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USA BESTSELLER Vol 1-95 (Hepp-Computer)(1995).iso
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e068
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navrules.tx_
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navrules.tx
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1994-05-16
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9KB
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227 lines
Navrules for Windows
Version 1.1
Copyright (c) 1994 - Bruce Pennypacker
May 15, 1994
Disclaimer
----------
This program is supplied "as is". No warrantee, implied or explicit, is
made with regard to this program or it's fitness. Under no circumstances
will the author be held liable for any damages that may be incurred by
using this program, even if the author has been notified in advance of
the possibilities of such damages. In some states there are limitations
to the disclaimer of an implicit warrantee. If, for any reason, the author
is found liable for damages as a result of use of this program, such
damages will be limited to the amount paid for this program, which,
according to the distribution authorized by the author, is nothing.
About Navrules
--------------
Navrules is a very simple program for learning the light patterns,
sound signals, and dayshapes of both the Inland and International
Navigation Rules.
This version of Navrules (1.0 CGA) was written specifically as a training
aid for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. It may be used and
distributed freely within the United States Coast Guard community
(Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and Coast Guard Reserve) and official
Coast Guard communities of other nations.
The first version of Navrules was a very simple "bare-bones" DOS program
that was entirely text based and could be run on both monochrome and
color computers without any problems. This version of Navrules requires
Windows 3.1 (or later) and a color monitor. A sound card is also
recommended, but not required.
Navrules and sound cards
------------------------
In order to learn or test the sound signal portion of this program a
Windows compatible sound system capable of playing Wave (*.WAV) files
is necessary. For computers that are not equipped with a sound card,
a special driver has been provided with this program. Run the program
SPEAK.EXE from DOS and read the file AUDIO.TXT that was created. This
describes how to install a driver that will enable the PC's internal
speaker to play Wave files. The quality of sounds played over the
PC's speaker is not as high as if a sound card were installed, but
is sufficient for this program.
If you do install the enclosed PC speaker sound driver, the following
steps should be taken:
- From the Setup window of the PC speaker driver (click on the
"Drivers" icon in the Control Panel, select "Sound Driver for
PC Speaker", then click on the "Setup..." button), set the
"Seconds to limit playback" to a minimum of 7 seconds. This
will prevent the driver from halting the playback of sound
signals before they have completed.
- From the same Setup window, turn off the "Enable interrupts
during playback" option. This will prevent the sound signals
from becoming scratchy due to events such as movement of the
mouse, etc.
- Installing this driver will cause Windows to play various
sounds when various events occur. These events include
the starting and shutting down of Windows. If these sounds
are not desired (or want to be changed) then click on the
"Sound" icon in the Control Panel. Turning off the "Enable
System Sounds" option will prevent these sounds from occuring
in the future.
Running Navrules
----------------
When Navrules is run, a window will appear with a display screen
containing a series of nautical flags and four buttons below the display.
Selecting one of the choices from the "Learn" or "Quiz" menus will begin
a study or test of light patterns, sound signals, or dayshapes. The
display will differ based on which rules are being viewed:
- For light patterns, a dark screen will appear with a pattern of
lights representing one of the rules. When one of the buttons at
the bottom of the window is pressed, a silhouette of a vessel will
be displayed as well as the light pattern. Clicking a button
again will proceed to the next rule.
- For sound signals, a vessel will be displayed or a description of
the current conditions will be displayed as the sound plays. While
the sound is playing none of the buttons can be pressed. To replay
the sound signal, press the F2 key or select the "Replay Sound" menu
choice which will be visible only when working with sound signals.
Clicking a button will proceed to the next rule.
- For dayshapes, each dayshape is displayed once. Clicking a button
will proceed to the next rule.
The behavior of the buttons varies between learning rules and a quiz of
the rules. When learning any of the above rules, all possible choices
are displayed on the push buttons. For example, if learning light
patterns and one white light is displayed, the buttons may display the
following:
Vessel propelled by oars.
Vessel at anchor, less than 50m in length.
Power driven vessel, stern view.
Clicking on any button while learning rules will cause the actions outlined
above. When all rules have been displayed the window will return to
displaying the flags that are displayed at startup.
When running a quiz of the rules, each button will contain one possible
choice for the rule being displayed. Clicking on a button displaying an
incorrect choice will cause the text of the button to turn red. Depending
on the selected options (click on the "File" menu and select "Options")
a message box may appear and a beep will sound. If the correct button
is pressed then the program will continue to the next question. For
sound signals and dayshapes, the next rule will be asked. For light
patterns, if applicable, the orientation (bow, stern, starboard, port)
will also be asked. Once all rules have been asked, a window will appear
that displays the number of questions that were answered correctly on the
first chance. If a perfect score is not achieved then the option will be
given to display the rules that were incorrect. Selecting this choice
will return the program to learning the missed rules.
Comments
--------
Any comments, suggestions, bug reports, etc. are gladly welcome. The
author can be contacted by any of the methods listed at the end of this
file.
Depending on the reaction to this program and available time, the
following features may be added to a future version of Navrules:
- The ability to print copies of light and dayshape rules.
- The ability to perform a quiz of all rules at once, not broken down
into lights, dayshapes, and sound signals.
- The ability to save quizes & learning sessions and restore them.
- Other rules and useful information such as light patterns on
navigation aids, traffic (steering/sailing) rules, etc.
- On-line help containing detailed descriptions of all rules.
- Any suggestions offered by users.
Distribution
------------
This program may be distributed as long as all the following conditions
are met:
- No representations of ownership are made by anybody other than
the author.
- All the following files must be included, without any changes:
SETUPKIT.DL_
VBRUN300.DL_
NAVRULES.EX_
CLRBTN.DL_
SHIPS.DL_
SPEAK.EX_
NAVRULES.TX_
SETUP1.EX_
BELL5.WA_
BELL3R.WA_
GONG2.WA_
FOG1.WA_
FOG5.WA_
HORN5.WA_
HORN1.WA_
EXPAND.EXE
SETUP.EXE
SETUP.LST
VER.DL_
REGISTER.TX_
- All other rights are reserved by the author.
References
----------
The following books were used as references while creating this program:
United States Coast Guard Navigation Rules
COMDTINST M16672.2B (17 August 1990)
COLREGS Study Guide and Ready Reference
by Greg Szczurek
copyright (c) 1980 Houston Marine Consultants, Inc.
A Small Boat Guide to the Rules of the Road
by John Mellor
copyright (c) 1990 John Mellor
Fernhurst Books, 31 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, United Kingdom
About the author
----------------
The author is an instructor in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary,
Flotilla 1, Division 5, 1st Northern Region (5-1 1NR), actively teaching
boating courses in the greater Boston area. He is also a professional
software engineer with over three years experience in programming
Microsoft Windows.
The author can be reached via any of the following:
Internet: Bruce.Pennypacker@Channel1.Com
Compuserve: 74534,1066
Regular Mail: Bruce Pennypacker
18 Hancock St.
Winchester, MA 01890
Program History
---------------
15 May 1994 - Initial Release - Version 1.1