home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Libris Britannia 4
/
science library(b).zip
/
science library(b)
/
HAMRADIO
/
DXCOM231.ZIP
/
DXMANUAL.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-01-15
|
197KB
|
3,629 lines
DX-COMM PLUS
(C)opyright 1992,1993 & 1994 By Eric B. Svenson/EBS Consultants
A Terminal Control Program and Shortwave
Database for the DRAKE R8 Communications
Receiver
DX-COMM PLUS is a shortwave broadcast database management program
providing a total monitoring environment for use with the Drake R8
Communications receiver. It requires a 80286 CPU or later IBM PC
compatible computer equipped with a CGA, EGA, or VGA monitor and
preferably a hard drive. It allows the user to control the Drake
R8, upload database records to the Drake, to download frequencies
off the Drake to create new database records, and to monitor
digital signals such as RTTY and CW using a TNC. These and other
features are described in this manual and the updated Readme.Txt
files included with this software.
DX-COMM PLUS was commercial software, between February 1993 and
December 1993. The author, Eric B. Svenson, Jr. has decided
as of 1/1/94 to permanently distribute the program as "shareware".
DX-COMM Plus is a significantly enhanced version of the previously
released 1992 shareware DX-COMM versions 3.3, 3.2, 3.01 and the
versions called QUICKCOMM 2.32, 2.1 and 1.01.
-2-
DISCLAIMERS AND TRADEMARKS:
Throughout this document reference is made to "Drake" or "Drake
R8". This reference is to the Drake R8 Communications Receiver
manufactured by the R.L. Drake Company of Miamisburg, Ohio. The
author of the program DX-COMM PLUS is not an employee, an agent, or
affiliated with the R.L. Drake Company and makes no claims as
representing the interests of the R.L. Drake Company.
Reference is also made to the TRS Database. This database is the
internationally acclaimed English Language Shortwave Broadcast
database by Tom Sundstrom. It is for sale on a subscription basis
by TRS Consultants through the PICs ONLINE RBBS at 609-753-2540 by
typing "TRS" at Main Menu prompt; or by writing to TRS Consultants
at PO Box 2275, Vincentown, New Jersey, 08088-2275; or by phoning
609-859-2447; or by Fax 609-859-3226.
Reference is made to IBM. IBM is a registered trademark of the
International Business Machines Corporation. Likewise, MFJ 1278 is
a registered trademark and product of MFJ Enterprises,
Incorporated. AEA PK-232MBX is a registered trademark and product
of Advanced Electronic Applications, Inc. MSDOS and Windows are
registered trademarks and products of the Microsoft Corporation.
COPYRIGHT
The software described by this document (herein referred to as "DX-
COMM or DX-COMM PLUS") is copyrighted and all rights are reserved
by Eric B. Svenson, Jr. This manual is copyrighted and all rights
reserved. Any modifications to the manual require the prior
consent, in writing, from:
Eric B. Svenson, Jr.
EBS Consultants
PO Box 1361
Summit, New Jersey 07901
(908) 522-8941
Included in this shareware program is the run-time module
BRT71EFR.EXE whose distribution is governed by the following
copywright notice:
Portions(C) 1982-1990 Microsoft Corporation. All
rights reserved.
-3-
DEDICATION
This program is dedicated to the memory of my loving mother, Louise
W. Svenson, who passed away after a long illness of Lou Gehrig's
disease on October 17, 1992. Throughout my life she was a
tremendous motivator to do the best at whatever I set out to do.
I like to think that this program would meet her expectations.
This program also would not have been possible without the
tremendous support provided by my wife Cindie and my children
Cassandra and Heather. They knew that the many hours I spent
creating it was therapeutic for my frame of mind.
SPECIAL APPRECIATION AND THANKS
This program has involved over a year of work and testing. There
are four fellow SWL hobbyists who I am extremely grateful for their
help. They not only assisted in the testing and debugging of the
program, but provide invaluable ideas for making the program
better. These individuals are:
Greg Achenbach of Denver, Colorado
Robert Atkinson of Wilmington, Delaware
Thomas Peterson of Cleveland Hts, Ohio
Robert Rogerson of Springdale, Arkansas
-4-
-5-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction .......................................... 9
Installation and Program Configuration................. 9
Listing Shortwave/Utility Stations .................... 17
Uploading Database Data to The Drake R8 ............... 18
Displaying Utility Broadcasts with Center ............. 19
Frequency Offset
Displaying Database Information for Other ............. 20
Time Periods
Decrementing/Incrementing the Drake Frequency ......... 20
Accessing the Command Screen .......................... 20
Database Display Screen - Five Ways to Display ........ 22
Records: TSF, TFS, FST, SFT, and STF
Maximum Useable and Lowest Useable Frequency Calc...... 25
24 Hour Plots of Predicted High Frequency ............. 27
Propagation
Logging New Stations Into DX-COMM PLUS's Database ..... 29
Alternate Method of Entering Frequency in ............. 34
New or Edited Record
Add Record Feature of Database Menu Screen ............ 34
Editing and Deleting Records .......................... 35
Undeleting Records .................................... 36
Deleting Records Directly From Within ................. 37
Database Display Screen
Field Capture, Global Edit, and Field Import .......... 37
Feature
Find, Edit, and Delete ................................ 38
-6-
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
Adding Frequencies to the Drake R8 Memory ............. 40
The TNC Window ........................................ 40
Scanning Records ...................................... 43
Audio Cassette Recorder Control ....................... 44
Alert Feature ......................................... 46
Printing Records ...................................... 47
DOS SHELL ............................................. 48
Exiting DX-COMM PLUS................................... 48
TRS DATABASE
Importing The TRS SWBC Database Into ............ 49
DX-COMM PLUS
Editing or Adding to the TRS SWBC Database ..... 51
Copying Records Between Databases .............. 51
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Using DX-COMM's version 1.01, 2.1,.. 53
2.32, 3.01, 3.2 & 3.3 SWDB.DAT
Appendix B: Programming Considerations ........ 55
Appendix C: Program Enhancements .............. 57
Appendix D: Modifying the Database to Use ..... 60
Only One Antenna
Appendix E: Troubleshooting ................... 61
Appendix F: DX-COMM PLUS COMMAND SUMMARY
F-1: Database Display Screen............ 63
F-2: Database Menu Screen .............. 64
-7-
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)
PAGE
F-3: Command Screen .................... 65
F-4: TNC Window......................... 67
F-5: Edit Record Screen ................ 68
F-6: Add Record Screen ................. 68
F-7: Propagation Menu Screen ........... 69
Appendix G: Alternative Terminal Handshaking ... 70
Protocols
Appendix H: Windows Users ...................... 72
Appendix I: Shareware Registration &............ 73
License Agreement
-8-
-9-
INTRODUCTION
The program DX-COMM PLUS is designed for use with the DRAKE R8
Communications Receiver, an IBM AT or later compatible PC with a
CGA, EGA or VGA monitor, and a Terminal Node Controller (TNC) or
Universal Terminal Unit (UTU) such as the MFJ-1278 or AEA PK-232
for decoding digital ham and utility signals. It uses one serial
port to upload and download information from and to the receiver
for a variety of parameters including frequency, bandwidth, VFO,
AGC, RF, antenna, mode, noise blanker, notch filter, and
synchronous detector. It uses a second serial port to control and
display decoded information from a TNC.
The program is comprised of the files DX.EXE, MUFGRAPH.EXE,
NODE.EXE, SETUPDX.EXE, PRINTING.EXE, ALT_TERM.EXE, SWDB.DAT,
INDX.DAT, FLAG.DAT, COM.DAT, TRSCOM.DAT and README.TXT files. DX-
COMM PLUS was written and compiled using Microsoft's Basic
Professional Development System ver7.1. The program has been
compiled to take advantage of the 80286 series and later CPU and
requires IBM AT or later compatible PC's with 640k of memory; a
CGA, EGA or VGA monitor; a 1.4 meg floppy drive or hard drive; a PC
clock speeds of 12 mHz or faster; and MSDOS version 3.1 or later.
If the user expects to expand the database beyond the 2500 records
then a hard disk is required.
DX-COMM PLUS contains about 1700 frequency listings for
international shortwave stations. However, for a 640k PC this
database can be expanded to approximately 4,000 records, provided
one has adequate disk storage capacity (If MSDOS version 5.0 is
used the total number of records may be expanded to approximately
5,000). The program provides the user the capability to
continuously add to this database, modify the database, identify
stations as: active, inactive, utility, shortwave or special. The
program has comprehensive search, sort and printing routines and
provides for the uploading of each record from the database to the
Drake directly for frequency, bandwidth, mode and each of the
programmable features provided as standard on the Drake R8.
DX-COMM PLUS also provides the user the capability of importing the
internationally acclaimed English language shortwave database
authored by Thomas R. Sundstrom and distributed by TRS Consultants
(Refer to the section of this manual entitled "TRS DATABASE" for
more information).
INSTALLATION AND PROGRAM CONFIGURATION
All files must reside on the same directory or sub-directory of
your hard disk or high density disk drive. You will need
approximately 1.1meg of disk space for the files and approximately
300k for temporary data storage for sorting and other operations.
-10-
Keep in mind, however, that for every additional 1000 records added
to the database, you will need approximately 250K of additional
disk space to run the program and sort the database.
As first preliminary step, make sure NUMLOCK on your keyboard is
off, otherwise it will interfere with certain keyboard commands.
Start the program by typing DX at the DOS drive prompt. The
program will take only a few seconds to load. The program will
then display something like the following:
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER xx:xx:xx
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
(C)ommands (D)elete (A)dd T(N)C (R)etrieve Shortwave: (SB)(SA)(SI)
and (T)ime (E)dit (F)lux# (SP)ecial Utility: (UB)(UA)(UI)
INDEX# TIME TYPE STATION FREQUENCY DAYS S MUF - LUF
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
99 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 5.97500 MTWHFAS A -
100 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 6.17500 MTWHFAS A -
101 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 7.32500 MTWHFAS W -
102 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 9.59000 MTWHFAS A -
103 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 9.91500 MTWHFAS A -
104 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 11.75000 MTWHFAS A -
105 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 12.09500 MTWHFAS S -
106 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 15.26000 MTWHFAS A -
(SE)tup F2 = KHz Incr. F3 = Toggle SWDB F10= DOS (X)tra ^C=Clr
(G)raph F9 = Freq.Offset ]/[ = dwn/up F8=VFO A ^A=Alert (Q)uit
Take a moment and study the display. The upper third of your
computer monitor provides the same information provided as on the
Drake R8 backlit LED display. Please note, however, that data
under the frequency and other Drake parameter headings will only be
displayed once the radio is on and properly connected and
configured to the correct PC com port.
The middle half of the monitor's display, as well as the last 2
lines, identify commands that can be entered through your computer
keyboard. Now press the letter "X" on the keyboard. You will note
that the "X" in (X)tra is highlighted by a white background. Some
of the commands previously displayed will now be replaced as is
shown below. Both those listed before pressing "X", and those
shown after pressing "X", are those that are available to the user
within the Database Display Screen. Each command will be explained
in more detail later.
-11-
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 2:00:48
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
(C)ommands S(W)itch (A)dd ^Y=Lock ^Z= SWDB Chg ^S= Scan ^P= Program
and (T)ime (E)dit (F)lux# (M)emory ^U= Untag ^Q= Fast Quit
INDEX# TIME TYPE STATION FREQUENCY DAYS S MUF - LUF
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
99 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 5.97500 MTWHFAS A -
100 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 6.17500 MTWHFAS A -
101 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 7.32500 MTWHFAS W -
102 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 9.59000 MTWHFAS A -
103 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 9.91500 MTWHFAS A -
104 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 11.75000 MTWHFAS A -
105 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 12.09500 MTWHFAS S -
106 0100-0200 s-a BBC LONDON 15.26000 MTWHFAS A -
^R=Review Glo(B)al F3 = TSF SWDB F10= DOS (X)tra ^V=ACR
(G)raph F9 = Freq. Offset ^[= Move SWDB F8=VFO B ^T=Tag (Q)uit
The lower third of your monitor displays a list of database records
comprising "active" shortwave stations for the time of day using
your computer's internal clock and the DOS "TIME" function. The
headings over the list of records have the following meaning:
INDEX# - The Index Number corresponding to the record to
the record displayed;
TIME - The start and end time of the station's
transmission in UTC;
TYPE - A descriptor to indicate whether the station
is a shortwave or utility broadcast and
whether the frequency is "active" or
"inactive";
STATION - The call name of the broadcaster;
FREQUENCY- The frequency of the station;
DAYS - The days of the week that the broadcast can
be heard;
S - The season that the broadcaster uses this
frequency (Summer/Winter, or All the time);
MUF-LUF - The predicted average Maximum Useable and
Lowest Useable Frequency for that broadcast.
-12-
The number of database records displayed will depend upon the UTC
(Universal Time) time of day (as shown in the upper right hand
corner of the screen) and the corresponding records in the database
for that hour.
Also note that the "F3" and "F9" on the bottom of your monitor's
screen are highlighted by a white background. These represent
commands that may be toggled. "F8" will also be highlighted if
VFO A is selected. "F8" is plain when VFO B is toggled (selected).
These features will be explained later.
When the "W" key is pressed the "S", "DAYS", and "MUF-LUF" heading
will be replaced by simply "REMARKS". Under this heading will be
any remarks or special notes that have been ascribed to the
individual database records being displayed.
Your first step is to identify to the program the serial ports you
will be using to communicate with the DRAKE as well as other
configuration parameters that will identify your time zone,
location, etc.. Press the "S" key followed by the "E" key.
In a moment the Configuration Screen will be displayed. Within
this screen you will be prompted to either replace or edit the
parameters stored in the files COM.DAT and TRSCOM.DAT which are
displayed on the lower half of the screen. As you edit those
parameters the lower half of the screen will automatically be
updated to reflect the most current information.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 1:17:50
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Com(n) port = 0
CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Com(n) port = 0 UTC offset to local time = 5
Receiver Latitude = 40 44' N Receiver Longitude = 74 10' W
TNC Com(n) port = 1 TNC Baud rate = 9600
TNC Data Bits = 8 TNC Parity = N
TNC Stop Bits = 1
Ctrl Sig= (A)ctive/(I)nactive/(B)oth = a
RTTY Offset= 2.25 CW Offset= .85
North Polar Aurora= 50 South Polar Aurora= 30
Scan Delay-Seconds= 20 Default Datastring= 00 682<8sa
The following, "COM(n) port =", should be displayed and highlighted
by a white background where the "Enter Command:" statement in the
-13-
Database Display Screen was previously. Enter either 1, or 2
depending on the serial port you are using to connect to the DRAKE
R8. Or enter "0" if DX-COMM PLUS is not going to be interfaced
with the Drake. After typing a "0", "1" or a "2" you must press
<ENTER> to have the program accept the new value and to advance to
the next step within the setup routine. If after typing say "1"
and you realize that it is com port "2" that you really desire,
then press the BACKSPACE key and retype "2" followed by <ENTER>.
(Note: in any of the subsequent parameter entries, the BACKSPACE
key may be used to correct a mistyped entry).
Next, in place of the "Com(n) port = " the following statement will
appear: "Change UTC offset to local time:". Enter the offset hours
to convert local time to Universal World Time. For example on the
East Coast of the United States enter the number "5" to convert
from Eastern Standard Time to UTC. Or if you were in Stockholm,
Sweden you would enter "-1" to convert from local time to UTC. If
the number "5" is already acceptable, simply press <ENTER>. (Note:
for this and any one of the setup configuration parameters, by
pressing <ENTER>, as opposed to pressing any other keys, will
simply keep the value displayed as is and advance to the next setup
step.) If the time offset of 5 is re-typed, or if a new offset is
entered, upon doing so, press <ENTER> to advance to the next step
in the setup routine.
The command line will now display "Receiver Latitude =". Enter
your location's latitude in degrees and minutes. This information
is required to accurately calculate Maximum Useable Frequency (MUF)
and Lowest Useable Frequency (LUF) for those shortwave broadcasts
in the database relative to your receiver's location. Placement of
characters in this field are extremely important. You are provided
2 character positions for degrees and 2 character positions for
minutes, and 1 for "N" or "S". If your entry is for example 1
degree 20 minutes North you would enter "01" or " 1" (space
followed by the number 1) for degrees, and "30" for minutes, and
"N" for North. If you enter a latitude in degrees greater than 90
or minutes greater than 60, or something other than S for South or
N for North, you will hear a beep and the cursor will return to the
beginning of the latitude data entry.
After entering the last character of your receiver's latitude (N or
S), press <ENTER> to have the program automatically advance to the
next step in the setup routine.
