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WeatherFAX V3.0 Weather Facsimile for IBM and Compatible Personal Computers USER'S GUIDE Third edition February 1991 Copyright 1990 Jerry Dahl 6404 Lakerest Court Raleigh, NC 27612 TABLE OF CONTENTS ───────────────── GENERAL INFORMATION ............................ 3 Changes in Version 3.0 Introduction Purpose and Goals License information The Software The Author SUPPORTED CONFIGURATIONS ....................... 5 Hardware Software INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS ...................... 6 Installing the WeatherFAX card CONFIG.SYS Modifications AUTOEXEC.BAT Modifications Copying the diskette Starting the Program GETTING STARTED ................................ 8 Getting help information Testing the card Selecting your printer type and display mode Connecting your computer to your fax receiver USING WeatherFAX ............................... 11 Adjusting the page alignment Getting the image Viewing the image Printing the image Saving the image to disk ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ......................... 20 Calibrating the card Using Expanded Memory (LIM 4.0) Using Super VGA (800 X 600 Pixel) mode Sources for weather facsimile pictures WeatherFAX program specifications IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY ......................... 25 ADAPTER/SOFTWARE AVAILABILITY .................. 27 TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS GUIDE .................. 27 GENERAL INFORMATION ─────────────────── CHANGES IN VERSION 3.0 This version (V 3.0) of FAX.EXE contains many improvements over the original (V 2.0) and is a direct result of user feedback. My goal is to make this the best weather-facsimile package for professional users -- regardless of cost. I believe that this goal has been accomplished largely with this version. The new features in Version 3 are: VERY HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS. New graphics drivers are added for 1024 x 768 x 256 color resolution and lower. This resolution is essential for viewing large Polar and GOESTAP images. Graphics cards that use Tseng ET3000/4000 and ATI chip sets are supported. These cards include Orchid ProDesigner, Genoa Super VGA, Boca Research SVGA, Sigma VGA/H, STB VGA Extra, Everex Viewpoint VRAM and the ATI VGAWonder+. The Everex Viewpoint VRAM card has been fully tested at 1280 x 1024 x 16 color resolution. Here is a list of the new graphics drivers and the chip sets supported: 1024 x 768 x 256 colors (Tseng 4000) 800 x 600 x 256 colors (Tseng 3000/4000, ATI) 640 x 480 x 256 colors (Tseng 3000/4000, ATI) 1280 x 1024 x 16 colors (Tseng 4000) 1024 x 768 x 16 colors (Tseng 3000/4000, ATI) Drivers for Paradise and Video 7 chip sets are also included on an experimental basis. They have not been tested by the author. MORE ENHANCEMENT OPTIONS: All 20 NOAA/NESDIS image-enhancement curves are included as an aid in analyzing infrared images. Also included are Log-Black and Log-White curves for analyzing visible-light images. You can shift and scale the curves to better fit the curve to the image. PALETTE SPAN--Interpolation allows you to set a few color palette levels and have the software fill in the in-between values. SKIP LINES--This option reduces the size of HF Fax and GOESTAP images. Skipped lines are not lost, but are averaged with saved lines. AUTOMATIC FILE SAVE--Images are continually saved to disk using a time stamp as the file name. SCHEDULE-TIMER FOR UNATTENDED OPERATION--Specify the starting time and duration to automatically capture images. This is needed for capture polar-orbiting satellites that do not transmit start and stop tones. You can specify the times from either a pull-down menu or as a command-line option. GOESTAP MODE--Allows you to capture GOESTAP images. USER-SPECIFIED SPM--Specify any scan-per-minute value and capture images using nonstandard SPM rates. You can now capture the Meteor-satellite images at 20 SPM and wire photos on C-band that use nonstandard rates. MIRROR IMAGE--Reverse right-to-left wire photos that are sent as mirrored images. BETTER PRINTER/FILE SUPPORT--You can now print and save images when they are reduced using the 50-percent Zoom feature. This allows you to print more of the image area and reduce the image file size. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES: - The 256-color modes have finer scrolling steps that allow you to more-accurately align the image on the display. This is useful for saving the images and using other software to "loop" the saved images. - RTTY support is removed. - The command line /Hxx parameter that specifies the 800 x 600 x 16 color mode is no longer needed and should not be used if your card uses either the Tseng or ATI chip set. - 24-hour time is used in lieu of 12-hour AM/PM time. - The screen is cleared as each new image is acquired. INTRODUCTION These instructions explain how to install and use the WeatherFAX weather scan converter and software. You may print this guide with your printer by typing the following command from the DOS command line: COPY FAXGUID3.DOC LPT1 This scan converter and software is used with your IBM or compatible personal computer. With the proper receiving equipment and antenna, your computer will be able to capture, enhance, save and print--not just black and white-- but gray-scale weather-facsimile images received on the HF, VHF and UHF bands. Users of this Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) imagery include military and commercial meteorologists, ships at sea, scientific observers, educators, and amateurs. This package was described in a two-part feature article in QST magazine. See "A Weather-Facsimile Package for the IBM PC," April and May 1990. The WeatherFAX software reads and writes GIF and TIFF format image files and displays them in CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA and SVGA graphics modes. Resolutions up to 1024 x 768 x 256 colors and 1280 x 1024 x 16 colors are supported. You can enhance the imagery and adjust the color palettes. You can also print up to 16 gray shades on 9- and 24-pin dot matrix and laser printers. When used with the WeatherFAX scan converter, the program allows capture of all APT modes: HF fax, GOESTAP, polar and GOES satellites. The image size is limited only by the available memory in your computer: Up to 32 Mb of EMS memory is supported. Additional enhancements are being developed that will offer even higher-resolution graphics, more operating modes and enhancement options. The