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F0Ξ05: [ BDEHI%} VY8 B V  @  /DE `E:D1:DUP.SYSERROR-SAVING USER MEMORY ON DISKTYPE Y TO &}STILL RUN DOS B;DE J  (` 9 V⪍ ઍ  -'}LLu ÝDEHILV 9 .l 9 .l  `` s$B BH(}I|DE V BLV nB,DE JLV B V BLVDEIʩ BꭝLu  } 3E:}DISK OPERATING SYSTEM II VERSION COPYRIGHT 1984 ATARI CORP.A. DISK DIRECTORY I. FORMAT DISKB. RUN CARTRIDG*}E J. DUPLICATE DISKC. COPY FILE K. BINARY SAVED. DELETE FILE(S) L. BINARY LOADE. RENAME FILE M. RUN AT ADDRES+}SF. LOCK FILE N. CREATE MEM.SAVG. UNLOCK FILE O. DUPLICATE FILEH. WRITE DOS FILES P. FORMAT SINGLEL !N',}#"&))9(&*)/h)''-&؆莟R'S  vL/ˢ L }Insert DOS 2.0s, type Y Λx -}DEfHI 1莏#q! @ y0ɛ8A0,' ȅ 1 1ild! 1L!NO SUCH ITEMSELECT.} ITEM OR FOR MENU! 0 .z:*{}.|{ 1 0 0JB 18L%|DL/}%DIRECTORY--SEARCH SPEC,LIST FILE?[# 0 0 &|D3" 1L!NOT A DISK FILEN !B 1L!E# 1 !BD0}ED:}:1BJ|DE 1DEBHI 1 h0ߢ 0.1}  0?詛 1 y0YЛ 1 ;#L" ;#L! 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G}JB|,#P#DE 1 HI BDEHHII 1 B 1 ,^ 1 70,0La- B V,#PH},^ 1 70 0L#L!-* 1P* 1 y0Yj383}mm ݭI}}`8}``|* ? ɛ,`|:-)| / 1L!`DESTINATION CANT BE DOJ}S.SYS0 0H{ 24Δ 28/L!/) 2 Π 2 0 ξK}hAΞB,0 J 1 BDEHI,HÝDE 1HIHIDELSAVE-GIVE L}FILE,START,END(,INIT,RUN)O S0 1`BDEPHI V` S0H 1 L!M}0 0 1L~0`PLEASE TYPE 1 LETTER,0`hhL! 70 1L0L<1 ,;ɛ7,"ɛ:ݦ1ݥN}A"D|ݤD|ȩ:|ȩ|ɛ,,(/+.ީ1 1,ɛ`轤{NAMEO} TOO LONG B VL!` L1I H1EΝDL1|mDiE` V0`8d/8 i:222 1 LP}!ERROR- 138ɛ+,' 20*.. өr2 1``2TOO MANY DIGITSINVALID HEXAQ}DECIMAL PARAMETER800 0 8 00`,0'D800 H,ɛh`2L1NEED D1 THRU D8uR}  MYDOS Version 4 Technical User Guide T} Revision 4.50 for Atari Home Computers CopyriU}ght (C) 1988 by WORDMARK Systems and the authors: Charles Marslett V} 2705 Pinewood Dr. Garland, TX 75042 CIS: 73317,36W}62 UseNet: CHASM@KILLER.DALLAS.TX.US and X} Robert Puff Suite 222 2117 BuY}ffalo Rd. Rochester, NY 14624 GEnie: BOB.PUFF Z} This software may be freely used and distributed provided that this copyright notice is left intact, an[}d provided that: (1) The source code in machine readable form is provided with any binary distribution, o\}r made available at no additional cost to the recipients of the binary distribution. (2) A binary version]} of a derivative work may be sold for a reasonable distribution charge (less than $50), and the source code^} in machine readable format must be available. (3) A derivative work may not impose and restriction on the free _} distribution of the source code. MYDOS Technical Manual page 1 Version 4.5`}0 IV. THE MENU COMMANDS: The MEM.SAV feature Whenever the DOS menu is entered, MYDOS wila}l load DUP.SYS from drive 1. If DUP.SYS cannot be found on drive 1, it will look for it on drive 2, 3, etc... untb}il it finds it. Loading DUP.SYS will overwrite a good chunk of lower memory, and will wipe out the datac} in most languages. Here's where MEM.SAV comes into play. When this feature is enabled (by going to the menu and d} pressing "N" and [RETURN], then "B" to exit back), the memory that DUP.SYS would overwrite is saved to the filee} "MEM.SAV" on drive 1 (may be drive 8 if you use one of the RAMBOOT programs on the disk). It then loads the DUf}P.SYS. When you press "B" to return, or if you use the "N" command of the menu, MYDOS will load back in the MEM.SAV, g} thus restoring the overwritten memory. The result is your program remains intact. V. FILE MANAGERh} FUNCTIONS PROVIDED THROUGH CIO MYDOS supports all CIO calls supported by ATARI DOS 2, with the followii}ng modifications to the OPEN (Function code 3) and the FORMAT (Function code 254) functions. Three additional CIO fuj}nctions have been added: MAKE DIRECTORY (Function code 34 & 42), SET DIRECTORY (Function code 41) and LOAD MEMOk}RY (Function code 39 & 40). The OPEN function in ATARI DOS 2 does not use the data provided in the AUl}X2 byte, but in MYDOS when the AUX1 byte is 8 (the file is opened for creation or replacement), the AUX2 byte contains tm}wo flags that control the file format, and whether it will be created locked or not. If AUX2 bin}t 2 is set, the file will be written in MYDOS 4 format, and may contain sectors beyond absolute sector 1023. Sucho} a file may not (easily) be read by DOSes other than MYDOS. This is the only format used with high capacity disksp}. If AUX2 bit 5 is set, the file will be written with the "LOCKED" bit in the directory set initially. This q}is provided for use by multi-tasking functions (such as a print spooler, sequential file pre-reading function or othr}er enhancements one might want to make to the standard OS or DOS provided functions). The s}FORMAT function in ATARI DOS 2 does not provide for any variations to the standard disk usage: in MYDOS the content}ts of the AUX1 and AUX2 bytes are used to specify the number of sectors on the disk being formatted, and whetheru} the disk needs to be formatted by the controller as well as needing directory initialization. Bit 7 of AUX1 is v}set to skip the physical formatting of the entire disk surface when it is not required, and bits 6-0 of AUX1 and alw}l of AUX2 are used to specify the number of sectors on the