You are now prompted to enter your receiver's longitude. As with
the entry for Latitude, character placement is extremely important.
However, unlike, the Latitude entry, there are 3 character
positions to be entered for degrees rather than 2. For example,
60 degrees would be entered as "060" or " 60" (space then 60). An
entry of degrees greater than 180, or minutes greater than 60, or
something other than E for East or W for West will cause a beep and
will return the cursor to the start of the data field. After
-14-
entering "E" or "W" in the last character position, press <ENTER>
to have the program automatically advance to the the next step in
the setup routine.
The next series of entries will configure the serial port for your
TNC. Upon completing the step in the previous paragraph you will
be queried to enter the serial COM port number for the TNC. If you
do not have a TNC simply enter "0". If you enter "0", the program
automatically steps you to the configuration step outlined on the
top of Page 13 concerning center frequency offsets. However, if
you are using a TNC, enter serial port "1" or "2". If the Drake R8
is COM port "1" then the TNC should be port "2". If you attempt to
enter "1" it will beep. Similarly, if the Drake is COM port "2"
you should enter "1" for the TNC. Upon typing the desired comport
number advance to the next setup step by pressing <ENTER>.
The program will now prompt you to enter the TNC's Baud rate. Valid
Baud rates are 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600. After typing the desired
baud rate press <ENTER>.
Next, the program queries you to enter the number of data bits for
the TNC COM port. Valid entries for the number of data bits are 4,
5, 6, 7, and 8. Press <ENTER> after typing the desired data bits.
Next, the program queries you to specify parity for the TNC.
Acceptable entries are: "S" for space, "M" for mark, "O" for odd,
"E" for even, and "N" for none. (Do not enter the quotation marks,
they are shown here only to highlight the letter to enter). Press
<ENTER> after typing the desired parity.
Next, the program queries you to enter the number of stop bits for
the TNC. Valid values are 1, 1.5, and 2. Press <ENTER> after
typing the desired stop bits.
The program then queries you for the TNC COM port control
parameters. If used, these must be entered in the following
sequence: ",RS,CSn,DSn,CDn,LF,PE" where n is the number of
milliseconds to wait (0-65535) for the signal before a device
timeout error occurs. Note the "," as the first entry character -
if control codes are to be used this MUST be typed as the first
character in the string. If "RS" is the only control signal
desired (suppresses RTS - request to send) then simply type: ",RS".
If you desire to simply control the device timeout for carrier
detection for say 100 milliseconds then simply type: ",CD100". For
further reference on these control codes, their descriptions may be
found in your IBM BASIC or Microsoft GW-BASIC manual. DX-COMM
PLUS has been configured for the default state (no values have been
assigned the control parameters).
The next entry requires you to identify whether you want only
active broadcast frequencies to be displayed on initial program
startup, or "inactive" or "both". A description of the terms
-15-
"active", "inactive", or "both" is provided on page 14 of this
manual under the heading, "LISTING SHORTWAVE/UTILITY STATIONS".
One can type an "A" for active or "I" for inactive or "B" for both.
For now, however, I suggest typing "A". Upon pressing any of these
keys, the program will advance to the next step in the setup
routine.
Next the program requests that you identify a frequency offset in
khz for RTTY broadcasts. The Drake frequency display shows carrier
frequency, but if you tune in an RTTY station to exactly the
carrier frequency you'll have to detune the Drake by approximately
2.250 khz or more. This feature allows DX-COMM PLUS to display the
center frequency plus the offset when the F9 key is toggled. For
now I suggest using 2.25 Khz until your own experience indicates
otherwise. Upon typing in the desired offset, press <ENTER>.
In a similar manner to that of the offset for RTTY, the user is
requested to enter a CW frequency offset which again allows DX-COMM
PLUS to display the center frequency plus the offset when the F9
key is toggled. Again, until you gain experience with the program,
it is suggested that you stay with .85 Khz as the CW offset. Upon
typing in the desire CW offset, press <ENTER>.
Now the program queries you to enter information pertaining to the
North and South Polar Auroral regions. These are the regions as
defined by great circle bearings from the receiver's location over
the North or South Polar regions (latitudes 60 degrees South or
North) that high frequency signals would be expected to experience
what is known as Polar Cap Absorption (PCA) during periods of
intense solar activity. For example, for a receiver in Summit, New
Jersey hf transmissions over the North Pole bounded by the region
of Great Circle Bearings between 310 degrees and 50 degrees have a
high probability of being affected by PCA - said another way, a
heading of +/-50 degrees on either side of the North Pole would be
expected to be subject to PCA. The number "50" then is entered as
the North Pole Auroral Region. Upon typing "50" press <ENTER>.
Similarly, for the same receiver in Summit, New Jersey
transmissions over the South pole bounded by Great Circle Bearings
between 150 degrees and 210 degrees would be expected to be
affected by PCA -- or +/- 30 degrees of heading either side of the
South Pole. Therefore "30" is typed into DX-COMM PLUS as the South
Polar Auroral Region, and <ENTER> is pressed to advance to the next
step in the setup routine.
The next step is enter into the program's configuration file the
number of seconds of delay for each frequency scanned. The program
allows the user to tag certain frequencies in the database and scan
those frequencies and to pause for "x" amount of seconds before
going to the next frequency. The default value is 20 seconds.
Press <ENTER> after typing in the desired scan delay.
-16-
The final step in the setup routine is to enter the Database
Default String. The first 8 characters of this string corresponds
to the default control parameters you want to assign to each new
database record created. These first eight characters determine
the Drake R8's VFO, antenna, gain, bandwidth, mode, etc. The last
2 characters of this string correspond to the default record type
to be created: sa - shortwave active; ua - utility active. For
now leave the default string as " 00 682<8sa". (For more
information on the meaning of the first 8 characters of this string
refer to page 22 of the Drake R8 owner's manual. For information
on the remaining 2 characters, refer to the next section of this
manual entitled "LISTING SHORTWAVE/UTILITY STATIONS".) To accept
the default string simply press <ENTER>.
The program then asks whether you wish to revise any of the
configuration parameters entered. If you respond with "Y" the
program will simply go back to the first step in the setup routine
and display "Com(N) port =". If on the other hand you have entered
everything correctly, simply press <ENTER>.
This then completes DX-COMM PLUS's configuration. The parameters
entered will remain stored in the file COM.DAT and TRSCOM.DAT for
retrieval each time the program is restarted.
If for any reason in the future you need to change a configuration
parameter, press "S" followed by "E" when operating within the
"Database Display Screen". You may then quickly go to the
parameter you seek to modify by simply pressing <Enter> at those
parameters that are to remain unchanged.
For example, suppose you want to modify "Receiver Longitude =".
First press the "S" followed by "E". Next, when the COM(n) port =
1" is displayed, simply press <ENTER> to keep the COM port to the
number assigned. Likewise, do the same for the UTC offset value
and receiver latitude value displayed. Finally, when the command
line "Receiver Longitude =" is displayed, simply type in the
correct longitude desired. For the subsequent data entry
parameters of the TNC COM port, North and South Polar Auroral
regions, and Scan Delay, etc. simply press <Enter> to step through
each of the configuration parameters and to exit the setup routine.
Now power up the Drake R8 (I'll discuss how you can do this via the
(C)ommand screen later on). With the Drake power on, press the "R"
key - the top portion of the screen of your computer monitor should
display the same frequency and other parameters as the Drake in a
similar manner as shown below.
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
==============================================================================
xx.xxxxx x xxxx xxx xxx x xx x.x x xxx xx xxx
==============================================================================
Enter Command:
-17-
If it doesn't, first check your equipment and serial port
connection to make sure you have connected to the appropriate COM
port. If this still doesn't work, I would then proceed on the
assumption that perhaps the wrong COM port number for the Drake had
been entered in previous procedure. Repeat the program
configuration/setup procedure described in the previous paragraphs.
If you still have problems proceed to "Appendix E:
TROUBLESHOOTING".
Now with the program configuration complete, a word of CAUTION.
NEVER TURN YOUR COMPUTER OFF WITHOUT FIRST EXITING DX-COMM PLUS.
Failure to do so could result in lost data or damage to existing
data files. Make it a practice to back up your data files upon
exiting the program.
LISTING SHORTWAVE/UTILITY STATIONS
The database is designed to identify stations by what are termed
"shortwave", "utility", or "special". "Utility" and "special"
stations may for all practical purposes be one and the same, except
I've made a distinction here to the allow the user to log
frequencies that are not necessarily tied to a given time of day.
Examples of what I term "special" loggings are the time signal
stations WWV and CHU which broadcast 24 hours a day. Another
example would be WLO's maritime Sitor and CW broadcasts, or ham
packet frequencies.
Concerning "shortwave" and "utility" broadcasts these are
subdivided into the categories of "active" and "inactive". Active,
in the context of the "as is" database that came with DX-COMM PLUS,
means those stations recently heard just prior to release of DX-
COMM PLUS (Jan. 1993) or likely to be heard as evidenced by recent
loggings by others. Inactive means those stations not yet heard or
possibly were at one time logged but may have since shifted
frequency (e.g. change from summer to winter frequency schedule).
Concerning Utility stations, there are many RTTY press services,
and FAX services which only transmit at a give time of day. A
great reference for such frequencies is Tom Harrington's "World
Press Services Frequencies" - Fifth Edition available from
Universal Electronics, Inc. (614) 866-4605. Another valuable
reference to have on hand is Ferrell's "Confidential Frequency
List" published by Gilfer Shortwave, 1-800-445-3371.
When DX-COMM PLUS is first started, the "Database Display" screen
lists just the shortwave active stations. (Note: You can change
this startup mode to display both the active and inactive
broadcasts by using the SETUP command and making the appropriate
program configuration change.) To list the utility active stations
press "U" followed by "A" in either upper or lower case. To display
shortwave active stations press "S" followed by "A". Likewise, to
display inactive stations press "S" followed by "I" for shortwave
-18-
stations and "U" followed by "I" for utility. One can also display
both active and inactive stations by pressing "S" or "U" followed
by "B". Similarly, to display all the frequencies logged as
"special" press "S" followed by "P" in either upper or lowercase.
UPLOADING DATABASE FREQUENCIES TO THE
DRAKE R8
The first step in uploading a record to the Drake R8 is to
determine which VFO you want the to use. If you want to upload the
record to VFO A and you were using up until now VFO B, simply press
Function 8 (F8) key. From this point then there are two simple
methods to upload information from the database directly to the
Drake R8 receiver.
The most direct method is to align the "red" highlight bar over the
record you desire to load. To move the Highlight Bar use either he
"]" or "[" keys to move the bar down or up. It should be noted
that when the red highlight bar is at the bottom of the Database
Display, repeated pressing of the key "]" will advance the display
one record at a time with the only restraint being the number of
records available for that hour. When the bar is over the desired
record simply press the <ENTER> key and the record will be loaded
into the Drake R8. During the upload operation, the "Enter
Command:" line will be replaced with "Loading INDEX# XXX REC#
XXX". This information denotes the Index or crossreferencing
number to that of the highlighted record in the display to the
actual record number in the file SWDB.DAT.
The second way is to simply press the "L" key followed by entering
the Index number of the broadcast desired. To find the Index
number, simply look at the lower left side of the screen for the
Index number (INDEX#) representing the station broadcast desired,
and type this number, and press enter. The Drake R8 should then
proceed to display the frequency of the station. The other
parameters on the radio will change in a matter of a second or two.
At the end of the Drake upload operation, the program automatically
downloads information off of the Drake's RS232 port and displays
this information to the upper portion of your computer monitor's
screen. (NOTE: if for any reason the computer display does not
match the Drake's panel display press the "R" key - this could
happen if for instance you touched the Drake's tuning knob or
entered a frequency directly using the Drake's numeric keypad).
Your Computer's monitor display lists up to 8 lines of station
database information. You can scroll to obtain more lines of
information (if the database for the UTC time in question contains
such) by pressing "]" or "[", or by pressing the keyboard's up/down
arrow keys (make sure NumLock is off!) or by pressing the "O" or
"P" keys depending on which direction you want to scroll. The
-19-
scrolled list provides by default a total of 1 hour look ahead from
the current "on the hour" UTC time. This time is displayed in the
upper right hand corner of your monitor's screen. I'll describe
shortly how the program may be reset to give more than a one hour
look ahead.
In addition to scrolling one line at a time, you can go to the end
of the record list for that hour by pressing the "END" key or "Z"
on the keyboard, or back to the beginning by pressing the "HOME"
key or "H" on the keyboard. You can also pagedown and pageup 8
records at a time by using your computer's "PGUP" or "PGDN" keys or
"J" and "K" on the keyboard.
If you find the time it takes to load a record to be too long, you
can speed the uploading of records to the Drake by first pressing
the ^Y (Ctrl Y) keys. This locks open the PC serial communications
port with the Drake R8. The disadvantage of this feature is that
while the comport is open, direct user operation of the Drake's
tuning knob or keypad is also locked out. However, this feature
can be toggled off by simply pressing ^Y when so desired.
DISPLAYING UTILITY BROADCASTS WITH CENTER
FREQUENCY OFFSET
A frequently cited shortcoming for the Drake R8 concerns its
display of RTTY and CW utility stations. As stated by the 1992
World Radio TV Handbook. "If you tune in a Morse code station to
exactly the frequency of the carrier wave you'll hear nothing at
all. So you have to detune the signal around 850 hz lower in order
to get a tone.... You need to keep this in mind when referring to
frequency lists....The same is true of RTTY signals. Depending on
the type of decoder in use, you'll have to tune the set some 1375
hz higher than the center frequency to be able to read the text
being sent over the air......If you're a utility enthusiast, you'll
have to remember to detune the set by 1375 hz from the frequencies
listed in publications by Klingenfuss, Grove, or Gilfer
Associates."
To make up for this shortcoming, DX-COMM PLUS has been equipped to
provide center frequency offsets for RTTY and CW stations
automatically. The user can activate and deactivate this feature
by pressing the F9 key. When activated the F9 descriptor at the
bottom of the Database Display Screen turns from a red lettering on
a blue background to black lettering on a white background. In
this manner when RTTY AND CW frequencies are loaded from the
utility database in DX-COMM PLUS they will display the utility's
center frequency of the utility broadcast and the Drake will
display the center frequency plus the RTTY or CW offset depending
on the mode of operation selected.
-20-
My personal experience using the Drake R8 is that the typical
center frequency offset of most commercial RTTY stations is
approximately 2.25 khz and for CW stations to be around .850 khz.
DISPLAYING DATABASE INFORMATION FOR OTHER
TIME PERIODS
By pressing the "T" key, the database display may be manipulated to
provide data from a different UTC period than the one presently
shown. Press the "T" key. "Enter New Time as xx00 or (T):" will
be displayed.
As an example, if database records corresponding to 0100 is what
you desire, type "0100" followed by <ENTER>.
You may also configure DX-COMM PLUS to display more than one hour
of data from the database. For example suppose you are interested
in displaying the shortwave broadcasts for 0100 hour to 0300.
First press the "T" key as described above and type in 0100
followed by <ENTER>. Next press the "T" key again. The command
line will display "Enter New Time as xx00 or (T)". Press the "T"
key followed by <ENTER> - now the following will be displayed on
the command line, "Enter No. of hours to display (1-3):". In the
example described press 3 for a three hour look-ahead (0100 to
0200, 0200 to 0300, 0300 to 0400) followed by <ENTER>.
DECREMENTING/INCREMENTING THE DRAKE
FREQUENCY
Within the "Database Display" screen, the current display if you've
been sequencing through these instructions, when you press the left
or right arrow key on the computer's keyboard the Drake frequency
will be either decremented or incremented. The amount of
decrement/increment is set by pressing the Function F2 key. The
"Enter Command:" line in the middle of the monitor screen will be
replaced with: "Enter frequency increment in Khz:". If you want to
decrement/increment the frequency by 5 Khz (usually most
international shortwave stations are located on 5 Khz intervals
...i.e xx.xx0 or xx.xx5 Mhz) simply enter the number 5. This is
extremely useful in searching the bands by first working your way
up/down from a given frequency and then using the (A)dd record
feature to download and add the broadcast into the database.
ACCESSING THE COMMAND SCREEN
By pressing the "C" key, the lower portion of the display on your
computer's monitor will be replaced with a list of direct commands
that may be uploaded to the Drake R8 as shown below.
