Ham Radio 2000 #2/Ham Radio 2000 - Volume 2.iso/HAMV2/FAX_SSTV/VESTER_M/OPERATTV.TXT

Text File | 1996-08-14 | 40KB | 1,177 lines

                                  OPERATION



          This  is an abbreviated description of how to get the  K3BC  SSTV

     system operating. Much more detail is contained in TVINFO.TXT.

          You  will need a copy of GWBASIC (the IBM clone version, NOT  the

     Tandy version) in your DOS directory. The more recent QBASIC uses  too

     much memory (needed for picture copying) and is clumsier to use.  With

     GWBASIC you just type RT and ENTER and you're ready to copy SSTV.

          The  SSTV  programs are designed to be placed in a  directory  on

     your hard drive called c:\tv. That is, at the DOS prompt type:   c:>md

     tv  and ENTER. Then type: c:>cd\tv and ENTER. Then copy  the  programs

     into  this directory (ie: c:\tv>copy a:*.* if programs are in  the  a:

     drive).

          First, you need to set the programs to match your Video Card.  If

     it's  a VESA card, the enclosed VESA program will do all the work  for

     you. Just type C:\TV>vesa. You'll get a printout of the available VESA

     modes. Only 101h and 112h are used here. If the modes exist,  continue

     VESA  using the default choice of 112 to determine BS, BP, VP  and  BL

     for  the card's trucolor operation. Write these numbers down. If  only

     101h  exists, answer 101 and get the parameters for that. In  revision

     K,  we have added support for a 65536 color board, VESA mode 111h,  so

     your  system  might  have that (my NEC Versa V50/C notebook  only  has

     this mode and uses VC=4, BS=4, BP=2, and BL=1280. It is only partially

     VESA  compatible).   If the modes don't exist, use Ctrl-Break to  exit

     VESA  to avoid possibly having to reboot. If you get an error  message

     and OK with a blinking cursor, you are looking at the BASIC screen and

     need to type SYSTEM to get back to the DOS prompt.







          Go  to the DOS line and type: c:\tv> vu  and ENTER. You will see a

     description  of the VUing program and at the bottom a question  as  to

     what  picture  MODE you would like to view. If you had  a  VESA  video

     card, you can now choose F5 to bring up the SYSTEM CONFIGURATION panel

     and locate and, if necessary, change the values for BS, BL, and BP and

     SAVE them following the instructions given there. Then hit F2 to reRUN

     the  program.  There are two sample pix included (M1  and  AVT94),  so

     select either (7) or (6). The next question asks where the pixfile  is

     located. Normally it will be in the current directory, so that is  set

     as  the DEFAULT choice. Just hit ENTER to make the DEFAULT choice  (if

     the  pix were in an XX directory, then you would answer   c:\xx\   and

     ENTER). The picture files in the selected directory will now be  list-

     ed.  Cursor select and ENTER. Next you are offered a choice  of  Video

     Cards.  The  newer cards are VESA compatible so that  is  the  DEFAULT

     choice. Your VESA card should give you a picture and you can skip  the

     next paragraph.

         [ The 6 other VC choices are for several older cards which can  be

     addressed directly without requiring you to use a VESA driver. If  you

     get  no picture with a choice, then hit Q(uit) to exit and hit  F2  to

     try  another  choice.  The picture gets painted in  strips  which  are

     about 1/5 of a screen tall--the strips should join seamlessly. If they

     overlap when written, or have a black gap between strips, you need  to

     reset  the BANK SHIFT parameter, BS. BS too low gives an  overlap--too

     high  gives a gap. To access the SYSTEM CONFIGURATION list where  this

     BS value is kept just hit F5. Follow the instructions there to  change

     BS  in line 2045 temporarily and key F2 to rerun. Save VU (hit F4  and

     ENTER)  after  you find the right value. BS is only  effective  in  VC







     choices 4, 5 and 7. If your card is one of the other choices, and  you

     ONLY  need  BS adjustment, you'll have to find a VESA driver  for  your

     card  and use VC=7 (or write me and we'll try to accommodate you).  Or

     if  you  don't get anything resembling a picture, your  card  may  not

     support  640x480x256 SVGA. If you're sure that it does (must  have  at

     least 512k. of memory) you need to get a VESA driver from the manufac-

     turer to interface with. The VESA program can be used after installing

     a VESA driver to see what you got. Be sure to set TC=0 in the  various

     SYS  CONFIG's if your card supports only 256 colors.  Read  TVINFO.TXT

     for further help if needed.]

