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1996-02-29
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Contents
GeoClock for Windows version 7.2
What is GeoClock
Getting Started
Common Problems
Main Bar
File
Edit GEOn.DAT
Edir GEOCLOCK.INI
Make Zoom Up
Setup
Screen Saver Setup
Exit
Maps
World
Zoom Up
Zoom Home
Random
Map List
Controls
Save Settings
Time Control
Window Controls
Options
Command Entry
Back
City/Country
Lat/Long Lines
Actions
Where is
Distance
Scripts
Reset
Help
HAM radio
Advanced Topics
Registration
What's New
What Is GeoClock
"It's inconceivable that you won't like this program."
-- Jerry Pournelle, BYTE
GeoClock shows the current time (based on your computer's clock) with a high
quality map of the earth. The current sun position is displayed, and the
parts of the earth in sunlight and twilight are highlighted. This display is
automatically updated every few seconds. Local sunrise, sunset, the sun's
azimuth and elevation, and times around the world are also displayed. A
variety of map backgrounds and other options are available. A color graphics
adapter (640x480x16 or better) and a hard disk are required. Both DOS and
Windows 3.x versions are included with registration.
GeoClock is distributed as shareware. This means that if you use and enjoy
the program, you are expected to register it. See "Ordering GeoClock" for
details. The registered version includes the zoom, distance measuring, and
city time display functions, and at least 40 maps.
GeoClock
Joseph R Ahlgren
2218 N Tuckahoe St
Arlington VA 22205
Voice 703-241-2661
BBS 703-241-7980
FAX 703-241-5809
CompuServe 70461,2340 (Joe Ahlgren)
Internet jahlgren@capaccess.org
Getting Started
See also:
Initial Setup
System Requirements
Using GeoClock
If you have purchased the registered version of GeoClock for Windows, there is
a SETUP program on the distribution disk that installs and customizes
GeoClock.
GeoClock is available in both DOS and Windows versions. GeoClock for Windows
is distributed in the file GCKWINxx.ZIP (where xx is the version number).
This ZIP has file has the following files:
GEOCKWIN.EXE (GeoClock for Windows executable file)
GEOCKWIN.HLP (GeoClock for Windows Help file)
USCITY.BIN (US city data base)
WRLDCITY.BIN (world city data base)
GECONFIG.DAT (initial configuration information)
GEOCLOCK.DAT (default map annotation file)
GEOn.DAT (n=1,2,2000, and 2501) (Map annotation files)
MAPn.EGA (n=1,2,2000, and 2501) (Map graphics files)
(The distribution file for GeoClock for DOS is GEOCLKxx.ZIP. This file has
all the files listed above, except the first two, plus the special files
required for DOS)
In addition, there is an extra file which contains more maps and some
additional features:
MAPn.EGA (n=3,4,5)
GEOn.DAT (n=3,4,5)
ZIPCODES.BIN (zip code configuration file)
To set up GeoClock, you must at a minimum unZIP the GCKWINxx.ZIP file to a
directory made for GeoClock. If you have a version of GeoClock for DOS, you
should place the Windows files in the same directory. You can unZIP other
GeoClock files if you have them. If you have a registered version of GeoClock
for DOS, you should run the REGISTER program to register the Windows version.
At this point you can set up an icon for GEOCKWIN.EXE and run the program.
GeoClock will take you though a setup menu the first time you run it.
When GeoClock for Windows runs, it creates several files:
GCWINDEX.BIN (list of maps)
GCWZOOMU.BIN (zoom up control file)
GEOCLOCK.INI (GeoClock for Windows configuration information)
GeoClock does *NOT* make any changes to Windows files, or add any DLLs to
Windows.
Common Problems
1. Contrast is poor. Click FILE/SETUP. Make sure the proper
box is checked in the Video radio box. In particular, if you have a
black/grey/white monitor, be sure the Grey box is checked. If you have a 16
color system, check the 16 color box.
2. Out of Resources message. This is caused by some old video drivers in 65K
and 16M color modes. If you can get GeoClock running, when a map is
displayed, press "C" and then enter NOGLYPH and return. You may have to check
the OK box a few times before it takes. If this eliminates the Out of
Resources messages, click FILE/GEOCLOCK.INI and add the line
NOGLYPH and save the file. It is also possible to start GEOCKWIN.EXE with
NOGLYPH on the command line. See NOGLYPH
3. Slow updates. Click CONTROLS/TIME CONTROLS, and set the
Foreground Update time to 0.01. You might want to save this setting (click
CONTROLS/SAVE SETTINGS ON EXIT ) if it helps. The Windows
version of GeoClock is inherently much slower than the DOS version. Also, the
update time is more or less proportional to the screen area, so making the
window smaller will increase the speed.
4. Missing maps when installing update. GeoClock updates must be installed
to the same directory as the original registered copy of GeoClock for the
update to incorporate all the original programs and maps. Reinstall.
5. The sun is not in the right place or local times are not correct. This is
usually caused by your PC's system clock not being set to the correct time
(check AM/PM if you are not using a 24 hour clock), or by having a wrong or
missing PCZONE command in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI file. Click the
FILE/SETUP menu item to set the correct time zone.
6. Your home town is not displayed, or is in the wrong place, or your local
time zone is not displayed. Run the FILE/SETUP menu item to provide the
required information. If your city is not listed in the setup, and your zip
code covers a very large area, you might want to get your latitude and
longitude from a good atlas, your local airport or weather station, or from
the GeoClock BBS.
7. BuckMaster CDROM does not work with GeoClock. Starting with the October
1995 release, BuckMaster has changed the format of the data files that
GeoClock uses, and will not release the new format. GeoClock does support the
QRZ CDROM, which is much less expensive and more available than the BuckMaster
disk, as well as the BuckMaster disks that contain the HAMCALL.129 file.
Using GeoClock
GeoClock is available for DOS and for Windows 3.x. Both versions use a
similar interface and share most files.
GeoClock for Windows is distributed in the GCKWINxx.ZIP (where xx is the
version number). This file contains:
GEOCKWIN.EXE (executable file)
GEOCKWIN.HLP (Windows help file)
If you already have a registered copy of the DOS version or a previous
GeoClock for Windows version, unZIP the file into the directory with the prior
GeoClock materials, and then run the REGISTER program. If you are installing
new a registered version of GeoClock for Windows, execute the SETUP program on
the GeoClock for Windows diskette.
After the files have been installed, you can execute GEOCKWIN using the
program manager, or by setting up an icon for the program. The first time
GEOCKWIN is run, it will automatically take you though the customization and
setup procedure.
There are a variety of way to navigate through the maps. The easiest is to
click the left mouse button over an area of interest. This displays the
highest resolution map containing that point. Clicking the right mouse button
displays successively large area maps until the world map is reached. You can
also use the Gazetteer function (press W or select Actions|Where Is) to bring
up the most detailed map containing a particular city. You can also use the
functions in the map menu, including map list, to select a map.
You can access many functions with a single key press or mouse
click.
Single Key Commands
Important: If you are running without a border, the main menu
bar will not appear, and you must use these single key commands.
In particular, pressing N will activate the
windows controls menu so that the menu bar can be restored.
There are a number of functions which can be controlled by a single keystroke
or a mouse click:
Function Key 1 Help!
? Help!
C Command Entry
D Distance measurement
K Switch back to previous map
L Toggle latitude/longitude display
M Select map from list
N Window Controls
O Major Options
R Reset time, scripts, etc
S Set speed of time passage
T Set Time
U Set Update Interval
W Where Is...
X Exit
Y Toggle between city and country display
0..9 Start script
<space> Terminate script
Left-clicking the mouse over a point on the map will zoom down to the most
detailed map containing that point.
Right-clicking the mouse over the map will zoom up to the next less detailed
map.
System Requirements
GeoClock for windows will run on a minimal windows system - VGA, 4 MB RAM,
80286 processor. However, the performance will be extremely poor on such a
system. We recommend as a minimum:
486DX33 processor
8 MB RAM
256 color display
800x600 display
Whats New
GeoClock for Windows runs under Windows 3.x. It uses the same files and
utility programs as the DOS version, and ordinarily both versions should be
installed in the same directory. The primary features in the Windows version
that are not available in the DOS version are:
+ Maps may be scaled to any size
+ Runs in the background or foreground
+ Online setup
+ Simplified interaction
The primary features in the DOS version that are not in the Windows version
are:
- Advanced zoom and distance functions
- GeoGlobe
The Windows 3.x version has a few limitations due to Windows 3.x
characteristics:
- Non-rectangular maps limited to 800x600
- Much slower update times
- Less accurate timing
- Much larger program size.
New in 7.2 versus 7.0 are
- Better responsiveness
- Handling 16 color, grey scale, and 640x480 resolution systems automatically
- Support for the QRZ CD-ROM in the HAM package
- Specific network support
- True windows screen saver mode
- Wallpaper mode
File
File Menu
Quit
Edit GEOn.DAT
Edir GEOCLOCK.INI
Setup
Quit
Pressing Q, selecting this menu item, or pressing ESCape twice terminates
GeoClock and closes all GeoClock Windows.
Edit DAT files
Annotation and other map display characteristics are controlled by text files.
For any particular map (for example, MAP1), there is a corresponding text file
(for example, GEO1.DAT) that has the specific custom characteristics for that
map. The GECONFIG.DAT and GEOCLOCK.INI files have customization data that
applies to all maps. These files ordinarily do not need to be changed by the
user, but they may be edited using the menu items. The various commands and
their syntax and functions are described in detail in the Commands
section of help.
Make Zoom Up Table
In most GeoClock installations, more than one map can serve as the world map
(the map at the top of the zoom hierarchy). The menu item allows the user to
select the particular map to be used as the world map.
You can develop your own zoom hierarchy by using the DOS progran MAKEZOOM with
the W parameter:
MAKEZOOM W
See the GeoClock for DOS documentation for more information about this
program.
Set Up
GeoClock for Windows must be configured for your particular location. In
particular, the time zone of your computer's clock MUST be set correctly, or
all the times, the sun and moon positions, and the sunlight curve, will be
incorrect.
To set up GeoClock, selected the Setup item from the Files menu. (The setup
program is run automatically the first time you start GeoClock).
First, check the Video Radio-Group in the upper right corner. Automatic works
on most systems, but if you have a shade-of-grey rather than a color monitor,
you should check the "grey" box.
There are three ways to specify your location, which is used to calculate sun
rise and set times, and to mark your location on the maps.
1) If you live in the US, the most accurate way is to use the "Init by
ZipCode" button. By specifying your 5 digit postal zip code, your location
accurate to a few kilometers, and your time zone, will be set. After typing
your zip code, you must enter your city name in the box (this area will show
ENTER_NAME_FOR_ZIP_CODE_00000). If you get the message INVALID_ZIP_CODE
(which can mean that you have a new zip code not in the table GeoClock uses,
or a zip code outside the 50 states), you must use one of the other methods.
2) You can use the "Init by LookUp" button. This will allow you to pick your
location from about 4000 cities around the world using the GeoClock Gazetteer.
Select the "US city" or "World City" radio buttons to determine which data
base to use. You can sort by city name or by state/country name. Double
click the city you want, or click the OK button when the city is highlighted.
If your city does not appear, you should pick the city that is closest and is
in the same time zone.
3) You can enter the city and location manually. Type the city name,
latitude and longitude in the appropriate boxes. Make sure the latitude and
longitude are in the correct format.
You select when your city will be displayed by the "Show City" radio group.
If you select "never", you r city will only appear on the maps if it happens
to be included in the standard data file for that map. If you select "when on
map", your city will appear on the map, and your city will be used for showing
sun rise and sunset and local time, whenever the city fits on the map
displayed. If the city does not fit on the map displayed, the primary city in
the standard data file for that map will be used. If you select "always",
your city will be displayed on the map if it fits, but will always be used for
sun rise and sunset and local time zone information.
Once your city and location are selected, you must set the time zone
information. If you use methods 1 or 2, the time zone fields will
automatically be filled in. There is usually no reason to change these
settings. If you use method 3, it is best to use method 2 to set to a close
city in the same time zone, then use method 3 to change to city and location.
If you need to change the time zone, use the drop down list to pick the proper
zone. The drop down list shows the GeoClock time zone code name, then the
name(s) of the standard and summer zones (for example, ET is EDT in the
summer, and EST the rest of the year), and the hours from UTC (GMT) for
standard and summer time (for ET, -5 and -4). The location time zone is the
time zone your location uses. The PC time zone is for the time zone your PC
is set to. Usually this is the same as the local zone, but some PC users keep
the PC clock on UTC, or on standard time all year, and these users must set
the PC time zone to that zone.
When you click OK, this configuration information will be written to the
GEOCLOCK.INI file and will be used every time GeoClock starts.
Screen Saver Setup
GeoClock can be setup as a Windows screen saver. After GeoClock is initially
configured from this menu, you can select, configure, and test the screen
saver from the Windows Control Panel (Desktop).
In the upper left is a radio group that specifies what is to be done while the
screen saver is active. The first choice is to display a single map, selected
by clicking the "select map" button. The second allows maps to be changed at
fixed intervals. The maps are chosen at random from the types checked in the
"Random Maps" check boxes. The third, the most flexible method, allows a
script to be used to determine the screen saver action. Be sure to include a
REPEAT command at the end of the script so that the map changing continues.
The "update" time is the number of seconds that the screen saver waits between
screen updates. This permits processing by other windows programs that are
still running. This value should be fairly large (30 seconds or more) if you
frequently have long tasks (like a data base update or network server
activities) running when the screen saver because active.
The "change map" time is the minimum number of seconds between changing maps
when using the second screen saver mode (random maps). The actual time may be
somewhat larger, depending on the update time, the load from other running
programs, and the speed of your system.
The "show seconds" checkbox controls whether seconds are shown in the time box
at the bottom of the screen. If you are not updating frequently, the seconds
data can be in error, so it may be better not to display it.
The "show border" checkbox controls whether a windows border and title bar are
display. Ordinarily, this should not be displayed in a screen saver, so it
should not be checked.
If you set a password , before the screen saver terminates you
will be asked to supply the password. The screen saver will not terminate
unless the correct password is entered.
