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╒══════════════════════════════╕ │ THS - TNC Hostmode Server │ │ PHS - PK-232 Hostmode Server │ ╘══════════════════════════════╛ HB9CVV February 1992 Version 4.0x - OS/2 THS is an OS/2 Packet Radio terminal program to control a TNC-1 or TNC-2 with the WA8DED or equivalent Firmware. PHS is an OS/2 Packet Radio terminal program to control a PK-232 multi-mode terminal node controller. The firmware of the PK-232 software must be dated 30.DEC.88 or later. Both programs are textmode applications and run either in an OS/2 full screen or in an OS/2 window under OS/2 1.x or OS/2 2.0. Major features of THS/PHS ═════════════════════════ * support of packet, amtor, rtty, ascii, morse and signal modes (PHS). * user configurable comm-port, colors and texts. * split screen operation. * command and parameter entry in mode sensitive dialog windows. * extended help functions. * review of received text (backscrolling). * snapshooting of the review-buffer to file. * logging (capturing) to file. * send text from file. * binary file transfer using YAPP protocol (packet mode). * multi-channel operation (packet mode). * heard list showing the path (packet mode). * Net/Rom frames are decoded (packet mode). * wordwrapping is available (packet mode). * built-in message editor. * support for screens up to 80*60. THS contains a subset of the features of PHS because the TNC is packet mode only. XHS is a hobby project and covers my needs, so I implemented the features which I wished to have, and did not bother to fit all tastes and to match all possibilities. XHS may well be not adequate for your requirements, please remember however that you are not forced to use it, nor did you have to pay for it. Changes and modifications since version 4.00 ════════════════════════════════════════════ 4.03 Some parameter attributes have been adjusted, especially for THS and a TNC-1. A bug has been removed which caused THS to crash at the end of a YAPP transfer. In Signal mode, during signal analysis, the PK-232 does not respond well to polls, leading to SOH timeouts. The timeout for SOH (the lead-in character of a hostmode return frame) has been increased from 5 to 20 seconds. Writing a snapshop when reviewing did write just the visible part of the screen, not the complete review buffer as could be expected. 4.02 Enabled MYIDENT (7 char selcal) and allow 7 char selcals in ARQ calls (ALT-C in Amtor mode). MYIDENT is properly set during setup, but can be changed in the ALT-P window as usual. 4.01 PHS crashed when reading the eprom date of the latest 01.08.91 eprom. Corrected. (PHS) When the PK-232 had no, or a weak battery, the first start of PHS was terminated with an timeout-on-SOH error, a second start however was successful. Corrected. (PHS) The END-key in Amtor-mode of PHS now acts like typing <CTRL/B>+?, i.e. "<urcall> de <mycall>+?" is now sent. Obviously, if you did not set the remote callsign with ALT/B, only "de <mycall>+?" is sent. If you don't like this new feature, type "+?" by hand. (THS) Sending a long function key text clobbered THS. I forgot to remember that a WA8DED hostmodeframe cannot be longer than 256 bytes (the hostmode of the PK-232 is different). Corrected. Wrong priority levels between keyboard-input thread and device-i/o-thread lead to a slightly sluggish keyboard performance when high channel activity occurred. Corrected. Users with low power cpu report excessive usage of cpu power by THS/PHS. This has not been an issue on my 486/33 with a 8514 video card (less than 20% Cpu load when run in an OS/2 window, less than 10 in fullscreen), but the priorities of the treads have been reduced from Timecritical to Regular+20. The ALT/A key is now settable on a per-channel basis and is indicated by the letter 'A' in the statusline. When set, some 'kind of noise' is made, followed by n short beeps where n is the channel number. The length of the 'noise' tone can be set by the new "Attention" keyword in the CFG-file (default: 10). The CTRL-C and BREAK keys are now intercepted and will no longer abort PHS/THS. PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION ═══════════════════════ THS/PHS have been developed from the equivalent, older DOS programs. The term "XHS" is also used for "THS or/and PHS". XHS uses the OS/2 Communications driver for the RS-232 line to the terminal device and make full use if a buffered hardware port is available. XHS runs the firmware software exclusively in HOST mode, which permits a maxiumum of control and cooperation. XHS is written in C for the MicroSoft version 6.00a compiler. The internal implementation of XHS in form of several concurrent threads. This permits full parallel service of communications control, screen, and keyboard - you will never notice delays when you type (opposed to other similar programs). The windowing system is implemented using the VITAMIN C library (with modifications), a commercially available software library. Vitamin C permits writing to non-active windows, so scrolling in an underlying window is possible. This feature, together with the real-time operation, permits to continue the receiving and displaying of received packets even when support windows (e.g. help windows or parameter dialog windows) are opened. The PK-232 device or the TNC device are also called "device" or "TNC" in this document. INSTALLATION ════════════ It is expected that you are familiar with the operation of the TNC or the PK-232 and with the documents describing that software. PHS consists of the following files: PHS.EXE PK-232 Hostmode Server. PHS.CFG Configuration file. PHSHELP.MSG Help file. PHSHELP.IDX Index file. XHS.DOC Document file THS consists of the following files: THS.EXE TNC Hostmode Server. THS.CFG Configuration file. THSHELP.MSG Help file. THSHELP.IDX Index file. XHS.DOC Document file The first four files must reside in the same directory. Before you can run THS or PHS, you MUST edit the configuration file THS.CFG or PHS.CFG respectively, to reflect YOUR environment, and possibly you might have to configure your TNC or PK-232 also. Please refer to the description of the configuration file at the end of this manual. The syntax to call THS/PHS is: "THS [filename]", or "PHS [filename]" where filename is the name of a configuration file. If filename is omitted, PHS will use the default filename PHS.CFG, and THS will use THS.CFG. The TNC and the PK-232 both have a support battery to buffer the parameter values. If you use this battery, some TNC/PK-232 parameter must be preset to values which allow THS/PHS to communicate with the TNC/PK-232. The communication line parameters of the TNC/PK-232 must be set to 8 bits, no parity, and the line speed must match the selected line speed for THS/PHS. Alternatively, when no battery is connected, PHS will switch the PK-232 to the selected line speed of PHS. Though not neccessarily required for hostmode operation THS/PHS requires the standard 8-wire connection (lines 2-8 and 20) for the RS-232 communication line. You can however override this requirement by a parameter in the configuration file (and loose the detection if the device is online). The following chapters describe the operation of PHS. THS is a functional subset of PHS because a TNC-1 or TNC-2 operates in packet mode only, so part of the features of PHS are not available for THS. PHS OPERATION ═════════════ After you invoked PHS, you get the PHS opening screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒══════════ PK-232 Host mode Server V4.00 [OS/2] - HB9CVV ════════════╕ │ │ │ Initializing COM3, 9600bd - DSR: on, CTS: on, CD: on, FIFO: yes │ │ Initializing PK-232 - please wait........done. │ │ PK-232 eprom date is: 30-DEC-88. │ │ Loading TNC parameters: done. │ │ Loading CFG parameters: done. │ │ READY. Use ALT/Z for help. │ │ │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── PHS will read the number-of-lines of your current video mode from the system and adjust its windows accordingly. For all of the screendumps shown here, the standard of 25 lines has been used. The single line with the date and time is the statusline, which is normally invers - you cannot see this in this printout. You also see that PHS divides the screen into the upper receive window and the lower transmit window which are seperated by the statusline. The statusline is different for each mode. During initialisation and for a short time during the PK-232 mode switching the statusline is blanked in the left part. You can change the colors of all windows (this includes the statusline) by editing the associated values in the configuration file. When this opening screen disappears, PHS switches the PK-232 into the initial PK-232 mode, which is also specified in the configuration file. If the RESETDEVICEONEXIT Parameter