










                                      WaveGazer








                                 The WaveGazer v1.2


                             A receiver control Program
                                for the JRC NRD-535D

                              Written during long years
                                and first released in
                                    January 1994

                                 by Andreas Meister
                                 Rte. de la Gare 13
                                 CH-1131 Tolochenaz

                                     Switzerland





                                      WaveGazer



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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 2




       0. Index

       1. Generalities .....................................................5

          1.1 Standard Disclaimer, Warranty (none ;-) ......................5
          1.2 Hardware Requirements ........................................5
          1.3 Software Requirements ........................................6
          1.4 Third Party Software .........................................6
          1.5 Inspiration ..................................................6
          1.6 Restrictions .................................................7
          1.7 Copyright ....................................................7
          1.8 How To Tell Me If You Like The WaveGazer .....................7

       2. How To Get The WaveGazer .........................................9


       3. History .........................................................10


       4. A Quick Overlook ................................................11


       5. Installation ....................................................13

          5.1 Installation on Harddisk ................................    13
                                                                       ....
          5.2 Run The WaveGazer ...........................................13
          5.3 Tell The WaveGazer about your PC's speed ....................15

       6. General Usage ...................................................17

          6.1 Windows .....................................................17
          6.2 Menus .......................................................17
          6.3 Menu Options: ...............................................17
          6.4 Textfields: .................................................19
          6.5 Popupboxes ..................................................19
          6.6 File Selection Boxes ........................................20
          6.7 Restrictions ................................................20

       7. General Receiver Control ........................................22


       8. Receiver Control Window .........................................23

          8.1 Controllable Features .......................................23
          8.2 Attaching / Detaching The Receiver To The PC ................23
          8.3 Operation ...................................................24
          8.4 Keystrokes ..................................................25

       9. The Memory Editor ...............................................27

          9.1 Description .................................................27
          9.2 Operation ...................................................27
          9.3 Keystrokes ..................................................28





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       10. The Memory Viewer ..............................................30

          10.1 Operation ..................................................30
          10.2 Keystrokes .................................................30

       11. The Bandscan ...................................................31

          11.1 Description ................................................31
          11.2 Operation ..................................................32
          11.3 Keystrokes .................................................34

       12. The Pre-defined Bands ..........................................35

          12.1 Theory .....................................................35
          12.2 Examples ...................................................36

       13. Automatic Recording ............................................37

          13.1 Features ...................................................37
          13.2 Operation ..................................................37
          13.3 Keystrokes .................................................38

       14. The Database ...................................................39

          14.1 Concepts ...................................................39
          14.2 Usage Of Databases .........................................39
          14.3 Creating a new Database ................................    40
                                                                       ....
          14.4 Tracking Mode ..............................................40
          14.5 Database Cache .............................................40

       15. The Logbook ....................................................41

          15.1 Concepts ...................................................41
          15.2 Usage Of Logbooks ..........................................41
          15.3 Creating a new Logbook ................................     41
                                                                      .....

       16. The Database Window ............................................43

          16.1 Description ................................................43
          16.2 Operation ..................................................43
          15.3 Keystrokes .................................................44
          16.4 Loading Database Entries To Memory .........................45
          16.5 Keystrokes For Memory Loader Window ........................45

       17. Tracking Mode ..................................................46

          17.1 Purpose ....................................................46
          17.2 Operation ..................................................46
          17.3 Keystrokes .................................................47

       18. Search Window ..................................................48

          18.1 Concepts ...................................................48
          18.2 Operation ..................................................48




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          18.3 Keystrokes .................................................49

       19. Adding / Editing A Record ......................................51

          19.1 Concepts ...................................................51
          19.2 Operation ..................................................51
          19.3 Editing A Record ...........................................52
          19.4 Keystrokes .................................................52

       20. Customization ..................................................54

          20.1 Customization Of The WaveGazer .............................54
          20.2 Customization Of The Printer ...............................54
          20.3 Customization Of The Colors ................................55

       21. Release Notes ..................................................57

          In Release Beta.1: ..............................................57
          In Release Beta.2: ..............................................57
          In Release Beta.2.1 (never distributed): ........................57
          In Release Beta.3: ..............................................57
          In Release Beta.4: ..............................................58
          In Release Beta.5.* (never distributed): ........................59
          In Release Beta.6: ..............................................59
          In v1.0 of WaveGazer: ...........................................60
          In v1.0A of WaveGazer: ..........................................60
          In v1.2 of WaveGazer ............................................60

       22. Problems .......................................................61





























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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 5




       1. Generalities


       1.1 Standard Disclaimer, Warranty (none ;-)


          This version of the WaveGazer is the second 'production version' of
          this product. I do  not claim that this  version is perfect,  but I
          tried to eliminate all known bugs  so far. If ever you  find a bug,
          you are kindly invited  to communicate it  to me. (there  are still
          some bugs and  problems, I  tried to document  them in  this User's
          Guide...)

          Since the WaveGazer is available free of charge,  you install it on
          your own risk and I can not be made responsible for any damage made
          to your system hardware or software.  Also, I do not  take any com-
          mitment for fixing bugs, but I try to keep the  WaveGazer on a good
          quality level, so  I am really  interested in your  suggestions and
          bug reports.

          Please:      If you submit a bug report, always include the version
                       number and a complete description of your PC hard- and
                       software.


       1.2 Hardware Requirements


          The hardware I tested  the WaveGazer on  is rather limited:  My two
          286 clones I use at home (on which I developed most of the program;
          believe me it is very slow  to compile the stuff...) and  on a Oli-
          vetti 486/25 MHz and a 386/25 MHz in the office.  I'm now the proud
          owner of a 486/DX2 66 MHz machine and of course, the WaveGazer also
          runs on this  one. I would  like to know  on what hardware  you are
          running it, to enlarge my so tiny list. Just for  fun, I also tried
          it on PC emulators  running on a UNIX  machine and a  WindowsNT PC:
          SoftPC from Insignia Solutions on a DECstation 5000-200 running Ul-
          trix and the DOS  emulator on a DEC  AXP PC 150  running WindowsNT!
          Even tough it ran on both of them, it does not mean at all that DOS
          emulators on machine XY are supported! The  two above mentioned ex-
          amples are professional products, emulating the  PC hardware rather
          than DOS itself, so consider them as an exception!

          The minimal hardware requirements are:

            IBM AT compatible or better (286 up)

            VGA display, 640 * 480 or better (do not load SVGA drivers)

            Microsoft compatible mouse

            1 unused serial port

            1 MB Ram




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 6




            Hard disk, 20 Mega or more (the WaveGazer itself  does not take a
            lot of disk space, but your databases maybe will?)


       1.3 Software Requirements


          The program has been  tested on MS-DOS v5.0  and v6.2, but  it also
          runs on other DOS versions, I saw it  on v6.0 (without stacker...!)
          and I started  development under DOS  v4.0 and finished  v1.2 under
          DOS v5.0.

            MS-DOS v5.0 or later

            'share' must be loaded for database use

            The WaveGazer does probably not work  correctly on stacked parti-
            tions!


       1.4 Third Party Software


          This program has been compiled using Borland  C++ v2.0. The graphic
          is based on the well known BGI (Borland Graphic Interface)

          While most of the software is written by me (very proud...), I used
          some components out of the freeware/shareware pool:

            The database is implemented using CBase from Citadel Software

            The communication routines are based on IBMCOM, written by a cer-
            tain RAC...

            The logo was created using Microsoft Windows Paint, and then con-
            verted to a BGI  file using the public  domain software 'BMP2BGI'
            from R. G. Rasualis, Jr.

            The implementation of the mouse interrupt  is heavily inspired by
            Dave Kirsch


       1.5 Inspiration


          I did never  see a  receiver control software  before I  decided to
          write my own.  But sometime ago,  I got a  copy of Tom  Roach's NRD
          program and this lead me to some enhancement  in my "Bandscan" fea-
          ture, and to the  inclusion of what I  call the "tracking  mode". I
          was impressed by the NRD Software.

          Thomas Sundstroem from TRS Consultants and  Richard Crisp were both
          a big help in testing and debugging the program. Thanks Guys...!





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       1.6 Restrictions


            The program may crash  or hang if  you use the  WaveGazer without
            the receiver connected to the serial port.  I should include some
            more error checking if no  correct answers are read  from the se-
            rial port, e.g. if another  device than the '535  is connected to
            the port the WaveGazer thinks  the '535 is. (a  RTTY decoder, for
              stance...)
             n
            i

            If you stop the WaveGazer  other than by using  the foreseen menu
            option, the WaveGazer may  let files in the  directory pointed to
            by the environment variable "WG_SWP". So  checking this directory
            periodically for  left files  may free  missed  disk space.  Best
            workaround for this problem  is to use  a ramdisk as  swap direc-
            tory: You do not have to worry about eventually let files and you
            gain in performance. You  also may want to  startup the WaveGazer
            from within a batch file which scans the directory for left files
            and then deletes them.

            Do not have the variable "WG_FIL" point to directory on a stacked
            disk, this will prevent  the WaveGazer from startup.  (anyone out
            there who tried it on DOS v6.2? I am not a DOS wizard at all so I
            do not use stacked or double-spaced partitions on my system...)

            For more restrictions, see chapter 6.7


       1.7 Copyright


          This software is distributed freely to all owners of the NRD-535. I
          do not know how to copyright something, so it is  not under any but
          a moral copyright. Myself, I copied ideas from other programs...

          Anyway, I ask programmers to tell me if they  felt inspired by this
          program, and all other  users if and how  they use it. Just  for my
          personal pride.


       1.8 How To Tell Me If You Like The WaveGazer


          An important question. I  wondered quite a  long time if  the final
          version of this software should become Shareware,  if I should dis-
          tribute a crippled  version to force  people to register,  etc. But
          all this would not  match with the  spirit of free  information ex-
          change we are used  to from the world  of radio and from  the elec-
          tronic networks. This is why I decided to make it Freeware.

          Anyway, there is a big amount  of time put in over  22'000 lines of
          C/C++ code, and so on... (You know these phrases from other network
          distributed software packages) If ever you feel a need to be a reg-





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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 8




          istered user, send me  what you feel adequate  and I will  keep you
          personally updated with new versions if ready.