As with all screen savers, when the GeoClock screen saver is activated by
Windows, any key press or mouse movement will terminate the program.
See Screen Saver and Wallpaper , Scripts , and
Power for more detailed technical information.
Screen Saver Password
The screen saver mode of GeoClock supports password protection. If a password
is specified when the screen saver is set up, this password must be supplied
to shut down the screen saver. This, in theory, protects your computer if you
walk away while running a sensitive application or have access to sensitive
files.
Click the "set" button on the GeoClock screen saver setup menu
to set the password. You can type a password in the "New Password" edit box.
If the "old password required" box is checked, you must enter your current
password in the "Old Password" box before a new password will be accepted or
that box or the "use password" box can be unchecked.
Map Menu
These menu items allow you to select maps in a variety of ways. In addition,
clicking the left mouse button on a point on the current map will bring up the
most detailed map available containing that point, and clicking the right
button will select less detailed maps containing the map displayed, until the
world map is reached. (See also ZOOMFRACT ).
World
Zoom Up
Zoom Home
Random
Back
Map List
World
Selecting this menu item changes to the map at the top of the zoom sequence.
This is usually a map of the world.
Zoom Up
Selecting this menu item, or clicking on the map with the right mouse button,
moves to the next larger map containing the currently displayed map.
Zoom Home
Selecting this menu item switches to the smallest map containing the home town
selected for this installation. See setup .
Random
Selecting this menu item displays a map chosen at random from all available
maps. This will always be different from the currently displayed map.
Back
Pressing "K" or selecting this menu item displays the map prior to the current
maps (goes bacK).
Map List
Selecting this menu item, or pressing the "M" key, displays a list of all
available maps. The maps are sorted by size, title, or number according to
the "Sort Method" radio box. Double clicking an entry, or selecting an entry
and then clicking OK, will display the selected map.
Controls
These menu items provide ways to control the appearance of GeoClock.
Save Settings
Time Control
Window Controls
Options
Command Entry
City/Country
Lat/Long Lines
Save Settings
This check item determines whether or not the user settings, such as window
sizes and positions, are save between GeoClock runs. The setting information
is written to the GEOCLOCK.INI file. To save the current settings, you can
toggle the Save Settings button on the Controls|Window Controls menu item.
Command Entry
GeoClock has a large number of commands which may be used to control the
display. The most commonly used commands have been implemented on the mneu
bar at the top of the screen. You can activate any of these commands by
clicking the approprate menu item (such as Controls|Lat/Long). Many commands
can be activate by pressing a single letter (such as "L" for Lat/Long) Other
commands (such as SUNANGLE) may be included in the configuration file, in a
data file, on the GeoClock command line, or entered interactively by pressing
the C (for Command) key while GeoClock is displaying a map.
The commands are described in detail in another section of help.
Time Control
This dialog box allows the current time to be changed (this affects GeoClock
time display but not the system time), and also allows the update intervals to
be changed.
The first six spin boxes change the current time. The hours are based on a 24
hour clock. Above the hours spin box is an indication of the time zone to
which the time corresponds.
The Fgnd Update box allows the GeoClock foreground update interval to be
changed. This is the number of seconds that GeoClock will remain idle between
screen refreshes while GeoClock is in the foreground. 0 seconds indicates
that GeoClock will update continuously. The default value is 5 seconds.
The Bgnd Update box allows the GeoClock foreground update interval to be
changed. This is the number of seconds that GeoClock will remain idle between
screen refreshes while GeoClock is in the background. 0 seconds indicates
that GeoClock will update continuously. This setting is not recommended
because other applications will become sluggish. The default value is 60
seconds.
The Time Rate box determines how much time will appear to pass every time the
screen is updated. For example, 24 causes the displayed time to change by 24
hours (1 day) every time the screen is updated. This feature can be used to
see how the sun and moon and sunlight curves change over the day or season.
Window Controls
This dialog box controls how GeoClock will be displayed on the screen. The X
and Y spin boxes on the right allow the width and height of the map display to
be varied. These can be set to 640x480, or 800x600, by clicking the
appropriate button.
The radio buttons in the upper left set how GeoClock will respond to window
size changes. If "Full Control" is selected, the window may be set to any
size. If "4x3 aspect" is selected, the window will be constrained to
maintaining a 4x3 aspect ratio, which gives the most accurate map display. If
the window size is changed while this button is selected, whichever dimension
is changed last will be held, while the other dimension will be changed to
maintain 4x3. For example, if the left vertical side is dragged left so that
the width is 720 pixels, the height will be changed to 540 pixels.
The radio buttons in the middle left control the window state. Selecting
"Maximize" maximizes the window, "Minimize" minimizes the window, and "Normal"
restores the window to the last non-maximum non-minimum state. These are
equivalent to the maximize, minimize, and restore buttons and system menu
choices.
The upper check box on the left controls whether or not the display will be
forced into the background. If the box is checked, GeoClock will always run
as the bottom-most window. Combined with the Maximized command, this makes
GeoClock into wallpaper.
The lower check box on the left enables or disables the display of the menu
bar, title bar, and border of the map window. This display is disabled, the
map display will be somewhat larger, but the mouse cannot be used to change
window size or position, or select menu items. All hot keys still function in
this mode. Therefore, pressing "N" will bring up this dialog box and the bars
and borders can be reenabled.
Options
This menu allows you to change to eight most commonly used values in GeoClock.
Select the item by clicking the appropriate radio button on the left, then
select a new value by clicking the appropriate radio button on the right. You
can make the change effective in this run only, or you can make the value the
new default value for GeoClock (writting the value to GEOCLOCK.INI) or the
value for that map only (writting the value to GEOn.DAT).
Legend controls the data displayed at the bottom of the
screen
Display Mode controls how sun shading is displayed
Units controls statute/nautical miles in the
distance function
Moon controls the display of the moon symbol and ephemeris data
City Time Format controls showing day ahead/behind with arrows
Year Format selectes between two and four digit year
format
Show Seconds controls the display of time seconds
Show Day of Week controls showing the day of week
Month Format controls showing text or number months
City/Country
Pressing "Y" or selecting this menu item toggles between showing city names
and country names on the maps.
Lat/Long Lines
Pressing "L" or selecting this menu item toggles between showing or not
showing latitude and longitude lines on the maps.
Actions
These selections control special features of GeoClock.
Where is
Distance
Scripts
Where is
GeoClock has a data base with about 4000 cities around the world. Using this
dialog box, you can select any one and display the city on the best map
containing that place, in addition to finding the current local time, sun
rise, and sunset.
The radio boxes on the right control whether to display US or world cities,
and whether to sort the cities by city name or country/state name. Pressing a
letter key will advance the display to the first city (or country/state)
starting with that letter. The selected city will be displayed in the box
along with the current local time.
Selecting OK will display that city on the best map GeoClock has containing
the city. Selecting Ignore will continue to display the current city.
Selecting Cancel will restore the display of the primary city on that map.
Distance
Clicking on this menu item, or pressing D, starts a special two point distance
measuring function. One point is fixed and the other is controlled by the
mouse. Pressing a mouse button, or pressing ENTER, moves the first point to
the current mouse position. At the bottom of the screen, the coordinates of
both points, the distance between them, and the azimuths between them are
displayed. To exit the distance function, click the reset menu item, or press
ESCape.
Scripts
10 scripts can be played by GeoClock. Each script consists of GeoClock
command lines (including a map selection command) and optionally a time (by
default, 60 seconds). At the end of the specified interval, the next command
line in the script is executed. Scripts can be edited and controlled from the
Actions|Scripts... menu item.
One way to start a script is to press a number key (0 through 9). The
corresponding script file is named GEOSCR0.DAT through GEOSRC9.DAT. Another
way to invoke a script is to use the command SCRIPTx, where x is any number.
The corresponding script file is GEOSCRx.DAT. If this command is on the
command line in GECONFIG.DAT or in GEOCLOCK.INI, that script is executed as
soon as GeoClock starts. If not, and if GEOSCR0.DAT exists, it is executed
automatically when GeoClock is started. If the script encounters a REPEAT
command, the script restarts at the beginning of the file. If the script
encounters a HALT command, GeoClock immediately stops and returns to DOS. The
script stops when the end of the script file is reached, or any key is
pressed.
Example:
GEOSCR9.DAT contains:
MAP1 LINE30 SHOWLL
MAP2 LINE5
RANDOM 30 NOLINE
REPEAT
When 9 is pressed, MAP1 with LINE30 and SHOWLL is displayed for 15 seconds.
then MAP2 with LINE5 is displayed for 15 seconds, then a randomly selected map
is displayed for 30 seconds with NOLINE, and the sequence repeats.
Scripts can also be used as macro keys. For example, if GEOSCR1.DAT contains:
MAPP1
then when 1 is pressed, the next sequential map in map number sequence is
displayed. If GEOSCR2.DAT contains:
T+0.0416666667
then when 2 is pressed, the current time is advanced by one hour (1/24 day).
Reset
Pressing "R" or selecting this menu item sets the GeoClock time to the current
system time, and changes the update intervals to their default values, and
sets the time passage to real time.
Help Menu
Clicking the Help item in this menu starts the GeoClock help system.
Clicking the About item in this menu gives basic information about the
GeoClock program, including version number and registration status. You can
start the registration screen by clicking the REGISTER
button, or get information about registering by clicking the WHY button.
Clicking the INFO button gives some technical information that may be usefull
in debugging.
Clicking the Register item in this menu starts the registration
screen.
Advanced Topics
These topics cover a variety of technical aspects of GeoClock
About Lat/Long
Configuring For Your Time Zone
About Sunrise and Sunset
About The Terminator
City Locations on Maps
Finding Your Latitude and Longitude
City Name Placement and Time Display
Ephemeris Data and Accuracy
Software structure
Map Generation System
Screen Saver and Wallpaper
About Time Zones
Time zones are more complicated than most people think. To begin with, they
change with longitude, so that the sun is approximately overhead at noon.
However, various political decisions based on uniformity, local custom, and
how to handle daylight saving time (or summer time), have made time zones very
complex. There are a number of changes every year, and countries can and do
change their time systems without warning.
Data for all known time zones (about 100, including permutations of daylight
saving time) are distributed with GeoClock. They are included in the
GEOZONES.DAT file.
To specify a time zone, several items are needed. First, how the time zone
relates to the standard time zone must be defined. This zone is variously
called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) or Zulu
Time (Z). US Eastern Standard Time is five hours behind (earlier than) GMT.
Next, the dates and times when the zone changes to and from summer time must
be defined. US Eastern Time goes to summer time on April 7, 1991 at 0700 GMT,
and returns to standard time on October 27, 1991 at 0700 GMT. Finally, names
for the time zone and the standard and summer times must be specified. As an
example, US Eastern Time from April 1991 to April 1992 is specified by:
ZONE ET EST -5 EDT -4 91/04/07:7 91/10/27:7
ET is the name the time zone is referred to by all GeoClock commands. The
definition states that the zone is called EST and is 5 hours behind GMT,
except between 91/04/07 0700 GMT and 91/10/27 0700 GMT, when it is called EDT
and is 4 hours behind GMT. A special time zone called ST gives true local sun
time.
If the ZONE commands are not for the correct year, GeoClock will automatically
update. This update is close but not always correct, and countries' summer
time definitions can change. Therefore, I recommend that the ZONE commands be
kept current. A GEOZONES.DAT file with current time zone data is available on
the GeoClock Bulletin Board.
The PCZONE command sets the relationship between the local time on the PC's
clock and GMT, i.e., declares which time zone the PC's clock is in. It takes
one parameter - a time zone code, as defined in the ZONE command. For example,
if you use Eastern Time, specify:
PCZONE ET
This command is best used in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI files.
About Lat/Long
Every point on the Earth's surface has an address. The first part of the
address is the latitude, which is the distance north or south of the equator.
The second part of the address is the longitude, which is the distance east or
west of a line going from the north pole to the south pole through Greenwich,
England (this is called the Greenwich meridian). Since the Earth is a sphere,
these distances are expressed as angles.
There are several ways to express these angles. The first system was invented
by the Babylonians about 5000 years ago. It divides angles into 360 degrees
(°), each degree into 60 minutes ('), and each minute into 60 seconds (").
The Washington Monument is 38° 53' 21.5" north of the equator, and 77° 2' 8.0"
west of the Greenwich meridian in this system. This location is accurate to
about 60 feet, or 0.5 seconds. GeoClock can use this system. For example, the
Washington Monument is at 38x53x21.5N 77x2x8.0W
A more modern system gives these same angles as decimal degrees. North
latitudes and east longitudes are positive, while south and west are negative.
GeoClock can use this system also. It is used for data files distributed with
GeoClock. For example, the Washington Monument is at +38.8893 -77.0356
Configuring For Your Time Zone
GeoClock has a comprehensive system for handling all known time zones in the
world. The GEOZONES.DAT file contains definitions of all time zones and
daylight saving time systems identified to date. You can read or print this
file for the complete list.
These definitions include the dates for switching between standard and summer
time (for example, 91/04/07 and 91/10/27 for most of the U.S. in 1991), the
common names for standard and summer time (for example, EST and EDT), and a
codename to refer to the definition (for example, ET). Ordinarily, you should
not need to change these definitions. Each time zone is preceded by the
keyword ZONE.
To make sure that GeoClock gives the proper sun position, you must tell
GeoClock what time zone your PC's clock uses. (For most users, this will be
the time zone in which you live.) This is done by using Setup or editing
GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI and adding the proper PCZONE command. This
command should be placed in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI file. s The
format is:
PCZONE codename
where codename is the codename for the time zone, as listed in the ZONE
commands. There should be no other characters on this line.
Some common codenames are:
ET Eastern Standard/Daylight Time
EST Eastern Standard Time all year (most of Indiana)
CT Central Standard/Daylight Time
MT Mountain Standard/Daylight Time
MST Mountain Standard Time all year (Arizona)
PT Pacific Standard/Daylight Time
AKT Alaska
HST Hawaii
UKT United Kingdom, Ireland
+1A Most of continental Europe
+2A Eastern Europe
JST Japan
The GEOSETUP program will prompt you for the time zone code (or supply it
automatically if you live in a US zip code area) and place the time zone code
in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI files.
