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1994-05-01
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PC Clock
A Computer Chronograph
Version 1.3 ■ 1 May 1994
A Shareware Distributed Program
CUSTOMER SERVICE
If you experience any problems with
this program, please write to:
MacGregor K. Phillips
Sto. Nino
Palauig, Zambales 2211
Philippines
(C) Copyright 1993, 1994
MacGregor K. Phillips
All Rights Reserved
Program written by MacGregor K. Phillips
Manual written by MacGregor K. Phillips
Trademark Acknowledgements
Epson is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc.
IBM and PS/2 are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines Corporation
Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation
Page 3
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MacGregor K. Phillips was born in South Bend, Ind. USA in 1944.
After retiring with 22 years of service in the US military he
has turned to doing what he loves best, writing computer
software. His first two programs are Global Security and PC
Clock. He lives with his wife and daughter in Palauig, Zambales;
Philippines.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Association of Shareware Professionals.......................5
ASP Ombudsman................................................5
Shareware Distribution.......................................5
Available by the same Author.................................6
Pass it Along................................................6
Preface......................................................7
Computer Requirements........................................7
Installing PC Clock..........................................8
Multitasking Environment.....................................8
Power Management for Laptop Computers........................8
CD-ROM Disk..................................................8
Terminology..................................................9
Program Features
1. F1 Key - Quick Help Reference System.................10
2. Setting VGA Color Levels - F2, F3, F4, F5 Keys.......10
3. F6 Key - Save Screen Image to Disk File..............10
4. F7 Key - Print Screen Image File.....................10
5. F8 Key - Print CLK32/16.LAP or CLK32/16.SWH Files....10
6. F9 Key - Ask IBM PS/2 Question.......................10
7. F10 Key - Toggle Cursor..............................10
8. Esc Key..............................................11
9. Print Screen Key.....................................11
10. Extended Error Reporting System......................11
11. Network Access Codes for Files.......................11
12. Control C, Control Break, and Pause Keys.............12
13. Critical Error Reporting System......................12
14. Printer Error Reporting System.......................13
15. Menu Navigation......................................13
16. Windows Compatability................................13
17. Command Line Switchs /B and /P.......................13
18. Right Mouse Button...................................13
19. The Chime............................................13
20. CLK32.EXE and CLK16.EXE can Coexist..................13
21. Invalid Dates........................................13
22. Data Entry and Editing Keys..........................13
Using PC Clock
1. Executing PC Clock the First Time....................14
2. Main Menu............................................15
3. Secondary Menus......................................15
4. Synchronizing the Real Time Clock....................16
5. Calibration..........................................17
6. Up Timers............................................19
7. Down Timers..........................................22
8. Lap Timers...........................................24
9. Game/Split Timers....................................25
10. Dates................................................28
11. About................................................31
12. Quit.................................................31
13. Help.................................................31
Start Up Errors.............................................32
Program Errors..............................................33
Critical Errors.............................................34
Printer Errors..............................................37
Index.......................................................38
Page 5
---------------------------------------------------------------
ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS
---------------------------------------------------------------
This software is produced by MacGregor K. Phillips who is a
member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).
ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for
you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem
with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may
be able to help.
The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem
with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support
for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at
545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message
via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536."
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
PC Clock is distributed as Shareware. This allows you to try it
out for a reasonable period of time before you register it. Please
refer to the LICENSE section of the VENDINFO.DIZ File. PC Clock
comes in a 32 bit version and a 16 bit version for 80286 and
above computers. The versions are called CLK32.EXE and CLK16.EXE.
If you continue to use PC Clock regularly you are expected
to register the program. When you do register make sure your
name and address are on the letter. Or you can use the instant
registration form in the file "REGISTER.DOC". Just print it out
on your printer, fill it out, and mail it. If you are not
familiar with the Shareware concept please read the file
"SHR_WARE.DOC". The registration fee is $25.00 by check or money
order. All checks or money orders must be in U.S. dollars drawn
on a U.S. bank. The check or money order should be made out
to MacGregor K. Phillips and mailed to: (if sent by certified
mail deduct $5.00 from total registration fee)
MacGregor K. Phillips
Sto. Nino
Palauig, Zambales 2211
Philippines
When you register your name will be placed in a data base and
when there is a major update to PC Clock you can download the
new version from any BBS or order it from a distributer at no
cost except for the cost of the download or disk. Just send in
the new registration form to keep the data base up to date.
Page 6
Program support by mail will also be provided for 90 days after
registration. It is the view of this author that updates to fix
bugs or add new features to a program should not nickle and dime
you to death for the rest of you life. All registrations will be
acknowledged.
Site Licenses are provided to companies, offices, workgroups,
government agencies, etc. who need to register and use more
than four copies of PC Clock. See the "SITELICE.DOC" file for more
information.
Program support can only be provided by mail at this time since
I am currently living overseas in the Philippines and do not
have access to a telephone, fax, or CompuServe. So, if it seems
to take a long time for me to answer your letters please remember
that foreign mail takes a long time.
If your registration form or letter gets returned because of
a change of address please contact ASP for my current address.
This will be greatly appreciated by all.
---------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE BY THE SAME AUTHOR
---------------------------------------------------------------
For the best transmission security program on the market check out
Global Security. Global Security comes in a 32 bit version and a
16 bit version which can be used on all 80x86 computers. Encipher a
file, transmit it, and then decipher it at the other end. Your
data is safe even from the dreaded National Security Agency (NSA)
and their super computers. Privacy by mathematical law in now a
reality. Also prepares and enciphers files for transmission by
E-Mail. Includes data compression and wiping of original file.
----------------------------------------------------------------
PASS IT ALONG
----------------------------------------------------------------
Feel free to pass this software along to any friend, BBS,
distributor or seller of shareware, user groups, etc. with the
understanding that anyone who continues to use the program is
required to register it. All the files listed in the PACKING.LST
section of the VENDINFO.DIZ File must be included when distributing
this program. If you archive the program for distribution through
BBS's, please use the name PC_CLK13.EXE (or .ZIP, .LZH, .PAX, etc.
as appropriate).
BBS SYSOPs, Vendors, Computer Clubs, and Shareware Distributors
please refer to the VENDINFO.DIZ file for information. Individuals
who wish to distribute the "PC Clock" package to friends or
associates may do so in accordance with the restrictions outlined
in the LICENSE section of VENDINFO.DIZ.
----------------------------------------------------------------
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
Page 7
PREFACE
Welcome to PC Clock.
Time your 3 minute eggs in the morning, time a soccer game or
a professional football game, time the laps in the Indy 500,
time a horse race or a foot race, time a scientific experiment
with an accuracy up to millionths of a second, or time the program
and commercials of a T.V. or radio program in seperate counters
and print out a full report.
PC Clock is a highly accurate computer chronograph that can be
used to time events, games, laps, and races in three modes of
precision. There are Up Timers, Down Timers, Race Timers, Split
Timers, Lap Timers, and Game Timers. There is a section that
will provide all kinds of information about past, present, and
future dates, calendars, and holidays.
If you need to time any kind of an event PC Clock is the program
you are looking for.
It is assumed that you are familiar with the operation of your
computer and DOS manuals. If not, now is the time to become
familiar with your computer and DOS manuals before you begin
using PC Clock.