of the Config-File is NO (recommended) the you will realize that PHS temporarily switches the PK-232 into the morse mode during the initialisation phase. Also, when you exit PHS, the PK-232 is left in the morse mode. If "FIFO: yes" is displayed, then the OS/2 communications driver reported the presence of a buffered asynchronous communictions chip, and has enabled the fifo-buffer operation of this chip. Note that non-IBM drivers may not report this, but still use a buffered chip. THE GENERAL KEYS ──────────────── The ESC key is the general help key to call the help window. If you press ESC in packet mode, then the packet-mode help screen pops up: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══════════════════════════════ PACKET MODE ═══════════════════════════════╕ │ ║ │ │ ALT/P TNC mode param setup menu ║ ALT/I TNC text-param setup menu │ │ ALT/T PHS parameter setup menu ║ ALT/V View OS/2 directory │ │ ALT/W Command string directory ║ ALT/F View function-key setup │ │ ALT/L Logging (capture) on/off ║ ALT/R or Review (scrollback) │ │ ALT/S Send an ASCII file ║ ALT/K Call Editor │ │ ALT/B Enter urcall (remote call) ║ CTRL/U Erase TX-window │ │ ALT/X Exit PHS ║ CTRL/X Erase RX-window │ │ ALT/M Switch TNC modes ║ ESC Direct command entry │ │ ─────────────────────────────────── ║ ─────────────────────────────────── │ │ ALT/C Connect menu ║ ALT/H Show formatted heard list │ │ ALT/D Disconnect ║ ALT/G Show raw heard list │ │ PgUp Binary file upload (YAPP) ║ INS Toggle status line display │ │ PgDn Binary file download (YAPP) ║ <-> Select Channel │ │ ║ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The help window called by ALT/Z is mode sensitive. The upper half of the help window (down to the seperator) is identical for all modes because the keys are valid in all modes and are called general keys. The lower half presents the keys which are mode specific, and are called mode keys. We will now discuss the actions and the support windows caused by the general keys presented in the upper part of the help window, followed by a discussion of the individual modes and the mode-related keys and windows. Note that when any support window is open and you want to cancel it, press any key and the window will disappear. If there is no action from the keyboard, any of these windows will also disappear after some time. You will also notice that the activity in the receive window will continue when any of the support windows is popped up. ALT/P is a general key and available for all modes. It pops up a window and shows the PK-232 parameters which are related to the currently selected mode. Consequently, the ALT/P window is discussed individually for each mode later. ALT/I pops up the PK-232 text parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══ SELECT ═══╕ │ │ │ (A) CFROM │ │ (B) DFROM │ │ (C) MFROM │ │ (D) MTO │ │ (E) UNPROTO │ │ (F) BTEXT │ │ (G) CTEXT │ │ (H) AAB │ │ │ ╘══════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── To select the command parameter for inspection or change, you can either press the marked character (A, B, C etc), or move the scroll bar up and down and then press ENTER (the bar is just not visible in this printout). This window will then disappear and the associated parameter entry window will pop up. This window will pop up regardless of the current PK-232 mode. When you select CFROM, DFROM, MFROM or MTO then the associated parameter entry window pops up - for example: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══ CFROM ════╕ │ │ │ ALL │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> ABORT │ │ <F10> ACCEPT │ │ │ │ │ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA╘══════════════╛CONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 Valid entries are: ALL / NONE / YES / NO ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You can enter a qualifier (ALL, NONE, YES or NO) and a list of callsigns. Operation of Support Windows ──────────────────────────── For all support windows which show the parameter values of commands, PHS always READS the current parameter values first so you can inspect the actual values and then apply changes. The cursor is the positioned on the first input field, and the size of each input field is visible on the screen (which is not visible in the printouts here). You move to another commands input field with the down-arrow and up-arrow keys. For each command you will always get a short help line on the bottom of the screen. If you need more help about the command and the parameters, press F1. With kind permission from AEA, the help texts for the PK-232 commands have been derived from manual files supplied by AEA and is copyrighted material. Finally you may press either F10 to accept the data and apply the parameter values, or ESC to discard it, in case you changed your mind. You must follow the rules for the parameters of a command as described in the PK-232 manual. In case of the CFROM window - if you enter ALL, followed by a callsign list this makes no sense, and you will get an error message from the PK-232: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══ CFROM ════╕ │ │ │ ALL │ │ │ ╒═══════════════════ TNC: ════════════════════╕ │ CFROM - msg from device: "Too many params" │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════╛ │ HB9DDD │ │ HB9EEE │ │ HB9FFF │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> ABORT │ │ <F10> ACCEPT │ │ │ │ │ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA╘══════════════╛CONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── MFROM and MTO is preset to "NO", followed by your callsign. The reason for this is that PHS monitors when connected, and this excludes your own packets from the monitor screen. You should not change this if not absolutely neccessary. Here is an example of the UNPROTO parameter entry window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒══ UNPROTO ═══╕ │ │ │ To: │ │ DB0CZ │ │ via │ │ HB9PD-7 │ │ DB0HP │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> ABORT │ │ <F10> ACCEPT │ │ │ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA╘══════════════╛CONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 Callsign and SSID of a digipeater ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── In this example the cursor is positioned somewhere in the "via" list of callsigns. If you selected the BTEXT window, you will get this screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒══════════════════════════════ BEACON TEXT ═══════════════════════════════╕ │ │ │ *** Peter, Qth: Port/Biel - JN37OC │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP <ESC> ABORT <CR> or <F10> ACCEPT │ │ │ ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 Enter beacon text. Use % to clear it ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The initial beacon text has been sent from the beacon string in the configuration file during the initialisation phase of PHS. It is read from the TNC for presentation, so you will always see the actual beacon text. Note however that PHS limits the length of the beacon string to 72 characters. You will get a similar window for the CONNECT message (CTEXT), and for AAB. The input field for CTEXT is also 72 characters, for AAB it is 16 characters. The ALT/V key pops up this window which allows you to specify a OS/2 directory for viewing, e.g.: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════════════════════ Directory ══════════════════════╕ │ │ │ C:\OS2\*.* │ │ │ ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ────────────────────────────────── .... ─────────────────────────────────────── Next you will get something like this: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════════════════ DIRECTORY ═════════════════╕ │ │ │ DOS .SYS 1536 19-DEC-91 08:13 │ │ DOSCALLS.LIB 51200 28-NOV-90 21:19 │ │ E .EXE 69120 19-DEC-91 06:59 │ │ EAUTIL .EXE 38400 19-DEC-91 08:19 │ │ EPM .INI 512 08-JAN-92 20:08 │ │ EXTDSKDD.SYS 2048 19-DEC-91 08:18 │ │ FDISK .COM 109568 19-DEC-91 05:41 │ │ FDISKPM .EXE 72704 19-DEC-91 05:46 │ │ FIND .EXE 31744 19-DEC-91 08:22 │ │ FORMAT .COM 65024 19-DEC-91 08:44 │ │ HELP .CMD 1024 06-AUG-91 10:05 │ │ HELPMSG .EXE 37888 19-DEC-91 08:27 │ │ HPFS .IFS 128512 21-DEC-91 02:14 │ │ INI .RC 18944 08-JAN-92 19:41 │ │ INISYS .RC 1536 08-JAN-92 19:41 │ │ KBD01 .SYS 28160 19-DEC-91 08:50 │ │ ...more... │ M1234 ║N│ │║ ║ 24-FEB 16:28:59 ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ALT/W pops up the command string directory: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒══════════ COMMAND STRINGS ══════════╕ │ │ │ (A) C DK1SL VIA HB9F │ │ (B) C HB9SDD │ │ (C) C HB9PD │ │ (D) C HB9BRC │ │ (E) C 4U1ITU-8 VIA HB9PD-7, HB9X... │ │ │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You will see the command string lines from the configuration