Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir24/aprs505u.zip/README.NEW

Text File | 1994-06-24 | 20KB | 326 lines

README.NEW     * * * *  NEW STUFF ADDED IN EACH NEW VERSION  * * * *

Version 5.05:  Well I was sure I was finished until I ran into Paul Evans,
G4BKI, from PACCOMM at the Southeast Digital Conference.  He suggested using
APRS to monitor existing DX cluster operations to reduce channel loading...
I did it!!!  APRS will grab all DX SPOTS and put them on the ALL list
and maintain a list of all DX cluster users on the local node in the LATEST
list.  And finally, APRS will plot the DX spot by callsign prefix or Grid-
square if given as the first four letters of the comment field!

Version 5.04:   Fixed a bad bug that caused all new object additions after the
first addition to be deleted!  Only 2 people reported it, but both discovered
it during seperate Public service events!  Sorry, folks...  Added HELO symbol
and track history for VE2JOR's Montreal balloon trip.

Version 5.03a:  Fixed the Doppler DF interface with the Doppler Systems Inc.
Now you can build symbols directly into MAPS. See README.SYM or .MAP.  Improved
message throughput by doubling ACK's after receipt of duplicate message lines.
Added symbols for BUS,RV,HOSPITAL,SCHOOL,FIREDEPT,JEEP,AMBULANCE,TRUCK,VAN,etc
Added THOMAS MAP grids to SanMateo area (as an example).

COMMERCIAL VERSION:  (Neat stuff!  See README.COM)
Added OPTIONAL INTERFACEs SO THAT APRS CAN SEND POSITS TO OTHER SOFTWARE
PACKAGES.  Some of these other packages can zoom into the individual street
address and contain untold other data base access for dispatching vehicles.
There are currently two methods of doing this:
  1)  This version writes all position reports to a file so that the other
program such as STREETS-ON-DISK, can display all object positions from that
file (you run both APRS and STREETS in a multi-tasking environment)  The
STREETS program is sold by KLYNAS Engineering 805 583-1133 for about $225
but costs an additional $95 per county.
  2)  Secondly, APRS can output NMEA data via its second serial port to
another program running on another computer that accepts a NMEA input.  In
this method, the APRS operator hooks any object on the screen, and that
position report is sent as a NMEA string over to the other program that
plots it on the map.  In this scenario, APRS CAN MAKE AN IDEAL FRONT END
PACKET COMMUNICATIONS PROCESSOR FOR ANY OTHER DATA BASE SYSTEM!  PACCOMM
suggested this approach when DELOREM quoted over $18,000 to modify their
software!  We did it much cheaper for them so it is ONLY AVAILABLE IN
THE COMMERCIAL VERSION of ARPS distributed by PACCOMM.  See README.OUT.

Version 5.03:  Added 10 numbered boxes as objects to match lettered circles
for mobiles.  Included MSBIKE.HST and USACNTRL.MAP files. Other changes:
* Fixed double-transmit when T key was pressed
* Updated README.1st,QIK,HLP,WX,OPS
* Added LATEST to JUST command to see only recent active stations

Version 5.02:  Consumation of 501a,b,c.  Besides smoothing wrinkles in new
menus, and fine tuning to further improve single finger ops for mobiles, I
also added the following:
* KD4SJJ suggestion of 10 new Objects (numbered balls) so that for ops with
  many mobiles, you can turn off CALLS and still distinguish who-s who
* F9 key centers map to best display ALL stations heard.
* More symbols and SSID defaults for HELOS, BALLOONS, BIKES, SPACE
* GOTO now moves cursor to ur car without drawing map, so you can zoom...
* TAB key shows all CONTROLS and SETUP options
* Suppressed 25th line display during HSP/GPS access to eliminate map scrolls
* Fixed problem of ignoring RMC data if no course and speed!
* Now TRAFFIC and READ-MAIL are saved in BACKUP.
* RAIN now reports /Rxx per hour and /Pxx per day
* Fixed delayed-MYCall which confused startup with different calls (CAP, etc)
* Can display raw GGA data from GPS on 25th line to see ALT and PDOP

