terminate the texts to be forwarded
with Ctrl-Z as '***END' is now transmitted.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Appendix B
What to do if...
In the meanwhile many comments have come in regarding errors during execution
of The Box. Often these are due to simple installation errors, which I would
like to discuss:
Error: The Box locks up after a user entered the command ERASE, also oc-
curs after other commands when many users are logged in.
Solution: The parameter FILES in 'CONFIG.SYS' is possibly set too low. For
operation with The Box, set 'FILES=20', at least.
Error: The TNC resynchronizes. (Only after version 1.1a, previously it
only reported an incorrect channel number.)
Solution: Resynchronization always indicates that the RS232 connection be-
tween the computer and TNC is not working correctly. The TNCs
should also be tried at 4800 Baud. Sometimes the reason was a
TNC2C running at 2.45 MHz. After modifying it for 4.9 MHz opera-
tion, the problem was solved. Furthermore, the RS232 drivers in
the TNCs could be at fault. LM324s were used as RS232 drivers in
the EURO-TNCs and original TAPR TNC2s as well as MFJs and should
be immediately replaced with TL084s, which are pin compatible and
have a much better slew rate.
Other possible causes are certain conditions in the ROM BIOS of
the computer. For example, in many keyboard drivers for DOS the
combination of ' and S causes a bell to sound. This bell is gen-
erated by the processor. So that this bell really sounds like a
bell, all interrupts are switched off for the duration of the
tone, with the consequence that characters on the RS232 line are
lost, requiring resynchronization. The keyboard driver KEYB for
DOS 3.3 has proved to be excessively slow. Another keyboard
driver should be used instead, perhaps the good old KEYBGR.
Error: Following ERASE or TRANSFER, the entries displayed by CHECK are
no longer current.
Solution: In this case a format error in the file 'SHOW.LST' has occurred.
The record format in this file is 83 characters (up to version
1.4, 80 characters) and can be corrected using a text editor. In
this case an alignment is absolutely necessary, i.e. the entry
numbers of the topics should be confirmed to point to the correct
entry in the topic. Use the CHECK command and verify the individ-
ual topics with the LIST command. The output from LIST corre-
sponds to the actual messages since LIST physically scans the
file. This error should normally never occur.
Error: Messages are being forwarded under the wrong topic name and ti-
tle.
Solution: This is a similar problem to that just described, although this
affects the file 'LOG.SFW'. In this case, use a text editor to
verify and correct the entries (115 bytes per record) in conjunc-
tion with the output from LIST. This error should also never oc-
cur normally.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- END -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*