-21-
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.43000 N FAST OFF OFF 1 AM 6.0 A OFF NO 15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
COMMANDS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Set frequency: Fxxxxxxx Mode select: AM, FM, CW, RTTY, LSB, USB
AGC set: AF AS AO
ANT select: A1 A2 AC Bandwidth select: 0.5, 1.8, 2.3, 4.0, 6.0
Synchro set: SO SF
Notch set: NO NF Memory mode: C
VFO select: VA VB Memory channel select: Cx (x=0 to 99)
RF select: G+ G- G0 Program memory channel: PR then X (x=0 to 99)
Tune UP/Down: U or D Scan start/stop: Sc
Step chg: ST (scrolls) Scan Select: Sx (x=1-3,4-5)
Noise blanker: BW BN BF
Timer relay: TO TF Cont. Update display: (UP)date (return to quit)
(S)wdb Menu and (L)ist ^Y=Lock (Q)uit Program
F8=VFO A
Most of these commands are documented and described in the Drake R8
Owner's Manual that came with the radio. For example, typing "PO"
followed by pressing <ENTER> turns the Drake receiver on, and
typing "PF" followed by pressing <ENTER> turns the receiver off.
(Note: Entry of these commands is not case sensitive.) DX-COMM
PLUS also provides increased user friendliness by allowing one to
change the receiver's mode and bandwidth by directly typing, for
example, "AM" as opposed to using the Drake code "M6", and "1.8"
for 1.8 Khz bandwidth rather than the Drake code "W1".
The "Command Screen" provides an almost hands-off operation of the
receiver by simply using the computer keyboard (with the exception
of the analog controls of passband offset, notch filter adjustment,
tone, squelch, or volume adjustment). One can move rapidly from
the "Database Display" screen to the "Command Screen" to adjust
bandwidth, synchronous detector, mode, antenna, to make alternate
settings to that which was uploaded from the "Database Display", or
simply to prepare the Drake's display for downloading to create or
edit a record. It should be noted that when the F9 frequency offset
feature for RTTY and CW is activated that frequencies entered via
the Command Screen will display on your computer monitor as
entered, but the offset will be added and inputted into the Drake
as the selected frequency.
To return to the "Database Display" from the "Command Screen" press
the "L" key, and then press the <ENTER> key. If instead you desire
to quit the program simply press "Q" and <ENTER>. If instead you
want To proceed to the "Database Menu" screen simply press "S" and
<ENTER>. However, for now, return to the "Database Display" menu
by pressing the "L" key followed by <ENTER>.
-22-
Other special features of the Command Screen are:
- The left/right arrow keys frequency decrement/increment feature
found in the Database Display Screen is also available within the
Command Screen. One can also increment or decrement up/down in
frequency in finer increments by pressing "U" or "D" and "ENTER".
(Note: The U/D feature is a programmed feature within the Drake
R8 itself). For every "U" or "D" key pressed the frequency will
increment up or down .01 khz or .1 khz depending upon the
frequency step you've selected (refer to your Drake manual for a
description of the Step function) or whether the VHF Converter is
invoked for Frequencies greater than 108 mHz . You can enter a
string of U's as opposed to just a single U at a time. For
example, if I wanted to increment upward by .1 khz using a step
function of .01 khz then I would type "UUUUUUUUUU" and <ENTER>.
- By typing "UP" followed by <ENTER> at the Enter Command line the
program will every few seconds retrieve the radio's frequency and
other parameter settings (i.e. Bandwidth, etc.). This allows the
program's display to automatically update itself as the user
manually operates the Drake R8 tuning knob or frequency keypad.
To return back to normal DX-COMM PLUS operation press <ENTER>.
DATABASE DISPLAY SCREEN - FIVE WAYS TO
DISPLAY RECORDS: TSF, TFS, FST, SFT, & STF
From within the "Database Display" screen one can change the manner
in which Database records are listed.
When first starting the program, the program retrieves an index
contained in the file INDX.DAT and retrieves certain Index pointers
in the file FLAG.DAT for the UTC time in question. The INDX.DAT
file contains a translation table to access the main file SWDB.DAT.
Depending upon the last sort of INDX.DAT the database will either
be listed in ascending order by time, station, and frequency (TSF)
or in ascending order by time, frequency, station (TFS) or in
ascending order by frequency, station, and time of broadcast (FST)
or in ascending order by station, frequency, and time of broadcast
(SFT), or in ascending order by station, time, frequency (STF).
If the database has been previously sorted in ascending time,
station, frequency order (TSF) the "F3" on the screen will be
highlighted as black letters on a white background followed by
"=TSF" (this is the manner the data is displayed when you first
load DX-COMM PLUS). In this way, a station that is broadcasting
on multiple frequencies for a given hour will have all its
frequencies consecutively listed in ascending order. The next
station will then be in alphabetically ascending order to that of
the prior station, and so on. An example of this would be:
-23-
TIME STATION FREQUENCY
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 5.97500
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 6.17500
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 9.91500
0000 - 0100 CFCX MONTREAL 6.00500
0000 - 0030 RADIO PRAGUE 7.34500
0000 - 0100 SPANISH FOREIGN RADIO 9.53000
By pressing the Function F3 key until the "F3" lettering on the
display turns to red letters on a blue background followed by
"=TFS". Upon re-sorting the database, the same information will be
displayed in ascending time, frequency, station order (TFS) as
shown below. I've found this feature to be extremely useful when
using the left/right arrow key to search a given band for stations
not previously logged.
TIME STATION FREQUENCY
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 5.97500
0000 - 0100 CFCX MONTREAL 6.00500
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 6.17500
0000 - 0030 RADIO PRAGUE 7.34500
0000 - 0100 SPANISH FOREIGN RADIO 9.53000
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 9.91500
To sort the database in the manner described, leave the "Display
Database" screen by pressing the "Q" key. This will access the
"Database Menu" screen as shown below.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.43000 N FAST OFF OFF 1 AM 6.0 A OFF NO 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
DATABASE MENU
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A)dd Records
(S)ort Records
(I)mport TRS Database
(L)ist Records - Database Display Screen
(F)ind Record/Edit/Delete
(P)rint Records
(Q)uit Database Menu
Once this menu is displayed press the "S" key to create, sort,and
reorder the database. (Note: When no new records are added or no
records are to be deleted, the database itself is not reordered.
Instead a new index and new flags are saved to your default
directory thereby substantially reducing the overall time taken to
sort the database.) Once the sorting is complete the "Enter
Command:" will re-appear in the middle of the monitor's screen.
-24-
Press "L" to return to the "Database Display" screen. The records
should be listed in time, frequency, station (TFS) order.
A third way you can display records is by Frequency, Station, and
Time (FST). To display information as "FST" toggle the function F3
key such that the "F3" lettering on the screen becomes black with
a brown background followed by "=FST". Repeat the sorting
procedure described, then return to the Database Display Screen.
Records will display in a similar manner to that shown below:
TIME STATION FREQUENCY
SPECIAL NAVTEX .51800
0700 - 0800 GHANA BC CORP 3.36600
0800 - 0900 GHANA BC CORP 3.36600
0900 - 1000 GHANA BC CORP 3.36600
SPECIAL WWV 5.00000
2330 - 0000 RADIO PRAGUE 5.93000
0000 - 0100 CFCX MONTREAL 6.00500
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 6.17500
0100 - 0200 BBC LONDON 6.17500
0000 - 0030 RADIO PRAGUE 7.34500
0000 - 0100 SPANISH FOREIGN RADIO 9.53000
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 9.91500
Also now note that the Display Screen is slightly different. In
the FST display mode MUF-LUF will not be displayed. Instead the
first 15 characters of the "Remarks" field of each record will now
be displayed. Likewise, the list of commands within the Display
Screen is more condensed than that in the other two display modes.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 2:15:10
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.53000 N FAST PREAMP OFF 1 AM 6.0 B OFF NO 02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
(C)ommands S(W)itch (A)dd T(N)C ^Z= SWDB Chg ^S= Scan ^P= Program
and @ and ! (E)dit (M)emory ^U= Untag ^Q= Fast Quit
INDEX# TIME TYPE STATION FREQUENCY DAYS S REMARKS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 SPECIAL s-p CHC 0.43505 MTWHFAS A
2 SPECIAL s-p NAVTEX 0.51800 MTWHFAS A
3 SPECIAL s-p WWV 2.50000 MTWHFAS A
4 0300-0400 s-a RADIO ORANJE, S.AFRICA 3.23000 MTWHFAS A
5 0400-0500 s-a RADIO ORANJE, S.AFRICA 3.23000 MTWHFAS A
6 0500-0505 s-a RADIO ORANJE, S.AFRICA 3.23000 MTWHFAS A
7 1620-1700 s-a RADIO ORANJE, S.AFRICA 3.23000 MTWHFAS A
8 1700-1800 s-a RADIO ORANJE, S.AFRICA 3.23000 MTWHFAS A
^R=Review Glo(B)al F3 = FST SWDB F10= DOS (X)tra ^V=ACR
(G)raph F9 = Freq. Offset ^[= Move SWDB F8=VFO B ^T=Tag (Q)uit
-25-
For example, unlike the TSF or TFS mode, the commands associated
with selecting specific UTC time periods, solar flux, or selection
of active or inactive broadcasts are not available. However, other
commands are provided: the commands "@" and "!" are provided which
allow the user to step thru the display in increments or decrements
of 100 records at a time (if that number of additional records is
available). Also by pressing "W" the heading " LONG. LAT.
" will be displayed in place of "S DAYS REMARKS". Under this
heading will be the longitude and latitude fields of each record.
The fourth way records may be displayed is by Station, Frequency,
and Time (SFT). To display information as "SFT" toggle the
function F3 key such that the "F3" lettering on the screen becomes
white with a black background followed by "=SFT". Repeat the
sorting procedure described previously. Then return to the
Database Display Screen. As in the FST mode, MUF-LUF are not
displayed and only those Database Display Screen commands available
are shown. An illustration of the expected record display is shown
below:
TIME STATION FREQUENCY
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 6.17500
2300 - 0000 BBC LONDON 6.17500
2200 - 2300 BBC LONDON 7.32500
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 9.91500
0000 - 0100 CFCX MONTREAL 6.00500
0700 - 0800 GHANA BC CORP 3.36600
SPECIAL WWV 5.00000
The final mode of displaying database information is by STF. Toggle
the function F3 key such that the "F3" lettering on the screen
becomes blue with a light blue background followed by "=STF".
Again, please note, that as with the FST and SFT modes, MUF-LUF are
not displayed. An illustration of the STF mode using just the
"BBC" frequencies shown above, would be re-ordered as such.
TIME STATION FREQUENCY
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 6.17500
0000 - 0100 BBC LONDON 9.91500
2200 - 2300 BBC LONDON 7.32500
2300 - 0000 BBC LONDON 6.17500
MAXIMUM USEABLE AND LOWEST USEABLE
FREQUENCY CALCULATION
DX-COMM PLUS provides the capability of calculating the maximum
useable frequency (MUF) and lowest useable frequency (LUF) for each
of the stations displayed. The MUF algorithms written into the
program were primarily based from the following:
-26-
- "MINIMUF: A Simplified MUF-Prediction Program for
Microcomputers", written by Robert B. Rose, QST December 1982
(pp. 36-38).
- "MINIMUF for the Ham and the IBM Personal Computer", written by
John E. Anderson, QEX November 1983 (pp. 7-14).
An excellent information source to gain a better understanding of
propagation and its affects on shortwave transmissions may be found
in "Shortwave Radio Listening with the Experts" edited by Gerry L.
Dexter. Other excellent sources are the "The Shortwave Propagation
Handbook" by George Jacobs and Theodore J. Cohen as well as the
"ARRL Handbook" and the "ARRL Antenna Handbook".
MUF and LUF are calculated using UTC time, Solar Flux level as
obtained at 18 minutes after the hour on WWV, and the shortwave
transmitter's longitude and latitude as well your Drake receiver's
longitude and latitude. If you've been following the sequence of
these instructions, the latter is what you entered upon pressing
the "S" and "E" keys. About 60% of the database records provided
with DX-COMM PLUS contain longitude and latitude information. The
remaining records can easily be edited to add the information as
desired. (Note, that many international broadcasters are using
relay transmitters in many parts of the world to reach desired
audiences. If a relay is being used, it is that relay's longitude
and latitude that should be entered).
When you first start DX-COMM PLUS, MUF and LUF are not displayed.
If you want to display this information press the "F" key to enter
the Solar Flux value. The program will not accept values greater
than 250 or less than 60 with the exception that "0" may be entered
(this feature will be explained shortly). Upon entering a value
between 60 and 250 the program will display the average MUF and LUF
values for the start and end of that hour for those records which
contain longitude and latitude information.
In addition, for those records where the MUF and LUF are
calculated, under the "S" or "SEASON" column of the database
display you will note that the "S, W or A" has either a purple,
brown, or green background. You should also note that for a few of
the records the letter "S, W, or A" is blinking.
o When the background is Purple this means that the frequency for
that particular station's broadcast is within the frequency
range bounded by the MUF-LUF.
o If the background is brown and the foreground yellow, the
broadcast frequency is within + or - 2 mHz of the MUF limit.
(My personal experience is that broadcast within this range are
usually the strongest when compared to alternate frequencies
below this band or zone from the same transmitter location).
-27-
o When the background is green the broadcast frequency is outside
the range of the region bounded by MUF and LUF.
o The letter "S,W, or A" is blinking this means that the
propagation path takes the signal over the north or south polar
region within the areas where solar disturbance have a high
likelihood of causing Polar Cap Absorption or Polar Blackout.
Because of the calculations involved, to initially display records
with projected MUF-LUF values takes slightly longer than if no MUF-
LUF values were to be calculated. Subsequent redisplay of the
particular hour's records, however, does not result in this delay
since the calculation results are stored in the computer's RAM.
If you find the few seconds that it takes to perform the MUF-LUF
calculations inconvenient, this feature can be turned OFF by simply
entering "0" for the Solar Flux value.
24 HOUR PLOTS OF PREDICTED HIGH FREQUENCY
PROPAGATION
By pressing the "G" key while within the "Database Display" screen,
DX-COMM PLUS transfers control over to the program MUFGRAPH.EXE.
A "PROPAGATION MENU" with 16 regions of the world is displayed.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.43000 N FAST OFF OFF 1 AM 6.0 A OFF NO 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
PROPAGATION MENU
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REGION LONG LAT REGION LONG LAT
N. AMERICA (Kansas) 94 38'W 39 06'N N.AF. (Tunis) 10 10'E 36 48'N
C. AMERICA (Belize) 88 45'W 17 00'N C. AFRICA (Zaire) 24 00'E 02 00'S
S. AMERICA (Brasila) 47 55'W 15 47'S S.AF.(Johannesburg) 28 03'E 26 12'S
SCAND. (Stockholm) 18 00'E 59 16'N MID. EAST (Kuwait) 47 45'E 29 30'N
N. EUROPE (Warsaw) 21 00'E 52 10'N INDIA (New Delhi) 77 15'E 28 19'N
S. EUROPE (Athens) 36 44'E 37 59'N SE ASIA (Singapore) 103 51'E 01 17'N
W. EUROPE (London) 00 07'W 51 30'N FAR EAST (Tokyo) 139 46'E 35 42'N
E. EUROPE (Moscow) 37 35'E 55 45'N AUSTRALIA (Melbourne) 145 00'E 37 50'S
<ENTER> ]/[ = Dwn/Up (S)tation (D)ate (F)lux#
(P)lot (T)ransmitter (R)eceiver (L)ong (Q)uit
If a Solar Flux value was not previously entered, or if you would
like to experiment to determine the affect of different solar flux
-28-
levels, simply press "F". In the middle of the screen, directly
below the DRAKE readout, "Solar Flux# =" will be displayed. If a
solar flux level was previously entered it also will be displayed.
If not, or if you would like to temporarily change the value,
simply type the appropriate solar flux level remembering that the
value must be between 60 to 250.
The MUFGRAPH program uses the PC's internal clock as a default for
determining the day and month in the calculations. The date may be
temporarily changed by pressing the "D" key and simply entering a
new date as MM-DD. It is important to note that for month and day,
2 digits for each must be entered (i.e. January is "01").
To select a region of the world move the red highlight bar by
pressing the "]" or "[" keys. Upon moving the highlight bar to the
desired region, simply press <ENTER>. The screen will clear and a
320x200 graphics display of MUF and LUF over the short path over 24
hours for the selected month and day of the year will be
calculated. The heavy solid line plotted represents the calculated
MUF value, the dashed line is a MUF adjustment from that which is
calculated based on my own personal observation of MUF maximum
relative to that which is calculated, and the light solid line
plotted represents the LUF value. In addition, the number of F-
layer hops taken by the radio signal between the transmitter
location and the receiver will be displayed, along with the
calculated number of miles between the transmitter and receiver.