system features include: o Direct weather-satellite imagery, including: geo- stationary earth-orbiting satellites (GOES APT/WEFAX, METEOSAT), polar-orbiting satellites (NOAA 9/10 APT IR/Vis, Soviet Meteor), HF-FM NAFAX, and similar APT formats. o Expanded memory support. You can capture images with a wide variety of resolutions. The size of the captured image is limited only by the amount of RAM in your computer. To view images larger than your monitor can display at one time, you can scroll up, down, left, and right. o Incoming pictures can be saved directly to disk. Either the Tag Image File Format (TIFF) or Graphical Interchange Format (GIF) can be selected to allow the images to be used with other graphics-based software. o Print images with 16-level gray scale on a wide variety of printers including 9- and 24-pin dot- matrix printers and laser printers. o Very high resolution. All standard graphics cards are supported including CGA, MCGA, EGA, VGA, and Super VGA(800 x 600) mode. Also for Tseng and ATI chip sets resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 are supported. o Histograms, enhancement, zoom, scroll, gray scale, 256,000+ colors, interpolation, reverse, real-time acquisition/display. NOAA/NESDIS and logarithmic curves. o Automatic gain-lock circuitry. The optimum gain value for WEFAX-signal reception is statistically calculated. This provides better and more consistent pictures than either automatic gain control (AGC) or fixed-gain circuits. o No need for external test equipment to verify, test and calibrate the card. The software and special circuitry on the board allow the computer to automate the testing and calibration. o Unattended operation. Image capture can be fully or partially automatic, including APT start tone detect, sync, image save to disk, APT stop-tone detect and cycle repeat. LICENSE INFORMATION Your right to use WeatherFAX This software is copyrighted in order to control its orderly development. However, you have the right to use the program for private, noncommercial purposes without further permission. That is, you can copy it, use it, and share it so long as you do not charge any money for it other than the cost of the disk or other transfer medium, not to exceed $2. THE SOFTWARE The development of the program began in early 1986, and has gone through several revisions. New versions will be released as features are added and corrections are made to previously released versions. Ideas for future enhancement include: - Higher resolution graphics drivers - Direct AVHRR temperature calibration for polar and GOESTAP images. - Looping of images for animation - Gridding for polar satellite images I am also considering modifying the software to support a very high resolution VAS (Visable and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer/Atmospheric Sounder) digital scan converter for Modes AAA and GVAR format images from GOES satellites. This system would feature a very high resolution visible channel and 20 IR channels from the Atmospheric Sounder instrument on board the spacecraft. Please let me know what new features are needed for this program to suit your needs. THE AUTHOR The author can be contacted by mail at the following address: Jerry Dahl 6404 Lakerest Court Raleigh, NC 27612 For a mail reply, please enclose a self-addressed, self-stamped envelope. Credit must also be given to the many users who have made suggestions for improving the program. Most of their suggestions have been incorporated into this version of WeatherFAX software. SUPPORTED CONFIGURATIONS ──────────────────────── MACHINE REQUIREMENTS WeatherFAX supports most IBM compatible computer systems from the least to the most powerful. The ideal system for a professional user would have a minimum of a 80386 processor and 4 MB of RAM. The graphics card would contain at least 1MB of RAM using the Tseng 4000 chipset. A math co-processor is not required. A typical system would have a 80286 or better processor, 640 KB of conventional memory and a SVGA graphics card. A low end system would have an 8088 processor, 512 KB of conventional memory and CGA or better graphics. o WeatherFAX Card o IBM PC or compatible computer that uses the standard PC-bus architecture. o RAM (Random Access Memory): - 512 kbytes or more of memory: In most configurations, approximately 190 kbytes of memory is required for DOS, drivers loaded by CONFIG.SYS and the WeatherFAX program. All of the remaining memory is available for image storage. - Expanded Memory (optional) LIM 4.0 expanded memory allows up to 32 Mbytes for image storage. Requires both expanded memory and a LIM 4.0 software driver. o A graphics monitor and video adapter card including - Color/Graphics Adapter (CGA) - Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) - Multi-Color Graphics Array (MCGA). - Video Graphics Array (VGA) - Super VGA (up to 1280 x 1024-pixel resolution) o One diskette drive (one of the following): - 5.25-inch drive (360 kbytes) - 3.5-inch drive (720 kbytes). o Fixed disk (optional) o Printer: (optional) Printer types and print resolution - dots per inch (dpi) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── - All standard 9-pin dot-matrix printers (120 dpi) - All standard 24-pin dot-matrix printers (180 dpi) - IBM Pageprinter 3812 (240 dpi) - PCL command compatible (laser) printers (300 dpi) o Receiving equipment and antenna for the frequencies you want to cover. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS To run the WeatherFAX software, you need: o IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System (DOS) Version 3.0 or later INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS ───────────────────────── INSTALLING THE WEATHERFAX ADAPTER Refer to the Guide to Operations for your computer for instructions for installing cards. You will need to turn the computer off and remove the cover from the computer to insert the fax card into an unused card socket. CONFIG.SYS MODIFICATIONS No changes to CONFIG.SYS are normally needed. However, if you ever get the error message "DRIVE NOT READY" when retrieving very large files (1 Mbyte or larger), the reason may be the assignment of an insufficient number of DOS buffers. Try increasing the number of buffers by adding the statement BUFFERS=64 to the CONFIG.SYS file. AUTOEXEC.BAT MODIFICATIONS NOTE FOR USERS HAVING THE ORIGINAL IBM CGA DISPLAY ADAPTER AND SOME VERY EARLY CLONE EGA CARDS (does not apply for most VGA or EGA displays). In those cards, the graphics adapter ROM does not include the entire graphics