To use PC Clock you will need the following:
CLK32.EXE an IBM AT or PS/2, or any IBM
compatable computer with an Intel
80386 or 80486 microprocessor with
an EGA, VGA, MDA, or HGC video
adapter; DOS 3.0 or above; 151K
RAM for the program; 2 PIC's; a Dallas
Real Time Clock or compatable; and
one floppy disk drive. (MCGA and PGA
video adapters may work)
CLK16.EXE Same as above and an 80286 or above
microprocessor.
Printer (optional) Any printer that can accept CR, LF, and
FF control characters. If your printer
accepts the IBM line drawing characters
they will print correctly.
Laser Printers All listings from this program are
designed for printers with fan fold
paper and may not print correctly
on laser printers. If you still wish
to try it on a laser printer make
sure it is setup for IBM or EPSON
emulation mode.
Mouse (optional) Any Microsoft or compatable mouse.
Page 8
INSTALLING PC CLOCK.
The installation procedure for PC Clock is very simple. You
will need at least 360K of free disk space to store all of
the programs and documentation files.
If you have an 80286 computer the executable file is called
CLK16.EXE. If you have a 80386 or 80486 computer the executable
file is called CLK32.EXE. Both versions are supplied with the
PC Clock package. PC Clock does not run on the 8086, 8088,
80186 or 80188 CPUs.
PC Clock may be executed from either a floppy or hard disk
drive. To minimize loading time it is recommended that PC
Clock be run from a hard disk drive. You will also be able
to create larger data files on a hard disk drive. PC Clock
CANNOT be executed from a CD-ROM disk because it has to be
able to create files in the directory in which the EXE file is
located. CD-ROM is a read-only media and you cannot create
files on it.
INSTALLING PC CLOCK ON A FLOPPY DISK.
If you received the PC Clock package on a floppy disk and plan
on only executing PC Clock from a floppy disk no further
installation is required unless you have not unarchived the
programs and documentation files.
If you downloaded PC Clock to your hard disk or received PC
Clock on a CD-ROM disk and wish to execute PC Clock from a
floppy disk you must copy the program and documentation files
to a floppy disk. You may use the DOS Copy Command to transfer
the files. Depending on the drive and directory the files are
in the command may be "COPY C:\TEMP\*.* A:\". This means copy
all of the files from the TEMP directory on Drive C: to the
root directory on Drive A:.
INSTALLING PC CLOCK ON A HARD DISK
If you received PC Clock on a floppy disk or CD-ROM disk and
wish to install it on your hard disk you first need to create
a directory to hold the PC Clock files. I suggest using the
name "CLOCK", but the actual choice is up to you. Use the DOS
Command "MD CLOCK" to create the CLOCK directory on your hard
disk. If the files are in the root directory of the A: Drive
use the following DOS Copy Command to transfer the files to
the CLOCK directory on your C: hard disk drive:
"COPY A:\*.* C:\CLOCK".
Page 8A
EXECUTING PC CLOCK
If you desire to execute PC Clock from any directory, the
directory name that PC Clock resides in must be placed in the
"PATH=" environment variable. Check your DOS manual for more
details. If the Directory is not in the "PATH=" environment
variable you will first have to log on to the required directory
with the following DOS Command: "CD CLOCK" assuming that "CLOCK"
is the directory name you have the EXE file in.
From the DOS Prompt type in "CLK32" or "CLK16" and press the
Enter Key. PC Clock will load and be ready to run.
MULTITASKING ENVIRONMENT
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN PC CLOCK IN A MULTITASKING ENVIRONMENT.
It will adversely effect the timing routines and erroneous
results will be displayed. PC Clock will refuse to load and
run if it is executed from Windows or the DOS Task Switcher.
POWER MANAGEMENT FOR LAPTOP COMPUTERS
While using PC Clock on a laptop computer do not use any power
management routines that slow down the CPU.
Page 9
TERMINOLOGY
Click To quickly press and release a mouse button.
Command Bar A shadowed bar that carries out a command
or action. May be activated by pressing the
indicated Hot Key or clicking with the left
mouse button. Common Command Bars are Quit
and Help. Some Command Bars do not have a
Hot Key. In that case use the indicated
keyboard key (ie. PgUp, Home, End). Active
Command Bars have a black shadow while
inactive Command Bars have a dark grey
shadow. When you press the left mouse button
on a Command Bar the shadow changes from
black to dark grey. When you release the
left mouse button the shadow changes back
to black and the Command for that Command
Bar is executed.
Cursor Keys The Left, Right, Up, and Down Arrow keys.
Directory A collection of computer files (programs,
data, and subdirectories) stored at the same
location on disk.
Hot Key A single key that can be used to invoke a
command. The Hot Key is usually indicated
by a letter that is a different color than
the rest of the word in the Command.
Throughout the program the Hot Key is always
the first letter of a Command. This makes
it easy for black and white or monochrome
monitors to know which one is the Hot Key.
Mouse Pointer The non-blinking rectangular box on the
screen indicates the mouse position.
Paging Keys The Page Down, Page Up, Home, and End Keys.
The Home Key takes you to the beginning of
a file or list. The End Key takes you to
the end of a file or list.
Page 10
PROGRAM FEATURES FOR PC CLOCK
All features are supported in both the 32 and 16 bit versions
of PC Clock.
1. The F1 Key may be used at any time to pop up the current
Quick Help Reference System screen. When a Help Menu
or Command Bar is not available you can still use the
F1 Key. You can page forwards and backwards within the
Quick Help Reference System.
2. If your computer has a VGA video adapter board installed
you can brighten, dim, reset color levels, and blank
the screen. This is done by increasing or decreasing
the color intensity levels in increments of 1 from 0
to 63. 0 being no color intensity at all and 63 being
the brightest color intensity level. The F2 Key
brightens the screen 1 intensity level each time the
key is pressed. The F3 Key dims the screen 1 intensity
level each time the key is pressed. The F4 Key resets
the color intensity levels to their original settings.
The F5 Key sets all intensity levels to 0 thereby
blacking out or blanking the screen.
3. The F6 Key is used to save the current screen image to a
disk file, CLK16/32.PRN, for printing at a later time. It
will hold as many screen images as there is room on the
disk. Each image is 2,050 bytes long. If the file does not
exist it will be created. Great for laptop computers. The
only screen images you cannot save to disk are the Critical
Error Reporting System Screen and while running a
calibration or timer routine. The PRN file is compatables
with any text editor that can read ASCII files.
4. The F7 Key is used to print the CLK32/16.PRN disk file.
When all the screen images have been successfully printed
the file will be deleted. The F7 Key will only function
from one of the main menus.
5. The F8 Key is used to print either the CLK32/16.LAP File
or the CLK32/16.SWH File. The CLK32/16.LAP File holds all
the lap information and the CLK32/16.SWH File holds all the
Split Timer information for printing reports. To print
the CLK32/16.LAP File the Lap Timer must be selected from
the main menu. To print the Split Timer report the
Game/Split must be selected from the main menu. When all
the information in CLK32/16.LAP or CLK32/16.SWH is printed
the file will be deleted.
6. The F9 Key is used to change your answer to the question:
Is this an IBM PS/2 Computer? See Page 14 for further
information.
7. The F10 Key is used to toggle between the programs default
cursor and a full size block cursor. For those hard to see
cursors on laptops.
Page 11
8. The ESC Key always backs you out of the program the way
you came in, all the way to DOS. Can be used at any time
except when a Critical Error Reporting System screen
or Printer Error Reporting System screen is active.
9. The Print Screen Key allows you to print the current
screen at any time while the program is running. Two
screens can be printed per page of paper. After two
screens have been printed the paper will have advanced
so the next two screens will appear on the next page.
