QRZ! Ham Radio 1/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - December 1993.iso/arrl/software

Text File | 1993-11-21 | 12KB | 283 lines

Reprinted from April 1992 QST Lab Notes
Copyright 1992 American Radio Relay League, Inc.
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Lab Notes

Conducted By Steve Ford, WB81MY, Assistant Technical Editor and
the ARRL Laboratory staff.

How to Locate Amateur Radio Software

Wouldn't you like to put your computer to work in your ham shack?
So would many amateurs! Finding the right Amateur Radio software
to run on your machine can be difficult. Jon Bloom, KE3Z, ARRL
Laboratory Supervisor, is an old hand at software hunting. As Jon
says, the software you want is probably out there...somewhere!
WB81MY

Q: I just bought a new computer and I 'd like to use It in my ham
shack. Where can I get some ham radio software?

A: That depends. What kinds of applications did you have in mind?

Q: Applications? I'm really not sure.

A. Well, you can be sure your problem is not an uncommon one. When
you put ham radio, with all its diversity, together with the power
of a computer, the possible uses are almost innumerable! Don't
feel bad if you hardly know where to start.

Let me see if I can help by categorizing the Amateur Radio
applications of a computer. The programs you might want to run
fall into these basic categories:

o Communication -- Computer-oriented communication -- RTTY,
AMTOR, packet, and the video modes -- is the most popular
application. Depending on the computer you own, you may need some
external hardware to fully enjoy some or all of these modes.

o Control -- Computers are often used to control various pieces
of amateur equipment, such as a rotator for satellite tracking, to
helping the contest operator run the rig, to...whatever!

o Calculation -- To the experimenter or builder, the computer
has replaced slide rules, nomographs and look-up tables in
calculating answers to mathematical problems. Moreover, computers
now offer applications never before available to amateurs, such as
antenna-modeling programs.

o Record keeping -- One of the most common programs -- everyone
with even a smattering of programming ability seems to write one
sooner or later -- is a logging program. But other kinds of
records can be accessed, too: on-line callbooks using CD ROM,
lists of US counties and so on.

Q: I 'd like to do all of those things! Where do I get the
software?

A: Hold on! You still have a decision to make! Do you want to pay
for the software? Uh. . .let me rephrase that! Would you rather
pay for software and get support, or get free software and be on
your own when it comes to figuring out how to use it? That's the
major difference between store-bought software and the free
variety. Authors of free software often aren't interested in
helping the neophyte. They feel their time is better spent on
developing even better software. A company that sells you software
has to be a little more helpful. The software buying public
expects it, and companies that don't provide adequate support
don't stay in business very long! So, what will it be?

Q: I guess I will start with the free stuff and see what I can do
with it. I can always buy a program if I can't find a free one
that does the job. So, enough beating about the bush! Where's the
free software?

A: It's all around you. You can either download software from a
telephone bulletin board system (BBS) via modem, or you can
contact one of the many shareware vendors to get software on
disks. (We'll discuss telephone BBSs in a moment.)

First, lets talk shareware, freeware and public domain. These
terms are not synonymous. Public-domain software is software that
is owned by no one. That is, anyone can use it, sell it, give it
away, modify it or do whatever they want with it. Freeware, on the
other hand, carries copyright protection. Usually, the author will
provide some kind of usability criteria in the documentation. Most
often, use of the software for noncommercial purposes is free,
while commercial users are required to pay a licensing fee.
Shareware is yet another category. Shareware is not free software!
It is copyrighted and its use is restricted by the author. Usually
the restriction takes the form of allowing a brief trial use,
after which you are expected to register your copy of the software
by paying a fee. Fees range from a few dollars to hundreds,
depending on the complexity of the software -- and on what the
author thinks the market will bear.

You can get public domain, freeware and shareware software from a
number of companies that sell it. That might sound somewhat
contradictory, but I'll explain. Usually, these companies package
several related files -- like Amateur Radio programs -- on a disk
and sell the disk for a few dollars. (Even though you buy the
disk, you are still obliged to register any shareware you use from
it unless the documentation says otherwise.) Many companies
provide shareware, and most of the bigger hamfests sport at least
one shareware vendor. You can buy shareware by mail, too. Here are
a few shareware vendors for IBM PC systems:

Public Brand Software
PO Box 51315
Indianapolis, IN 46251 tel [phone]

Renaissance Software & Development
Killen Plaza
Box 640 Killen, AL 35645 tel [phone]

Save On Software
PO Box 2837
Wilkes Barre, PA 18703-2837 tel [phone]

There are others, of course, but these will give you a place to
start. I should also mention one noncommercial source of PC
software. Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR), the group that
produced the TNC-I and TNC-2, is very much alive and well. As a
service to their members, they provide recent versions of
shareware and public domain packet radio software for the IBM PC
for a nominal per-disk fee. A list of available software is
included in each issue of Packet Status Register, the TAPR
newsletter.

