User's Choice Windows CD/User's Choice Windows CD (CMS Software)(1993).iso/windows1/drakeb.zip/USER.TXT

Text File | 1992-04-28 | 17KB | 421 lines

Drake R8 Tuning/Logging Program For Windows 3.0

Harold Long, [76576,3412] Compuserve

USER GUIDE - Version 1.4
------------------------

NOTE: There are some controls which are DISABLED in this version.  Code
development is in progress on these items and future versions may add the
disabled features depending on user feedback.


GENERAL
-------

This program provides two primary groups of functions: screen-driven "hunt
and click" interface for most of the R8 receiver controls, and a Station
Log data base with search and editing support. In addition, support for
R8 memory management and scanning operation is provided.


MODE CONTROL MENUBAR
--------------------

On startup, the program will display the Mode Control screen, awaiting your
commands.  Also displayed at this time are the Time and Frequency windows;
use and operation of these windows is discussed later in this user's guide.

FILE:

    New -- Disabled.

    Open File -- Disabled.

    Save -- Disabled.

    Save As -- Disabled

    Printer Setup -- provides access to the default printer device driver,
    used to make changes in your printer setup such as paper orientation,
    etc. Default printer selection can only be changed from the Windows
    Control Panel.

    Exit -- Exits Drake R8.


COMM:

    Only one of "Connect" and "Disconnect" will be shown at any time.
    Uses Windows API calls to open or close a communications channel
    (COM1 or COM2).

    Also available under COMM is the "Debug" menu item (checked or
    unchecked).  When checked, this turns on detailed protocol
    checking of all R8 responses.  If you are having problems this
    button may provide you with additional ammunition with which
    to shoot the developer. Under normal circumstances this should
    be left unchecked.

STATION LOG:

    Displays the Station searching/tracking screen.

MEMORY:

    Displays the R8 Memory control screen. (Disabled until you
    open the communications link.)

SCAN:

    Displays the Scan control screen. (Disabled until you open
    the communications link.)

SETUP

    Provides access to Comm, Time, and Mode setup functions.

WINDOWS

    Displays/hides Time and Frequency windows.

HELP

    Help access -- Disabled. See the User's guide.

    About access -- Shows the "About..." screen, including version
    number and release date.


MODE CONTROL SCREEN
-------------------

The Mode Control screen provides access to most of the R8's front panel
controls and mode selections. None of the analog functions can be controlled
from the computer port on the R8 (Volume, RF gain, Squelch, etc.). The Mode
Control screen is the "starting point" for the R8 program as well as your
command center for basic operation and control.

GETTING STARTED:

1. Enable the correct Comm Port by selecting (S)etup (C)omm Port... to choose
COM1 or COM2.  If your desired choice is greyed out it means that Windows
cannot find your serial port(s). If this is in error, this must be fixed
before continuing with the program.

2. Open and connect to the Comm Port by selecting (C)omm (C)onnect.

3. Turn power on to your R8 by clicking on the Power button. If your Drake
R8 will not power up remotely you may have a problem with cabling between
your serial port and the R8. The R8 may also be powered up manually, if
you want.

4. Initialize the screen display of R8 modes by selecting (S)etup (M)ode
Buttons. This will set the mode buttons displayed on the screen to match
whatever is set on your radio.

At this point you should be able to control the R8 front panel modes by
clicking on the radio buttons in the Mode Control screen and see a
corresponding change in the R8.

You can adjust the receiver tuning by moving the slider at the bottom of
the Frequency window.

Note that the R8 front panel controls are automatically DISABLED whenever
Drake R8 For Windows is "connected."  If the panel controls remain locked
out when you Disconnect the program, it simply means that Windows thinks
your normal default communications setup includes keeping RTS (Request To
Send) high.  You need to use a DOS-based communications program to clear
RTS by "hanging up the phone" or "clearing communications port" prior to
starting Windows.

OTHER FUNCTIONS:

The Mode Control screen includes a Status Bar readout, providing feedback to
the user on progress of many of the program's functions.  This status bar is
also used to provide diagnostic and corrective action commentaries whenever
possible.

Because of limitations in feedback from the R8 as to operating modes and
status, it is possible to generate discrepancies between what the R8 for
Windows program displays and the actual state of the R8 receiver. (For
example, the absolute state of the "Synchro" indicator is not available
through the RS-232 port.)  Users should employ common sense and consistent
operating practices to maximize the effectiveness of this program.


FREQUENCY READOUT
-----------------

This screen, normally displayed just below the Mode Control screen, shows
the current receiving frequency of the R8.

This screen provides you with the ability to switch between VFO A and VFO B.

