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PROFESSIONAL TIMESET VERSION 5.20 MANUAL October 2, 1989 VERSION 5.20 of TIMESET.EXE Naval Observatory Time and Date Setting for Computers by Peter L. Petrakis, Ph.D., M.P.H. Life Sciences Editorial Services 1236 River Bay Road Annapolis, Maryland 21401 (301) 261-1370 CIS 76555,1175 Scientific and Technical Editorial Services, Computer Programming Serving Government and the Private Sector Since 1975 SHAREWARE AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE PROFESSIONAL TIMESET Version 5.20 is copyrighted by its author, Peter L. Petrakis, also known as Life Sciences Editorial Services of Annapolis, Maryland, who also owns the copyright to all previous versions of this program. Unlike previous versions of TIMESET, Version 5.20 is a shareware program, which means it's not free. You are requested to pay a registration fee for continued use of the program after a reasonable trial period. PLEASE READ THE REGISTRATION INFORMATION NEAR THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT. IF YOU FIND TIMESET VERSION 5.20 USEFUL AND CONTINUE USING IT, PLEASE BECOME A REGISTERED USER BY FILLING OUT THE REGISTRATION FORM AND SENDING IT ALONG WITH A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO: Pete Petrakis Life Sciences Editorial Services 1236 River Bay Road Annapolis, Maryland 21401 THE REGISTRATION FEE IS $35 FOR INDIVIDUALS AND $75 FOR INSTITUTIONS. LICENSING ARRANGEMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR USE OF COPIES ON MORE THAN COMPUTER WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION. CONTENTS OF THIS DOWNLOAD PACKAGE The download package TIMSET51.ARC (or .ZIP, or .LZH, or what have you) (TSET51.EXE on Compuserve) should contain the following files: TIMSET52.DOC What you are reading now. TIMESET.EXE The main program, TIMESET Ver. 5.20. CONFIGTS.EXE Version 2.20 of program for configuring TIMESET Version 5.20 (does not work with previous versions. CLKDRV.SYS A clock driver by Tom Strickland for automatically passing time and date between the DOS clock/calendar and most real-time clocks except the AT CMOS. It goes in your CONFIG.SYS file as a device if your RT clock is not an AT CMOS clock or clone. REALTIME.COM Strickland's program for reading time and date from a non-CMOS real-time clock while in DOS. DOSTIME.COM Strickland's program for reading the DOS clock/calendar without having to use the TIME and DATE commands. Displays time and date together without prompting you for changes. RTCLOCK.COM Strickland's program for transferring time and date between DOS and a non-CMOS real-time clock, in either direction. If you upload TIMESET, please be sure all these files are included. Peter L. Petrakis Annapolis, Maryland October 2, 1989 (301) 261-1370 INTRODUCTION All versions of TIMESET dial the Naval Observatory's digital time service in Washington, D.C. for highly accurate time and date information to set the calling computer's clock. However, versions beginning with 5.0, the first of a series called Professional TIMESET, have features found in no previous version. The new features include (1) ability to measure line delays and correct for them before setting the time; (2) ability to generate pulses in real time to control or drive external devices; (3) significant improvements in the program's communication module; (4) incorporation of many new assembly modules to improve accuracy and performance; (5) significant reduction in size (nearly 50 percent, from 124k in Version 4.2 to about 63k); (6) extraneous character filtration to help ensure reliable operation under noisy line conditions; and (7) a host of new command line options. There were two goals in the design of Professional TIMESET: (1) make the program much smaller than previous versions, and (2) add several new features that would be useful to technical and scientific professionals. These are somewhat conflicting goals and the only way to achieve them both was to eliminate something else. Users of previous versions of TIMESET will therefore notice the absence of some features, namely: the analog clock display option, ability to reconfigure the program for daylight or standard time while the program is running, manual time and date adjustment, help screens, an external configuration file, and ability to shell to DOS. These features of earlier versions, though perhaps desirable, are not essential and were eliminated in favor of new features deemed more useful. Of course, if you want those features, you can stick with Version 4.20; Version 5.20 is not intended as a replacement for that version but rather as an alternative. (It's vastly better, though.) Version 5.20, like every version since 4.0, contains the real-time (RT) clock software designed by Tom Strickland of Alexandria, Virginia, allowing it to set the majority of battery-powered RT clocks in use. In addition, it still sets the AT-CMOS clock directly (if the AT-CMOS can't update itself automatically when the DOS clock is changed), and, as always, the DOS clock/calendar. Finally, Microsoft's troublesome BASIC communication module, the source of many problems in previous versions of TIMESET, has been replaced with a superior product (QB/PRO6) made by Microhelp, Inc. of Roswell, Georgia. The companion program CONFIGTS.EXE, used to configure Professional TIMESET, has also been completely rewritten to reduce its size and increase its ease of use. For example, a command line option can be used when loading it so it can reconfigure Professional TIMESET to daylight or standard time automatically, without prompting for input. This provides some compensation for the elimination of the feature that allowed reconfiguration for season changes in earlier versions of TIMESET while the program was running. The new CONFIGTS also allows you change your mind about a particular configuration item without having to start the whole configuration process over again. You can scroll forward or backward through the option screens to make any changes you want. Your configuration data are written directly into TIMESET, so there is no need for a separate file to hold that information. CONFIGURATION The First Requirement To configure TIMESET version 5.20, both TIMESET.EXE and version 2.20 of CONFIGTS.EXE must be on the same drive and directory, and you must switch to that drive and directory to run CONFIGTS. Please be sure that the version of TIMESET in the drive and directory is 5.20 and not an earlier version. Likewise, be sure that the CONFIGTS program is version 2.20. Protection Against Tampering People who download programs from computer bulletin boards are entitled to to assume that they have not been tampered with. Downloaders are protected by self-checking features in both TIMESET version 5.20 and CONFIGTS version 2.20. Both programs check their own disk file and screen texts when loaded. No changes of any kind are allowed in either program, neither program will run if an unauthorized change is detected, and both will sound an alarm and notify you that an illegal modification has occurred. If this occurs, please notify Pete Petrakis at the address shown at the top of this document, Modem Requirements First, Professional TIMESET requires a Hayes or compatible modem. The quality of your modem may be an important consideration for successful use of this program. Second, the modem must be set to always follow the DTR signal and to hang up when it is lost. On some modems this is accomplished by means of a switch. On other modems it's done by writing a command to the modem's memory. If you don't know how to make this setting, consult your modem manual. Third, if you plan to have Professional TIMESET measure and adjust for line delay, it is essential that your modem be able to do a test called "remote digital loopback." Furthermore, it must accept the following commands for remote digital loopback testing: &T6 (start the test) and &T0 (stop the test). It also must have a register for setting the duration of the test (register S18 in the Hayes Smartmodem 2400 and probably in all comparable modems). If your modem can't do this test, no harm will result from your trying it. The program will simply "sit there," and you'll have to press a key to redial in the normal way. Line delay testing is discussed in detail later. Fourth, although Professional TIMESET can use serial ports 1 to 4 (COM1- COM4), there can be problems with COM3 and COM4 if a serial port mouse is present. If the mouse is attached to COM1, then you can't configure TIMESET to use COM3. If the mouse is attached to COM2, you can't configure the program to use COM4. This is a property of the PC, which has only two IRQ (interrupt request) lines for serial ports -- COM1 and COM3 share one of them, and COM2 and COM4 share the other. Thus, if you have four serial ports, and a mouse is attached to COM1, you can only configure TIMESET to use COM2 or COM4. If you have four serial ports, and the mouse is attached to COM2, you can only configure TIMESET to use COM1 or COM3. Modem Compatibility Issues It is impossible for a freelance programmer to test a program with the great variety of computers and modems that exist. "Hayes compatibility," for example, usually means only that a modem uses the same the