file (these are the lines with the COMMANDSTRING keyword). The number of command strings is limited to 20, and the length of each line is limited to 72. Because the width of this window is far less than 72, all lines which are too long to fit are truncated for presentation, which is indicated by the "...". Again, to select a command for execution, you can either press the marked character (A, B, C etc), or move the scroll bar up and down and then press ENTER (the bar is just not visible in this printout). Quite obviously, a line must contain a valid PK-232 command or you will get an error message when you try to execute it. PHS not allow the execution of all PK-232 commands - it will refuse to send commands which would interfere with its operation. Please refer to the discussion of ESC key. ALT/F lets you inspect your function key setup: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒════════ FUNCTION KEY SETUP ═════════╕ │ │ │ F01 Name & Qth │ │ F02 Rig SHORT │ │ F04 Rig LONG │ │ F05 FEC CQ │ │ F06 RYRYRY │ │ │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You will get the function key title string, not the function key text which can be much longer than the title, and even contain several lines. The function key title strings as well as the function key text strings are defined in the configuration file. This window also pops up should you press a function key which has not been loaded with a string. Whenever you press a 'loaded' function key, then the associated function key text is inserted in your output to the PK-232. ALT/T in any mode pops up the PHS parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═ PHS Parameters ══╕ │ │ │ BELL 1 │ │ CBELL 1 │ │ WORDWRAP 1 │ │ MWINDOW 0 │ │ FILTER 1 │ │ YPKLEN 254 │ │ MAXPFRAM 20 │ │ MSTAMP 1 │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> EXIT │ │ <F10> SET PARAM │ ╘═══════════════════╛ M1234 ║ HF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 Enable the BELL (1/0) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The cursor is positioned at the input field of the first parameter (BELL). With any such setup window, you use the up- and down-arrows to select the parameter which you want to change. As with the ALT/P parameter entry windows, PHS reads the actual values, lets you apply changes, writes the parameters and then re-reads them again. If you violated a given range for a parameter, then no change is done, and this is immediately visible after PHS reread the parameters. The PHS parameters are parameters for PHS rather than for the PK-232, and allow you to: - enable or disable if you want to hear 'bells' sent to you from a connected station (you will never hear bells from monitored stations) (BELL). This parameter is effective in the packet modes only. - enable or disable if you want to hear a bell (warble) when you get a connect (CBELL). This parameter is effective in the packet modes only. - set the packet frame length for binary transfers (YPKLEN). This parameter is effective in the packet modes only. - enable or disable input word wrapping (WORDWRAP). This parameter is effective in the packet modes only where the entered text is not sent before the ENTER key is pressed and may contain more than one line. - define the window which gets the monitored frames (MWINDOW). By default, this is window zero (because channel zero is the monitor channel). You can however route all monitored frames to another channel window of your own choice. This parameter is effective in the packet modes only. - filter out non-printable charcters (MFILTER). If this is enabled, only BELL, HT, LF, VT, FF, CR and the characters with ASCII values from 0x20 to 0x7E are displayed as is, the filtered charcter are shown as a small solid rectangle. If you use a national character set, MFILTER should be disabled. The initial setting of MFILTER is defined in the configuration file's PHS parameter definition line. YPKLEN needs an explanation. For binary sends, PHS switches the PK-232 into the transparent mode and the packet length is defined by YPKLEN. That is, PHS will read YPKLEN slices from the file, add the YAPP protocol layer and send it to the PK-232 (the PK-232 parameter PACLEN remain always preset to the maximum value of 256 bytes). ALT/K invokes the online editor of PHS. You are first asked for a filename of a file which you want to edit. If the filename does not exist, PHS asks you if you want to create the file. If you confirm, you can start editing. In the example the filename "ROLF.MSG" was given and because such a file did not exist, PHS was told to create the file. Pressing F1 pops up a series of help windows for the editor: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔═════════ File: "ROLF.MSG" Line:005 Col:14 Free=7838 Insert ═════════╗ ║Hallo Rolf, ║ ║ ║ ║i╒═══════════════════════ HELP - Use F2 to exit ═══════════════════════╕ ║ ║s│ │ ║ ║a│ │ ║ ║ │ ESC Exit the editor. You get the option to save the │ ║ ║ │ file to disk. If you don't, calling the editor │ ║ ║ │ again will place you exactly where you left. │ ║ ║ │ INSERT KEY Toggles insert and overwrite modes │ ║ ╚═│ F8 Toggles whether carriage returns are symbolically │═══╝ │ displayed in the edit window │ │ F9 Toggles editor display from 128 ASCII characters │ │ to 256 IBM characters │ │ UP-ARROW Moves cursor up a line │ │ DOWN-ARROW Moves cursor down a line │ │ LEFT-ARROW Moves cursor left a space │ │ RIGHT-ARROW Moves cursor right a space │ │ more... │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── After you finished editing you will save the file to disk. This file can then be sent by pressing the ALT/S key in any PK-232 mode. You cannot send an unsaved file. At any time you can edit the saved file again. You will not save the file to disk (but keep the text it the editors buffer) if you temporarliy want to exit the editor and want to continue editing later. If the editor is called with a previously unsaved buffer, it pops up with the cursor positioned excatly where you left before. When you edit, just realize that the Amtor and RTTY modes do not support the full ascii character set. The editor buffer is limited to 8000 bytes which is sufficient for message editing. Printing and Logging ──────────────────── There is no 'direct' print support for the OS/2 versions of THS/PHS because the printers under OS/2 are normally spooled and not directly accessible. It is recommended to log to a file and print that file later. ALT/L toggles the logging to a file. Logging can be enabled individually for each channel which will go to different files. When you press ALT/L then a window pops up and asks you for the filename of the file which will receive the logged data. You cannot specify anything else but the filename, the extension is always "CAn" where 'n' is the channel number. The logfiles will be created in the current OS/2 directory. You are offered a filename which is constructed from the current date and time but you are free to select another filename. The filename which is offered has the format "MDD_hhmm.CAn" where 'M' is the hexadecimal number of the month (i.e. 1 to 9 for january to september, and A, B and C for october, november and december). 'DD' is the day of the month, 'hh' is the hour and 'mm' is the minute. A logfile started October 23, at 12:34 for channel 3 would be given the filename "A23_1234.CA3". Furthermore, if a subdirectory "LOG" exists in the current directory, then the file is opened in the LOG subdirectory, otherwise in the current directory. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ L ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If logging is on for a channel, this is indicated by the logging-flag "L" in column 61 of the statusline. When logging is already switched on for the channel and you press ALT/L then you are asked if you want to stop logging. Everything which appears on the receive window of a channel will go to the logfile if logging is enabled for that channel. ALT/S permits to send any file containing Ascii text. You are asked for the filename of the file to be sent. This filename is preset to the filename you specified for editing (if you did edit before) but can be overwritten. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KANALZUTEILUNG *** Bulletin-ID: 158902HB9PD *** ╒═══════════════════════ ASCII FILE SEND ════════════════════════╕ de HB│ │ │ Filename: PRIGCHAN.TXT │ Als B│ Sending line 22 of 37 - ALT/A to abort │ "USER│ │ ausre╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ abgerufen. Interessant dabei duerfte neben dem Call der USER auch sein auf welcher Frequenz der jeweilige Benutzer die Box erreicht hat. Die Kanalzuteilung ist wie folgt organisiert: Total 18 Kanaele **************** Kanal 1-4 Direktzugang auf 70cm Freqq. 