character set. You will need to load the DOS graphics-character-set driver GRAPHICS.COM into memory. The driver is available on the DOS diskette. Add the statement GRAPHICS.COM to your DOS AUTOEXEC.BAT file to load the driver every time you start your computer. If GRAPHICS.COM is in a subdirectory, supply the necessary path information on the driver statement. For example: C:\DOS\GRAPHICS.COM. When using this program, make sure your AUTOEXEC.BAT file is "clean." Some terminate-stay-resident (TSR) programs--especially those that control screen functions (such as screen blanking) may interfere with the proper operation of the software. If you experience difficulty when running the fax software, check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file first. COPYING THE DISKETTE Copy the WeatherFAX diskette and save the original diskette in a safe place. You can copy the diskette to either a hard disk or to another diskette. Refer to your DOS manual for instructions for copying diskettes. The WeatherFAX program is not copy protected. STARTING THE PROGRAM Start the WeatherFAX program by typing FAX.EXE from the DOS command line. Optional Command Line Parameters: ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Syntax: FAX [options] where options are: │ │ │ │ /C Use conventional memory. │ │ │ │ /E Use Expanded (EMS) memory if installed │ │ (Requires LIM 4.0 driver) │ │ │ │ /FG Default to GIF file format │ │ /FT Default to TIFF file format │ │ │ │ /Hxx BIOS display mode for 800 x 600 x 16 mode │ │ (do not use for ATI or Tseng chip sets) │ │ │ │ /Thh:mm,dd Automatic acquire for polar satellites. │ │ Go into acquire mode, wait until │ │ hh:mm (24-hour time), acquire image for │ │ dd minutes, save file then exit to DOS. │ │ │ │ /Whh:mm,dd Automatic acquire for GOES satellites. │ │ Go into acquire mode, wait until │ │ hh:mm, then wait for Start tone, │ │ acquire until either Stop tone or dd │ │ minutes after hh:mm, save file, then │ │ exit to DOS │ │ │ │ The /T and /W parameters allow you to write DOS │ │ batch files to automatically capture many images │ │ at various times during the day. │ │ hh:mm = starting time in 24 hour time │ │ dd = capture duration in minutes │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ NOTE: The program will automatically use EMS memory if the available EMS memory size is greater than the conventional memory size. Examples: C:>FAX /H52 Enables 800 x 600-pel resolution mode for Oak SVGA graphics card. See the section: Using Super VGA (800 X 600 Pixel) mode. GETTING STARTED ─────────────── GETTING HELP INFORMATION Help information is available anytime you see F1=Help displayed on the screen. You can access Help by pressing the F1 key. Press the Esc key to quit viewing Help. TESTING THE ADAPTER Test the fax adapter by using the Test option on the Main Menu. The various tests will indicate whether the adapter is operating within its correct operating region. If any of the tests indicate that the adapter needs calibration, refer to the section: Calibrating the adapter. Static Test This test is used to check for normal operation and calibration. The nominal parametric values on the adapter are displayed. All of the marks should be in the OK region. Dynamic Test A test signal is applied to the input of each function and the output is checked for correct operation. The Start and Stop Detectors are tested for both ON and OFF states. The FM and AM Detectors are tested to verify linear operation. AM Graph Test A test signal is applied to the AM Detector at various amplitudes and the output linearity is displayed. The graph line should be straight and sloping upward. FM Graph Test A test signal is applied to the FM detector at various frequencies and the output linearity is displayed. The graph line should be straight, sloping upward, and centered between 0 and 256. SELECTING YOUR PRINTER TYPE AND DISPLAY MODE Go to the fax menu to specify the Display Mode and Printer type. You can select a compatible printer type from the list of supported printers. Check your printer documentation to determine which of the supported types that it emulates. Printers supported and print resolution (dots per inch) ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Epson compatible 8-pin printers (120 dpi) │ │ - Epson FX, MX, RX, LX series │ │ - IBM Graphics or Proprinter │ │ - Okidata 192I+, 193I+, 292, 293 │ │ - Okidata in IBM-compatible mode │ │ - Panasonic KX-P1080i, P1091i, P1093 │ │ - Cannon PW-1156A │ │ - Citizen MPS-25 │ │ - Star Micronics: Gemini 10X │ │ │ │ Okidata compatible 8-pin printers (120 dpi) │ │ - Okidata 192, 193 │ │ │ │ Apple ImageWriter II (160 dpi) │ │ │ │ Epson 24-pin compatible printers (180 dpi) │ │ - Epson LQ series │ │ - IBM Proprinter X24 and XL24 │ │ │ │ Toshiba 24-pin compatible printers (180 dpi) │ │ - Toshiba P321, P341, P351 │ │ │ │ IBM Pageprinter 3812 (240 dpi) │ │ │ │ PCL command compatible printers (300 dpi) │ │ - HP LaserJet series II │ │ - HP DeskJet │ │ - Apple LaserWriter II │ │ - IBM LaserPrinter │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ NOTE: If you are using a printer attached to the serial port (COM1), you need to set up the serial port using the DOS MODE command before starting the WeatherFAX program. These commands could be placed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 1) Set the baud rate and other parameters with the DOS MODE command. (e.g., MODE COM1:96,N,8,1,P) 2) Redirect LPT1 to COM1 with the DOS MODE command (e.g., MODE LPT1=COM1) 3) Start WeatherFAX program and set the Printer Destination in the SETUP MENU to LPT1 Serial port printers are usually configured for either 7-bit or 8-bit graphics mode. Be sure that the printer is configured for 8-bit mode. Otherwise, the printed sample will have a blank row (space) every 8 lines. CONNECTING YOUR COMPUTER TO YOUR FAX RECEIVER Use a two-wire cable to attach the fax adapter to your fax receiver. The cable should have a standard 3.5-mm phone plug on the end that plugs into the adapter. Plug the cable into either the receiver earphone jack or fax output jack. USING WEATHERFAX ──────────────── ADJUSTING THE PAGE ALIGNMENT You will need to set the page alignment the first time you use the adapter. The page alignment synchronizes the timing of the computer with the fax image. The image will appear slanted across the display screen when the page alignment needs to be changed. Once set, the page alignment will not normally need to be changed again. The alignment is set while an image is being received. The procedure is listed below. 