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MSCODE.HLP
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1996-09-24
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**************************** MsCode HELP FILE *******************************
The purpose for MsCode is to teach the code and help the user to improve
their speed at receiving (hearing) the code. Whenever the words "send" or
"sending" are referred to in the MsCode text, it means "sound out the dits
and dahs through the computer's speaker". Even though many of you can port
the speaker's signals to drive a transmitter, it is beyond the scope of
this program.
MsCode does not give instruction on FCC rules, licensing and regulations
and is not intended for that purpose.
----------------------------- How to use MsCode ------------------------------
* If you are having trouble installing MsCode and are reading this text file
using a text editor from outside the MsCode program, see INSTALLATION at
the end of this file.
Beginners should start out by studying the "Morse Code Table". You can view
and print a copy of the "Table" by pressing function key F11 from most of
the MsCode screens.
The lessons and word tests are graduated, starting with easy characters
like "dit" for "E" and moving up to more difficult ones like punctuation
marks and longer words in the word lists.
You can run the lessons in any order and and set your own pace.You can use
the "HEAR WHAT YOU TYPE" part of the "PRACTICE" section to sound out what
you type.That is a good place to experiment and find out what settings you
prefer for the SPACE MULTIPLIER, WPM and TONE.
----------------------------- How MsCode works ------------------------------
From the main menu, select LESSONS, PRACTICE or WORD TESTS.
If you selected LESSONS or WORD TESTS, press function key F6 to go from
one page of the lists to the next.If you selected PRACTICE, then select 1
for "HEAR WHAT YOU TYPE" or select 2 for "TYPE WHAT YOU HEAR".
If you selected a lesson from the "LESSONS" list, then you will be shown
the lessons program screen with the statement "Your test characters are:"
and the test characters will be shown.
The program will then ask you "How many characters at a time?". You can
enter a number 1 through 9. The program will sound out that many characters
and then wait for you to enter them from the keyboard. You do not have to
wait for all characters to be sounded to start typing.In the beginning,
concentrate on accuracy.Once you have learned the code, you can always
erase the scores and start with a clean slate.Then you can work to increase
your speed.
The scores in MsCode are only a guide to compare to your past performace
so that you can tell how much you have progressed and do not relate to
tests from other sources such as FCC exams.
If you wish to have the characters displayed as they are sounded out, you
can press function key F5 to toggle the DISPLAY(on/off). A good time to
toggle the DISPLAY(on/off) is when it asks "How many characters at a time?"
before the program starts sending.
When you are running a lesson, the program will automatically display your
score after 100 test characters have been sent.You can press function key
F1 any time after the first five test characters have been sent to see a
test score. The test score evaluation displays the lesson number, date/
time, percent correct, time per character, WPM and what characters were
missed. It will also tell you what your average score is for that lesson
number and what the average score is for all lessons.
The test score evaluation also tells you if you have a new high score
for that lesson or a new high score for all lessons.
--------------------------- TYPE WHAT YOU HEAR -------------------------------
The "TYPE WHAT YOU HEAR" part of the PRACTICE section is similar to the
LESSONS. The difference is that you enter a group of characters that you
wish to practice on. The program then randomly selects characters from
that group and sounds out the dits and dahs for them. You will be asked
"How many characters at a time?" just like in the LESSONS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can change the DISPLAY(on/off),SPACE MULTIPLIER,WPM,TONE and NUMBER
OF CHARACTERS SENT AT A TIME to suit your own needs.
DISPLAY(on/off):
Pressing function key F5 from a lesson or word test screen will
toggle the display so that characters being sounded through the
computer's speaker can be seen. Your score is reduced by 50% for
being able to see the test characters being sounded.
SPACE MULTIPLIER:
Pressing function key F4 allows you to change the spacing between
characters by a factor of "X" (enter a number higher than 3 up to 50
to increase the space between characters).
This option allows you to hear the dits and dahs as they will sound
at the higher speeds while giving you more time between characters.
For those of you that are familiar with slowing down a code practice
disk and hearing the dits sound like dahs, this feature should be a
welcome relief.
WPM will only be correct when this feature is set to 3 since the
normal spacing between characters is the length of about 3 dits.
WPM (words per minute):
Pressing function key F9 allows you to change WPM. Enter a value
from 4 to 50 to change the speed at which characters are sent.
WPM is only correct if the SPACE MULTIPLIER is set to a value of 3.