same command set as the Hayes. Whether a modem actually performs like a Hayes modem is another matter. I'm not saying that Hayes makes the best modems, only that TIMESET was developed with a Hayes modem and that I know the program works with that brand. It may not work with some other brands, even if they are "Hayes compatible." Regarding signal lag measurement by the remote digital loopback test, at this point it is only known with certainty that the program can do the loopback test with the Hayes 2400 Smartmodem and the Anchor 2400e modem. It might not work with some other brands even if they can use the &T commands. Only user reports can allow problematic modems to be identified so corrective steps can be taken. Such reports are most welcome. They are an essential aspect of the shareware concept, so please stay in touch! Configuring Professional TIMESET All configuration settings are written directly into the program by the configuration program CONFIGTS.EXE Version 2.20, which is part of this package. This version of CONFIGTS is expressly for Professional TIMESET version 5.20; it will not work with previous versions of TIMESET. At the time of configuration, both Professional TIMESET version 5.20 and CONFIGTS version 2.20 must be in the disk directory you are using. If you obtain a fresh copy of Professional TIMESET, it will not be configured at all and it will not run if you try to run it. You will first need to run the new CONFIGTS program, which is almost self-explanatory. You can scroll through configuration steps by means of arrow keys and the Home and End keys. Each screen deals with a separate configuration item, and each screen contains information about your choices. Most choices are made by consulting a menu on the screen and selecting a function key, but a couple of them require you to type in some information. The screen for selecting your communication port even tells you which ports are installed on your system. And if COM3 and COM4 are present and a mouse is using COM1 or COM2, CONFIGTS will tell you which ports share the mouse's IRQ line and can't be used for the modem. Version 2.20 of the CONFIGTS program for Professional TIMESET has been characterized by one beta tester as "a model configuration program that's extremely easy to use, and almost as clever as the main program." Unlike previous versions of CONFIGTS, this one allows random access to any particular configuration item that you want to change. This feature lets you change your mind about a previous configuration item without requiring you to go all the way back to the beginning to start over. You can use arrow keys to scroll to any screen and make a change. When you are through configuring, you can save the data to TIMESET by pressing the END key, then the RETURN key. There is one situation where you can run CONFIGTS without answering any prompts. When it's time to switch between standard time and daylight saving time, all you need to do is run CONFIGTS with /T on the command line. The program will automatically switch whatever time season configuration it finds in Professional TIMESET to its opposite. Although there is plenty of information to help you in the screens of CONFIGTS version 2.20, a few items need elaboration here. Selecting the Clock Type One of the screens asks you about the type of clock or clocks your computer has. Four choices are listed: F1 DOS clock/calendar F2 AT CMOS clock F3 Other RT clock F4 Strickland driver When to choose F1: (1) When your computer has no other kind of clock but the DOS clock/calendar, or (2) when your computer has a battery (RT) clock system that automatically detects and copies changes made in the DOS clock/calendar, or (3) when you have some other kind of real-time clock that comes with memory-resident software to pass time changes back and forth automatically between the RT clock and the DOS clock. An example of the last situation is the AST Six-Pack board with AST's ASTCLOCK.COM program. With ASTCLOCK.COM made memory-resident (by running ASTCLOCK /R), all you need to do is tell TIMESET to set the DOS clock/calendar (i.e., choose F1 here) and memory-resident ASTCLOCK will take care of the transfer from DOS to the RT clock automatically. The same would apply to any memory- resident software for this purpose that came with your real-time clock. When to choose F2: When you have an AT CMOS clock system that does not automatically detect and copy changes made in the DOS clock/calendar, but instead always requires you to run a separate program to make the transfer. TIMESET knows how to "talk" to these AT CMOS clocks directly. When to choose F3: When you have a real-time clock that is NOT an AT CMOS clock and have no memory-resident software for automatic transfer of time back and forth between the RT clock and the DOS clock. There are many brands of such clocks, and TIMESET knows how to talk to most of them, thanks to assembly coding by Tom Strickland. There are some points to keep in mind, however, and they are IMPORTANT: First, although TIMESET can work with most (perhaps 95 percent) of such RT clock brands, there are some brands that simply do things differently, and neither TIMESET nor Strickland's accompanying RT clock programs can work with them. Second, if you install Strickland's CLKDRV.SYS in your system's CONFIG.SYS file, do not -- repeat, DO NOT -- choose F3. You don't need it, because the function of CLOCKDRV.SYS is automatic movement of time and date changes between the DOS clock/calendar and the RT clock, a process that needs no help from TIMESET. Instead, choose F4. Third, if you want TIMESET to set your RT clock, you will have to put aside the software that came with your clock and always use Strickland's RT clock-setting and -reading programs instead. This is because every manufacturer of such clocks writes different software for them. Tom Strickland's software and TIMESET talk to them all in the same way, which is why TIMESET can work with the majority of such clocks. When to choose F4: When you have one of the "other" (i.e., non-AT CMOS) clocks, no memory-resident software that comes with your clock to allow automatic transfer of time back and forth between that clock and the DOS clock, and have installed Strickland's CLKDRV.SYS as a device in your system's CONFIG.SYS file (i.e., a line saying, DEVICE = CLKDRV.SYS). If your RT clock came with memory-resident software for movement of time data between the RT clock and the DOS clock, do NOT install Strickland's CLKDRV.SYS and do not use any of the other Strickland software. You don't need it, because your own memory-resident software takes care of everything. User's Modem Configurations Professional TIMESET has a number of essential modem commands built in. However, since modems differ, it is impossible to anticipate all situations. For this reason, it is necessary for the user to provide some additional modem commands. You will definitely need to add an Xn code. This is a code that tells the modem what "verbose" result codes it should return. If your modem can return the word "BUSY," enter an Xn code that makes that happen (typically, it's part of the result set that X4 produces). TIMESET watches for the word BUSY and knows what to do if it sees it. Some modems, usually older or cheaper ones, do not return the word BUSY. In that case, choose X1, which should return the words "NO CARRIER" after an interval determined by the setting of modem register S7. Thus, if you have to use X1, you will also have to add a setting for S7 that will cause the words "NO CARRIER" to be sent by the modem after 4 or 5 busy tones. TIMESET also watches for those words, and if they are returned during dialing, the program assumes that the line is busy and prints the word "BUSY" on the screen. If you have that kind of modem, try putting this in as a user's modem setting: X1 S7=12 If experience shows that this setting for S7 is too short to give you time to make a connection, reconfigure with a longer setting for S7. The trick here is to pick a setting for S7 that is not so short that you don't even get a chance to detect a carrier, yet not so long that you have to listen endlessly to busy signals if the line is busy. (The best solution is to get rid of a modem that is that obsolete; decent modems are not so expensive anymore.) If your modem can do remote digital loopback testing (needed for line delay measurement), you will also need to add a setting for modem register S18. This is the register that controls the duration of the loopback test in modems that can perform it. If your modem can do this test, check your modem manual to be sure S18 is your test timing register (it probably is), then add this to the user's modem setting: S18=0 Setting S18 to 0 disables the modem's timing of the loopback test, so TIMESET can control its duration. Here is the user's modem setting I always use with my Hayes Smartmodem 2400: L1 X4 S18=0 &C1 &D2 There's nothing fancy here. L1 sets the modem volume low (purely optional). X4 lets TIMESET see the word "BUSY." S18=0 turns off the modem's test timer so TIMESET can control the duration of the remote digital loopback test. &C1 tells the modem to wait for a carrier. &D2 tells the modem to follow DTR. &C1 and &D2 could be eliminated here