1) Begin receiving an image into computer memory. Set fax parameters and select the Acquire fax action. The program will automatically capture the next image into the computer storage. After the adapter has started to display an image, go to step 2. 2) Use the cursor down (down-arrow) key until the page alignment function is selected. If the image slants to the right, use the cursor left (left-arrow) key to decrease the alignment value. Otherwise, use the cursor right (right-arrow) key to increase the alignment value. Continue adjusting until the image appears perfectly vertical. The alignment value is automatically stored in the program file on disk so that the image is perfectly aligned each time you use the program. GETTING THE IMAGE 1) SET THE FACSIMILE TYPE. o ADAPTER MODE. The fax card can capture four types of weather facsimile images: - Marine Weather Facsimile. These images are received on HF radio on shortwave radio frequencies (e.g., 8080 kHz). The adapter is set to FM mode. The fax adapter allows the FM Marine fax signal to be within a wide amplitude range. However, if the signal output from your receiver is very strong or very weak, you can compensate by adjusting attenuation pads on the adapter. You can adjust the level while in this pull-down menu by pressing the F4 key. Usually, you will keep the attenuation set at NORMAL. This setting allows operation for input-signal amplitudes that vary between -20 dBm to +10 dBm. - WEFAX image. This is the format for geostationary weather satellites. The receiver is usually tuned to S-Band 1691 MHz. The adapter is set to AM mode and Automatic Gain Lock (AGL) is used to automatically set the correct level for any type of image. AGL determines the optimum gain setting at the beginning of every image and fixes the gain level for the duration of the image. This technique provides a distortion free high dynamic range image each time, whether the image capture is started automatically or manually. - Polar image. These are images transmitted from polar-orbiting satellites at VHF (137.xxx MHz). The adapter is set to AM mode and a fixed gain level is used. While this pull-down menu is displayed, you can press the F4 key allows you to set the gain of the fax adapter so that the signal level is just right. Use the cursor keys to increase or decrease the signal level while an image is active so that the level covers a wide dynamic range without exceeding the MAX (clipping) value. - GOESTAP image. This is the format transmitted over phone lines and distributed by a private service on C-Band satellite. 2) SETTING THE FAX PARAMETERS You can set the configuration parameters for the selected adapter mode by pressing the F4 key on the Acquire Fax menu. You can set parameters separately for each adapter mode. This allows you to preconfigure the parameters for each mode and quickly switch between modes. TABLE OF PELS-PER-LINE FOR VARIOUS IMAGE TYPES ┌───────────┬───────────────┬─────┬──────┐ │Image Type │ PELS PER LINE │ SPM │ IOC │ │ │ SKIP LINES │ │ │ │ │ NO │ YES │ │ │ ├───────────┼───────┼───────┼─────┼──────┤ │ HF Fax │ 1800 │ 900 │ 120 │ 576 │ │ WEFAX │ 840 │ 420 │ 240 │ 268 │ │ GOESTAP │ 2048 │ 1024 │ 120 │ │ │ Polar │ 1800 │ 900 │ 120 │ 288 │ │ Wire Photo│ 2048 │ 1024 │ * │ │ └───────────┴───────────────┴─────┴──────┘ If your computer has a limited amount of RAM, select SKIP LINES = YES and PELS PER BYTE = 2. o SCANS PER MINUTE (SPM) Selects the number of image lines sampled every minute. Use the same value as that of the signal that you receive. Typically GOES WEFAX satellites are 240 and others are 120. Many wire photos on C-Band use nonstandard rates. This menu also allows you to set a user-defined value that allows you to capture images that use nonstandard rates. o PELS PER SCAN LINE Selects the number of samples (pixels) stored for each image line. You would typically set this value to be at least as large as the resolution of your graphics display mode (e.g., 640 for EGA or VGA). This sets the resolution of the image and affects the amount of computer storage needed to hold the image. The fax program uses all of the available memory in your computer to capture images. The image size in bytes can be calculated by the formula: IMAGE_SIZE = PELS_PER_LINE * NUM_LINES / PELS_PER_BYTE Where: PELS_PER_LINE = pixels stored for each image line NUM_LINES = lines in the image PELS_PER_BYTE = pels stored per byte, either 1 or 2 NOTE: The greater the number of Pels Per Line the greater the image resolution. However, the maximum value may be limited by the speed of your computer. For earlier PCs having a 4.77-MHz clock speed use a maximum value of 700 when using 240 Scans Per Minute. The "squareness" of the displayed image depends upon the Index of Cooperation (IOC) of the received image, the Pels Per Line setting, and the aspect ratio of your display adapter. The relationship for these parameters is: PELS_PER_LINE = π * IOC * ASPECT / SKIP Where: π = Pi = 3.14 IOC = Index of Cooperation of received signal GOES (WEFAX) = 268 Polar satellites = 288 HF fax (Marine) = 576 ASPECT = horizontal/vertical pixel density set by adapter display mode, not the physical size of the display. Super VGA, VGA = 1.00 SKIP = 1 if Skip Line option is OFF 2 if Skip Line option is ON. o PELS PER BYTE controls the number of gray shades stored for the image. If your computer has limited memory (less then 640 kbytes), consider selecting 2 pels per byte and use the Skip Line option. 2 Pels per byte saves memory by packing two pixels into each memory storage byte, which allows you to capture images twice as large. The image is stored with 16 gray shades and once captured, you cannot enhance the brightness and contrast. If you have expanded memory (LIM 4.0), you should select 1 pel per byte. The image is stored with 256 shades of gray, and you can enhance the brightness and contrast of the image at any time. o SKIP LINES This option reduces the size of images by storing every other line. The skipped line is not lost but averaged the previous saved line. This option is very useful for reducing the size of HF FAX and GOESTAP images. A normal GOESTAP image is over 3.2 MB with 2048 pels per line. With the Skip line option you can capture the same GOESTAP image using only 1024 pels per line and use 1/4 the amount of memory. 