430.675 Kanal 5-9 Store und Forward mit HB9AJ, HB9XC und DB0CZ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:05 RTY:00 │ INFORMATION TRANSFER │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note that the line number which is sent refers to the line which is currently sent to the PK-232, not the line which is actually transmitted by the PK-232. In the packet modes, the text scrolls behind the ASCII FILE SEND window when it is sent. In the other modes, the text scrolls in the transmit window, and in the receive window the echo will appear from the PK-232 when the text is transmitted. ESC pops up the direct command input window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════════════════════════════ TNC COMMAND ENTRY ══════════════════════════════╕ │ CMD> MYSELCAL ╒═══ RESPONSE ════╕ │ ╘═════════════════════════════│ MYSELCAL: HCVV │══════════════════════════════╛ ╘═════════════════╛ RECEIVE ║ AMTOR LISTEN │ Phasing ║ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You use the 'normal' command mnemonics of the dialog mode of the PK-232. PHS translates this into hostmode commands, and also translates the host-mode response back to the dialoge mode mnemonics. For THS, you must use the mnemonics of the normal TAPR firmware - this is translated into the (more cryptic) WA8DED mnemonics by THS and vs. In the CMD entry window you can inspect ALL parameters and modify most of them. Writing of some parameters is disabled however because a direct execution would interfere with the operation of PHS. In either case you will get a message like one of the following: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════════════════════════════ TNC COMMAND ENTRY ══════════════════════════════╕ │ CMD> PA ╒════════════════════ INFORMATION ════════════════════╕ │ ╘═══════════│ PACKET: disabled - use ALT/M to switch device modes │════════════╛ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════════════════════════════ TNC COMMAND ENTRY ══════════════════════════════╕ │ CMD> MF╒═══════════════════════ INFORMATION ═══════════════════════╕ │ ╘════════│ MFILTER: disabled - this parameter must remain unchanged │═════════╛ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ALT/M in any mode pops up the device mode select screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒══ DEVICE MODE ══╕ │ │ │ Packet (V)HF │ │ Packet (H)F │ │ Amtor (L)isten │ │ Amtor (S)tandby │ │ (R)TTY Baudot │ │ (A)SCII │ │ (M)orse │ │ S(I)gnal │ │ │ ╘═════════════════╛ M1234 ║ HF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── To select the PK-232 mode, you can either press the marked character, or move the scroll bar up and down and then press ENTER. The bar is not visible in this printout. The two different modes for packet just use different values for some PK-232 parameters. Packet VHF uses: "VHF Y", "HBAUD 1200", "FRACK 3" and "MAXFRAME 4". Packet HF uses: "VHF N", "HBAUD 300", "FRACK 8" and "MAXFRAME 1". The different packet modes are indicated in the statusline. You will see "VHF" in place of "HF" if the PK-232 is in packet-VHF. The FAX and NAVTEX modes are not supported. The remainder of the general keys will be discussed after the discussion of the individual modes. PACKET MODES ──────────── There is one difference between the packet-modes and the other modes: in packet you are offered one monitor channel window and four connectable channel windows (for all other modes there is just one receive window). The channels numbers are from zero to four, but channel zero is marked with an "M" to remind you that this is the monitor channel. You use the left-arrow and right-arrow keys to switch the channels. When you switch to a new channel, the full (upper) receive window is completely replaced by the new channel window. The status line changes also, reflecting the status of currently selected window. The channel indicator is on the leftmost side of the status line. The current channel is indicated by a reverse letter, that is, one of the letters of the M1234 string - which is normally (like the rest of the statusline) dark on cyan - is cyan on black. Also, if you selected one channel - this is called the active channel and the active (receive) window - and ANOTHER channel gets input, then the indicator of that channel changes to white on cyan. Once you selected that window for inspection, the indicator returns to its normal color. The monitored channel gets all monitored packets and you cannot connect on this channel. The statusline for the monitored channel is: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── M1234 ║ VHF ║ ─── MONITOR CHANNEL ─── │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── However you can redirect the monitored input to one of the connectable channels if you want to see the monitoring there. Please refer to the MWINDOW command in the ALT/T window. For the channels 1 to 4 the status line is like this: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:03 RTY:00 │ INFORMATION TRANSFER │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The number after the "UA:" is the number of unacknowledged frames, RTY displays the number of retries so far. The next field is the link state. Pressing the INS key toggles the status line to the other display format: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── M1234 ║ VHF ║ HB9PD via HB9PD-7 │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The UA/RTY and linkstate field is replaced by the connectee. If you use several digipeaters and the string is gets too long, the connectee string is truncated on the right hand side. --------------------------- NOTE ON THS --------------------------------------- The statusline for THS is like: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── M1234 ║ NS:07 UA:03 RTY:00 │ INFORMATION TRANSFER │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Where NS indicates the number of frames which have been already moved to the TNC but have not yet been sent. ALT/P in packet mode pops up the packet mode PK-232 parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════════════════════ TNC Parameters ══════════════════════╕ │ │ │ AUDELAY 0 MCON 6 RETRY 10 │ │ AXDELAY 0 MDIGI Y SLOTTIME 10 │ │ AXHANG 0 MID 0 SQUELCH N │ │ AX25L2V2 Y MONITOR 6 TRIES 0 │ │ BEACON E 0 MRPT Y TXDELAY 40 │ │ CHECK 25 MSTAMP N USERS 4 │ │ CMSG N MYALIAS BIENNE XMITOK Y │ │ CONPERM N MYCALL HB9CVV-1 │ │ DWAIT 16 PASSALL N <F1> HELP │ │ FRACK 4 PERSIST 64 <ESC> EXIT │ │ FULLDUP N PPERSIST Y <F10> SET PARAM │ │ HID N RELINK N │ │ MAXFRAME 4 RESPTIME 5 │ │ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:00 RTY:00 │ DISCONNECTED │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 Audio delay in 10mS (range 0-120) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── PHS/THS always reads the parameters from the PK-232/TNC, so you always get the actual PK-232 or TNC-1/2 parameters. You can now move the cursor to a command and change the parameter. To apply the changes, press F10. PHS then writes the parameters to the PK-232 and re-reads them again. If a parameter which you have changed again gets the old value, then you have violated a range check and the PK-232 refused to accept your value. The process of reading, writing, and re-reading is indicated in the window. It also takes a few seconds, even when the communiation line to the PK-232 is operated at 9600 bauds. You will see all parameter which are valid for the packet mode, and which you may change. You may miss some packet mode commands here - but the parameters of such commands must remain unchanged at preset values for a proper operation of PHS. There are some commands like MRPT and PASSALL which should be changed only if neccessary, because there is still a possible interaction. For example, quite obviously, if you surpress the indication of digipeaters in monitored frames then the HEARD-List of PHS will not contain only incomplete information. Also, if PASSALL is YES, you can get 'clobbered' callsigns in the heard-list. For some commands (BEACON, MCON and MONITOR) you will get a secondary selection window which offers you discrete choices. A typical screen from the monitored channel is like this: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── HB9X-7*>HB9X-9 [I;3,3]: NON - Bid 21A90BHB9X deja recu 8> HB9X-6*>4U1ITU-8 (RR;3) HB9X-6*>4U1ITU-8 [I;3,2]: SB ALL < OH1HS @ EU $787_ON4HU HB9X-7*>HB9X-9 (RR;4) HB9X-6*>4U1ITU-8 (RR,F;3) HB9X-7*>HB9CED [I;3,2]: MOL:HB9X-7} Invalid command (CONNECT CQ IDENT NODES PARMS ROUTES USERS) HB9X-7*>HB9DIG>HB9DIG-7 [RR,P;6] HB9X-6*>4U1ITU-8 (RR,F;3) HB9DIG-7>HB9DIG*>HB9X-7 [I;1,6]CF: ■NET/ROM frame: orgin node DB0FRG-2 to dst node HB9X-7, ttl: 24 INFO ACK: ckt 0/238, rxseq 2 HB9X-7*>HB9X-9 [I;4,4]: NON - Bid 21A90BHB9X deja recu 8> HB9X-7*>HB9CED [RR,P;3] HB9X-7*>HB9CED (RR,F;3) HB9X-6*>4U1ITU-8 (RR;4) M1234 ║ VHF ║ ─── MONITOR CHANNEL ─── │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If something is scrolled off-screen, press ALT/R or Up-arrow to review it again. Reviewing is possible individually for all channels on packet (and for the single channel of the other modes). The lower (transmit) window will be superseded by: ────────────────────────────────── .... ─────────────────────────────────────── Cursor on line 0 of 200 REWIEW - Use: PgUp PgDn, ESC to exit ALT/L - Snapshot to file ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Use the indicated keys for moving, and ESC to leave the reviewing. The number of lines which you have for reviewing depends on parameters in the configuration file. The minimum is 50, the maximum is about 500. These values can be set individually for each channel. Whenever you start reviewing, PHS makes a copy the current active receive window to the review buffer, and then covers the upper 85% of the receive window to present the review buffer. The "Cursor on line" gives you an indication where you are inside the review buffer. During review, receiving to the (mostly covered) receive window continues. ALT/L lets you snapshot the review buffer to a file in the current OS/2 directory. The filename is generated from the date and time and the extension is always "SNP". For the 23 October at 12:34:56 the generated filename will be "A23_1234.SNP" (see "Logging and Printing" for a discussion of the generated filenames). Furthermore, if a subdirectory "LOG" exists in the current directory, then the file is opened in the LOG subdirectory, otherwise it is opened in the current directory. You press ALT/H to get the heard list formatted and sorted last heard first: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BBS H╒═══════ HEARD LIST (entries: 10) - XXXX - <Enter> to connect ════════╕ │ 1. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-7 │ Enreg│ 2. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9CED-15 │ Enreg│ 3. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9DIG-7 via HB9DIG │ │ 4. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9AC-8 via HB9DIG HB9AC │ Pas d│ 5. 23-OCT 12:34:56 DG7KAR-8 via HB9DIG DB0DQ DB0GE-2 │ HB9CE│ 6. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-6 │ DG7KA│ 7. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-9 │ HB9AC│ 8. 23-OCT 12:34:56 DG7KAR-7 │ HB9CE│ 9. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-14 │ HB9X-│ 10. 23-OCT 12:34:56 DB1EC-15 │ HB9X-╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ HB9DIG-7>HB9DIG*>HB9X-7 (RR,F;1) HB9X-7*>HB9CED [I;1,2]: tion pour l'instant. (H)elp (C)heck (L)ist (R)ead (S)end (E)rase (D)ir (U)sage (SP)eak (Q)uit HB9CED de HB9X> HB9CED-15*>HB9X [I;2,0]: C HB9N-7 HB9X-7*>HB9CED (RR;2) M1234 ║ VHF ║ ─── MONITOR CHANNEL ─── │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you select the raw heard list, you get the original frames unformatted but still sorted by time: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Enreg╒═══════ HEARD LIST (entries: 10) - XXXX - <Enter> to connect ════════╕ Enreg│ 1. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9CED-15*>HB9X (RR;3) │ │ 2. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-7*>HB9CED (RR,F;2) │ Pas d│ 3. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9DIG-7>HB9DIG*>HB9X-7 (RR,F;1) │ HB9CE│ 4. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9AC-8>HB9AC>HB9DIG*>HB9X-9 [C,P] │ DG7KA│ 5. 23-OCT 12:34:56 DG7KAR-8>DB0GE-2>DB0DQ>HB9DIG*>HB9X-7 (RR,F;4) │ HB9AC│ 6. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-6*>4U1ITU-8 (DM,F) │ HB9CE│ 7. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-9*>HB9X-7 (DM,F) │ HB9X-│ 8. 23-OCT 12:34:56 DG7KAR-7*>4U1ITU-8 (RR;4) │ HB9X-│ 9. 23-OCT 12:34:56 HB9X-14*>HB9DIG>HB9AC>HB9AC-8 [I;2,1]: │ HB9DI│ 10. 23-OCT 12:34:56 DB1EC-15*>4U1ITU-8 [D,P] │ HB9X-╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ tion pour l'instant. ────────────────────────────────── .... ─────────────────────────────────────── The heard list will contain a maximum of 50 different stations. If more than 50 stations have been heard, the oldest call is superseded. You use the arrow keys to scroll within the heard list. A scroll bar, which again is not visible here is moving - you can position the bar on an entry on the heard list and simply press the ENTER key to try a connect. You must first select an unconnected channel, pop up the heard-list by ALT/H, select the entry and press ENTER. The arrows are visible in place of the "XXXX" which you see here in the heard list title. These little arrows cannot be used in this printout and had to be substituted. ALT/C pops up the Connect window, this has the same look-and-feel like the UNPROTO window which we discussed before. To summarize, if you want to initialize a connection, you have three choices: - the Connect-window by ALT/C - by a selection of the heard-list - by an entry in the command directory (ALT/W), provided you have preset connect commands there. ALT/D is used to initialize a disconnect. If someone is connecting you, PHS will give a sound (warble). For incoming connects the PK-232 selects the lowest unconnected channel, which might not necessarily be the channel which you have currently selected for display. You will still realize such a connect because of the warble, and because the channels indicator is highlighted. Any text which you type will appear in the lower transmit window. If word-wrapping is on (which is the default, see ALT/T), your text will wrap. The input text is sent to the PK-232 when you press the ENTER key. It is then removed from the transmit window and inserted into the receive window. Additionally the text is highlighted in the receive window, so you can easily distinguish between your text and the received text. Note that the transmit buffer of PHS is 250 characters. You will get the warning "At end of TX-buffer" if you reached the end of the buffer. You will get the warning "At beginning of TX-buffer" when you erase characters and no more characters are available for deletion. BINARY FILE TRANSFERS ───────────────────── The next and last chapters for the Packet-modes show how binary transfers are done. PHS implements the YAPP protocol as defined by Jeff Jacobson, WA7MBL. Care should be exercised when employing binary transfers because upon entry of the yapp transfer mode, PHS will change the PK-232 parameters to obtain maximum throughput. These parameters are reset to the previous values when you leave the yapp transfer mode. To keep friends, yapp-transfers should not be done on qso channels - use a free channel. You also CANNOT change channels during a binary transfer, you will have to finish or abort the transfer first. Consequently you can invoke a binary transfer on ONE channel only. Again, this is optimized for throughput and is intended to provide fast transfers. Yapp uploading (sending of a binary file) is invoked with the PgUp key, downloading (receiving) with the PgDn key. PHS will ask you for a filename first, and then enter the yapp transfer mode. Note that when you are receiving, you will also have to specify the filename of a file which will get the data. Note: YAPP transfers have not been extensively tested in the OS/2 versions. When sending a binary transfer, you get a window like this: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═════ Uploading (YAPP) - ALT/A: Cancel - ALT/K: Kill ═════╕ 23-Oct-89 12:29:32 │ │ │ FILE: PHS.EXE │ │ Size: 198583 │ │ Date: 23-OCT-89 20:41 │ │ │ │ Header: PHS.EXE 198583 bytes, 23-OCT-89 20:41 │ │ Bytes: 11938 read, 10414 sent │ │ Rate: 95 bytes/sec, time to go: 33:00 │ │ │ │ STATE: Sending DATA │ │ │ │ TNC buffer full, waiting. │ │ │ ╘══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ M1234 ║ VHF ║ UA:06 RTY:00 │ INFORMATION TRANSFER │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The bytes read indicate the number of bytes read from the file, the bytes sent is the number of acknowledged bytes. The message "TNC buffer full, waiting." indicates that the PK-232s buffer are full and that PHS is waiting for the PK-232 to become ready for another slice of data. Unfortunately the PK-232 does not buffer more than MAXF frames, which reduces the maximum obtainable troughput to below 100 bytes per second. With other devices like TNC-2 or the PC*Packet Adapter it is possible to reach up to 125 bytes per second. Yes, the link is 1200 bauds, but AX-25 is a syncronous protocol, so a single data byte is not framed with start and stop bits as on asynchronous RS-232 links. The theoretical maximum is 1200/8 bytes per second, and the AX-25 protocol overhead reduces this number then by at least 15%. If you want to abort a transfer, you can use ALT/A to cancel it, which uses the cancel mechanism of the yapp protocol. If you got a bad