by using a standard communications program to write them into the modem's nonvolatile memory with the &W command, i.e., AT &C1 &D2 &W. (The same permanency can be attained with switches on modems that don't have a nonvolatile memory; consult your modem manual.) For reference, here are the modem words Professional TIMESET recognizes: BUSY, CONNECT, NO CARRIER, NO DIALTONE. If you have an Xn setting that can produce them all, use it. If you aren't worried about the absence of a dialtone, use an Xn setting that produces BUSY, CONNECT, and NO CARRIER. At a minimum, you must have an Xn setting that can produce "CONNECT" and "NO CARRIER" (typically X1, requiring you to tinker with the S7 setting as discussed above). A final note: TIMESET always supplies the attention code (AT), so you won't need it here. In fact, version 2.20 of CONFIGTS will ignore it if you type it in. It will also ignore the &T commands, since TIMESET also supplies them when you ask for a line delay test. Phone Numbers All previous versions of TIMESET had the Naval Observatory's phone number built in. The user had to supply other numbers -- prefixes and suffixes, special codes, etc. -- and the program then had to put all the information together in the right way. Experience showed that it is impossible to anticipate all the variations in dialing procedures that exist. Accordingly, Professional TIMESET and version 2.20 of CONFIGTS do not even try to anticipate the possibilities. Instead, the user enters all phone numbers including the Naval Observatory's, all access numbers, all special codes, all necessary pauses -- everything. It's up to you to decide what is needed and what order it should have. Essentially, all you need to do is imagine what you would do if you were dialing manually, then type in the same pattern, using commas to indicate any required pauses. The screen for phone numbers in CONFIGTS tells you the Naval Observatory phone number and shows some examples of how you might put it together with other numbers. An additional advantage of letting the user enter all phone numbers is convenience for users of the Federal Telephone System. (Incidentally, if you put my phone number into Professional TIMESET -- as people have all too often done when they had a dialing problem with earlier versions -- the program will not run at all. Sorry, but even programmers need sleep. It's a mystery why some people pay no attention to the statement in the manuals and program screens of previous versions that I am not the Naval Observatory and that time signals are not available at my phone number. Well, maybe not. Maybe some people just refuse to read.) Do not precede your phone dialing string with "AT", "ATDT", etc. TIMESET supplies that information. Just enter the numbers, using commas if necessary to indicate pauses. Other Configurations Time zone: Eight times zones in the western hemisphere are named (F1-F8), but any time zone in the world can be configured by using the hours offset from Greenwich under standard time (F10). You can also set your computer to universal time if you want (F9). If you opt for the hours offset method (F10), you will be prompted for the offset. CONFIGTS will show you how to write it. Season: Daylight (F1) or standard (F2) time for the time zone chosen on the previous box, unless you chose universal time. Daylight and standard do not apply to universal time, because it does not change with the seasons. Version 2.20 of CONFIGTS also provides a convenient method for switching between daylight and standard time whenever the season changes. Simply type CONFIGTS /T in DOS (with CONFIGTS version 2.20 and Professional TIMESET in the same directory) and the time season configuration will be changed to its opposite. The change is made automatically; there is no need for you to load CONFIGTS in the standard way, scroll to the Time Season screen, and press a function key to make the change (although you may do it that way too, if you wish). Port: Press F1-F4 to choose among communication ports 1-4. When you get to this choice in CONFIGTS, a display will tell you what serial ports are installed in your system. There are factors that limit the choice of COM3 or COM4, however. COM1 and COM3 can't be used at the same time, and COM2 and COM4 can't be used at the same time. Thus, if you have a serial mouse attached to COM1, you may configure TIMESET to use a modem attached to either COM2 or COM4, but you can't have a modem (or any other device) on COM3. And if you have a mouse on COM2, you may configure TIMESET to use a modem attached to either COM1 or COM3, but not to COM4. The technical reason for this is that a PC does not have enough IRQ (interrupt request) lines to support four COM ports simultaneously and independently. COM1 and COM3 have to share one line and COM2 and COM4 have to share another, and you can't have two devices using the same IRQ line. This is a limitation of the PC, not of TIMESET. (If your system has more serial ports than COM1 and COM2, and if CONFIGTS detects the presence of a serial port mouse, it will tell you which serial ports cannot be selected for TIMESET in your system.) Set clock: There are two ways to set the time with TIMESET: (a) as soon as the first clean data string is received (F1) and (b) after a countdown to zero seconds (F2). AT&T and Olivetti computers require a countdown to zero seconds; for other computers it's optional. Either F1 or F2 will be accepted during configuration, but TIMESET checks the computer's ROM to see if it's an Olivetti or AT&T. If it is, the program will choose the countdown method no matter what you chose during configuration. It can't be any other way; if TIMESET immediately set the time on one of these computers, their bad habit of dropping seconds to zero whenever you change the DOS clock/calendar could cause the time to be off by as much as 59 seconds. With Professional TIMESET, countdowns take place offline with all computers. Dial method: Tone (F1), pulse (F2), or auto (F3). Choose which method you want and what your modem allows. (The auto feature is for some of the newer modems that can use the ATD command instead of ATDT or ATDP.) Note that at no point in configuration do you need to type in ATDT, ATDP, or ATD; CONFIGTS and TIMESET supply the command for you, based on your selection here. Baud rate: The Naval Observatory's time signals are at 1200 baud (7 data bits, 1 stop bit, even parity). However, Professional TIMESET can also be configured to dial at at any of the following baud rates with automatic fallback to 1200 baud after connection is made: 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, and 38400. The fastest handshaking occurs with 1200 baud dialing, and if that speed is used, connection time is not likely to exceed 2 seconds if the lines are clean. Beginning with Version 5.1, it is also possible to "lock" the program at the initial dialing rate (up to 38,400 baud) for modems that maintain a constant baud rate between themselves and the serial port even though the drop the phone line baud rate to match that of the remote modem. This setting is handled in CONFIGTS on the selection screen that immediately follows the baud rate selection. Interaction: There are two ways to run TIMESET-- interactively, with pauses for input from you (F1) or automatically (F2), with the program skipping the opening screen and all menus, going directly to dialing, then jumping right back out to DOS when the time and date have been received. You would choose F2 if, for example, you wanted to have TIMESET in an AUTOEXEC.BAT file as part of your boot-up procedure. In the automatic mode, TIMESET will redial up to 10 times if the line is busy; in nonautomatic mode, you have to press keys to dial and redial. Monitor: Professional TIMESET can be configured for either a CGA color monitor (F1) or a monochrome monitor (F2). Describing the configuration routine takes a lot more time than actually doing it. In the next section you will find some ways to make TIMESET ignore some of its written-in configurations by putting special instructions on the DOS command line. RUNNING PROFESSIONAL TIMESET Command Line Parameters If you load TIMESET without any command line switches, that is, by just typing TIMESET at the DOS prompt, it will run according to the configuration you gave it with CONFIGTS.EXE. However, several of the configuration settings can be superseded by parameters you can put on the DOS command line when you load TIMESET. Other command line switches have no counterpart in CONFIGTS. /M -- Obtain monochrome display if TIMESET has been configured for color. /A -- Obtain automatic mode if TIMESET has been configured for interactive mode. /LAG -- Preconfigure program for signal lag measurement. This feature is mainly intended for use when TIMESET is configured for automatic dialing. It stays in effect only for one call. /Fnn -- Standard correction for line delay when computer clock is set. nn is a two-digit number representing hundredths of a second. This feature can be used to eliminate the need for line delay measurement when experience shows that the measurement always yields the same value. Thus, if repeated measurements of line delay always yield an average line lag of 0.03 seconds, putting /F03 