Compu-Fix/Compu-Fix.iso/misc/hambone/hambone.doc

Text File | 1993-03-01 | 8.2 KB | 174 lines

                       HAMBONE Version 1.0
                                by
                       Joe Lincoln  KB5DIX
                            June 1990


                           INTRODUCTION


I  have  enjoyed  ham radio since the middle 50's  when  oodles  of
military  surplus equipment became available after the  war.   Many
"old  timers"  will remember ARC5's,  Command Sets and their  first
mobile rig with a trunk full of dynamotors.  Well,  that's where my
tinkering  began  and my "shack"  still overfloweth.  (Much to  the
dismay of the XYL.) But, this "hobby"  has been very good to me and
electronics  has helped keep me abreast of many current,   leading-
edge,  technologies.  An understanding of electronics will  relieve
much of the mystery of how computers work;  televisions  -televise,
radios  - talk,  microwave ovens - microwave,  TV cameras - cam and
the list goes on. Hopefully,  HAMBONE will stimulate an interest in
some youngster or old-timer to explore this marvelous hobby.

Several  years ago we wrote a little program that we called HAMPAC5
and  released it as a shareware-type diddy.  Since then,   we  have
heard from hundreds of people inquiring about the software and from
many  who used it to help them get their NOVICE ticket.   I   don't
think that I could learn a subject from a single software tutorial.
And,   HAMBONE probably won't provide you with everything you  will
need to study in order to pass your FCC exams. However, HAMBONE may
help provide some inspiration to hobby newcomers. It's kinda FUN!

If you can use HAMBONE, we will accept any donation you may wish to
make.  We will also provide you with an inexpensive update  service
for  the ELECTRONICS Textbook chapters.  Of course,  like  anything
these  days,  it's the NICE folks who make programming  FREE  STUFF
worthwhile.

                              INSTALLATION

HAMBONE comes Zipped (tm) with the following files:

                HAMBONE.EXE     - Main program
                HAMBONE.DOC     - This file
                HAMDATA.EXE     - Self-Extracting Data

HAMDATA.EXE is a self-extracting file that contains all of the data
and files for running HAMBONE.  Be sure to RUN this program  before
you  try to use HAMBONE.  And,  keep the data and the main  program
together in the same directory or floppy disk.

Simply  copy  the  files  to a floppy disk or fixed disk  and  type
HAMBONE to get the main menu.  The entire system requires  slightly
more  disk  space than 360K so running from a floppy might  require
you to use an AT diskette or put it on your fixed disk somewhere.

                                 SETUP

HAMBONE was written for DOS 3.3 plus, CGA, EGA or VGA, with or with
out a MOUSE for assistance. We rely on you to have a good CLOCK  in
your  computer.   It has been used on many XT/AT clones  without  a
hitch.

The short SETUP procedure is self explanatory.  Just select it from
the menu and answer the questions. Once,  you have done the initial
setup,   you will not need to change anything unless you wish.  The
TESTING  feature  has  a noisy "raspberry"  sound if you  miss  the
answer  to  a question.  You may use the SETUP feature to turn  the
sound  off.  Other errors,  however,  may return short sound bursts
which can not be eliminated.

                        INTRODUCTORY ELECTRONICS

Several  years  ago we wrote a primer for  high  school  vocational
students  and we have excerpted some of the text for this  feature.
It  can be read directly from the HAMBONE program and covers  basic
subjects such as POWER SUPPLIES,  AC/DC THEORY, AMPLIFICATION, etc.
If you send $10 or more for this product, we will mail you a floppy
disk  with  the  complete TEXTBOOK instead of  excerpts.   We  also
provide a more comprehensive written test and study tests.  You can
also explore PART 97  of the FCC rules and regulations governing RF
transmissions. A complete APPENDIX is provided for Part 97.

                              TESTING

HAMBONE has 2 different kinds of TESTS.  One,  is an on-board  test
that  comes with about 60  questions right out of the most  current
FCC  license  study guides.  You can ADD or EDIT this test  anytime
with a normal DOS ASCII text editor.  However,  you MUST follow the
EXACT   same  conventions  used  in  the  test  provided.   Special
characters  are used to delineate the questions from  the  answers,
etc. See the comments in HAMBONE.QST file for more. (ASCII)

You  can  select QUESTIONS by number or by pressing ENTER in  which
case HAMBONE will just load the NEXT question in the series. If you
miss an answer, then you are given an opportunity to try again.

The written TESTS are ONLY printed to your printer and contain some
example questions. Users (teachers)  are encouraged to create their
own written tests by following the examples provided.

You may also edit any of the textbook chapters.  As long as you  do
not use a wordprocessor (non-text mode)  you can write anything you
wish into the chapters.


                        ANTENNA CALCULATIONS

There  are jillions of good antenna calculation programs  available
in  the public domain.  HAMBONE uses a selected few to  demonstrate
how  to  determine  the lengths and sizes of  DIPOLES,   YAGIs  and
VERTICALS. Enter  the  desired operating frequency and HAMBONE will
make the calculations for you.  You may use to compare against your
own "hand" calculations.

                        MORSE CODE PRACTICE

We  have seen some great MORSE CODE tutors emerge as shareware  but
the  HAMBONE tutor provides some unique features.  You can use  any
text file as your code samples or the program will generate  RANDOM
code for your practice.  Speeds and tones are fully adjustable. You
can  even generate code from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  We provide  a
small  file  named  CODE.TXT which may be used as an  example  TEXT
file.  Of course,  you can create any text you wish.  The CODE TOAD
module will NOT properly paginate or return a CARRAIGE/LINE FEED at
the end of your lines so don't expect magic.  Afterall,  BRASS  KEY
POUNDERS can't tell you to add a CR/LF to their transmissions.

Change  the  SPEED or FREQUENCY of the code generator to suit  your
needs  and abilities.  The ARROW keys can be used to do  this.   To
PAUSE,  simply touch your F9 key and anyother key to continue.  You
may EXIT at any time by pressing the F8 key.

                             UPDATES

This version (1.0)  has been tested by several friends.  None of us
has experienced any serious difficulties.  This is not to mean that
there are not any hidden grimlins.  We just haven't found them.  As
we  get  feedback from users,  we may,  or may not,  work  on  this
software anymore.  If you send SASE envelopes we will try our  best
to answer you promptly. Please, don't expect us to maintain HAMBONE
forever. If you get this copy sometime in 1993  chances are that it
has been revised. Check into LINX BBS for the most current version.


                      OTHER TekMate SOFTWARE

We  have also released FS-PRO which is a comprehensive package  for
pilots  using  Microsoft's  Flight Simulator.   Demo  versions  are
available  on many bulletin board systems throughout the  world  or
from  Compuserve.   Student  pilots find FS-PRO  very  valuable  in
learning   how   to  file  flight  plans   and   make   wind/course
calculations. Look for FS-PRO on your favorite BBS or as advertised
by  software vendors.  Thousands of pilots and would-be pilots  use
FS-PRO before every simulated flight.

                 LINX BBS - TekMate Support Board

FREE PUBLIC ACCESS -
        No upload/download ratios -
                Over 11,000 international users -
                        [phone] - 8N1 - 1200-2400 baud -
                                24 hour operation for over 6 years -


             Any contributions greatfully accepted. 73's

              (C) 1990  HAMBONE - All Rights Reserved
                       Joe Lincoln - TekMate
                          15307 Parkville
                       Houston, Texas  77068