There is room at the top to use a two hole punch and
save the screen shots in a folder. All printer errors
are handled by the Printer Error Reporting System in a
pop up dialog box. Just answer Retry or Cancel.
10. Extended Error Reporting System is used to report DOS
errors and program errors. It incorporates all known
DOS errors (network errors included) plus errors that
pertain to the program. I have included program errors
in this reporting system to present a common format for
reporting errors. When the program generates an error a
dialog box will appear with the information displayed
below. The following information is displayed if you try
to use a Low Precision Timer without any calibration data
in the CLK32/16.CAL File:
DOS/BIOS Function: 3FH - Read File
File Name: CLK32.CAL
Error Locus: Block Dvice
Error Class: Out of Resource
Error Message: No Calibration Data for Low
Precision Timer.
Recommanded Action: Correct Error, then Retry.
There are two Command Bars displayed that you can use
at this point. One is "Ok" and the other is "Help".
Help calls up the Quick Help Reference Screen and Ok
returns you to an appropriate menu in the program.
All program generated errors are listed and explained
in the Errors section of the documentation. To get a
listing of all DOS errors you will have to purchase a
book on DOS. At the present time there are close to 100
different errors that can be reported by DOS. Most are
self-explanatory.
11. All files used by this program use network access codes
when they are opened. If a file is opened in a read and
write mode read and write sharing is denied. If a file
is opened in a read only mode write sharing is denied.
Page 12
12. Ctrl C and Ctrl Break Keys are trapped by the program and
have no function. The Pause Key is also trapped to
prevent you from pausing the program while a calibration
or timer routine is running.
13. Critical Error Reporting System reports on all critical
errors generated by DOS. When a critical error is
encountered a dialog box will appear with the critical
error information displayed. Below is an example for
trying to create a file on a write protected disk.
Disk Error: Yes
Disk Operation: Write
Disk Area Affected: Directory
Error Code: 00H
Error Message: Disk Write Protected
Below this information will be displayed four Command
Bars which are: Retry, Cancel, Abort, Help.
If you can correct the critcial error select Retry and
DOS will try to perform the operation again. In the above
example remove the write protection from the disk and
select Retry to allow DOS to perform the disk operation
again.
If you cannot or do not want to correct the error select
Cancel. DOS will cancel the operation and the program
will return you to an appropriate menu in the program.
If the error is severe enough select Abort and the
program will try to perform a controlled exit and return
the computer to a stable condition. 99.999% of the time
the program will be able to do so.
If for some reason the computer has locked up your only
recourse is to reset or reboot the computer.
The following list is the information that can be
displayed for each line in the Critical Error Reporting
System Screen.
Disk Error: Yes or No
Disk Operation: Read or Write
Disk Area Affected: DOS, FAT, Directory, or Data
Error Code: 00H to 0CH
Error Message: See Errors Section of
Documentation
If you have a hard or floppy disk that is constantly
giving you critical error messages other than Disk Write
Protected or Drive Not Ready you can pretty much tell
which area of the disk is going bad and take steps to
preserve the data on the disk.
Page 13
The Print Screen Key functions within the Critical Error
Reporting System, but the F6 and F7 Keys do not because
disk access is not allowed during critical error
processing.
14. The Printer Error Reporting System pops up a dialog box
when a printer error is encountered. See Printer Errors,
Page 37, for a explanation of each printer error. Three
Command Bars are also displayed. They are Retry, Cancel,
and Help. If you can correct the error select Retry. If
you cannot correct the error select Cancel and the printing
job will be canceled. Help selects the Quick Help
Reference System.
15. The use of Command Bars is through Hot Keys and/or the
Mouse only.
16. PC Clock is not Windows compatable. Do not run PC Clock
under any multitasking envirnment.
17. Command Line Switch /B forces a black and white or
monochrome display upon startup. If you have a black
and white or monochrome monitor attached to a color
adapter and the screen colors do not appear right use
this switch in the command line when you start PC Clock
(ie. CLK32 /B).
18. Command Line Switch /P forces a pause after printing each
page. Use this switch if your printer does not use fan fold
paper or have a paper tray (ie. CLK32 /P). Does not
function for the Print Screen Key. Both command line
switches may be used at the same time - ie. CLK32 /B /P.
19. Right Mouse Button - Toggles between hiding and showing
the mouse pointer on screen.
20. The Chime - a chime will sound at the top of the hour,
when an invalid key is pressed during keyboard entry,
when a Down Timer is done, when a period or quarter is
finished in a Game Timer, and when the Two Minute Warning
is sounded.
21. Both the 32 bit and 16 bit versions of PC Clock can
coexist on the same computer in the same directory. The
files used by CLK32.EXE all have the name
CLK32.CAL/PRN/LAP/SWH while the files used by CLK16.EXE
all have the name CLK16.CAL/PRN/LAP/SWH.
22. Invalid Dates - Any time an invalid date is entered a
dialog box will pop up to inform you that the date is
invalid. You will be returned to enter a valid date.
23. Data Entry and Editing Keys - Check the Quick Help
Reference System for the editing keys available when
entering or editing data.
Page 14
EXECUTING PC CLOCK THE FIRST TIME
The first time you execute PC Clock the main menu will appear
on the left with a light white background and Command Bars which
list the major functions of PC Clock. The right side will have
a blue background and in the middle will be a dialog box asking
you the following question: Is this an IBM PS/2 Computer?. Using
the three Command Bars below you can answer No, Yes, or Quit.
If you answer Quit PC Clock will terminate and you will be
returned to DOS. If you answer Yes or No the answer will be
recorded in the Calibration File created by the program. The
reason for this question is because according to Microsoft Macro
Assembler Programmer's Guide, Version 6.0 on page 482, some IBM
PS/2 computers cannot reliably read key scan codes using the
keyboard ports. The key scan code must be read through a handler
for BIOS Interrupt 15H. The handler determines the current key
press from the AL register when the AH register equals 4FH.
PC Clock replaces the keyboard interrupt routine and watches
for keyboard scan codes instead of the ASCII character codes.
On some IBM PS/2 computers this would cause you to go into a
loop that could not be gotten out of except by rebooting your
computer. Therefore, on IBM PS/2 computers the original keyboard
interrupt is called, which in turn calls INT 15H Function 4FH
with the correct scan code which is supplied to the program.
Because of this, some timing results may not be as accurate as
possible. Particularly the High Precision Up Timer. Your answer
to the IBM question is stored in the Calibration File. Once the
question is answered it will never be automatically asked again.
You may want to try the program by first answering no to the
question. If you have problems with the program press the F9
Key and you can change your answer.
The first time PC Clock is executed the Calibration File is also
created and placed in the same directory as CLK32.EXE/CLK16.EXE.
Page 15
MAIN MENU
The Main Menu is in the left panel with the light white
background and contains the following Command Bars:
Time, Calibrate, Up Timers, Down Timers, Lap Timers,
Game/Split, Dates, About, Quit, and Help
Note: If your system does not have a mouse the Help Command Bar
says F1 = Help instead of Help.
The active menu item has a black shadow on the Command Bar while
inactive menu items have a dark grey shadow.
To select a menu item use the Up and Down Cursor Keys. As a new
menu item is selected its shadow changes to black and the previous
one changes back to dark grey. The right panel with the blue
background will change to reflect the new menu item. A secondary
menu appears at the top of the right panel for all the timer
and calibration function.
You may also select a menu item by clicking the left mouse button
on the desired menu item.