          After getting a proper picture, exit with Q and key F5 to  perma-

     nently  set the VC in line 2030. If both 7 and another choice  worked,

     set VC=7. You can now also get rid of the manual card choice each time

     by setting V=1 in line 2020. Insert the values determined for BS,  BL,

     and BP. Follow the instructions to SAVE the new CONFIGURATION. While in

     the  CONFIG  list read the other parameters. You can play  with  these

     later.   BL and BP will be used later when we try the TSS   (trucolor)

     program.

          Now  we need to insert this VC choice, and put in the values  for

     BS, BL, BP, and VP (as determined by VESA.BAT above) in all the  other

     programs. Start with VT, that is type c:\tv>vt and step thru the first

     two default choices until F5 is offered as a choice. Key F5 twice  and

     follow  the instructions to change VC, BS, BL, and BP; then  SAVE  the

     modified  program.  Now do the same thing to  the  following  programs

     (including VP and TC where appropriate): TVT, LVT, TIF, TGA, SS,  TSS,

     PCX,  TIFLAB, 3D, QD, and RT.  If RT gives a smeared pix  when  called

     up, just hit F5 to get to the SYS CONFIG. Note that in RT, we ran  out

     of room for the INSTRUCTIONS, but by now you should remember them.  In







     all of these cases, you should have read the opening screen, so you now

     know what these programs do. In the case of RT, you can make a further

     change to activate the picturized mode selection screen by going  back

     to  the SYSTEM CONFIGURATION list (using F5) and changing to  MP=1  in

     line 3230. Note that if you hit F4 to SAVE and change your mind before

     ENTERing, you can backspace to remove the writing. BE SURE to move the

     cursor into the clear before hitting any F key as the F key will  type

     whatever letters are prestored in it right where the cursor is  blink-

     ing! If you accidentally overwrite this way, move into the clear,  and

     use F10 to go to DOS and start over again.

          The  last "program" to get a VC change is not a full  program  but

     just a segment, named ALCHVT.BAS. To access this, we'll use the gener-

     al  purpose transmit program (all file formats), type C:\TV>tr  xx.pcx

     and  RETURN.  This says transmit a nonexistent PCX file.  When  asked,

     pick  any  mode and default the other questions, and it will  paint  a

     black screen. Use Q to quit the blank screen and you now can use F5 to

     access  the ALCHVT SYS CONFIGURATION list. After changing VC, BS,  BL,

     BP, TC and VP, and SAVEing it, hit F10 to go to DOS.



     RECEIVING

          If you got the Mode Selection picture screen when you changed  MP

     to  1  in RT above, you are now ready to copy SSTV.  Reread  the  HELP

     screen on RT now. Eventually you'll create a RAMDISK to speed up copy

     ing and provide enough memory for modes 99 (wefax) and 96  (colorfax),

     but for now we'll just use the C drive, so call up the SYS  CONFIGURA-

     TION with F5 and change line 3050 to DR$="c". Or if you already have a

     RAMDISK,  put  it's letter designation in 3050. [If you don't  have  a







     valid  drive  designated here, the machine will remind you  after  you

     copy the first pix by failing to keep the pix on the screen].  Connect

     up  the simple clipper interface (schematic in Jan. 1994  QST--a  more

     general purpose schematic is included herein as pix file  SCHMATIC.FAX,

     which  you can view by selecting mode 9 in the VU program)  to  serial

     port 1 or 2 and tune in to 14230 khz to get some audio coming in. Type

     RT  at the DOS prompt and the mode screen should appear. Hit F5  twice

     and  check to see that the correct serial port is switched on  in  the

     SYS  CONFIG.  Now  hit F2 to restart RT. The modes  selected  off  the

     picture screen do not require ENTER. With modes having two characters,

     like 99, the second character must be hit immediately or you will  get

     mode  9 (the allowed delay of 1 sec. between characters is  adjustable

     as described in TVINFO). When you select a specific mode, it will wait

     for  a VIS code and then start copying. You can tell it is copying  by

     an  audio tick cue and if in REAL TIME mode, you can see  the  picture

     being painted. If you missed the VIS by starting late, you can  bypass

     directly  to copying by hitting any key. Also, in all TV modes  except

     the AVT modes (5 and 6) the system waits for a 1200 hz line sync pulse

     before starting. For now hit mode 6 and SPACEBAR to bypass VIS and you

     should  start  copying. If you get no tick and no noise  picture,  you

     aren't getting audio through the interface or you're not connected  to

     the correct serial port and you'll have to either fix that or  reboot.

