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WTIME.EXE (Version 1.0) Copyright (c) 1992 John Deurbrouck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Published in PC Magazine October 27, 1992 (Utilities)
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WTIME:
WTIME uses your modem to synchronize the clock in your PC with
that of the Automatic Computer Time Service (ACT), which is maintained
by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This program can
be run under Windows 3.x or OS/2's Windows implementation. With a click
of the mouse, a call taking less than 1 minute will ensure that your
date/time stamp is accurate. If you wish, you can even have WTIME make
the call automatically each time you bring up Windows.
To recompile the C source code, you'll need Microsoft Quick C for Windows,
Version 1.0; Microsoft C++, Version, 7.0; Borland C++, Version 3.0; or
Borland's Turbo C++ for Windows, Version 1.0.
USING WTIME
In order to install WTIME, you will need to copy two files--WTIME.EXE
and WTIME.HLP--into a directory where Windows can find them. You can run
WTIME with Windows' File Run command in the Program Manager, or you can add
WTIME to a Program Manager group by using File New. Note that if you later
decide that you want to run the program every time you load Windows, you
simply need to change the WTIME on the command line to WTIME automatic.
When started, WTIME displays a conventional window with three
submenus: File, Modem, and Help. The first time you use the program you
must begin by selecting Modem Setup, which allows you to configure WTIME.
(The Modem Call and Modem Hangup options are initially grayed out.)
I'll discuss the configuration process below, but since it takes longer
to describe than to do, let me start with how WTIME works once your
modem is ready to use it.
Setting the time could hardly be simpler: When you select Modem
Call, WTIME does the rest. If you have an external modem, you can monitor
the program's progress by watching your modem's lights. In any case,
you'll see the succession of messages that WTIME puts up in its window
(``sending escape sequence,'' ``looking for data,'' and so on). And if
you keep Windows' CLOCK visible at the same time, you'll shortly see it
jump to the correct time at the instant WTIME sets it. WTIME will then
automatically send an escape sequence in order to terminate the call.
While a call is in progress, you can cancel it at any time by
selecting Modem Hang Up. Selecting File Exit (the only option under the
File menu heading) or double-clicking the system menu will shut down
the program; if a call is in progress, WTIME will not exit until the
modem is properly reset.
When using WTIME, you may notice one minor bug in Windows 3.1's CLOCK.
If the digital clock display is active and the time shifts from an hour
that has two digits (for example, 10:02) to one with one digit
(such as 9:59), CLOCK does not always erase the leading digit. Thus,
in this case, the display may end up reading 19:59! Just resize the
window slightly to force a redraw and the superfluous digit will
disappear.
SETTING UP WTIME
The Modem Setup dialog box, lets you configure WTIME for your time
zone, daylight saving time preference, dial string, and COM port.
WTIME's time zone setting, including (when applicable) an X in the
Daylight Savings Time box, reflects the difference between your local
time and the Greenwich mean time (GMT), which the ACTS reports.
The menu choices--eastern, central, mountain, and Pacific--cover most
readers' locales. Saving your choice changes the TimeOffset entry in
the [WTime] section that WTIME creates in your WIN.INI file. The
TimeOffset entry simply expresses the number of minutes by which your
time zone differs from that of the GMT.
If you don't live in one of the preprogrammed time zones, you can
still use WTIME by changing the TimeOffset number in WIN.INI with a text
editor. Newfoundland, for example, is 90 minutes in advance of eastern
time. Since the EST TimeOffset is -300, setting TimeOffset to -210
configures WTIME for Newfoundland. Similarly, Alaska's TimeOffset is
-540 (60 minutes behind Pacific time's 2D480), and Hawaii's is -660
(3 hours, or 180 minutes, behind Pacific time). With manual editing
you can also intentionally set your clock a bit slow or fast. The
central time zone's normal TimeOffset, for example, is -360.
If you wanted to set the clock on your PC to run 5 minutes fast, all you
would have to do is set TimeOffset to -355.
Valid values for TimeOffset range from -1439 (23 hours 59 minutes
before the GMT) to 1439 (23 hours 59 minutes after the GMT). Since
several states and locations outside the United States do not observe
daylight saving time, the WTIME utility provides a Use Daylight Savings
Time check box.
The Modem Dial String control allows you to change the string your
modem uses to dial the ACTS. WTIME allows a dial string of up to 79
characters.
The default string
ATDT13034944774
should work for most Hayes-compatible modems when you don't need to go
through a PBX. The AT signals the modem that a command is about to follow.
The DT specifies Touch-tone dialing, and 13034944774 is the phone number
of the atomic clock you want to reach (303-494-4774). You can insert the
hyphens in the actual dial string if you wish; the modem will ignore them.
You can change the dial string. For older, pulse-dialing systems,
you'll need to change the DT to DP, for example. To dial 9 and pause
for 2 seconds before actually dialing the phone number, change the dial
string to
ATDT9,,13034944774
You might also want to add an M (for Mute) before the DT, to produce
silent operation. Thus your dial string might look like this:
ATMDT13034944774
One beta-tester even charged WTIME calls to his credit card. This
involved several long sequences of digits separated by series of commas.
If you do this, however, don't forget that anyone looking at your
WIN.INI will see your phone credit card number!
The strings shown above will work for most modems. You may need to
check your modem's manual for the proper dialing sequence if the default
and modified strings don't work for you.
The last item you need to configure is the COM port. You may choose
COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4 as the port to which your modem is attached.
The modem itself must be capable of operating at 1,200 bits per second
(the fastest speed the ACTS currently supports), and Windows must be
configured correctly to handle the port. If the TERMINAL program that
comes with Windows works on your system, WTIME should handle your modem
without a problem.
At any time, you can choose Reset Defaults, Save Configuration, or
Cancel. Reset Defaults restores the original modem dial string, sets the
time zone to Eastern, turns on the Daylight Savings Time option, and sets
the COM port to COM1. Save Configuration writes your selected values to
WIN.INI, and Cancel closes the Setup Modem dialog box without affecting
your existing setup.
You can uninstall WTIME by using NOTEPAD or SYSEDIT to delete the
[WTime] section from WIN.INI. Then you just delete WTIME.EXE and
WTIME.HLP. You'll also want to delete WTIME's icon in the Program
Manager if you've set it up there. This process has been documented in
WTIME's on-line help, and it cleanly eliminates WTIME from your system.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Deurbrouck is a C and 80x86 assembly programmer who works on
PC platforms.