          One thing I would like to ask every user of the WaveGazer is to an-
          nounce himself, by sending me  a simple postcard from  the place he
          lives. My wife and I adore getting postcards ;-)




















































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 9




       2. How To Get The WaveGazer

          Since the WaveGazer  is free  of charge, you  are invited  to share
          this software with other owners  of the NRD-535D. I  would not like
          sending out diskettes and  printed manuals to non-paying  users, so
          let's limit the free distribution to the Internet.

          At the moment of  this writing, I'm  clipped off the  Internet, be-
          cause I left Digital Equipment, to go working  in a bank. Hopefully
          there are some  servers or  BBS's on  the net  that are  willing to
          store this software for downline loading. But there is at least one
          anonymous FTP site where from you may copy  the software: Risto Ko-
          tolampis server called "nic.funet.fi" which holds an important col-
          lection of radio related software and textfiles.  Look for the file
          "WG012.ZIP" in the directory "msdos/software". Thanks, Risto!

          Since I would  like anybody using  the WaveGazer to  communicate me
          this, here my home address:

                                    Andreas Meister
                                   Rte. de la Gare 13
                                   CH-1131 Tolochenaz
                                      SWITZERLAND

                                 Phone 41 21 802 43 05

          If ever you should phone me, pleeeease think about the time differ-
          ential between your location and middle Europe!

          (If you have a map  of Europe/Switzerland, look on  the north shore
          of the large lake called "Lac Leman" for  a town called "Lausanne",
          and there it is nearly...)


























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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 10




       3. History

          Once upon a time, my mother brought home  some forms to participate
          at a publicity contest from Philips. The hole family filled in some
          tens of these forms,  and we sent them  to Philips. I  forgot about
          them soon, but one nice day, the postman rang the doorbell, holding
          a parcel for me: A radio  I won in the contest. It  was a simple 4-
          wave radio, fe turing a so called short-wave magnifier.
                        a

          Soon I spent my time fiddling around with this  and other radios, I
          also bought some  old 40-ies home  receivers for close  to nothing.
          One of these was a very nice one, with all major SW broadcast bands
          spread over a large display, a "magic eye" and a knob for bandwidth
          switching! (I only found later that this was the bandwidth, first I
          thought that it was just a  second "tone" knob...) I  used this en-
          gine to listen to Radio Beijing,  and I sent a  reception report to
          China. I was very proud as  I got a QSL card from  Beijing! Then, I
          was some more involved in school, and I let the SWLing more or less
          be. (Btw.: the  nice old  receiver is  now in  a museum  for audio-
          visual stuff, the Audiorama in Territet/Montreux, Switzerland)

          Some years later, the nice little Sony ICF7600  was launched. I had
          no sleep until I had  it and even less  after I had it...  A lot of
          SWLing filled my time during 4 years, then I began real life (work)
          and moved in a very small apartment without  any possibility for an
          aerial, so the Sony was left unused except on some holiday trips.

          A few moves  later, I  found myself  in a  larger apartment  with a
          Yaesu FRG7700, which I bought used, but never really used. My proj-
          ect was to build a fax decoder on a old Mac I owned these days, but
          soon I found that this was not the engine I  needed. (The old Mac).
          I bought a PC clone and a fax decoder, but was not really satisfied
          with it, and let the whole thing be.

          Rather I began to  write some programs, learning  C. After I  got a
          C++ primer in my hands, I  bought a C++ compiler and  wrote a class
          called "button" and some mouse handling routines. (the birth of the
          WaveGazer). Some scrollbars, textfields,  togglebuttons etc. later,
          my (then still) girlfriend and I went to a  trip to Argentina. With
          the ICF7600. Lots of time for listening to Latin American stations,
          and soon I felt an inner need for a nice receiver.  One with a com-
          puter control feature. Why  not assemble my programs  to a receiver
          control program? (This decision was taken during a  shower in a ho-
          tel in a Argentine town called San Martin de Los Andes...)

          Took the decision, bought the receiver and had a lot of undone pro-
          gramming. But one fine day, I thought that  this program now should
          be ready to be used, this was the birth of the WaveGazer v1.0!

          Some weeks later, as I tried  to use it myself, I  found the imple-
          mentation of the database / logbook inadequate for real use, so the
          v1.2 was released with some minor and one major enhancement.






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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 11




       4. A Quick Overlook

          This software has several features which (I hope) you may find use-
          ful.

            The whole thing is built on a graphic interface, so you can acti-
            vate all the stuff with mouse clicks, -motions and double-clicks,
            whereas most functions  also can be  accessed from  the keyboard.
            The user interface is some 'Pseudo-Windows'  but very basic since
            home made...

            One window is to control all possible receiver functions from the
            computer; there are still some analogous functions that cannot be
            controlled via RS232. This window is not very useful, controlling
            the receiver manually is  much more convenient. It  may be useful
            for very fine tuning,  since the values for  frequency, bandwidth
                   s
            and pas band shift can be read out very accurate.

            Two more windows serve to manage the  '535's 200 memory channels.
            You may edit every channel individually  (define, delete, change,
            etc.) and you may  overlook these definitions in  another window.
            Useful may be the fact that you can save  the 200 memory channels
            in a diskfile,  and of course  load the receiver's  channels from
            such files; so you always can keep as  much memory definitions as
            you want, in files of  up to 200 channels.  Channels are directly
            tunable, and receiver settings may be dumped  directly in a chan-
            nel.

            Exciting is the Bandscan feature: You may draw a graph of the oc-
            cupation of a band and then you may click in the graph, e.g. on a
            peek representing a transmitter,  and the receiver will  be tuned
            directly to  this transmission.  Mouse dragging  is possible,  to
            stroll around the dial. These scan graphs may be  saved in a file
            for later reloading, a previously interrupted  and saved scan may
            be reloaded and resumed.  The scanning can be  most flexibly cus-
            tomized, and you may want  to select the most  used and preferred
            band with just a mouse click.

            There is also window that allows you  to do unattended recording:
            the '535 has a timer relay on the back, which will be switched on
            at up to eight pre-defined times while the receiver will be tuned
            to a user defined memory channel. During long waiting periods the
            receiver is switched off to  save its lifetime and  your A/C cur-
            rent.

            A database system exists  to hold either a  database with records
            entered from a  schedule or  your 'would like  to catch  it' sta-
            tions. In a  line oriented display,  you can click,  scroll, etc.
            around these entries, tuning the receiver  directly to a selected
            entry. The database can be browsed  following user defined search
            criteria, and you may  have a unlimited number  of databases, al-
            though only one open at a given time.






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            The logbook is almost the  same as the database,  except that the
            fields in  the database  entry differ  slightly to  reflect their
            use. A logbook may be opened as a such (input only) or as a data-
            base, to be written, read and  browsed. If the logbook  is a log-
            book, it may be opened in parallel with the database.

            Browsing in the databases  (logbooks), you are able  to print the
            found records,  load  them directly  into  the receiver's  memory
            (starting at a user  defined channel number) and/or  to load them
            in a file for later reloading the receiver's memory.

            With an open database, the radio may be  manually tuned while the
            screen display highlights the entries in the database which match
            the current receiver frequency.  The threshold for  this matching
            is a user defined param ter.
                                   e

            Databases may be printed out on virtually every printer, at least
            if your printer is able  to print 132 characters  / line (limited
            usage also possible with 80 characters / line)

            Colors may explicitly  be customized,  while the  preferred (last
            used) settings are saved for the next invocation of the program.




































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 13




       5. Installation


       5.1  Installation on Harddisk


          Installation is straightforward.

            Create a directory where you want to put all files concerning the
            WaveGazer. Do not install on a stacked part tion under DOS v6.0!
                                                       i

            C:\>mkdir WG

            C:\>cd WG

            Unzip the zipfile using  pkunzip.exe or any other  compatible un-
            zipper

            C:\WG>pkunzip A:\WG012.ZIP

            Add the directory containing  WG.EXE to your path  or move WG.EXE
            to a directory in your path.

            Create a swap directory: The WaveGazer  saves the graphics hidden
            by the windows  in files to  save precious memory.  So we  need a
            dedicated directory for these  temporary files. (I used  to use a
            ramdisk, for better performance on the 286, but my disks were old
            and slow...)

            C:\WG>mkdir SWP

            To be able to  invoke the WaveGazer  from everywhere, we  need to
            define 2 environment variables in your "AUTOEXEC.BAT":

            set WG_FIL=C:\WG              this is  where all  databases  etc.
          will reside

            set WG_SWP=C:\WG\SWP          where the  windows save  what  they
          hide for later restore

            The database the WaveGazer relies on requires share to be loaded,
            so add a line for share to your "AUTOEXEC.BAT".

            Reboot your PC


       5.2 Run The WaveGazer


            Once your PC booted, type

            C:>WG [com] [printer] [PCtime - UTC] [RXtime - UTC]






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            where the optional  parameters com and  printer define the  ports
            where the receiver and  the printer are attached.  Default values
            are 1 (com1) for the receiver and "lpt1" for the  printer. If you
            have your printer  on "com1" and  the receiver on  "com2", invoke
            the WaveGazer with

            C:\>WG 2 com1

            If the printer is on "lpt1" but the receiver on "com2", type

            C:\>WG 2

            Only "1" or "2" are supported values for the receiver port, so do
            not connect your receiver to an eventual "com3/4" port.

            The parameter for the printer can  have any value, as  long as it
            represents a valid device or  file name. That means  you may also
            print to a file.

            The parameters "[PCtime - UTC]" and "[RXtime  - UTC]" specify the
            time differential your device's clocks have respective to UTC. It
            is always difficult for me to say if we are  ahead or behind UTC,
            so lets  talk about  "East" or  "West". If  you are  west of  UTC
            (Greenwich) the time differential  is positive, else it  is nega-
            tive. Imagine you live in  the USA, 4 hours  difference. Your re-
            ceiver's clock is set to UTC (this is what  I recommend) and your
            PC's clock shows the localtime. Start the WaveGazer with the fol-
            lowing line:

            C:>WG 1 lpt1 4 0

            Users in  the UK  normally will  have both,  the PC  and the  re-
            ceiver's clock set to  UTC. (at least during  wintertime...) They
            start the WaveGazer with

            C:>WG 1 lpt1 0 0

            One case that  shouldn't be very  frequent but possible:  User in
            Russia, 5 hours east of  Greenwich, PC to localtime,  receiver to
            localtime +1 (positive = west). We start the WaveGazer with:

            C:>WG 1 lpt1 -5 -4

            If you want to change one of these parameters, you need to supply
            it again on the  command line of  a subsequent invocation  of the
            WaveGazer. If you want to change the  last parameter, all leading
            parameters need to  be supplied.  In general:  leading parameters
            are mandatory, trailing parameters are optional.