     Mode  99  will tick without the interface connected. If  that  doesn't

     tick, you're probably trying to use a Tandy version of GWBASIC or  you

     may  have a TSR program which is using too much low memory  and  needs

     removing  (see TVINFO.TXT). Another possible problem is you  have  set

     the power supply pin, PN in line 3195 of RT's SYS CONFIG, to the wrong

     pin  number.  Check the +12 and -12 volts right at  the  IC  terminals







     after you've activated the program to be sure the interface is getting

     power.   Once you have the system ticking, let it copy a bit and  then

     hit H to halt. The multicolored noise will then repaint itself and you

     can  use the arrows to scroll the picture. To exit the picture,  hit  Q

     and you will be offered a menu of choices. Now you're ready to copy  a

     real picture. [Starting with revision K, we changed to a better  copy-

     ing  configuration--but  it  has one disadvantage  in  that  it  needs

     slightly higher serial port voltages than before, or a better IC  than

     the  741. We have kept the old RT here as RTOLD.BAS so you can use  it

     if  you need to. Just rename RT.BAS to RTNEW.BAS and rename  RTOLD.BAS

     to  RT.BAS. Lowering the 500 ohm isolation resistors in the  interface

     to 100 ohms may also help.]

          The  system  is configured so you can align it's  timing  in  all

     modes by just aligning the Scottie 1 mode. It is likely that the first

     pictures  you copy will not be square--but you shouldn't have to  wait

     for  a Scottie 1 very long. If the S1 pix leans left as you  copy  it,

     hit  the lean-right key "/" several times and wait to see how much  it

     starts  to  square the pix. Each peck at the "/" key gives  about  one

     pixel offset over the 240 lines  in a picture. Don't just hold the key

     down  as  you  will store an indeterminate number  of  keystrokes  and

     surely overshoot. The lean-left key "\" does just the opposite. If you

     haven't  quite  got it square by the end of the picture,  the  program

     will  tell you what alignment number, LT3 (line timing, mode  3),  you

     have reached. You can now put that temporarily into line 3100 and  hit

     F2  to copy another pix to fine tune the adjustment. Once you have  it

     perfectly  square, SAVE the new LT3. You are now all aligned  for  Re-

     ceive. To align Transmit the LT3 in VT, ALCHVT, LVT, and TVT should be







     changed  to the new value NOW! This is found in the SYS  CONFIGURATION

     in  each  program and is accessed as described above  using  F5.  Your

     transmitting programs are now aligned for all modes.

          Go back to RT and copy another picture. Note that you can manual-

     ly  select the copy mode when the sender announces it, or you can  hit

     F8 and the automatic VIS code detector will switch to the correct mode

     for  you.  Since the VIS code frequency shift is not very  large,  you

     need  to be within about 100 cycles of the right frequency for  it  to

     work.  If VIS doesn't trigger due to QRM, etc., you can still hit  the

     right  key for the mode, (ie, 3 for Scottie 1) and hit ENTER twice  to

     still  catch the picture. After copying the pix and Q(uiting) it,  you

     can SAVE it, Retransmit it, or inspect it with the TUNE screen. Select

     the TUNE screen. This shows the frequency of the first 330+ pixels  in

     the  pix.  You can scroll through the pix with a  viewing  window  330

     pixels wide using the same keys as used for picture scrolling. To  see

     how  close to frequency you were on this pix, key the down arrow  once

     to get away from the edge of the file, and scroll with the left  arrow

     to  bring the line sync pulse into view. It should be 1200 hz,  so  the

     amount it deviates tells you exactly how much you need to retune. Each

     hit of the down arrow moves you down one picture line, so you can look

     at several samples and average them if it's noisy. TUNE is useful as a

     measuring  tool for looking at other's signals, measuring  VIS  codes,

     etc. You can also access the TUNE screen while copying, but only get a

     330+ pixel sample, so you may need to key T several times to catch the

     sync pulse. If someone transmits a calibration tone, you only need one

     sample.

          The  AVT  modes  have a very long header, so you'll  need  to  be

     patient to give them time to automatically start. The mode 9  receives







     FAX480  but  you have to manually start it. If the other  station  has

     this  system,  his FAX B/W mode 9 transmissions will have a  SSTV  VIS

     code attached and it will be automatically acquired.

