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********* * ETCAI * ********* Electrical & Electronics Technology Computer Aided Instruction COPYRIGHT 1992,1993 by C. E. ORMON P.O. Box 1046 Gautier, MS USA 601-497-2566 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THESE PROGRAMS MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. GOOD DATA PROCESSING PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE. TABLE OF CONTENTS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ETCAI FILE LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 WHAT IS ETCAI? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 EQUIPMENT REQUIRED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 MAKING ETCAI EASIER TO USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 PRINTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 VIDEO DRIVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 NETWORK SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 RUNNING ETCAI FROM FLOPPY DISKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 GRADING STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 QUESTIONS and PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 CUSTOMIZED VERSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 AGREEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 UPDATE HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 INVOICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2 ETCAI FILE LIST ETCAI distribution disks should contain the files listed below after de-archive and decompression has been accomplished. See the topic "installation" for decompression instructions. The only program designed to be executed directly from DOS is GO.EXE. The remaining .EXE and .COM files are loaded and executed by the shell program GO. Direct execution of some of the .COM files may hang your computer necessitating a re-boot. GO.EXE - This is the main shell program for all the exercises in ETCAI. This program allows the users to select the desired exercise using a familiar pull-down menu process. The overlay containing the exercise is automatically loaded and executed by GO after user selection. GO.EXE is the only file in ETCAI which should be executed directly from the keyboard other than batch programs. Do not directly execute the overlay programs listed below. DC1.EXE - Exercise overlay DC2.EXE - Exercise overlay DM1.EXE - Exercise overlay DM2.EXE - Exercise overlay DIG1.EXE - Exercise overlay ETCAI.DOC - This file contains the documentation and installation instructions for ETCAI. INSTALL.DOC - This is a brief version of ETCAI.DOC containing the installation procedure. MATRIX.COM - This is the active graphics screen driver. The distribution package has MATRIX.COM set for EGA and VGA monitors. The batch programs MONO and EGAVGA can be used to change the active graphics driver. HERCULES.COM - This file contains the graphics screen driver for HGA monochrome monitors. VEGA.COM - A graphic screen driver for use with EGA and VGA monitors. PRINTER.COM -The graphic printer driver for Epson and compatible printers. INVOICE.TXT - Print and complete this form to register this software or use a school or company purchase order. MONO.BAT - A batch program used to install a graphic screen driver for systems using hercules monochrome monitors. EGAVGA.BAT - A batch program used to install a graphic screen driver for EGA and VGA monitors. ETNET.BAT - A batch program used to install network file- locking MATHDATA.CRD - A data file containing welcome screen data and system integrity information. CASIO.BBX - A calculator overlay called on request by users. CALENDAR.BBX - A calendar overlay called on request by users. 3 WHAT IS ETCAI? The ETCAI software system consist of a series of exercises useful for aiding instruction of electricity and electronics. An unique feature of the exercises is that each problem presented consist of randomly selected component values and parameters. Further, the sequence of presentation is randomized where possible. The topics covered are appropriate for high school, community college, and trade school electrical and electronics training. The exercises can be used for drill & practice, testing, and placement determination. Each exercise prints out a "certificate" after each run with the student name, elapsed time, and grade earned. Future versions are planned with disk based record keeping if this version has reasonable success. All programs in this system have extremely simple user interfaces to focus attention on the subject matter instead of "computerese". The simplicity of operation makes ETCAI a good first introduction to computers. Graphics are presented where useful with the screen kept as clean as possible. ETCAI operates within a pull-down menu shell named GO. Students need only type GO to start ETCAI. The exercises are selected from the menus using either a mouse, the keyboard, or both. Where useful, the ESC key will evoke an on screen calculator. All ETCAI programs have full-screen editing while accepting answers from students. This allows students to make any number of changes prior to selecting READY. Several long running exercises have a QUIT option which can be found on the ESC menu. Considerable effort has gone into reducing the possibility of accidentally quitting an exercise. Pressing