            Once a parameter  specified, its value  is permanently  stored in
            the file "WG.CNF".  All parameters OK,  you may invoke  the Wave-
            Gazer with only the command name.






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          HELP:        The WaveGazer starts halfway up and then locks up with
                       black or other strange colored menu bars!

                       This may occur if your configuration  file "WG.CNF" is
                       corrupted or if you  start a new release  of the Wave-
                       Gazer, where the format of this  file has changed. De-
                       lete the  file  "WG.CNF"  and  restart  the  WaveGazer
                       again. Upon exit, a new file  "WG.CNF" will be created
                       and everything  will  be OK,  after  you followed  the
                       steps described in the next chapter again.


       5.3 Tell The WaveGazer about your PC's speed


          When you start the WaveGazer for the first time,  it tries to adapt
          itself to the speed of your PC, calibrating the co munication time-
                                                            m
          outs. If the receiver does respond, the time-out value will be per-
          manently stored in the configuration file and on all subsequent in-
          vocations, the  calibration  isn't required  anymore.  If ever  you
          start up the WaveGazer  with a new config  file, this step  will be
          executed again.

          Proceed as follows if the WaveGazer won't adapt itself to your com-
          puter:

            Hit <F8> to have the receiver attached  / detached several times.
            You should see the "remote" led on the receiver going on and off.

            Look at the status line,  probably the values read  back from the
            receiver are completely wrong.

            Leave the receiver in the "attached" state and start up the Band-
            scan feature. Load a  scan from disk ("HELLO.SCN"  comes with the
            distribution). Click in the  Bandscan window and drag  the marker
            around. The receiver  should now reflect  the state  indicated on
            the computer display. If no proceed the preceding steps again.

            If communication from PC to  receiver is OK, select  the menu op-
            tion "Control -> Calibrate" and wait some  seconds for the popup-
            box to come up. Acknowledge and exit the WaveGazer. This stores a
            time-out value in the file "WG.CNF" and so it will be read on the
            next invocation of the software.

            Here, everything should be OK., test it  by re-invoking the Wave-
            Gazer. The  status line  should now  display the  actual receiver
            state.

            Eventually, if the clocks on the RX and the PC differ more than 3
            minutes (after  substraction of  the defined  time differential),
            you may choose to synchronize either's clock to the other's.

          If you fail to  calibrate the time-outs, the  WaveGazer will either
          be unable to  read back values  from the receiver,  or it  will run




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          very slowly if no  communication is established between  the PC and
          the receiver.
























































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 17




       6. General Usage


       6.1 Windows


          The window system is very coarse (see chap  6.7 Restrictions). If a
          window is opened, it saves the graphic covered by itself in a file,
          which will be read for redrawing  the screen if the  window will be
          closed. That is  why the environment  variable "WG_SWP"needs  to be
          defined. (see chap. 5. Installation)

          To close a window,  press the button on  top of the frame,  the one
          that displays the name of  the window. To close  the topmost window
          using the keyboard, hit the spacebar.


       6.2 Menus


          The menus are implemented  as you are  used to from  other applica-
          tions, clicking is  very intuitive. To  access the menu  using key-
          strokes, press <F10> to have the last pulled down menu pulled down,
          and then use the arrow keys  to stroll through the  menu items. You
          also may  access  the  menus  directly using  <ALT>-something  key-
          strokes:

            <ALT>-C pulls down the "Control" menu

            <ALT>-R pulls down the "Receiver" menu

            <ALT>-S pulls down the "Scanning" menu

            <ALT>-D pulls down the "Database" menu

            <ALT>-L  pulls down the "Logbook" menu

            <ALT>-U pulls down the "Customize" menu

            <ALT>-A pulls down the "About..." menu


       6.3 Menu Options:


          The "Control" menu has 4 options:

          "Exit"          To quit the WaveGazer

          "Get Memory"    To see how  much unallocated memory remains.  Don't
                          be afraid when the  button tells you that  it needs
                          more memory: This is  hardcoded to express  my per-
                          sonal frustration  about  DOS's  20 bit  addressing
                          mode ;-)




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 18




          "Calibrate"     To calibrate the communication parameters

          "Get Time Diff." To display the time  differences the PC's and  re-
                          ceiver's clocks have respective to UTC (in minutes)

          The "Receiver" menu has 4 options:

          "Control"       To start the "Receiver Control" window

          "Memory Editor" To start the "Memory Editor"

          "Memory Viewer" To start the "Memory Viewer"

          "Attach"/"Detach"To establish or loose connection to the receiver

          The "Scanning" menu has 2 options:

          "Bandscan"      To start the "Bandscan" window

          "Recording"     To start the unattended recording feature

          The "Database" menu has 5 options:

          "Open Database" To open a database

          "Close Database" To close the currently open database

          "Open DB Window" To open the "Database" window

          "Search"        To open the "Search" window and the "Database" win-
                          dow if not already opened.

          "Add Item"      To open the "Add  A Record" window and a  database,
                          if none opened at the moment.

          "Delete"        To delete all files making up a database.

          The "Logbook" menu has 5 options:

          "Open Logbook"  To open a logbook

          "Close Logbook" To close the currently open logbook

          "Open LOG Window"To open the "Database" window

          "Search"        To open the "Search" window and the "Database" win-
                          dow if not already opened.

          "Logging..."    To open the "Logging..."  window and a  logbook, if
                          none opened at the moment.

          "Delete"        To delete all files making up a logbook.

          The "Customize" menu has 4 options:




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          "Colors"        To open the "Customize Color" dialogbox

          "Printer"       To open a  dialogbox used to  enter the  escape se-
                          quences respective to your printer.

          "Save Settings" To save the current settings to disk file

          "Read Settings" To update the current settings with data from disk

          The "About..." menu has 2 options

          "WaveGazer"     To get information about the current version of the
                          WaveGazer

          "The Author"    To get information about me, my address, e.g...


       6.4 Textfields:


          The textfields may  be input/output or  output only.  If textfields
          are input/output, they may be edited by means  of usual editor com-
          mands (arrow keys, <HOME>,  <END>, <DELETE> etc.).  Overstrike mode
          is not  available and  you cannot  enter a  string longer  than the
          length of  the textfield.  Hitting <RETURN>  terminates the  input,
          while hitting <TAB>  transfers the  input focus  to the  next input
          field in the chain.

            Clicking in a field transfers  input focus in this  field, at the
            position in the string where clicked.

            Double-clicking in a field erases the field entirely.


       6.5 Popupboxes


          All popupboxes can be accessed  using either the mouse  or the key-
          board. While mouse operation  is straight forward,  keyboard opera-
          tion needs some explanation.

            To get a popupbox  disappear, refusing the suggested  option, the
            equivalent of pressing the "Cancel" button, hit <ESCAPE> key

            To acknowledge the suggested option in a one  button box, hit the
            <RETURN> key

            If more than one option to  choose from, hit the  first letter of
            the button label to accept this option.

            Positive options are generally mapped to <RETURN> while the nega-
            tion generally is mapped to <ESCAPE>






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       6.6 File Selection Boxes


          File selection boxes may display up to 6  filenames to choose from.
          If more than 6 files match the search criteria,  you may scroll the
          tiny display using either the keyboard (see  later) or the triangu-
          lar buttons right-hand of the filename display.

          Double-clicking a filename selects the filename directly, while you
          would need to hit the  second button explicitly if  you clicked the
          name only once.

          Use the  following keystrokes  to manipulate  file selection  boxes
          from the keyboard:

          <SPACE>:         To re-scan  the  directory,  equivalent to  "find"
                           button

          <RETURN>:        To accept the selected filename or  the one put in
                           the textline holding the template

          <ESCAPE>:        To close  the file  selection  box, equivalent  to
                           "cancel" button

          <Up/DnArrow>:    To select a file

          i:               To have input focus on the textfield

          <PgUp>/<PgDn>:   To page up or down





























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       6.7 Restrictions


          The WaveGazer has been built on a user  interface tool-kit I devel-
          oped on  my own,  as a  programming exercise.  Whereas most  of the
          "widgets" (X11?) are rather well implemented,  there are some draw-
          backs you need to know if you use the WaveGazer.

            The windows cannot change position and size!

            Hidden windows cannot be made  visible (put on top  of the stack)
            without closing the windows hiding them e tirely or  partially.
                                                     n

            In the file  selection box, the  files are not  sorted alphabeti-
            cally, rather they  appear in  sequence as they  are on  the disk
            drive. I should correct this in a future release

            The accelerator keys (for keyboard operation) are case sensitive.
            So they won't work (or work in unexpected manner) if you have the
            caps-lock key activated!




































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       7. General Receiver Control

          At any  time, you  may control  all computer  controllable features
          from the keyboard of  the PC, and you  may monitor the  current re-
          ceiver status in the status line at the bottom of the display. This
          control is implemented  using some keystrokes  on the  function key
          row and on the numerical keypad.

          Controllable features:

            Reception mode (modulation) key:   <F1>

            IF filter                key:<F2>

            Automatic gain control AGC         <F3>
                                        key:

            20 dB attenuator         key:<F4>

            Preselector bypass       key:<F5>

            Noiseblankers            key:<F6>

            Freq. step for tuning up/down      7/1
                                         key:

            Frequency up/down        key:6/4

            Bandwidth control up/down   key:   <+>/<->

            Passband shift left/right          </>/<*>
                                        key:

          These keys should be easy to retain (look at the order of the items
          in the status line)  and are accessible  all the time  the computer
          has the connection to the receiver established.

          The status line is meant to always reflect the  actual state of the
          receiver, except if  the receiver is  disconnected and  tuned manu-
          ally.





















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       8. Receiver Control Window

          The receiver  control window  allows you  to  control the  receiver
          nearly completely from the computer. All functions may be accessed,
          except the analogous tuning:

            AF gain

            RF gain

            Noiseblanker depth

            Notch filter

            The squelch level

          This window is maybe not very useful, since tuning the receiver di-
          rectly may be more convenient.


       8.1 Controllable Features


            The -20 dB attenuator

            The preselector circuit bypass

            The noiseblankers (on/off of either one)

            The AGC time constant

            The IF-filter

            The frequency, via keyboard and via the VFO knob

            The tuning steps (not the ones of the receiver itself!)