Version 5.00:  Major revamp of command characters.  Eliminated most Ctrl and
ALT characters and placed functions in sub-menus.  Other new features:
* Autoupdate of P-List.  Latch-ON of VIEW screen
* GPS-time sync command to lock PC clock to next GPS fix time
* Added 4 map hot keys for saving your favorite maps
* Parses U-II remote WX data off-the-air (standalone remote WX stns)
* Added Balloon and Bike symbols (under wx symbols list)
* Added Doppler Systems DF serial interface (need someone to test...)
* Added S.E.Idaho, N.W.Florida, and N.E.Florida maps
* Fixed a bug that prevented parsing of $GPGGA data with no altitude

Version 4.05b:  Version 404c added CAP grid numbering and aeronautical charts
on USA map for search and rescue.  It put me way over available RAM and I had
to re-write major sections of code.  4.05 was the result. A major bug in the
KILL OBJect function was fixed in 4.05a and 4.05b corrected the KPH/MPH
output from some U-II WX stations.  Other changes in 4.05:
* CAP grids and Sectional Charts for search and rescue (Z command)
* Improved MIR mode makes BCNS/POSITS grid repts identical to avoid confusion
* Fixes map overlap problems in MD, especially the MARATHON.HST replay demo.
* Adds England, Pittsburg, Florida south, and Buffalo maps
* Made Ultimeter and Manual RAIN values consistent at 10ths of an inch

VERSION 4.04:  Added 15 minute grid squares for Civil Air Patrol, CAP with the
Z command.  These grids also coincide with the readily available US Geological
Survey 7.5 minute maps!  Fixed kill command so that it now works.  MSGS are
now acked even if your station has XMT (^X) off.  Added new features to
facilitate position reporting via MIR and SAREX.  See README.SAT!
  alt-G uses Grid Square in ur BCN and POSIT to minimize packet length
  alt-S can be used to reset your POSIT beacon period (it still decays)

VERSION 4.03:  Since I bought a GARMIN GPS-50 for $398, I wanted to be able to
hook it up in the Single Port Mode so that I could operate APRS and GPS mobile
at the same time.  APRS ver 4.03 uses the DTR on the single serial port to
toggle between the TNC and GPS using an external 2 transistor switch.  This
new mode is called Hardware Single Port (HSP) and is documented in README.GPS.
New maps of Buffalo, Oxford NH, and No.Va.(WASHDC)

VERSION 4.02:  Lots of minor improvements, but no new capabilities:
* Added hour time ticks in READ MAIL list.  Maps of NY and CT.
* Now shows map centers with a small yellow cross.  Upped maps to 140.
* RangeRings command now gives Bearing and Range from screen center to cursor
* WX report from Ultimeter-II now gives RAIN per hour AND total accumulation
* Your own position will now be Dead Reckoned if you have a course and speed

VERSION 4.01:  Fixed AEA's so ALL-BCNS log works, and BCNS/OTHER is now the
same as for TAPR TNC's.  HF now forces no digipeater default.  Now SSID's of
-5 and -6 are sailboats and Helos when used with GPS.  J command with CR
response will display only calls of active stations.  * key will display
only calls of stations marked with # on P-list.  AX25 is now restored in the
RESTORE.TNC file.  (it was turned off if you went HF)

VERSION 4.00:  Upped the number of maps to 120 and included new maps for
LasVegas, Birmingham, Knoxville, Huntsville, NewMexico, Memphis, Amarillo,
S.Arizona, S.Carolina, OK City, Dallas, Houston, Tampa/Orlando, Atlanta.
4.00A,B,C added: Reno, Sacramento, Omaha, NH-VT, MnStPaul, StLouis, KY
and updated FOXDF.HST.  W7KKE in Calif now has program to plot Weekly Earth-
quake summary on APRS!  Separated out non-essential files into EXTRA.ZIP so
that distro would still fit on 720K floppy.  No longer room to include PKUNZIP
on distro disk.  4.00 with AEA does not keep BEACON LOG.  (oops)

VERSION 3.14:  Fixed a bug that prevented GPS devices reporting time to
hundredths of a second from being decoded.  Fixed WX reports to include time
of data, vice time of transmission.  In response to some ugliness from
California, I prepared a HISTORY.APR file to document my 10 year publication
history on my development of the APRS program.