the ESC key in general either produces an innocuous action or will offer options. The set of exercises within ETCAI were developed to aid and supplement training, not act as the prime delivery vehicle. Instructors should find some exercises useful whether the main delivery vehicle be self-paced, lecture/laboratory or CAI. The exercises can play various roles in a training program including competency testing, drill and practice, and placement determination. In any application, the exercises provide varied on-line activity with the advantages of immediate feedback and scoring. More and more students are enrolling in Electronic Technology training programs with weak math and academic backgrounds. The typical student today requires more practice and individual attention to reach an acceptable level of competence than was required in times past. Computers and suitable software can help in this situation. A computer and ETCAI can present a student with any number of drills which are instantly corrected and graded at the students request. This process encourages even the struggling student to master the process or procedure. With computers having infinite patience, the diligent student can practice as long as needed to master a procedure. 4 The development of ETCAI was to a great extent driven by a lack of suitable software to support electrical and electronics training. The CAI materials currently on the market tend toward two extremes. One, Systems can be purchased which are extremely expensive and often require users to buy not only software but training hardware as well. Such systems often require a commitment to the methodology and content of the software package. Two, systems are available which have extremely attractive graphics ( moving electrons, etc.) but virtually no substance (requirement for students to act, analyze, make decisions, etc.). Another frequent shortcoming of available CAI software is a lack of variability in presentations. A student repeating an exercise in most systems will be presented the same activities and questions in the same order each run. The rote memorization which results is sometimes mistaken for an understanding of the lesson. ETCAI certainly does not fill all the shortcomings pointed out above. The material in ETCAI does get computers actively and usefully involved in training students at a small cost and without dictating a particular instructional methodology. There is no expectation that all training programs will use all the exercises in ETCAI. For some instructors, a few exercises may be so simple as to be a waste of time for their students. The simple exercises are included to provide a "ground-up" structure to the exercise set. Additionally, a few exercises may be too difficult or conflict with methodology taught at a given institution. An example might be the exercise "AMPLIFIER ANALYSIS". This exercise not only generates problems on transistor circuit analysis with "good" components but various "bad" components as well. This results in some rather challenging analysis exercises. Few, if any, textbooks explain analysis of amplifier circuits with defective components. Certainly not all electronics training programs will want to take this one on. The following question is worth pondering when thinking along these lines. Why do we spend 90% of our time teaching service technicians the analysis and behavior of "good" circuits ? EQUIPMENT REQUIRED The minimum equipment required to run ETCAI is an IBM compatible computer with 512KB memory, hard disk drive, printer, MS-DOS 3.3 or higher, and a EGA, VGA, or Hercules monitor. All processors from the 8088 up can be used. CGA monitors are not supported because of insufficient graphic resolution. INSTALLATION There should be at least 2 MB of free storage on your hard disk before starting the installation process below. ETCAI actually occupies approximately 1.3MB of disk space after installation. The installation process described below is for the authors 5 distribution package. Most shareware disk distributors use the same distribution format but may include additional files. Some copies of ETCAI may be repackaged by disk vendors and require a somewhat different installation process. ETCAI is distributed in a compressed and archived format to reduce the number of disks required. Follow the steps below to install ETCAI on your computer. The distribution disks should contain the listed files: ETCAI.DOC INSTALL.DOC ET1.EXE ET2.EXE STEP (1) Prepare a directory on your hard disk for ETCAI. Any directory name can be used. The command line below could be given to produce a directory named ETCAI. MD ETCAI STEP (2) Enter the directory prepared for ETCAI. The command line below could be used. CD ETCAI STEP (3) Copy the contents of all distribution disks into the directory. The number of disks will depend on the media capacity. There are two 360KB disks, one 720KB disk or 1.44MB disks in the distribution. Follow the sequence listed below to copy the files to the hard drive. (Insert disk 1 in drive A:) COPY A:*.* C: (INSERT disk 2 in drive A: if 360KB) COPY A:*.