About Sunrise and Sunset
GeoClock calculates the sunrise and sunset times for your location. The times
are usually within one minute of local newspaper data.
The precise moment of sunrise or sunset is difficult to determine. It depends
not only on the position of the Earth and sun, but also on the terrain near
you (it appears to rise later from behind a mountain than from the sea), and
on the earth's atmosphere. Another complication is that the sun appears quite
large, and takes about two minutes to shift position by its own diameter. All
these factors together mean that even at sea level, the sun appears to just
break above the horizon when it is in reality almost one degree BELOW the
horizon.
By default, GeoClock uses the value of 0.833 degrees below the horizon to
compute sunrise and sunset. This agrees well with observed times at moderate
latitudes and flat terrain. The SUNANGLE parameter, which is the angle
GeoClock uses for the sunrise and sunset calculations, can be adjusted to
correspond to your local conditions.
About The Terminator
The terminator is the boundary between day and night. Its position changes
during the day (it makes a complete circuit around the Earth in one day), and
it also changes during the year. Daylight is longer in the northern
hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere from about March 21 to September
21, and daylight is longer in the southern than in the northern hemisphere
during the rest of the year. You can see the changes by using the time
control features of GeoClock.
The terminator more or less divides the Earth into halves: facing the sun and
facing away from the sun. Like sunrise and sunset times, the precise location
of the terminator is hard to define. By default, GeoClock shows the optical
terminator, which corresponds to visual sunrise and
sunset. The SUNLIGHT command can be used to control the precise terminator
position. If it is set to the same value as SUNANGLE, the terminator position
will agree with sunrise and sunset.
GeoClock also shows the twilight terminator. By default, GeoClock uses -6^,
which corresponds to the civil definition of twilight: the time when it is so
dark that you must use your headlights. The TWILIGHT parameter is used to
control the precise definition of this terminator.
City Locations on Maps
GeoClock has great flexibility in displaying cities on the maps. For most
maps (e.g., MAP2) there is a corresponding text file (e.g., GEO2.DAT) that
contains the customization information for that map. GEOCLOCK.DAT is used for
MAP1, and any other map that does not have a corresponding GEOn.DAT file.
The first line of any GEOn.DAT file is the time zone codename that determines
which time zone will be used for time display on that map. For example, ET
indicates Eastern time, and CT indicates central time. (See "Configuring for
Your Time Zone.") This should normally be the time zone codename for the
first city listed (the second line of the file). This city is the "primary"
city for the map. The rest of the lines in the file specify the names and
locations of other cities to be displayed.
The format for display of a city is "Latitude Longitude Name". Either
decimal degrees or degrees minutes seconds (DMS) may be used. In the decimal
degree format, the minus sign (-) indicates south latitude (south of the
equator) and west longitude (in the western hemisphere). For DMS format,
separate entries by an "x", and place the direction indicator at the end. For
example, 31 degrees 15 minutes west longitude would be 31x15W in DMS, and -
31.25 in decimal, while 45 degrees 12 minutes 38 seconds north latitude would
be 45x12x38N in DMS and 45.2106 in decimal. Some examples of these lines are:
34.00 -118.25 Los Angeles
30x3N 31x15E Cairo
-26.17 28.03 Johannesburg
27x49N 85x21E Katmandu Nepal
The first city listed in a file is the "primary" city. It is used for the
astronomical calculations which are normally shown at the bottom of the map.
The sunrise and sunset time, azimuth and elevation to the sun, local time, and
the sun's sub point (the point on earth where the sun is directly overhead)
can be displayed for this location.
Finding Your Latitude and Longitude
Accurate lat/long are essential for proper display of cities on a map, and
also for accurate sunrise and sunset times of a map's "primary" city. An
error of one degree of longitude changes sunrise and sunset by four minutes.
The easiest way to find a particular latitude and longitude is to look it up
in an atlas. The next easiest way is to call your local airport or weather
bureau for the information. You can also leave a request for information on
the GeoClock Bulletin Board, and you should get a reply in a short time.
City Name Placement and Time Display
For registered users only, additional control over city placement, color,
size, and local time display is possible. All are marked by characters
appearing after an exclamation point (!) on a city line in GEOn.DAT. This new
data consists of an optional string of characters as follows:
A - show city name Above mark
B - show city name Below mark
L - show city name Left of mark
R - show city name Right of mark
Y - show city name in color 5 (Yellow by default)
E - show city name in 8x14 font
M - show city name in 8x8 font (default)
S - show city name in 4x8 font
T - show city name in 4x6 font
X - show city name in external font (see FONTLOAD command)
number - show city name in color number (e.g., 6 shows city name in
color 6). Color numbers are described in "Color Control."
N - show a name without a mark. This is particularly useful if you
want to name an area, such as the Pacific Ocean
Z - indicates a country name rather than a city name
O - display the last symbol defined (see SYMDEF) instead of the normal
marker for the city.
After these optional codes, the line may be followed by a space and a time
zone code. If included, this specifies that the local time for that city is
to be displayed to the right of the city name. If a "*" is included, the name
of the time zone will be displayed in addition to the time. THE SPACING OF
THESE CHARACTERS IS CRITICAL. For example:
ET
38.90 -77.02 Washington !E
42.65 -73.75 Albany !Y
35.08 -106.65 Albuquerque ! *MT
42.28 -83.75 Ann Arbor !A
33.75 -84.39 Atlanta !0
44.30 -69.76 Augusta
33.52 -86.81 Birmingham ! CT
46.80 -100.78 Bismarck !B6 *CT
In this example, Washington will be displayed in the 8x14 font, Albany will be
displayed in yellow, Albuquerque will be followed by the local time and MST or
MDT as appropriate, Ann Arbor will appear above the marker, Atlanta will be
displayed in color 0 (red), Birmingham will appear follow by local (central)
time but without a CST or CDT, and Bismarck will be displayed below the marker
in color 6 (black) and followed by local time and CST or CDT.
Ephemeris Data and Accuracy
The ephemeris data in GeoClock is calculated using formulas from "Astronomical
Formulae for Calculators" (Jean Meeus, Willmann-Bell Inc, Richmond VA). They
were calibrated by comparing with data from "Interactive Computer Ephemeris"
(ICE) (Nautical Almanac Office, Code FA, US Naval Observatory, Washington, DC
20392). For a period of 400 days including 1991, the maximum and RMS latitude
errors are 0.0047383 and 0.0019377 degrees, while the maximum and RMS
longitude errors are 0.0131104 and 0.0053660 degrees. This accuracy is
approximately four times better than the method used in GeoClock 4.2 and
earlier, and should provide better accuracy for past and future years.
The terminator is shown as the locations where the sun's center is a specified
angle above the horizon, ignoring atmospheric effects. For 0 degrees, the
sunrise occurs earlier and the sunset occurs later than the terminator
indicates. The sun rise and sun set times are also computed as the times that
the sun's center is a specified angle above or below the horizon. The default
value, -0.8333, corresponds to the normal definition of sun rise and set (as
printed in newspapers and almanacs), where the visible top edge of the sun
just breaks the horizon.
Software structure
GeoClock for Windows is written entirely in 16-bit Delphi 1.0, with a very
small amount on inline assembly for speed in some of the main loops. Much of
the code was directly transported from the DOS version, and it took only 3
months from buying the compiler to the first working version of GeoClock for
Windows. As a fourth generation language, it is hard to estimate the number
of lines in a Delphi program, but there are about 1.3 million bytes in the
source code, including the data structures that support the Windows, menus,
and forms.
GeoClock for DOS is written entirely in Turbo Pascal version 7.0, except for
the mouse interface routines and a few inline sections required for speed. It
has approximately 19000 lines of source code. It uses 8 byte reals for most
calculations, and thus relies on the 80x87 emulation package for systems
without a math co-processor. It uses a custom graphics package which provides
access to special hardware features (such as independent control of screen
planes, fast fill, and preserving the graphics memory during text display)
that are not available in the EGAVGA.BGI driver.
Map Generation System
The maps used for the GeoClock program were produced by a custom data base and
software system. This system consists of a highly compressed vectorized map
data base and a set of programs to convert the data into custom maps. The data
bases are used. The primary data base is a PC conversion of World Data Bank
II. It contains approximately 5.7 million vectors covering coastlines,
islands, lakes, rivers, and similar geologic features, together with political
boundary data. It covers the entire earth, and included features are accurate
to approximately 600 meters. World Data Bank II was converted to this custom
PC format by an ad hoc program which took advantage of specific features of
both data bases. In its operational form, the PC data base uses approximately
0.84 bytes per vector, and in archival form takes approximately 0.5 bytes per
vector. The data base is therefore easily stored and manipulated on an AT
class PC.
A secondary data base is a PC conversion of 1979 1:2 Million Digital Line
Graph data base from USGS. It includes highway and railroad data in addition
to much more detailed physical and political features, and contains about 8.3
million vectors covering the 50 states, compressed to about 13 MB (1.6 bytes
per record) on the PC.
A third data base is a PC conversion of the 1992 "Digital Chart of the World",
made by digitizing 1:1 Million ONC charts (and some other paper sources). The
extracted the data (highway, railroad, coastlines, islands, lakes, rivers, and
streams) contains about 30 million vectors and compressed to about 50 MB on
the PC.
A graphics tablet and several custom programs are used to add features than
were not contained in the original data bases, for example, the borders of the
countries of the former USSR.
Custom maps are generated by using two programs. The first, MAPGEN, reads the
appropriate parts of the map data base and produces separation files of the
required feature data as EGA, VGA, or 800x600 raster images. Rectangular,
polar, orthoscopic, azimuthal-equidistant, and Lambert projections may be used
in forming these separation files. Depending on complexity and scale, this
process takes between 30 and 300 seconds on an AT with a co-processor. The
second, MOVIE, allows the user to process the separation files to select the
features and colors for the final map, including filling areas. This program
also writes the map in a rasterized compressed format with headers and
trailers so that it may be easily used as background data for other programs
(for example, the GeoClock program).
Both these programs, and the converted data bases, are proprietary and not yet
available to the general public. World Data Bank II is available from National
Technical Information Center, Springfield, VA, for about $1000 on 5 reels of
tape. Both the 1;2,000,000 DLG data base ($30 on one CD-ROM) and the Digital
Chart of the World ($200 on 4 CD-ROMs) are available from the US Geological
Survey (Earth Science Information Center) in Reston VA.
Screen Saver and Wallpaper
The GeoClock screen saver can be initially configured by running GeoClock and
running the FILES/SCREEN SAVER SETUP menu item. After this is run, you can
select the GeoClock screen saver (GEOCLOCK SAVER) from the list of screen
savers in the windows desktop. The information in this section is not
required to configure or use the GeoClock screen saver, but it provided only
for technical background.
GeoClock has some special features which allows it to be used as a Windows
screen saver. Because of the way Windows runs screen savers, it is necessary
to copy some files to the main windows directory. In particular, a
GEOCKWIN.SCR (which is just a renamed GEOCKWIN.EXE) and a special GEOCLOCK.INI
are copied to this directory. In addition, some GEOSCR*.DAT files might be
created when the screen saver is configured. To insure that the proper files
are generated, before screen saver is used, you should run GeoClock and click
the FILES/SCREEN SAVER SETUP item and do the initial configuration.
The screen saver mode uses the map and data files in the main GeoClock
directory. To access these files, the GEOCLOCK.INI in the windows directory
has a NETWORK command pointing to this directory:
NETWORK@geoclock directory@windows directory@
This GEOCLOCK.INI also has the commands that establish the screen saver
parameters (SCRNSAVER, BORDER, SIZE, SCRIPT, UWIN, etc). The GEOCLOCK.INI in
the main GeoClock directory is also read (so that commands such as PCZONE and
HTS can be picked up), but the commands in windows directory version take
precedence.
If you have set a password but forget it, the only way to recover is to
restart windows and delete the GEOCLOCK.INI file in your windows directory
(not the GeoClock directory), then run GeoClock from the GeoClock directory
and rerun the screen saver setup.
Since GeoClock is written in Delphi, the screen saver mode will not run
exactly like a screen saver written using the Microsoft SCRSAVER.LIB. In
particular, the password set for other screensavers will not effect the
GeoClock password, and vice versa. In addition, it may be possible, with
suitably wild keystrokes, to escape out of the GeoClock screen saver password
dialog without entering the password. Note that even the Microsoft screen
savers are not bulletproof. You can ALT-CTRL-DEL while a screen saver is
running, and choose to terminate the application, which will return full
control of the computer (including any open applications) to the person at the
keyboard.
The wallpaper mode of GeoClock just forces GeoClock to always be in the
background. Thus, all windows and icons appear in front of GeoClock. Be sure
to set the background update time to a large value (60 seconds is the
default), or the wallpaper will take significant resources from the system.
If you add GeoClock to the startup group with the command line parameter
INBACK1 , it will come up as windows wallpaper when windows is started.
Commands
GeoClock has a large number of commands which may be used to control the
display. The most commonly used commands have been implemented in an Icon
Bar, which is displayed at the top of the screen. A mouse device may be used
to activate any of these commands simply by moving the mouse controlled cursor
to the appropriate icon and clicking on it with the left mouse key. The
commands consisting of a single letter (such as S) are activated by pressing
that letter. The other commands (such as MAP) may be included in the
configuration file, in a data file, on the GeoClock command line, or entered
interactively by pressing the C (for Command) key while GeoClock is displaying
a map.
The available commands are listed alphabetically below. (For a list by
command type, see Commands By Type ) More detailed
information is available in other sections of Help.