The beam heading from your receiver to the Shortwave Broadcaster is
also calculated. To return to the "Propagation Menu" simply press
the "Esc" key.
If you would like to determine the propagation conditions for the
long path to the same station press the "L" key. (Note: the letter
"L" of (L)ong is highlighted by a white background.) This toggles
the program to calculate the longpath and remains in that mode
until retoggled by pressing the "L" key once again. Upon selecting
the longpath, press the <ENTER> key and a 320x200 graphics display
of MUF and LUF for that station will be provided. Note that the
upper left corner of the display will indicate "LP" denoting
Longpath.
In addition to the regions provided, the user may directly type in
a transmitter location. To do this press the "T" key and enter the
latitude and longitude of the transmitter. Enter the degrees and
minutes in each of the specified fields in the same manner as you
did in the setup routine. Upon the last character entry in the
latitude field and the longitude field the program will
automatically return to the "Enter Command" line. Now press the "S"
key to enter a description of the transmitter station. This
description can not exceed more than 25 characters in length. Now
press the "P" key for (P)lot. The middle of the computer screen
will display the name of the station as you entered it, and the
transmitter longitude and latitude, as well as a default longitude
-29-
and latitude from the original Setup configuration file of DX-COMM
PLUS.
If the station header is correct, and the transmitter and receiver
locations are as you desire, press "Y" for yes to calculate MUF-LUF
for these world coordinates. If the information as to header and
location is not correct press "N" or simply press <ENTER>, followed
by "T", "R" or "S" for whatever information you desire to change.
Another method for entering a region not identified within the
MUFGRAPH menu is to import it from the Database Display screen.
This procedure will be later described in the section "FIELD
CAPTURE, GLOBAL EDIT, AND FIELD IMPORT FEATURE".
To return to DX-COMM PLUS's "Database Display" menu, simply press
the "Q" key.
LOGGING NEW STATIONS INTO DX-COMM PLUS's
DATABASE
Let's say you have tuned in a frequency of 15.43000 Mhz for the
Channel Africa at 1700 UTC. Let's assume that it isn't in your
database. You may add this station to your database from within
the "Database Display" screen by pressing the "A" key.
Immediately, the program listings on lower portion of the display
will be replaced with the Data Entry Screen as shown below.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 17:22:30
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.43000 N FAST OFF OFF 1 AM 6.0 A OFF NO 15
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use DRAKE frequency or IMPORT? (Y/n/I)
DATA ENTRY SCREEN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequency = 15.43000*MHz
F1 = Drake Freq. Enter = Skip Thru Field Esc = Return
-30-
The monitor will now display the Drake's frequency. The "Enter
Command:" line will also be replaced with the statement "Use Drake
Frequency or Import (Y/n/I):". Assuming that you've proceeded
through these instructions as I've described, and the Drake was set
up for the desired antenna selection, mode, bandwidth, notch
filter, noise blanker, RF gain setting, you can now press "Y".
(For the moment ignore the "Import" feature which will be described
in the "FIELD CAPTURE, GLOBAL EDIT, AND FIELD IMPORT FEATURES"
section).
Also, while not pertinent to the example being described, but
relevant for future consideration, if upon initial entry into the
new record screen, or anytime the statement "Use Drake Frequency or
Import (Y/n/I)" is displayed and you decide you do not want to
proceed to enter a new record, you can press the "Esc" key to
return back to the "Database Display" screen. You can also Escape
from the Add Record feature by pressing the "Esc" key once within
any of the fields, provided the cursor is located in the field's
1st character position.
Proceeding with the example, immediately to the right of the
frequency field you will be prompted to enter information in the
Radio Station or "R. Station =" field. You are allowed up to 25
characters. However, if you were typing CHANNEL AFRICA, which
contains only 14 characters (including space between the words) you
may after the last character press the "ENTER" key or "CR" key on
keyboard. If you make a mistake in typing you can use the
"BACKSPACE" key to retype what you want to correct. Upon correctly
typing in this information in the R.Station field, press <ENTER>
which will immediately bring you to the next field, "Start UTC =".
In the "Start UTC =" field type the UTC time that the broadcast
starts. You should be careful to assure that all four character
positions of this field are filled (i.e. 1700) with the only
exception being if this is to be a "special" logging. If it is a
"special" logging just skip over this field by pressing the "ENTER"
key. It should be noted that proper time entry is extremely
important if the database is to later sort and display properly.
Upon completing the "Start UTC =" field the "End UTC =" field will
appear. Enter the UTC time that the broadcast ends. Note that some
broadcasters have programs several hours in length. It is
acceptable to enter an End UTC time beyond the hour that the
program starts. DX-COMM PLUS will automatically, upon completion
of other data fields break the file record into several records for
each UTC hour that the station is broadcasting. If the broadcast
being logged is a "special" logging simply skip over this field by
pressing "ENTER".
The next field is the "Days Operating (MTWHFAS) =" field. Many
international shortwave stations do not broadcast in English every
day of the week. If the station broadcasts Monday thru Sunday,
-31-
enter MTWHFAS where "H" represents Thursday and "A" represents
Saturday. Data entry in this field, however, is not critical to
proper sorting or displaying of records.
The next field is "Longitude =". Enter the degrees and minutes of
the broadcaster's transmitter. For example, using a World Atlas
and the World Radio TV Handbook you would determine that Channel
Africa broadcasts from Meyerton, S. Africa. By referring to an
Atlas we find that Meyerton is close to Johannesburg. The
longitude for Johannesburg is 28 deg. 03 min. East. If you had
attempted to type a value greater than 180 deg., or something
greater than 60 min., or other than E for east or W for west, the
computer will beep and return the cursor to the start position of
this field.
The next field is "Latitude =". Enter the degrees and minutes of
the broadcaster's transmitter. Again for the Channel Africa
example, this would be 26 degrees 12 minutes South. If you had
attempted to enter something greater than 90 degrees, or something
greater than 60 minutes, or something other than N for North or S
for South, the computer would have beeped and returned the cursor
to the start position of this field.
The next field is "Drake Download String =". This field will
automatically display the string that represents the frequency,
mode, bandwidth, antenna selection, etc. that you've down loaded
off the Drake in the initial step to this section. (Refer to the
Drake R8 Owner's Manual for a description of "RA" or the "Report
All" response which is the principal component of this download
string). Simply press the enter key if you are satisfied with the
mode, bandwidth, and other parameters of operation that you've
downloaded. If you are not, refer to the Drake R8 Owner's Manual
to obtain the appropriate codes for typing in the first 9
characters of this string (I rarely use this feature since one can
"Edit" the record after all other fields have been sequenced
through and then use the F1 key to allow DX-COMM PLUS to download
the appropriate information directly into the file record - a
feature that is described later in this manual).
Once the above field is either modified or the enter key has been
pressed, you are prompted to enter the following information
"(W)inter, (S)ummer, (A)ll =". Many international broadcasters
change the frequency used during winter versus summer to take
advantage of changes in propagation conditions. Enter "W" or "S"
for winter or summer, or "A" if the broadcaster uses this frequency
at the same UTC time throughout the year. It should be noted,
however, that data entry here is not critical to sorting or
displaying of records.
The next field is "(S)hortwave/(U)tility/(S)pecial =". You must
enter either "s" or "u". If any other letter is entered you will
hear a warning beep. The program also automatically converts
-32-
uppercase to lowercase. Without an "s" or a "u" this record will
not be properly displayed or printed.
The next field is "(A)ctive/(I)nactive/S(p)ecial =". You must
enter "a", "i", or "p". A mis-typed entry will result in a warning
beep. The program converts all uppercase entries to lowercase.
Correct data entry is essential to assure proper display and
printing of the record. If you type "p" for this field, upon
leaving the field, the Start UTC and End UTC fields will
automatically display "SPEC" and "IAL " respectively.
The final record field is "Remarks =". In this field you are
allowed 25 characters of information. I typically use this field
to identify the transmitter location, or other information about
the station. This field is not critical to proper sorting or
displaying of the record. At the completion of data entry in the
"Remarks =" field the lower half of the screen will now appear as
shown below and the user will be prompted by "Edit (Y/n)?".
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 17:22:30
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.43000 N FAST OFF OFF 1 AM 6.0 A OFF NO 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit (Y/n)?
DATA ENTRY SCREEN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequency = 15.43000*MHz R. Station = CHANNEL AFRICA
Start UTC = 1700 End UTC = 1800
Days Operating (MTWHFAS) = MTWFHAS
Longitude = 28 03' E Latitude = 26 12' S
Drake Download String = 15 602<8 15.43000*MHz
(W)inter, (S)ummer, (A)ll = A (S)hortwave/(U)tility/(S)pecial = s
(A)ctive/(I)nactive/S(p)ecial = a Remarks = VIA JOHANNESBURG,S.AFRICA
F1 = Drake Freq. Enter = Skip Thru Field Esc = Return
If you find that you have mistyped information in any of the
fields, you have an opportunity to go back and edit the field(s)
containing the error(s) by pressing "Y" and <ENTER>. I will
describe the edit mode in the next section, but for now assume that
data entry was correct. Press "N" followed by pressing the <ENTER>
key, or simply press the <ENTER> key. The command line in the
middle of the monitor's screen will then ask if you want to enter
another record.
At this point if one pressed "Y" one can then enter new information
for a new database record. Initially, upon displaying each field
the program will default to the prior information entered for the
-33-
previous record. In this way the user has the option of just
pressing <ENTER> to accept the default condition or retyping the
particular field. This feature is extremely useful for example
when a broadcaster is transmitting on more than one frequency at a
given time of day.
However, for the particular example, type "N" when prompted whether
there are additional records to enter, or simply press <ENTER>.
The program will then redisplay the list of frequencies for the
hour that was being reviewed by the user prior to performing data
entry. The new record added, if it is inclusive of the UTC hour
being displayed, will be the last record displayed for that hour.
To properly place the record in the appropriate sequence to that of
other records in the database, you must re-sort the database. To
do this go to the "Database Menu" screen and then press "S".
Some comprehensive sources of shortwave broadcast frequency
listings include: "Monitoring Times", "Passport to the World Band
Radio", "World Radio TV Handbook", and Tom Sundstrom's English
Language Shortwave Broadcast Database.
o "Monitoring Times" is a Grove Enterprises monthly publication. It
contains a wealth of information concerning current English
language broadcasts, their frequencies, time of broadcast, and
provides anticipated Maximum Useable Frequency (MUF) and Lowest
Useable Frequency (LUF) propagation data for that month for
broadcasts from various regions of the world. (Grove Enterprises
telephone number is (704) 837-9200).
o "Passport To World Band Radio" is an International Broadcasting
Services, LTD. publication. (It may be purchased from a number of
different shortwave and ham radio retailers including Grove
Enterprises and Gilfer Shortwave. It is also available in large
retail bookstores such as Barnes and Noble). The "Passport to
World Band Radio", what one reviewer referred to as the "TV Guide
for World Band Radios", is an excellent reference that identifies
times and frequencies of all shortwave broadcasts, not just
English language broadcasts, and provides very useful information
about station transmitter location, the listening area the
broadcast is intended, and transmitter power used.
o Likewise, the WRTH handbook contains exhaustive detail about
transmitter power, location, time of broadcasts, etc. for each
international and domestic shortwave and mediumwave broadcaster
in the World. The WRTH is also available from a number of
shortwave and ham radio retailers as well as a number of larger
retail bookstores.
o A very convenient way to obtain the most up to date information
about English language broadcasts is to subscribe to the
internationally acclaimed database authored by Thomas R.
Sundstrom. DX-COMM PLUS has the capability of directly
-34-
importing this database for use with the Drake R8. This import
feature is fully described in this manual's section entitled TRS
DATABASE IMPORT FEATURE. Tom Sundstrom's database is available
on a subscription basis by ordering it by mail from TRS
Consultants, P.O. Box 2275, Vincentown, NJ 08088-2275 or by
telephoning him at (609) 859-2447. Regular updates of the
database may be obtained by subscribers by downloading a
specified file from PICs ONLINE RBBS at (609) 753-2540.
ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF ENTERING FREQUENCY IN
NEW OR EDITED RECORD
If instead of using the Drake frequency when queried at the
beginning of the "Data Entry Screen", you had desired to type in a
frequency, you could have pressed "N". This would put the cursor
within the "Frequency =" field. At this point you could type in
the frequency you wanted to use - however, in doing so you must
enter 8 characters of information in the form xx.xxxxx (i.e 9.59000
could be "09.59000" or " 9.59000" - in the latter case the space
bar was pressed on the computer keyboard for the first character.
(Note: you must enter the "." at the third character position for
frequencies of less than 55 mHz - for frequencies greater than 108
mHz the "." is in the fourth position). Then enter data as
previously described for the subsequent fields of this new record.
When you come to the "Drake Download String =" field the field will
automatically display a default string setting of " 00 612<8" which
is equivalent to Channel 00, Noise Blanker = Narrow, AGC = Fast,
RF= off, Notch filter = off, Antenna = 1, Mode = AM, Bandwidth =
6.0, VFO= A, Synchro Det. = off, and Scanning = No.
There is also an automated feature in DX-COMM PLUS to enter the
desired frequency into the frequency field. Suppose, for example,
you accessed the "Data Entry Screen" but ou did not ave the correct
frequency tuned in on the Drake. At the screen prompt to use the
Drake frequency or Import (Y/n/I), press "N". When the cursor is
located in the 1st character position of the "Frequency =" field,
retune the Drake manually to the frequency and setting you desire,
and then press the Function F1 key followed by <ENTER>. This
retrieves the new Drake settings, displays the frequency, and will
later display within the "Drake Download String =" field the mode,
bandwidth and all other relevant parameters for the station you've
currently tuned.
ADD RECORD FEATURE OF DATABASE MENU SCREEN
An alternate way of entering new records is within the "Database
Display" described previously. To access the "Database Menu
Screen" press the "Q" key from within the "Database Display"
screen. Once the "Database Menu" is displayed, one can simply
-35-
press "A", which provides the same "Data Entry Screen" as described
before.
EDITING AND DELETING RECORDS
One can edit records from within the "Database Display" screen by
pressing "E" followed by the Index number of the record to edit.
An example of the Edit Screen is shown below. Index numbers are
those displayed directly under the "INDEX#" heading of the Database
Display. The Edit Screen appears as shown below:
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 17:41:20
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.43000 N FAST OFF OFF 1 AM 6.0 A OFF NO 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit (Y/n) or Delete (D)?
INDEX#= 1116 REC#= 1448
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequency = 15.43000*MHz R. Station = CHANNEL AFRICA, S.AFRICA
Start UTC = 1700 End UTC = 1800
Days Operating (MTWHFAS) = MTWHFAS
Longitude = 28 03' E Latitude = 26 12' S
Drake Download String = 00 612<8 15.43000*mHz
(W)inter, (S)ummer, (A)ll = A (S)hortwave/(U)tility/(S)pecial = s
(A)ctive/(I)nactive/S(p)ecial = a Remarks =
F1 = Drake Freq. Enter = Skip Field Tab = Highlight Field
The "Edit Screen" displays information by field in the same format
that was displayed during initial data entry. The user is prompted
with the statement "Edit (Y/n) or (D)elete". If you decide not to
change anything then simply press "N" followed by <ENTER> or simply
the <ENTER> key. If on the other hand you decide to change the
information being displayed for the record in question then type
"Y" followed by <ENTER>.
If you decide to change the frequency field information you have
two alternatives. One option is to type it in directly,
remembering that you must enter 8 characters of data (xx.xxxxx).
Again it should be noted, the first character may be a space if the
frequency is less than 10 Mhz. (i.e. frequency to enter is 9.59000
one would enter " 9.59000). An alternative way of entering the
frequency is to retune the Drake manually to the frequency and the
download settings desired and then within the first character
position of the "Frequency =" field press Function F1 followed by
<ENTER>. The new Drake frequency will then be displayed, as will
-36-
the corresponding "Drake Download String" when that field is
accessed.
If you need to change a field somewhere in the middle or end of the
record, and desire to keep the other fields unchanged, simply press
the <ENTER> key for each field of data you wish to retain. This
skips from the first character position of one field to the first
character position of the next field. Once, you start typing in a
particular field though, you must continue retyping all the
information you want in that field. It should be noted that the
field will display the characters of the prior entry until written
over. For example, let's say in the "R. Station =" field I had
mistyped when entering the original data "BBC LLONDON". The
mistake here obviously was too many L's. In the Editing mode I
would retype "BBC LONDON" followed by pressing <ENTER>. Pressing
<ENTER> marks the end of the string that you have entered to be
stored in the SWDB.DAT file.