          Another mode is included, AUTO+SAVE (key F7), which automatically

     detects  the  mode, copies the pix, and then stores  it  wherever  you

     choose;  then it returns to receive the next pix. The DEFAULT here  is

     the  RAMDRIVE which we have temporarily set as "c", so I'd advise  you

     to pick a separate directory to put these in temporarily. Normally you

     will  allow  the system to collect and store pictures  while  you  are

     gone,  and  when you return, you can use either SS (slidesho)  or  TSS

     (tru-slidesho) to sequentially view them and permanently save the ones

     you like. Then you'll erase the set with a del *.*. I prefer to use  a

     RAMDRIVE for this temporary store so it is automatically dumped when I

     shut down. You can change the DEFAULT choice by changing line 2675  in

     RT if you decide not to use the RAMDRIVE. In the latest version,   the

     F7  mode has been changed so it can be used for hands-off  viewing  of

     the  picture  flow.  As each picture is received, it is  left  on  the

     screen  until  the VIS is triggered by a new picture.  You  can  still

     trigger  the mode manually if you want to get a pix that was too  weak

     to trip VIS. You exit with F5 or F10 as usual. Saving every pix tempo-

     rarily  gives  you  the time later to decide which you  want  to  save

     permanently. You can even choose a non-existent drive to store pix  if

     you  want  to use this mode for viewing only. You can still  save  the

     current pix by exiting and finding the a.p file where all pix are  put

     for scrolling until a new pix overwrites it.

          In  the above pix copying, if you have experienced a SYNC  break-

     lock (ie; the pix looks like it was cut and the bottom half slid left)







     you  may have a resident (TSR) program which is interfering  with  the

     program  or  if the computer is slow, you may need to  adjust  the  GT

     parameter in SYS CONFIG. I have intentionally made GT lower than  some

     faster machines need, so you may want to optimise it (GT=138 is  about

     the max. I've been able to use on my machines. If GT is set too  high,

     you can get complete loss of SYNC and the screen will show a bunch  of

     uncorrelated  horizontal  lines).  As before use F5  to  access  these

     system  parameters. TVINFO has a detailed explanation in it's RT  sec-

     tion on how to adjust GT.

          When  using AUTO-VIS, F8, after exiting the pix with Q, just  use

     the default  (ie, ENTER), and you will remain in F8. Or if you want to

     go back to RT's picture selection screen, just hit F6.

          It is convenient while discussing a just received pix to be  able

     to  quick-save a picture you like without exiting it. You just key  F4

     and  the picture as scrolled at the time will be saved under the  name

     Q-xxxxx  where  xxxxx  is the number of seconds  since  midnight.  The

     storage path is specified in RT's SYS CONFIG in line 3280. TSS can  be

     used at a later time using "Q-" as a file constraint to view,  scroll,

     and  save permanently those you choose. Then use C:\TMP>del  Q-*.*  to

     dump the temporary files.

          If you have trucolor, another feature is available in RT and TVT.

     While  discussing  a  received pix, it often is  convenient  to  start

     locating  one of your pix's in TVT's multi-page album without  dumping

     the  received picture. This becomes particularly useful when you  have

     many pix's to choose from and need time to survey them. To accommodate

     this, a dual screen has been added to TVT with the received pix in the

     upper left, album pix's below, and the transmit pix to the right. This

     is  accessed  from  RT while still viewing the just  received  pix  by







     keying  F9. The dual screen appears and you can select a  picture/mode

     to transmit next. See TVT below for more info on this.

          Two  new  CONFIG choices have been added to revision  K.  The  IO

     choice  in  line 3170 of RT allows you to adjust access speed  to  the

     serial  port  to accommodate large mismatches between  I/O  speed  and

     microprocessor  speed (more common in 486 machines). RC in  line  3180

     allows  you to select between best resolution or best color  fidelity.

     On HF, the best choice will be RC=2 since multipath will almost always

     limit resolution fidelity. On local VHF, the RC=1 choice may be useful

     but will require fiddling with the interface to improve color  fideli-

     ty. Details on both of these are covered in TVINFO.TXT.