on the command line makes the correction routinely without the need to stay online for a line delay measurement. Note that there must always be two digits, so precede single- digits with a zero. Don't put in a decimal point. Line delay measurement is disabled when TIMESET version 5.20 is loaded with /Fnn on the command line. The /Fnn switch has no effect with AT&T and Olivetti computers since the smallest unit of time they will accept is a minute. /S -- Skip the opening screen and go directly to the first menu. (Not relevant if TIMESET is configured for automatic mode since the opening screen is skipped anyway.) /C -- Set time after a countdown to zero if TIMESET has been configured for immediate timesetting. /I -- Get immediate timesetting if TIMESET has been configured for countdown to zero (ignored if computer is an AT&T or Olivetti). /Whh:mm:ss -- Program loads in interactive mode, waits until time hh:mm:ss, then dials automatically. The DOS 24-hour clock convention must be used (e.g., 13:00:00, not 01:00:00 PM); there must be two characters each for hours, minutes, and seconds (requiring you to pad with zeroes if necessary, i.e. 09:15:00, not 9:15:00); and all three time units -- hours, minutes, and seconds -- must be included (i.e., "09:15" will not work). Don't leave a space between any of the characters -- run them all together in a solid block as shown. The autodial time will be displayed at the top of the opening menu when the program runs. This switch can be used together with the /A switch for timed dialing followed by automatic exit to DOS. /LPTn -- Designate which parallel port (LPT1 to LPT4) will receive timed pulses from TIMESET. (See special section on pulsing, below.) /P -- Send a synchronizing pulse to the parallel port at the instant time is set in the computer. Intended mainly for operation in automatic mode (i.e., /A on the command line), since the same function can be accomplished in interactive mode by pressing F4 then D to initiate dialing. It will also work with the /WAIT:hh:mm:ss switch. (See special section on pulsing, below.) /N -- Make parallel port pulses narrow (i.e., on the order of microseconds duration). The default pulse width is about 50 msec, controlled by the system timer. The narrow pulses are not regulated; their duration depends entirely on the speed of the computer. (See special section on pulsing, below.) /R -- Append before-after time and date information to a log file on disk. The file is called TS.LOG and is found on the current drive and directory. The purpose is to provide a record so you can analyze the performance of your computer's clock. If you have more than one command line switch, it's advisable to separate them with spaces. Professional TIMESET is totally silent by default. The only sounds available are ticks every second with the running time displays, but the ticks are normally off. To obtain them, press the Delete key. To turn them off, press that key again. Other than the optional ticks, which are helpful for manually synchronizing other clocks, there are no sound effects. TIMESET Preconfigured for Automatic (Noninteractive) Mode If TIMESET is configured by CONFIGTS.EXE for noninteractive or automatic mode, all you have to do is run it and it will start dialing right away, skipping the opening screen and the front menu. If the line is busy it will dial up to 10 times before giving up. When the computer clock is set, it will exit to DOS, leaving a message on the screen telling you what the computer time was and what it was changed to, and what the date was and what it was changed to. However, you can interrupt automatic operation by pressing the backspace key to go "back" to the opening menu, as long as you do it soon enough, preferably before dialing is completed. As soon as you hit the backspace key, you switch into interactive mode for the rest of the session. TIMESET Configured for Interactive Mode If TIMESET is configured for interactive mode, it becomes a menu-driven program and you have to press keys to make things happen. Here is a brief description of what the menu keys do: D -- Dial the Naval Observatory Alt-D -- Dial, measure line delay, and correct for it before setting the time (no correction can be made with AT&T/Olivetti, although the delay is displayed). This function will not work if your modem does not handle the &T6 and &T0 commands. Also, the keys are disabled if you have loaded TIMESET with an /Fnn command line switch, since that switch is intended as a substitute for actual line delay measurement. Q -- Quit TIMESET. S -- Shell to WordPerfect Library. The option is displayed only if the Professional TIMESET was loaded under the WordPerfect Library. (See special section on the WordPerfect Library, below.) Fn -- Function keys F1 to F8 deal with pulse generation and are discussed below in a separate section. DIALING Everything proceeds automatically when you dial the Observatory. Results from the modem (CONNECT, BUSY, NO CARRIER, etc.) are displayed in big letters. If for some reason you change your mind about dialing, you can press backspace to abort the call. Note: A peculiar thing sometimes occurs when dialing the Naval Observatory: a carrier is heard but the familiar swishing sound that indicates handshaking between the two modems does not occur. I don't know the cause, but it might be because another caller has grabbed the Observatory's modem away from you just at the instant you got on. If it occurs, press the spacebar to dial again (you are likely to find that the line is now busy, though, which is why I suspect the cause is competition). SIGNAL DELAY MEASUREMENT As noted, you will not be able to measure and correct for signal delay unless your modem can do remote digital loopback testing using the &T6 and &T0 commands. Furthermore, if your modem can do the test, you will need to put S18=0 in the user's modem commands during configuration (unless your modem uses a different register for setting test duration). Setting the register to 0 allows TIMESET to determine the duration of the test. It would be nice if all modems not designed to do remote digital loopback testing would send the word "ERROR" when such a test is requested. Some such modems will, but others cheerfully respond with "OK." For this reason, I know of no reliable way for Professional TIMESET to test a modem to be sure it can handle the test before telling it to do so. Therefore, if your modem can't do the test, the only thing you can do is avoid asking for it. No harm will result if you ask for it and your modem can't do it. The program will just sit there doing nothing, and you'll have to backspace to the beginning to dial again in the normal way. If your modem can do remote digital loopback testing and you have requested it by pressing Alt-D (or by putting /LAG on the command line), here is what will happen after you have established contact with the Naval Observatory. Codes going to the modem will be displayed, there will be a few seconds pause, then a series of 20 exclamation marks will march across a field in the middle of the screen. Each exclamation mark is the Naval Observatory's echo of the same character that was sent by your modem a moment before. The program times the departure and return of the characters, then calculates the average time for the round trip, and divides it by 2 to get the average time it takes for the Naval Observatory's signal to reach your computer. The program then adds that delay to the time before setting the computer clock. The average delay for me at my location in Annapolis, Maryland, with the Naval Observatory about 60 miles away, is consistently 0.03 second. Several factors are involved in the delay: (1) the time it takes for the computer to process the outgoing data; (2) the time it takes for the serial port to serialize it; (3) the time it takes for the stream of bits to travel over the phone system to the Naval Observatory; (4) the time it takes for the Naval Observatory's modem to process it and echo it; (5) the time it takes for the stream of bits to make the return trip; and (6) the time it takes the system to convert it back to parallel data and display the character on your screen. A 0.03-second average delay is negligible because it's well below the resolution of the system timer (about 0.05 second). Delay can be significant only if you are calling from a great distance -- say from the other side of the planet -- or if you are using a satellite relay. A satellite link can cause up to a quarter-second delay. If you consistently find only an insignificant delay at your locality, you can skip the delay measurement and dial in the normal way or use /Fnn on the command line as a constant correction, as discussed above. Given my proximity to the Naval Observatory, I have not been able to do a direct test of line delay. However, I did a number of experiments with my friend Betsy clear across the country in Seattle. She has call forwarding on her phone service, so I arranged to call her number with Professional TIMESET, and she arranged to forward the call to the Naval Observatory, thus creating a total distance of 5,000-6,000 miles and no doubt lots of telephonic processing along the way to delay things more. The lag was consistently 0.08 