VERSION 3.13:  On the guidance of KM6QX, hopefully solved many AEA handshaking
problems.  If correct, APRS should start up the AEA even from HOST mode.  AEA's
should also now work with MRPT-ON (by forcing OTHER always on).  I increased
the APRS mapsize to 1500 points.  To accommodate MOBILE stations with GPS to
make DF BEARING reports, I had to change the DF format to separate the vehicle
HEADING from the DF bearing.  This also permits the mobile to use RELATIVE
bearings.  This change is NOT backward compatible!  BE SURE ALL APRS STATIONS
ARE RUNNING 3.13 OR LATER.

VERSION 3.12: Corrected the ERROR 55 bug in 311.  MAPFIX.bas can now generate
64 mile range maps from USGS 2,000,000:1 CD ROM.  See README.CD.  I will make
these maps for areas as I find time (each still requires 4+ hours manual
filtering to get down to APRS size).  I may be convinced to prostitute myself
for $80 each.  See ATLANTA, DALLAS, HOUSTON, ATLANTA and TAMPA/ORLANDO to see
the result.  A FEW COPIES of 312 GOT OUT THAT ARE GOOD, BUT WILL DISPLAY V3.11.
IN MAPFIX.bas WITH THOSE COPIES, THE DIM OF THE GPS TRACKHISTORY OVERLAY ARRAY
must be increased from 10 to 1000 to avoid an error 9.

VERSION 3.11: Corrected small bug in Auto-DF interface, that prevented new DF's
from being plotted without redrawing map.  ALso probably affected WX reports
from auto-WX stations.  Added AUTODF.HST demo file to distro disk.  Replay this
file to see how APRS works with the N7LUE Doppler DF interface!!! Its neat!

VERSION 3.10: Added National Weather Service display capability.  See README.WX.
* Fixed 309 bugs with alt-L and TIME stamp on your own automatic WX reports.
* Modified clock-tick routine that kept APRS from running on some PC's!
* 310 dated 21 Jan will also save DF bearings to TK.HST files for later replay

VERSION 3.09: Divided up all files into MAP, HSTS and other sub directories to
simplify file management. Changed MAPLIST.MAP to .APR to separate it from MAPS.
* Put stronger warnings in VIA command about using RELAY when not necessary
* Fixed bug so your own WX data goes to TK.HST file if alt-P filter is off
* Eliminated the lower ZOOM limit.  Now U can zoom in smaller even if map won't
* Improved automatic DF bearing by adding 1 sec pause before 1st averaging
* New peace and quiet with BEEPS off and screen saver commands
* Added DOS Shell command

VERSION 3.08:  Added Lessons learned from 1700 mile GPS mobile Xmas vacation.
* Single Port Mode (SPM) now saved in Config file.
* Added READMAIL screen!
* Latest units plotted last so they show up on top of old units.
* Ctrl-V improved.  Hooks on Plist now don't need to redo the whole page.
* DR now works on your uplinked OBJects.
* You can now KILL an uplinked OBJect to remove it from everyone's screen!
* Added separate Yacht symbol for SAILboats.
* Added Ctrl-A APPEND FILE command so you can load a Backup file into existing
  L and P lists.  This makes it easy to load in a KD4UYR National Weather
  Service file to show all NWS stations and current conditions onto your map!  See README.WX for details.
* Fixed crash bug if P or Llist are full.
* Fixed MAPFIX.bas error in filename when saving a new map.
* Updated 6 maps with actual GPS data from the trip from MD to AL.
* 14 New Ohio maps, but contact KB8JXO @ W8CQK.#CMH.OH direct.
* Added Shift-F4 to suppress unwanted BEEPS.
* UTC offset moved from MAPLIST file to system prompt for easier changing.