     TRANSMITTING

          VT is the View and Transmit program. It is called up from the DOS

     line  by  C:\TV>vt. By now, you probably have saved some S1  pix's  in

     full  format (ie, not compressed). So take the DEFAULT choice for  the

     first  two  questions and choose mode 3. All of the S1  files  in  the

     current  directory will be listed and you can cursor select one.  Next

     you're asked what, if any, contemporaneous message you want on the pix

     header.  The  DEFAULT message is stored in the SYS CONFIG so  you  can

     change  it. Put your message down (or pick DEFAULT) and the  pix  will

     appear.  You  now have a choice of keying T(one) to output  a  pulsing

     1200  cps tone, G(o) to transmit, or Q(uit) to exit the  program.  For

     now  just  key G and the transmission begins. If you want to  halt  it

     before it runs out, hit H to halt. After you finish discussing the pix

     with  the other stations, key Q to go back to a selection screen.  Now

     hit F5 to look to see if you have selected the right COM port in 2115.







     With  revision  H,  you have two ways to connect the  output  to  your

     transmitter; either through pin 7 (RTS) and pin 5 (GRND) on the serial

     port  as  was described in the original article in Jan 1994  "QST"  or

     connecting directly to the computer speaker terminals through an isola-

     tion  transformer  (speaker  terminals have +5 volts  on  them).  This

     OUtput choice is made in line 2120 (see TVINFO.TXT for more  details).

     Also,  if you have a RAMDRIVE, put it's assigned letter in  2050.  You

     can get by using your hard drive in lieu of the RAMDRIVE for all modes

     except  99  and  96. I should mention that this will  be  a  tolerable

     choice  only  if you have included SMARTDRV.EXE in  your  AUTOEXEC.BAT

     file.[Windows 95 uses SMARTDRV but for some reason when switching back

     to DOS, it is shut off. You can turn it back on by C:\TV>SMARTDRV 2048

     or to make it more automatic, add SMARTDRV 2048 as a new first line in

     RT.BAT  or TVT.BAT batch files using EDIT.]  The full capability  will

     come  from  installing a RAMDRIVE by adding to your CONFIG.SYS  a  new

     line:

               device=c:\dos\ramdrive.sys 3072 512 64/e

     Then when the system is booted up, you note the letter assigned to the

     RAMDRIVE  and  enter it into the various programs'  SYSTEM  CONFIGURA-

     TIONS.  When  you install it, you now need to modify the  SMARTDRV  to

     keep  it from interfering. If the RAMDRIVE is designated d:, then  the

     AUTOEXEC.BAT line becomes:    smartdrv.exe/d:-

     This disables smartdrv operation on drive d:.

          Once  you install a viable Ramdrive, you'll want to include  it's

     designation in RT, VT, LVT, TVT, and ALCHVT SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS.  As

     before, use F5 to access the SYS CONFIG as described above. The  ALCH-

     CONV.BAS  has a different access to SYS CONFIG required. Type  C:\TV>g

     to  get the Basic screen, then LOAD"ALCHCONV, and hit F1 and ENTER  to







     see it's SYS CONFIG.

          The  Trucolor equivalent to VT is TVT. This is like VT  but  adds

     other  features  which  use the extra pixel/color  capability  of  the

     Trucolor board. Instead of selecting files for transmission by select-

     ing a file name from a list, it displays reduced size file pix, 10  at

     a time, across the bottom of the screen. You select one using the  ten

     numbers  on the keyboard, and it writes in full size on the screen  to

     confirm  your  choice. If you don't like the first choices,  then  key

     N(ext)  to see the next ten files, etc. For those of you without  Tru-

     color, we have also added picture album selection of files to transmit

     with  a  new  program, LVT (aLbum View and Transmit).  LVT,  TVT,  and

     ALCHVT  will use the same parameters for SYS CONFIG as VT.  VT  covers

     transmitting all modes including Robot and FAX pictures. TVT, LVT, and

     ALCHVT cover only the standard SSTV modes plus Colorfax.

          In  revision  H, we have added the capability  to  transmit  SSTV

     files in a different mode from that in which it was saved, the  choice

     of transmit mode being limited to one of equal or less resolution than

     the original picture file. Note that the other mode either may require

     trimming  the  pix  edges to fit the new format or  addition  of  gray

     filler  to  fill the new mode line length. The program does  this  for

     you.

          TVT has other features which are possible with the trucolor card.

