Welcome! We hope that you find Mac525 to be as useful and easy to use as wee have in our day-to-day SWLing. This note gives you a quick introduction to the program and a peek at enhancements we'll be making on our way to a full-blown version.
Since you've managed to read this file, you already have Mac525 unpacked from the archive and are ready to start. First, you'll have to have the correct JRC hardware installed (CMH-532 RS-232C interface and the mating H-6ZCJD00141 cable). Both are available from your friendly local JRC dealer. If you haven't procured these yet, don't despair--you can still get started building your database while you wait for the parts to arrive.
To get started with Mac525, start it as you would any HyperCard stack (double-click on the stack or open it from within HyperCard).
Clicking on the JRC emblem in the upper left-hand corner of the main screen will give you some important information (how to contact us!) and introduce the program to you. Do that now.
We suggest that you next look at the Help cards before you go on. The Help icon on the bottom of the screen is your gateway to assistance. This is the program's documentation (for now, anyway). We have attempted to eb thorough and cover all the features. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let us know.
We have shipped a database of stations one of us (Walt) listens to frequently. This should get you started-- obviously, you'll add your own stations as you begin using hte program. We have also included a file named "Original Database" which contains the as-shipped database in Read File... format-see the Help entitled "Saving Databases" for information on this file.
What's coming in later versions? First, scanning will be expanded to include scanning by database channel ranges (i.e., all BBC channels). Next, a complete logging subsystem will be added to assist in QSLing. Then, we're looking at adding a capability to define a tune-at-time-X feature to allow unattended recording of various stations (this will reauire a voice-activated tape recorder to work well). Finally, we're experimenting with faster database XCMDs and XFCNs (if you don't know what these are, don't worry!) to make the performance a bit snappier. If you have suggestions for new features, please let us know.
Well, that's about it! We hope you enjoy the program and will provide feedback to us. We really do listen!
Paul Lannieur (AOL: paullanier)
Walt Novinger (AOL: waltn; CI$: 73340,2105; Usenet: waldo@cup.portal.com)