When you have completed the editing of the particular record, you
will again be prompted "Edit (Y/n) or (D)elete". If you mistyped
something you can again go back through the record and make your
changes, otherwise simply press "N" and/or <ENTER>. If you
modified the "Start UTC" or "R. Station" or "Frequency =" fields or
designated a shortwave or utility station as now a "special" log or
vice versa, you might have to resort the database at the end of the
edit to have the record properly display.
In addition to editing records you may also delete them from within
this screen. You do this by pressing "D" when prompted by "Edit
(Y/n) or (D)elete?". The record will remain active until the user
re-sorts the database at which time the record will be removed. If
a record is being deleted which happens to fall into the UTC time
that the program is presently displaying, that record will display
"DELETE" in the "TIME" column of the display.
At the bottom of the Edit Screen is a function entitled
"TAB=Highlight Field". This feature willl be described in the
section "FIELD CAPTURE, GLOBAL EDIT, AND FIELD IMPORT FEATURE".
UNDELETING RECORDS
If you want to un-delete a record, first proceed to the Database
Display Screen. Now move the red cursor bar using the "]" or "["
keys to position the cursor over the record in question. Press ^T
(Ctrl T) to tag the record. When you do this the Index number in
the Database Display Screen will be highlighted in purple. Now
press "D" for delete. This will un-delete the record in question.
-37-
DELETING RECORDS DIRECTLY FROM WITHIN
DATABASE DISPLAY SCREEN
In a similar manner as described for undeleting a record, one could
first tag records within the Database Display Screen and then press
"D". Each record tagged will now display the words "DELETE" in the
Display's TIME column and the purple "TAG" will be removed. This
codes the records for future deletion upon sorting, however, until
resorted, the records remain part of the database.
Please note that once the tag feature is activated other features
involving the tagging of records (these include ACR and ALERT
features as described later in this manual) are "locked out" until
the tags are cleared by pressing ^U (Ctrl - U).
FIELD CAPTURE, GLOBAL EDIT, & FIELD IMPORT
FEATURES
Another feature provided within the Edit Screen is to capture
fields for later importing into either other existing records or
new records, or for use within the MUF-LUF plotting portion of the
program. One can capture field information by simply pressing the
"TAB" key when in the first character position of the field(s) in
question.
Captured fields may be inserted into other records by using the
"Glo(B)al" command when within the Database Display Screen, or by
importing the fields when "Adding" a record to the database by
pressing "I" when queried "Use Drake Frequency or Import (Y/n/I).
To use the Global editing command irst edit a record from which you
wish to retrieve certain data fields. When within the edit screen
highlighting the desired fields by using the TAB key. Exit the
Edit Screen. Then within the Database Display Screen tag the
records desired to be globally edited, and then presses the "B"
key.
As an example, say one wanted to use the Radio Station name from
record 531 as well as the longitude and latitude information from
that record. For purposes of the example, also assume that one
also wanted to import this field information into records denoted
by the index numbers 555 and 565. First select "E" for edit and
type 531 to edit record 531. When within the Edit Screen press the
<ENTER> key until the cursor is in the first character position of
the R.Station field. Now press the "TAB" key. The field will turn
"pink". The cursor will automatically jump to the next field
position. Continue to press <ENTER> until the cursor is in the
first character position of the Longitude field. Press the "TAB"
-38-
key again. This will highlight the longitude field in pink. Do
the same once the cursor is in the Latitude field. Then simply
press the "Enter" key until the cursor is back up at command line
which says "Edit (Y/n)". Simply press <ENTER> or "n". This will
return you to the Database Display Screen.
Now move the red cursor over record 555. Press ^T (Ctrl T). This
will highlight the record's index number in purple. Likewise, move
the cursor to record 565 and press ^T. Now press the "B" key.
This will perform a global edit and modify records 555 and 565 to
now contain the same R.Station and Longitude and Latitude field
information as record 531.
Upon completion of the global edit, press ^U (Ctrl U) to untag the
"Tagged" records. Please note that one could also have moved the
cursor over record 555 and pressed ^T (Ctrl T) and then again over
record 565 to untag those individual records.
Captured field information may also be used with the MUF-LUF
plotting program. To use this feature capture R.Station,
Longitude, and Latitude information from the desired record. Now
return to the Database Display Screen. Now press "G" to proceed to
the MUF-LUF plotting program. Once within the MUF-LUF Plotting
menu, press "P". The R.Station and Longitude and Latitude
information should be displayed. To proceed to plot 24 MUF-LUF
data then simply press "Y".
FIND, EDIT, AND DELETE
From within the "Database Menu" screen the user may search the
database for a record or set of records.
Press "F". The middle of the monitor's display will prompt the user
with the following: "Enter Search Identifier(s)?" A few lines
below this, the screen will display field identifiers of:
UTC=Startime in UTC; RST=Radio Station; FRQ=Frequency; #####=Index#
of Record. The screen will also identify the allowed combinations
of fields to search as: UTCRST, FRQRST, UTCRSTFRQ.
An important point to remember in searching for a particular record
is that for each of the individual field identifiers, with the
exception of ##### for record index number, you will be given the
option of entering the ENTIRE field string (8 characters for
Frequency; 25 characters for R. Station; and, 4 characters for UTC
Time), or using a shorter search string as denoted by enclosing the
search string in the brackets < and >.
If one enters a number (up to five digits long), the database
record corresponding to the index number entered will be displayed.
If a "0" or a number exceeding the maximum number of records in the
-39-
current database is entered, the program will beep. Upon a correct
index number entry, the record will be displayed. The user then
has the option of editing, deleting, or highlighting the record as
previously described in the "EDIT" section above.
If one wants to find all the records associated with a given UTC
time one must first enter "UTC". Directly beneath this command
line, the user will be prompted by "Enter string to search (<xxx>
sounds like):?". Now enter either the start UTC time you are
seeking as 4 characters (i.e. 0100) or the first two digits of the
hour as such "<01>". The former will provide you the first record
that the search comes across with the start UTC time for the hour
being searched. One can either edit that record or simply press
<ENTER> to skip to the next record that is found. If the latter
choice was used,"<01>", the program searches to match the first two
digits of the start UTC time. It should be recognized that for
example 0115, 0130, and 0145 equally satisfy this search criteria.
A search may also be performed by searching the R. Station field.
The program will search the entire R. Station field for a
comparison to a search string. Enter RST at the first prompt and
then either all 25 characters making up the string to be searched
or <xxxx> (Note:xxxx represents the character string to be
searched). Using the latter case as an example, suppose I'm
searching for RADIO THAILAND. I could enter <THAI> and I would get
all the records for where there is a match of that string. Note,
however, if I had used simply <RADIO> I would get matches to
stations including RADIO NETHERLANDS, RADIO MOSCOW, etc. as well.
One can likewise search by Frequency by entering FRQ at the first
prompt followed by the eight digits of frequency (i.e xx.xxxxx) or
simply <xx.xxx>. If the latter <xx.xxx> is used, make sure for
frequencies that are less than 55 mHz that you enter at least the
first 3 digits of information up to and including the ".",and for
frequencies over 108 mHz that you enter the first 4 digits up to
and including "."
One can also search using the following combinations: UTCRST or
FRQRST or UTCRSTFRQ.
When seeking to search by time and station, use UTCRST at the
prompt. You will be subsequently prompted to provide the search
string. You could for instance search for "0000BBC LONDON" or you
could have made the search string "<00><BBC>" or "0000<BBC>" or
"<00><LONDON>".
Similarly if you had selected FRQRST you could have entered
"<9.915>BBC LONDON" or " 9.91500BBC LONDON" or "< 9.915><LONDON>
to find the records for when BBC London broadcasts on 9.915 mHz.
When seeking to search by time, station and frequency use
UTCRSTFRQ. Several combinations of search strings could be used to
-40-
find the same record. For example if one were searching for BBC at
0000 hour on 6.175 Mhz: "0000BBC LONDON6.17500" or "0000<BBC><
6.175> or "<00><BBC> 6.17500" OR 0000BBC LONDON< 6.> or
<00><LONDON>< 6.> to name only a few.
For a number of search combinations more than one match is likely.
The program will continue to display each additional record that it
comes across that matching the search criteria specified. One can
"QUIT" from this search routine by simply pressing the "Q" key when
the program is displaying "Edit (Y/n) or Delete (D)?" and then
pressing "Enter". One also has the option of editing a record
found by indicating "Y" at the command line.
Editing is performed in the same manner as described in the section
EDITING AND DELETING RECORDS. The exception is that if one wants
to capture a field for later use, upon coming back to the command
line when "Edit (Y/n) or Delete (D)?" is displayed, one must enter
"Q" if one wants retain captured field information from the record
just edited. Otherwise the captured field information will be
erased once a new record is displayed within the Editing Screen.
ADDING FREQUENCIES TO THE DRAKE R8 MEMORY
DX-COMM PLUS provides the user the convenient capability of
sequentially programming the Drake R8's 100 memory channels with
DX-COMM PLUS's database records.
To upload a DX-COMM PLUS database record into one of the Drake R8
memory channels, first proceed to the Command Screen and type "C"
followed by a number which can be between 0 and 99. The number
entered should correspond to the memory channel you desire to store
the database record within. After doing this, return to the
Database Display Screen by typing "L" and pressing <Enter>.
Now select from the Database Display the record you desire to load
into memory. Move the red cursor over the desired record and press
"M". The record will be displayed on the Drake R8 and the memory
channel on the Drake will increment up by one, and then the Drake's
frequency will be reset to the frequency just loaded.
Subsequent channels may be entered sequentially simply by placing
the cursor over the next desired record and pressing the "M" key.
THE TNC WINDOW
To access the "TNC WINDOW" screen simply press the "N" key when
operating within the "Database Display" screen. Upon doing so the
program jumps into an asynchronous terminal emulation mode between
itself and the TNC.
-41-
If you are operating an MFJ-1278 follow these steps to synchronize
the TNC with DX-COMM PLUS. Immediately upon pressing the "N" key,
press the <ENTER> key several times in quick succession. This will
lock in the autobaud feature of the MFJ-1278. Repeat the procedure
if the TNC fails to synchronize with DX-COMM PLUS.
Once the communication is established with the TNC the lower half
of the display on your computer monitor will look similar to that
shown (as illustration the screen is shown connected to the MFJ-
1278). The commands available within the TNC window itself are
shown on the bottom two lines of the screen, and those available to
communicate directly with the Drake are shown on upper half of the
screen.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
xx.xxxxx xx xxx xxx xxxx x xx x.x x xxx xx xx
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
L#### = Load Index# STEP### J = Dwn ### F5 = DWN 10
(R)eturn ^Y=Lock K = Up ### F7 = UP 10
TNC WINDOW
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bbRAM: LOADED WITH DEFAULTS
|A
MFJ ENTERPRISES, INC.
MODEL MFJ-1278
AX.25 Level 2 Version 2.0
Release XXXXX (date) - 32K RAM
Checksum XXX
cmd:
F5=Buf Display Sp.Bar=Step ^A=Clr ^D/^E=Open/Close File Esc=Exit
F4=Drake Cmds Tab=Prn on BKSP=Prn off ^\ =Rtrn to Main F8=VFO A
From within the "TNC WINDOW" simply enter commands as described in
your TNC owners manual. For example, for the MFJ-1278, to access
CW you would simply type MODE CW.
Received and typed text will be scrolled across the TNC WINDOWs
screen. You may simultaneously print this information on your
printer by pressing the "Tab" key. You may turn the print feature
off by pressing the "Backspace" key.
DX-COMM PLUS has a 3000 byte buffer for capturing what is displayed
within the 9 line scrolling window. To redisplay information
received or typed simply press "F5". This automatically sends an
XOFF$ signal (^S) to the TNC (called software flow control) which
temporarily stops data transmission. The buffer then displays one
line of stored screen data at a time. You may step the buffer one
-42-
line at a time by pressing the keyboard space bar. You may also
resume normal TNC operation by pressing the "Esc" key or you may
step thru the buffer to the end of the buffer at which time the
program sends an XON$ signal (^Q).
The buffer may be cleared of old information by pressing "Ctl A"
(^A). This feature is provided as a convenience, but is not
critical to proper buffer operation. If this is not done, the
buffer when filled will simply rewrite over the old information.
Please also note that when you leave the TNC Window that this
buffer is erased.
When displaying the buffer's stored data you can press the "Tab"
key which will print each line held in the buffer immediately upon
displaying it on the screen. You can turn off the buffer print
feature by pressing the "Backspace" key.
In addition to using the buffer to capture typed as well as
received data, the user may save this information to a DOS ASCII
file on the computers default directory or some other path as
designated (the default diretory is the same DOS directory that
DX.EXE and the *.DAT files reside).
This is done by pressing "Ctl D". Upon pressing this, within the
TNC window display you will be prompted to enter up to 8 letters
for a file name. DX-COMM PLUS automatically attaches the file
extension ".BUF". When providing a file name, you may also
identify a path in which you want this file to reside. For example
suppose the file name that you desire is "FILENAME" and you want to
save this on the "A" drive in the subdirectory TEMP. You would
then type "A:\TEMP\FILENAME". The file FILENAME.BUF will then be
saved to the disk.
At any time while operating within the TNC Window you may close the
file by entering "Ctl E". Upon doing so the program will display
"File FILENAME.BUF Closed".
When within the main screen area of the TNC WINDOW the user may
access either VFO A or VFO B by simply pressing the F8 key. This
provides the capability to monitor for example two SITOR stations
(i.e ship to shore & shore to ship) by simply toggling the F8 key.
The TNC WINDOW screen also provides the user with direct keyboard
control of the Drake R8. This is accomplished by pressing Function
F4. Upon doing so, the cursor will jump to the line directly below
DX-COMM PLUS's Drake Frequency display. You may now enter all the
commands as identified in the Drake R8 Owner's Manual under the
section entitled "RS232c Interface". For example, to increment the
frequency up or down .01 khz or .1 khz depending on how you have
the LED Drake Frequency set up, press the "U" or "D" key followed
by pressing <ENTER>. Likewise, to enter a frequency into the Drake
type Fxx.xxxxx and <ENTER>. If you made a manual adjustment to the
-43-
Drake R8 directly (i.e. turned the tuning wheel or selected a
different bandwidth) and you want the DX-COMM PLUS to accurately
display this information, simply type "RA" and press <ENTER>.
In addition to the commands as identified in the Drake Owner's
manual, DX-COMM PLUS provides others as well. To change bandwidths
simply type "0.5" or "1.8" or "2.3" or "4.0" or "6.0" followed by
pressing the <ENTER> key. Likewise to change modes simply type
"AM","FM","CW", "RTTY", "LSB" or "USB".
Also, one may activate the comport locking feature described under
UPLOADING DATABASE FREQUENCIES TO THE DRAKE R8. By pressing ^Y,
the PC's serial comport is locked in the open state to allow
quicker communication between DX-COMM and the serial port of the
receiver. Pressing ^Y again toggles this feature off.
Other special features are also provided.
o LOADING DATABASE RECORD: If you know the Index# of the database
record that you wish to upload to the Drake you should simply
type "L####" where #### is the record's index number.
o STEPPING FREQUENCY DISPLAY BY USER SPECIFIED INCREMENT: You may
step the frequency display a specified increment up or down by
first typing "STEP###" where ### represents the step increment.
For example, if you want to step the frequency up or down 2.7 kHz
you would type 270 (provided the actual LED Drake Frequency is
displaying to the nearest .01 khz. If you have the frequency
display set to the nearest 1 khz or .1 khz an increment of 270
would equal 27.0 khz). Once set, the user can step the frequency
up or down by pressing the "J" or "K" key. This step amount is
stored until either overwritten by a new value or you exit the
TNC Window screen.
o STEPPING FREQUENCY DISPLAY DOWN OR UP BY INCREMENT OF 10: You
may also step the frequency up or down by an increment of 10 (.10
khz if LED Drake Frequency is set to display to nearest .01 khz
or 1.0 khz if the LED Drake Frequency is set to display to
nearest 1 khz or .1khz). This is done simply by pressing the F6
key for down or F7 key for up.
To return back to the TNC WINDOW type "R" and press the "Enter"
key. To return back to the "Database Display" screen press "Ctl \"
(^\). Please note that when you leave the TNC WINDOW screen data
stored in the screen buffer will be erased.
SCANNING RECORDS
DX-COMM PLUS provides the capability of scanning user tagged
records when operating within the Database Display Screen. To
activate this feature first move the red cursor onto the record
-44-
desired and press ^T (Ctrl T). This "Tags" the record by
highlighting the record number in purple. Do the same with other
records you desire to scan.