     Like  RT, it now has a picture menu screen (file TX2.S1) which can  be

     customized to suit your tastes. It gives a choice (F3) to transmit the

     last  pix  received  (if it hasn't been overwritten).  If  hitting  F3

     doesn't  paint  a  pix, you've lost your chance, so exit  with  Q  and

     restart TVT. After you select a pix to send, you then key in the  mode







     you  want  to send in and the reframed picture is painted in  the  new

     mode  so you can see what it looks like (ie, was  something  important

     trimmed off the edges). If you call for a disallowed mode  conversion,

     the  computer will beep at you. If you want the same mode as  the  pix

     was saved in, you can either give the mode number or key G to  rewrite

     in the same mode and also to transmit. As was described above, you can

     enter  TVT  from  RT by keying F9 while you're still  viewing  a  just

     received pix. Normally you will then get the dual screen. If you  have

     large numbers of files, as I do, you have a choice available which  at

     the  expense of loosing sight of the received pix for a  coupla'  sec-

     onds,  will  give you some file constraint or path or  header  choices

     which  would have been defaulted. This choice is made in line 2110  of

     TVT's  SYS  CONFIG by setting FC=1. Once you have added back  the  one

     constraint question (which will often be defaulted instantly), you can

     now access the billboard header (answer "bb") or even a different file

     path (answer "pt") in the very few cases where you want to. Note  that

     you must use the same DR$ in both RT and TVT so TVT can find the  just

     received picture.

          Beyond  revision  L, TVT also has the capability to  Paint  fancy

     letters or phrases on any picture in real time just before you make  a

     mode selection to transmit in. Only one font file, FONT1.ZIP has  been

     made  so far. Create a F1 subdirectory in C:\TV and---   C:\TV>PKUNZIP

     FONT1.ZIP C:\TV\F1 ---to load in the letter files. Now, after  select-

     ing  a  picture in TVT, just hit L (for Letter) and a  pulsing  cursor

     will  show  in  the upper left corner of the pix. Use  the  arrows  to

     position  the cursor (use CTRL and Arrow keys together for fine  hori-

     zontal  motion),  then key in a letter and after a  short  delay,  the

     letter will paint. Hit L again and the cursor will be positioned for a







     second  letter (you can move the cursor elsewhere if you like) so  key

     the  second letter. Using L before each letter, you can key in a  full

     word  and sit back and wait for the computer to catch up. Five  canned

     phrases  can be keyed in with F1 thru F5 keys in lieu of a letter.  If

     you  hit L and decide not to add another letter, the DELETE  key  will

     deselect the L or you can use the BACKSPACE. If you make a mistake you

     can  toggle  back  to the previous screen using BACKSPACE  or  if  you

     really mess it up, key DELETE and return to the original pix to  start

     over.  If  you  want to toggle over to filling the  letters  with  the

     Background file, you can key B(ackground) before the L. To toggle back

     to colored letters, key B again. After calling up TVT, hit F8 to  view

     the   LETTERING SYSTEM CONFIG. Play with the color values and  deltas.

     The  letters and canned phrases are PCX B/W (2 color) bitmap files  so

     you can make your own with almost any Paint program. TVINFO.TXT  gives

     more details in it's PCXLABEL section. This capability is also  avail-

     able  in QD and TR, TG, TJ, TT, etc. so you can add words just  before

     transmit  even  when using CDROM pixes, etc. Since you  may  like  the

     lettered  pix and want to save it, we have added the ability  to  SAVE

     the modified pix either permanently under a new name or temporarily in

     one of two picture buffers, F2 and F7. These pix buffers are  accessi-

     ble  from TVT's transmit screen and can be used to hold a  pix  tempo-

     rarily while you are receiving, etc. until you are ready to send them.

     For example, you might have a pix all ready to send, and be preempted.

     To give further flexibility in picture choice, a TRY AGAIN choice (F9)

     has been added to TVT. It dumps the current picture choice for another

     try.  Note that pix are painted over the transmit screen so  only  the

     still available choices are uncovered. For maximum flexibility,  don't







     select  the final TX mode until just before sending.  [By the  way,  if

     the lettering cursor leaves "tracks" on the pix change the VP  parame-

     ter in SYS CONFIG. ALCHVT uses the same VP.]