            The reception mode (modulation)

            The passband shift

            The variable bandwidth


       8.2 Attaching / Detaching The Receiver To The PC


          In the middle  of the  receiver control window,  there is  a toggle
          button with associated  textfield. When the  window is  called, the
          textfield displays "Computer", what means that  the receiver is at-
          tached to the PC. Clicking in the toggle button makes the textfield
          display "Manual" and unlocks the receiver,  enabling you to manipu-
          late it manually!





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          Keep in mind, that  every time you attach  the receiver to  the PC,
          the PC's display will be updated with the values  found on the NRD.
          The WaveGazer records all  possible changes on the  receiver inter-
          nally; so, even  if the receiver  control window is  not displayed,
          the program knows about the receiver's state.

          In the  menu called  "Receiver" you  find an  option called  either
          "attach" or "detach". Use this  option to attach or  detach the re-
          ceiver without passing through the receiver control window.


       8.3 Operation


          The toggle button labeled  "-20 dB" switches the  attenuator on the
          receiver.

          The toggle  button called  "Bypass" switches  the front  end tuning
          circuit on the NRD. The 535's user manual tells you, that this fea-
          ture should  only  be used  under  difficult reception  conditions.
          There is no way  to inquire the state  of the bypass from  the com-
          puter, so don't be puzzled if the PC display does not match the re-
          ceiver's state in that matter!

          The toggles labeled "Noiseblanker" switch the  two noiseblankers on
          and off. The depth of the blanking has to be  tuned manually on the
          radio.

          The AGC time constant can be switched  with the radiobutton labeled
          AGC (you might have found this one by your own, ...)

          The filter used is switched with the buttons labeled "Filter".

          Every time you switch filters, the textfield to the right of

          the scrollbar called "Bandwidth"  will display the name  of the se-
          lected filter, e.g. "narr" for the narrow filter. If this textfield
          displays such text instead  of a numeric value,  then the bandwidth
          control feature is off!

          You may set the reception frequency in two different ways: With the
          VFO knob or directly via keyboard by editing the frequency display.
          Using the VFO knob may be  not so handy, it requires  some get used
          to. All you have  to do is clicking  in the red button  on the knob
          and drag it (mouse  still pressed) to  the position you  want. That
          means you need to  execute some circular movements  with the mouse.
          Try it, and you will  agree that manual tuning  is more comfortable
          yet. If you need to do some very fine tuning, this feature could be
          useful, since it is more precise than the  NRD's well balanced tun-
          ing knob.

          In addition, the frequency display shows  the very exact frequency,
          the 1 Hz position is displayed. This display is in fact an editable
          textfield. Click in it, the cursor will blink and you may enter the




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          desired frequency. Enter  the frequency  in kHz, using  a dot  or a
          comma as the  decimal point. Once  the frequency entered,  click on
          the red button on the VFO (or double <RETURN> on the keyboard), and
          the radio will be tuned to this frequency.

          In the VFO knob, there is  a feature that allows you  to select the
          tuning steps used for VFO tuning. (these  are steps employed inter-
          nally by the WaveGazer, these are  not the tuning steps  of the re-
          ceiver...!) Clicking in the up  or down buttons alters  the step to
          the next value  from the  sequence of  1, 10,  100, 1000,  5000 and
          10000 Hz. When the receiver control window is called, this value is
          set to the last selected value.

          Be aware that if you switch this value up, the  display and the re-
          ceiver will align their  current frequency to the  next lower value
          on this boundary. (e.g., switching from 10 Hz to 100 Hz will switch
          the radio to 7145.500 kHz if before it was tuned to 7145.560 kHz).

          The reception  mode may  be switched  with  the radiobutton  called
          "Mode", as you would do it on the NRD itself.

          A scrollbar labeled "Bandwidth" allows you to vary the bandwidth of
          the used filter from 500 to  5500 Hz, provided you own  a 'new' NRD
          535, which is equipped with the new BWC feature.

          In the textfield to  the right of  the scrollbar, the  actual band-
          width is displayed.  From 500 up  to 2100 Hz,  the "int"  filter is
          used, from 2100  to 5500  Hz, the "wide"  one. (This  might present
          some difficulties  if  the  factory  installed  filters  have  been
          changed on your receiver)

          Filter switching is done automatically, but you will hear a differ-
          ence in the audio.

          If a filter is directly chosen via the  "Filter" buttons, the vari-
          able bandwidth control is  switched off, as  you may verify  on the
          receiver's display.

          The other  scrollbar, labeled  "Passband" is  used  to control  the
          passband shift, the associated textfield shows its actual value.


       8.4 Keystrokes


          a:               Toggles the attenuator

          B/b:             Varies filter bandwidth (larger/smaller)

          c:               Toggles the computer or manual interface

          f:               Selects the filter (cyclic)

          g:               Selects the AGC setting (cyclic)




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          h:               Input of  frequency  (think  of 'hertz'),  double
                           <RETURN> to set receiver to this frequency

          I/i:             Rises/lowers the VFO's increment

          m:               Selects the mode (cyclic)

          N/n:             Toggles either noiseblanker 1 or 2

          p:               Toggles front end bypass

          S/s:             Varies passband shift (up/down)

          V/v:             Rises/lowers the frequency of RX












































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       9. The Memory Editor

          The "Memory Editor" is  used to manage  the 535's 200  memory chan-
          nels. On startup  of the  WaveGazer, the  memory channels  are read
          from the receiver  to the  computer's memory,  which may  take some
          seconds, but it is done in the background, that means invisible for
          you. (You may notice it only if you start the  Memory Editor or the
          Memory Viewer shortly after program startup.)


       9.1 Description


            Manage all 200 memory channels, one by one or all together

            Store user defined settings in a memory channel

            Dump the current receiver settings in a memory channel

            Erase memory channels

            Tune receiver to a selected memory channel

            Save all 200 memory channels to a disk file

            Load 200 memory channels from a disk file


       9.2 Operation


          The Memory Editor consists mainly of two  zones: One displaying the
          numbers of all 200 memory channels and one  showing the contents of
          the selected channel.

          The large  area  displaying the  numbers  is  "clickable" with  the
          mouse. It  displays the  numbers of  all non-vacant  channels, that
          means all channels containing a valid definition.

          The characteristics of the currently selected channel are displayed
          in the smaller area to the right of the main display.

          Double-clicking a channel tunes the receiver to it.

          Clicking in one channel and dragging the mouse with <MB1> hold down
          in another, means moving the contents of the first channel into the
          other (The original channel will be erased).  If the target channel
          is not empty, a warning box will be displayed.

          The buttons allow you to further manage the memory channels:

            The one  labeled "Define"  loads the  currently selected  channel
            with the characteristics  in the editor  box. This allows  you to
            change a channel manually.  To do this,  select a channel  in the




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            large grid,  then fill  in the  settings in  the smaller  box and
            click the "Define" button

            Clicking "Tune" tunes the NRD to the selected memory channel (the
            same as double-clicking a channel number.)

            "Load" and "Save" are used to load all channels from a file or to
            dump them in a file for later reloading. This  allows you to have
            a virtually unlimited number of memories.

            The "Clear" button erases the currently selected memory channel

            "Print" prints out all channels, their  number and settings. This
            is not yet implemented, (sorry)

            "SetRX" is used to load the selected channel with the current re-
            ceiver settings.

            "Update" allows  you to  re-read the  200 channels  from the  re-
            ceiver, in case something  went wrong at any  time (e.g. receiver
            not attached at program startup).

          The smaller box is  to edit one channel  at a time. Of  course, you
          cannot change the channel  number, this fields displays  the number
          of the selected channel.


       9.3 Keystrokes


          arrow-keys:      To move in the grid containing the memory numbers

          a:               To toggle attenuator toggle in editor

          f:               To cycle filter settings in editor

          g:               To cycle AGC settings in editor

          i:               Start input in frequency field in editor

          l:               To load a memory file from disk

          m:               To cycle mode setting in editor

          p:               Print (not yet implemented)

          r:               To dump the current  receiver settings in  the se-
                           lected memory channel

          s:               Save receiver memory to disk file

          t:               Tune receiver to selected channel

          u:               Update display from receiver




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          <INSERT>:        Set selected channel with settings from editor

          <DELETE>:        Clear selected memory channel























































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       10. The Memory Viewer


       10.1 Operation


          The Memory Viewer is most likely used in  conjunction with the Mem-
          ory Editor. As its name implies, it only serves  to view the memory
          channels.

          It allows you to view all the memory  channels with their contents,
          33 at a time. The scrollbar permits you to adjust the desired range
          of channel numbers.

          If used with the Memory Editor, you may  prefer selecting a channel
          using the Memory Viewer,  there is a certain  amount of interaction
          between these two windows:

            Channels selected in the  Memory Viewer are also  selected in the
            Memory Editor

            Upon invocation, the Memory  Viewer displays the contents  of the
            channel numbers around the one selected in  the Memory Editor, or
            channel numbers from zero if the Memory Editor is not present.

          Double-clicking on a line  displaying a channel tunes  the radio to
          this channel, even if the channel is vacant.


       10.2 Keystrokes


          <PgUP>/<PgDN>:   page up/down

          8/2:             select channel, (scroll)























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       11. The Bandscan

          This exciting feature allows  you to scan  bands in 555  steps (Why
          555 steps? It is because the window, once designed had 555 steps to
          go...!). Of course, you also  can define less than  these 555 steps
          but this odd number is the maximum number of steps available!


       11.1 Description


          Scan from a fixed  start frequency to  a fixed stop  frequency, the
          computer calculates the step.

          Scan from a fixed start frequency using a  fixed step, the computer
          calculates the end frequency.

          Scan from a fixed start frequency,  using a fixed step,  to a fixed
          end frequency, provided the step  is small enough to  allow the end
          frequency to be on  the display! (if  start and stop  frequency are
          defined as well as the step, the step always  has priority over the
          end frequency, in case the step  would be too big to  allow the end
          frequency being on the display!)

          Monitor one single frequency over time (for observing fading)

          Select bands to be scanned from a list of user defined bands

          Scans may consist of  only one sweep (a  sweep being one  pass from
          start to the end) or of a undefined number of sweeps, if the toggle
          "Endless" is activated.

          A running scan  may always  be stopped with  the "Stop"  button and
          later resumed with the "Resume" button.

          The "Endless"  toggle  may  be toggled  every  time,  its state  is
          checked at the end of the current sweep.  (that means, a previously
          endless scan will end at the end of its current sweep, if the state
          of the toggle has been changed.)