Selecting Help: You may select Help by pressing the F1 Key or
clicking the left mouse button on the Help Command Bar. The Quick
Help Reference System is not available while running a
calibration routine or while waiting to start a timer routine
or while a timer routine is running.
SECONDARY MENUS
At the top of the right blue panel is the Secondary Menu for
the calibration and timer routines. Time, About, and Quit
do not have secondary menus. The date and time is displayed
instead. The Secondary Menu for Dates is at the bottom of the
right blue panel. The Seconday Menu is Low, Medium, and High
for the calibration routines and the Up Timer. For the Down
Timer, and Lap Timer it is Low and Medium. For Game/Split it
is Game and Split.
To select a secondary menu item use the left and right arrow
keys to highlight the desired menu item and then press the enter
key to select the menu item. Or you can click the left mouse
button on the desired menu item to select it.
Page 16
SYNCHRONIZING THE REAL TIME CLOCK
Before starting each calibration or timer routine you will be
asked to synchronize your real time clock with an accurate outside
time source. The synchronizing screen will automatically appear
with the current date and zero hours, minutes, and seconds
displayed in a dialog box. Command Bars will appear below the
dialog box which you can use to enter an accurate date and time
to synchronize your real time clock with. You can use the
indicated keyboard key in the Command Bar or click on a Command
Bar with the left mouse button. Holding down the indicated
keyboard key or holding down the left mouse button on a Command
Bar issues repeated commands.
The Command Bars display the Up, Down, Left, Right and Enter
keyboard keys. There are Command Bars for "Do Again", "Quit",
and "Skip". Use the indicated Hot Key or click the left mouse
button on the desired Command Bar.
The "Quit" Command Bar exists the Synchronizing process and
returns you to the main menu.
The "Skip" Command Bar skips the Synchronizing process and uses
the current date and time from the real time clock.
Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click on the Command Bars
to select the day, month, year, hours, minutes, or seconds field
you wish to change. Use the Up and Down Arrow Keys or click on
the Command Bars to change the indicated field.
The object is to set the date and time to about 10 to 15 seconds
in the future and when the accurate outside time source reaches
this date and time press the Enter Key or Click the left mouse
button on the Enter Command Bar to set the Real Time Clock to
the displayed time.
Once this is done the displayed time will start changing every
second. You can now check the displayed time against the accurate
outside time source. If they agree press the Enter Key or click
the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar. If they do not
agree press the "D" Hot Key or click the left mouse button on
the Do Again Command Bar to set the date and time again.
Valid dates for synchronizing the Real Time Clock are 1 Jan.
1980 to 31 Dec. 2099, the range of dates that can be set by DOS.
PC Clock prevents you from entering a date that is outside of
this range.
Hint: For systems with a mouse - Once the date and time are set
to 10 to 15 seconds in the future the easiest way to proceed
is to press the left mouse button on the Enter Command
Bar but do not release it. Once the accurate outside time
source reaches the displayed time release the left mouse
button.
Page 17
CALIBRATION
There are three calibration routines. Each one provides a
different degree of precision. Low calibration uses the Real
Time Clock generating an interrupt approximately 32 times per
second. Medium calibration uses the Real Time Clock generating
an interrupt approximately 4096 times per second. High Precision
uses the speed of the CPU itself. The faster the CPU or the less
clock cycles required to execute a fixed set of instructions, the
greater the degree of precision.
Before each calibration routine starts you will be asked to
synchronize your real time clock with an accurate outside time
source. An accurate outside time source is not your wrist watch,
but a place like the Naval Observatory in Washinton D.C. or the
National Bureau of Standards. Synchronize as close as possible but
do not spend to much time on it. Once the Real Time Clock is
synchronized the calibration process will proceed automatically.
At this point all function Keys, the Mouse, the Print Screen
Key and any TSR's will not function. Commands may only be issued
from the keyboard. The only key that will be recognized is the
"S" Hot Key to Stop the calibration process.
Note: While the High Precision Calibration Routine is being run
do not press any keyboard keys except the "S" Hot Key when
you want to stop the calibration process. Hitting any other
key while the High Precision Calibration Routine is
executing will invalidate the results.
When you are ready to stop the calibration process you must
consult the same accurate outside time source. Mark the time
and date you stop the calibration process when you press the
"S" Hot Key. Enter this time and date when asked to. The Command
Bars are the same as when you Synchronized the Real Time Clock.
Calibration figures will then be displayed on screen and saved
to the Calibration File. To know what to expect, go through the
calibration process a few times, but only let it run for a few
minutes. Then when you are ready you can set it up to run for
24 hours or more.
Note: So you do not have to wait for 24 or more hours to test
PC Clock and see if you like the program, run each
calibration process for about 10 or 15 minutes and then
you can test all the various timing routines in PC Clock.
The results will not be accurate, but you will get an idea
of what PC Clock is all about.
Calibration figures are maintained to an accuracy of 10 decimal
places for low and medium precision modes. In high precision mode
figures are maintained to 14 decimal places. While these figures
are used in all internal calculations the timers in low precision
mode only display seconds to two decimal places. In medium
precision mode seconds are displayed to 4 decimal places. In high
Page 18
precision mode seconds are displayed to 10 decimal places. There
is no rounding off of any displayed time figures. Because of this,
when you subtract the start and stop times and compare it to the
total elapsed time the two figures may disagree by plus or minus
1 in the last decimal place.
To give you an idea of what to expect, the following calibration
figures are from my computer. It is an 80386DX 20 Mhz computer.
Ticks/Second Seconds/Tick
Low Precision - 31.9998 .0312501953
Medium Precision - 4,096.0397 .0002441382
High Precision - 928,015.8995 .0000010775*
*The last four decimal places in High Precision Mode will be
displayed when you run the High Precision Up Timer.
Low and medium precision figures will be very close to the above
figures for all computers. It is the High Precision Mode figures
that will show significant differences. A fast 80486 may approach
three or 4 million ticks per second.
I have not mentioned a time limit for the calibration routines
because there is none. You can let them run for thousands of
years, and then thousands more before the calibration routines
would overflow their counters.
Unlike the calibration routines all timer routines do have a time
limit. It is approximately 58.49 years. The Down Timers have a
limit of 512,408 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.
Note: There are a few programs available that allow you dial
up an accurate time source and automatically set your Real Time
Clock. If you have one of these programs use it just prior to
running PC Clock and you can "Skip" the synchronizing routine.
Page 19
UP TIMERS
All three modes of precision are available to the Up Timer.
This is the only timer that utilizes the High Precision Mode.
Select the precision mode you wish to use with the keyboard keys
or using the mouse. In Low and Medium Precision Modes you will
then be asked to synchronize your real time clock. This is just
to give accurate start and stop times. It has nothing to do with
the accuracy of any timed event. If your real time clock is set
accurate enough for you just "Skip" the synchronization procedure.
Then the Up Timer Screen will appear and you will be able to
enter names for the event(s) you are going to time. A Command
Bar will be at the bottom of the screen which says "Escape to
Quit Data Entry". If you do not wish to enter an event name at
this time press the Escape Key or click on the Command Bar with
the left mouse button. You will have another opportunity to enter
event names when you have finished timing the events.
Note: Check the Quick Help Reference System for the editing keys
available for use while entering data.