link however you will have a TNC full with untransmitted frames and the frame with the cancel request queued behind. Unfortunately the only way to flush the untransmitted data in the PK-232 is a disconnect. This is why ALT/K has been introduced: ALT/K will kill the transfer by disconnecting the link and then will re-connect. All of this is accompanied by messages on the screen. The YAPP-download window is similar to the upload window. Note however that the number for the troughput (bytes/sec) will always differ slightly between receiver and sender - there are always some data packets on the air. AMTOR MODES ─────────── ALT/Z in the amtor modes pops up the amtor-modes help screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══════════════════════════════ AMTOR MODES ═══════════════════════════════╕ │ ║ │ │ ALT/P TNC mode param setup menu ║ ALT/I TNC text-param setup menu │ │ ALT/T PHS parameter setup menu ║ ALT/V View OS/2 directory │ │ ALT/W Command string directory ║ ALT/F View function-key setup │ │ ALT/L Logging (capture) on/off ║ ALT/R or Review (scrollback) │ │ ALT/S Send an ASCII file ║ ALT/K Call Editor │ │ ALT/B Enter urcall (remote call) ║ CTRL/U Erase TX-window │ │ ALT/X Exit PHS ║ CTRL/X Erase RX-window │ │ ALT/M Switch TNC modes ║ ESC Direct command entry │ │ ─────────────────────────────────── ║ ─────────────────────────────────── │ │ ALT/C Start ARQ call ║ GRAY + Start FEC transmit │ │ ALT/Y Start SELFEC call ║ GRAY - FEC: Receive - immediate │ │ INS Amtor-Listen: Resynchronize ║ GRAY - ARQ: Break Link - immediate │ │ INS ARQ: Force changeover ║ GRAY * Clear TNC transmit buffer │ │ DEL Force LETTERS case ║ <-> Toggle LISTEN <-> STANDBY │ │ ───────────── in text ───────────── ║ ───────────── in text ───────────── │ │ CTRL/D FEC: Switch to receive ║ CTRL/O Send LETTERS character │ │ ARQ: Break link ║ CTRL/N Send FIGURES character │ │ CTRL/F Like CTRL/D, add CW-id ║ CTRL/B Send "urcall de mycall" │ │ CTRL/T Send date+time ║ END Send "+?" │ R│ ║ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The single 'R' visible on the left side is from the covered status line. If you had setup another screen size before calling PHS (e.g. 80*43), then the statusline would not be covered by the window and would be visble. The status line in the Amtor modes is like: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── RECEIVE ║ AMTOR LISTEN │ Phasing ║ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── where the first field will indicate either "RECEIVE" or "TRANSMIT", and the second field will show "AMTOR LISTEN", "AMTOR STANDBY" "AMTOR QSO", "FEC" or "SELFEC". The third field indicates the current PK-232 status and closely follows the LED indicators of the PK-232. The forth field is always empty. The fifth field will contains the "L" indicator, when logging is on. Opposed to the packet mode, where your text is sent to the PK-232 when you press the ENTER key, in non-packet modes your text is sent to the PK-232 on a word-by-word basis, and is buffered in the PK-232. The text is not cleared in the lower transmit window but instead it will scroll there. It is echoed in the upper receive window by the PK-232 whenever it is sent out (echo-as-sent). The wordwise operation allows you to correct only the current word. It is not possible to correct text which has already been sent to the PK-232. For an indication about what has already been sent to the PK-232, the already-sent text is highlighted. So if you typed in: Did you have to apply any modificati and the cursor is positioned after the 'i', then all previous lines, and this line up to and including the word 'any' is highlighted, but 'modificati' is not, because it has not yet been sent. You start a FEC transmission with the GRAY PLUS key (on the keypad). Normally you will not stop the transmission with the GRAY MINUS key because the PK-232 will then immediately switch to receive, regardless of still untransmitted text. If you switch to receive with untransmitted text, you will get a warning message from PHS ("transmit data remaining"). This data will be sent the next time when you switch to transmit. However you have the option to flush the data by clearing the PK-232's transmit buffer with the GRAY-* key. Anytime you can insert a CTRL/D or CTRL/F into the text which you input. The PK-232 will switch to receive whenever it detects such a character (refer to the PK-232 manual) in the transmit data stream. Just a note: when you insert a CTRL/D followed by a carriage return (Enter-key), then you will get the transmit-data-remaining warning, because after switching to receive by the CTRL/D, the carriage return is still untransmitted. To start a Amtor QSO, press ALT/C and you will get a small window which lets you enter the other stations selcal. For a SELFEC transmission, press ALT/Y. You may use ALT/B to pop up a window which lets you enter the remote stations callsign, and once you did, whenever you insert a CTRL/B into the transmit text, it is replaced by PHS with the string " <remote-callsign> DE <my-callsign> ". My-callsign is from line one in the configuration file (a possible packet-SSID is removed). For convenience, in ARQ, the END key inserts the Amtor-changeover signal "+?" into the transmit text. If you are in Amtor-Listen mode and you have difficulties to monitor an Amtor-qso use the INS key to force a resynchronisation. If you are in an ARQ qso, the INS key forces a changeover. ALT/P in the amtor modes pops up the amtor-modes PK-232 parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═ TNC Parameters ══╕ │ │ │ ACRRTTY 72 │ │ ADELAY 4 │ │ ARQTIMO 90 │ │ MYALTCAL HCVV │ │ MYSELCAL HCVV │ │ RFEC Y │ │ RXREV N │ │ SRXALL Y │ │ TXREV N │ │ WIDESHFT N │ │ WRU N │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> EXIT │ │ <F10> SET PARAM │ │ │ ╘═══════════════════╛ RECEIVE ║ AMTOR LISTEN │ Phasing ║ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 Auto CR column in RTTY (range 0-255, 0 disables) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── RTTY MODE ───────── ALT/Z in rtty mode pops up the rtty-mode help screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒════════════════════════════════ RTTY MODE ════════════════════════════════╕ . . . . . . │ ─────────────────────────────────── ║ ─────────────────────────────────── │ │ GRAY + Transmit ║ GRAY * Clear TNC transmit buffer │ │ GRAY - Receive - immediate ║ DEL Force LETTERS case │ │ ───────────── in text ───────────── ║ ───────────── in text ───────────── │ │ CTRL/D Switch to receive ║ CTRL/O Send LETTERS character │ │ CTRL/F Like CTRL/D, add CW-id ║ CTRL/N Send FIGURES character │ │ CTRL/B Send " urcall de mycall " ║ CTRL/T Send date+time │ │ ║ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ RECEIVE ║ RTTY ║ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ALT/P in rtty mode pops up the rtty mode PK-232 parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═ TNC Parameters ══╕ │ │ │ ACRRTTY 72 │ │ CCITT N │ │ CODE 0 │ │ CRADD N │ │ DIDDLE Y │ │ RBAUD 45 │ │ RXREV N │ │ TXREV N │ │ USOS Y │ │ WIDESHFT N │ │ WRU N │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> EXIT │ │ <F10> SET PARAM │ │ │ ╘═══════════════════╛ ────────────────────────────────── .... ─────────────────────────────────────── ASCII MODE ────────── ALT/Z in the ascii mode pops up the ascii-mode help screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══════════════════════════════ ASCII MODE ════════════════════════════════╕ . . . . . . │ ─────────────────────────────────── ║ ─────────────────────────────────── │ │ GRAY + Transmit ║ GRAY * Clear TNC transmit buffer │ │ GRAY - Receive - immediate ║ │ │ ───────────── in text ───────────── ║ ───────────── in text ───────────── │ │ CTRL/D Switch to receive ║ CTRL/F Like CTRL/D, add CW-id │ │ CTRL/B Send "urcall de mycall" ║ CTRL/T Send date+time │ │ ║ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ RECEIVE ║ ASCII ║ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ALT/P in ascii mode pops up the ascii mode PK-232 parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═ TNC Parameters ══╕ │ │ │ ABAUD 300 │ │ ACRRTTY 72 │ │ DIDDLE Y │ │ RXREV N │ │ TXREV N │ │ WIDESHFT N │ │ WRU N │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> EXIT │ │ <F10> SET PARAM │ │ │ ╘═══════════════════╛ ────────────────────────────────── .... ─────────────────────────────────────── MORSE MODE ────────── ALT/Z in the morse mode pops up the morse-mode help screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══════════════════════════════ MORSE MODE ════════════════════════════════╕ . . . . . . │ ─────────────────────────────────── ║ ─────────────────────────────────── │ │ GRAY + Transmit ║ INS Unlock receive speed (WPM) │ │ GRAY - Receive - immediate ║ DEL Lock receive speed (WPM) │ │ GRAY * Clear TNC