second with that setup, so the program definitely can detect distance effects and correct for them. There is one limitation on the correction: It can't be done with an AT&T or Olivetti computer, because those computers will not accept any unit of time smaller than a minute, although they will display time to the tenth of a second. However, Professional TIMESET will determine and display the lag with AT&T/Olivetti, even though those computers can't make use of the information. As noted earlier, the line delay function of Professional TIMESET is known to work reliably with the Hayes 2400 Smartmodem and the Anchor 2400 external modem -- two modems that differ widely in price and probably quality. It is not known at this time which other brands it will work with. Ideally it should work with any Hayes compatible modem capable of doing remote digital loopback tests, but that remains to be demonstrated. At this point it appears that getting some modems to respond to the escape code (+++) so the &T6 command can be sent might be the biggest hurdle. The default escape code guard time in Professional TIMESET is 1 second (register S12 is set to 50). After the escape code is sent (at a very fast rate), the program waits a full 5 seconds for the modem to respond with "OK," and the escape code/5-second pause pattern is repeated until the modem does respond (or until you cancel the process and go back to normal dialing). Repeatedly sending the escape code and waiting for a response should get the attention of the most stubborn modem and throw it into the command state, but who knows? If you have a problem doing the loopback test with your own modem, you might experiment with various settings for register S12 when you are entering your own modem commands in CONFIGTS. A final point. Line noise seems to stall the echoing of the test character. However, the program is designed to start the delay measurement over again automatically whenever the echoing of characters is stalled for 3 seconds or longer. PULSE GENERATION FOR EXTERNAL DEVICES Professional TIMESET differs from all its predecessor versions in having the ability to generate timed pulses at a variety of intervals on a real-time basis. This is potentially a powerful feature, because the pulses can be used to control external devices in real time. Pulses, which are sent to pin 1 of a parallel printer port (the strobe line), are controlled by function keys F1 to F8 on the opening menu, as follows: F1 -- Send a single pulse with each key press, or multiple pulses by holding the key down. F2 -- Send pulses automatically and continuously as fast as they can be generated. Continuous pulsing is stopped by pressing F2 again. F3 -- Send a single pulse at the instant the minute changes under the existing system clock time. This pulse, in combination with manual control provided by F1 and F2, can be used to synchronize an external digital clock, as explained later. F4 -- Dial and send a synchronizing pulse to an external device (e.g., a digital clock) at the instant time is obtained from the Naval Observatory. This allows the computer and an external digital clock to be synchronized with the Naval Observatory at the same instant. This is explained further later. F5 -- Send pulses continuously at the rate of 1/minute. F6 -- Send pulses continuously at the rate of 1/second. F7 -- Send pulses continuously at the rate of 10/second. F8 -- Turn off continuous pulsing started with F5, F6, or F7. These functions are in two groups. F1-F4 can be used to synchronize an external digital clock. F5-F8 control continuous timed pulsing for controlling or driving external devices. Each group is discussed below. Synchronizing an External Clock (F1-F4) Synchronizing an external digital clock requires the addition of some electronic circuitry to the clock so it can respond to pulses generated by Professional TIMESET. This manual does not tell you how to build that circuitry. However, the intended synchronization procedure is explained here. If you have ever set a common digital clock, you know that pushing a set button, whether it's for hours or minutes, always causes the time to move forward, never backward. If you press the minute setting button briefly, the minutes will advance by one. If you hold that button down, the minutes will advance continuously until you release it. The purpose of F1 and F2 is to duplicate those functions on your computer keyboard. Thus, with the extra circuitry in place in the external clock, tapping F1 briefly will send a pulse that causes the minutes on the external digital clock to advance by one. Holding it down will send a stream of pulses that cause the minutes to advance continuously. There is no need to hold that key down continuously, however; if F2 is pressed instead, the pulses will go to the external clock continuously until you press F2 again. The first step in synchronizing an external clock with Professional TIMESET is to dial the Naval Observatory to get your computer clock set accurately. The next step is to go back to the opening menu screen and press F2, making pulses flow continuously to the external clock until the minutes on that clock and the minutes on TIMESET's digital display are the same. Even if they were already the same, it is necessary to go through an entire cycle (60 minutes), because the cycling causes the external clock to end up some seconds behind the computer clock (synchronization can't be done if the external clock is ahead of the computer clock even by a fraction of a second). Then, when the final pulse is delivered by Professional TIMESET (by methods to be described), the two clocks will be synchronized to the split second. Since it is easy to overshoot on the time cycling, it's advisable to press F2 to stop somewhat short of a full cycle of numbers, then use single pulses with F1 to bring the minute readings on the two clocks into agreement. At this point the external clock is slightly behind the computer clock on seconds, and you are ready for the final synchronization. There are two ways to achieve the final synchronization. One way is to press F3, which will cause a single pulse to be sent to the external clock at the instant the computer clock advances to the next minute; that pulse will cause the external clock to advance simultaneously. The seconds in the two clocks will become synchronized at the same instant. The second method is to press F4, then dial the Naval Observatory and have the final synchronizing pulse sent to the external clock at the same instant the computer clock is set. In summary, with the F3 method, the computer clock is first synchronized with the Naval Observatory and the synchronization is then passed to the external clock; with the F4 method, both clocks are simultaneously set on calling the Naval Observatory. The choice of the final synchronization method depends on a couple of things. If you want to correct for line delay, there is no choice: you have to have dialed the Naval Observatory first with the Alt-D command, and you must later use F3 to synchronize the external clock. If you don't want or need line delay correction, your choice of F3 or F4 depends only on whether you have enough time to get connected to the Naval Observatory and get a data string before the minute advances (otherwise the external clock will end up a minute slow and you will have to go back and recyle the external clock all over again). If you know your computer clock is very close to correct, so you can be sure you are still early enough in the minute to get online before the minute changes, you can use the F4 method. Please note that the F4 method always requires a countdown to zero seconds; a countdown is automatically made if you press F4, no matter how you configured the program with CONFIGTS (fortunately, it's always done offline by Professional TIMESET, so it can't affect your phone bill). The most fortunate situation you could have for synchronizing an external clock is one where that clock consistently falls behind real time by maybe a second or two in the course of several hours. In that situation you can simply defer synchronization long enough for some time divergence to occur, then press either F3 or F4 to synchronize (or, if you wanted to run Professional TIMESET in automatic mode, you would put /A /P on the command line). There is no guarantee that your clock would do that, however, even if it's the same brand and model as mine. If the external clock gains time, there is no choice but to pulse a complete recycling of minutes, which brings the external clock back to the same minute but slightly behind true time in seconds so it can be synchronized when the true minute changes. If your external clock can hold accurate time indefinitely (it would be a most unusual clock!), you will not need to use any of these procedures and you might consider going into competition with the Naval Observatory. Finally, if your external clock does lose time, you will be able to put that to use by running Professional TIMESET with /Whh:mm:ss and /P on the command line. The program will then wait until hh:mm:ss, dial the Naval Observatory, and send a pulse to advance the external clock at the instant of timesetting. This method allows you to synchronize the