Next the Up Timer Command Bars will appear at the bottom of the
blue panel. At this point all Function Keys, the Mouse, the Print
Screen Key, and TSR's will be inoperative. You will only be able
to enter commands via the keyboard with Hot Keys. Not all Command
Bars will be active all the time. Active Command Bars will have
a black shadow and inactive Command Bars will have a dark grey
shadow. The Hot Key for each Command Bar is the first letter of
the Command Bar. On color screens it will be red. The Command
Bars and their functions are:
1 Start - Start Timer Number 1.
2 Start - Start Timer Number 2.
Both - Start Both Timers at the same time.
Escape - Quit Timer and return to main menu.
1 Stop - Stop Timer Number 1.
2 Stop - Stop Timer Number 2.
Info - Enter or Edit Event Names.
Do Again - Reset Up Timers for new events.
Once all the timers have been stopped the Functions Keys, the
Mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be available
for use. You can now use the Print Screen Key to print out the
results of the events you have timed or save the results to a
disk file using the F6 Key for printing at a later time. This
is ideal for laptop computers. It allows you to take a laptop
computer anywhere you want, time the events, save the results
to disk, and print them out once you have access to a printer.
Page 20
The Low Precision Mode displays time to 2 decimal places of
accuracy while the Medium Precision Mode displays time to 4
decimal places.
In Medium Precision Mode you also have the choice of using a
special Race Timer. It provides for up to eight finish times
for each race. After Synchronizing the Real Time Clock you will
be asked via a dialog box if you want to use the Medium Precision
Up Timer as a race timer. You can answer No, Yes, or Quit via
Hot Keys or click on the desired Command Bar with the left mouse
button. To use the normal Up Timer answer No. To use the Race
Timer answer Yes. The Race Timer screen will then appear and
you can enter an event name if you wish. Then the Race Timer
Command Bars will appear and commands can only be issued from
the keyboard using Hot keys. The Command Bars and their functions
for the Race Timer are:
Start - Start the Race Timer.
Time - Record a Finish Time.
Stop - Stop Race Timer. No Finish Time is recorded.
Info - Enter or edit an Event Name and a Name for
each Finish Time.
Do Again - Reset Race Timer for next event.
Escape - Quit Timer and return to main menu.
Once the Race Timer is stopped everything returns to normal and
you can print the results using the Print Screen Key or save
the results to a disk file using the F6 Key.
In High Precision Mode only one timer is available. When you
start it up you will see that it is completely different from
the other timers. There are no start or stop times and dates
provided. While the timer is running there is no continuous
display of the elapsed time. Since the Timer routine must run
the exact same set of instructions as the calibration routine,
total ticks and elapsed time will be displayed only after the
timer is stopped.
When the High Precision Timer is selected the High Precision
Screen will be displayed and you have the option of entering
the event name prior to timing the event. Then two Command bars
will appear near the bottom of the High Precision Timer Screen
that say "Start" and "Stop". The active Command Bar has a red
check mark to the left of the Command Bar. At this point all
Function Keys, the Mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's
are inoperative. Press the "S" Hot Key to start the timer and
the red check mark will then move to the left of the "Stop"
Command Bar.
Page 21
WARNING: Pressing any key except the "S" Hot Key to stop the
timer while the timer is running will cause the timer to return
inaccurate results.
When you are ready to stop the timer press the "S" Hot Key. At
this time total ticks and total elapsed time will be displayed.
Three new Command Bars will appear at the bottom of the High
Precision Timer Screen. They are "Info", "Do Again", and
"Escape" whose functions have already been explained.
Once the timer is stopped all program functions return to normal
and you can use the Print Screen Key to print the results or
the F6 Key to save the screen image to disk.
Special Note: The High Precision Timer also has a hook into
hardware IRQ 3 or IRQ 4. The first hardware IRQ
received will start the High Precision Timer. The
second one received will stop the High Precision
Timer. If you have an interface board that can
issue hardware IRQ 3 or 4 when an event starts and
stops you will be able to time events down to
millionths of a second.
The specific hardware IRQ number your computer
uses will be displayed in yellow on the initial
UP Timer screen. The IRQ number depends on which
IRQ number your mouse uses if you have one
installed.
Page 22
DOWN TIMERS
Only the Low and Medium Precision Modes are available for the
Down Timers.
When you select the Low or Medium Precision Mode you will first
be asked to synchronize the Real Time Clock with an accurate
outside time source. This is done so you can have accurate start
times for the Down Timers and in no way affects the accuracy
of the timers. If your Real Time Clock is set accurate enough
you may "Skip" this procedure.
In Low Precision Mode you will then be asked via a dialog box
if you want to "Use Down Timer 1 as a Game Timer?". Use the
"Yes", "No", or "Quit" Command Bars to give your answer. More
on the Game Timer later.
Next the Down Timer Screen will appear and you will have the
option of entering event names for the Down Timers. Then a dialog
box will pop up so you can set the count down time for each
timer. The count down time is set in hours, minutes, and seconds
in 1 second intervals. The maximum count down time is 512,408
hours, 59 minutes, and 59 sconds. Use the Left and Right Arrow
Keys or click the left mouse button on the Left and Right Arrow
Command Bars to select the field you want to set. Use the Up
and Down Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button on the Up
and Down Arrow Key Command Bars to change the value in the
selected field. When the times for the Down Timers are set use
the Enter Key or click the left mouse button on the Enter Command
Bar to enter the times.
At this point the Down Timer Command Bars will appear at the
bottom of the blue panel and the Functions Keys, the mouse, the
Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be disabled. Use the
indicated Hot Keys in the Down Timer Command Bars. They are:
1 Start - Start Down Timer 1.
2 Start - Start Down Timer 2.
Both - Start Both Down Timers at the same time.
Info - Enter or Edit Event Names.
Do Again - Reset Down Timers for next event.
Escape - Exit Down Timers and return to main emnu.
When each Down Timer reaches zero a chime will sound to inform
you that it has finished. When both Down Timers have finished
all program functions will return to normal and you can use the
Print Screen Key to print the results or use the F6 Key to
save the screen image to a file on disk.
Page 23
When you elect to use Down Timer 1 as a game timer only Down Timer
1 will be active and Timeouts will be enabled. Once the Down
Time is set for the game period you wish to time the following
Command Bars will appear:
Start - Start Game Timer.
Timeout - Pause Game Timer.
Restart - Start Game Timer after a timeout.
Info - Enter or Edit Event Names.
Do Again - Reset Down Timer for next game period.
Escape - Exit Down Timer and return to main emnu.
When a timeout is in effect the Down Timer will stop and a
Command Bar that says Timeout will appear next to the Down Timer.
At the end of the game period a chime will sound and all program
functions will return to normal.
Note: Use Down Timer 1 as a Game Timer for any game that does
not have four 15 minute quarters.
Page 24
LAP TIMERS
The lap Timer runs in Low or Medium Precision Modes. It supports
up to 1,024 laps. After you select the precision desired and
synchronize the Real Time Clock you will have the opportunity
to enter an event name. At this point the Function keys, the
mouse, the Print Screen Key, and all TSR's will be disabled.
The Lap Timer Command Bars will appear in the bottom of the right
blue panel. You can only use the indicated Hot Keys to issue
commands. They are:
Start - Start the Lap Timer.
Lap - Record a Lap Time.
Stop - Stop the Lap Timer - Does not Record a Lap.
Info - Enter or Edit Event Name.
Do Again - Reset Lap Timer for next event.
Escape - Exit Lap Timer and return to main menu.
As each lap is recorded its number and lap time is displayed on
screen. The eight most current laps are displayed. To the left
of the recorded lap times is a small window that displays the
running time for the current lap and the average times for all
the recorded laps.
Note: The Stop Command does not record a lap. It only stops the
Lap Timer.