3) SELECT ACQUIRE FAX or SCHEDULE/TIMER ACTION. To acquire images you must have a fax card installed in your computer and your receiver must be attached to the card with a cable. If you use the Schedule/Timer specify 24-hour time for the starting times. The program will automatically capture each image at the specified time. If Automatic File Save is enabled the images will automatically be saved to disk. The program will automatically capture each image from the fax receiver into the computer's memory. If the first image appears slanted, the page alignment needs to be adjusted. The bottom line of the display is the action line. It displays the current receive status and allows you to select various actions while receiving the image. Different actions are displayed using the cursor keys. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ACTION LINE SELECTIONS │ │ │ │ Manual start Press <─┘ for manual start │ │ Move/scroll image <- -> keys scroll left/right │ │ Darker - <- -> to adjust brightness │ │ Adj contrast <- -> to adjust contrast │ │ Printer: on/off <─┘ to turn printer on/off │ │ Disk : on/off <─┘ to save to disk on/off │ │ Page alignment <- -> adjust timing. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Page alignment allows you to adjust the adapter timing if the image is slanted. Once adjusted, the timing should not need to be changed again. Use cursor keys to increase and decrease the timing value. Increase if the image slants to the left. Decrease if the image slants to the right. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ RECEIVE STATUS │ │ │ │ Wait : Waiting for start signal │ │ Start : Start signal detected │ │ Sampling : Putting image into buffer │ │ End of mem : Image size exceeds buffer │ │ Stop : Stop signal detected │ └─────────────────────────────────────────┘ 4) EXIT ACQUIRE MODE After image is captured, press the Esc key exit to the Fax Acquire Menu. Press Esc again to exit to the Fax Action Menu. From the Fax Action Menu you can view or print the image. VIEWING THE IMAGE You can view an image once it is stored in memory. The image may be either retrieved from disk, or acquired from the fax card. You can then view the image with different display modes, scroll, zoom, and enhance the image details in several ways. When viewing the image, you can either: 1) scroll using the cursor keys, or 2) enhance the image using the pull-down menus. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ The active keys used for scrolling are: │ │ │ │ cursor keys: Scrolls the image window up, down, │ │ right and left. A beep is sounded │ │ when you reach the edge. │ │ │ │ Shift Cursor: Hold the Shift key and press a cursor │ │ key for fast scrolling. │ │ │ │ Home Go to top of image. │ │ │ │ End Go to bottom of image. │ │ │ │ F1 Help (this screen). │ │ │ │ Esc Used for several purposes │ │ - return from help screen │ │ - abort when writing screen │ │ - return to previous screen │ │ │ │ Alt/F1..F4 Hold the Alt key and press either │ │ F1, F2, F3 or F4 to select one of the │ │ user-defined color palette tables. │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ If you press the space bar while viewing the image, an action line appears. Use the cursor keys to chose an option, then press the Enter key. The different image enhancement selections are described below. Press the Esc key to return to scroll mode. PALETTE You can change the colors and gray scales of the image by changing the look-up tables (LUT) that define the way the image is displayed. This allows you to emphasize selected areas of the image. Four tables can be defined. For each table, you can adjust the red, green, and blue colors separately. The histogram displays a bar chart of the distribution of intensity levels in the displayed part of the image. It is used as a visual aid to to help set the palette table. The horizontal axis is the intensity level from 0 to 255. The active keys are: Up/Down cursor : selects 1 of the 5 functions Right/Left cursor : change value Esc : return to previous menu F1 : Help (this screen) F9 : interpolate colors between the last two colors that have been modified. F10 : reset colors to gray levels. Functions: 1) Color number - Indicates the image intensity level. All areas in the image with the same intensity level will momentary flash to help locate areas of interest. Use cursor Right/Left to change. 2) Red value - Indicates the color's Red component. Use cursor Right/Left keys to change. 3) Green value - Indicates the Green component 4) Blue value - Indicates the Blue component. 5) Table number - Use Right/Left keys to change palette tables HISTOGRAM The histogram displays a bar chart of the distribution of intensity levels in the displayed part of the image. It is used as a visual aid to to help adjust the brightness and contrast. The horizontal axis displays the brightness level from 0 to 255. The vertical axis displays the number of pixels for each brightness level. This option is available only if the image was captured with pels per byte = 1. For Brightness, the right cursor key makes the image darker. For Contrast, the right cursor key increases the contrast. For the 16-color modes (e.g., VGA) the display is redrawn with the new Brightness and Contrast values when you exit the menu using the Esc key. This changes the display Look Up Table (LUT). The actual image data is not changed. The adjustment scale "[ │ ]" indicates both the contrast range and brightness level. The center mark "│" indicates the brightness level. You can make the image darker by moving the "│" to the right using the right arrow key. The "[ ]" marks indicate the contrast range. The contrast is increased by moving the "[ ]" marks closer together. OVERALL PICTURE ADJUSTMENT 1) Use the histogram to locate the right and left edges of the curve where the number of pixels decreases. 2) Adjust the brightness so that the "│" mark is centered between the edges on the histogram. 