          In the case of an  endless scan, the toggles  labeled "Current" and
          "Average" allow you to select which values the display should show.
          The average value is the one taken over all previous sweeps!

          A whole scan may be saved in a file ("Save"), storing also the cur-
          rent scan's position. That means, a stored scan  may be resumed af-
          ter being reloaded from disk!

          Use the "Load" button to reload a saved scan

          Define the number of samples of a signal at a given frequency taken
          with the scrollbar labeled "Samples".






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          Allow the AGC to settle during a time period defined with the other
          scrollbar, the one labeled "AGC Settle Time".  This does not affect
          the AGC decay time of the receiver, it only is a value in microsec-
          onds, the WaveGazer waits before it samples the S-meter on the next
          frequency.

          Finally, the whole display may  be cleared by means  of the "Clear"
          button!


       11.2 Operation


            The textfields displaying "Bandclass" and "Band"  are used to se-
            lect a pre-defined band for scanning. The first is used to select
            a certain class  of bands,  e.g. 'Domestic  Broadcast', 'Interna-
            tional Broadcast', 'Marine Coast  Stations' and so on;  while the
            second is used  to select  a particular  band in  this bandclass.
            (e.g. the 49 meter band).

            As soon as you  selected a band, its  limits and eventual  a scan
            step will  be displayed  in the  two textfields  to the  left and
            right of the buttons. (The step in the field labeled "Step"). For
            further information about how to define  these pre-defined bands,
            see chap. 12, "The Pre-defined Bands."

            Next you see a scrollbar labeled "nr.  Samples". Use this scroll-
            bar is to fix the number  of times the S-meter  should be sampled
            for one scan step. For fast scans select the minimum (1), but for
            precise scans select a higher number.

            The scrollbar labeled "AGC  settle" serves to adjust  the time in
            microseconds the scan will wait before stepping  to the next fre-
            quency. Every AGC unit in every receiver has some decay time, of-
            ten just called 'fast' and 'slow'. The time  you may adjust using
            this scrollbar is not  related to this  decay time, rather  it is
            the time you will allow  the AGC circuitry to  settle before sam-
            pling the next frequency. This is also  useful for precise scans,
            allow more time than for fast scans. You will see that low values
            in this field will result in asymme ric graphs. Do as you feel!
                                               t

            The following textfield indicates the step in Hz the scanner will
            step further. You may fill in  this field interactively, provided
            you supply a valid value.

            The field labeled  "Freq" is output  only, it indicates  the fre-
            quency the receiver is tuned to.

            The togglebutton called "Endless"  is to indicate if  you want to
            stop at the end of the running scan or if  the scanner should run
            endlessly.

            Toggles called "Average" and  "Current" determine which  value is
            displayed, the  average value  for a  frequency and/or  the value




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 33




            taken in the  current sweep. Of  course, for  1-sweep-scans, both
            values are the same. The value represented as a solid line is the
            average value over all sweeps, the dots show the last value read.

            In the lower  row of  controls, we have  the two  textfields, one
            left and one right. The right one holds the start frequency while
            the other holds the end  frequency of the scan.  These fields can
            be edited, they will be read at the beginning or on resuming of a
            scan.

            The first button ("Start") is to  start a scan at  the start fre-
            quency. After clicking the button, the scanner remains for 1 sec-
            ond on the start-frequency to allow the AGC to settle, before the
            real scanning work is started. After the start of a scan, you may
            click in the graph, the screen will display a  marker and the re-
            ceiver will be set to the pointed frequency.

            The "Stop"  button is  (of course)  to stop  the running  scan. A
            stopped scan can be resumed with the "Resume" button or restarted
            with "Start".

            The buttons called "Save" and "Load"  serve to store a  scan in a
            file or to reload one on the display. A reloaded  scan may be re-
            sumed where it has been stopped.

            The "Clear" button is to  erase the display. Sorry  for the slow-
            ness.

          Once a scan graph begun or  displayed, you can click  and drag with
          the mouse in  the display  and the  receiver will  be tuned  to the
          pointed frequency. I think this can be very handy to monitor activ-
          ity on a certain band, you do not need  to remember frequencies but
          the shape of the peaks drawn on the screen...

          Most control features are active during a scan,  so you can dynami-
          cally change the number of samples, the AGC  settle time and toggle
          the toggle buttons.  However, you cannot  change the start  and end
          frequencies and the step.

          Moreover, activating some control  functions will stop  the running
          scan:  selecting   a  new   band,  restarting   a  scan   and  sav-
          ing/redisplaying or clearing a scan.

          The Receiver Control window may be active during a scan, so you can
          change the current receiver setting easily.

          The "Bandscan" feature may also be used to visualize the character-
          istics of the IF-filter  used: just scan a  small portion of  a the
          spectrum, lets say around a stable carrier  somewhere, and choose a
          precise scan. The graphs drawn on the screen show approximately the
          Q-factor and the width of the filters. How to interpret this, is up
          to you ...;-)






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          In general, best  results are  obtained with a  small filter  and a
          fast AGC decay time. Unfortunately, the 'fast'  position on the NRD
          is still  not  fast  enough  to  have the  fast  scan  graphs  look
          nicely...

          If you want to visualize  fading of an only  one transmission, just
          fill in the field  for the start  frequency with the  frequency you
          want to monitor  and leave  the fields  for end-frequency  and step
          blank. Hit the "Start" button and the graph will show the fading.

          I'm sure you will soon find your own scanning preferences.


       11.3 Keystrokes


          <ALT>-a:         Toggles "Average" toggle

          <ALT>-c:         Toggles "Current" toggle

          <ALT>-e:         Toggles "Endless" toggle

          <ALT>-i:         Starts textfield input in "Step" field

          <ALT>-g:         Starts  scanning  (as  button  "start",  think  of
                           'go')

          <ALT>-l:         Loads a file from disk

          <ALT>-r:         Resumes stopped scanning

          <ALT>-s:         Saves a file to disk

          L/l:             Rises/lowers the sample number

          T/t:             Rises/lowers the AGC settle time

          <DELETE>:        Clears the display

          <END>:           Stops scanning


















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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 35




       12. The Pre-defined Bands

          (In this chapter, a feature called "Channelscan" is mentioned. this
          is something I'm currently working on, but that is not yet ready so
          don't worry about it so far.)

          The Bandscan and Channelscan windows contain both  a feature to re-
          call pre-defined bands with their limits and  scansteps. In the di-
          rectory pointed  by the  environment variable  "WG_FIL"  is a  file
          called "BANDS.DEF" which is a formatted text file. This chapter de-
          scribes the format of this text file.


       12.1 Theory


          You can have two kinds of machine readable lines in  it: One to de-
          fine a band class and one  to define a band in the  previously  de-
          fined band class. The order of the lines is the  same in which they
          will be displayed in the selection widgets, so it can be considered
          as important.

          To define a  new class, e.g.  Tropical Broadcast, a  line beginning
          with "cl" and a class name must be inserted. e.g.:

            cl Broadcasting          or

            cl Tropical_Bands

          Notice that the  name must  be one  word (e.g.  no spaces),  so '_'
          (underscore) signs may be used  to replace spaces. (I  know this is
          not nice, but it is easier to program...)

          All following lines  beginning with  "bd" are to  define a  band in
          this class.

          The format is more complicated than the one of the classes:

            bd start end chstep chnr scstep name

          where "start" stands for the start frequency in  kHz, "end" for the
          end frequency in kHz and "chstep" for the channel spacing in kHz.

          "chnr" holds an eventual channel number (can be used  e.g. on CB or
          marine bands, where channels are numbered and evenly spaced),

          "scstep" is the step the bandscanner will employ (in Hz), it is not
          used in the channel scanner.

          Of these fields,  only "bd","start'" and  "name" are  really manda-
          tory. others can be replaced by an asterisk (*) and so they will be
          ignored.






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          For bands  used in  the bandscanner,  "chstep" and  "chnr" are  not
          used, and either "scstep" or "end" are o tional.
                                                  p

          Bands used in the  channel scanner do  not need the  "scstep" field
          and either "end" or "chstep" are optional.

          The "chnr" field can be used in the channelscanner,  but is not re-
          quired.


       12.2 Examples


          Some examples of lines defining bands:

            bd 5950 6200 5 * * 49_meter

          This line defines the 49-meter band  for use in both  the band- and
          the channel scanner. In  the bandscanner, the scan  step ("scstep")
          will be calculated at the start  of the scan and  will certainly be
          something weird and odd. ((6200-5950) / 555 = 450 Hz).

          To have the scan  step look better, you  may force it to  500 Hz in
          the line:

            bd 5950 6200 5 * 500 49_meter

          For marine bands, a line may look like this:

            bd 8704 8815 3 800 200 8_MHz

          This line defined the 8_MHz coast stations band, which spreads from
          8707 to 8812 kHz, with channels numbered  from 801 onwards. "start"
          has the value of 8704, which  is the real start freq.  of this band
          minus the channel spacing  (8707 -3). This  is to prevent  that the
          first channel never will be scanned. So the channel number ("chnr")
          field must contain the lowest channel number - 1 = 800.

          The step used by the bandscanner is 200 Hz. It  is important to use
          scansteps that allow you to  point the exact frequency  of a trans-
          mission, especially  if SSB  transmission will  be tuned!  The step
          used in the channelscanner is 3  kHz, which is the  real spacing in
          the marine bands.

            "bd" lines following a "cl" line define all  members of the class
            defined by this "cl" line.

            Lines not beginning with either "cl" or "bd" are ignored, so feel
            free to add comments to the file.

            You may have a maximum of 16 classes containing each a maximum of
            16 bands. (I think this is enough...)






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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 37




       13. Automatic Recording


       13.1 Features


          This window allows  you to schedule  up to eight  transmissions you
          don't want to miss or want  to record. The timer relay  on the '535
          will be switched at a given  times, with the receiver  tuned to the
          wanted frequencies.

            Define from one to eight transmissions for recording

            Switches receiver off, during long waiting periods

            Allows user defined period for receiver preheating

            User may  switch on/off  receiver from  computer (is  this really
            useful?)

            User may switch on/off tape (time relay) from computer

            Upon start  of recording,  eventual user  errors are  flagged and
            signaled.