          While  the  VT program above will receive and  transmit  all  the

     modes  shown in their own full formats or as PKZIP  compressed  files,

     there  are  pix available in other formats which  can  be  transmitted

     directly. You, of course, can convert these permanently to one of  our

     SSTV  formats, but it's sometimes more convenient to convert  them  as

     you want to View and Transmit them. You may want to pull them directly

     from a CDROM for example. We include a old shareware program, ALCHEMY,

     which, as is, will accommodate PCX, JPEG, GIF, TIF, TGA, BMP and  other

     formats.  As included, only pix recorded in 640 pixel or  less  widths

     will  be accepted. If you order the latest version, it  probably  will

     accommodate  a  wider variety of formats and pixel widths. We  use  it

     with  it's  output  in TIFF format so it can feed  directly  into  our

     TIFCONV program to get any SSTV format desired. Several batch programs

     are included here to create a seamless VIEW/TRANSMIT function.

          At  the  DOS prompt, you just type TR followed by  the  PATH  and

     FILENAME of any PCX, JPEG, TGA, TIF, BMP, or GIF file. That is, a file

     named  GIRL.PCX located in the e:\pcx directory would be done by  typ-

     ing:

          C:\TV>tr  e:\pcx\girl.pcx             and all you have to  do  is

     answer what SSTV mode you want, and what message you might want on the

     header.  When  the pix shows, you can key L to  add  lettering.  [Read

     TR.BAT  to see what's going on here.] This is fine for  single  files,

     but for large banks of files of a particular format, it's more conven-

     ient to use a different batch file.

          The  TG batch file was created so you can cursor select  any  GIF







     file  from a directory full of GIF files. It is setup to look for  GIF

     files in a directory C:\GIF. If yours are located somewhere else,  you

     can  optimise  by  changing  the  DEFAULT  path.  To  do  this,   type

     c:\tv>tg to access the program. Program will answer FILE NOT FOUND  IN

     100. Hit F5 to see the SYS CONFIG for PICKFILE. Change line 40 to your

     desired  DEFAULT PATH, ENTER, move the cursor in the clear and hit  F4

     to SAVE"PICKFILE. If you want to keep an option of choosing a  differ-

     ent  file path each time, set P=0 in line 30. After saving use F10  to

     exit and run through the batch file .  Now when you want to transmit a

     GIF file, just type:    c:\tv>tg      and cursor select any file.  The

     PATH  can  be a CDROM directory, or any other drive path. Be  sure  to

     C:\TV>read tg.bat to see an explanation on how this works.

          A similar program, TJ, transmits JPEG files located in the c:\jpg

     directory.   The  default  directory  in  this  case  is  located   in

     PIKFILE.BAS.  Another program, TT, transmits TGA files located in  the

     c:\tga directory. The default directory here is located in PKFILE.BAS.

     Read  the  TT.BAT and TJ.BAT to see how this is done, so you  can  con

     struct  your own batch files. Also note that the TT will allow you  to

     directly transmit Pasokon files thru this system.

          All  of these "batch file transmit" programs use the  VT  program

     structure  so  the pix to be transmitted is DISPLAYED using  the  "256

     color"  video  mode (excepting colorfax, mode 96, which  can  only  be

     displayed  on a full trucolor screen). The actual color resolution  of

     each pixel in the images is 262,144 colors and this full resolution IS

     DISPLAYED  on the so-called 256 color screen. The trucolor video  card

     does give a brighter display and allows you to fit the 320x240  images

     into 1/4 of the screen, but the color resolution is no different.  The







     actual  transmitted picture is, of course, independent of  what  video

     card mode is used. For example, my laptop has a B/W screen but a video

     card with 512 kb. which supports 256 colors on an external monitor.  I

     use it to copy (in B/W) and transmit images at the full 262,144 colors

     resolution--even the Colorfax files. Of course, I can't see the color-

     fax  files until they are transferred to the desktop. Now  the  actual

     color resolution of the images may be filtered down by whatever  proc-

     ess they've gone through. For example, all GIF files have already been

     permanently  reduced to only 256 colors/pixel. The two byte/pixel  TGA

     format  used by Pasokon gives 32,768 colors/pixel. JPEG files  give  a

     much  more complex reduction of fidelity. Some of the digital  cameras

     have  a small color resolution and give washed-out looking pixes.  For

     cartoons,  it doesn't matter. For high quality photos it does  matter.

     To see the effects, take your highest quality image and convert it  to

     the various formats and back to the same SSTV format. You can now view

     four  versions at a time with TSS to make your own  conclusions  about

     color  fidelity.  It  takes the same time to transmit  on  SSTV  a  16

     color/pixel picture as it does a 16.7 mil. color/pixel picture !