BLANK highlighting is not used
BORDERn window border
CALL initial call sign
CITY city names
CLINE all specific latitude/longitude lines
COLOR color (out of 64)
COUNTRY country names
Country/City between city and country display
DARK sunlight is displayed
DATAFILE extension for data files
DATECHANGEn display of next/previous date
DRAWCIRCLE circle on map
DRAWFCIRCLE a filled circle on map
DRAWLINE line on map
DST Daylight Saving Time
EPHEMERISdisp display of ephemeris data
F rate of time passage
FAST reduced accuracy but faster calculations
FCOLOR map frame color
FONT-E default font to 8x14
FONT-M default font to 8x8
FONT-S default font to 4x8
FONT-T default font to 4x6
FONT-X default font to external font
FONTLOAD an external font
FORCEMARK display location markers for cities
FULL, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend
GINCLUDE (or GI) include data file
GLINC longitude line increment
GLSPEC longitude line
GRID GeoClock Selected lat/long lines
HALT script and return to Windows
HAM HAM features
HAMCD option HAM CD-ROM data base
HAMDB HAM data base - maximum speed configuration
HAMDBX HAM data base - minimum memory configuration
HIDELL not show Latitude/Longitude values
HTA specified city as primary city on all maps
HTN not display specified city on any maps
HTS specified city as primary city on local maps
INBACKn window to background
INCLUDE (or I) data file
LIGHT sunlight is displayed
LINE lat/long line increment
LINEPERM TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent
LLCOLOR color and style of lat/long lines and labels
MAP MAP from list
MAPCENTERn world map on longitude n
MAPMINUSn the previous sequential map using sort
MAPPLUSn the next sequential map using sort method n
MAPn to MAP number n
MARK location markers for cities.
MARKLIMIT display of cities close to HTA/HTS city
MOONdisp display of moon
NAUTICAL distances in nautical miles
NETWORK configuration
NOCITY not display city names
NODAY not show display the day of the week
NOGRID not display GeoClock selected lat/long lines
NOGLYPH not display glyphs on buttons
NOHAM HAM features
NOHT as HTN
NOLINE not display latitude/longitude lines
NOMARK not display location markers
NOMONTH month number rather than name
NONE legend
NORMAL Display
NOSECONDS time to last minute
PALETTE Windows color
PCZONE PC time zone
POWER saver / power saver interaction
Quit GeoClock
RANDOMn map at random
REM - remainder of line is ignored
REPEAT script over from first line
RESIZEn window resizing
SCRIPT a specific script
SCRNSAVER screen saver attributes
SHOWDAY day of week
SHOWLL Latitude/Longitude values
SHOWMONTH month name rather than number
SHOWSECONDS time to nearest second
SLOW high accuracy but slower calculations
STATUTE distances in statute miles
SUN, sun rise/set, local time legend
SUNANGLE rise/set definition
SUNLIGHT definition
SYMBOL an external symbol
SYMDEF an external symbol definition
SIZE size state of window
T new time
TEXT text on all maps
TEXTBG text background color
TIME time only legend
TLINC latitude line increment
TLMASK area pattern
TLSPEC latitude line
TWILIGHT terminator definition
UWIN update times
VECTOR (or V) a line
WINDOW window size and position
WINSET that the GeoClock program has been initialized
YEAR2 2 digit year
YEAR4 4 digit year
ZONE time zone
ZOOMFRACT screen active area for zoom
Commands By Type
Sun and Moon Display
BLANK highlighting is not used
DARK sunlight is displayed
LIGHT sunlight is displayed
MOONdisp display of moon
NORMAL Display
SUNANGLE rise/set definition
SUNLIGHT definition
TLMASK area pattern
TWILIGHT terminator definition
Windows controls
BORDERn window border
INBACKn window to background
POWER saver / power saver interaction
RESIZEn window resizing
SCRNSAVER screen saver attributes
SIZE size state of window
WINDOW window size and position
WINSET that the GeoClock program has been initialized
HAM radio
CALL initial call sign
HAM HAM features
HAMCD option HAM CD-ROM data base
HAMDB HAM data base - maximum speed configuration
HAMDBX HAM data base - minimum memory configuration
NOHAM HAM features
Map Annotation
CITY city names
COUNTRY country names
Country/City between city and country display
DATAFILE extension for data files
FORCEMARK display location markers for cities
GINCLUDE (or GI) include data file
HTA specified city as primary city on all maps
HTN not display specified city on any maps
HTS specified city as primary city on local maps
INCLUDE (or I) data file
MARK location markers for cities.
MARKLIMIT display of cities close to HTA/HTS city
NOCITY not display city names
NOHT as HTN
NOMARK not display location markers
Lat/Long lines
CLINE all specific latitude/longitude lines
GLINC longitude line increment
GLSPEC longitude line
GRID GeoClock Selected lat/long lines
HIDELL not show Latitude/Longitude values
LINE lat/long line increment
LINEPERM TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent
NOGRID not display GeoClock selected lat/long lines
NOLINE not display latitude/longitude lines
SHOWLL Latitude/Longitude values
TLINC latitude line increment
TLSPEC latitude line
Screen Display
COLOR color (out of 64)
FCOLOR map frame color
LLCOLOR color and style of lat/long lines and labels
PALETTE Windows color
TEXTBG text background color
Time Display
DATECHANGEn display of next/previous date
DST Daylight Saving Time
F rate of time passage
NODAY not show display the day of the week
NOMONTH month number rather than name
NOSECONDS time to last minute
PCZONE PC time zone
SHOWDAY day of week
SHOWMONTH month name rather than number
SHOWSECONDS time to nearest second
T new time
YEAR2 2 digit year
YEAR4 4 digit year
ZONE time zone
Drawing
DRAWCIRCLE circle on map
DRAWFCIRCLE a filled circle on map
DRAWLINE line on mapn
SYMBOL an external symbol
SYMDEF an external symbol definition
TEXT text on all maps
VECTOR (or V) a line
System Control
FAST reduced accuracy but faster calculations
NAUTICAL distances in nautical miles
NETWORK Configuration
NOGLYPH not display glyphs on buttons
Quit GeoClock
REM - remainder of line is ignored
SLOW high accuracy but slower calculations
STATUTE distances in statute miles
UWIN update times
ZOOMFRACT screen active area for zoom
Fonts
FONT-E default font to 8x14
FONT-M default font to 8x8
FONT-S default font to 4x8
FONT-T default font to 4x6
FONT-X default font to external font
FONTLOAD an external font
Legend
FULL, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend
NONE legend
SUN, sun rise/set, local time legend
TIME time only legend
Scripts
HALT script and return to Windows
REPEAT script over from first line
SCRIPT a specific script
Map Selection
MAP MAP from list
MAPCENTERn world map on longitude n
MAPMINUSn the previous sequential map using sort
MAPPLUSn the next sequential map using sort method n
MAPn to MAP number n
RANDOMn to random map
Sun and Moon Display Commands
BLANK highlighting is not used
DARK sunlight is displayed
LIGHT sunlight is displayed
MOONdisp display of moon
NORMAL Display
SUNANGLE rise/set definition
SUNLIGHT definition
TLMASK area pattern
TWILIGHT terminator definition
Windows controls Commands
BORDERn window border
INBACKn window to background
POWER saver / power saver interaction
RESIZEn window resizing
SCRNSAVER screen saver attributes
SIZE size state of window
WINDOW window size and position
WINSET that the GeoClock program has been initialized
HAM radio Commands
CALL initial call sign
HAM HAM features
HAMCD option HAM CD-ROM data base
HAMDB HAM data base - maximum speed configuration
HAMDBX HAM data base - minimum memory configuration
NOHAM HAM features
Map Annotation Commands
CITY city names
COUNTRY country names
Country/City between city and country display
DATAFILE extension for data files
FORCEMARK display location markers for cities
GINCLUDE (or GI) include data file
HTA specified city as primary city on all maps
HTN not display specified city on any maps
HTS specified city as primary city on local maps
INCLUDE (or I) data file
MARK location markers for cities.
MARKLIMIT display of cities close to HTA/HTS city
NOCITY not display city names
NOHT as HTN
NOMARK not display location markers
Lat/Long lines Commands
CLINE all specific latitude/longitude lines
GLINC longitude line increment
GLSPEC longitude line
GRID GeoClock Selected lat/long lines
HIDELL not show Latitude/Longitude values
LINE lat/long line increment
LINEPERM TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent
NOGRID not display GeoClock selected lat/long lines
NOLINE not display latitude/longitude lines
SHOWLL Latitude/Longitude values
TLINC latitude line increment
TLSPEC latitude line
Screen Display Commands
COLOR color (out of 64)
FCOLOR map frame color
LLCOLOR color and style of lat/long lines and labels
PALETTE Windows color
TEXTBG text background color
Time Display Commands
DATECHANGEn display of next/previous date
DST Daylight Saving Time
F rate of time passage
NODAY not show display the day of the week
NOMONTH month number rather than name
NOSECONDS time to last minute
PCZONE PC time zone
SHOWDAY day of week
SHOWMONTH month name rather than number
SHOWSECONDS time to nearest second
T new time
YEAR2 2 digit year
YEAR4 4 digit year
ZONE time zone
Drawing Commands
DRAWCIRCLE circle on map
DRAWFCIRCLE a filled circle on map
DRAWLINE line on mapn
SYMBOL an external symbol
SYMDEF an external symbol definition
TEXT text on all maps
VECTOR (or V) a line
System Control Commands
FAST reduced accuracy but faster calculations
NAUTICAL distances in nautical miles
NOGLYPH not display glyphs on buttons
NETWORK configuration
Quit GeoClock
REM - remainder of line is ignored
SLOW high accuracy but slower calculations
STATUTE distances in statute miles
UWIN update times
ZOOMFRACT screen active area for zoom
Fonts Commands
FONT-E default font to 8x14
FONT-M default font to 8x8
FONT-S default font to 4x8
FONT-T default font to 4x6
FONT-X default font to external font
FONTLOAD an external font
Legend Commands
FULL, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend
NONE legend
SUN, sun rise/set, local time legend
TIME time only legend
Scripts Commands
HALT script and return to Windows
REPEAT script over from first line
SCRIPT a specific script
Map Selection Commands
MAP MAP from list
MAPCENTERn world map on longitude n
MAPMINUSn the previous sequential map using sort
MAPPLUSn the next sequential map using sort method n
MAPn to MAP number n
RANDOMn to a random map
BLANK
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
BLANK Highlighting is not used
This does not perform any highlighting. This is appropriate for some
specialized maps which use more than 7 colors.
Border
See Windows controls Commands
BORDERn Control border
BORDER1 causes all window borders to be hidden, including all four border
lines, the top menu, the title bar, and the system control items such as the
minimize, maximize, and system control menu.
BORDER0 displays all these items.
CALL
See HAM radio Commands
CALL Specify initial call sign
This commands allows the initial call sign, when a HAM map is brought up, to
be specified. For example, GEOCLK MAP9009 CALL=K3NA will cause the HAM
package to be activated with K3NA data displayed. The last displayed call
sign will be displayed after switching away from and then back to a HAM map.
CITY
See Map Annotation Commands
CITY Display city names. The city names and locations are contained
in the corresponding GEO*.DAT file. The name is usually displayed to the
right of the location, but the name may be moved if it does not fit. The
location can be controlled by the user, and local time can be added (see
Advanced Topics).
CLINE
See Lat/Long lines Commands
CLINE Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines
CLINE removes all non-permanent special lines from the display. CLINE1
removes all line including permanent lines.
COLOR
See Screen Display Commands
COLOR Set color
The COLOR command provides a way to change the GeoClock default colors. The
format is:
COLORnddbb
where n is the feature number (0-7), dd is the color value for the non-sunlit
feature, and bb is the color value for the sunlit feature (n+8). The easiest
way to get the proper values is to use the CSET menu. The proper COLOR
commands to produce the colors as modified by CSET are given on the right hand
side of the CSET menu. For example, for the color values given in the CSET
example, the command is COLOR22062.
COUNTRY
See Map Annotation Commands
COUNTRY Display country names
Supporting the above capability is a control character used after the ! in
GEOn entries: Z. Any city (or entry in the GEOn.DAT file) with a !Z is not
displayed unless the COUNTRY command has been given. CITY reverts back to
normal display, and cities with the !Z are not displayed. In the data files
included, this capability is used to toggle between normal display of cities
and times, and display of country names.
Country/City
See Map Annotation Commands
Country/City Toggle between city and country display
Selecting this menu item, or pressing Y, toggles between display of city names
and country names.
DARK
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
DARK No sunlight is displayed
This does not highlight any of the screen, and does not display the sun
symbol.
DATAFILE
See Map Annotation Commands
DATAFILE Select extension for data files
This command sets the extension to be used for GEOn files. By default, it is
DAT (the previous default). This allows multiple sets of GEOn files to be
used with the maps. If the extension does not exist, then DAT is used. For
example, DATAFILE XYZ would first check GEOn.XYZ, and if it does not exist,
then check GEOn.DAT, and it that did not exist, check GEOCLOCK.DAT.
DATECHANGEn
See Time Display Commands
DATECHANGEn Control display of next/previous date
If n is 0, the date is not indicated. If n is 1, the local time shows a ":"
if the local date is the same as the current date, it shows an up-arrow if the
local date is one day ahead of the current date, and it shows a down-arrow of
the local date is one day behind the current date.
DRAWCIRCLE
See Drawing Commands
DRAWCIRCLE Draw circle on map
DRAWCIRCLE latcenter longcenter latrad longrad color draws an ellipse
centered at (latcenter, longcenter) and with latitude (vertical) radius latrad
and with longitude (horizontal) radius longrad, and with color. The command
operates ONLY when contained in a GEOn.DAT file that is processed for the map.
Color is the color in which the line will be drawn. If omitted, color defaults
to 5, which is displayed as yellow. Example:
DRAWCIRCLE 38.9 -77.0 10 20 6
draws an oval centered on Washington DC that is 10 degrees from the center to
the northernmost point, and 20 degrees from the center to the easternmost
point, and in color 6. Alternatively, the form: DRAWCIRCLE latcenter
longcenter -radius 0 color can be used. This draws a circle of the
specified radius (in kilometers) in the specified color around the specified
center point. For example:
DRAWCIRCLE 38.9 -77.0 -100 0 6
draws a 100 km circle in color 6 around Washington DC. The negative sign in
front of the radius, and the 0 after the radius, are required to ensure
compatibility with the older system.
DRAWFCIRCLE
See Drawing Commands
DRAWFCIRCLE Draw a filled circle on map
DRAWFCIRCLE has the same syntax as DRAWCIRCLE, except that the circle or
ellipse drawn is solid rather than outlined.