Q: That's all fine, but I have a Macintosh!

A: Up until now I assumed we were talking about an IBM PC-type
computer. After all, over half of the computers owned by QST
readers are PCs or compatibles. This is reflected in the fact that
you'll find less software available for computers other than PCs,
particularly public domain and shareware software. But there is
some out there! One resource to tap is the large number of
telephone bulletin board systems. You can download software from
these systems for the price of the phone call, although some
"boards" charge a small monthly or annual access fee. (Some packet
systems have software available, too. The congestion prevalent on
most packet channels, however, limits the ability to conduct large
file transfers.)

Here are two telephone BBS systems that offer Amateur Radio
software, including software for the Macintosh, Amiga, Atari and
other computers. There are many, many more! Check the telephone
BBSs in your local area; some of them have ham radio sections.

N8EMR BBS -- tel [phone]
WB3FFV BBS -- tel [phone] and 301-625-9663

Atari users can also get ham radio software from:

Atari Microcomputer Network
John Adams, KCSW
17106 Happy Hollow
San Antonio, TX 78232

(send an SASE for a list of available software)

Packet radio software is available for most computers from a
variety of sources. These can be found in Your Gateway to Packet
Radio and in The ARRL Operating Manual, fourth edition.2

Q: Suppose I don't find what I 'm looking for in the shareware
world? What commercial software do you recommend?

A: We don't actually recommend software -- or other products --
because that would interfere with our objectivity in doing product
reviews. Also, to be fair, we don't know enough about every
software product on the market to be able to say with certainty
which is the best. Most importantly, we don't know enough about
your software requirements to say which software would work best
for you.

But we do know this much: We make sure that software publishers
who advertise in QST respond to customer complaints. Buying
software advertised in QST is probably your safest bet when it
comes to commercial software.

By the way, one source of satellite software for most types of
personal computer is AMSAT. They sell low-cost software for
satellite tracking, telemetry decoding and accessing the digital
satellites. Most of it is discounted to members, so it pays to
join AMSAT if you're interested in amateur satellites! You can
contact them at:

AMSAT
PO Box 27
Washington, DC 20044 tel [phone]

Q: I never see much software for my computer listed in QST. Why?

A: It all boils down to supply and demand. As I said before, if
you don't own an IBM or compatible computer, the pickings get kind
of slim. (There are some goodies in the display ads and Ham Ads,
though.) Here's a brief list of sources for Macintosh and other
non-IBM computers:

EPO Corporation (Apple 11, Commodore)
7805 NE 147th Ave
Vancouver, WA 98682

Kinetic Designs (Amiga, Apple 11)
PO Box 1646
Orange Park, FL 32067

MacTrak Software
PO Box 1590
Port Orchard, WA 98366 tel [phone]

ZCO Corporation (Macintosh)
PO Box 3720
Nashua, NH 03061 tel [phone]

Dynamic Electronics (Color Computer)
Box 896
Hartselle, AL 35640 tel [phone]

Q: I'm really getting into this computer stuff! How can I find out
more about what's going on in ham radio computerization?

A: There's no single answer to that to that question! One good
place to start is the subscription on-line services. There are
several such services, including CompuServe, GEnie, Prodigy and
others.

Using a telephone modem, you can call the service and download
thousands of files, including many ham radio programs. You can
also communicate with amateurs and other subscribers in a
bulletin-board format, making it easy to get answers to your
"where do I get . . . " and "how do I do. . . " questions. Of
course, these are subscription services, so you have to pay for
your usage.

There is a huge amount of software available for ham radio
applications, particularly for the IBM PC. If you haven't found
what you want, keep looking. By the way, if you run across a good
source of Amateur Radio software, let us know! We're always happy
to find new software sources and share the information with
others.

Notes

The Packet Status Newsletter is available from:

Tucson Amateur Packet Radio
PO Box 12925
Tucson, AZ 85732. $15/year.

The ARRL Operating Manual and Your Gateway to Packet Radio are
available from your local dealer or direct from ARRL HQ.

We welcome your suggestions for topics to be discussed in Lab
Notes, but we are not able to answer individual questions. Please
send your comments or suggestions to: Lab Notes, ARRL, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111.

Fig 1 -- AMSAT's InstantTrack is an example of a software package
that can track satellites and control your antenna system.
InstantTrack is available at a cost of $50 for AMSAT members, $70
for nonmembers. Figures not available electronically -- see April
1992 QST.