          Another program, CONV, converts PCX, GIF, TGA, JPEG, etc. formats

     handled  by Alchemy to any of the SSTV formats. Read the  BATCH  FILES

     part of TVINFO.TXT for more info. I highly recommend that you  convert

     a  group  of your favorite pix to the SSTV format so you can  use  the

     picture album selection in LVT or TVT on them. Once you find how  fast

     and  convenient  this is, you're likely to use  it  exclusively.  This

     program  uses the TIF program in it's batch sequence, so  check  TIF's

     SYS CONFIG to make sure that DR$="c", OF=0, and SM=0 when using  CONV.

     If  you are converting a bunch of files, and the converted  pix  don't

     seem to have the correct aspect ratio, you may want to change the CONV







     batch file. In the Alchemy command line in CONV.BAT, the output  shape

     factor is set to 640x480. Keep the 480 constant and change the 640  to

     get the desired aspect ratio. This new value, replacing 640, will have

     to  be  inserted  when you are asked for the  horizontal  pixels.  The

     modified  BAT file could be renamed CONV665.BAT for a 665  pixel  line

     conversion.

          Since  we have added the capability to add lettering and also  to

     save  pixes  directly  from the TG, TR, TT, TJ,  etc  programs  you'll

     probably find it more convenient to use them for file conversion.

     OTHER PROGRAMS

          Hopefully  by  now you have gotten enough quick results  to  plow

     through  more of the .TXT files to see what other things you  can  do.

     Also  if  you  want to know more  about  ALCHEMY,  type:    C:\TV>read

     alchemy.doc      .  Other  programs have their  details  described  in

     TVINFO.TXT  (under  the  titles in parenthesis below)  and  even  more

     details when called up at the DOS line. They are:



          TIF        Converts TIF files to any SSTV format (TIFCONV).

          TGA        Converts TGA files to any SSTV format (TGACONV).

          TV2TIF     Converts SSTV and FAX and Wefax to TIF (TV2TIF).

          TV2TV      Converts one SSTV format to another (TV2TV).

          PCX        Adds labels using PCX format stencils (PCXLABEL).

          TIFLAB     Adds labels using TIF format stencils (TIFLABEL).

          3D         Creates 3D files from two CAMCORDER pix's (3D).

          QD         Create and directly transmit picture quads (QUAD)

          SS         Slide Show for 256 color video boards (SLIDESHO)

          TSS        Slide Show for TRUCOLOR boards (TRUSHO).







          TG,TJ,TT,TR  Batch files allowing GIF,JPEG,TGA, etc. to enter VT.

          CONV       Batch file to convert GIF,TGA,JPEG,PCX,etc. to SSTV.



          If you have a TRUCOLOR board, type:    C:\TV>tss      and  choose

     a mode where you have several files existing. Take the default choices

     for  the  other questions. The first pix should appear. If you  get  a

     screen  full of slanting lines, recheck the values for BS, BL, and  BP

     for  mode  112 using VESA as described above. If  that  doesn't  work,

     you've got one of the oddball video cards, so try the other choice  for

     BL  in the SYS CONFIG list. That is, Q(uit) the picture and hit F5  to

     proceed.  The  only trucolor (ie, BP=3 or BP=4) choices for  BL  I  am

     aware  of are 1920, 2048, and 2560, but if you still get  slants,  try

     other values (and be sure to let me know what the other choice was for

     your  board). SAVE the value that works and install it in all  of  the

     programs where you installed the VC choice previously. Now you can key

     N(ext) to see the next file or A to advance automatically (dwell  time

     on  each slide can be set in SYS CONFIG). When in automatic,  you  can

     S(top) the advance or restart with G(o). Q(uit) exits the pix  screen.

     I use the four pix per frame mode in TSS almost all the time.

          SS  works the same way as TSS, but is for 256 color boards.  Both

     of  these batch files (SS.BAT and TSS.BAT and PK.BAT) should be  copied

     into your TOOLS or DOS directory so you can call them up from anywhere

     in the machine (or if you use WIN95, put them in C:\WINDOWS). If,  for

     example,  you use RT in it's AUTO+SAVE (F7) mode and use the  RAMDRIVE

     for  temporary storage, you can call up SS or TSS in the  RAMDRIVE  to

     view  the  new  pix and SAVE the pix's you like  directly  from  these

     programs.

          This winds up the short Operation instructions. I suggest you not







     only read the TVINFO.TXT but also all of the UPGRADEx.TXT files to see

     what else I have missed here.

                                                  Have fun,

                                                  Ben Vester, K3BC

     8/14/96