DRAWLINE
See Drawing Commands
DRAWLINE Draw line on map
DRAWLINE lat1 long1 lat2 long2 color draws a line between (lat1, long1) and
(lat2, long2) on the current map. Color is the color in which the line will
be drawn. See "Color Control" for an explanation of the use of color. If
omitted, color defaults to 5 (yellow). Example: DRAWLINE 38.9 -77.0 34.0 -
118.3 0
draws a line between Washington DC and Los Angeles in color 0. The DRAWLINE
command cannot be issued from the Command level. It operates ONLY when
contained in a GEO*.DAT file that is processed for the map, or in a text file
that is appended to a map with the INCLUDE command.
DST
See Time Display Commands
DST Control Daylight Saving Time
The method GeoClock uses to handle summer time when current data is not
available in GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI is close, but not perfect. This
command specifies for which years the GeoClock computed correction is to be
applied. By default, GeoClock does not use summer time before 1980. DST is
used to change this date. The syntax is:
DST year1 year2 extrapolation
Year1 is the earliest year in which to use summer time under the current
specification, and year2 is the latest year in which to use summer time. If
year2 is omitted, there is no upper limit. For example, DST 1950 specifies
that summer time is to be used from 1950 on, while DST 1985 1995 specifies
that summer time is to be used only between 1985 and 1995. "extrapolation"
specifies the algorithm used to estimate summer time dates which are not
included in the GEOZONES file. If extrapolation is 1, the date used is the
one closest same day of the week to the specified date (for example, 95/04/02
(a Sunday) would become 96/03/31 (also a Sunday). If "extrapolation" is
missing or any other value, and the original date is in the first or last week
of the month, the new date is the same day of the week also in the first or
last week of the month. For example, 95/04/02 would become 96/04/07.
EPHEMERISdisp
See System Control Commands
EPHEMERISdisp Control display of ephemeris data with the Distance function.
If disp is 0 or omitted, only coordinates and distances are displayed with the
distance function. If disp is 1, the current local time and time zone are
displayed, along with the sun rise, sun set, sun azimuth, and sun elevation,
for the selected point.
F
See Time Display Commands
Fn makes the rate of time passage n hours per iteration. It is the equivalent
of the rate of time item in the time control menu, but can be used in scripts
and from the command line.
FAST
See System Control Commands
FAST Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations
Forces GeoClock to use a faster but slightly less accurate algorithm for
drawing the sunlit area. This is the default for systems without an 80x87.
FCOLOR
See Screen Display Commands
FCOLOR Set map frame color
FCOLORn sets the color of the frame around the map display to n. The default
value is 15 (white). A value of 0 through 15 frames the map in that color.
Any other value (for example, -1) does not display any frame.
FONT_E
See Fonts Commands
FONT-E Set default font to 8x14. This font size is used for city and
time display on the maps unless it is overridden by an !E, M, S, or T on the
corresponding line in GEO*.DAT.
FONT_M
See Fonts Commands
FONT-M * Set default font to 8x8
FONT_S
See Fonts Commands
FONT-S Set default font to 4x8
FONT_T
See Fonts Commands
FONT-T Set default font to 4x6
FONT_X
See Fonts Commands
FONT-X Set default font to external font
FONTLOAD
See Fonts Commands
FONTLOAD Loads an external font
FONTLOAD filename loads the external font specified by <filename> The format
of the external font file is:
Byte 0 horizontal character width in bits (w)
Byte 1 vertical character height in bits (h)
Byte 2 first character in table (c1)
Byte 3 last character in table (c2)
Bytes 4 through 4+(c2-c1+1)*h*entier((w+7)/8) character bits If the
requested character is not in the c1..c2 range, the character is displayed as
c1.
FORCEMARK
See Map Annotation Commands
FORCEMARK Always display location markers for cities, regardless of the
presence of the "N" flag.
FULL
See Legend Commands
FULL * City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend GeoClock can
display a time legend at the bottom of the screen. FULL displays the full
range of time and sun-related information on the legend. This includes
primary city name, its time and date, including local time zone name, and
sunrise and sunset time. (The time zone is the one specified in the
corresponding GEO*.DAT file.) It shows sunrise and sunset times for the
primary city, the sun's subpoint coordinates, and the azimuth and elevation of
the sun from the primary city. The format of the time and date can be
controlled with other commands (see "Time, Zone, and Format Control").
GINCLUDE
See Map Annotation Commands
GINCLUDE (or GI) Global include data file
The commands works the same as include above, except that the file is included
on all maps. Ordinarily, the GINCLUDE command would be in GECONFIG.DAT file,
but it can be on the command line (using the @ character) or in response to P
or C. The command is canceled by GINCLUDE or GI with no file name specified.
If both GI and I are active on the same map, both files will be processed.
GLINC
See Lat/Long lines Commands
GLINC Set longitude line increment
TLINC and GLINC allow the spacing between latitude and longitude lines to be
set independently. For example, TLINC 15 and GLINC 30 set the latitude spacing
to 15 degrees, and the longitude spacing to 30 degrees.
GLSPEC
See Lat/Long lines Commands
GLSPEC Specific longitude line
TLSPEC and GLSPEC allow specific latitude and longitude lines to be displayed.
For example, TLSPEC -67 draws a latitude line at 67 degrees south (the
Antarctic circle). Up to 20 of these special lines can be specified.
GRID
See Lat/Long lines Commands
GRID Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines
This command overrides all the other Lat/Long commands and display GeoClock
selected lines. It is equivalent to LINE, TLINCx, GLINCy, and SHOWLL, where x
and y are selected by GeoClock on a map by map basis.
HALT
See Scripts Commands
HALT Terminate script and return to DOS
HAM
See HAM radio Commands
HAM Activate HAM features
This command activates the HAM features on azimuthal-equidistance maps. A good
place for this command is in the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to your HAM map.
HAMCD
See HAM radio Commands
HAMCD Specify option HAM CD-ROM data base
HAMCD file specifies that the BuckMaster HamCall (April 1995 or earlier) or
QRZ CD-ROM is loaded and should be used to obtain extra information about US
call signs. If the file parameter is missing, all online local CD-ROM drives
will be checked for the data base. This will almost always correctly identify
the CD, but you may specify the complete path to the data base (for example,
HAMCD D:\HAM0\HAMCALL.129 or HAMCD D:\CALLBK\CALLBKC.DAT) if GeoClock cannot
automatically locate this data base. When a call sign is parsed, the CD will
be checked first. If the call is not found, the GeoClock HAM data base (see
below) will be used.
HAMDB
See HAM radio Commands
HAMDB Specify HAM data base - maximum speed configuration HAMDB file
loads the HAM call sign data base from file the named file. Only the first
occurrence of this command in a GeoClock execution is effective (i.e., the
data base will not be reloaded or changed). A good place for this command is
in the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to your HAM map. The HAM data base and
other required files are an extra cost option in GeoClock.
HAMDBX
See HAM radio Commands
HAMDBX Specify HAM data base - minimum memory configuration HAMDBX file
specifies the file with the HAM data base. Whenever a call sign needs to be
analyzed, the data base is loaded into temporary memory, and the memory is
released after analysis. This slows the analysis slightly, but requires about
60Kb less RAM. If you are shelling to GeoClock from another program and get
Error 203 messages when you use the HAM features, placing this command in
GECONFIG.DAT may solve the problem.
HIDELL
See Lat/Long lines Commands
HIDELL * Do not show Latitude/Longitude values
HTA
See Map Annotation Commands
HTA Display specified city as primary city on all maps
HTA/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName forces the specified city to be the primary
city on all maps. HTA with no home town specified forces the display of a
previously specified home town. It overrides the first and second lines in
every GEOn.DAT file, and thus is a shortcut method to configure GeoClock for
your city. For example, HTA/38.90/-77.03/ET/Washington forces Washington to
be the primary city on all maps, and displays ET (Eastern Time) for all
ephemeris data. HTA is an acronym from Home Town Always.
HTN
See Map Annotation Commands
HTN Do not display specified city as primary city on any maps
HTN/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName forces the specified city to be the primary
city on all maps, but prevents it from being displayed as the primary city.
HTN with no parameters does not change any previously defined city, but does
prevent it from being displayed. HTN is an acronym from Home Town Never.
HTS
See Map Annotation Commands
HTS Display specified city as primary city on maps containing it
HTS/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName It works identically to HTA, except that it
uses the specified city only if the city appears on the map. HTS with no
parameters use a previously defined home town, but display it only if the city
appears on the maps. For example, HTS/38.90/-77.03/ET/Washington would
force Washington to be the primary city on MAP2 (US - 48 States), but not on
MAP5 (Europe). HTS is an acronym for Home Town Showing.
INBACK
See Windows controls Commands
INBACK Forces the GeoClock windows to be bottom most.
INBACKn If n is 1, GeoClock is always the bottom most window. If the screen
is maximized, then GeoClock functions as wallpaper in this mode.
INCLUDE
See Map Annotation Commands
INCLUDE (or I) Include data file
When contained in a GEOn.DAT file, INCLUDE <file> suspends reading from the
file being processed, and processes all commands in the <file>. When all
commands in that file have been processed, reading resumes from the original
file. INCLUDE may be nested up to ten levels. INCLUDE may also be used in
response to the "P" command. In this case, the named file will be included at
the end of the GEOn.DAT file for the map currently displayed.
The effect of the INCLUDE command will be negated when a new map is selected
or a new file is specified with INCLUDE. The INCLUDE command can be
abbreviated by I (i.e., I DATELINE). An include file can be set on the
command line or in a script by using the @ character as a separator (e.g.,
GEOCLK MAP1 I@dateline). This syntax is not allowed in data files or in
response to P or C.
LIGHT
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
LIGHT All sunlight is displayed
This highlights the entire screen, and does not display the sun symbol. This
often provides a better display of details of small-area maps, on which
terminator display may be unimportant, e.g., city maps.
LINE
See Lat/Long lines Commands
LINE Set lat/long line increment and display lines This command
enables latitude and longitude lines on the display, and sets the spacing
between the lines. For example, LINE15 draws latitude and longitude 15 degrees
apart.
LINEPERM
See Lat/Long lines Commands
LINEPERM Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent
LINEPERM makes all currently defined TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent, i.e.,
they will be displayed on all maps. If TLSPEC and GLSPEC commands are
followed by LINEPERM in GECONFIG.DAT, these lines will be permanent. A
similar sequence in a GEOn.DAT file will make these lines permanent. CLINE1
clear all permanent lines.
LLCOLOR
See Screen Display Commands
LLCOLOR Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels This command
takes two parameters LLCOLOR a/b. a is the color number for the lat/long
lines (the default is 6). b is the color number for the lat/long line labels
(the default value is 7). If a is negative, the lines will overwrite all map
features, while if a is positive it will only overwrite colors 1, 2, 3 (water,
land, and land/water).
MAP
See Map Selection Commands
MAP Select MAP from list
This command works identically to F. If it is included on the GeoClock
command line (for example, GEOCLK MAP), the selection menu will appear before
the program starts.
MAPCENTERn
See Map Selection Commands
MAPCENTERn Center world map on longitude n
Centers any rectangular projection world map on longitude n (more or less).
For example, MAPCENTER-77 centers the world map on Washington. It does not
have any effect on non-rectangular projection or non-world maps. Like FCOLOR,
this command does not take effect immediately if used in the GEOn.DAT files
(except GEOCLOCK.DAT) or scripts, but does work correctly in GECONFIG.DAT, the
command line, and "P".
MAPMINUSn
See Map Selection Commands
MAPMINUSn Selects the previous sequential map using sort method n. This
command chooses the previous sequential map using the sort method described in
MAPPLUSn.
MAPPLUSn
See Map Selection Commands
MAPPLUSn Selects the next sequential map using sort method n. This
command chooses the next map in sequence. If n is 1, it chooses the next high
map number. If n is 2, it chooses the next map in alphabetical order. If n
is some other number, it chooses the next map in coverage area. If n is
missing, it uses the method last selected in the "M"aplist or "F"indMap
function.
MAPn
See Map Selection Commands
MAPn Changes to MAP number n
This command displays a specific map. For example, MAP5 displays map number
5. If this command in included in GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI, the map
specified will appear as the first map displayed.
MARK
See Map Annotation Commands
MARK Display location markers for cities.
MARKLIMIT
See Map Annotation Commands
MARKLIMIT Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city This sets the
minimum distance from the home town city that a city must be to be displayed.
For example, MARKLIMIT5 means that any mark within 5 pixels x and y of the
home town mark will not be displayed. The distances can be set independently,
e.g., MARLIMIT5/10 means x of 5 and y of 10. The default is -1, or no
restriction.
MOONdisp
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
MOONdisp Control display of moon
If disp is 0 or omitted, no moon is displayed. If disp is 1, a moon symbol is
displayed with approximate phase information over the correct sub-point. If
disp is 2, the text moon illumination fraction is displayed with the moon
symbol. If disp is 3, the symbol, illumination, lat, long, azimuth, and
elevation are all displayed. If disp is increased by 4, the moon is displayed
using the calendar convention (i.e., the moon looks like the symbol in printed
calendars). For example, if disp is 6, the moon symbol is displayed using the
calendar convention, and the moon illumination fraction is displayed in text.
NAUTICAL
See System Control Commands
NAUTICAL Display distances in nautical miles
NETWORK
See System Control Commands
NETWORK@server@local@
This command sets GeoClock to run in network mode. For every file to be
read, the directory "local" is check, and if the file exists there, it is
used. If not, the directory "server" is used. When a file is written, it is
always written to the "local" directory. Usually, GeoClock and all its files
will be installed in the "server" directory, and each user will have his own
"local". The user can then customize his GeoClock without affecting other
users. Ordinarily, the NETWORK command should be on the command line
(FILE/PROPERTIES/COMMANDLINE in Windows 3.x). For example,
C:\SERVER\GEO\GEOCKWIN.EXE NETWORK@C:\SERVER\GEO@X:\LOCAL\GEO@
will start GeoClock using C:\SERVER\GEO as the server directory, and
X:\LOCAL\GEO as the local directory.