transmit buffer ║ │ │ ───────────── in text ───────────── ║ ───────────── in text ───────────── │ │ CTRL/D Switch to receive ║ CTRL/B Send "urcall de mycall" │ │ CTRL/T Send date+time ║ │ │ ║ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ RECEIVE ║ MORSE │ 20 WPM ║ │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ALT/P in morse mode pops up the morse mode PK-232 parameter setup window: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═ TNC Parameters ══╕ │ │ │ MSPEED 20 │ │ MWEIGHT 10 │ │ │ │ <F1> HELP │ │ <ESC> EXIT │ │ <F10> SET PARAM │ │ │ ╘═══════════════════╛ ────────────────────────────────── .... ─────────────────────────────────────── SIGNAL MODE ─────────── ALT/Z in the signal mode pops up the signal-mode help screen: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╒═══════════════════════════════ SIGNAL MODE ═══════════════════════════════╕ . . . . . . │ ─────────────────────────────────── ║ ─────────────────────────────────── │ │ INS Ok - accept & switch ║ │ │ ─────────────── NOTE ────────────── ║ │ │ DO NOT SWITCH TO FAX or NAVTEX ║ │ │ ║ │ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ RECEIVE ║ SIGNAL │ ║ 23-OCT 12:34:56 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Please do not switch to an unsupported mode (FAX or NAVTEX), it will not work. There is no signal mode PK-232 parameter setup window. Finally, the secret ALT-key: Whenever you give ALT/A, any incoming message to the currently selected window is accompanied by a deep summing tone. Another ALT/A disables the sound. There is no visible indication of ALT/A, because obviously there is an audible one. I often use ALT/A when my partner says "wait a minute", because I have no klicking relais in my TRX which would attract my attention after that minute. Obviously, ALT/A should be avoided in non-packet modes... THE CONFIGURATION FILE ══════════════════════ PHS reads the configuration file whenever you start PHS. The configuration file contains information about hardware and software parameters. If this information is not accurate, PHS will be unable to proceed. You must edit the file PHS.CFG to reflect your hardware configuration, callsigns and texts. If you are not able to edit a text-file you cannot operate PHS. Here is an example of a configuration file: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── DeviceType = 3 ; PK232 Callsign = HB9CVV ; My callsign Selcall = HCVV ; My selcall Comport = COM3 ; Comport Name Baudrate = 9600 ; The baudrate UseRS232Controls = YES ChannelMwindowsize = 200 Channel1Windowsize = 200 Channel2Windowsize = 200 Channel3Windowsize = 200 Channel4Windowsize = 200 StartupPK232mode = 2 EditorColumnSize = 70 EditorRowSize = 0 MFILTERenabled = YES UTCoffsethours = -1 Polldelay = 30 ResetDeviceOnExit = NO CommandString = C DK1SL VIA HB9F CommandString = C HB9SDD CommandString = C HB9PD CommandString = C HB9PD VIA HB9PD-7 StartupDeviceCmd = MYALIAS BIENNE StartupDeviceCmd = TXREV NO StartupDeviceCmd = RXREV NO StartupDeviceCmd = ABAUD 300 StartupDeviceCmd = ADELAY 4 ConnectMsg = Operator is OFFLINE, this message is recorded - 73 .... BeaconText = *** Peter, Qth: Port/Biel - JN37OC *** F01KeyTitle = Name & Qth F01KeyText = My name is Peter, the QTH is Port, 20 miles west of... F02KeyTitle = Rig SHORT F02KeyText = - I am using my own PK-232 Hostmode Server (PHS) program under OS/2. F03KeyTitle = Rig LONG F03KeyText = - The rig here is:- ----------------------------------------------------------- Programs : THS (TNC Hostmode Server) 4.0 [OS/2]- PHS (PK-232 Hostmode Server) 4.00 [OS/2]- Computers : (1) 486/33, 16MB RAM, 660MB disk.- (2) 486/33, 16MB RAM, 660MB disk.- (3) 386SX/20 Notebook, 8MB RAM, 80MB disk.- TRX : Ten-Tec Paragon, 100W.- IC-271H, 100W.- TW-4100E, 45W.- Antenna : Remotely tuned GP for HF.- X-300 2m/70cm vertical.- TNC : TNC-1 with WA8DED V1.3- TNC-2 with WA8DED V2.3- DRSI PC*Packet Adapter- PK-232- ----------------------------------------------------------- In use: PHS, 486/33, PK-232, Paragon, GP. F05KeyTitle = FEC CQ F05KeyText = - CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ DE HB9CVV HB9CVV HB9CVV (HCVV)- CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ DE HB9CVV HB9CVV HB9CVV (HCVV)- CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ DE HB9CVV HB9CVV HB9CVV (HCVV)- CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ DE HB9CVV HB9CVV HB9CVV (HCVV)- SELCAL HCVV HCVV HCVV - PSE KKKKK- ( F06KeyTitle = RYRYRY F06KeyText = RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY ReceiveWindow_Text = Green on Black TransmitWindow_Text = Cyan on Black StatuslineText = White on Blue Review_Text = White on Blue ServiceWindow_Border = White on Blue ServiceWindow_Text = Blue on lightgrey CommandEntry_Border = White on Black CommandEntry_Text = Yellow on Red CommandEntry_InactiveField = Yellow on Green CommandEntry_ActiveField = Yellow on Green ParameterDialog_Border = LightGreen on Black ParameterDialog_Text = Black on lightgrey ParameterDialog_InactiveField = Blue on Lightgrey ParameterDialog_ActiveField = White on Blue ParameterHelp_Border = White on Blue ParameterHelp_Text = Lightcyan on Blue FileXfer_Border = Black on lightgrey FileXfer_Text = White on Brown EditorWindow_Border = White on Blue EditorWindow_Text = Yellow on Blue EditorWindow_ActiveField = Yellow on Red HeardList_Border = LightRed on Brown HeardList_Text = White on Brown ;OnScreenChannelId = LightBlue on Lightgrey OnScreenChannelId = White on Blue OffScreenChannelId = Cyan on Blue OffScreenChannelIdData = Yellow on Blue SentTextInReceiveWindow = default EchoAsSentText = default ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── All lines have the format: KEYWORD = PARAMETER and are not case sensitive. A semicolon must preceed comments. If a line ends with a dash ('-'), then the dash is replaced by a newline character and the following line is appended. This feature is used for multi-line text string parameters. There are mandatory and optional keywords. The CALLSIGN keyword (obviously) is mandatory, CHANNEL1_WINDOWSIZE is not - if you omit an optional keyword, you get the defaults. "DeviceType" For THS only. Use '1' if you use a TNC-1 with the WA8DED (or equivalent) firmware is used, and a '2' for a TNC-2 with the WA8DED firmware. Mandatory. "Callsign" and "Selcall" You guessed it. Both are mandatory for PHS, for THS, only "Callsign" is mandatory. "Comport" and "Baudrate" The Comport name and the baudrate to be used. Mandatory. "UseRS232Controls" Use 'NO' if you only have a 3-wire connection. Optional, the default is YES. "ChannelMwindowsize", "Channel1windowsize", "Channel2windowsize", "Channel3windowsize" and "Channel4windowsize" Number of lines for the monitor channel and the four operating channels. Optional, the default for each is 200. "StartupPK232mode" You can select the initial PK-232 mode here. The mode numbers are 0 to 7 for Packet-VHF, Packet-HF, Amtor-Listen, Amtor-Standby, RTTY, Ascii, Morse and Signal mode. The mode which the PK-232 should enter immediately after startup. Optional, PHS only. The default is 2 for Amtor-Listen. If RESETONDEVICEEXIT is NO, you will instead get the actual device's mode. "EditorColumnSize" and "EditorRowSize" Defines the editor window size, columns and rows. The range for the column is 64 to 79, and includes the window border. If a given value exceeds one of the limits, then the according limit value is taken. If you omit this parameter, or specify a zero, then the default value of 76 is taken. The range for the row depends on the size of the (upper) receive window, which itself depends on the number of lines of your current video mode. The range if from half that window to full size minus one. For the standard 25 line mode, the range is 10 to 20, also including the border. The default here is the lowest value, i.e. half the size of the receive window. "MFILTERenabled" This determines the initial value of the MFILTER variable, see the description of the ALT/T command. A zero disables the filtering, a one enables it. Optional, the default (e.g. if omitted) is zero. "UTCoffsethours" During startup, PHS gets the current system time of your PC, adds the "UTCoffsethours", and loads this date and time into the PK-232. The intention is to have the PK-232 loaded with the UTC rather than with the local time - in case you want to use the CTRL/T feature of the PK-232 to send date and time. Note however that if there is a non-zero UTC offset specified, then the link status messages (e.g. "CONNECTED to") are always time-stamped by the PK-232 and will consequently show the PK-232s time. This time differs by the offset hours from the time on the status line of PHS. The date/time of the PK-232 is refreshed every full hour by PHS because the PC's clock is more accurate that the PK-232 clock. Optional, PHS only. The