            User  definitions   are  saved   for  later   re-use.  (in   file
            "RECORD.DAT")


       13.2 Operation


          The input fields are organized in lines and  columns. One line rep-
          resents one  scheduled transmission  recording. The  column labeled
          "Mem." holds the memory  channel which will be  selected during re-
          cording; the two following hold the  start and the end  time of the
          recording.

          You do not  need to  respect a particular  order of  these entries;
          upon start, the software arranges  the display for you,  in the way
          that all lines are sorted, with the start-time as sort key.

          Before, the WaveGazer  checks if  a line is  incomplete, if  two or
          more lines do have overlapping times  or if more than  one line has
          an end-time that is earlier than the start-time.

          It is perfectly legal to  have one line holding  a start-time which
          is later than the  end-time: The WaveGazer  assumes that this  is a
          transmission spanning  midnight,  so this  line  will  be the  last
          listed in the sorted columns.

          A small arrow  pointing to  the line number  shows which  line cur-
          rently is processed, while the status field displays the action the
          recorder is doing:




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 38




          "inactive"       "Start" button has not  yet been pressed to  go in
                           either waiting, tuning, preheating or recording

          "waiting"        Wait for the receiver to switch on for preheating

          "tuning"         Tune the switched on receiver to the desired chan-
                           nel (displayed during a very short time)

          "preheating"     Wait for recorder to switch on,  while receiver is
                           already switched on.

          "recording"      Receiver and recorder are switched  on, the latter
                           recording if you set it up well...

          Pressing the "Start"  button activates the  format checking  of the
          input fields; and then,  if all fields OK,  the software goes  in a
          loop comparing regularly the current time to the  times in the dif-
          ferent fields, to  eventually switch  on or  off the  connected de-
          vices.

          "Stop" may be pressed  anytime. This terminates the  previously en-
          tered loop and switches the tape off (if not  already done) and the
          receiver back on if it was switched off.

          The scrollbar labeled  "Preheat" is  used to  define the  period in
          minutes used to warm up the receiver to achieve maximum stability.


       13.3 Keystrokes


          P/p:             Rise/lower the preheat time

          r:               Switches receiver on/off

          s:               Starts recording  feature  (not recording  itself,
                           but the timer function...)

          t:               Switches timer relay on/off

          <END>:           Stops the recording feature

















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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 39




       14. The Database


       14.1 Concepts


          At any given time you may have no more than  one database open, but
          the number of databases present on the hard disk is limited only by
          the disk space. The number of entries in a  database is also unlim-
          ited, whenever  the performance  will decrease  using larger  data-
          bases. The limiting factors for the size are:

            Disk space

            Memory

            CPU performance

          A database consists of 4 files:

            "dbname.db":             The database itself

            "dbname.bci":            The index for broadcaster name

            "dbname.fri":            The index for frequency

            "dbmame.tmi":            The index for time

          Opening a database is done using the respective menu option:

          "Database->Open Database"       To open a database

          It is also possible to open  a database using the  "Open" button in
          the database window,  but you then  need to choose  if you  want to
          open a database or a logbook.

          If you desire to open a logbook as a database, proceed as for open-
          ing a database,  change the "*.db"  template in the  file selection
          box to "*.lb", click the  "Find" button and choose  the logbook you
          want to open.


       14.2 Usage Of Databases


            A database may hold a database or a logbook.

            A database entry consists of: Broadcaster  name, frequency, start
            time, end-time, country, language, relay/transmitter site, a com-
            ment and all storable receiver settings.

            Sort records after sortkeys: Broadcaster, Time, Frequency






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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 40




            Define search criteria based  on broadcaster name  (case insensi-
            tive, wildcarding), time, country and la guage.
                                                    n

            Frequency search criteria may  be equal-given-frequency, smaller-
            than-given-frequency,  greater-than-given-fr quency  or  between-
                                                        e
            two-given-frequencies.

            If a  record is  added,  all possible  receiver  settings may  be
            fetched in the record immediately, to speed up logging.

          All the above features are general features, interfaced through the
          windows called  "Database" and  "Search'". So  please refer  to the
          documentation for these windows for further information.


       14.3 Creating a new Database


          To create a new  database (one that does  not yet exist),  click in
          menu "Database->Open Database", to have the file selection box dis-
          played. In this box, fill in  the name of the database  you want to
          open and click "Open". The new database with  the desired name will
          be created and  opened for you.  (Please respect DOS's  file naming
          convention...)


       14.4 Tracking Mode


          An important  feature is  called "Tracking  Mode" which  allows the
          user to tune the receiver manually while the  database is looked up
          for records matching the  current receiver frequency. For  more in-
          formation about this feature, please refer to chapter 16.


       14.5 Database Cache


          The WaveGazer keeps up to 27 pages of 20 database  records in a lo-
          cal cache and always tries to keep the  currently needed portion of
          the database in the cache. Of  course, this will not  always be the
          case, so  you sometimes  will feel the application  slow down while
          bringing the cache up-to-date.

          The "Database" window  shows in  its status line  the state  of the
          cache; if  it is  displaying strings  different  from "all  records
          cached", "cache  100% filled"  or "End  of  database reached",  the
          cache is being updated.

          Remember:    "Share" must be installed for database use








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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 41




       15. The Logbook


       15.1 Concepts


          In parallel to a  database, a logbook may  be opened. As  for data-
          bases, only one logbook  may be kept open  at a given time.  If you
          choose to open a  logbook as a database,  no second logbook  may be
          opened! If both,  logbook and  database are  open, the  menu option
          "Database->Add Entry" will add  an entry to the  database while the
          option "Logbook->Logging..." adds one to the logbook.

          A logbook consists of 4 files:

            "lbname.lb":             the logbook itself

            "lbname.bcl":            the index for broadcaster name

            "lbname.frl":            the index for frequency

            "lbname.tml":            the index for time

          Opening a logbook is done using the respective menu option:

          "Logbook->Open Logbook"         To open a logbook

          It is also possible  to open a logbook  using the "Open"  button in
          the database window,  but you then  need to choose  if you  want to
          open a database or a logbook.


       15.2 Usage Of Logbooks


            A logbook entry consists  of: Broadcaster name,  frequency, date,
            time, country,  language, relay/transmitter  site, SINPO  code, a
            comment and all storable receiver settings.

            If a  record is  added,  all possible  receiver  settings may  be
            fetched in the record immediately, to speed up logging.

          The above  features are  general features,  interfaced through  the
          windows called  "Database" and  "Search". So  please  refer to  the
          documentation for these windows for further information.


       15.3 Creating a new Logbook


          To create a  new logbook (one  that does not  yet exist),  click in
          menu "Logbook->Open Logbook", to  have the file selection  box dis-
          played. In this box, fill in  the name of the database  you want to
          open and click "Open". The  new logbook with the  desired name will




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 42




          be created and  opened for you.  (Please respect DOS's  file naming
          convention...)
























































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 43




       16. The Database Window


       16.1 Description


          The database window  displays the database  entries on  the screen.
          You may view the  entries, tune the  receiver to a  selected entry,
          print them out and delete  or edit entries. A  function also allows
          you to add entries intera tively.
                                   c

          You may:

            View 20 entries at a time and scroll up or down, page per page

            Select an entry for editing, tuning, printing or deletion

            Print out all entries or on-screen entries  only, in either short
            or complete format

            Tune the receiver immediately to a selected entry

            Open/close databases or logbooks

            Load all records which correspond to a user defined search crite-
            ria to the receivers memory, and/or print out a list of these en-
            tries.

            Load your receiver's  memory and have  an up-to-date list  of the
            memory occupation!

            Load all records corresponding  to the search criteria  to a file
            which can be loaded to the receiver's memories later.

            Activate the "Tracking Mode". (see chap. 16.)

            Read out the actual state of the cache

            See the name of the open database.


       16.2 Operation


          The 'window in the window' is a mouse sensitive  area and will dis-
          play the  database entries.  The "Database"  window  does not  work
          without the "Search" window and vice versa,  so some reference will
          be made to the search window.

          To have  the  records  of an  open  database  displayed, click  the
          "Search" button in  the "Search" window.  All records  matching the
          search criteria  (see "Search"  window...) will  be displayed,  top
          down.





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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 44




          If more than one screen  full should be displayed,  the buttons la-
          beled "prev Pg" and "next Pg" can be used to page up and down.

          Records are selected by clicking. Selected records can be:

            Deleted, by clicking on the "delete" button

            Edited, by pressing  the "edit" button  (see chap. 17.,  Adding /
            Editing a record)

            Tuned, which means the settings found in the selected record will
            be dumped to the receiver.

          Double-clicking a record  also tunes the  receiver to  the selected
          record.

          Pressing the "Print" button displays a popup box asking whether you
          want to print all  records corresponding to the  search criteria or
          just the ones displayed on the screen. Further,  you may choose the
          format of the print: If short or complete  format. Short format re-
          quires a carriage width of 80 characters, while the complete format
          requires 132 characters. (see the chapter  about printer customiza-
          tion and the users manual of your printer on how to get it spit out
          these formats...)

          The toggle button  labeled "Tracking  Mode" activates  the tracking
          mode. The  receiver will  be unlocked  and manually  tunable, while
          still linked to the  PC. The software  will follow all  changes ap-
          plied to the receiver and constantly update the RX status line. See
          the next chapter  for more information  about tracking  mode opera-
          tion.

          The textline situated just  over the button row  should always show
          the status of the database cache.


       16.3 Keystrokes


          a:               Adds  a   record   (opens   "add  a   record"   or
                           "Logging..." window)

          c:               Closes the open database or logbook

          e:               Edits the selected record

          l:               Pops up the memory loader  dialogbox. (see chapter
                           15.4)

          m:               Activates tracking mode

          o:               Opens a new database (closes the previously opened
                           one)





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          p:               Print

          t:               Tunes receiver to the selected entry

          <DELETE>:        Deletes the currently selected entry

          <PgUp>:          Backwards one page

          <PgDn>:          Forward one page

          <Up/DnArrow>:    To select the entries


       16.4 Loading Database Entries To Memory


          The button labeled "Load RX"  calls a little dialog  box, which al-
          lows you to load  database records matching the  search criteria in
          the receivers memory. You may choose to:

            Load the records matching the search criteria in receiver memory,
            starting at  a defined  channel number  and ending  at a  defined
            channel number. If less records found  than channels foreseen for
            writing, the remaining channels  will be left unchanged.  If more
            records found than  channels available, not  all records  will be
            loaded.