* C: STEP (4) Decompress the files by running each of the .EXE files as is detailed below. (a) In response to the DOS prompt type the command line: ET1 This will execute ET1.EXE which will decompress and de- archive approximately half the ETCAI files. (b) In response to the DOS prompt type the command line: ET2 6 This will decompress and de-archive the remainder the ETCAI files. STEP (5) Installation is finished if you have a VGA (color or mono) or EGA monitor. Proceed to step (7). Perform step (6) only if you have a hercules monochrome monitor. STEP (6) Type MONO to install the hercules monochrome screen driver. Proceed to step (7). STEP (7) Make sure your printer is on. Type GO to start ETCAI. A menu should appear on the screen. Select your option using a mouse or the cursor keys on the keyboard. MAKING ETCAI EASIER TO USE Beginning students who are unfamiliar with DOS can more easily use the programs if a the batch file below is created and stored in the root directory of the hard disk. REM Batch File GO.BAT @ECHO OFF CD ETCAI REM ( change to the directory containing ETCAI ) GO Name the batch file GO.BAT. Now all a student need do is boot the computer then type GO to start ET-CAI. The CD must be to the directory containing ET-CAI which may be some other name. OPTIONS PRINTING - ETCAI is delivered with printing set to the text mode. This produces a rapid but plain student certificate. A graphic print mode can be installed which prints a more attractive certificate with graphics. The graphic print mode is considerably slower than text mode printing. The print mode can be easily changed by starting ETCAI in the setup mode. The setup mode is evoked by typing the command line GO SETUP in response to the DOS prompt while in the directory containing ETCAI. A menu will appear which will allow you to choose either graphic or text printing. Some printer models may not be compatible with the graphic printing mode. Use the setup mode to set your system back to text mode if the printer does not produce a proper graphic printout. SOUND - Several programs in the ETCAI series produce sounds at various times while executing. The sounds may be distracting if 7 several users are in a small area or an open computer room. Sounds made by most programs can be disabled or enabled by use of the setup mode. Setup mode is entered by typing GO SETUP in response to the DOS prompt while in the directory containing ETCAI. Changes made in SETUP mode will remain in force until GO SETUP is run again. Installation of options will create ( or use if exists ) a subdirectory named SYSTEM within the directory in which ETCAI resides. The existence or nonexistence of the files PRINTER.COM and NOSOUND.TXT set the printer mode and sound generation status. VIDEO DRIVERS - ETCAI comes with the EGA and VGA graphics screen driver initially installed. The initially installed screen driver is suitable for EGA, VGA(color), and VGA(monochrome). A driver for hercules monochrome can be installed by executing the batch program MONO.BAT by simply typing MONO in response to the DOS prompt. In the event you upgrade your computer the EGA- VGA graphic screen driver can be reinstalled by running the batch program EGAVGA.BAT. The program is executed by typing EGAVGA in response to the DOS prompt. Having the wrong graphic screen driver installed will cause the screen to go "blank" when ETCAI is started. For systems used by students, the files EGAVGA.BAT and MONO.BAT should be removed to prevent accidental installation of the wrong screen driver. Copies of MONO.BAT and EGAVGA.BAT should be retained for future use. NETWORK SUPPORT - File locking capability can be activated by running the batch file ETNET. The command ETNET ON activates file locking while ETNET OFF deactivates file locking. File locking should be activated only on systems with a server disk. Do not activate file locking on stand alone systems unless SHARE has been activated prior to executing ETCAI. RUNNING ETCAI FROM FLOPPY DISKS - ETCAI requires approximately 1.3MB of disk storage. Therefore, it is possible to run the system from 1.44MB floppy disks. To run from floppy disk, first install the system to a hard drive directory as explained in the installation section of this document. Delete the compressed files ET1.EXE and ET2.EXE from the directory. Copy all the remaining files in the directory to a 1.44MB floppy disk. To execute the system, log the floppy then type the command GO. IF you choose to operate ETCAI from floppy disk, you should register the maximum number of copies that will be running at your site simultaneously plus the number of copies issued or loaned to students for off campus or evening work. 8 GRADING STANDARDS ETCAI grades numeric student answers to a percent of accuracy. The tolerance percentage varies from 4 % to 7% depending on the number of "chained" calculations required in the exercise. Under certain circumstances this method of grading can appear to defy Kirchhoff's law. For example, suppose a series circuit consisting of two resistors with 10 volts applied has actual voltage drops of 9 volts and 1 volt respectively. A student solves the problem inaccurately with the respective answers 9.35 volts and .65 volts. The second answer being derived logically from Kirchhoff's law. The first answer would be judged correct with an error less than 7 %. The second answer judged wrong with an error of 35 % . You can quickly see that students will ask " How can the first answer be right if the second is wrong ?". Yet the