A special form of the command is NETWORK with no additional characters.
In this case, GeoCLock uses the directory containing the GEOCKWIN.EXE file as
the server directory, and the current default directory as the local
directory.
NOCITY
See Map Annotation Commands
NOCITY * Do not display city names
NODAY
See Time Display Commands
NODAY * Does not show display the day of the week.
NOGLYPH
See System Control Commands
NOGLYPH Do not display glyphs (small pictures) on the buttons on menus.
On some systems with high color (65K+), you may get "Out of Resources"
messages due to the way Delphi hands the glyphs. This command deletes the
glyphs to prevent the "Out of Resources" messages. A new driver for your
video card, or use of WindowsNT or Windows95, may solve this problem. If you
have trouble starting GeoClock without this command, you can place it on the
command line entry (GEOCKWIN.EXE NOGLYPH) or in GEOCLOCK.INI.
NOGRID
See Lat/Long lines Commands
NOGRID * Do not display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines. This command
negates the GRID command.
NOHAM
See HAM radio Commands
NOHAM Deactivate HAM features
NOHT
See Map Annotation Commands
NOHT (same as HTN) Do not display specified city as primary city on
any maps HTN/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName forces the specified city to be the
primary city on all maps, but prevents it from being displayed as the primary
city. HTN with no parameters does not change any previously defined city, but
does prevent it from being displayed. HTN is an acronym from Home Town Never.
NOLINE
See Lat/Long lines Commands
NOLINE * Do not display latitude/longitude lines
NOLINE removes all latitude/longitude lines from the display.
NOMARK
See Map Annotation Commands
NOMARK * Do not display location markers.
NOMONTH
See Time Display Commands
NOMONTH * Show month number rather than name.
NONE
See Legend Commands
NONE No legend
NORMAL
See Sun and Moon Display
NORMAL * Normal Display
This highlights the sunlit area and displays the sun symbol at the sun's
subpoint.
NOSECONDS
See Time Display Commands
NOSECONDS Shows time to last minute
This command shows time to the last minute (1991/05/01 12:14)
Palette
See Screen Display Commands
PALe/r/g/b sets the RGB value for a GeoClock color.
e is the palette position (corresponding to the DOS version), r is the red
value (0-255), g is the green value, and b is the blue value. For example
PAL2/128/64/0 sets position 2 (dark land) to red=128, green=64, blue=0 (dark
brown).
Default colors in GeoClock are as follows:
palette
posit color use
------ ------ ---------
0 red Political Bdy (dark)
1 blue Water (dark)
2 dark green Land (dark)
3 green Land/Water Bdy (dark)
4 black Text Background (dark)
5 yellow Aux Text Color (dark)
6 black Lat/Long Lines (dark)
7 white Frame and Text
8 bright red Political Bdy (sunlit)
9 light blue Water (sunlit)
10 green Land (sunlit)
11 light green Land/Water Bdy (sunlit)
12 black Text Background (sunlit)
13 yellow Aux Text and Sun (sunlit)
14 black Lat/Long Lines (sunlit)
15 white Frame and Text
The EGA graphics adapter provides for the simultaneous display of 16 colors
from a palette of 64. The VGA graphics adapter provides for the simultaneous
display of 16 colors from a palette of 262144. Most programs use the default
palette, which roughly corresponds to the colors provided by the CGA in text
mode. In order to make the map display the most attractive, the EGA/VGA/SVGA
version of GeoClock for DOS does not use this standard palette. Instead, the
16 colors that can be displayed simultaneously are used to represent 16
features displayed by GeoClock. The first eight numbers are for features not
in sunlight, and the second eight are for features that are in sunlight.
In Windows systems supporting at least 256 colors, GeoClock for Windows can
use the full palette. In 16 color systems (VGA), GeoClock does not have
PCZONE
See Time Display Commands
PCZONE Specify PC time zone
The PCZONE command sets the relationship between the local time on the PC's
clock and GMT, i.e., declares which time zone the PC's clock is in. It takes
one parameter - a time zone code, as defined in the ZONE command. For example,
if you use Eastern Time, specify:
PCZONE ET
This command is best used in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI files, and it
must follow the ZONE command that it references.
POWER
See Windows controls Commands
POWER Control the interaction between the screen saver and power saver
features.
POWERn Specifies how the screen saver responds to power saver messages:
0 Ignore all power management messages
1 Quit screen saver on Critical Resume (that is a resume that was from an
emergency power down)
2 Quit screen saver on normal resume.
4 Quit screen saver on suspend request.
These may be ORed together. For example, POWER7 causes the screen saver to
shut down if any power saver message is received.
Ordinarily, this command is not required: if the screen saver is running when
the system powers down to save power, it will be running when it powers back
up. You may have to add this command to GEOCLOCK.INI if the screen saver
misbehaves on a power-saver shut down or start up.
Quit
See System Control Commands
Quit Quit GeoClock and return to Windows
Selecting this menu item, or pressing ESCape twice terminates GeoClock and
closes all GeoClock Windows.
Random
See Map Selection Commands
RANDOMn Select a new map at random
Executing this command selects a new map at random. If the optional parameter
n is included, it determines what sorts of maps can be selected:
1 World Maps
2 View From Space maps
4 Other non-rectuangular maps (polar, equi-azi, etc)
8 Non-world rectuangular maps
n is the sum of the numbers corresponding to the maps permitted. For example,
For example, RANDOM3 selects a map at random from the World maps and View from
Space maps.
REM
See System Control Commands
REM Remark - remainder of line is ignored
Remarks can be used within *.DAT files for additional documentation of the
various text files you may change to customize GeoClock maps.
REPEAT
See Scripts Commands
REPEAT Start script over from first line
Resize Control
See Windows controls Commands
RESIZEn Control window resizing
RESIZE1 forces all window resizing, including dragging the window border, to
keep the 4x3 aspect ratio all GeoClock maps use. RESIZE0 allows full control
of the window size.
SCRNSAVER
See Windows controls Commands
SCRNSAVER sets various attributes to run GeoClock as a Windows screen saver.
SCRNSAVERa/b/c/d/e/f
a is the mode (0=single map, 1=random maps, 2=script)
b is the map number for the single map mode
c is the random map selection code, see RANDOM
d is the time in seconds between map changes in the random maps mode
e is the script number (1 through 9) in the script mode.
f is the one way encrypted password
This command is set automatically in the screen saver setup form and
ordinarily the user does not need to modify it by hand.
SCRIPT
See Scripts Commands
SCRIPT Invoke a specific script
SCRIPTx invokes script x (i.e., the file GEOSCRx.DAT). x may be any number.
This is especially useful from the command line. Note that if GEOSCR0.DAT
exists, it is automatically invoked when GeoClock starts unless the SCRIPTx
command is in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI file or on the command line.
SHOWDAY
See Time Display Commands
SHOWDAY Show day of week
This command displays the day of the week (1991/05/01 WED 12:14:45). As in
SHOWMONTH, the default is the standard 3 letter English abbreviation, but
other names can be specified:
SHOWDAY SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
SHOWLL
See Lat/Long lines Commands
SHOWLL Show Latitude/Longitude values
This command labels all the latitude and longitude lines displayed. The labels
appear on the top and left edges of the display. The labels may overlap other
data. Optionally, SHOWLL can control which axis are labeled: SHOWLLn
n and 1 = 0 show left latitude
n and 2 = 0 show right latitude
n and 4 = 0 show top longitude
SHOWMONTH
See Time Display Commands
SHOWMONTH Show month name rather than number (91 MAY 01 12:14:45). The
standard 3 letter English abbreviations are used by default. The text for the
month names can be specified by giving the 12 strings to be used for the 12
months. For example:
SHOWMONTH JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
SHOWSECONDS
See Time Display Commands
SHOWSECONDS * Show time to nearest second
This command shows time to the nearest second (1991/05/01 12:14:45).
SLOW
See System Control Commands
SLOW Use high accuracy but slower calculations
Forces GeoClock to use the high accuracy algorithm for drawing the sunlit
area. This is the default for systems with an 80x87. On systems with an
80x87, the difference in speed between SLOW and FAST is negligible, while on
those systems without an 80x87, FAST is approximately twice the speed of SLOW.
These options do not effect polar, orthoscopic, or azimuthal-equidistance
maps.
STATUTE
See System Control Commands
STATUTE * Display distances in statute miles
SUN
See Legend Commands
SUN City, sun rise/set, local time legend
SUNANGLE
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
SUNANGLE Sun rise/set definition
SUNANGLE angle sets the elevation angle of the sun used to compute sunrise
and set. The default is -0.8333 degree, which corresponds to the sun just
breaking the horizon, considering refraction effects. This parameter does not
affect the terminator line calculations.
SUNLIGHT
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
SUNLIGHT Terminator definition
SUNLIGHT angle specifies the sun's elevation angle for the terminator. The
default is -0.8333, which corresponds to apparent sunrise and sunset, when the
edge of the sun is just visible. 0 corresponds to the geometric terminator,
which divides the earth into two equal halves.
SYMBOL
See Drawing Commands
SYMBOL Displays an external symbol
SYMBOL name lat long displays the symbol referred to by <name>
(defined by a previous SYMDEF command) centered on lat long. This symbol is
drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be
overwritten by this data.
SYMBOL filename lat long displays the symbol defined in <filename>
centered on lat long. This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are
drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data.
SYMBOL filename name lat long displays the symbol defined in
<filename> and named <name> centered on lat long. This symbol is drawn before
any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this
data. <filename> is assumed to have more than one SYMBOL in one file, see
SYMDEF.
SYMDEF
See Drawing Commands
SYMDEF Load an external symbol definition
SYMDEF filename loads the external symbol specified by <filename>. The
format of the external file is:
Initial Byte length Meaning
0 2 Number of pixels in the x direction (nx)
2 2 Number of pixels in the y direction (ny)
4 2 x pixel corresponding to the symbol center
6 2 y pixel corresponding to the symbol center
8 8 Name of symbol (trailing spaces)
10 nx*ny Color of pixel (going horizontally from 1 to nx,
then vertically from 1 to ny). 0-15 displays as
that color. 16-255 is transparent.
Multiple symbol definitions can be included in a single file by concatenating
the above structure.
Size
See Windows controls Commands
SIZE Control size state of window
SIZE0 allows normal window size
SIZE1 forces the window to Maximized
SIZE2 forces the window to Minimized
T
See Time Display Commands
T Set new time
Pressing the T key prompts you for a new display time in six spin boxes (year
month day hour minute second). This does not change your PC's clock. All
times in GeoClock use the 24 hour format. If this command is used on the
command line or in a DAT file, the included data is interpreted as year month
day hour minute second. The data must be given with no extra characters, and
exactly two digits per item. Missing data is set to 2000/01/01 00:00:00. For
example, T9205151207 is taken as 1992/05/15 12:07:00. A four digit year
(between 1000 and 2999) is allowed. When used on the command line or in a DAT
file, the data may have a + or - followed by a number. With this format, the
current virtual time is incremented or decremented by the specified number of
days. For example, T+30 increments the time by 30 days, while T-0.25
decrements the time by 1/4 day = 6 hours.
TEXT
See Drawing Commands
TEXT Display text on all maps
TEXTx/y/font/color/bg*text No spaces before the * are allowed. x is the
horizontal coordinate of the starting pixel for the string (if negative, from
the right of the screen), y is the vertical coordinate of the starting pixel
(if negative, from the bottom of the screen, font is 0 for 8x14, 1 for 4x6, 2
for 8x8, 3 for 4x8, and 4 for the Xfont. color is the color number for the
text, and bg is the background color (-1 means transparent). The text itself
can be anything. The underscore (_) is interpreted as a space.
TEXTBG
See Screen Display Commands
TEXTBG Set text background color
TEXTBGn changes the text background color number to n. The default value
is 4.
TIME
See Legend Commands
TIME Local time only legend
TLINC
See Lat/Long lines Commands
TLINC Set latitude line increment
TLMASK
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
TLMASK Twilight area pattern
TLMASK n specifies the fraction (in 16ths) of halftoning for twilight
display. 4 is the default, which gives 1/4 light and 3/4 dark for the
twilight area. You may have to experiment with this value to get the best
display for your monitor. A value of 4 may give a better effect, particularly
if you wish to emphasize the terminator relatively to the twilight line.
TLSPEC
See Lat/Long lines Commands
TLSPEC Specific latitude line
TWILIGHT
See Sun and Moon Display Commands
TWILIGHT Twilight terminator definition
TWILIGHT angle specifies the sun's elevation angle for the twilight
terminator. The default is 0. -6.00 corresponds to civil twilight, -12
corresponds to nautical twilight, and -18 corresponds to astronomical
twilight. If this angle is greater than or equal to the SUNLIGHT parameter,
the twilight area is not displayed.
UWIN
See System Control Commands
UWIN Set the update time intervals
UWINf/b sets the update intervals (the time that GeoClock relinquishes
control to Windows before the next screen refresh). f is the interval in
seconds when GeoClock is in the foreground, and g is the interval in seconds
when GeoClock is in the background. The defaults are 1 second for foreground,
and 60 seconds for background.
VECTOR
See Drawing Commands
VECTOR (or V) Continue a line
VECTOR latx longx draws a line starting at the position of the last DRAWLINE
or VECTOR, to (latx, longx) using the color specified in the last DRAWLINE.
For example, if the following lines immediately follow the line in the
DRAWLINE example:
VECTOR 41.83 -87.75
VECTOR 38.67 -90.25
a line from Los Angeles to Chicago to St, Louis will be drawn in color 0. The
VECTOR command may be abbreviated by V (i.e., V 41.83 -87.75).
Window
See Windows controls Commands
WINDOWn/xp/yp/xs/ys
WINDOW allows all GeoClock Windows to be set to special sizes and positions
n=1 specifies the main map window
n=2 specifies the Where Is (Gazetteer) window
n=3 specifies the MapList window
n=4 specifies the About Box window
n=5 specifies the Command Entry window
n=6 specifies the Data File Edit window
n=7 specifies the Registration window
n=8 specifies the Scripts window
n=9 specifies the SetUp window
n=10 specifies the TimeSet window
n=11 specifies the Window Controls window
n=12 specifies the Zip Code window
n=13 specifies the Options window
xp is the screen relative horizontal position of the upper left corner
yp is the screen relative vertical position of the upper left corner
xs is the width in pixels
ys is the height in pixels
For example, WINDOW1/0/0/400/300 places the map window in the upper left
corner of the screen, and makes the map area 400x300 pixels.