            Write the found records  to a file,  which can be  reloaded later
            into receiver's memory

            Print out a  list of  all memory channels,  their number  and de-
            scription. Might be useful for a DXpedidion or so...

          This dialogbox disappears automatically if all the work is done



       16.5 Keystrokes For Memory Loader Window


          i:               Get input focus on first textfield  in window, use
                           <TAB> to move further

          l:               Toggles "Load To Memory" toggle

          p:               Toggles "Print" toggle

          s:               Toggles "Save To File" toggle

          <RETURN>:        Equivalent to hit "Load" button

          <ESCAPE>:        Equivalent to hit "Cancel" button






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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 46




       17. Tracking Mode


       17.1 Purpose


          The so called tracking mode lets  the user tune the  receiver as if
          it were not connected  to the computer, whereas  the PC continually
          reads the receiver's status and tries  to find a match  in the cur-
          rently open database.

          Since you rarely will be tuned to the exact frequency of a database
          entry, the WaveGazer highlights all records  containing a frequency
          in between two values, which are calculated as receiver's freq. +/-
          threshold.

          The value of the threshold value is user configurable between 0 and
          6000 Hz.

          It is perfectly possible to have more than one entry highlighted at
          once, depending on  how many  records are  registered for  the same
          frequency and on how big the threshold value is set.


       17.2 Operation


          Activate the tracking mode  by toggling the foreseen  toggle in the
          "Database" window. A tiny window will pop up  (If not already here)
          and show  you a  scrollbar  which serves  to  adjust the  threshold
          value. You may alter this value at any time!

          To really get the WaveGazer in tracking  mode, some conditions need
          to be met:

            A database needs to be opened

            The database needs to contain valid records

            The database needs to be sorted for frequency

            The database needs to be cached entirely or the cache needs to be
            entirely filled.

            If one of these criteria is not met, a popupbox will appear, try-
            ing to explain why no go...

          To leave tracking mode, several methods may be successful:

            Toggle the toggle button back (you guessed it!)

            Close the tiny window labeled "Tracking Mode"






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            Hit the "Search"  button in the  "Search" window  (re-display the
            database)

            Page up or down in the display, using the <PgUp> / <PgDn> buttons
            or keys.

            Open any Window that  partially or entirely hides  the "Database"
            window.

            Close the "Database" window

          While in tracking mode, you still may double-click a displayed rec-
          ord to dump its settings to the receiver's VFO.

          The function of the toggles  "Match Mode" and "Match  Time" are not
          yet implemented, which  means that all  entries matching  a certain
          frequency are highlighted, regardless of other data in the records.


       17.3 Keystrokes


          <ALT>-m:         Toggles "Match Mode"

          <ALT>-s:         Toggles "Match Time"

          <Up/DnArrow>:    Rises / lowers the tolerance value































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 48




       18. Search Window


       18.1 Concepts


          The "Search" window is used in conjunction with the "Database" win-
          dow, it cannot be used without it. This window  is mainly to define
          the search criteria and to initiate database searching.

          The search criteria may contain:

            The broadcaster's name, with  wildcards at the beginning  and the
            end of the string

            Frequency to be matched exactly

            Frequency to be smaller or greater than

            Two frequencies to be in between

            Two times (to be in between)

            A known language

            A country code (ITU abbreviation)

          All these criteria may  be combined, if  they are not  exclusive as
          the different modes for the frequency are. The search may be sorted
          based on three search keys:

            Broadcasters name

            Frequency

            (Start) Time


       18.2 Operation


          To start searching, the database window must  be active, that means
          on the screen and not partially hidden by another window.

          Upon pressing the "search" button, the  WaveGazer begins displaying
          the found records in the database window. In case  you only want to
          select some records matching  a certain criteria, you  will need to
          fill in the textfields in the search window:

          The broadcaster name  may begin  and end  with an  asterisk, inter-
          preted as zero-to-n character wildcards. Asterisks in the middle of
          the word are interpreted as such. The  broadcaster name is compared
          case insensitive to the one in the record, so case is not an issue.





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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 49




          The frequency may be used in different ways as criteria.

            If the selected button  in the button  line below the  fields for
            the frequency is "=f1",  only records matching exactly   the fre-
            quency labeled "Freq. 1" are  selected. This will   not be useful
            very often.

            You rather will use the  selection  ">f1" which  selects all rec-
            ords with a frequency higher than the one in the "Freq. 1" field.

            For all with frequency lower than the one in  this field, use the
            "<f1" option.  If a  frequency  is entered  in  the Field  called
            "Freq. 2", it will be ignored.

            The frequency entered in the field "Freq. 2" will  be used if you
            select the fourth  option for frequency  interpretation, "f1>f2".
            This mode selects  all records whose  frequency is  between these
            two values. Be sure to define  "Freq. 2" and to  define it larger
            than "Freq. 1".

          Searching for records corresponding to a given time is done differ-
          ent depending on if you are searching a database or in a logbook:

            For databases, define one  time: the start time  only. The search
            algorithm will select all  records whose start time  falls before
            the given time and whose end time falls after it.

            For logbooks, you need to specify the start and the end time, the
            WaveGazer will select all logs logged in between these two times.

          If you use the  language or the country  as a search  criteria, you
          must supply the exact string (except for case)  in the  correspond-
          ing fields. If  no field  is filled in,  all records   will  be se-
          lected, as the search criteria is null.

          The "Relay" field is not used...

          Pressing the "Reset" button will erase all fields.

          Pressing the "Search" button initiates searching  through the data-
          base.


       18.3 Keystrokes


          f:               Selects frequency search mode

          i:               Starts textfield input in broadcaster field

          k:               Selects the sort key

          r:               Reset





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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 50




          s:               Search

























































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 51




       19. Adding / Editing A Record


       19.1 Concepts


          This window is fill-in-form to define a record. It  is also used to
          edit an existing record. The "add" functionality is called from ei-
          ther a menu option or  the database window, while  the "edit" func-
          tion is called only from  the database window. The  fields you need
          to fill in are:

            The broadcasters name

            The start and end time for database entries or  just one time for
            logbook entries

            The language

            The country code (ITU)

            The SINPO code in case of a logbook entry

            The date in case of a logbook entry

            All storable receiver settings

            Optional fields comprise:

            The relay / transmitter site

            A comment


       19.2 Operation


          Pressing the button labeled "From RX" tells  the WaveGazer to fetch
          the current receiver settings and update the display with it:

            Time

            Date (if logbook; from PC)

            Frequency

            All receiver settings

          The button called "Reset" erases all fields for new fill in.

          There is a small  toggle button called "Cnv  Brc" at the  bottom of
          the window. You may see that  when you add a record,  the format of
          the fields change when  you hit the  "add" button. This  is because
          some internal format checking and conversion is done, to check if a




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 52




          value is out of range and to provide a more or less uniform look of
          the records, once added.  If the toggle mentioned  above is active,
          the broadcaster's name will be converted, capitalized.

          This is normally adequate, e.g. if you  write 'swiSS radio INTerna-
          tional' this will be converted to  'Swiss Radio International'. But
          if you are lazy, and SRI is enough for you, 'SRI' will be converted
          to 'Sri', which is as badly readable as 'Bbc'. In these and similar
          cases, be sure the toggle is deactivated before adding the record.

          To finally add the  record to the  database, hit the  "add" button.
          (who guessed?).

          Be careful:  Hitting the "add"  button more than  once on  the same
                       entry will  result  in multiple  entries  of the  same
                       type. No checking is performed on that!


       19.3 Editing A Record


          Similar thoughts if you edit  a record: Editing a  record opens the
          "Add A Record" window  with already filled in  fields. These fields
          may be modified (or not), and the modified entry will be added, af-
          ter the original entry has been r moved from the database.
                                           e

          So this "add" did not actually add the record but exchanged one for
          another. If now you hit "add" again, the record  in the window will
          be added again, but no record will be removed anymore. In this case
          you added one more record, probably one that already existed.

          If you want to edit a record (exchange one for another) you explic-
          itly need to call the "Add A Record" window through the edit button
          in the database window, otherwise the new record  will be added but
          no record will be deleted.


       19.4 Keystrokes


          <ALT>-a:         Toggles the toggle for the -20dB attenuator

          <ALT>-g:         Cycles AGC buttons

          <ALT>-f:         Cycles filter buttons

          <ALT>-i:         Starts input in topmost field

          <ALT>-m:         Cycles mode buttons

          <ALT>-r:         Fetches all possible receiver data to fill in form
                           (same as "fromRX" button)

          <DELETE>:        Reset




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 53




          <INSERT>:        Add the record

























































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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 54




       20. Customization


       20.1 Customization Of The WaveGazer


          There is no explicit  feature to customize the  application itself.
          But every user preference  you set, e.g.. receiver  preheating time
          in "Recording" window, will be  saved to be re-applied  on the next
          invocation of the feature.

          If you quit the WaveGazer  with some windows left  open, these win-
          dows will be closed before exiting and re-opened  the next time you
          start up the WaveGazer.

          All possible  customization (and  also the  colors) are  kept in  a
          large structure, which will  be written to disk  (in file "WG.CNF")
          at program exit and read at program startup.

          The menu  options "Customize  -> Save  Settings" and  "Customize ->
          Write Settings" may be used explicitly read or write this file.


       20.2 Customization Of The Printer


          You may customize the  printer by means  of the dialogbox  shown if
          you select "Customize -> Printer" menu.

          There are four fields labeled

          "Init":         The string sent  to the printer  at startup  of the
                          WaveGazer. You may  use this feature  to initialize
                          the printer to a  certain mode to be  used while in
                          the WaveGazer. Normally, you may wish to leave this
                          field blank.

          "Condensed":    String to send  to the  printer to  put it  in con-
                          densed mode. Condensed mode means  that the printer
                          should be able to print 132 characters / line.

          "Normal":       String to  send  to the  printer  to select  normal
                          printing, 80 characters / line.

          "Reset":        String sent  to  the printer  upon  closing of  the
                          WaveGazer. Use  this to  eventually reset  settings
                          initialized by the 'Init' string.

          You need to respect a defined syntax when  filling in these fields:
          All printers  use  unprintable  characters  as  control  sequences,
          called escape sequences. If you need to send  a escape character to
          the printer, fill  in the  field the sequence  "*E", which  will be
          translated to the  "Escape" character, decimal  27, octal  033, hex
          1B.