default is zero. "Polldelay" To avoid an excessive system load, THS/PHS does not poll the device continously but inserts small delays between successive polls. You may somewhat finetune Systemload vs THS/PHS performance here. Optional, the default is 30 (mS). "ResetDeviceOnExit" Normally, THS and PHS will reset the device during startup, to get clean conditions for the price of loosing all stored information. If ResetDeviceOnExit is NO, then THS/PHS does not reset the device but tries to derive the devices current state. This is however not fail safe under all conditions. The preferred value for this optional parameter is the default of YES. "CommandString" The parameter is a text string and must contain a valid TNC or PK-232 command. Up to 20 "CommandString" lines with a text not exceeding 72 characters are possible. They are stored by THS/PHS and presented together with a selection character when you press ALT/W. When you press the selection character or move the bar to the desired entry, then the associated string is sent as a command to the on-screen channel. Intended to build a call-sign directory for connects, you may however use other commands there as well, so it is called "Command String Directory". CommandStrings are optional. THS users note: The TNC commands use the TAPR syntax, NOT the more cryptic WA8DED syntax. "StartupDeviceCmd" You can specify up to 10 StartupDeviceCmd lines. The parameter text must not exceed 40 characters and is sent as command to the TNC/PK-232 when THS/PHS loads the TNC/PK-232 parameters during startup. This is done *after* THS/PHS has sent the default set of parameter commands and so allows the user to override the default parameter set of THS/PHS. You should however take some care - the text is sent must be a valid command and can only contain a command which does not interfere with THS/PHS operation. The non-interfering commands which appear in the ALT/P windows. Optional. "ConnectMsg" The parameter text is your connect message, and may not exceed 72 characters, if it does, then the text is truncated. This text is loaded connect message any time online. Mandatory. "BeaconText" The parameter text is your beacon text, and may not exceed 72 characters, if it does, then the text is truncated. This text is loaded into the TNC/PK-232 when THS/PHS is started. You can however alter your cbeacon text any time online. Mandatory. "F01KeyTitle" & "F01KeyText" to "F10KeyTitle" & "F10KeyText" The function key title string and the function key text is assigned to the appropriate function key. The keytitle string is a descriptor text (up to 30 characters), the keytext string cannot exceed 1000 characters. The keytext strings are intended for reasonable sized texts like station descriptions or cq calls. When you press ALT/F then THS/PHS shows the titles of the text strings in a window box. The titles also come up when you press a function key which has nothing assigned. When you press a function key to which a text has been assinged, THS/PHS will send this text string to the TNC/PK-232. The function-key text must contain only printable characters, and two characters have a special meaning: The '(' character at the end of a line (and only at the end of a line !) is translated into CTRL/D when PHS reads the line. The '<' character is translated into CTRL/F (if at the end of a line). CTRL/D and CTRL/F are used by the PK-232 to switch to receive when embedded in text. In the sample CFG-file you find a FEC-cq call. The single line with the opening-bracket character (which is at the end of that line) is translated into CTRL/D and the PK-232 will switch to receive at the end of this cq-call. All FxxKeyTitle and FxxKeyText keywords are optional. The COLOR keywords. The (mandatory) color keywords are used to define the appearance of THS/PHS. You may alter the parameters to fit your taste. The parameters have the form <foreground color> on <background color> Possible colors are: Foreground Background BLACK BLACK BLUE BLUE GREEN GREEN CYAN CYAN RED RED MAGENTA MAGENTA BROWN BROWN LIGHTGRAY LIGHGRAY DARKGRAY | LIGHTBLUE | LIGHTGREEN | LIGHTCYAN |- not for background LIGHTRED | LIGHTMAGENTA | YELLOW | WHITE | "OnScreenChannelId" "OffScreenChannelId" "OffScreenChannelIdData" On the left side of the statusline in the Packet-mode are the channel indicators: the string "M1234" - for the monitor channel and the channels one to four. One of these channels is visible on-screen, all others are off-screen. You use the left and right arrow keys to get the desired channel on-screen. Because all channels are always active, an off-screen channel may receive date any time. "OnScreenChannelId" defines the color attributes of the on-screen channel, "OffscreenChannelId" defines the color attributes for an off-screen channel which has not got new received data, and "OffscreenChannelIdData" defines the color attributes for an off-screen channel which has got new data. Whenever an off-screen channel receives new, unseen (because it is off-screen) data, then, to give you an indication, the color attribute changes from "OffScreenChannelId" to "OffscreenChannelIdData". "SentTextInReceiveWindow" In all modes, the text you type is echoed in the lower (transmit) window. In the packet mode, when you send the text by typing a carriage return, the text is moved to the upper (receive) window, and the transmit window is cleared. THS/PHS uses different attributes so you can easily distinguish the text which you sent from the text you receive. By default, the text sent has the same text and background color as the received text, but is intensified. This is what you get if you specify "SentTextInReceiveWindow = Default". If specify a color instead, THS/PHS will use these color attributes. Example: if you have defined "ReceiveWindow_Text = Green on Black" and you want your text reversed, not intensified, then define "SendTextInReceiveWindow = Black on Green" here. "SentTextInTransmitWindow" In the non-packet modes, the entered text for transmission is sent to the PK-232 word-by-word and you get the echo in the receive window from the PK-232 (echo-as-sent) when it is actually transmitted. For to get an indication up to which part of your text has already been sent to the PK-232 (and not yet transmitted), that part is highlighted in the TRANSMIT window if you specify "Default". If you prefer another presentation, you can experiment with color values. Mandatory, PHS only. ERROR REPORTS ═════════════ Whenwever PHS detects an error, it will open a window and display an error message and optionally parameters. Note that it is not always possible to recover from these errors. The message types are RS-232 Port Overrun error RS-232 Port Parity error RS-232 Port Framing error RS-232 Port BREAK interrupt Hostmode waiting for SOH: timeout Hostmode waiting for databyte: timeout Hostmode excessive input, no ETB Unknown error during input, code: nnnn The RS-232 errors are signalled by the OS/2 communications device driver. Parity and framing errors, or break interrupt may indicate a chip problem, this could however be on either end of the serial line. Try to use another port on the PC, and/or reduce the transmission baud rate. Whenever you get an overrun error this indicates that the your PC is not fast enough to process the incoming characters. This can be solved by either reducing the frequency in which the incoming characters appear, i.e. by reducing the communications baudrate, or by using a more sophisticated serial communications controller chip, or by increasing the CPU speed. The "hostmode" errors signal a problem with the PHS-PK-232 hostmode communication. Up to now I have ever only seen the first one (timeout waiting for SOH), and only during startup of PHS. A hardware reset of the PK-232 and or a hardware (!) reset of the PC cured it (on the PC side, a CTRL-ALT-DEL will not help). DECODING OF NET/ROM FRAMES ══════════════════════════ PHS decodes Net/Rom routing broadcast messages and the inter-node frames into a plain English text format. For an interpretation of the various variables shown, please refer to "Net/Rom Version 1.3 Documentation" from Software 2000 Inc. FINAL REMARKS ═════════════ I will be interested in your proposals and comments. Please note however that I will feel no obligation of any kind. I am a professinal software designer, but THIS is a hobby project. My address is: Peter H. Heinrich HB9CVV Allmendstr. 25 CH-2562 Port Switzerland You can also contact me on CompuServe [71470,32]. REVISION HISTORY ════════════════ 2.xx 1988 Releases of THS (DOS) 3.00 October 1989 Initial release (PHS for DOS) 4.00 October 1991 Beta release (PHS/THS for OS/2) February 1992 Inital release (PHS/THS for OS/2) ───────────────────────────── end of file ───────────────────────────────────── so far.