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HISTORY.DOC
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History of Mission Control Clock
By Lawrence Baldwin
Version 9509 Copyright 1993-1995
February 23, 1995
History of Mission Control Clock page 1
This documentation not only show the twists and turns, the additions
and deletions, and everything else that it took to get this program
this far but, it also tells the experienced user the latest updates
and modifications to get them going again quickly.
If you are a new user I suggest that you DO NOT read this until you
have fully read and understand the MCCLOCK documentation. By reading
this now may only cause you a lot of confusion and trouble down the
road.
February 26, 1995, Version 9509
-------------------------------
- The EDITOR procedure that catches input errors when entering the dates
and times for an event had a little error of its own. On certain
occasions if a user had made a mistake, they could not make any
corrections or proceed any further. Thanks to Bill Hartenstein for
reporting the bug.
- When using the CONVERTER to convert files to a Julian Date, the
LAUNCH.TXT, ON-ORBIT.TXT, AND LANDING.TXT files can now be calculated
separately. This could not be done in previous versions.
January 29, 1995, Version 9505
------------------------------
Within two weeks of the release of Version 9444, MCCLOCK had made its way
across the Atlantic to Eschenbach, Germany, which is near Nuremburg. My
special thanks to Helmut Jonas for letting me know.
- In past documentations, it stated that the latest versions of Mission
Control Clock could be downloaded from the TECH-COR BBS. This system has
since bit the dust and is no longer in service. The latest versions of
MCCLOCK can now be downloaded from the RPV BBS by calling 310-541-7299.
This system is located at Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA, and runs
at 2400-14400 baud 8-N-1. The documentation has been updated to show
this change.
- Fixed a problem that was over looked when converting the number of
tracking stations from 6 to 12 in the last version. When updating the
stations, if an asterisk (*) was entered to not change data, the name of
the tracking station would appear near the bottom of the listings instead
of at the input prompt where it should have been.
- Fixed a problem with the procedure that calculates the date and time from
a Julian Date. When ever a converted time was anywhere near 00:00:00
(midnight), plus or minus one second, the process would add or subtract
an extra day on to the date. This problem only effected the TEXT PAGES
and not any of the timers.
- On the Built In Hold Information screen, the total duration of the built
in holds are now added up and displayed.
- In the previous version of the Built In Hold Information screen, any day
of the duration that was more then a two digit day was being truncated to
a single digit. This has been fixed.
- Fixed an error in the function that calculates unpredicted holds. It
History of Mission Control Clock page 2
seems that when calculating by the MET hold time that it would not
include the amount of the hold. In this case not only did the user have
to enter the MET time, but also have to add in the amount of the duration
of each hold yet to follow.
October 23, 1994, Version 9444
------------------------------
Version 9444 is the first major release of Mission Control Clock on to
several BBS's throughout the United States. Up to this time it was only
released on a limited scale in the Louisville, Kentucky area.
- MCCLOCK will now handle built in holds that may be in a countdown.
If a file with a mission filename and the extension of "BIH"
(example: STS-59.BIH) is present, the clock will make the necessary
calculations to keep the MET time in synchronization with an actual
countdown. See "CREATING BUILT IN HOLDS IN A COUNTDOWN" in the
documentation for full details.
- Made modifications to the EDITOR so the BIH files can be created and
updated.
- Have modified the hold function used to update the clocks when there
is an unpredicted hold in a countdown. When this function is used
the JDF file can now be updated and saved along with the TEXT PAGE
data. Because of the way this function works and to eliminate files
that will just take up more disk space, I have scraped the MSG files
totally. TEXT PAGE data is now calculated with in the clock from
the JDF files when loaded. Just use as in previous versions and
update the file before exiting Mission Control Clock.
- When entering the new time for a hold in a countdown that was
unpredicted, the MET of the time remaining can now be entered instead
of the local time of launch. When this type entry is used, the
<ENTER> key can only be pressed at the moment that the countdown is
picked up. MCCLOCK will read the current time and then add the
remaining MET to it.
- Set a limit to the number of characters that can be displayed for
the events on the text pages so they will not run over on to the
date and time of day. When this happened, it would throw off the
current events function and it would not keep time properly.
- Added a backwards scroll to the TEXT PAGES.
- Modified NASA SELECT SCHEDULE BREAKER so delimiters will not break
up lines during the read of a file.
- Made small internal modifications of the on line menu in the CLOCK.EXE
program to make it more simple to add new functions to the menu.
- Added a Multiple Update function to the EDITOR. This function works
in the same way that the UPDATE function does except that it will look
for duplicate MET or DATE/TIME entries and change all matches.