external clock once a day automatically, say early in the morning before the start of the work day. Of course you will need to keep your computer on all night (which some people say is better for a computer than turning it off and on). Continuous Timed Pulses (F5-F8) Continuous timed pulsing with F5-F7 is unlikely to be of any interest to most users of Professional TIMESET. It is provided mainly for use by engineers and scientists (who are numerous among TIMESET users). Application of the continuous timed pulses available with keys F5-F7 depends on the needs and ingenuity of the user in building or acquiring appropriate devices. One possibility that comes to mind is feeding the output into a multi-input recorder to create tick marks on the chart as a time base for the other inputs. If this is done soon after the Naval Observatory has been called, the tick marks will be in real time or very close to it. Another possibility is using the pulses to control a stepping motor. I can only provide a basic tool, however. The rest is up to individual users, but I would be very interested to learn how people make use of these signals. For guidance in application, the pulses are described in the following paragraphs. When Professional TIMESET sends a pulse to pin 1 of the parallel port, the voltage at that pin drops from +5 volts to 0 volts relative to pin 25 (ground). Thus the feed to an external device requires leads from those two pins. Inversion will also be necessary if the external device requires a positive pulse (e.g., from 0 v. to +5 v.). Two pulse widths are available. The default width is about 50 msec (controlled by the system timer), but a width on the order of microseconds can be obtained by loading Professional TIMESET with /N (for "narrow") on the command line. I cannot tell you the exact width of the narrow pulses; it depends on the speed of the computer. With my 8 Mhz computer, the duration of the inverted narrow pulses is sufficient to make an LED flash with each pulse, so there is little reason to think the pulses would be too narrow to be usable in an appropriate electronic circuit. If no parallel port is specified on the command line, the default is LPT1. However, any parallel port up to LPT4 can be used by putting /LPTn on the command line. Obviously, a printer should not be connected to the port that will be used for pulsing, although there is no reason to think it would cause any harm (the negative-going strobe line pulse is what normally tells the printer to print a character that has already been sent). MISCELLANEOUS KEYSTROKES Backspace Key -- The backspace key works on any screen of TIMESET, and it always does the same thing: it takes you back to a previous screen, usually the last one that was displayed. If you have configured for interactive operation and are at the opening menu, pressing the backspace key will take you to the top of the program. Breakout Keys -- If you have to break out of TIMESET for any reason, you can do it at any time by pressing either control-C or function key F10. CORRUPT STRING REJECTION: LINE NOISE Line noise is the greatest enemy of any program designed to call the Naval Observatory's digital time service. Every single character in the Naval Observatory data string has to be present and in its proper place. There can be no dropped characters, no disallowed characters, and no extra characters. It is useless to try to set a computer's clock with data extracted from a string that has been corrupted by line noise. Although Professional TIMESET applies more stringent tests than any previous version to be sure unusable incoming strings are rejected, it also has a new and powerful "string repair" module written in assembly language. The program actually can repair strings if they have been corrupted by the insertion of extraneous characters -- the most common form of line noise. This feature, not found in any previous version, greatly increases the chances that Professional TIMESET will get a usable data string even if the line is very noisy. It is still possible that extreme noise could defeat the program if it caused an essential character to be transformed into another character during transmission. If such an event transformed a number into another number (highly unlikely), the worst that would happen is erroneous timesetting. If a number were transformed into a non-number, the string would be rejected and the program would wait for the next one. Since Professional TIMESET has a string repair system, and since the program will keep testing strings as long as the Naval Observatory keeps sending them (up to 60 per call), the odds are very high that one good string will be captured in a session, and that is all that is needed. Nevertheless, as in previous versions, if 15 corrupted data strings arrive (which now seems unlikely), the program terminates the connection and displays a message. The program also displays all incoming data strings, whether good or bad, so you can see what is happening. If line noise occurs chronically or frequently, check for loose phone connections in your home or office, call the phone company to check the lines, or both. THE FINAL DISPLAY As soon as a usable data string is obtained from the Naval Observatory, the program drops DTR (hangs up), converts the data to time and date for the zone and season you selected, and plugs it into your computer. You should get in the habit of inspecting the information sent by the Naval Observatory to make sure it wasn't garbled by a noisy connection. The information will be displayed at the top of the final screen and should look like this: 47014 219 224449 UTC That is, a group of 5 numbers, a group of 3 numbers, a group of 6 numbers, and finally, UTC. The first group of numbers is the last five digits of the Julian day (which is normally a 7-digit number that starts with 24). The next group is the day of the year. The next group is hours, minutes, and seconds. UTC means that the preceding values all apply to universal time (i.e., to current date and time at the zero meridian). TIMESET uses these numbers to calculate your local time and date, based on your configuration with CONFIGTS. New local time and date are also displayed on the final screen, along with the values they had before. If you ran Professional TIMESET with /R on the command line, the before-after information is also appended to the TS.LOG file. Near the bottom of the final screen you will see a continuous display of the current time, based on the Naval Observatory setting that was just made. The time is displayed to 1/10 second, with highlighting at the instant the seconds change. Audible ticks may be toggled with the Delete key, just as on the opening menu screen. When the final screen is displayed, you may press control-C or F10 to quit the program, the spacebar to dial again, or the backpace key to go back to the opening menu to perform external clock synchronization or generate timed pulses for an external device in real time. If you are running TIMESET under the WordPerfect Library program you may also use Library hot keys to switch directly to another program (see section on Word Perfect Library compatibility, below). TOM STRICKLAND'S SUPPORTING PROGRAMS Tom Strickland of Alexandria, VA has contributed four excellent programs that enhance TIMESET. They are RTCLOCK.COM, REALTIME.COM, DOSTIME.COM, and CLKDRV.SYS. Basically, the purpose of these programs is to bring some uniformity to setting and reading a host of real-time clocks (non-AT CMOS) that are sold under different brand names and use different proprietary software for setting and reading. I call these, "other RT clocks." Since all of these clocks are based on the same clock chip or family of clock chips, they invite creation of public domain software that can circumvent all proprietary ways of "talking" to them. Tom has responded to the invitation. Here are descriptions of his programs and how to use them. Please keep in mind that they are only for "other" RT clocks, not for the AT CMOS. RTCLOCK.COM. This is a program for moving time and date from DOS to the RT clock and vice versa. Use it to set the RT clock as follows: set the time and date in the DOS clock/calendar first (either with the TIME and DATE commands or, much more accurately, with TIMESET), then enter, RTCLOCK -S (S for "send"). The DOS time and date will be moved to the RT clock. Thereafter, any time you want to set the DOS clock/calendar from the RT clock, just enter, RTCLOCK -G (G for "get"). REALTIME.COM. This is a program for reading the RT clock after it has been set with RTCLOCK.COM (or with TIMESET). Just enter REALTIME at the DOS prompt and the RT clock time and date will be displayed together on your screen. DOSTIME.COM. This is the counterpart of REALTIME.COM. When you run it, it shows you the time and date in the DOS clock/calendar. This program is useful with any computer, not just those that are equipped with one of the "other" RT clocks. Thus, if you want to know the time and date in DOS, just run DOSTIME (a 500-byte program) and you'll get both at once, without those annoying prompts to enter a new time or date that DOS always gives you when you use the TIME or DATE commands. CLKDRV.SYS. I saved the best till last. This is a clock driver Tom wrote to make the DOS clock/calendar and the "other" RT clock behave as if they are one and the same. You install it in your system by putting this line in your CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE = CLKDRV.SYS Here is what happens when CLKDRV.SYS is installed: 1. Any time you ask for the time or date in DOS, either with the DOS TIME and DATE commands or with Tom's DOSTIME.COM program (or, for that matter, with any program that gets time and date from DOS, including TIMESET), the driver instantly moves the RT clock time and date to DOS, so what is presented to you is the time and date from the most reliable source in your system--your RT clock. Whenever you ask for DOS time and date, the DOS clock/calendar is corrected from the RT clock, so what you get from DOS are time and date values that are in the RT clock at that instant. 