You may adjust the frequency by moving the slider with the mouse pointer.
The slider bar may also be used for "channel jumping" by selecting the
desired channel separation value (radio buttons just above the slider bar).
With "x10" selected, clicking inside the slider bar will tune the radio up
or down 10 KHz. "x9" will tune by 9 KHz, etc. Clicking and/or holding on
the slider bar arrows will tune up/down by 1 KHz increments.


TIME READOUT
------------

There are no controls in this display, just a readout of Universal Time and
your Local Time.  If errors are noted in either indicator, check your Time
Zone Offset in (TZoffset in WIN.INI, or through the (S)etup (T)ime Zone
menubar) as well as your system clock setting (available through the Windows
Control Panel).


WINDOWS Menu Item
-----------------

This menu item displays and hides the Time and Frequency sub-windows
according to user preference.


STATION LOG
-----------

This screen is invoked by selecting "Station Log" from the Mode Control
menu bar. The form is pre-loaded at program startup with the data from
ENGLISH.TXT, a simple tab-delimited data base of English language
broadcasts, including Country, Station, broadcast Start and Stop time,
Frequency, R8 receiver Mode settings, and free-form text Comment field.

NOTE: Entries in ENGLISH.TXT may be edited off-line with a spreadsheet
program (Excel, WingZ, 1.2.3 for Windows, etc.), as long as it is saved
in a text tab-delimited format. Some spreadsheets may insert unwanted
quotation marks around items in the "Comments" field. (At least, Excel
does.) If these bother you, they can be deleted by editing off-line with
a suitable word-processing application.  A good operating practice is
to _not_ use quotation marks (") when entering comment fields; where
quotations are required, single quotes (') may be used.

SELECTING:

Any station in the data base may be selected by scrolling to it in the
list box and double clicking on the entry.  The station frequency and
receiving mode information will be automatically entered into the R8
and selected for listening.

SEARCHING:

A station may also be selected by using one or more of the search criteria.

Clicking on "Country" restricts searches to those entries with matching
country codes as entered in the grey box next to the "Country:" check
box..

Clicking on "Time" restricts searches to those entries with a start time
before the current UTC, and a stop time after the current UTC.  If the
station time in ENGLISH.TXT has Start Time = Stop Time, the station will
be skipped when searching by Time.  (Several entries in ENGLISH.TXT are,
in fact, locked out in exactly this manner.)

Clicking on Frequency restricts searches to those entries which match the
frequency shown in the Frequency window within plus or minus 5 KHz.

Searching with no criteria selected will simply scroll through the data
base, entry by entry.

To initiate a search, enable one or more of the selection criteria and click
on "Search" -- a successful search results in the station frequency and
receiving modes being loaded into the R8.

You may return to the Mode Control form at any time to modify listening modes
(Bandwidth, AGC,  etc.).  If you wish to save these mode changes with the
Station Log entry, click on "Get Mode." If at any time you reach the end of
the data base you are given a choice as to whether to continue the current
search from the beginning of the list, or to quit. (This prevents endless
searches.)

COMMENTS FIELD:

You may add a Time Stamp comment to the selected station by simply clicking
on "Time Stamp."  It records the date and UTC time in the Comments field.
You may also manually edit this field with any free-form text you wish; it
will be saved with the station entry and may be read later by simply
re-selecting that station.

When printing the Station Log, you have a choice of printing "All," or only
those stations with text entered in the Comments field, called "Active"
station entries.

OTHER:

"Delete" removes the currently selected station from the log list. No
second chances are offered. If you make a mistake, you can escape by
quitting the program WITHOUT saving changes to the Station Log data base.

"Insert Entry" saves the current contents of the "Station Search" text
fields as a new entry and then clears out the fields. This button is
useful for adding small numbers of new stations; large-scale editing
is best done off-line with a spreadsheet or word processing program.
For example, to add a newly discovered entry, simply edit the fields
to accurately describe the transmitting station (including using the
"Get Mode" button to get the R8 receiving modes) and then click on
"Insert Entry" button. You may also edit an existing station to update
time or frequency information.  Empty fields are filled with default data.

"Save Log" saves the current state of the Station Log. This is mostly a
"peace of mind" button since the application will prompt you to save the
log when exiting.

"Hide" dismisses the Station Log form but does not empty the data base. You
may return to the form, exactly where you left it, by re-selecting "Station
Log" from the main menubar.

"Get Mode," discussed earlier, interrogates the R8 for a Mode Report and
saves the tuning modes with the station entry. If you adjust listening
parameters to "tune in" a station and forget to use this buttons, the new
parameters will be lost when you change stations.


MEMORY CONTROL
--------------

The "Memory Control" window is loaded by selecting "Memory" from the Mode
Control menubar.