3) Adjust the contrast range so that the "[ ]" marks are directly under the right and left edges of the curve respectively. ENHANCEMENT Select one of the image enhancement curves. Both logarithmic and NOAA/NESDIS curves are available. Logarithmic curves include both LOG-White and LOG-Black and are used for enhancement of visible light imagery. Both curves are defined in the "Weather Satellite Handbook", 4th Edition, published by the ARRL. The 20 NOAA/NESDIS curves are primarly used by professional meteorologists and are defined by the NOAA/NESDIS IR Imagery Enhancement Program as described in the 1983 GOES User's Guide. Includes BD, CC, CE, DD, EC, FC, HC, HD, IB, IC, JF, JG, LA, MB, NA, PC, SA, TA, ZA and ZB. ZOOM, NEGATIVE and ROTATE ZOOM: You can select a Zoom of 50, 100, 200 or 400 percent. The 50 percent zoom is useful for shrinking the image to half size to display more of it at one time. The 200 and 400 percent zooms can be used to enlarge the image to better display small details of interest. NEGATIVE: This displays the negative view of the image similar to a photographic negative. The negative view is useful when displaying GOESTAP, IR images and wirephotos. ROTATE: Select either Mirror or 180 Degree Rotate. Mirror is useful for wire photos that are often sent as mirror images. Rotate is useful for viewing images from ascending-node (South-to-North track) polar- orbiting satellites that send images upside down. PRINTING THE IMAGE Before printing for the first time, use the Setup Menu to select your printer. You can print the image either to a printer connected to your computer's printer port or to DOS device name. The device name could be a file name or the name of a printer attached to a Local Area Network. You can print the entire image or just the part displayed on the screen. NOTE: Printing does NOT scale the image to fit the page. The image will always be printed starting at the TOP AND LEFT SIDE DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN. This allows you to trim the top and align the left-hand side before printing. Printing will continue across the line until the page width is reached. You can print the image in black and white, or with a choice of various gray-scale dithering patterns. Dithering is a printing method of using a series of dots in an area to simulate gray information in the same way that a newspaper would via the halftone technique. The dither patterns allow your image to be printed with up to 16 gray shades. Because of the lower resolution of 9-pin dot-matrix printers, you will get good results using either black and white, or 2- and 4-gray-shade dithering patterns. For 24-pin dot-matrix and laser printers, you will get excellent results with all of the dithering patterns including the 16 gray-shade dithers. The 16 gray-shade dithers available are: ┌─────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BAYER │ Brings out detail at the expense │ │ │ of tonal reproduction (contrast). │ │ │ Used for very detailed images. │ │ FATTING │ Good compromise between detail │ │ │ and good tonal reproduction. │ │ VERTICAL LINE │ Emphasizes horizontal lines. │ │ HORIZONTAL LINE │ Emphasizes vertical lines. │ └─────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘ Choosing the best dithering pattern for an image is a matter of both experimentation and experience. The Fatting dither offers a good compromise between detail and contrast and is commonly used. The print head on some printers may overheat when printing large images. If this happens the printer will go into a pause mode to cool down. If the wait is longer than approximately 20 seconds, the program will time out and quit waiting for the printer to resume. If the print head overheats: - wait for a few minutes for the printer to cool before printing another image. - configure the printer for Unidirectional printing instead of Bidirectional printing. This will slow the printer and allow more time for cooling. - Use the DOS MODE command to prevent the printer time- out condition and to allow the printer to resume printing the image after the print head has cooled down (e.g.,MODE LPT1:,,P). This DOS command could be placed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that it is executed every time the computer is started. NOTE: If you're using the graphics driver shipped with DOS 4.0 (or later), the 'Shift/Print Screen' keys on the computer keyboard can be used to print a very crude representation of the image. The DOS GRAPHICS.COM driver must first be loaded into memory. The graphics driver shipped with DOS 4.0 supports VGA graphics mode. SAVING THE IMAGE TO DISK You can save either the entire image or just the part displayed on the screen. If you select the entire image then the image is saved starting at the TOP AND LEFT SIDE DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN. This allows you to trim the top and align the left hand side before saving to disk. You can save the image using either the standard TIFF (Tag Image File Format) or GIF (Graphics Interchange Format). TIFF has fast file operations and stores an image as an uncompressed raster-scan gray-scale image. GIF is the standard format used for storing images by CompuServe and most computer bulletin boards systems (BBS). GIF is slower than TIFF, but uses an efficient compression algorithm that minimizes file size and saves disk space. These standard image file formats allow images to be imported as graphics files into various painting and Desktop Publishing applications that support either of the formats. TIFF files are supported by Aldus PageMaker, IBM Image Edit, Logitech PaintShow, and WordPerfect 5.0. Image Edit is excellent for modifying large TIFF image files. GIF format files are used by many computer bulletin board systems (BBS) and are supported by Compuserve CSHOW and several painting programs. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ────────────────────── CALIBRATING THE ADAPTER WeatherFAX card physical layout ┌────▌█──────▌█────────────▌█─────────▌█──────┐ │ ┌─██─┐ ┌─██─┐ ┌─██─┐ ┌─██─┐ │┌─── │ │POT2│ │POT4│ │POT3│ │POT1│ ││ │ └────┘ └────┘ └────┘ └────┘ ││ │ Stop Start AM FM ││ │ Detector Detector Demodulator Demod. █████ <─┐ │ 450 Hz 300 Hz 2400 Hz 1800 Hz █████ phono │ ││ jack │ ││ │ ││ │ ││ │ ││ │ ││ │ ││ └─────────┐ ┌───┘│ └▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌▌┘ │ Calibration is needed if any of the Self-Tests indicate that the card is operating out of the indicated operating range. The self tests will indicate which parameter is out of range and needs adjustment. Instructions are provided below for making the adjustment. The procedure is simple and can be performed without special tools or knowledge. Because adjustments are made while the computer is powered on it is recommended the adjustment be done by a qualified service technician. A nonmetallic screwdriver should be used for the adjustment. This will prevent damage to the computer if the screwdriver should accidentally be dropped into the computer. 1) Turn power to the computer off. 2) Remove the cover of the computer. Refer to the User's Guide for your computer for instructions for removing the cover. 3) Locate the fax card. 4) Turn computer power on and start the WeatherFAX program. 5) Select Test Adapter, and then Static Test. Adjust the potentiometers for the parameter out of range. When you are finished all parameters should be in the OK region. 