- When the <INSERT> key is pressed on the EDITOR two or more mission
files of the same type can be combined.
- To check to see if a proper MET was entered on the EDITOR, press <T>
to toggle the MET to a date and time.
- In my never ending quest to solve all possible MET or DATE/TIME
calculating problems, I added a new calculation to the EDITOR. On
LANDING.TXT files only, the user can enter a positive (+) calculation
History of Mission Control Clock page 3
for an MET and the EDITOR will convert it to the necessary negitive
(-) format for the file. Example: If an MET of +10/03:40:00 is one
hour from landing, the EDITOR would return a calculation of
-0/01:00:00 in the LANDING.TXT file.
- Due to the lack of space at the bottom of the EDITOR to display all
the functions a separate on-line help screen was added. Press <H> for
this display.
- Users can set the defaults for launch date and time, landing date and
time, and GMT time difference. This is done by pressing <5> SET
DEFAULTS on the main menu. This function was added so the user would
not have to keep entering this information over and over again for the
space mission that they work with the most.
- The MULTI-FILE program that was in previous version has been removed
from the utilities. When converting a mission file to a Julian Date,
if more than 200 entries are detected, then the converter will
automaticly break the original file down to smaller files of 200
entries each.
- The Tracking Station's can now hold up to 12 entries. When <F5> is
pressed once the first 6 entries will be displayed. In this mode the
name of the location can be up to 23 characters in length. When <F5>
is pressed the second time, all 12 locations will be displayed. When
12 station are displayed, the names of the locations can be up to 10
characters in length before truncation starts.
- Tracking Station's timers colors can be changed to represent different
status's that the stations maybe in. There are three colors to choose
from, red, green and purple. These settings are not saved to the
MCCLOCK.INI file, so they will have to be reset each time the program
is accessed. Press key 1-0 for stations one through ten and the minus
(-) and the plus (+) key for stations 11 and 12.
April 4, 1994, Version 9415
---------------------------
Version 9415 is a major upgrade to the utilities. I was not happy
with the hassle that I had to go through in creating and updating
mission files....so this is my solution to it. I hope that the
following changes are worth the many hours that I spent at this
version. What was going to be a quick fix turned out to have a
Domino effect.
- Added an EDITOR to replaces the programs SYNCHRONIZER and MET FILE
UPDATE that were in previous versions. This program I hope will
make creating and updating files easier and faster. This program
has been tested to update the LAUNCH.TXT file with the STS-59 data
and seem to be working real well. See the documentation for
complete details.
- Murphy's Law hit...Fix one thing and break another. Due to what the
EDITOR does I had to rewrite the MET converter for a number of
reasons. Since I was at it, I combined it and the DATE/TIME
converter that was also in previous versions together to make one.
The program automatically determines what type of file is being
converted. I also removed some functions that the previous
converters did. During the combining of the two programs I found
History of Mission Control Clock page 4
many bugs in them that I have corrected.
- Had to rework the MSG file format because of the changes I made to
the new CONVERTER. Because of this, users of older versions will
not be able to use their old MSG files. If you can not reconvert an
old file, use a word processor and fix manually to the format of the
new MSG file.
- Mission files (JDF and MSG) can now only have 200 entries. When
converting your files to a Julian Date, if this number is reached a
message will appear telling you that you will have to use the MULTI-
FILE program in the utilities to break the file down first before
using.
- Updated the MCCLOCK documentation and combined it with what was the
MCCTOOLS documentation.
- Some internal code changes to the MCCLOCK program.
March 20, 1994, Version 9413
----------------------------
Beginning with this version of Mission Control Clock I have gone to
numbering the versions as a four digit number. The first two digits
are the year and the last two digits in the week that the program
was released. If more than one version is released in the same week
an alphabetical letter will follow as 'A', 'B', 'C', etc.
- When exiting Mission Control Clock the last settings will be saved
to the MCCLOCK.INI file. This will save the user time from having
to reset the program after each restart.
- Due to the amount of time required for a display to appear when the
format is changed, I have added the message "Configuring Format ...
Please Wait". This will appear each time the format is changed so
users with slower computers will know that something is happening.
- By request I have added a switch so the background color of the MET,
EOM, LOCAL and GMT time can be changed. Due to colors clashing, I
have selected either a black or a blue background. These can be
changed by pressing the <C> key. Comments for this change are
welcomed.
- Added a demo that MCCLOCK will execute for those that run a program
without reading the documentation. This happens only once when the
program is first executed. After the first run the program will
function as normal. By pressing <5> on the main menu will reset the
demo function.