2. Any time you change the time and date in DOS, either with the regular DOS commands or with a program (including TIMESET), the driver instantly puts the same settings into the RT clock. This makes it unnecessary for you to use any software at all to set your RT clock, because whenever you set the time and date in DOS, you also set them in the RT clock (or rather the driver does). Remember, if you have set your RT clock with Tom Strickland's software or with TIMESET, you also have to read it with his software. The software that came with your RT clock will not return the right year if the clock has been set with any of Tom's programs or with TIMESET. Likewise, Tom's programs and TIMESET will not return the right year if you have set your RT clock with other software. Put that other software away. You no longer need it. You have to use some kind of software to read and set your RT clock, and it might as well be Tom's, especially if you want to use TIMESET to set your RT clock. TIMESET and Tom's RT clock software are designed to work together. In fact, Tom also wrote the assembly language module that TIMESET uses to set "other" RT clocks, and that module uses the same algorithms as his other RT clock programs. The aim here is not to "lock" you into anything, it's to make TIMESET (or any other program) compatible with as many RT clocks as possible in the most efficient way possible. Tom's programs also bring some order to a truly chaotic situation created by a bunch of companies, each of which tries to make its implementation of the very same product (a clock chip) seem "different" from everybody else's. The only practical way they differ is in the software each company writes to talk to their own clock and nobody else's. Tom's programs can talk to most of them, and he has made an outstanding contribution by writing them. IMPORTANT! A very important point to remember is that if you plan to install CLKDRV.SYS in your system, you must NOT configure TIMESET to set the "other" RT clock or try to set the RT clock with RTCLOCK.COM. You don't need to set or read the RT clock with software, because the driver does this for you any time you change or ask for the time or date while in DOS or in a program. You can either have Tom's driver installed for automatic inter-clock transfer or you can set or read the RT clock directly with disk software, but you can't do both. Use one method or the other. Thus, if you are configuring TIMESET and plan to install CLKDRV.SYS, be sure to select F4 (Driver) on the configuration menu, not F3 (Other RT). Only if the driver is NOT installed can you choose "Other RT" as a TIMESET configuration option. Probably no harm will result if you ignore this advice, but don't be surprised if TIMESET fails set your RT clock correctly. The same general rule applies if you have some memory-resident program installed to act as a go-between for the DOS and RT clocks. An example of such a program is ASTCLOCK, which comes with the AST Six-Pack board. It can be loaded memory-resident by putting /R on the command line. If your RT clock comes with such a program, you should install that program instead of CLKDRV.SYS and select F1 (DOS clock), not F3 (Other RT), when you use CONFIGTS. Furthermore, you must not install both that program and CLKDRV.SYS. If you were to have both a memory-resident program and Tom's driver installed, each would try to act as go-between for the DOS and RT clocks and the result would be unproductive squabbling. Neither would get any work done. The same applies if your RT clock came with a .SYS driver to accomplish the same thing CLKDRV.SYS does. Don't install both drivers. A final note: Experience has shown that TIMESET and the Strickland RT clock software can set nearly all RT clock brands. However, there are some brands, fortunately very few, with features that are somehow "different." Making TIMESET work with them is on the agenda. In some such cases the incompatibility is no problem at all, because the RT clock manufacturer is quality conscious enough to provide its own memory-resident software for making inter-clock transfers. All TIMESET has to do in that case is set the DOS clock/calendar and let the manufacturer's memory-resident software handle updating of the RT clock from there. To sum up: 1. If you have a cheap brand of "other" RT clock that doesn't come with any memory-resident software for inter-clock transfers, you can either configure TIMESET for "Other RT" so the program can set the RT clock directly, or you can configure it for "Strickland driver" and install CLKDRV.SYS. If you choose the driver, then you should never use RTCLOCK.COM, REALTIME.COM, or any of the software that came with your clock. You won't need such programs because the driver lets you read or set the RT clock from DOS using the DOS TIME and DATE commands. TIMESET and Strickland's programs can work with most (but not all) such brands. 2. If you have one of the better quality RT clocks that come with memory- resident inter-clock transfer software, you should use that software instead of CLKDRV.SYS and configure TIMESET to set the DOS clock only. Don't use both that software and Strickland's CLKDRV.SYS, and don't use RTCLOCK and REALTIME.COM (they aren't needed when the memory- resident program is installed, because that program also lets you get at the RT clock through DOS). Similar considerations apply in the case of the AT CMOS clock. Recent AT-style systems automatically pass time and date back and forth between the the DOS clock and CMOS clock. If you have that type of system, configure TIMESET to set only the DOS clock. Older AT-style systems require you to run a special program to transfer DOS time to the CMOS clock. If yours is that type, configure TIMESET to set the AT CMOS clock. COMPATIBILITY WITH THE WORDPERFECT LIBRARY TIMESET is designed for full compatibility with WordPerfect Corporation's Library program. That is, you can switch from TIMESET to another program on the Library menu just by holding down the ALT and SHIFT keys and pressing a keyboard character that corresponds to the desired program's letter on the Library menu. This takes you directly to the selected program without going through any menu. ALT-SHIFT-Key functions operate at the two points of the TIMESET program where options for keyboard input are presented --at the opening menu and at the completion of the call to the Naval Observatory. (Obviously they can't work if you are operating TIMESET in automatic mode, because there is no prompting for input in that mode.) When you switch to another program in this manner, TIMESET is left resident in memory (in expanded memory if you have it on your system), just like any WordPerfect Corporation program running under the Library. When loaded under the Library, Professional TIMESET occupies only about 89 kbytes of RAM or expanded memory. TIMESET is able to detect the presence of the WordPerfect Library, and it indicates its awareness with a message on screens where keyboard input is possible. If you have set up the Library program to load TIMESET as a memory-resident program when you first load the Library itself, TIMESET will load invisibly. You won't see any sign of it on your screen other than a message from the Library telling you it's being loaded. The program is there, memory-resident and ready to run whenever you press the right keys according to the Library's own rules. Similarly, when you decide to quit the Library, TIMESET will simply be unloaded from memory without any sign of it on your screen and without the need for any further action on your part. These features are identical to those in the WordPerfect Corporation's own programs (WordPerfect word processor, Calculator, Program Editor, Macro Editor, Calendar, etc.), all of which are designed to work under the WordPerfect Library. COMPANION TIME PROGRAMS AVAILABLE FROM LIFE SCIENCES TimeGen -- The Time Generator TIMEGEN.EXE is a communication program that generates and transmits time signals in Naval Observatory format to computers running Professional TIMESET (TIMESET version 5 or higher). The purpose is to make it unnecessary for all the computers in a local system to call the Naval Observatory for accurate time. Only one of the computers needs to do it, then pass the time along to the others. The first thing TIMEGEN does is synchronize the host computer with the Naval