VERSION 3.07B:  Added Digitizer routines from W7KKE to MAPFIX.bas so you can
draw MAPs directly from a printed paper map! See README.DIG.  Same APRS307.

VERSION 3.07A:  No change to EXE, but fixed a small bug in MAPFIX.bas that
moved the cursor when using the OTHER command.  Also fixed MAPLIST.map to
properly include the BOSTON.map.  Added README.WWN for suggested operations
with APRS on the WaterWay Net.  Added better copy of FBALL93.HST.

VERSION 3.07:  Added many new WX symbols suggested by W2HOB.  Fixed PAUSE
function during replays from memory.  Added on-screen help (F1).  Moved center
of map to actual center of screen.  Added DIGIPEATERS display.  Added Carribean
map to encourage WaterWay net to join us on HF.  Modified POSIT filter so that
WX station data can be saved to track history files.  MAPFIX.bas now has a
routine written by W7KKE that can overlay a track history file to aid in
drawing roads over accurate GPS history data! Fixed POSIT beacon period to 10
minutes on start-up to minimize QRM.

VERSION 3.06:  Fixed minor bug in 305 that prevented a station from popping up
on the map until the second time he is heard.   Also added MOVE command
to the P-LIST hook so that you could move a station with 000/000 LAT/LONG!

VERSION 3.05:  Improved on 3.04 moving map display.  By selecting TRACK on the
P-list, you can cause the map display to remain always centered on the selected
station.  Version 3.05 anticipates the future movement and re-centers the map
ahead of your future movement.  Other changes:
 - Single Port Mode for mobile GPS and TNC with laptops with only one COMM port
   (This will only work with programmable GPS's like the Magellan or Motorola)
 - Fixed version 3.03 bug that would not work with PACCOMM TNC's and GPS units
   that report to the thousandth of a minute (6 feet).
 - Changed start-up beacon timing to reduce from 9 in the first 5 minutes
   down to only 2, for 5 fold reduction in QRM.
 - Fixed bug that prevented GPS mobile from selecting other than 120 sec period
 - Included an updated NewEng.map, NewJersey, and a new RhodeIsland map.
 - Now POSITS are also sorted with the ORDER command.

VERSION 3.03:  Improved automatic DF interface so that both CW and CCW arrange-
ments of LEDS could be accommodated.  Made the CROSSFIX (X) command toggle so
that all DF bearings were automatically plotted without needing to hit the X
key repeatedly.  Improved the GPS interface so that APRS would not lock up
while waiting for the next fix.  Added a FIRE symbol for Californians.

VERSION 3.02:  Fixed bug with PACCOMM TNC and GPS interface since they stripped
off the $GPGGA label.  Increased the number of active maps up to 99 and also
the number of labels per map up to 99.

VERSION 3.01:  Made MAPFIX.bas able to build new map features on line.  This
makes it very easy to fill in MAP detail just by using the cursor.  But with
this version, you must still use a TEXT EDITOR to begin a new map.

VERSION 3.00:  Added automatic Doppler Direction finder interface.  See
README.DF.  The changes in the DF reporting format to accommodate a Quality
factor makes new DF bearings incompatible with older versions.  New bearings
are shown in yellow and are 'dotted' to show the quality of the report.

VALIDATION NUMBERS:  Your APRS validation number is still VALID!  But, if you
were a previously registered user of the GPS or WeatherStation options, your
alternate validation number is now valid for GPS only.  The WeatherStation
option has changed to accommodate the new DF station option.

MAPFIX.BAS:  Can now list the MAPLIST.map file and can also display all map
borders from within the program.