TONE (changes the tone):
Pressing function key F10 allows you to change the tone of the dits
and dahs being sounded out through the computer's speaker. You can
enter any value between 400 and 20000. I prefer a tone at 1100 Hertz.
CHANGE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS SENT AT A TIME:
Pressing function key F8 allows you to enter a number from 1 to 9
for the number of characters that you want sent at a time (used by
the LESSONS screens and also the PRACTICE screen for "TYPE WHAT YOU
HEAR"). The program randomly sounds out that number of characters
selected from the test list.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION KEYS:
(depending on menu in use, keys are shown at the bottom of screens).
F1. END PRACTICE LESSON AND SAVE SCORE (otherwise ends at 100th test chtr).
F2. Display all test scores.
F3. Erase all test scores.
F4. Change spacing between characters by a factor of "X".
F5. Turn Display on and off (allows you to see the characters being sent).
F6. View next page of lessons or word lists.
F7. Change PRACTICE CHARACTERS (allows you to enter practice characters).
F8. Change NUMBER OF CHARACTERS SENT AT A TIME.
F9. Change WPM (changes the speed at which characters are sent).
F10. Change TONE (changes the tone of the sound of the dits and dahs).
F11. VIEW MORSE CODE TABLE (International Morse Code list) You can also
use a text Editor to add your own characters to the TABLE and your own
comments to the text.I have added the formula for length of dits,dahs,
spacing between characters and words).
F12. Pressing function key F12 returns you to the MAIN SCREEN.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLATION:
-------------
* If you are having trouble installing MsCode and are reading this text file
using a text editor from outside the MsCode program, please check the
following:
1. Is your computer a IBM machine, IBM Clone or compatible?
2. Do you have a enhanced 101 or 102 keyboard? MsCode uses function keys
F1 through F12.
3. Is your DOS version 3.0 or higher?
4. Do you have at least 512K of RAM?
5. Do you have a EGA,VGA color graphics card? Monitor can be either color
or B/W.
6. Are you running TSR's, if so, is your "FILES=" setting in your
CONFIG.SYS file set high enough to run MsCode and the TSR's?
(normally, FILES=20 should be ok).
7. Did you run INSTALL.BAT (you can type GO to run INSTALL.BAT) to create
a MsCode directory and copy all the MsCode files to it?
8. Make sure that the following files are in the directory that you are
attempting to run MsCode from:
MsCode.exe ....... Main program.
MsCode.doc ....... Documentation file.
MsCode.hlp ....... This help file.
MsCode.tbl ....... Morse code table and comment file.
9. You must either move to the directory that contains all the MsCode
files, have it in your AUTOEXEC.BAT's PATH or if using a BATCH (.bat)
file, have it move to the directory that contains all the MsCode files
before running MsCode.
*
10. If you have met all these requirements and still receive the error
message when attempting to run MsCode then write down the following
information:
1. Your computer's make, model and processor (such as 486/66 AT or XT).
___________________________________________________________________
2. RAM size and number of K bytes available for programs.
___________________________________________________________________
3. Type of graphics card and monitor.
___________________________________________________________________
4. Your DOS version. ____________
5. FILES=_________BUFFERS=________ in your CONFIG.SYS file.
6. Disk drives - Hard drive d:___size______floppies d:'s & sizes______
7. Which drive were you attempting to run MsCode in?__________________
8. Did you try running Mscode from the DOS command line by moving to
the MsCode directory and entering MsCode and pressing enter?
9. What error codes and addresses if any, were displayed?
___________________________________________________________________
10. Did the program run at all and if so, did the LOGO screen run
showing the CODE KEY sounding out "MORSE CODE MADE EASY" and
displaying it on the screen?
___________________________________________________________________
11. If error occurred while program was running, was it running LESSONS,
PRACTICE or WORD TEST and if so, which part, such as, if PRACTICE,
was it during "HEAR WHAT YOU TYPE" or "TYPE WHAT YOU HEAR"?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
12. What floppy size do you want when having updates sent to you?
5.25" 360K____ 5.25" 1.2MB____ 3.5" 720K____ 3.5" 1.44MB____
or 3.5" 2.88MB____
13. Comments:__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Send the above information to:
Ken Bradford
Brad's Software
4649 Wyoming Dr.
Dallas, TX 75211-7843
From time to time, I will add to this file as I receive your problems,
suggestions and comments.
Ken