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World of Ham Radio 1997
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1997-02-01
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143 lines
PACFAST for Amateur Radio
Copyright 1992, 1993 By Van Flynn, N5ARU
Documentation for Ver 1.21
by Minnie, KB5JM
PACFAST is a high speed packet terminal program. It is designed to
work at baud rates up to 115200. It was written in "C" for fast
execution. It can utilize the 16550 UART chip with a screen
display indicator for this high speed UART chip. It is able to
maintain log files, and will shell to dos. It will work under
windows V3.1. This program will work on most MS-DOS or IBM
compatible machines. It is a very simple and easy program to
work with and relies on the operators knowledge of the TNC's
Firmware rather than a complicated and unwieldy software program.
For the packet experimenter it offers the benefit of being one of
the few programs for packet radio that is designed for high speed
as well as the utilization of the 16550 UART Chip. As an added
feature in this version, it will look up Amateur Radio Call Signs
from within the program if you have j.Com's HAMBASE Program
installed on your computer. This program will also indicate if you
don't have HAMBASE loaded in your machine. You do not have to have
HAMBASE in order to use this program; it will operate as well
without it. With HAMBASE, however, you can get callsign
information fast while working packet contacts.
When this program was compiled, it was optimized for the three most
common Intel processors for the IBM compatibles. Therefore, there
are three versions of PACFAST.EXE on this disk. 1. PACFAST.EXE for
the 8088 and up. 2. PAC286.EXE for the 286 and up. 3.
PAC386.EXE for the 386 and 486. PACFAST.EXE will run on any IBM
compatible; however, if you have a 286 computer, use the 286
version. If you have a 386 or 486, use the 386 version -it will
run faster. Just rename the version you are going to use on your
machine to PACFAST.EXE and discard the others or save higher
versions in case you upgrade your computer.
There are many other more sophisticated programs for packet radio.
However, the simplicity of this program will appeal to the average
packet user who just does not have time to engage in a higher
learning curve type of program. Some packet programs take months
to learn; this one only takes minutes.
To use PACFAST insert the original disk in the drive slot and make
a backup first. Then if you wish to have the program installed on
your hard drive, copy all of the files over to the hard drive. To
run the program merely type PACFAST at the prompt. The program
will come up under its default settings of COM1 1200N81. If you
need different parameters, for instance COM2 at 9600 Baud, with no
parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit; you would then type PACFAST
COM2 9600N81. On the original disk there is a file called
SAMPLE.BAT. You can change it and rename it to reflect your own
set of parameters if they are different from the default. You can
also change parameters from within PACFAST by using ALT P. You
cannot change the com port from within the program.
Once PACFAST is running F1 gets the help screen which is listed
below. From then on to receive and transmit packet, use the normal
TNC commands like C for connect, etc. If you have a 16550 high
speed UART Chip in the Com Port you are using on your computer,
the digits "16550" will appear on the bottom line of the screen
(toward the right side). If you don't have a 16550 UART, then
nothing will appear there.
PACFAST works very nicely under Windows V3.1. While in Windows use
the Program Manager to go to the drive and directory with PACFAST
and click on PACFAST.EXE or PACFAST.PIF. Note that the files
PACFAST.EXE and PACFAST.PIF must be on the same drive and directory
for the program to function under Windows. PACFAST, while not a
Windows program, will work as a window (386 and higher) and will
run as part of a multi-tasking environment. This means that you
can have PACFAST running in the background while you are doing
something else in Windows.
The following commands are available in PACFAST:
Alt C: Clears the screen
ALT E: Toggle Echo - If you type something and don't see
it appear on the screen then turn echo on by typing
ALT E.
ALT L: Toggle Line Feed - If each line of text you receive
in packet seems to be overwriting the previous line
then turn on Line Feed by typing ALT L.
Please note that both line feed and echo can be
toggled with commands to the TNC also.
ALT P: Changes Parameters - This command allows you
to change the baud, parity, data and stop bit
settings from within the program. Normally the
parity, data, and stop bit would be left at
N81.
ALT S: Shell to Dos - This command enables you to leave
PACFAST in a "status quo" setting and go to the
DOS prompt and perform some DOS command such as
DIR, TYPE, Etc.
F2 : Open a Log File - F2 will toggle a Log File named
PACFAST.LOG. If the file is open anything you
received via packet will be saved to disk.
F1 : Help Screen - A help screen will be display
the above commands.
F10 : This will open a window and prompt you for
a callsign. Type in the callsign, hit return, and
the information will appear in this same window.
You must have the HAMBASE program installed on your
system and in the same directory as PACFAST. If not
HAMBASE must be set in the path statement. An error
message will appear if this is not done. Refer to
the HAMBASE documentation for details on how to
print labels, save label information to file, etc.
which can all be done from within PACFAST while
using HAMBASE.
Alt X: Exit - This will exit you from the program.
This program was written using Borland C Compiler and the MCOMM5
Library and is copyrighted February 1992. As such it is shareware
and not in the public domain. The author makes no representations
or warranties with respect to the contents here of and specifically
disclaims any implied warranties of fitness for any particular
purpose. The HAMBASE Callsign Program is a product of j.Com, Ben
Lomond, California.
If you like the program and would like a future update, there is a
$21.50 registration fee which will entitle you to one upgrade (if
there is one - this is the third update). Please make checks or
money orders payable to: Van H. Flynn, N5ARU P.O.Box 24816 New
Orleans, Louisiana 70184. Also any suggestions, reports of bugs,
etc. will be graciously received. If you like the documentation
and would like to let me know how much you enjoyed reading it,
please send E-Mail via Packet to kb5jm@n5uxt.la.usa
de Minnie, KB5JM 7/8/92