Now press ^S (Ctrl S). This activates DX-COMM PLUS's scan feature
by loading in the first record tagged to the Drake R8, then pausing
on that frequency for the number of seconds specified from the
program configuration file, and then upon completion of that scan
period, loading the next sequential tagged file into the Drake.
This cycle is repeated until each of the tagged records is entered
into the Drake.
Upon loading the last of the tagged records into the Drake, the
complete cycle is started over again until the user aborts the
operation. To end the scan routine simply press any key.
Upon exiting the scanning routine, untag the records by pressing ^U
(Ctrl U).
AUDIO CASSETTE RECORDER CONTROL
DX-COMM PLUS allows the user to control the Drake R8 in much the
same way a Video Cassette Recorder may be programmed to tape a
desired TV show(s). To utilize this feature, the user must have an
audio cassette recorder connected to the Drake R8 and a remote
control jack connected off of the 5 pin Timer Relay DIN connector
on the rear panel of the Drake R8 (See Drake Owner's Manual).
This feature is activated by first tagging records, specifying for
each record tagged the date the broadcast is to be taped, the UTC
time you desire the taping to begin, and the UTC time you desire
the taping to end. The easiest way to understand this feature is
by example.
Let's say you are located on the East Coast of the United States
and it is October 24, 1992 - 5pm Eastern Standard Time and you
wanted to tape the BBC London on 5.975 mHz between 0000 hour UTC
and 0030 hour UTC. Assume that you wanted to follow this taping
with Radio Australia on 21.740 mHz between the hours of 0200 UTC
and 0300 UTC on the same date.
Now before tagging any records, as good practice use the ^U (Ctl-U)
key to clear the tagging buffer.
Now having done this, press "T" in the Database Display Screen and
type "0000" to get database records starting at 0000 hour UTC. Now
move the red cursor in the Database Display Screen over the BBC
LONDON record for 5.975 mHz.
Now press ^V (Ctrl V). The "Enter Command:" line in the middle of
the monitor screen will be replaced with "Record No.="; followed by
-45-
the record number corresponding to BBC LONDON on 5.975 mHz and a
few spaces later "Date (mmdd) =" and the date "1025". The computer
monitor's cursor will be directly under the "1" of "1025". The
"1025" (October 25th) is displayed even though your EST Date is
October 24th since 0000 hour UTC is the start of a new day. Since
this is the desired date simply press <Enter>. (If, however, it
was some other date desired, one simply types the appropriate month
and day. Be careful to make sure that if, for example, the month
is January, that you type "01" and not "1", and if it is the 5th
day of the month, that you type "05" and not simply 5). On the same
line on the computer monitor screen will now be displayed "Start
UTC = xxxx". The Start UTC time for the record tagged will be
displayed. You can accept this start time by either simply
pressing <ENTER> or you may enter some other time by typing it into
this field. In this case the time "0000" is what we want and we
press <ENTER>. Upon pressing <ENTER> (or if we had typed in the
Start UTC's last digit), on the same line will now appear the
statement "End UTC=xxxx". The End UTC time displayed will be the
same End UTC Time as displayed for the record in the Database
Display Screen. If this is the time desired simply press <ENTER>,
otherwise type in the End UTC time desired. In our example it is
"0030". The line will now be replaced with "Enter Command" and the
record within the Database Display Screen will be highlighted in
purple.
Now press "T" and enter "0200" to get to the database records
corresponding to 0200 hour. When the records displayed are for
0200 scroll the display down to get to the record corresponding to
Radio Australia on 21.740 mHz. Move the red cursor over this
record. Press ^V (Ctrl V). The record will be displayed where the
statement "Enter Command" appeared previously. In addition, the
date 1025 will appear. Simply press <Enter> to accept this as the
correct date. Now the Start UTC time will appear. Unlike the
first record entered where no time was initially displayed, a start
time of "0030" hour is displayed. DX-COMM PLUS anticipates that
the start time for the next sequential record to be taped is the
end time for the last record. In our example, however, we want the
start time to be "0200" hour. Therefore, simply enter "0200".
When the last digit is entered you are queried to now enter the End
time. Enter "0300" hour.
You may program a maximum of 8 records in this manner.
Upon completion of the programming as described above, you may
review these entries and make changes to the stored start stop
times by pressing ^R (Ctl-R). Upon doing so the Database Display
Screen window will be replaced by each of the individual records
tagged, the start/stop times, and an identifier called the Sequence
Number in which the records will be uploaded to the Drake. If you
desire to edit let's say what you've programmed for the first
upload record, type then number "1" and <ENTER>. The information
will be redisplayed on the Enter Command line allowing you to edit
-46-
where appropriate. When you are satisfied that the ACR programming
is proper simply press <ENTER> and DX-COMM PLUS will return to the
Database Display Screen to await your next command.
If, however, you wanted to untag one of the records to be uploaded,
simply move the red highlight bar onto the record in the Database
Display Screen and press ^V (Ctrl - V). You will note that the
Index# for the record in question is no longer highlighted in
purple. However, for our particular example assume that we wanted
to proceed with using the records as selected.
You are now ready to activate the ACR function. To do this make
sure your Audio Cassette Recorder or Tape Recorder is in the record
mode. Press ^P (Ctrl P). This activates the ACR function and
acknowledges this to the user by replacing the "Enter Command" line
with "ACR INITIATED". Turn your radio off manually using the POWER
button located on the Drake R8's main panel. At 0000 hour UTC the
Drake will power up, then the database record will be uploaded into
the Drake, and finally the timer relay will be activated -- thus
starting the tape recording of the broadcast. At 0030 hour the
timer relay will be shut off (stopping the tape recording),
followed by powering down the Drake. At 0200 hour the Drake will
be powered up again, the Radio Australia record will be uploaded
into the Drake, and the Timer Relay activated (reactivating the
tape recorder). At 0300 hour the timer relay will be de-energized
(shutting off the tape recorder) and the Drake will be powered
down.
If after activating the ACR function you wish to abort, simply
press any key. If you desire to untag all the ACR records, simply
press ^U (Ctl U) to do so.
ALERT FEATURE
Similar to the ACR programming feature, the DX-COMM PLUS user may
also tag a record to be uploaded at a prescribed time. However,
unlike the ACR feature, the user can continue to use DX-COMM PLUS
after activating this feature.
This feature is useful instead of trying to remember to pick up the
18 minutes after the hour broadcast of WWV for Solar Flux
information, to automatically do so. Or to automatically switch to
your favorite SW program at a prescribed time.
To activate the feature, move the red highlight bar in the Database
Display Screen over the record desired. Now press ^A (Ctl A).
Similar to the ACR feature, the record along with the date, Start
UTC and End UTC times will now be shown in place of the Enter
Command line. While you may edit any field it is only the START
UTC time that is relevant to this feature. Also, unlike, the ACR
feature only one record may be tagged for "ALERT" status.
-47-
Upon completing the above, the record will be displayed at the
bottom of the Database Display Screen in purple.
When the prescribed Start UTC time is passed 5 warning beeps will
be heard. If you do nothing, at the end of the 5th beep, the Radio
will automatically swap to the other VFO, and the tagged record
will be uploaded to the Drake. This feature will activate when
operating within the following screens: The Database Display
Screen, The Database Menu Screen, and the Command Screen. If you
are operating in another screen and the Start UTC time is exceeded,
upon returning back into one of the above three screens the Alert
feature will automatically activate.
You may abort the upload of this information if at any time before
or within the 5 warning beeps by pressing ^C (Ctl - C). This will
then clear the tagged purple record at the bottom of the Database
Display screen.
PRINTING RECORDS
You can print your entire "shortwave", "utility", and "special"
database records to any printer which accepts EPSON type commands
or to a disk for later editing. Records are printed out in the
order they were last sorted. Therefore, if the user desires a
different sequence then the one that is displayed in the Database
Display Screen you must re-sort the database accordingly.
Upon doing this, in the "Database Menu" screen press "P", and the
following prompt will appear "Enter (SB), (SA), (SI), (SP), (UB),
(UA), or (UI) or (P)rinter Setup:". If you decide you do not want
to print data you may simply press <ENTER> returning you back to
the command line which displays the words "Enter Command:".
If you do want to either print out data or to save it to a disk,
first check to determine whether the printer setup string is as
desired. To do this press "P". The string provided with DX-COMM
PLUS is "27/64/27/15/27/71". This is equivalent to "Esc @; Esc SI;
and Esc "G" which commands an EPSON compatible printer to perform
a master reset, selects condensed style printing, and turns the
double strike mode on. Use a "," to separate these commands. If
the setup string is proper simply press <ENTER>. If not, retype in
the correct values for your printer. You can enter a maximum of
six control codes.
Next the command line on the screen will display "Number of Lines".
These are the number of lines per page in your printer. For
example and 8.5x11 inch piece of paper normally can contain 66
lines of information if printed in the "portrait" mode. The value
initially provided with DX-COMM plus is 66, if this is correct
simply press <ENTER>. If it isn't, simply type in the correct
value.
-48-
Upon verifying the printer setup string is properly set, enter the
letters corresponding to the data you want printed (ie. UA stands
for all Utility Active loggings, SB stands for both Shortwave
active and inactive records, SP for "special" loggings, etc.).
The program will now say "Print Records to (P)rinter or (F)ile".
If you desire to print the records to the printer, make sure you
align the paper to the top of the page, and then press "P". If at
any time you want to terminate the printing of the database, simply
press the "Esc" key.
If on the other hand you wish to have the records printed to a
disk, press "F". Upon pressing "F" the program will query you to
type the path and file name. Note the program will automatically
attach the extension ".TXT" to your file. Upon either typing eight
characters for the filename or <ENTER> the program displays the
drive, path, and filename of where the records are being printed.
DOS SHELL
The Database Display screen provides the user the ability to
temporarily suspend operations and to invoke the DOS SHELL feature.
This is accomplished by pressing the F10 key (Function F10). Upon
doing so, the screen will clear and the DOS prompt will appear. To
return to the DX-COMM PLUS type "EXIT" at the DOS prompt.
Be careful, however, to ensure that before returning to DX-COMM
PLUS that you are within the same directory/sub-directory as the
DX-COMM PLUS data files. If this is not done, DX-COMM PLUS will
not display any database records upon returning to the program.
EXITING DX-COMM PLUS
There are 3 ways to exit the program. The first is to type ^Q
(Ctrl Q) when within the Database Display Screen -- this feature is
termed a fast exit. The second method is to do the following: If
in the Database Display screen press "Q". This in turn takes you
to the "Database Menu" screen. Press "Q" again. This takes you to
the Command Screen. Press "Q" again and enter. This returns you
to the DOS prompt. The final way is simply to press "C" in the
"Database Display". This in turn takes you to the "Command
Screen". Then press "Q" and <ENTER> which exits the program.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO PROPERLY EXIT THE PROGRAM IN ONE OF THE MANNERS
DESCRIBED TO ASSURE THAT ALL DATABASE FILES ARE PROPERLY CLOSED.
FAILURE TO DO SO (i.e. Simply turning the computer off while within
one of the program's screens) MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT DATA FILES.
-49-
TRS DATABASE
As has already been mentioned, the TRS Database referred to in this
manual is the internationally acclaimed English language shortwave
broadcast schedule database authored by Tom Sundstrom. It is for
sale on a subscription basis by TRS Consultants through the PICs
ONLINE RBBS at 609-753-2540(data); or by writing to TRS Consultants
at PO Box 2275, Vincentown, New Jersey, 08088-2275; or by phoning
609-0859-2447 (voice); or by Fax 609-859-3226.
IMPORTING THE TRS SWBC DATABASE INTO DX-COMM
PLUS
To import the TRS SWBC Database into DX-COMM PLUS take the file
SWSKED.DBF and place it in the same directory and sub-directory on
your hard drive as the other DX-COMM PLUS files. Having done this
start DX-COMM PLUS by typing "DX" at the DOS prompt.
Within the Database Display screen press ^Z (Ctrl Z). This swaps
the database supplied with DX-COMM PLUS with a file of zero
records. The original DX-COMM PLUS files SWDB.DAT are renamed
TRS.DAT, INDX.DAT is renamed TRSINDX.DAT, and FLAG.DAT is renamed
TRSFLAGS.DAT. The file COM.DAT is also swapped with the file
TRSCOM.DAT
Upon completion of this first step, the Database Display Screen
will show zero records as depicted by an "End Of File" statement in
the first line of the display window. Having done this, now press
"Q" to call up the Database Menu Screen.
From within the Database Menu Screen press the "I" key. A
statement will appear in the command line saying "Import the TRS
Database (Y/n)?". By responding with a "Y" the program first
determines if the COM.DAT file is indeed the configuration file for
the to be created TRS Database. If instead it is the COM.DAT file
for DX-COMM PLUS's database (indicating perhaps that the earlier
step of swapping databases wasn't performed) the computer will
beep, a statement will inform you that this is not the TRS
database, and will then return you to the Enter Command line of the
Database Menu Screen. If, however, this test is successfully
passed, DX-COMM PLUS automatically erases the existing database
file (if there is one) and starts to create the SWDB.DAT file from
the file SWSKED.DBF. As each record in this new file is created a
record count will be displayed on the middle right of your computer
monitor. Completion of the conversion operation is signified when
the "Enter Command:" statement returns to the middle of the
computer monitor's screen.
-50-
The next step is to create the files INDX.DAT and FLAG.DAT which
are used for indexing the database. To create these files press
the "S" key to sort the database. Upon completion of the sorting
of the database return to the Database Display Screen by pressing
the "L" key.
The TRS.DAT data file should display in a manner similar to that of
the one supplied with DX-COMM PLUS with the exception that the
right hand portion of the display contains the "NOTES" field,
whereas in DX-COMM PLUS the season of the broadcast and MUF and LUF
are displayed.
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.53000 N FAST PREAMP OFF 1 AM 6.0 B OFF NO 02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enter Command:
(C)ommands S(W)itch (A)dd ^Y=Lock ^Z= SWDB Chg ^S= Scan ^P= Program
and (T)ime (E)dit (F)lux# (M)emory ^U= Untag ^Q= Fast Quit
INDEX# TIME TYPE STATION FREQUENCY NOTES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
292 0200-0300 s-a Channel Africa ,South Afr 11.74500
293 0200-0230 s-a FEBC ,Philippin 15.45000
294 0200-0300 s-a HCJB ,Ecuador 9.74500 #1&2 USB | #3 SA
295 0200-0300 s-a HCJB ,Ecuador 15.11500 #1&2 USB | #3 SA
296 0200-0300 s-a HCJB ,Ecuador 15.15500 #1&2 USB | #3 SA
297 0200-0300 s-a HCJB ,Ecuador 17.49000 #1&2 USB | #3 SA
298 0200-0300 s-a HCJB ,Ecuador 21.45500 #1&2 USB | #3 SA
299 0200-0300 s-a Italian Radio ,Italy 7.12500 test
^R=Review Glo(B)al F3 = TSF SWDB F10= DOS (X)tra ^V=ACR
(G)raph F9 = Freq. Offset ^[= Move SWDB F8=VFO B ^T=Tag (Q)uit
If for any reason the database is not displayed, press "S" followed
by "A" to make sure DX-COMM PLUS is displaying the "Shortwave
Active" broadcasts. Please note that when the file TRS.DAT is
created it is assumed in the conversion process that all the files
in the database are "active".
To list the "TARGET" region for each broadcast record simply press
"W". You redisplay "NOTES" by simply pressing "W" again.
To swap back to DX-COMM PLUS's database at any time, press ^Z (Ctrl
Z). This simply swaps the files TRS.DAT with SWDB.DAT, TRSINDX.DAT
with INDX.DAT, TRSFLAG.DAT with FLAG.DAT, and TRSCOM.DAT with
COM.DAT. DX-COMM PLUS's database should now be displayed.
-51-
EDITING OR ADDING TO THE TRS SWBC DATABASE
If you desire to add your own records to the TRS Database or simply
to edit the existing records the ADD and EDIT features in both the
Database Display Screen and the Database Menu Screen are
essentially the same as they were for the database provided with
DX-COMM PLUS, with minor exception. The exception being that the
TRS Database does not use longitude or latitude fields to calculate
MUF and LUF. Instead these fields are replaced by a 20 character
field for denoting the Target region of the broadcast in question.
In addition, the field for the days of the week for the broadcast
has been replaced by a field of identical length except now
denoting the last date the particular broadcast record was updated.