Once the Lap Timer is stopped all program functions will return
to normal and three new Command Bars will appear replacing the
"Start", "Lap", and "Stop" Command Bars. They are:
Report - Print a report of all the recorded laps.
File - Save all recorded lap infomation in a file
called CLK32/16.LAP for printing at a later
time. Creates CLK32/16.LAP if it does not exist.
Prt File - Print all lap information in the CLK32/16.LAP
File.
Note: The number of sets of lap times that CLK32/16.LAP can hold
is only limited by the available disk space. Once all sets
of lap times have been printed the file will be deleted.
Page 25
GAME/SPLIT TIMERS
Once you select the Game or Split Timer from the secondary menu
at the top of the right blue panel the secondary menu will be
replaced by the current date and time and the Game Timer or the
Split Timer screen will appear. The instructions for the Game
Timer will be given first followed by the instructions for the
Split Timer.
The Game Timer is for any game that has 4 15 minute quarters.
After you have synchronized the Real time Clock you will be asked
"Use Two Minute Warnings in 2nd and 4th Quarters?". Answer "No",
"Yes", or "Quit". If you answer Yes the game clock will
automatically be stopped at the two minute mark in the 2nd
and 4th quarters.
Next you can enter information about the game. This can be
skipped and entered at the end of the game if you wish.
You will then be allowed to select the quarter you want to start
in. Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click the left mouse
button on the Left and Right Command Bars to highlight the
starting quarter. Then press the Enter Key or click the left
mouse button on the Enter Command Bar to select the highlighted
quarter. Once this is done the Game Timer Command Bars will
appear and their functions are:
Start - Start game clock for indicated quarter.
Timeout - Pause game clock.
Restart - Start game clock after a timeout.
Info - Enter or Edit game information.
Do Again - Reset Game Timer for a new game.
Escape - Exit Game Timer and return to main menu.
When a Timeout is in effect a Command Bar with the word "Timeout"
will appear next to the game clock.
If Two Minute Warnings are enabled a chime will sound when the
game clock is stopped at the two minute mark and a Command Bar
saying "Two Minute Warning" will appear next to the game clock.
At the end of a quarter a chime will sound to let you know that
the game clock has run out.
At the end of a game the total game time for all four quarters
will be displaed if it is available. All program functions will
return to normal and you can use the Print Screen Key to print
the Game Timer screen or use the F6 Key to save the Game Timer
screen to a file on disk.
Page 26
The Split Timer is an invention of my own. Have you ever
wondered how much time a television program spends on the
program and how much is spent on commercials? And how many
commercials there are for each commercial break? Or how about a
radio station that advertises more rock and less talk? If you
have, this timer is for you. It allows you to time two seperate
events where one event starts as the other event stops and
vice versa. A maximum of 1,024 switches between timers is
allowed. Once the program is stopped a full report can be
printed or saved to a disk file called CLK32/16.SWH for printing
at a later time. The report contains the start time of each
segment along with the duration of that segment.
After synchronizing the Real Time Clock you will be able to enter
information about the event. An example is provided below.
Source: T.V.
Call Letters: KQRX
Frequency: N/A
City: Somewhere
State: Any State
Event No 1: Event No 2:
The Sunday Movie - Program The Sunday Movie - Commerc.
Once the information is entered the Switch Timer Command Bars
will appear and the Function Keys, the mouse, the Print Screen
Key, and all TSR's will be inoperative. The Switch Timer Command
Bars have the following functions:
Start - Start the Switch Timer with Event No. 1.
Count - Replaces the Start Command Bar after the
Switch Timer is started. Active only when
Event No. 2 is in progress. Adds 1 to count.
May be used to record the number of
commercials during a commercial break.
Always starts with 1 since there will always
be at least one commercial.
Switch - Switch to Event No. 2 or back to Event
No. 1.
Halt - Stop Switch Timer and record duration
of last switch.
Info - Enter or Edit information about the event.
Do Again - Reset Switch Timer for next program.
Escape - Exit Switch Timer and return to main menu.
Once the Switch Timer is halted all program functions return
to normal and three new Command Bars will appear in the top row.
They have the following functions:
Page 27
Report - Print a full report on all Switch Timer
information.
File - Save Switch Timer information to a file
called CLK32/16.SWH. Creates CLK32/16.SWH
if it does not exist.
Prt File - Print information in CLK32/16.SWH File.
Note: The number of sets of Switch Times that CLK32/16.SWH can
hold is only limited by the available disk space. Once all
Switch Time sets have been printed the file will be
deleted.
An example of a Switch Timer Report follows:
Switch Timer Page 1 of 1
Start Date: 25 Aug 1993 Source: T.V.
Start Time: 08:00:05.10 Call Letters: KWQP
Stop Date: 25 Aug 1993 Frequecny: N/A
Stop Time: 08:16:05.10 City: Chicago
Total Time: 00:16:00.00 State: Illinois
Event No. 1: Movie - Program Event No 2: Movie - Commer.
Total Time: 0:05:00.00 Total Time: 0:11:00.00
Time Duration Time Duration Count
08:00:05.10 00:03:00.00 08:03:05.10 00:05:00.00 11
08:08:05:10 00:02:00:00 08:10:05:10 00:06:00:00 9
Total Count Equals: 20
What the report says is that the first program segment started
at 08:00:05.10 and lasted for 3 minutes; then the first
commercial segment started at 08:03:05.10 and lasted for 5
minutes. Count in this case would be the number of commercials
during this commercial segment. With this report you can find out
how much time a program spends on the program and how much time
is spent on commercials, the total number of commercials a
program has, and if you want to do a little math you can figure
out the average number of commercials during a commercial segment
and the average length of a commercial. You can also tell the
pattern between the program and commercials the program follows.
Are the commercials spread out throughout the program evenly or
bunched together. Does your favorite late Friday night horror
movie have 1 and 1/2 hours of movie with 3 hours of commercials?
A lot of the late night movies seem this way to me. Now with the
Split Timer you can find out for yourself. Make copies and send
reports to the T.V. and network executives letting them know that
they are being monitored by concerned parents. These reports may
give you enough ammunition to make some changes in the way T.V.
works.
Page 28
DATES
When you get down to the Dates screen you will see a great
deal of information about the current date in the right blue
panel. The date and time will be displayed at the top of the
right blue panel with five Command Bars at the bottom of the
right blue panel. They are "Info", "Delta", "Plus-Minus", "Life",
and "Calendar". To selected a Command Bar use the indicated Hot
Key or click the left mouse button on the desired Command Bar.
When one of the first four functions is selected a dialog box
will appear asking you to enter one date, two dates, or a date
and an offset, or a date and a time. Use the indicated keyboard
keys or click the left mouse button on the desired Command Bar
to move between and change the highlighted date or time field.
Use the Left and Right Arrow Keys or click the left mouse button
on the Left or Right Command Bar to go to the next or previous
field. Use the Up and Down Arrow Keys or click the left mouse
button on the Up and Down Command Bars to change the value in
the highlighted date or time field. When you have the desired
date, times, and/or offset entered use the Enter Key or click
the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar and the function
will calculate and display the desired information.
All date and time fields wrap around so there is no danger of
entering a number that is invalid. If an invalid date is entered
you will be returned to enter a valid date. When entering a birth
date and time in "Life" you cannot enter a date and time that
is in the future. If you do you will be returned to enter a valid
date and time that is not in the future.
Info - displays the same information about any selected date as
shown for the current date. Valid dates range from 1 Jan. 1600
to 31 Dec. 3267 for all date and calendar functions.