6) The final adjustment for the FM demodulator should be done while viewing the FM Graph Test. The line should be linear, sloping upward with time, and centered between 0 and 256. If not centered adjust the FM potentiometer while viewing the Graph. USING EXPANDED MEMORY (LIM 4.0) Expanded memory eliminates the problem of acquiring images that are too large for the computer's 640 kbytes of conventional memory. The LIM (Lotus Intel Microsoft) standard allows up to 32 Mbytes for image storage. It requires both expanded memory and a LIM 4.0 software driver. The WeatherFAX program will automatically use either conventional or expanded memory based upon the larger available amount of RAM. If you have an 80386 type computer then EXTended memory can emulate LIM 4.0 EXPanded memory by using an expanded memory manager driver. The QEMM 386 driver by Quarterdeck Office Systems is fast and recommended. The HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.SYS drivers shipped with Microsoft Windows 3.0 are slower and may cause interrupts to be lost when capturing very high resolution images. Some of the newer 80286-type computers use the NEAT(r) chip sets that allow the EXTended memory to emulate Expanded memory. However EXTended memory on other 80286- type computers without the special chip sets cannot emulate EXPanded memory. You must use an actual LIM 4.0 capable memory card (e.g. Intel AboveBoard). USING SUPER VGA FOR CARDS USING TSENG AND ATI CHIP SETS. These cards include Orchid ProDesigner, Genoa Super VGA, Boca Research SVGA and Everex Viewpoint VRAM. The ATI VGAWonder+ uses the ATI chip set. If you have a Super VGA card, consult your User's Manual to identify the chip set type and the enhanced graphics modes. If the chip set is listed in the table below, you can select all of the resolutions listed. To identify the chip set type, you can either: 1) refer to the User's Manual 2) visually inspect the SVGA card 3) try to match the video BIOS modes in the manual with those in the following table. TABLE OF VIDEO BIOS MODES FOR SUPPORTED RESOLUTIONS ┌─────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ VIDEO BIOS MODES │ │ │640x480│ 800x600 │ 1024x768│1280x1024│ │ CHIP SET │ 256 │ 16 │ 256│ 16 │ 256│ 16 │ ├─────────────────┼───────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼─────────┤ │ Tseng ET3000 │ 2E │ 29 │ 30 │ 37 │ NA │ NA │ │ Tseng ET4000 │ 2E │ 29 │ 30 │ 37 │ 38 │ NA │ │ ATI │ 62 │ 54 │ 63 │ NA │ NA │ NA │ │ Paradise │ 5F │ 58 │ NA │ 5D │ NA │ NA │ │ Video Seven │ 67 │ 62 │ 69 │ 65 │ NA │ NA │ │ Everex Viewpoint│ 30 │ 02 │ 31 │ 20 │ 32 │ 21 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┴───────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴─────────┘ NOTES: 1) NA indicates that the mode is not supported. 2) A multifrequency (multisync) display is required for resolutions greater than 800 x 600. 3) 512 kbytes of video RAM is required on the graphics card for the 800 x 600 x 256 and 1024 x 768 x 16 color modes. 1 MB is required for the 1024 x 768 x 256 and 1280 x 1024 x 16 color modes. 4) Everex Viewpoint, Genoa Super VGA, Orchid ProDesigner, Boca Research SVGA, Sigma VGA/H and STB VGA Extra use the Tseng chip set. ATI VGAWonder+ use the ATI chip set. AST VGA Plus, Compaq VGA, Paradise VGA Plus/Prof and Dell VGA use the Paradise chip set. Video7 VRAM/Fastwrite use the Video Seven chip set. 5) The ATI VGAWonder is not supported at 1024x768-16 colors because the card does not support the BIOS commands used by the WeatherFAX program for the pull- down menus. If your SVGA chip set is not listed above, then VGA and the 800 x 600 x 16 enhanced graphics mode can be still be used by specifying the BIOS mode as a command-line parameter. See section below for instructions. USING SUPER VGA (800 X 600 PIXEL) MODE (chip sets other than Tseng/ATI) If you have a multifrequency (multisync) monitor and a graphics card that supports the super 800 X 600 x 16 color graphics mode, you can display images in this mode. Because different cards use different 800 by 600 BIOS mode numbers, you must specify the mode as command line parameter when starting FAX.EXE. To specify the graphics mode: FAX.EXE /Hxx where: 'xx' is the hex mode. Example: For Oak the hex mode is 52 -> FAX.EXE /H52 Be sure to check that you have the correct monitor and graphics card. The software does not verify the monitor or graphics card. Selected cards and their respective 800 X 600 graphics mode (hex) are listed below. If your graphics card is not listed, you will have to consult your card's user's guide to determine the correct mode. TABLE LISTING 800 x 600x 16-COLOR BIOS MODES FOR VARIOUS GRAPHICS CARDS ┌────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────┐ │ CARD │ CHIP SET │ MODE │ ├────────────────────────┼──────────┼──────┤ │ Chips & Technology │ C&T │ /H70 │ │ Everex │ Everex │ /H02 │ │ Great Wall of China │ Trident │ /H5B │ │ Oak Technology │ Oak Tech │ /H52 │ │ Tecmar VGA-AD │ │ /H18 │ │ AST VGA Plus │ │ /H58 │ │ Compaq VGA │ │ /H58 │ │ Dell VGA │ │ /H58 │ │ Genoa Super VGA/VGA │ │ /H29 │ │ Paradise VGA │ │ /H58 │ │ Video7 VRAM/Fastwrite │ │ /H62 │ └────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────┘ If your card isn't listed above, you should determine the correct 800 x 600 x 16-color mode from the User's Manual that came with your card. SOURCES OF WEATHER-FACSIMILE SIGNALS There are three direct sources for weather-fax signals: geostationary satellites; polar-orbiting satellites; and Marine weather-radio transmitters. The fax card along with the WeatherFAX software can capture all the above types of facsimile. Tone detectors on the card will automatically detect the beginning and ending of each image. Geostationary Satellites. Geostationary satellites include US GOES, European Space Agency METEOSAT, and Japanese GMS. These satellites broadcast on S-Band frequencies; GOES at 1691 MHz and Meteosat at 1694.5 MHz. These satellites are located approximately 22,000 miles above the Earth and provide WEFAX (Weather Facsimile) transmissions using the standard Automatic Picture Transmission (APT) format. Reception of WEFAX images requires an antenna, downconverter, and receiver. The antenna can be either a small parabolic dish or a loop Yagi. The downconverter converts the S-Band signal to 137.5 MHz. An inexpensive scanner radio can be used for the receiver. A two-wire cable from the receiver plugs into the WeatherFAX card. Configure the software for AM mode and 240 scans per minute. Polar-Orbiting Satellites. These