A sample of the Edit Screen is shown below:
DX-COMM PLUS: COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER 2:52:01
TERMINAL CONTROL PROGRAM AND SHORTWAVE BROADCAST DATABASE
FREQUENCY NB AGC RF NOTCH ANT MODE BAND VFO SYNCHRO SCAN CHANNEL
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.53000 N FAST PREAMP OFF 1 AM 6.0 B OFF NO 02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit (Y/n) or Delete (D)?
INDEX#= 298 REC#= 298
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequency = 21.45500*mHz R. Station = HCJB, Ecuador
Start UTC = 0200 End UTC = 0300
Date Last Updated (yrmmdd)=921128
Target Info=NAm/SAm
Drake Download String = 00 682<8 21.45500*mHz
(W)inter, (S)ummer, (A)ll = A (S)hortwave/(U)tility/(S)pecial = s
(A)ctive/(I)nactive/S(p)ecial = a Remarks = #1&2 USB | #3 SA
F1 = Drake Freq. Enter = Skip Field Tab = Highlight Field
COPYING RECORDS BETWEEN DATABASES
DX-COMM PLUS provides the ability to copy records from one database
to the other. For example, let's say you wanted to update DX-COMM
PLUS's database with records provided with the TRS Database. To do
this, simply switch to the TRS database as previously described.
Now within the Database Display Screen move the cursor over the
record you desire to copy. Press ^T (Ctrl T) to tag the record.
The record number should appear with a purple background. Now the
repeat the same for any other additional records you desire to
copy.
-52-
Upon completing the tagging operation, press ^[ (Ctrl [) to copy
the records to DX-COMM PLUS's database. Having done this, the
tagged records within the Database Display Screen will now appear
normal (no longer shown with a purple background). Now switch back
to DX-COMM PLUS's database by pressing ^Z (Ctrl Z). You should be
able to see the copied records as "Shortwave Active" records for
their corresponding Start UTC hour(s).
You now have the option to modify these records to include latitude
and longitude information, and other fields in a consistent manner
to other records for the same broadcaster. Note you should at a
minimum make sure the broadcaster's name is identically specified
as other records in the database to ensure proper sorting and
grouping of the records.
-53-
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: USING DX-COMM VER.'s 1.01, 2.1,
2.32, 3.01, 3.2, & 3.3 SWDB.DAT
If you previously downloaded ver1.01, ver2.1, or 2.32, 3.01, 3.2 or
3.3 of the shareware version of DX-COMM (Note DX-COMM was
previously named QUICKCOMM), and have since added to that version's
database, you have two options.
The first option is that you can use that "old" database instead of
the one provided with DX-COMM PLUS by doing the following:
1) Replace the SWDB.DAT file that came with DX-COMM PLUS with your
existing SWDB.DAT file.
2) Erase the file INDX.DAT and FLAG.DAT from the drive and
directory you have placed DX-COMM PLUS's DX.EXE and the other
files.
3) Start the program by typing DX.EXE at the DOS prompt. The pro-
gram will immediately display the Database Screen except no
frequency listings will be displayed on the bottom half of the
screen. Now press the "Q" key. This will take you to the Data-
base Menu. Press the "S" key to initialize and sort the data-
base. This creates the files on your directory or disk called
INDX.DAT and FLAG.DAT. Now return to the Database Display
Screen by pressing the "L" key. The lower half of the screen
should display shortwave frequencies for the appropriate hour
of day.
The second option is to temporarily rename your "old" data files
SWDB.DAT, INDX.DAT and FLAG.DAT to TRSSWDB.DAT, TRSINDX.DAT, and
TRSFLAG.DAT and to then compare the "old" datalisting to the new
database provided with DX-COMM PLUS. To do this perform the
following operation:
1) Place these datafiles on the same directory/ subdirectory as
DX-COMM PLUS's files. Then start the program by typing DX.EXE
at the DOS prompt.
2) The program will display english language broadcasts for the
particular UTC hour in question. Scan down the list. Now
press ^Z (Ctrl - Z). This will switch the "TRS" prefixed data
files with the main data files and display your "old" records.
The exception being that rather than displaying MUF-LUF and
days of the week for the broadcasts in question, only "Remarks"
now is displayed. If you find there are records from your old
database that you want to copy to DX-COMM PLUS's database, tag
-54-
the records in question by moving the cursor over the record
and pressing ^T (Ctrl - T). After tagging the records you want
to copy, then press ^[ (Ctrl - [). This copies all the tagged
records to the new database. To untag the records press ^U
(Ctrl - U).
3) Now press ^Z to go back to DX-COMM PLUS's database to see that
the records have been properly copied. Since these records
have been added to DX-COMM PLUS's database, the database must
now be resorted to place the records in their proper order.
-55-
APPENDIX B: PROGRAMMING CONSIDERATIONS
For those individuals knowledgeable in programming and who desire
to merge other available databases into DX-COMM PLUS the following
information is provided:
SWDB.DAT is a random file of the following fields and length:
Frequency as a string 8 characters
R. Station as a string 25 characters
Start UTC as a string 4 characters
End UTC as a string 4 characters
Days station broadcasts as string 7 characters
Longitude as string 10 characters
Latitude as string 10 characters
Drake datastring as string 25 characters
W/S broadcast designation as string 3 characters
Remarks as string 25 characters
Longitude data is stored in its field as "xxx__xx'_x" where the
first "xxx" contain degrees, "__" represents the ascii character
for degree and a blank, the second "xx" represents minutes,
followed by '_ which represents the symbol for minutes and a blank,
and the last "x" represents E for East or W for West.
Latitude data is stored in its field as "_xx__xx'_x" where the
first character in the 10 character field is blank, the "xx"
represents degrees, "__" represents the ascii character for degree
and a blank, the second "xx" represents minutes, followed by '_
which represents the symbol for minutes and a blank, and the last
"x" represents N for North or S for South.
The Drake datastring appears as such in the 25 character field
(where "_" represents a blank):
"_xx_xxxxxABxx.xxxxx_MHz__".
The "AB" located in the middle of the string indicates where the
identifiers for shortwave/utility/special broadcast is stored (i.e.
sa, si, ua, ui, or sp).
FLAG.DAT's purpose is to establish record flags for where a given
hour's records begin and end in the SWDB.DAT database. This
particular feature was provided for PC's that run at slower clock
speeds in order to speed the display of information to the screen
as quickly as possible. A total of 26 flags are stored starting
with the first flag being the first record number in SWDB.DAT, the
second flag being the first record for 0100 hour, the third being
the first record for 0200 hour and so on, all the way to the 25th
flag being the record corresponding to either the last record of
the database or if "special" records exist, then the first record
-56-
of the "special" section of the database. The 26th flag is the
last record of the SWDB.DAT database.
INDX.DAT is a random file which acts as an index to sort the
SWDB.DAT database. The file has the following format:
RECORDNUMBER as integer
To accomplish sorting a RAM file is added to INDX.DAT with the
following format:
START TIME as string *8
R. STATION as string * 25
FREQUENCY as string * 8
RECORDNUMBER denotes the corresponding record number in the file
SWDB.DAT.
START TIME is the field in SWDB.DAT corresponding to RECORDNUMBER.
R. STATION is the field in SWDB.DAT corresponding to RECORDNUMBER.
FREQUENCY is the field in SWDB.DAT corresponding to RECORDNUMBER.
-57-
APPENDIX C: PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS
DX-COMM PLUS ENHANCEMENTS: DX-COMM PLUS incorporates the following
enhancements over the shareware versions of the program:
o Ability to import and use the English Language shortwave
broadcast database authored by Tom Sundstrom.
o Improved hardware handshaking between the Drake's RS232 port
and the com port used by DX-COMM PLUS;
o Scanning and Audio Cassette Recorder programming capability.
o An improved sort algorithm making sorts 50-90% faster.
o Global Editing capability to take information from one record
and import it into tagged records or newly created records or
into the Mufgraph program for MUF-LUF plotting.
o Timed programming control of an audio cassette recorder to
record up to 8 different broadcasts.
o An Alert feature to automatically "remember" to switch to a
desired broadcast at a preset time.
o The capability to modify the entire database to either
Antenna 1 or Antenna 2 operation.
o The ability to change the "default" database (the Drake
control parameters) string used when adding records to the
database.
o A Quick Exit capability.
o Additional Database configuration capability to allow the
user up to five ways to sort and display the database
records.
o A user friendly memory channel storage capability.
o Provides for VHF Converter operation and uploading and
downloading from the Drake for designated VHF frequencies.
VERSION 3.3, 3.2 and 3.01 ENHANCEMENTs
DX-COMM ver3.3 was converted from QuickBasic to Microsoft's Basic
Professional Development System 7.1. In addition to program speed
improvements, it now provides longpath calculation for MUF and LUF
and a RTTY and CW frequency offset feature to rectify a display
peculiarity of the Drake R8.
-58-
DX-COMM ver3.2 includes a TNC WINDOW to allow direct access and
simultaneous access and decoding from a Terminal Node Controller
such as the MFJ-1278 and PK-232.
DX-COMM ver3.2 also provides a movable cursor bar in the Database
Display screen allowing the user to mover the cursor over the
record desired and press "Enter" to load that record into the
Drake.
Ver3.2 of The program also includes MUFGRAPH to graphically
display MUF-LUF information for selected transmitter-receiver
locations.
DX-COMM in prior versions was called QUICKCOMM. This has been
changed to avoid potential conflicts with commercial software of a
similar name.
VERSION 2.32 and 2.1 ENHANCEMENTS
Ver2.32 corrected a problem with the terminal emulation routine
found by some users in prior versions of the program. It also
contains several major enhancement to that of ver2.1.
- The program now provides a file (FLAG.DAT) to flag where
groups of records for a given hour UTC reside with SWDB.DAT.
The program will now rapidly list station, frequency, and
other associated record information within the "Database
Display" screen.
- The program now calculates Maximum Useable Frequency for
each record in the display when appropriate Solar Flux and
transmitter/receiver longitude and latitude information is
provided by the user.
- The capability of displaying multiple hour look-ahead of
database records is now provided within "Database Display"
screen.
Ver2.1 contains a number of enhancements over that of the prior
release ver1.01. These include:
- PGUP/PGDN and HOME and END key functions to quickly move
thru the database display listings;
- An INDX.DAT file to immediately load the sorted database
into the program upon program start-up;
- The program now sorts only when requested by the user to
do so - prior version sorted automatically after adding
new data records;
-59-
- Program returns to the same location within the database
display listing after performing EDIT and ADD record
functions as the user was reviewing prior to performing these
functions;
- The program now contains the "special" logging function for
logging stations that either broadcast 24 hours per day (i.e.
WWV) or are HAM related frequencies.
- Program now includes the capability to delete records from
the database.
- Ver2.1 corrects some of the minor bugs in ver1.01 which
included problems in the uploading of the Syncro Function
to the receiver, ESC function in the New Record display.
- Ver2.1's manual documents the "(SC)an" function in the
Command Screen as well as the capability of entering a string
of "U's" and "D's" to increment frequency up or down within
the Command Screen.
- Ver2.1 corrects a significant programming oversight which
precluded dimensioned arrays of greater than 64k. This
would have limited the size of the user's database to
approximately 700 to 800 records. Ver2.1 should allow the
user to create a database of several thousand records.
- Ver2.1 includes about 300 additional frequency records in the
database compared to ver1.01.
-60-
APPENDIX D: MODIFYING THE DATABASE TO USE
ONLY ONE ANTENNA
The database provided with DX-COMM PLUS was developed using three
antennas: Antenna 1 being a random wire antenna; Antenna 2 being
a sloper; and the third being a vertical VHF antenna. The user can
easily now modify the database provided to accommodate only one
antenna.
If the user desires to exclusively use the "Antenna 1" connection
on the Drake R8 then start up DX-COMM PLUS by typing "DX" at the
Dos prompt. From within the Database Display Screen press "Q" to
go to the Database Menu Screen. Now press "*" as the key (Shift
and the number "8" key on most computer keyboards). This will
bring up the message "Modify Database to Antenna 1 (Y/n)?". Any
entry other than a "Y" will return the user back to the "Enter
Command:" line on the computer monitor. Press "Y". DX-COMM PLUS
will now proceed to look at each record in the DX-COMM PLUS's
database to determine if the record is set up for Antenna 2. If it
finds an "Antenna 2" designation it will automatically change this
to "Antenna 1". It will leave untouched any reference to the
"Converter" antenna.
Upon successful completion of the conversion of the database, the
"Enter Command" line will reappear in the Database Menu Screen.
You are now ready to return to the Database Display Screen knowing
that all records have been reconfigured for use with just Antenna
1.
Similarly, if you are intending to use only "Antenna 2" on the
Drake R8, the database may be reconfigured for this in the same
manner as described for "Antenna 1" except now press "&" (shift and
the number "7" key on most computer keyboards) from within the
Database Menu Screen.
-61-
APPENDIX E: TROUBLESHOOTING
SYMPTOM POSSIBLE CAUSE FIX
_____________________________________________________________________________
Database Screen display When swapping between Press "s" followed
no records databases or sorts DX- by "a"
Comm becomes confused
as to whether database
files are sa", "sp" or
"ua", "ub".
____________________________________________________________________________
DX-COMM Drake Parameter Wrong serial port Reconfigure prog.
Display not properly identified in config- by typing "s" and
displaying uration. "e" and then
change serial port
number.
Serial cable not Check cables
properly connected
_____________________________________________________________________________
Database records for Radio Station field of Edit one of the
same broadcaster are individual records not records and cap-
out of order after a exactly the same due to ture R.Station
sort perhaps an extra space field and then
following the end of perform global
the field in one edit/import the
record ompared to field into all
another. similar records
_____________________________________________________________________________
After returning to DX-COMM for a number of Simply press "]"
the Database Display operations tries to or "[" until the
Screen the red cursor retain the last pos- cursor appears.
is not seen. ition of the cursor rel-
ative to the total re-
cords for that hour. If
for some reason the total
records for that hour are
less the cursor may be-
come invisible.
_____________________________________________________________________________
When displaying RTTY This may happen on No solution at
and CW frequencies the very infrequent occa- this time.
display is off by sions. It is due to a
.00001 mhz. precision rounding calc-
calculation error in cor-
recting for center freq.
offset.
_____________________________________________________________________________
When operating from Wrong serial port sel- Reconfigure prog.
within the TNC window ected setup with right
DX-COMM has difficulty serial port.
communicating with the
TNC.
Wrong baud rate, par- For example,
ity. Reconfigure port's remove ",RS"
selected control codes control code
in setup file
-62-
SYMPTOM POSSIBLE CAUSE FIX
_____________________________________________________________________________
Can't communicate with Baud rate, TNC serial Change port
TNC port, or control codes designation, baud
not correct rate or remove
",RS" control
code in config-
uration file.
-63-
APPENDIX F: DX-COMM COMMAND SUMMARY
F-1: DATABASE DISPLAY SCREEN
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
A ............... used to call up the Fileinput Screen to
add new records to the database
B ............... used to globally import specified fields
into tagged records
C ............... access the Command Screen
D ............... used to delete tagged records
E ............... used to in conjunction with record number
to call up the Edit Screen to edit or
highlight fields in a record
F ............... used to enter solar flux values
G ............... used to access the 24 hour HF propagation
prediction program within DX-COMM PLUS
Home or "H" ............. moves to first record in database display
for the mode selected
End or "Z" .............. moves to last record in database display
for mode selected
PgUP or "J" ............. moves database display up 8 records
PgDwn or "K" ............ moves database display down 8 records
.............. decrements frequency display by F2 amount
.............. increments frequency display by F2 amount
or "P" .............. moves database display list up one record
or "O" .............. moves database display list dwn one record
L ............... used in conjunction with index number to
upload a record to the Drake
<ENTER> .............. used to upload record highlighted by red
cursor to the Drake
M ............... used to sequentially upload the record
highlighted by the cursor into the
Drake's memory channel
N ............... used to access the TNC Window Screen
Q ............... Access the Database Menu Screen
R ............... used to download from the Drake the
frequency presently being displayed, and
all associated parameters
T ............... used to select a particular UTC time or to
have the display look ahead up to 3 hours
W ............... used to switch between display of
"REMARKS" and "S DAYS MUF-LUF"
X ............... used to display additional commands
] ............... used to move the red cursor up
[ ............... used to move the red cursor down
@ or ! ............... In FST, SFT, STF modes increments records
up or down 100 records at time
SA ............... used to display Shortwave Active
frequencies
SI ............... used to display Shortwave Inactive freq.