Observatory by running TIMESET through a shell. Then it proceeds to generate time signals that other computers, calling it with Professional TIMESET, can use to set their clocks with the same high accuracy. The benefit (for all but the relatively small number of people for whom the Naval Observatory is a local call) is that a single long distance phone call allows several computers to become closely synchronized with the cesium clocks of the Naval Observatory and with each other. TIMEGEN should be especially useful for large organizations, especially those using computer programs that time-stamp data in files. For example, it would seem highly desirable for all the personal computers on a military base to be set to the same time. Likewise, all the branch offices of banks and other corporations probably need to have their computer clocks synchronized. The same goes for all the stations of a state police system. All such organizations now have that potential with TIMEGEN. In effect, the program allows all bureaucracies to create specialized computer bulletin boards to act as local "substations" of the U.S. Naval Observatory. TIMEGEN is shareware and is available from computer bulletin boards. The shareware price for TIMEGEN is $25 (licensing is required for institutions that make copies for use on more than one computer). The Sidereal Clock, an Astronomical Program Life Sciences Editorial Services has created a companion program for Professional TIMESET that is intended for use in astronomy. SIDEREAL.EXE (version 1) makes use of data from Professional TIMESET and the Naval Observatory to generate large continuous running displays of local sidereal time ("star time") and local civil time with 0.1 sec precision. After a call to the Naval Observatory, Professional TIMESET stores the Julian day, the hours offset from Greenwich, and the time season (daylight or standard) in a RAM location where the Sidereal Clock can find it. The user supplies local longitude on the command line. The Sidereal Clock can be configured to run independently of Professional TIMESET, but maximum accuracy is obtained when the two programs are used in conjunction. SIDEREAL.EXE, like TIMESET, is designed to work with the WordPerfect Library/Shell program. Like Professional TIMESET, the Sidereal Clock can generate continuous timed pulses to control external devices, but its pulses can be in either sidereal or civil time. Availability of pulses in sidereal time opens the possibility of using them to control the speed of rotation of the polar axis on an equatorial telescope, for star tracking. The Sidereal Clock is not part of the Professional TIMESET package, but it is being made available on computer bulletin boards. Like Professional TIMESET, SIDEREAL.EXE is not given to the public domain. It is a $20 shareware program. DCLOCK.EXE, Memory-Resident Digital Clock DCLOCK is a precision (0.1 sec) digital clock that pops onto your screen when you press certain hot keys. It was written mainly to give users a quick way to read the highly accurate time they went to all the trouble to get with TIMESET. The program also includes stopwatch and alarm functions. When the alarm goes off, the time and your message pop onto your screen. DCLOCK, a $10 shareware program, is also available on computer bulletin boards. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special thanks go to Tom Strickland, who wrote the excellent supporting programs that tremendously enhance TIMESET. I also thank Bob Germer who at critical stages participated actively in developing this and earlier versions of TIMESET. Thanks also to Bruce Felstein who has beta tested many versions of this program since its inception. I am also grateful to Stewart N. Rothman, Hans Lustig, Anders Sterner, Joan Friedman, Terry McGuire, Mark Novisoff, and countless others who either did tests for me, made valuable suggestions, or simply educated me. Special thanks go to Mark Novisoff (Microhelp, Inc.), whose superb communications library (QB/PRO6) has finally liberated TIMESET from dependence on Microsoft BASIC's balky and idiosyncratic communication module. Finally, I thank my wife Julia, the hands-off beta tester who has an outstanding talent for assisting a programmer in spotting flaws early: whenever I wanted to show her some newly installed feature of TIMESET, it would fail right then and there. APPENDIX A Standard Time Differences for Various World Cities Relative to Greenwich, England Note: These differences are based on standard time for all cities listed. Tokyo 9 hours (Do not precede positive numbers with Hong Kong 8 hours a plus sign during configuration.) Beijing 8 hours Jakarta 8 hours Bombay 5.5 hours Karachi 5 hours Moscow 3 hours Nairobi 3 hours Riyadh 3 hours Cairo 2 hours Johannesburg 2 hours Rome 1 hours Paris 1 hours ---> GREENWICH 0 hours <--- (0 degrees longitude) Dakar 0 hours Reykjavic 0 hours Caracas -4 hours (Use the minus sign during configuration.) New York -5 hours Chicago -6 hours Mexico City -6 hours Denver -7 hours San Francisco -8 hours Anchorage -9 hours Honolulu -10 hours RESTRICTIONS AND DISCLAIMER TIMESET.EXE, CONFIGTS.EXE, and this document are copyrighted, with all rights retained by their author, Peter L. Petrakis, Life Sciences Editorial Services, 1236 River Bay Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21401. The associated programs CLKDRV.SYS, REALTIME.COM, DOSTIME.COM, and RTCLOCK.COM are also copyrighted, with all rights retained by their author, Tom Strickland of Alexandria, Virginia. TIMESET.EXE and CONFIGTS.EXE may be freely distributed provided (1) they and the Strickland clock programs are always distributed together, (2) their documents always accompany them, and (3) neither the programs nor their documents are altered in any way. These programs and their documentation are NOT donated to the public domain, and no one besides their authors are allowed to sell, solicit payment for, or modify them. Distributors of shareware, freeware, and public domain programs who charge only a modest disk copy fee to cover distribution expenses are permitted to distribute these files. Violation of these terms is an infringement of copyright under the laws of the United States and associated international treaties. Although TIMESET and all its associated programs have been extensively tested, Peter Petrakis and Tom Strickland make no warranty concerning their fitness or safety, and they accept no responsibility or liability for any kind of mishap resulting from their use. Your use or distribution of the program implies your acceptance of all these terms. REVISION HISTORY July 1986 -- The first version of TIMESET is released, followed by several improved versions over the next two years. Nov. 1988 -- The last of the initial series, version 4.20, is released. Sept. 17, 1989 -- The first of the Professional TIMESET series (version 5.00) is released. Sept. 22, 1989 -- Version 5.10 of Professional TIMESET is released. This version corrects a defect of version 5.00 that affected performance with high speed dial-up modems. The revision allows such modems to remain locked at their dial-up speed even though the phone line baud rate drops to 1200. Oct. 2, 1989 -- Version 5.20 of Professional TIMESET is released. This version corrects an ambiguity in two of the command line switches (/L and /LPTn) that was confusing the program. /L (for line lag measurement) is now changed to /LAG. SHAREWARE NOTICE Professional TIMESET is not donated to the public domain and it is not free. Individuals who continue to use it after a reasonable trial period (14 days) are urged to become registered users. The registration fee is $35.00 U.S. for private individuals and $75.00 U.S. for businesses, government agencies, academic institutions, and research institutions. The use of multiple copies on more than one computer in an institution requires a license (please contact Peter L. Petrakis at the address shown below). Registered users are entitled to technical support and one free upgrade on diskette (when available). The address for payment and registration is: Life Sciences Editorial Services 1236 River Bay Road Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Please fill out the attached registration form and send it along with a check or money order payable to Peter L. Petrakis. Thank you. PROFESSIONAL TIMESET REGISTRATION FORM To: Peter L. Petrakis Life Sciences Editorial Services 1236 River Bay Road Annapolis, Maryland 21401 (Institutions using multiple copies on multiple computers should not use this form; instead contact Life Sciences Editorial Services for site licensing arrangements.) I enclose payment for registration as an individual user of Professional TIMESET (TIMESET Version 5.20). YOUR NAME: ________________________________________________________ YOUR ORGANIZATION:_________________________________________________ YOUR ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP ____________________________________________ YOUR PHONE: (____) ____ ______ METHOD OF PAYMENT (Check one) Check ___ Money Order ___ AMOUNT ENCLOSED -- $35 for individuals; $75 for institutions using TIMESET on a single computer. $35 ___ $75 ___ YOUR SIGNATURE: ________________________________________ DATE: ____________