satellites transmit on VHF frequencies between 137 and 139 MHz. The NOAA (TIROS-N) series transmit at 137.50 MHz and 137.62 MHz. The Russian Meteor series satellites transmit at 137.15, 137.30 and 137.850 MHz. A general-purpose scanner receiver capable of receiving the frequencies between 136-138 MHz is required. Many of the newer Regency, Uniden, and Radio Shack scanners cover this frequency range and give excellent results. This receiver can also be used in conjunction with the geostationary satellite antenna and downconverter. Configure the software for AM mode and 120 scans per minute. Marine weather radio facsimile. These broadcasts can be received direct from government radio transmissions. There are over 65 transmitter sites worldwide which utilize over 200 different radio frequencies. The information transmitted includes weather-analysis charts, satellite pictures, and radar charts. These radio signals are received on short wave radio frequencies (e.g., 8080 kHz) on Upper Sideband. A stable general coverage single sideband (SSB) receiver is required. The published frequency is normally the center frequency of the upper sideband. Tune your SSB receiver approximately 1600-1700 Hz below the published frequency. For example, the US Navy Fleet Weather Station at Norfolk (NAM), transmits at 8080 kHz. Tune your receiver to 8078.3 kHz (USB) to receive its transmissions. Configure the software for FM mode and 120 scans per minute. WEATHERFAX SPECIFICATIONS o Recording Rate : 60, 90, 120, 240 SPM (Scans Per Minute) o Index of cooperation IOC 576 - Marine fax 288 - TIROS 267 - WEFAX (GOES) o FSK input: 1500 Hz "black", 2300 Hz "white" o FSK input level: Range selectable by pads. -10 dBm to +20 dBm Strong Signal -20 dBm to +10 dBm Normal Signal -30 dBm to 0 dBm Weak Signal o AM input: 2400-Hz AM modulation lower voltage = "black" higher voltage = "white" o AM input level : -20 dBm to +10 dBm. o Input impedance: 10 kilohms o Control signals Automatic start, frame, and stop with manual start and frame. - START : Signal modulated between "black" and "white" at 300 Hz rate for 5 seconds. - STOP : Signal modulated between "black" and "white" at a 450 Hz rate for 5 seconds. - FRAME : "black" signal interrupted by a short burst at a "white" signal each scan line for 5 seconds immediately following start signal. o Hardware interrupt: 8 (BIOS timer interrupt) o I/O Addresses: 386H and 387H o Voltage and current requirements: ┌─────────┬─────────┐ │ Voltage │ Current │ ├─────────┼─────────┤ │ + 5V │ 120 mA │ │ +12V │ 25 mA │ │ -12V │ 15 mA │ └─────────┴─────────┘ IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY ────────────────────── SYMPTOM SOLUTION ───────────── ──────────────────────────────────────── ALIGNMENT 1) Reduce the value of Pels per Line. WAVY - CANNOT BE 2) If you have a 80386-type computer, SET remove the Expanded Memory driver and restart the computer. IF THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY THEN THE DRIVER IS TOO SLOW. If so then use the EMM-386 driver from Quarterdeck Office Systems. NO PICTURE 1) Run fax card tests to assure that the card is operating within the correct range. 2) Verify that Adapter Mode is set correctly for the facsimile signal. 3) For Marine fax mode verify that the receiver signal level is within the range of the fax card attenuation pads. If the signal level is very weak then decrease the attenuation pads using the F4 key on the adapter mode menu. 4) Is the fax receiver powered on and the cable connected to the fax adapter? DISTORTED 1) Verify that the Adapter Mode is set PICTURE correctly for the received signal. (e.g., if the image is WEFAX then the Adapter Mode must be set to AM. 2) Verify that Scans per minute is set correctly for the received signal. 3) If the image is slanted then the Page Alignment needs to be adjusted while an image is received. 4) For FM Marine fax verify that the receiver is tuned correctly. Marine fax images are usually transmitted using Upper Side Band (USB). The receiver must be tuned approximately 1700 Hz lower then the center frequency. Example: For a 8080 kHz HF fax signal, the receiver should be tuned to 8078.3 kHz. (8080 kHz - 1.7 kHz = 8078.3 kHz). Vary the receiver frequency slightly to get the best picture. 5) Check to see if any TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs are in memory. If they are, remove them. Some TSR programs may cause problems when running WeatherFAX. EXPANDED Be sure that the Expanded memory MEMORY NOT device driver (LIM 4.0) is loaded RECOGNIZED: into memory. If you have an 80386 type computer, then the EXTended memory can emulate LIM 4.0 EXPanded memory using a device driver shipped with DOS 4.0. For most 80286 computers, EXTended memory cannot emulate EXPanded memory. 800 x 600 1) Verify your graphics card supports DISPLAY this mode. DOESN'T WORK 2) Verify that you have a multifrequency monitor that supports 800 x 600 resolution. 3) Verify you have set the correct BIOS display mode. 4) Verify that the correct mode is listed as a command line parameter. ADAPTER/SOFTWARE AVAILABILITY ───────────────────────────── The WeatherFAX adapter and software are available from: OFS Software 6404 Lakerest Ct. Raleigh, NC 27612 o Assembled and tested scan-converter board, software and instructions ..................................$360. o Kit including PC board, all parts, software and assembly instructions .........................$230. o Software only (Version 3.0) ....................$30. Terms: - Specify either 5.25" or 3.5" diskette format for the software. - North Carolina residents add 5% sales tax. - Please add $6.50 for shipping and handling (or add $12.00 for overseas orders.) - Check drawn on a US bank in US funds. International bank or postal money order in US funds. All foreign orders must be prepaid. - Please allow 4-6 weeks for US delivery. TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS GUIDE ───────────────────────────── o GIF and Graphics Interchange Format are trademarks of Compuserve Incorporated o Turbo C is a trademark of Borland International o IBM and PS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation o PageMaker and Aldus are registered trademarks of Aldus Corporation. o Apple, ImageWriter are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. o LaserJet is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. o Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation. o Microsoft, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. o WordPerfect is a trademark of WordPerfect Corporation.