-64-
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
SB ............... used to display both Shortwave Active and
Inactive frequencies
UA ............... used to display Utility Active frequencies
UI ............... used to display Utility Inactive
frequencies
UB ............... used to display both Utility Active and
Inactive frequencies
SP ............... used to display "SPECIAL" frequencies
SE ............... access the SETUP configuration routine
F2 ............... used to set the increment in khz to
increment/decrement the Drake freq.
when pressing the left or right arrow key
F3 ............... Toggle the database for subsequent resort-
ing in order of TSF, TFS, FST, SFT, STF
F8 ............... Toggles VFO A or B
F9 ............... Activates the Center Frequency offset
feature for RTTY and CW signals
F10 ............... Temporary exit to DOS
^A ............... Tags Record for Alert Status and activates
Alert status
^C ............... Clears/Aborts Alert Status
^P ............... Initiates the ACR feature
^Q ............... Quick Exit
^R ............... used to preview tagged ACR records
^S ............... used to scan tagged records and pause for
specified number of seconds in COM.DAT on
each record
^T ............... used to tag records
^U ............... used to untag all records
^V ............... used to tag records for Audio Cassette
Recording (ACR) purposes
^Y ............... used to toggle the serial comport in the
locked open mode, and to reclose the port
^Z ............... Swap Databases
^[ ............... Copy tagged records from one database to
other database
F-2: DATABASE MENU SCREEN
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
A ............... Add records to database
F ............... Find record in database using field
identifiers and search strings
I ............... Import TRS database into DX-COMM PLUS
P ............... Print database records
Q ............... Proceed to Command Screen
S ............... Sort and index database
* ............... Convert database records to Antenna 1
operation only
& ............... Convert database records to Antenna 2
operation only
-65-
F-3: COMMAND SCREEN
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
AF ............... Set gain control to Fast
AS ............... Set gain control to slow
AO ............... Set gain control to off
A1 ............... Select Antenna 1
A2 ............... Select Antenna 2
AC ............... Select VHF Antenna
BW ............... Select Wide Noise Blanker
BN ............... Select Narrow Noise Blanker
BF ............... Turn Noise Blanker off
ST ............... Step change the frequency display
Fxxxxxxxx ............... Set Drake frequency to xxxxxxxx
SO ............... Set Synchronous Detector on
SF ............... Set Synchronous Detector off
G+ ............... Set RF preamp on
GO ............... Turn RF preamp off
G- ............... Turn RF attenuator on
NO ............... Turn Notch Filter on
NF ............... Turn Notch Filter off
AM ............... Select AM mode
FM ............... Select FM mode
RTTY ............... Select RTTY mode
CW ............... Select CW mode
LSB ............... Select LSB mode
USB ............... Select USB mode
VA ............... Select VFO A
VB ............... Select VFO B
0.5 ............... Select 0.5 Bandwidth Filter
1.8 ............... Select 1.8 Bandwidth Filter
2.3 ............... Select 2.3 Bandwidth Filter
4.0 ............... Select 4.0 Bandwidth Filter
6.0 ............... Select 6.0 Bandwidth Filter
C ............... Select Memory mode
Cx (x=0 to 99) .......... Select Memory Channel x
PR ............... Program Memory Channel by placing
current freq displayed in Mem. channel
PO ............... Power On
PF ............... Power Off
TO ............... Timer Relay on
TF ............... Timer Relay off
U ............... Increment up frequency .01, .1 or 1 khz
according to Step; increment up one
channel if in memory mode
D ............... Decrement down frequency .01, .1 or 1
khz according to Step; decrement down
one channel if in memory mode
-66-
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
S (x=1-3,4-5) ........ Scan Selection:
1-3 MODES: 1- scans all memory channels
2- scans all unlocked memory
channels within user
sel. list of blocks
3- scans from VFO A to VFO B
4-6 MODES: 4- stops scan at first
carrier detected
5- stops at detected
carrier for 5 seconds
then resumes
6- Stops at detected carrier
until carrier drops for
5 sec., then resumes
SC ............... Scan start/stop (toggles)
ADDITIONAL DRAKE COMMANDS (Refer To Drake R8 Manual)
RF ............... Report Frequency
RFR ............... Report frequency, repeat every 5 seconds
RM ............... Report Mode
RMR ............... Report Mode, repeat every 5 seconds
RC ............... Report Channel
RCR ............... Report Channel, repeat every 5 seconds
RA ............... Report All - reports 25 character Drake
datastring containing channel, frequency,
and all parameters
RAR ............... Repeat Report All every 5 seconds
RS ............... Report Stop
ADDITIONAL DX-COMM PLUS PROGRAM COMMANDS
............... decrements frequency display by Database
Display F2 amount
............... increments frequency display by Database
Display F2 amount
F8 ............... Toggles VFO A or B
^Y ............... used to toggle the serial comport in the
locked open mode, and to reclose the port
Q ............... used to quit DX-COMM PLUS and return to DOS
S ............... used to access the DATABASE MENU screen
L ............... used to access the DATABASE DISPLAY screen
-67-
F-4: TNC WINDOW
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
F4 ............... Temporarily sends ^S to TNC and places
cursor at Command Line to communicate
with Drake.
COMMANDS ACCESSIBLE AFTER USING F4
Note: All the commands identified in Appendix F-3 are
accessible as well as the following:
L##### ............... Load recordnumber - by pressing L and
the recordnumber one uploads database
record to Drake
STEP### ............... Sets the amount of increment/decrement
in frequency when subsequently J or K
are pressed
^Y ............... toggles the serial comport in the lock-
ed open mode, & to reclose the port
J ............... Increments frequency up by ### as set
by STEP entry
K ............... Decrements frequency down by ### as set
by STEP entry
F6 ............... Increments frequency up 10 times what
"U" command sets for frequency on R8
F7 ............... Decrements frequency down 10 times what
"D" command sets for frequency on R8
R ............... Returns cursor back to TNC WINDOW and
sends ^Q to TNC
COMMANDS AVAILABLE WITHIN TNC WINDOW
Note: All the command sets associated with the TNC will be
accepted and the following special commands:
F5 ............... Starts Buffer display - sends ^S to TNC
temporily halting data transmission
Space Bar ............. steps one line thru buffer display
Esc ............... Allows user to leave buffer display
back to Communication with TNC -
issues ^Q to TNC
^A ............... Clears Buffer memory
^D ............... Opens a file whose name is designated
by user to send all TNC Window screen
information to.
^E ............... Closes the file opened by ^D
TAB ............... Turns printer on to printout the same
information that is being displayed on
the screen
BKSP ............... Pressing the Backspace key turns the
printer off
^\ ............... Quit TNC WINDOW and return to DATABASE
DISPLAY SCREEN
F8 ............... Select VFO A or VFO B
-68-
F-5: EDIT RECORD SCREEN
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
F1 .............. When in first character position of
Frequency field, retrieve Drake
frequency and other paramters off radio.
Requires pressing F1 followed by <ENTER>
<ENTER> ............... Press enter key to step through record
fields
TAB ............... Press Tab key when if first character
position of a field to highlight that
field for input into another record.
Used in conjunction with DATABASE
DISPLAY SCREEN Global Edit feature, and
Add record (I)mport feature
Q ............... Command Available when Find/Edit/ Delete
feature from DATABASE MENU SCREEN
accessed. When at top of screen in
command line, the search for records
matching a search string can be aborted.
F-6: ADD RECORD SCREEN
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
F1 ................ When in first character position of
Frequency field, retrieve Drake
frequency and other paramters off radio.
Requires pressing F1 followed by <ENTER>
<ENTER> ................ Press enter key to step through record
fields
I ................ Pressed at start of Add record feature
when at command line. Imports
previously highlighted fields from
edited record.
ESC ................ Escape key - by pressing escape key from
any field's first character position
the ADD RECORD SCREEN is closed and the
particular data record entry aborted.
-69-
F-7: PROPAGATION MENU SCREEN
COMMAND WHAT IT DOES
F4 ................ Temporarily sends ^S to TNC and places
] ................ moves red cursor bar up
[ ................ moves red cursor bar down
F ................ used to set alternative solar flux
levels to that set in DATABASE DISPLAY
SCREEN
D ................ used to set alternative dates to base
propagation calculations upon
R ................ Allows user to temporarily modify the
receiver latitude and longitude
without affecting the DX-COMM PLUS's
program configuration file
T ................ Allows user to specify a transmitter
latitude and longitude to determine
propagation conditions from that
transmitter site to the receiver
coordinates specified by pressing "R"
above.
S ................ Allows a 25 character name to be
assigned to the transmitter
coordinates specified by pressing "T"
P ................ Allows the coordinates entered by
pressing R, T, and name from pressing
S to be reviewed. If OK the user can
press "Y" to generate plot.
L ................ Used to toggle the program into
performing longpath calculations
<ENTER> ................ Used to generate plot for region
highlighted by red cursor
ESC ................ Used to return to the PROPAGATION MENU
SCREEN when within the Plot screen
Q ................ Used to return to the DATABASE DISPLAY
SCREEN
-70-
APPENDIX G: ALTERNATIVE TERMINAL HAND-
SHAKING MODES
In the early development of DX-COMM, a number of "handshaking"
problems between the PC and the Drake R8 were reported. Much of
this was corrected by establishing the appropriate hardware
protocol of RTS/CTS handshaking. However, with the wide variety of
PC's in use a protocol modification program is provided to allow
the user to establish the protocol/mode that works best for his/her
particular application. A total of 10 protocols are available
along with the ability to modify the control parameters of the
comport (RTS detection time, CTS, etc. - refer to your GW-BASIC
book that came with your computer for the "OPEN COM" command.
To access this program return to the DOS prompt either before
starting DX-COMM PLUS or after starting the program using the DOS
SHELL Command (Function F10 in the Database Menu Screen). At the
DOS prompt type "ALT_TERM.EXE".
The program will clear the screen and ask you to type the
protocol/mode you desire. The program disk is configured for mode
"7". Each mode is described below:
PROTOCOL DESCRIPTION
MODE PACING WAIT LOOP BREAK DET. CTS ERROR CHK CHAR FLUSH
0 x x
1 x short x
2 x moderate x
3 x long x
4 short x x
5 moderate x x
6 long x x
7 short/sec. x x x
8 moderate/sec. x x x
9 long/sec. x x x
The above headings have the following meaning:
o PACING means that the characters are sent out to the Drake
after be processed through a timing/delay loop.
o WAIT LOOP means that a timing loop is employed in the
receive buffer of the program which times out if no
characters are received after the user prescribed number of
seconds or after a loop executes a fixed number of
iterations. The description "Short", "Moderate", or "Long"
refer to the fixed number of loops before the loop times
out. From a users perspective, the delay loop is provided
to allow the Drake R8 to place information into DX-COMM
-71-
Plus's communication buffer before DX-COMM PLUS proceeds
onto the next program execution step. Obviously, for a
given delay loop, the actual time in seconds that the loop
executes is a function of the computer's clock speed and the
CPU used. In modes 7-9 the term "sec." refers to the number
of seconds configured by the user (in the step identified
below) as a limit condition to the delay loop so that
regardless on what PC is being used, the loop cannot execute
beyond the seconds specified.
o BREAK DET. means that the program reads the com port line
status register (port 3FD/2FD) to determine if a break
signal has been detected.
o CTS means that the program reads the com port's modem status
register to determine if a CTS signal has been received
before allowing a new character to be sent to the Drake.
o ERROR CHK means that the program employs a error checking
outine that determines for the Report All command whether
the correct number of characters have been received and
whether they are sequenced in the appropriate manner. If an
error is detected, the program attempts to reconstruct the
Report All string and if still unsuccessful, writes to the
Drake one more time to attempt receive this information
correctly.
o CHAR FLUSH means that the program strips the Report All
string of all Line Feeds.
Upon entering the desired Mode (0-9) the ALT_TERM program will
proceed to request you enter a "TIME DELAY". This is the number of
seconds that is used in the WAIT LOOP described above in MODES 7-9
before a timeout signal occurs. The entry may be 0 to 9 seconds.
The default is 1 second.
The final step in the ALT_TERM program is to identify the CTRL
CONFIG parameters. DX-COMM PLUS has as the default ",DS150". This
setting tells DX-COMM PLUS that if it is not able to detect a DATA
SET READY signal from the DRAKE in 150 miliseconds that it will
reclose the comport. This is useful if for example you did not
have the correct comport selected or you are using a switch box to
swap your computer com port for other applications and accidently
forget to swap it back to the Drake R8. If you didn't set ",DS150"
and just left this blank, the computer would wait 10 seconds before
issuing a timeout error - thus making DX-COMM PLUS appear very slow
in loading the program under such a condition.
-72-
APPENDIX H: WINDOWS USERS
DX-COMM PLUS is a DOS based program. However, it may be run in a
WINDOWS environment as a DOS application. There are a number of
considerations that the user needs to understand.
Unlike some other programs written for the Drake R8, DX-COMM PLUS
does not, unless selected to do so, take away manual control of the
Drake from the user. For example, at any time, other than a direct
upload or download operation, the user could turn the Drake's
tuning knob and adjust frequency or use the Drake's panel controls
to change a setting if so desired. However, this comes at a slight
price.
To accomplish this requires opening and closing the COM Port for
each separate upload/download operation. However, opening the com
port under the WINDOWs enviroment takes considerably longer than it
does under DOS. DX-COMM PLUS has been re-designed from its
shareware predecessor to minimize the opening/closing of the COM
port as infrequently as possible compared to that of the prior
shareware versions of program. But regardless, operation of DX-
COMM PLUS in the WINDOWs environment is slightly slower than when
operating in the DOS environment. The user may compensate for
this, however, by toggling the "LOCK" feature with the keys ^Y
(Ctrl Y) which locks the serial comport open until selected
otherwise. This speeds up the upload/download of information to
and from the Drake significantly.
Other steps may also be taken to optimize the operation of DX-COMM
PLUS in the WINDOWs environment. For example, one could set up the
program to have exclusive, or as near exclusive, time slice
operation when operating as the foreground application in WINDOWS.
Also, my own observation is that the program seems to operate more
quickly when running it in the FULL SCREEN mode as opposed to a
WINDOWS mode. I suspect the reason for this is that in the WINDOWs
mode the screen is constantly being updated as a graphics image,
whereas, when displaying the program as FULL SCREEN the display is
in the text mode.
Also, running DX-COMM PLUS in the FULL SCREEN MODE is a must for
those who are going to use the program with a TNC. In the WINDOWs
display mode the keyboard will lock up.
-73-
APPENDIX I: END USER SHAREWARE REGISTRATION
& LICENSE AGREEEMENT
Notice to End User: Carefully read the following terms and
conditions. Use of the software DX-COMM Plus constitutes your
acceptance of these terms and conditions and agreement to abide by
them. In return for acquiring a license to use DX-COMM PLUS and
documentation contained in this package, and for acquiring the
accompanying documentation, you, the user agree as follows:
1) EBS Consultants grants you a nonexclusive, personal license:
(a) to use DX-COMM PLUS as ShareWare, (b) Continued use
beyond an initial trial period requires you to register with
EBS Consultants. You may copy the software for purposes of
distributing it as ShareWare or for purposes of installing
it on your computer, backup purposes, and archival purposes.
As a registered user, you may assign your rights to a third
party provided the third party agrees in writing to be bound
by the terms of this Agreement.
2) You acknowledge that DX-COMM PLUS is copyrighted by Eric B.
Svenson, Jr. and is proprietary to him. Eric B. Svenson,
Jr./EBS Consultants retain title and ownership of the DX-
COMM PLUS.
3) You may not modify, alter, translate, disassemble or
decompile DX-COMM PLUS or documentation or any copy, in
whole or in part.
4) To become a registered user of DX-COMM Plus, please send a
check or money order for $39.95 to:
EBS Consultants
PO Box 1361
Summit, New Jersey 07901
Upon becoming a registered user you will receive a copy of
the printed manual, and you will be notified of additional
upgrades to the program. You will also be entitled to one
free upgrade to the program by providing EBS Consultants
with any suggestions for improving the program.
5) In no event shall EBS Consultants be liable to you for any
consequential, special, incidental, or indirect damages of
any kind arising out of the use of the DX-COMM PLUS
software.
6) You acknowledge and agree that you have read this agreement,
understand it, and that it is the entire agreement between
EBS Consultants and you which supersedes any prior
agreement, whether written or oral relating to the subject
matter of this agreement. This agreement may only be
modified by a written document signed by Eric B. Svenson,
Jr./EBS Consultants.
-74-
7) If you have any questions pertaining to this agreement or if
you need to ask any questions pertaining to DX-COMM PLUS
please contact:
EBS Consultants
PO Box 1361
Summit, New Jersey 07901
(908) 522-8941