Delta Days - or Days Between Dates - Enter any two dates and the
number of days between them will be calculated and displayed.
Plus or Minus Days - Enter any date and press the Enter Key or
click the left mouse button on the Enter Command Bar. Then
enter the number of days (the offset) into the past or future
you would like to see the date for (e.g. 1 Jan. 1992 and -200
days would be 15 Jun. 1991). When entering the offset the PgUp
and PgDn Keys or Command Bars change the value by plus or minus
100. You cannot enter an offset that takes you beyond the range
of a valid date.
Life - First enter your name or the name of any person. Then enter
the date and time of birth. If the time is not known just leave
it set as it is. The length of time in days, hours, minutes, and
seconds you have lived will then be displayed. It will be updated
every second. A date and time in the future is invalid and not
allowed by the program. Try it and see. If you are executing this
program from a floppy disk and save the screen image to a file the
'you have lived time' will get out of sync with the current time
by a few seconds.
Page 29
Calendar - When you select Calendar a calendar showing the
current month of the year will pop up. Sundays are shown in red,
Federal Holidays are shown in red, observed days are shown in
yellow if not a Sunday, and normal days are shown in black. Federal
holidays also have an asterick after the day of the week to make
it easy to identify Federal Holidays when they are printed on
paper.
At the bottom of the Calendar are 6 Command Bars which may be
selected by using the left mouse button or the associated
keyboard key. The Command Bars and the Associated keyboard keys
shown in brackes are:
< Month (Down Arrow Key) - Show previous month of the
year.
Month > (Up Arrow Key) - Show next month of the year.
Holidays ("H" Hot Key) - Show a list of 17 holidays
and observed days for the
current year. Federal
Holidays are in red,
observed days in yellow.
Quit ("Q" Hot Key) - Return to the information
display.
< Year (PgDn Key) - Show calendar for current
month of the previous year.
Year > (PgUp Key) - Show calendar for current
month of the next year.
Note: If you select Holidays after changing the year the list
of Holidays will change to reflect the new year.
Note: If you go back far enough into the past the Holiday
information will not be valid since they were not legal
holidays yet.
When the information is displayed for "Info", "Delta",
"Plus-Minus", and "Life" the Do Again and Calendar Command Bars
will become active.
Do Again - Resets to enter new dates, time, and/or
offsets depending on the function.
Calendar - The calendar displayed depends on the
function as expalined below:
Info - Displays a calendar for the month and
year of the selected date.
Delta - Displays a calendar for the second date.
Page 30
Plus-Minus - Displays a calendar for the past or
future date.
Life - Displays a calendar for the month and
year of birth.
Note: If you show the calendar while the Life Display is running
and then return to the Life Display the time lived will
stay in sync with the current date and time.
You can use the Print Screen Key or F6 Key to save a screen image
to disk at any time while you are in the dates section.
All date calculations are done using Astronomical Julian Day
calculations. This converts a date (month, day, year) to a single
number which represents the number of days since the start of the
Julian Period. The Julian Period began at noon on 1 JAN. 4713 B.C.
The Julian period was devised in 1582 by Joseph Scaliger and named
after his father Julius (not after the Julian calendar). The
beginning of the Julian period was the most recent time that three
major chronological cycles began on the same day - 1). the 28 year
solar cycle after which dates in the Julian calendar return to the
same day of the week (e.g. Jan 1st on a Monday) - 2). the 19 year
lunar cycle after which the phases of the moon return to the same
dates of the year - 3). and the 15 year indiction cycle used in
ancient Rome to regulate taxes. There are 7980 years in 1 Julian
period, the product of 28, 19, and 15.
There are 285 28 year Solar Cycles, 420 19 year Lunar Cycles,
and 532 15 year Roman Indiction Cycles in one Julian period.
Page 31
ABOUT
Displays copyright information and other information about
the program.
QUIT
Press the enter key or click the left mouse button on the "<──┘
to Quit" Command Bar to exit the program and return to DOS.
You can also use the ESC Key to exit the program from anywhere
on the main menu. It is important that the program perform its
exit procedures to make sure your computer is returned to the
same state it was in prior to executing PC Clock. The date and
time maintained by DOS is also reset to reflect the date and time
of the Real Time Clock since every time you use a timer the
updating of the date and time maintained by DOS is stopped.
HELP
Except while a calibration or timer routine is running you may
select Help by pressing the F1 Key or click the left mouse button
on the Help Menu Command Bar. When a Critical Error Reporting
System or Extended Error Reporting System screen is displayed
use the Help Command Bar provided in the screen to call up the
Quick Help Reporting System, If your system does not have a mouse
installed the "Help" Command Bar will read "F1 = Help".
You can page through the Quick Help Reference System using the
Hot Keys for the Next and Previous Command Bars, by clicking
the left mouse button on the next or previous Command Bar, or
by using the PgUp and PgDn Keys. Pressing and holding the
keyboard keys or the left mouse button down issues repeated
commands.
Page 32
START UP ERRORS
On start up there are a number of errors that can prevent the
program from running. Most are self-explanatory.
1. - Sorry! An 80386 or 80486 is required to execute
PC Clock 32.
2. - Sorry! An 80286 or above is required to execute
PC Clock 16.
The following start up errors pertain to both 32 and 16 bit
versions of PC Clock.
3. - PC Clock 32 requires DOS 3.0 or above.
4. - PC Clock 32 cannot run with a CGA Adapter.
5. - PC Clock 32 cannot determine system configuration
parameters. (PC Clock uses BIOS Int 15H Function C0H,
Return System Configuration Parameters, to determine
some of the system parameters. If this BIOS Function
is not supported in your computer this error will the
displayed.
6. - PC Clock 32 requires a Dallas Real Time Clock.
7. - PC Clock 32 requires a 2nd interrupt chip (PIC).
8. - PC Clock 32 cannot run with a nonfunctional Real
Time Clock.
9. - PC Clock 32 needs to be in 25 rows by 80 columns Mode.
10. - Mouse is using IRQ 2. IRQ 2 reserved for Real Time
Clock in PC Clock 32.
11. - PC Clock 32 will not execute under Windows or the DOS
Task Switcher. (Exit Windows or turn the DOS Task
Switcher off and then execute PC Clock again from the
DOS prompt.)
Page 33
PROGRAM ERRORS
The following errors are displayed by the Extended Error
Reporting System as required by the program.
1. Insufficient Space on Disk to Create CLK32/16.SWH
Insufficient Space on Disk to Create CLK32/16.CAL
Insufficient Space on Disk to Create CLK32/16.PRN
Insufficient Space on Disk to Create CLK32/16.LAP
Clean up the floppy or hard disk you are using to make
room for the files. If you get this messsage you will
have to print out the report immediately if you want
to save the data because you will have to exit the
program to clean up the disk.
2. No Calibration Data for Low Precision Timer
No Calibration Data for Medium Precision Timer
No Calibration Data for High Precision Timer
If you try to use a timer routine and there is no
calibration data for that level of precision you will
receive the above error message. Perform the calibration
routine for the indicated level of precision.
3. Cannot Find CLK332.EXE/CLK16.EXE
You cannot rename CLK32.EXE/CLK16.EXE and/or
CLK32.EXE/CLK16.EXE must be located on the currently
logged drive when it is executed.
Page 34
CRITICAL ERRORS
The following errors are reported by the Critical Error
Reporting System. Possible remedies are also suggested.