The Memory Control window provides support for loading, editing, and saving
the R8 memory channel assignments.  An off-line file is kept as "MEMORY.TXT,"
and this file may be read from the hard disk and loaded into the R8. In
addition, the R8 memory channel contents can be read into R8 for Windows and
saved as MEMORY.TXT.  Editing controls are similar to those found in the
Station Log window.

LOAD FILE:

Reads the contents of MEMORY.TXT from your hard disk and displays those
contents in the list window.

SAVE FILE:

Saves the current contents of the list window as MEMORY.TXT for later
reloading or off-line editing.

PC->R8:

Loads the current contents of the list window into the R8, programming the
R8's memory channel assignments.  NOTE: Since there is no "memory erase"
function available through the RS-232 port, the user must manually clear R8
memory contents off-line prior to initiating a download from the PC to the
R8. Failure to properly clear memory contents may result in mis-programmed
memory assignments.

R8->PC

Reads the contents of the R8 memory channel assignments into the list window.

INSERT:

Inserts a new memory channel assignment into the list window, based on the
contents of the "Memory Channel Contents" text boxes.  Default values are
inserted for any missing items.

SELECT:

Selects and loads the referenced memory contents from the list window. The
same action may be accomplished by double-clicking on an entry in the list
window.

DELETE:

Deletes the selected line in the list window, used to remove unwanted entries.

RESTORE ALL:

Restores the contents of the list window, based on the last "R8->PC" memory
dump results. This function provides for global "undo" of editing functions.

MEMORY CHANNEL CONTENTS:

This text box display shows the currently selected memory location.  The
location may be selected by double-clicking on an entry in the list window,
using the "Select" button under the list window, or the Up/Down buttons
adjacent to the Memory Channel Contents readout.  The contents fields are
user editable; by editing these fields and then clicking on "Insert Entry,"
one may edit the contents of the list box.

Most of these fields are self-explanatory. The "Carr Det" (Carrier Detect)
field is more or less a "Squelch Unlocked" indicator that requires setting
of the Squelch control according to instructions given in the manual for
best results.


SCAN CHANNELS
-------------


The "Scan Channels" window is invoked by selecting the "Scan" entry on the
Mode Control menubar.

Included in Scan Channels are controls for Scan Program (identical to those
provided on the R8) and selection of Scan Groups (used in "List" Scan Mode).

SCAN:

This toggling button turns Scan functions On/Off.  In certain circumstances
the R8 may become un-synchronized with the status indicator on this control;
since many functions of R8 for Windows are unavailable when Scan is running,
the user must take appropriate steps (recycling the control, manual reset,
etc.) to re-synchronize the control with the R8.

DONE:

Dismisses the Scan Channels window.

SCAN PROGRAM:

Indicators and explanatory text are provided for Scan Mode and Method;
operation is identical to that described in the R8 User's manual.

SCAN GROUPS:

The R8 provides for 10 groups of memory channels, numbered from 0 through 9.
In R8 for Windows, these groups have been pre-assigned textual names which
may be useful in organizing memory contents. Users have complete control
over the textual name assignment, and may change these at any time.  Name
changes are saved and reloaded when R8 for Windows is run again, as is the
status of each group's "enable" checkbox.

BUGS AND WORKAROUNDS
--------------------

There is a major timing problem in Windows 3.0 with regards to hardware
serial communications handshaking -- in simple terms, Windows does not
reliably handle RTS/CTS flow control.  With the R8, this problem will
show up as missed incoming characters and protocol errors caused by mis-
timed outgoing characters.  The symptoms are incorrect operation of long
command strings such as load Frequency (Fxxxxxxx) and multiple protocol
errors in response to back-to-back inquiry commands (RM, RA, etc.)

This problem does not occur when manually typing characters to the R8 (as
in a communications program such as ProComm), nor does it show up in DOS-
based programs which have relatively direct connection to the input/output
hardware.

The workaround in R8 for Windows was to violate the Windows programming
standard and directly check the communications port for Clear To Send
(CTS) status, and to allow for multiple retries when requesting status
reports.  This approach does not work 100% of the time, leading to
occasionally erratic operation of some controls such as automatic station
selection during a Search. In most cases repeating the command will
eventually succeed. If repeated attempts do not succeed, try rebooting
Windows and/or power cycling the R8.  Rebooting or power cycling the
developer is not allowed -- after all, this _is_ a free program.


FUTURE PLANS
------------

Currently under development are modules which would support push-button
creation and printing of QSL requests (Listening Reports).  Feedback
from the users of DRFW on these, and other possibly useful enhancements,
are most appreciated.