MAPLIST.MAP:  NEW FORMAT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH OLDER VERSIONS!  Read this!
I added a comment field on EACH map line so that you can now keep notes on
all of the maps that are starting to be developed.  If this extra field
is not used, then a COMMA must be used to end the line.  This makes this
new MAPLIST.map file incompatible with earlier versions.  If you insist on
using your old file, insert the line * BEGIN * before the first 0,0 and
add a comma at the end of every MAP line.


VERSION 2.13:  Lots of lessons learned at the Marine Corps Marathon.
See README.MCM for details.  Here are some notes:

  1)  Before, when it was time to send messages, all outstanding lines were
sent and when it was time to send Objects, all outstanding Objects were sent.
Now each OBJ and MSG line has its own decay timer.

  2)  Dead Reckoning can now be toggled on and off.  Since all 26 miles of the
Marathon were within 2 miles of the center, we were all operating on the 2 mi
scale.  At that range, a 3 minute error in your PC clock resulted in a 1/2 mi
Dead Reckoning projection of the moving objects!

  3)  Now the J command displays a sample SYMBOL so yu can see what they mean.

  4)  Have added DOS command line processing, so that you can invoke APRS with
a switch /EXT.  The three characters EXT can represent any number of different
CONFIG files.  By saving a different .EXT file for each different APRS
application, you can rapidly switch between GPS, WX, MOB, HF, VHF, NEW, etc.
Notice that specifying a file extension for which you do not have a CFIG file
already saved (such as /NEW), forces APRS to start up from scratch so that you
can begin a new configuration at any time!

  5)  CHANGED THE MAPLIST.map format!  Now you can simply 'comment' out a map
with a (*).  This new MAPLIST.map format will only work with 2.13 and later.
To upgrade it to version 3.00, just add a COMMA to the end of each map listing.


VERSION 2.08:   MAJOR CHANGES TO COMMAND KEYS!  These changes may confuse the
veteran user of APRS who is used to certain Key strokes. Here are some details:

FEATURES - Map Features have lost their unique ALT keys and are now toggled
       on/off via the FEATURES MENU (alt-F) key:

       alt-P   POSITION FILTER  (was alt-F) turns on/off the position filter
               (does not save positions to disk that move less than 80 yards)
       alt-C   Turns on and off the CW sending of new BEACONS and MSGS
       alt-W   WEATHER command.  Cycles through all WX reporting stations
       alt-L   LOAD from BACKUP.BK  Permits one key reload of backup file
       ctrl-W  Sends out an ?WX? to query all WEATHER STATIONS.

CONTROLS - With the changes above, the CONTROL functions are more consistent.

       ctrl-G  Now toggles on/off the logging function (instead of alt-G)
       ctrl-O  Now toggles on/off the ONLY BEACONS or OTHER PACKETS
       alt-R   Now is the REPLAY function (vice ctrl-R)
       alt-Z   Now is the Zero Memory cmd (vice ctrl-Z)
*      alt-C   Now you must use ALT-C to Save or Alter your CONFIG file

ALARM POSIT - Allows you to mark a station for ALARM.  If the station moves
       outside of the FILTER (alt-P) range, then an alarm sounds.  The BEEPS
       are cleared by UNHOOKING the station, but the ALARM remains set for
       any more movement.  To disable the alarm, toggle it off on the P screen.

REPLAY - Significant improvements permit turning on/off CALLS and Zooming in
       and out as well as re-centering during replay!

THENETs - APRS now recognizes the fixed station position report format anywhere
       in a BText.  This was necessary for THENET Nodes which do not permit the
       SYSOP to change the first few fields of BText which are hard coded to be
       the NODE name and software version number.

WEATHER - With version 2.07 there is an automatic weather station option that
       inserts WX conditions into your Posit.  All wx stations, whether manual
       or automatic, can be selected with the alt-W key.  The last selected wx
       station will show its wx conditions in a box at the top of the screen.
       Whenever a new report comes in from that station, the box is updated.

GPS/LORAN INTERFACE - APRS 2.0 includes an optional $9 interface for any
       NMEA-0183 device via the serial COM port.   See README.GPS.