World of Ham Radio 1997/WOHR97_AmSoft_(1997-02-01).iso/misc/n4flz/amsoft.iii

Text File | 1997-02-01 | 6KB | 199 lines

                   QRB/QTE Beam Heading and Distance Program

                                 Version 1.01
                    Copywrite 1987 by Harold G. Peach, Jr.


                                    Notice
                                    ------
         A limited license is granted to all users of this program to
         make copies of this program and distribute them to other
         users under the following conditions:

         1)  The program is not to be distributed to others in a
             modified form and must be accompanied by this
             documentation.

         2)  This program may not be offered for resale or be included
             as part of a package offered for resale.

         YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO COPY AND SHARE THIS PROGRAM WITH OTHERS

         This program is considered freeware.  If you find this
         program of value, a contribution ($10.00 suggested) will be
         appreciated.  Also, as a contributing user, you are entitled
         to a copy of the source code if you include a business size
         self-addressed stamped envelope.  Contributing users may also
         receive program modification updates by sending a s.a.s.e.
         and diskette.


                                  Disclaimer
                                  ----------
         This program is licensed as is without any warranty as to its
         performance, accuracy, or freedom from error, or as to any
         results generated through its use; including, but without
         limitation to, any implied warranties of merchantability or
         of fitness for a particular purpose.  You assume the entire
         risk as to the results and performance of the program.  I do
         not warrant that the program will meet your requirements or
         operate without interruption or error.



                          Harold G. Peach, Jr., N4FLZ
                                P.O. Box 24124
                        Lexington, Kentucky  40524-4124
                                [phone]














         INTRODUCTION

         Every effort has been made to make this the best and most
         accurate beam heading and distance program available.  The
         author was prompted to write this program after several
         failed attempts to find an existing program that would work
         for all points on the earths surface.  This program has been
         tested and found to work at the poles, exact antipodes, and
         for the same point on the globe.  While rounding errors may
         exist, our tests have found the program to be very accurate
         at both great and small distances. (Tested accurate using two
         points 10 miles apart.)  The most important thing is to be as
         exact as possible when entering the points.


         CONVERTING MIN/SEC FORMAT TO DECIMAL FORMAT

         As pointed out above, the more accurate the points entered
         the more accurate the results.  So, lets go over how to
         convert from Minute/Second Format to Decimal Format.  This is
         done by using the following formula:

              Decimal Format = Degrees + Minutes/60 + Seconds/3600

         Lets say your latitude was 32 degrees, 12 minutes, and 34
         seconds.  In order for this to be used by the program, the
         format must be converted to decimal as follows:

              Decimal Format = 32 + 12/60 + 34/3600
                             = 32 + .2 + .00944
                             = 32.20944 Degrees


         NORTHERN/SOUTHERN LATITUDES
         EASTERN/WESTERN LONGITUDES

         In most cases you will also need to enter the hemispheres and
         meridians using a different format than is used by most
         books.  Northern latitudes and Western longitudes should be
         entered as positive numbers.  Southern latitudes and Eastern
         longitudes should be entered as negative numbers.  Examples
         of this are as follows:

              50.25 Degrees North latitude would be entered   50.25
             139.00 Degrees South latitude would be entered -139.00
             114.52 Degrees East longitude would be entered -114.52
              79.34 Degrees West longitude would be entered   79.34

         You do not need to enter plus (+) signs as any number without
         a sign is assumed to be positive.


         PROGRAM OPERATION

         This program is completely menu driven and requires no
         additional documentation.  The program itself is designed to
         run on all IBM personal computers and compatible.  It has
         been tested on an IBM PC, XT, and PCjr using PC-DOS 2.1.  The
         only file needed to run the program is QRBQTE.COM.  To begin
         simply type QRBQTE from the default drive prompt.






         A FINAL NOTE

         The question has been asked, what does the name QRB/QTE stand
         for.  Most radio amateurs are familiar with Q signals.  So,
         the filename is a concatenation of two Q signals.  QRB
         literally means "The approximate distance between our
         stations is _____ miles."  QTE literally means "Your TRUE
         bearing from me is _____ degrees at _____ hours."

                                       73's

                                       Harold G. Peach, Jr.
                                       N4FLZ