judgment is correct based on percentage of accuracy. Students should be cautioned not to use zero and letter "O" interchangeably. Doing so will cause the program to appear to grade items wrong. Entering the characters 1O6,(one, letter "O", six ) looks like 106, ( one hundred six ) on the screen after being typed. However, the exercise program considers a number ended after the last numeric symbol. The exercise would consider 1O6, (one, letter"O", six ) to have the numeric value 1 , ( one ). Digital and multiple choice answers are graded for an absolute match with the correct answer. String (text) answers require that students answer with term variables in a standard order. The exercises will accept terms in any order. Instructions for order are present on the screen for such items when needed. Students should be cautioned to avoid inserting extraneous spaces in answers. ETCAI handles all non- decimal numbers as text. The binary number 101 ,one zero one, and 101_ ,one zero one space, are not identical. Extraneous spaces can cause what appears to be a correct answer to be scored "wrong". QUESTIONS and PROBLEMS The large font headings on my monochrome monitor look "ugly" on the right side of my screen. What's wrong ? Nothing. The screen appearance were primarily designed for VGA monitor appearance. Then compromised somewhat to work on hercules monochrome. The minor aberrations seen on monochrome screens are purely cosmetic and appear only on welcome screens. 9 I typed GO and the screen went blank. what's wrong ? Most likely you have the wrong screen driver installed or the screen driver file is missing. Check to see that the files HERCULES.COM, VEGA.COM, MATRIX.COM, MONO.BAT and EGAVGA.BAT are present in the ETCAI directory. If you have a hercules monochrome monitor type MONO in response to the DOS prompt to install hercules graphics screen driver. If you have a EGA or VGA monitor (color or monochrome) type EGAVGA to install the graphics screen driver for EGA and VGA monitors. Another possibility is that the switches on your VGA card are set locked to the CGA, VGA, or other mode. Set you VGA graphics card switches to the automatic mode if this is the case. Almost all software will work properly with VGA cards in automatic mode. If you have a CGA monitor, ETCAI cannot possibly work. ETCAI uses 348 scan lines to display images on the monitor screen. CGA only has 200 lines of display. You may have a corrupted file. Students sometimes examine .COM and .EXE files using word processors then save the result ! The executable file is then corrupt. You must reload the software from scratch if this happens. I typed HERCULES just to see what HERCULES.COM does. The keyboard then locked up. Is the HERCULES program defective ? No. HERCULES.COM like most .COM and .EXE files in ETCAI are not intended to run from a keyboard command. You must start ETCAI from the GO shell. The shell program loads and executes the appropriate drivers and programs. I got a printout with the top portion out of alignment. What's wrong ? The printer should generally be turned on prior to starting ETCAI with the GO command. Turning the printer on while ETCAI is running will occasionally cause the effect you describe on the first print request. ETCAI expects DOS to have initialized the printer. Requesting a printout and answering YES to printer ready while the printer power is off on some systems using hercules monochrome monitors may cause a keyboard lock-up. How to avoid the problem ? Turn the printer on before starting ETCAI. 10 Can ETCAI teach electronics by itself ? No. ETCAI is designed to support and complement conventional lecture/laboratory or self paced multi-media delivery systems. No pretence is made to be a self-instruction system. The author's contention is that students learn best when a variety of delivery systems operate together to create a interesting learning environment. ETCAI is one of several tools and aids which can be used to enhance instruction. Are there plans to expand ETCAI ? Yes. A number of ideas are floating around waiting to be developed. Exercises dealing with Servos, timers, OP AMPs, FETs, oscillators, and numerous other topics are needed. A version 2 is in the planning stages which will have a disk based record keeping feature and an expanded set of exercises. The actual development of version 2 awaits market support and acceptance of version 1.XX. Why are the colors used in ETCAI so dull ? The color schemes used in ETCAI are somewhat less exciting than desirable. The colors were selected not only for appearances on color monitors but for compatibility with hercules monochrome monitors. Monochrome compatibility does not allow adjacent colors except where one color is white. Several of the exercises were originally developed on hercules monochrome. CUSTOMIZED VERSIONS The author of ETCAI will consider producing modified versions of the ETCAI system or portions of the system to suit specific purposes. The fee will, of course, depend on the complexity of the modification. Some types of modifications which can be done inexpensively are: (1) changing the number of items produced by an exercise, (2) adding your programs to the ETCAI GO menu, (3) adding a school logo (.PCX image must be provided ) to the GO menu. Please send a description of the desired changes for a quotation of charges for a custom revision. 