1. Disk Write Protected
Remove the write protection from the disk and select
Retry from the Critical Error Reporting System menu.
2. Unknown unit
This error should never be encountered. But if it is
select Cancel from the Critical Error Reporting System
menu and you will be returned to an appropriate menu.
3. Drive Not Ready
You have selected a drive without a disk in it. Insert
a disk in the drive and select Retry from the Critical
Error Reporting System menu or select cancel and you
will be returned to an appropriate menu.
4. Unknown Command
A device has received an unknown command. If you ever
encounter this critical error select Cancel from the
Critical Error Reporting System menu and you will be
returned to an appropriate menu.
5. Data Error (Bad CRC)
A data error as indicated by a bad CRC value has been
encountered. You may select Retry from the Critical Error
Reporting System menu and DOS may be able to overcome
the error. If it still reports Data Error after a few
attempts select cancel from the menu and you will be
returned to an appropriate menu. The process you were
trying to do will be cancelled and all files being worked
on or created will be taken care of.
If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy
or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad
in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting
System.
6. Bad Request Structure Length
Select cancel from the Critical Error Reporting System
menu and you will be returned to an appropriated menu.
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7. Seek Error
A disk drive is having problems finding a specific track
or cluster on a disk. Select Retry from the Critical
Error Reporting System menu a few times to see if DOS
can overcome this error. If it cannot select Cancel and
you will be returned to an appropriate menu.
If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy
or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad
in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting
System.
8. Unknown Media Type
A disk with an unknown or improper format type is being
used. This may also happen because of different format
programs being used which are not compatable with all
computers (ie. my 386 will not read any disk formated
by my brothers IBM PS/2 286). Select Cancel from the
Critical Error Reporting System menu and you will be
returned to an appropriate menu.
9. Sector Not Found
A disk drive could not find the sector it was looking
for. You can select Retry from the Critical Error
Reporting System menu a few times to see if DOS can
overcome this error. If it cannot select Cancel and you
will be returned to an appropriate menu.
If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy
or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad
in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting
System.
10. Out of Paper
Will never be reported by PC Clock because it does not
use DOS to print with.
11. Write Fault
Select Retry to see if DOS can overcome the error. If
it cannot select Cancel and you will be returned to an
appropriate menu.
If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy
or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad
in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting
System.
Page 36
12. Read Fault
Select Retry to see if DOS can overcome the error. If
it cannot select Cancel and you will be returned to an
appropriate menu.
If you continue to get this error repeatedly on a floppy
or hard disk it indicates that the disk is going bad
in the area reported by the Critical Error Reporting
System.
13. General Failure
I do not know when this critical error would be reported
but I would probably select Abort and try to exit the
program in a controlled manner.
Page 37
PRINTER ERRORS
The following errors are reported by the Printer Error
Reporting System.
1. TIMEOUT - Printer has timed out. Select Cancel from the
menu in the Printer Error Reporting System, reset your
printer and try again.
2. I/O ERROR - Printer has encountered an I/O Error. Select
Cancel from the menu in the Printer Error Reporting
System and try again.
3. NOT SELECTED - Printer not turned on. Turn your printer
on and select Retry from the menu in the Printer Error
Reporting system
4. OUT OF PAPER - Put more paper in your printer and select
Retry from the Menu in the Printer Error Reporting
System.
5. BUSY - Usually means that the printer is turned on but
is not on line. Put the printer on line and select Retry
from the menu in the Printer Error Reporting System.
On my system with no printer connected to the computer the first
time you try to use the printer it takes the BIOS up to 30
seconds to report "Out of Paper". While the BIOS has control
the update of the displayed time is stopped. The second time
the Print Screen Key is pressed it reports "Out of Paper"
immediately. Depending on your computer and printer you may get
this or a different error message when you do not have a printer
connected to your computer.
Page 38
INDEX
About.......................31 Down Timers.................22
Ask IBM PS/2 Question.......10 Chime...................22
Association of Shareware Limit...................22
Professionals (ASP) Use for Game Timer...22,23
Address..................5 Timeouts............23
Disputes.................5
Member...................5 Errors
Ombudsman................5 Start Up................32
Available by same Author.....6 Program.................33
Critical................34
Block Cursor................10 Printer.................37
Executing PC Clock the
Calibration.................17 First Time..................14
Low, Medium and High Extended Error
Precision...............17 Reporting System............11
Time Limit..............18
CD-ROM Disk..................8 Foreign Country
Chime.......................23 Registration.................5
Click........................9
Coexist.....................13 Game Timers.................25
Command Bars.................9 Chime...................25
Active/Inactive..........9 Two Minute Warning......25
Command Line Switches Timeouts................25
/B......................13 Select Starting Quarter.25
/P......................13
Computer Requirements........7 Hardware IRQ 4 Hook.........21
Critical Error Help........................31
Reporting System............12
Cursor Individual Use...............6
Default.................10 Installing PC Clock..........8
Keys.....................9 Invalid Dates...............13
Laptops.................10
Large Block.............10 Keyboard
Toggle..................10 Control C Key...........12
Control Break Key.......12
Data Entry and Editing Keys.13 Cursor Keys..............9
Dates.......................28 Escape Key..............11
Astrominical Julian Day Function Keys...........10
Calculations............30 Hot Keys.................9
Solar Cycle.........30 Paging Keys..............9
Lunar Cycle.........30 Pause Key...............12
Roman Indiction Print Screen Key........11
Cycle...............30
Calendar................29 Lap Timers..................24
Holidays............29 Lap Limit...............24
Date Limits.............28 Printing Report.........24
Delta...................28 Save to CLK32/16.LAP....24
Info....................28 Print CLK32/16.LAP File.24
Life....................28 Laptop Cursor...............10
Plus-Minue..............28
Directory....................9 Main/Secondary Menus........15
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Mouse Secondary Menus.............15
Click....................9 Split Timer.................25
Hide Pointer............13 Entering Switch Info....26
Pointer..................9 Number of Switches......26
Right Button............13 Purpose.................26
Show Pointer............13 Printing Report.........26
Multitasking Environment....8A Sample Report...........27
Saving CLK32.SWH........26
Paging Keys..................9 Printing CLK32.SWH File.26
Pass It Along................6
Power Management for Synchronizing the Real Time
Laptop Computers............8A Clock.......................16
Preface......................7
Printer......................7 Time Limits
Command Line Switch /P..13 Calibration.............18
Emulation Modes..........7 Timers..................18
Laser....................7
Pause After Page........13 Up Timers...................19
Printer Error Race Timer..............20
Reporting System........13 High Precision Mode.....20
Printer Errors..........37 Warning.............21
Program Features Hardware IRQ Hook...21
Ask IBM PS/2 Questions..10
Chime...................13 VALIDATE.COM.................6
Command Line Switch /B..13 VALIDATE.DOC.................6
Command Line Switch /P..13 Versions - 16 and 32 Bit.....5
Control Break Key.......12 Video Adapters Supported.....7
Control C Key...........12
Critical Error
Reporting System........12
Escape Key..............11
Extended Error
Reporting System........11
Network Access Codes
for Files...............11
Pause Key...............12
Print Screen Key........11
Printing Screen
Image File..............10
Printing CLK32.LAP File.10
Printing CLK32.SWH File.10
Quick Help
Reference System........10
Right Mouse Button......13
Saving Screen Image
to a Disk File..........10
Toggle Curosr...........13
VGA Color Levels........10
Windows Compatability...13
Program Support..............5
Quit........................31
Race Timer..................20
Registration.................5