- Have fixed the asterisks to flash at a predetermine time set by the
user. This time is set from the clock menu by pressing the <8> key.
- The amount of time that a clock page is displayed can now be
changed. By pressing <5> on the clock menu the user now sets the
amount of time for both the TEXT PAGES and the CLOCK PAGES.
- Have fixed so MCCLOCK would not crash if the extension of the
filename is entered when deleting a file. It now does not matter if
the extension is added or not during deletion.
- Reworked the hold function so only selected timers will be updated.
By pressing the <H> a number will appear beside each timer. Decide
which timer will be the first to be effected by the hold. Next
History of Mission Control Clock page 5
press <CTRL>+<H> to enter the new launch date and time along with
the chosen timer number. All timers after the clock number chosen
will be updated. See the documentation for more detail.
- Hope to have solved the problem that cause Mission Control Clock to
flash in the wrong places when certain programs are run before the
execution of Mission Control Clock.
- Reworked the clock menu screen so when the <3> is pressed to turn
the beeper 'ON' or 'OFF' a separate menu screen for this function is
not shown as in previous versions. Instead the user just toggles
from 'ON' or 'OFF' on the clock menu.
- Added a new program (MET FILE UPDATE) to MCCTOOLS that will either
update or add MET data to a MET file as long as the date and time
for an event are known. See MCCTOOLS.DOC for more details.
- All programs and files have been adjusted for a future function in
which I hope to add satellite orbital data. NOW I HAVE TO GET IT
WORKING.
- Pressing <S> when the clocks are running will turn the status bar on
and off. This is the data displayed at the bottom of the timers
showing what mode the clocks are in.
- Changed the BEEP alarm to a series of tones.
- If an event on the text pages falls within the time range of the
asterisk settings, a single flashing asterisk will appear beside
that event.
- NASA has started putting in their TV schedules quotation marks
around some events that would cause the NASA SELECT TV SCHEDULE
BREAKER to make mis-calculations. Also from time to time typo's
would show up in the mission elapse time (O's for zeros) that would
cause some strange problems. These errors are now checked and
corrected by the program.
- Fixed the editing of the days in the MET and EOM times. Depending
on what was to be displayed the system would not know what size
characters to use or how to handle it.
- Added DUAL CLOCK functions to the <F3> key. This will allow the
user to select between any two of the main timers (MET, EOM, GMT, or
LOCAL). Once in dual mode press the <LEFT ARROW> and <RIGHT ARROW>
key to make your selection.
November 20, 1993, Version 1.1
------------------------------
- This version of Mission Control Clock includes files for the up
coming STS-61/Hubble Space Telescope Repair Mission.
- Added HOLD function to update all timers if a hold in a launch
countdown should take place. Use <CTRL>+<H> to activate this
function.
- Added a scroll function to the CURRENT EVENTS SCREEN. By using the
up and down arrow keys one can now scroll through these events.
Press <R> to reset the normal function.
- When using the MET or DATE/TIME CONVERTERS the program now looks for
an existing JDF file for the mission being created. If one is found
then the converter will use the existing Tracking Stations and
Secondary Timers times. This is to keep from having to re-enter
this data each time the converters are used.
History of Mission Control Clock page 6
- Hope to have fixed the DATE/TIME CONVERTER accuracy. It was
calculating with a plus or minus one second. Only time will tell.
- Hope to have fixed the Julian Date calculations so at certain times
the clock would not skip a second. Again only time will tell.
- Added as a separate program Mission Control Clock Tools (MCCTOOLS),
which consists of the following programs:
1. SYNCHRONIZER places all events in MET or DATE/TIME files in
order.
2. NASA SELECT TV SCHEDULE BREAKER takes an Ascii file of a NASA
Select Tv Schedule and creates an MET file.
3. MULTI-FILE breaks "JDF" and MSG files down to smaller files.
This program would be used if these files are large enough to
cause MCCLOCK to crash due to the lack of computer memory.
- Added DOS SHELL function to make it easier to get to Dos prompt to
set the internal clock if the time is not correct.
- If a "TRACKING.TXT" file exists when the converters are executed,
the Tracking Station's locations and GMT time differences in the
file will be used in the mission file that is being created. This
function is over ridden if a mission's JDF file already exists.
- Some file extensions were changed to better reflect what the file
consists of. The following files now have these extensions:
All files created by user ".TXT"
Julian Date files created by converters ".JDF"
All message files created by converters ".MSG"
August 11, 1993, Version 1
--------------------------
First release of Mission Control Clock
February 9, 1993
----------------
Mission Control Clock programming begins