11 DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. AGREEMENT Users of ETCAI must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "ETCAI is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of ETCAI." ETCAI is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your associates, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using ETCAI and continue to use ETCAI after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $15.00 per user station for up to ten units and $10.00 per user station beyond 10 units ( minimum fee $90.00 per site ) to ETCAI Products. This registration fee is based on a single 12 physical site. Each physical site must register separately. A registered site may issue or loan copies of ETCAI to students for use after school hours. The site must register the number of on site user stations plus the maximum number of copies issued to students from the site. The registration fee also covers preparation of a custom welcome message which will appear on the screen each time an ETCAI program is started. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another on the same site, so long as there is no possibility of it being used simultaneously by more than the number of users licensed at this site. You are encouraged to pass a copy of ETCAI along to your associates and other institutions for their evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the ETCAI system. UPDATE HISTORY V0.1 - V0.8, 1/90 to 10/91. Stand alone floppy based exercises developed and tested. V0.9 , 1/91. Beta testing started on the 21 floppy based exercises. V1.0 , 3/92. Tested and debugged programs converted to run under a shell for convenient operation on hard drive based systems. V1.1 , 8/92. 10 additional exercises added to the system. Additional minor bugs eliminated. Calculator and other features added. V1.11 , 9/92. A "quit" option added to long running exercises to prevent trapping the user into answering all questions before returning to the main shell menu. V1.12 , 11/92. File locking option added to the main shell program to allow reliable operation on disk server based LAN systems. V1.23 , 1/93. Restructured program procedures and compiling methods to reduce disk storage requirements. Also, converted bit mapped graphics in programs to language primitives to achieve reduced code size. ETCAI system size has been reduced from 4.2MB to 1.3MB with insignificant performance trade-offs. 13 SUPPORT The author invites comments and suggestions from registered users and reviewers of the shareware distribution. Registered users will be informed of the availability of updates, "add on" items, and new version releases. Registered users can obtain information by mail or telephone at the address and phone number on the cover sheet of this document. Phone support is available between the hours of 3:45 and 9:00 pm CST USA. ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS Purchase orders are accepted from any credit-worthy institution or organization. Payment can also be made by check. Complete the invoice on the next page and send it to the business office for payment. A copy of the invoice should also be sent to ETCAI to supply welcome message data. Alternately, complete a institution or company purchase order with the data shown on the invoice form. ETCAI is registered on a site license basis. Registration fees are $15.00 per user station for the first 10 user stations. $10.00 for each user station beyond 10 users at a site. The user station count should include direct on site copies plus copies issued to students to run on their personal computers. The minimum fee per site is $90.00. Send all orders and fees to the address given on the invoice form below. 14 ************ * INVOICE * ************ REMIT TO: FROM: ETCAI Products _______________________________ P. O. Box 1046 _______________________________ Gautier, MS 39553 _______________________________ USA QTY ITEM NAME UNIT PRICE TOTAL ----------------------------------------------------------------- _____ ET-CAI software Registration @ $15.00 ea __________ up to 10 units. (min. 6) _____ ET-CAI software Registration @ $10.00 ea __________ over 10 units per site. Shipping, handling, media @ $6.00 $6.00 _________________________________________________________________ ***** TOTAL ***** _______________ _________________________________________________________________ DISK TYPE 3 1/2 _______ 5 1/4 ________ PRINT OR TYPE THE WELCOME MESSAGE DESIRED: All lines do not have to be filled. Maximum characters per line is 26. Any text on the first three lines will be in a large font. Remaining lines will be in a smaller size font. The welcome message for registered sites can be changed later by sending the new message along with $20.00 cash, check, or Purchase Order. The necessary modified files will be shipped promptly. line (1) _________________________________________ line (2) _________________________________________ line (3) _________________________________________ line (4) _________________________________________ line (5) _________________________________________ A registered and personalized copy of ET-CAI will be shipped upon receipt of this paid invoice. The payment covers registration of previously reviewed material.