Ordinarily, the user will not have to enter this command directly. These are
written automatically to the GEOCLOCK.INI file when Save Settings is invoked.
When save settings is used, comments are automatically added to make clear
which windows are effected. For example,
WindowMain1/0/0/400/300.
Winsetup
See Windows controls Commands
WINSET specifies that the GeoClock program has been initialized for local
conditions. If this statement does not appear in GEOCLOCK.INI, GeoClock will
start with the Setup window. WINSET will be written to the GEOCLOCK.INI file
automatically after GeoClock is set up.
YEAR2
See Time Display Commands
YEAR2 * Show 2 digit year (e.g., 91/05/01 12:14:45)
YEAR4
See Time Display Commands
YEAR4 Show 4 digit year (e.g., 1991/05/01 12:14:45)
ZONE
See Time Display Commands
ZONE Define time zone
This command defines a time zone: it relates the time zone to the standard
time zone (variously called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Coordinated
Time (UTC) or Zulu Time (Z)); it specifies the dates and times when the zone
changes to and from summer time; and it names the time zone and the standard
and summer times. As an example, U.S. Eastern Time is specified by:
ZONE ET EST -5 EDT -4 91/04/07:7 91/10/27:7 ET is the
name the time zone is referred to by all GeoClock commands. The definition
states that the zone is called EST and is 5 hours behind GMT, except between
91/04/07 0700 GMT and 91/10/27 0700 GMT, when it is called EDT and is 4 hours
behind GMT.
If the offset to GMT is 100 or larger, the time zone will give true local sun
time (i.e., the sun is at its highest elevation at exactly 12:00 every day).
A special time zone named ST (for sun-time) is defined in the GEOZONES.DAT
file for this zone.
If the ZONE commands are not for the correct year, GeoClock will automatically
update them by changing each date to the closest date in the correct year
which falls on the same day of the week.
ZOOMFRACT
See System Control Commands
ZOOMFRACT Set screen active area for zoom
This command sets the size of the active area on the map for zoom to prevent
zoom to areas too close to the screen edge, and to allow map to map lateral
zooming. ZOOMFRACT1.0 allows zooming to any area on the screen.
ZOOMFRACT0.95, for example, does not allow zooming closer to the edge than 5%
of the screen dimensions. This parameter also affects the Where function,
ensuring that the selected city is not too close to the edge of the map. One
consequence of this is that clicking near the edge of the map will bring up
the highest resolution map containing that point but not near the edge, so the
zoom function can be used to navigate laterally through the maps.
HAM radio features
The HAM package is an add-in to the registered version of GeoClock. It
supports a variety of features to support HAM, SWL, and DX operators, and
includes a custom Azimuthal-Equidistant (Great Circle) projection map centered
on your location.
HAM package features
Starting the HAM package
BuckMaster and QRZ CDROMs
Call Sign Analysis
Use of other GeoClock features
Twilight zone definition
HAM data base
HAM package support
HAM package features
The GeoClock HAM package activates several new features of particular interest
to amateur radio operators and short-wave listeners. These include:
Azimuthal-Equidistant (Great Circle) maps.
Day, night, and twilight zone display:
-Twilight zone parameters can be set to indicate boundaries of sun
illumination on the F- and D-layers of the ionosphere.
Amateur radio call sign analysis (based on a user-maintainable call sign data
base). When a call sign (or prefix) is entered, the following information is
displayed:
-Remote station location
-short and long great circle path
-short and long path azimuth and range
-remote station (reciprocal) azimuth
-UTC, local, and remote station local time
-DXCC and WAE country identifications
-CQ and ITU zones
-Continent, area, and location names
The package has three major components: a custom Azimuthal-Equidistant map
centered on your station; a call sign data base, and a utility program to
process the text call sign data base into the GeoClock form. Your registered
copy of GeoClock will use this data base to overlay HAM data on the custom
map.
The custom Azi-Equi map centered on your location is named MAP9009.EGA. A
custom GEO9009.DAT file is also provided to control the display of HAM data.
If the optional BuckMaster HamCall (April 1995 or earlier) or QRZ CD-ROM is
online, the GeoClock HAM package will use the CD-ROM to provide very accurate
coordinates and headings for US call signs in the data base.
These features are provided in addition to the other features of GeoClock.
Starting the HAM package
To start the HAM package, enter "GEOCLK MAP9009" at the DOS prompt. The
program will start with your custom map and an indication of the sun and
terminator locations. In the present release, ham features are activated only
on the custom map.
TIP: Edit your GECONFIG.DAT file with an ASCII text file editor and add the
command "MAP 9009" as the last line of this file. You will now be able to
start the GeoClock program by simply entering GEOCLK at the DOS prompt.
GeoClock will then start up automatically with your custom map displayed.
You should see a color Azi-Equi map displayed on your screen against a black
background. Your location at the center of the map is shown with a cross
symbol. Around the edge of the map are tick marks for every 10 degrees of
azimuth. In the bottom right corner, your name, call sign, and location will
be displayed. In the bottom left corner two clock lines will be displayed:
GMT clock and local time at your location. The format of clock information
can be tailored to suit your taste in clock style. See the "commands" section
of the help system.
In a few seconds (depending on the speed of your computer), the current
sunlight, night, and twilight zones will be displayed. A yellow "sun" will
appear at the current sun subpoint (i.e., the spot on Earth where the sun is
currently directly overhead). GeoClock will continue to adjust the display to
keep up with real time, at a rate dictated by the processing power of your
computer. The date/time of the present display is shown on the clocks in the
lower left corner.
Note: The rate of updates can be slower (approximately half as fast for the
worst case) whenever the boundaries of the twilight zone approach the edges of
the Azi-Equi map. This is because a larger number of calculations are
required in order to accurately display the twilight zone boundary around the
map edge. GeoClock automatically adjusts to this condition in order to insure
that the map display remains accurate.
BuckMaster/QRZ CDROM
If your computer has a CD-ROM drive, and the BuckMaster HamCall (April 1995 or
earlier) or QRZ CD-ROM is on line, GeoClock can use the database on the CD-ROM
to provide very accurate locations (within a few km) and bearing for US call
signs in the Data Base. In addition, the name and home town of the owner of
the call sign is displayed when the call sign is keyed in. This feature is
activated automatically if the HAMCD command is in GECONFIG.DAT. If the CD-
ROM drive is on a network or otherwise non-standard, that command can be used
to specify the exact path and file name of the data base.
The QRZ CD-ROM can be obtained at retail or directly from the publisher:
QRZ Ham Radio CDROM
Walnut Creek CDROM
1547 Palos Verdes Mall, #260
Walnut Creek CA 94596
Voice: 800-786-9907 or 510-674-0783
FAX: 510 674-0821
Internet: info@cdrom.com
Call Sign Analysis
To activate call sign analysis, simply begin to type in the letters and
numbers of the amateur radio call sign of interest. When the first key is
depressed, a window pops open and the call sign you are typing is displayed in
the window. Backspace and cursor keys may be used to correct any typing
errors. When the call sign has been completely entered, press the RETURN key.
To abort call sign entry, press the ESCape key. To clear the call sign
display, press any letter, then BACKSPACE and RETURN.
You do not need to enter an entire call sign. GeoClock will operate on call
sign prefixes. However, GeoClock contains over 1,700 entries in its call sign
analysis database. By entering a complete call sign, you will frequently
benefit from more precise location information.
Call signs containing "/" may be entered directly from the keyboard; e.g.,
FR5ZD/E, KN3T/KH6, HB0/DL7FT and SP9PBE/6.
Once a call sign has been entered, GeoClock displays the following
information:
a. a cross "mark" at the location of the station is added to the map. The
location chosen is the most accurate location known to the database.
b. the local time at that distance location is added to the bottom left
corner of the screen. This is the third clock time, labelled "mark:". This
time is continually updated, along with all the other clocks on the screen.
Rules for local daylight savings (summer) time are applied.
c. short and long great circle paths from your location to the distance
"mark" are displayed on the map. If you look carefully, you will see the long
path has a yellow color. (On an Equi-Az map, the long path is obvious: it is
the path which crosses the edge of the map.) In addition, the left side of
the screen shows the following for both short and long paths:
-- azimuth (direction) from your location to the mark.
-- azimuth from the mark to your location.
-- distance in miles and kilometers.
d. on the left side of the screen, additional information about the call
sign is shown:
-- DXCC country: standard prefix and country name.
-- WAE country: standard prefix and country name.
-- area: state, region, or ooblast within the country for this particular call
sign. For USSR ooblasts, the ooblast number is also shown.
-- mark: the city or geographical spot which is displayed on the map and used
for distance and bearing calculations.
-- CQ zone(s) for the area named above.
-- ITU zone(s) for the area named above.
To erase the information, press the minus (-) key.
Use of other GeoClock features
Most of the GeoClock commands and features described in the other sections of
HELP are available while using the HAM package. In addition to real time
operation, GeoClock can be instructed to operate at other dates and times, and
to operate at accelerated rates. Distances and great circle directions can be
determined between any locations on the globe. There are many commands which
allow you to customize the type and style of information displayed on
GeoClock. You should take time to read the remaining GeoClock help sections
to learn about these additional capabilities. These will help you get the
most out of your GeoClock system.
GeoClock also includes many additional maps of the world, polar regions,
continents, oceans, and individual countries. These additional maps allow you
to zoom in on specific areas on interest in the globe; e.g., twilight zone
crossings of Africa, etc.
While using your custom map and ham features, you can enter these other
GeoClock commands by holding down the SHIFT key while pressing the appropriate
letter. For example, pressing SHIFT and T (for Time) allows you to change the
date/time used to calculate the displayed day, night, and twilight zones.
Note: The SHIFT key must be used. The CAPS LOCK key and caps-lock status is
ignored. Any keys pressed without the SHIFT will be interpreted as characters
for a call sign.
GeoClock supports two commands which are specific to ham features.
The HAMDB command specifies the name of the call sign database to be used.
This command should be in the GECONFIG.DAT file. For example, HAMDB HAM.HDB
specifies that HAM.HDB contains the call sign data base. This database MUST
be in the format produced by GENHAMDB, not in text format. Only the first use
of HAMDB in a given run has effect - the data base cannot be changed while
GeoClock is executing.
The second command, HAM, specifies that the HAM features are to be activated.
The best place to this command is in the GEO9009.DAT file corresponding to
your Azimuthal-Equidistant (Azi-Equi) map. In the current release of
GeoClock, the HAM features may only be used when the Azi-Equi map is
displayed. NOHAM deactivates the HAM features.
Twilight zone definition
One of the strengths of GeoClock is the ability for you to use the TWILIGHT
and SUNLIGHT commands to determine the boundaries of the day zone, twilight
zone, and night zone. You can set these boundaries to any value desired.
The value is the offset, in degrees, of the zone boundary from the edge of the
(geometric) sunlight part of the earth. Typical values of interest for
shortwave operating include:
SUNLIGHT = -6.596 Boundary where sun starts/stops illuminating the D-layer.
This controls absorption on the lower frequency shortwave
radio bands.
TWILIGHT = -14.165 Boundary where sun starts/stops illuminating the F-
layer. These values are based on average D- and F-
layer heights. They define the Ionospheric Gray Line:
a twilight zone where shortwave radio signals can pass
through the D-layer without absorption. Within this
zone signals will encounter an illuminated F- layer
whose ionization level will be normally enhanced over
that found in the night zone.
Other common values for these commands include:
SUNLIGHT = -0.833 Sunset/sunrise at sea level, taking into account the bending
of light through the Earth's atmosphere and the apparent
width of the sun.
TWILIGHT = -6 Boundary of civil (legal) twilight, where it is bright enough
to work outdoors.
TWILIGHT = -12 Boundary of nautical twilight, where it is bright enough to
see the horizon. One can take navigational sightings with a
sextant in this zone.
TWILIGHT = -18 Boundary of astronomical twilight, where sunlight on the upper
atmosphere interferes with the use of telescopes by
astronomers.
To use the same values for twilight definition on all maps,
enter these commands in the GECONFIG.DAT file. To specify values for each
particular map, the commands should appear in the GEO*.DAT file (where "*"
represents the map number; e.g., GEO9009.DAT for your custom Equi-Az map).
HAM data base
Analysis of amateur radio call signs is driven by information contained in the
ham database. The database consists of three files:
-- HAM70.DAT: An ASCII text file containing information described below. You
may have received a more recent version number.
-- GENHAMDB.EXE: An executable utility which converts the ASCII text file
into a binary format used by GeoClock for call sign analysis. Database
validation is also performed by this utility.
-- HAM.HDB: The binary format produced by the GENHAMDB.EXE utility program.
HAM70.DAT
The text form of the call sign data base consists of lines specifying key
data about a group of call signs. Each line consists of 11 data items:
1. CallPattern - the leading characters of the call sign group. For example,
PY signifies all call signs beginning with the characters PY.
Wildcard characters are used in describing call sign patterns as follows:
# -- represents any single digit; i.e., 0, 1, 2, ... 9.
@ -- represents any single alphabetic character; i.e., A, B, ... Z.
? -- represents any single character, either alphabetic or numeric.
* -- represents any string of characters.
For example, PY#Z* represents any call sign beginning with PY, followed by any
single digit, then the letter Z, and then anything else. PY0ZZ would match
this pattern.
All characters are interpreted as upper case. This file has been created in
lower case. If you add entries of your own, you may wish to make them upper
case so that you can easily recognize your own additions for future
maintenance and debugging purposes.
2. HamLat - the latitude of the location corresponding to this call sign. This
may be in decimal degrees (-15.146 for 15.146 degrees South), or in
degrees/minutes/seconds ("15 8 45.6S"). If the latter format is used, the
latitude must be enclosed in quote marks.