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          Often, you will need  enable condensed mode  with the code  15 hex.
          This is a  non-printable character  as well,  a <Ctrl-P>.  You will
          need to enter  this code as  a "^P", as  UNIX users may  know it...
          <Ctrl-A> corresponds to 00H,  <Ctrl-B> to 01H, <Ctrl-C>  to 03H and
          so on.

          These codes, you only need  to store them once,  for all subsequent
          invocations of  the WaveGazer,  they  will be  read  from the  file
          WG.CNF, where they are saved.

          To test the codes you typed in, hit the "test" button, your printer
          prints out some test which shows if the  codes are understood prop-
          erly!

          The toggle button on top of the window is to select if the printout
          will be page oriented, or shaped rather for  endless paper. If set,
          a page-header will  be printed  on every page,  if not,  the header
          will be  printed only  once, on  top of  the first  page. The  page
          length for  page oriented  printout can  be set  in the  respective
          field in this same window.  (This page length does  not include the
          height of the header, which is 4 lines!)


       20.3 Customization Of The Colors


          The menu option "Customize -> Colors" will pop up a dialog box with
          several colors  to choose  from. (Change  them by  clicking in  the
          color fields directly)

          All color selection boxes define two colors at once:

          "Backgr/Text":  These are the colors  of the window  background and
                          the text written on it

          "Frames":       The two colors used  for drawing the  frames around
                          the windows. If  both colors are  the same,  no 3-d
                          effect will be visible...

          "Buttons":      These colors apply  to the push-buttons,  the knobs
                          on the  scrollbars and  the VFO  button in  the re-
                          ceiver control window. Buttons  with 3-d appearance
                          always use the same  color (darkgray) as  the lower
                          shadow color and the text always will be written in
                          black.

          "I/O Fields":   The colors used for the background  and the text in
                          the textfields

          "Toggles":      The color of the outline (the  first color) and the
                          one of the 'light' in it

          "Menus":        Colors of the menus, same rules as for push buttons
                          apply




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          "Textlines":    The background and text  color of the  textlines in
                          e.g. the file selection  box or the data  base win-
                          dow. Also  used in  the main  window of  the memory
                          editor

          "Graphs":       Colors used to draw the scan graphs

          Changed colors are only read on construction of a widget, so exist-
          ing widgets do not change colors!

















































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       21. Release Notes

          Thanks to some user input, I was able to correct the following bugs
          up to now:


       In Release Beta.1:


          Release Beta.0 had problems on fast machines. To be honest, it only
          ran on rather slow machines. The problem  was a communication time-
          out that was too short for faster machines, since I implemented the
          time-out in a simple loop. Now, the "Control" menu has one more op-
          tion, called  "Calibrate". You  need to  calibrate  your sample  of
          Yakta just after  the first  time you started  it up.  The time-out
          value will be stored  in the file "YAKTA.CNF"  so you need  to this
          only once. This communication problem showed up in different ways:

            The Memory Editor and the Memory  Viewer showed channels contain-
            ing 8888.888 kHz even when the channel was either vacant or occu-
            pied.

            The Bandscan feature worked badly or not at all. Startup reported
            'receiver not responding', although it was on.

            Sometimes, the receiver went in test mode, with all LED's lit on.

          When Yakta established a connection to the receiver, it used to set
          the variable bandwidth to 2000 Hz. This is no more the case.


       In Release Beta.2:


          The recording feature was so  far unusable, in this  release, I re-
          viewed the whole stuff and I think this should be better now.


       In Release Beta.2.1 (never distributed):


          The Bandscan feature allows you to monitor  a single frequency over
          time. A bug where  it did not  stop at the  end of the  display has
          been corrected


       In Release Beta.3:


          The timer sometimes displayed strange times (30:08 UTC, e.g.). This
          was due to bad  programming in the  timer module. This  release now
          records how many hours (minutes)  the receiver is ahead  of UTC and
          how many hours (minutes) the PC is ahead of UTC. This was needed by
          the new implementation of the timer.




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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 58




          There is one new menu option: "Control -> Get  Time Diff." This al-
          lows you to verify,  how many minutes  the PC's and  the receiver's
          clock differ from UTC. (at least by definition, these are user sup-
          plied values.)

          The time differences UTC  - localtime for  the PC and  the receiver
          may be supplied at  program startup if  they are different  from 0.
          Take the case where your PC is set to localtime and the receiver to
          UTC          (that's           what           I           suggest).
          You live in the USA, 4 hours west of UTC, start Yakta with the line

            yakta 1 prn 4 0

          which means "use serial port 1,  printer prn, assume PC  is 4 hours
          ahead (west) of UTC, and receiver's clock is on UTC."

          After startup, a popupbox is eventually displayed, telling that the
          times of PC and receiver differ. You now may synchronize either the
          receiver to the PC or the PC to the receiver's clock. Once in sync,
          the popupbox won't be  displayed anymore on further  invocations of
          the program.

          Some more examples of startup:

          Switzerland, one hour east of  UTC, PC locatltime, RX  UTC (in win-
          ter):

            C:\>yakta 1 lpt1 -1 0    and

            C:\>yakta 1 lpt1 -2 0

          during daylight saving time (summertime).

          Somewhere in Russia, 4 hours east, PC and RX to localtime:

            C:\>yakta 1 lpt1 -4 -4

          Users using a serial port other than com1 always needed to type

            C:\>yakta 2 [printer]

          With this  release,  all  command  line  arguments  are  stored  in
          "YAKTA.CNF", so you need to supply them only once! Eventual changes
          may be made by supplying them again.


       In Release Beta.4:


          The window manager handled some overlapping  of windows wrong, e.g.
          the "Receiver Control" window  and the "Recording" window.  If then
          you deleted the partially hidden window, a lot of "runtime error ==
          1: mouse2:enabl(#)" covered the  screen. I do not  claim that there





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       User's Guide               The WaveGazer v1.2                 Page 59




          will be no more  such errors, but I  did not see  any of them  in a
          later release!

          I found a name for the  product: "The WaveGazer". I  will call this
          software still Yakta while  in test phase, but  the day it  will be
          'adult' it will be the WaveGazer  (...sounds much more professional
          ;-) The background already looks like it will, because I'm so proud
          on the logo!

          This release also exists for Hercules graphic adapter!


       In Release Beta.5.* (never distributed):


          I tried to implement two big improvements to the software, namely a
          database cache and what  I call the 'tracking  mode". The "tracking
          mode" allows the user to tune the receiver  manually while the com-
          puter tries to find a record in the database  which matches the re-
          ceiver's frequency. This  was quite a  tough thing to  realize, and
          took me over all Beta.5.* versions (about 4565) to create something
          that works more or less.

          The "Database" window got a status line,  which displays the actual
          status of the database cache.

          The introduction of the database cache resolved a old problem where
          upon hitting "Search" in the "Search" window,  not all desired rec-
          ords were displayed, unless the user hit  "Reset" button first. Was
          not very handy, indeed...

          Lots of small bugs were also corrected, bugs  I don't remember any-
          more, but  they existed  and they  certainly still  have some  col-
          leagues in Yakta somewhere!


       In Release Beta.6:


          Printing of databases  is finally  possible! Although  possible al-
          ready in earlier  versions, it is  now really working  and somewhat
          configurable! A popupbox  has been added,  asking the user  for the
          desired format of the lists, simple (as before) or complete.

          Printers are  configurable, a  dialogbox for  printer customization
          has been added.

          Startup has some bugs removed, especially  concerning users not us-
          ing standard ports (com1 and lpt1)

          Error messages have been added to advert the user in case he forgot
          to specify the environment variables "YAKFIL" and "YAKSWP".






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          Unimplemented menu option "QSL"  has been removed and  has been re-
          placed with an  option "About..."  which is to  pop up  two dialog-
          boxes telling some information (junk...)

          There is a documentation which  is up-to-date and which  has an in-
          dex. Hooray!


       In v1.0 of WaveGazer:


          Changed the name from Yakta to WaveGazer.

          Changed the name of files and environment  variables to reflect the
          new name: "YAKTA.CNF"  got "WG.CNF", "YAKTA.REC"  got "RECORD.DAT",
          "YAKFIL" is now "WG_FIL" and "YAKSWP" is "WG_SWP".

          Fixed a  bug  where  the  WaveGazer  will hang  if  you  close  the
          "Bandscan" window while a sweep is running.

          Documentation has  been  reviewed. (Still  not  error  free, but  I
          rather speak German and French than English...)


       In v1.0A of WaveGazer:


          Fixed an ugly memory leak  in the file selection  box, which caused
          the WaveGazer to hang quite often.


       In v1.2 of WaveGazer


          It is now  possible to have  a database and  a logbook open  at the
          same time. This is necessary, if you browse a database and you wish
          to add entries to your logbook. Before, you needed to close the da-
          tabase, open the logbook, add the entry, close  the logbook and fi-
          nally re-open the database. Definitely too complicated...

          Menu options  "Database->Delete"  and  "Logbook->Delete" have  been
          added, so you may delete databases and  logbooks without exiting to
          good old DOS!

          Auto-calibration feature  added. At  first  startup, the  WaveGazer
          calibrates the communication time-out itself.

          The format of the config file has been changed one more time.










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       22. Problems

          In the "Bandscan" feature, if you select the fastest possible scan,
          the values read back  may be wrong, e.g.  always the same.  If this
          occurs, you need to slow down  the scan by means  of the scrollbars
          for number of samples taken or (better) the one  for the AGC settle
          time.

          If in "tracking mode", you should  not use the keys  to control the
          receiver from  the  keyboard  frequently  (at  keyboard  repetition
          rate): This may (and will) hang the program. It seems to me a prob-
          lem with interrupts in the communic tion PC - receiver.
                                             a

          The tracking may show some problems, but none  of these crashed the
          application or even the PC. (lately, I did no more experience these
          problems, so maybe they are fixed?)

          There is (and always will be) a problem  with passband settings and
          those for the variable  bandwidth: Every time you  attach or detach
          the receiver, or if tracking mode is entered or left, both settings
          change to default values. This is annoying, but working around this
          problem would mean introducing other unwanted phenomena...

          If you install this version  of the WaveGazer in  a directory where
          you already had a  previous version of  this software, you  need to
          remove the file called "YAKTA.CNF", the  configuration file. If you
          fail to remove it, Yakta  will probably refuse to  start or display
          the menus and other stuff in  black. This is because  the format of
          the config file  has changed and  consequently cannot be  read cor-
          rectly.




























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