3. HamLong - the longitude of the location corresponding to this call sign.
This may be in decimal degrees (-15.146 for 15.146 degrees West), or in
degrees/minutes/seconds ("15 8 45.6W"). If the latter format is used, the
latitude must be enclosed in quote marks.
4. HamTimeZone - the time zone code for local time for this call sign group.
For example, ET stands for US Eastern time. The time zone acronyms are
defined in the GEOZONES.DAT file.
5. HamCQzone - the CQ zone for this call sign group. If the zone has imbedded
spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes; e.g., "3 4 5".
6. HamITUzone - the ITU zone for this call sign group. If the zone has
imbedded spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes.
7. HamContinent - the continent for this call sign group. NA, SA, AF, EU, AS,
AN, and OC may be used as abbreviations.
8. DXCCprefix - the standard DXCC call sign prefix designation for this
CallPattern. The DXCC country identification for this CallPattern is
determined by this prefix.
9. AreaName - the name of the area within a country which is covered by this
CallPattern; e.g., state, ooblast, region, or other political subdivision.
This must be enclosed by quotes.
10. MarkName - the name of the specific place used to represent this call sign
group. Ordinarily this should correspond to the latitude, longitude and time
zone specified above. If the MarkName is missing, the AreaName is used. This
must be enclosed by quotes.
11. WAEprefix - the standard WAE call sign prefix designation for this
CallPattern. The WAE country identification for this CallPattern is
determined by this prefix. If omitted, it is assumed that the WAE country is
the same as the DXCC country.
NOTE -- Items enclosed in quotes must be separated from one another by at
least one space. All items must be contained on a single line.
Another type of line in the text call sign data base specifies equivalences in
call signs. For example, ZY* =PY* specifies that any call sign starting with
ZY should be treated as if it started with PY; i.e., ZY5EG can be processed as
if the call was PY5EG.
Through appropriate combinations of "equates" and wildcards, the database and
analysis algorithm is capable of accurately determining the location of any
call sign heard on the air, including special prefixes.
Mobile call signs (K3NA/MM, for instance) will be processed but not result in
a location display on the map, since the exact location of the station is not
predictable in advance.
You may add additional entries to the HAM42B.DAT (or later versions) file with
a simple ASCII file editor, following the conventions outlined above.
Any line beginning with a space in column 1 is interpreted as a comment. You
can see a typical comment line in the first line of the HAM42B.DAT file, where
columns are named for your convenience.
GENHAMDB
After the HAM70.DAT file has been modified, it must be converted into a format
which can be processed by the GeoClock program. The program GENHAMDB.EXE does
this conversion. To start the program, enter at the DOS prompt: GENHAMDB
(filename). Example: GENHAMDB HAM42B.DAT
Conversion processing can take several minutes, depending on the speed of your
computer. The GENHAMDB utility provides you with a cryptic status of the
current state of the conversion process.
When conversion is completed, GENHAMDB prompts you for a name for the
converted file. The normal convention is to use the name HAM.HDB. If you do
not specify a name, GENHAMDB will assume HAM.HDB.
NOTE -- GeoClock is initially configured to look for the database under the
name HAM.HDB. To change this, you must modify the GEO9009.DAT file with an
ASCII file editor. The command line HAMDB specifies the name of the .HDB file
to use when your custom map is displayed. For simplicity, you may wish to
always tell GENHAMDB to name its output as HAM.HDB.
After writing the .HDB file to disk, GENHAMDB allows you to test the database
without running GeoClock. You will be prompted for a call sign. GENHAMDB
takes the call sign given and looks it up in the data base, and displays the
data base entry, including a summary of the equivalences used in the analysis.
You can test as many call signs as you wish before exiting the program.
Note -- You will also see other numbers displayed along with the data base
entry. These other numbers are used by the GeoClock software developers in
order to debug errors.
To exit GENHAMDB, enter an empty call sign (i.e., just press the RETURN key).
If you wish to conduct further tests on the HAM.HDB file, simple re-enter
GENHAMDB by typing the following command at the DOS prompt:
GENHAMDB HAM.HDB /D
where "HAM.HDB" is the name of the .HDB binary file to be tested. GENHAMDB
takes note of the "/D" debug switch on the command line, skips the database
construction phase, and prompts you to enter test call signs.
Support
The call sign data base included with the HAM version of GeoClock was
developed initially by Eric Scace, K3NA. This is also a copyrighted software
product. You may use the database for any other software which you have
developed for your personal use (e.g., contesting software, QSL card
processing programs, etc). However, the database can not be incorporated into
any software product which is sold or distributed as shareware without prior
permission.
Questions, comments, additional data and corrections to the ham database are
welcomed! These can be sent to Eric via the GeoClock RBBS, or by other means
to:
Eric L. Scace K3NA
10701 Five Forks Road
Frederick MD 21701
home: +1-301-293-2448
work: +1-703-689-6556
fax: +1-703-689-5036
telex: +23-740-0368 ERIC UC
X400 e-mail: C:USA A:Telemail O:Sprintmail
FN: Eric SN: Scace MI: L.
amateur radio BBS: K3NA @K3NA
Call Sign Analysis Algorithm
Matching Algorithm (ALG-2):
1. Use ALG-1 on the input string.
2. If input string does not contain a "/", done
3. If there was no match, go to step 7
4. If the match after the / is exact, done
5. If the end string is /A, /M, or /P, done
6. If the end string is a single numeric, replace the first non-leading
numeric in the string before the /. If ALG-1 produces a match, done.
7. If the string exactly matches one of the */ entries, use that entry
8. Use the shorter of the strings before and after the / (after if equal)
and apply ALG-1
ALG-1:
1. Find the most stringent straight match on the input string
2. Find the most stringent equate match. If none, go to 4
3. Make the substitutions, and find the most stringent straight match (Can
be done recursively up to a maximum limit.)
4. If only one match was found, done
5. If both a straight and substitution match were found, use the more
stringent.
Registration
GeoClock is distributed as shareware. This means that if you use and enjoy the
program, you are expected to register it. See "Ordering GeoClock" for
details. Registering your copy makes continued improvement and support for
GeoClock possible. Furthermore, the registered version includes the zoom,
distance measuring, and city time display functions, plus many additional
maps. You also get access to additional map files from the GeoClock Bulletin
Board System.
See Also:
Why Register?
Registration Form
Updates
Available Maps
BBS
Special Pricing
Ordering GeoClock
Why Register?
Also see Registration Form
There are several important reasons you should register your copy of GeoClock:
You make continued improvement and support of the program
possible
You receive MANY more maps
Your copy will display local times next to the city names
Your copy will start immediately with map display, rather than
pausing at the about box
You can register new versions GeoClock free
You will be notified of new versions and products
You will be able to download special maps and utilities from the
GeoClock BBS
If you have already purchased a registered version of GeoClock, you can update
to a new registered version of GeoClock, including the windows version, by
obtaining the shareware version (from a BBS, shareware catalog, CompuServe or
other online service, or by mail), copying the new files over your existing
GeoClock installation, and running the REGISTER.EXE program supplied when you
purchase your original registered version of GeoClock.
Registration Form
Also see Why Register?
You can print (or save to a file) a completed order form by filling out the
registration menu (under Help|Register on the main menu bar, or by pressing
the register button on the about box.
The various check boxes select the options available with GeoClock. The top
right box, GeoClock Registration, is required unless you already have
purchased GeoClock. If this box is not checked, you must enter your
registration number. This will be filled in already if you are running a
registered copy of GeoClock.
The next five check boxes are for the various extra map sets.
The next check box is for the HAM package. If you want the HAM package, you
must fill in your call sign (enter "none" if you don't have one), and your
latitude and longitude. If you don't know your latitude and longitude, and
live outside the 50 US states, you can enter the name of the nearest large
city instead. If you live inside the US, the latitude/longitude is not
necessary - we can get if from your zip code.
Finally, you can order the Spinning Globe program. This program works much
better under DOS and Windows standard mode than it does under Windows in the
386 mode, OS/2, and Windows NT.
In the box on the upper left, enter your name and shipping address. We use
post office first class mail for deliveries in the US, and post office air
mail for deliveries outside the US.
In the next box, choose your payment method. We accept checks (payable in US
dollars and drawn on US banks), VISA, MasterCard, and American Express. We do
not accept purchase orders or CODs. Money orders mailed separately
(especially from France) have not proved reliable and should not be used. If
you choose a credit card, you must fill in the card number and expiration date
boxes.
If you live outside the US, Canada, and APO/FPO addresses, check the air mail
shipping box.
To check the order, click the Validate button. Any erroneous data will be
highlighted in red. In addition, the total price will be displayed. When the
order is correct, press the Print button (to print the order form) or File
button (to save the order form to the file ORDERGEO.TXT in the GeoClock
directory).
Updates
If you have registered an older version of GeoClock, you can register a new
version without cost. Just unLZH the files from the newest shareware version
of GeoClock and run the REGISTER.EXE program that was included on your
original distribution disks. The latest version is always available from the
GeoClock computer bulletin board system (BBS).
Available Maps
GeoClock includes a large number of maps. All these maps have border data for
the former USSR, former Czechoslovakia, and former Yugoslavia as of the
release date of this version. While the specific maps included change from
time to time to reflect changing interests, the following maps are currently
included with registration:
Africa Australia & NZ British Isles
Canada Caribbean Europe
Far East Former USSR Japan
Meso America Mexico Middle East
N America New York City (2) North Pole
S America SW Asia/India South Pacific
South Pole United States (2) US Regional (13)
View-From-Space (6) World (3)
These basic maps are also available in 800x600 resolution.
There are four supplemental map sets providing detailed coverage of every
country in the world, the US states, and the Canadian Provinces.
North America has approximately 50 maps, including the 50 US states and the
Canadian provinces.
Europe has approximately 40 maps, including all the countries of the former
USSR.
Middle East / Asia / Pacific has approximately 35 maps.
Africa / South America has approximately 35 maps including Central America and
the Caribbean.
The maps distributed are changed from time to time to reflect changing
interests. The GeoClock Bulletin Board always has all the maps available to
registered users.
About the GeoClock Bulletin Board
A free computer Bulletin Board System (BBS) provides support for users of
GeoClock. It always has the latest version of the program available for
downloading. In addition, it provides a forum for all interested parties to
exchange programs and information concerning GeoClock and high quality mapping
for the IBM PC.
Everyone is welcome to use this BBS, but registered GeoClock users have access
to certain special files and have higher access limits. HAM package owners
also have access to the latest version of the HAM data base. Please have your
registration number handy when you log on for the first time. Except for these
special files, the messages and files on the board are available to everyone.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
You need a modem (1200, 2400, 9600 v.32, 14400 v.32bis) and terminal emulation
software (such as ProComm or CrossTalk) for your PC to access the BBS. The
BBS uses N-8-1 communications. The BBS number is 703-241-7980. This is a
Washington DC metro area number. GeoClock is also available from many
Shareware catalogs, computer bulletin boards, and CompuServe (CSID
70461,2340).
GeoClock 7. special pricing
License for multiple users at a single site (for LAN use, estimate the number
of LAN users of GeoClock):
Number Price
1 $ 35/User
2-9 $ 30/User
10-20 $ 25/User
21-40 $ 20/User
41+ $ 15/User
Site licenses, corporate licenses, educational licenses, and other large
quantity licenses are available. Contact GeoClock directly (voice 703-241-
2661, FAX 703-241-5809) for details.
SVGA basic map set - $10.
Supplemental Map Sets: $ 20 for one, $30 for two, $35 for three, $40 for all
four ordered at the same time. Available sets:
Basic (included with GeoClock registration)
North America
Europe
Asia/Pacific
South America/Africa/Middle East
Spinning Globe: $15
HAM radio support package: $ 30
Custom maps - $30 for rectangular projection maps covering at least 120,000
square miles (at least 300 miles North to South) outside the US, or at least
800 square miles (25 miles North to South) within the US. Other projections
and sizes by negotiation.
Custom modifications to GeoClock - by negotiation. Custom modifications can
generally be made on a fixed price basis after agreement to specifications.
The supplemental maps and HAM package can be used by each registered user
without additional charge. The supplemental map sets contain detailed maps of
all individual countries in the areas listed above. GEO*.DAT files accompany
each country(s) map(s) and provide both city and country data.
In all cases, the purchaser must make all required copies from the supplied
master copy, and must protect the software the same way the purchaser protects
its own proprietary software to ensure that the license is not violated.
Terms: Payment must be by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or check in
advance. Purchase Orders are accepted only for unlimited site licenses and
custom programming. No CODs.
Ordering GeoClock 7.2
Registration of GeoClock includes a copy of the latest version of the program,
a large set of maps (the basic set described in "Available Maps"), a file with
the names and locations of many world cities for customizing the maps, a
"starter set" of map overlay files, and an installation program for automatic
set-up on a hard disk. Updates to the program are available to registered
users at no charge from the GeoClock BBS.
The supplemental map sets(North America; Europe; Middle East, Asia & Pacific;
South America & Africa), and the HAM package, can be ordered with the initial
registration or later. Custom maps and quantity license agreements are
available. Write for details.
Orders paid by cash or check are accepted by mail. VISA, MasterCard, and
American Express orders may be made by mail, voice, FAX, or electronically via
the GeoClock BBS.
Purchase orders, and checks drawn on or payable to banks outside the USA, are
not accepted. International postal money orders mailed separately have not
proved reliable and should be avoided. In all cases, specify whether 5.25"
(1.2MB) or 3.5" (1.44MB) disks are required.
$35 GeoClock registration (DOS and Windows versions), programs, and basic map
set
$5 Extra for international air mail and handling
$10 SVGA basic map set
$20 One supplemental map set
$30 Two supplemental map sets
$35 Three supplemental map sets
$40 All four supplemental map sets
$30 HAM package (include your call sign and QTH)
$15 Spinning Globe program
You can also order the basic GeoClock registered version ($35) via
CompuServe's SWREG (search for the keyword GEOCLOCK)
GeoClock 2218 N Tuckahoe St, Arlington VA
FAX: 703-241-5809 (24 hours)
CompuServe: 70461,2340
Internet: jahlgren@capaccess.org