disk being created (if all 15 bits are zero, the diskx} is assumed to be the size defined by the drive configuration). This permits formatting a single sided diskette y}on double sided drives, for example. Be careful when using MYDOS Technical Manual page 2 z}Version 4.50 this feature. To load (and possibly execute) a program file, MYDOS provides {} the CIO function 39 call. CIO function 40 will do the same; it was included for compatibility with programs written|} for SpartaDOS. From BASIC you can load and execute a program by executing the line: XIO 39, #3, 4, 0, "D:MYPRO}}G.OBJ". Any inactive IOCB can be used, and if AUX1=4 both the INIT and the RUN entries will be executed. If AUX1=5, ~} the RUN entry will be executed; if AUX1=6, the INIT entry will be executed; and if AUX1=7, the file will be load}ed without executing either entry point. Any other values of AUX1 will return an error code and do nothing. } Another XIO call, XIO 34, has been added to create a directory. CIO function 42 performs exactly the } same thing, and has been provided for compatibility with programs written for SpartaDOS. When a directory is } created, the name used must not match any existing file or directory in its parent (for example if the directory to }be created is named "D1:TEST>BUGS", there can be no other directory in the main directory named "TEST" nor a file} named "TEST" there. From BASIC, the XIO 34 call is "XIO 34, #iocb, 8, 0, dirname", where "iocb" is a}ny available unit number, and "dirname" is the name of the new directory (it does not end with a trailing ":" or ">"). } The final function added to those provided by ATARI DOS 2 is XIO 41, to define the default directory. }The default directory is that which will be searched for a file if the file name begins with "D:". In ATARI DOS }2 this default directory is always "D1:" but in MYDOS, the default directory can be any root or subdirectory on any dis}k in the system. The buffer address passed to CIO in the XIO 41 call is the address of a string that contain}s the default directory name, terminated with either an end of line ($9B) or a null byte ($00). The directory will }be accessed before returning to the calling program so that an error in specifying the directory will be reported as e}arly as possible. VI. CIO FUNCTION CODES PROVIDED BY MYDOS 4.50 Function code 3, OPEN } The open function uses the buffer address to point to an ATASCII string terminated with a non-alphanumeric cha}racter or wildcard. This string is the name of the file to be accessed or created. A good terminator for thi}s string is either a null ($00) or an end of line ($9B). The AUX1 byte defines the usage of the file: 4} for input, 6 for directory data reading, 8 for creating/replacing output, 9 for creating/appending output} and 12 for input/update (without extension). The AUX2 byte is used when a file is replaced or created, an}d contains two significant bits: bit 2 set causes the MYDOS format to be used even if the diskette is a 40 track singl}e sided diskette; MYDOS Technical Manual page 3 Version 4.50 and bit 6 set r}esults in the file being LOCKed initially without and additional CIO call. For input, update or directory access AUX2} is ignored, and the length is always ignored. In normal use, AUX2 is set to zero emulating ATARI DOS 2 usage. } MYDOS does not leave partially full sectors when appending to a file. This has two positive effects on pr}ograms which open files in append mode: the open will fail if the file cannot be appended to rather than the } close (in ATARI DOS), and the file size will not change if a file appended to is copied to another disk (in ATARI DO}S it may grow smaller). Function code 5, GET RECORD The get record function reads a li}ne of data into a buffer, the buffer being defined by its starting address and length. The line is defined as the} data bytes in the file up to an end of line character ($9B) or until the buffer is full, whichever occurs first. The }line is also terminated if the end of the file is read. All record I/O is buffered in MYDOS, so record transfer}s are necessarily slower than unbuffered I/O. No other fields of the IOCB are referenced or needed. Not}e that the ATARI ROM OS supports single byte I/O through the accumulator if the buffer length is set to 0. I}n this case, GET RECORD and GET CHARACTERS function exactly the same way. Function code 7, GET CHARACTE}RS The get characters function reads a fixed number of bytes from a file into a buffer, the buffer } being defined by its address and length (two 16-bit numbers in the IOCB). The only cases where the buffer is n}ot always filled is if the end of the file is read, or the file cannot be read withut error. As is the case with ge}t record calls, a single byte may be read into the accumulator by setting the length field to zero. A get ch}aracter CIO call will perform unbuffered I/O if the buffer is longer than 256 bytes (ATARI DOS 2 sets a simi}lar threshold at 128 bytes). For this reason a single long input is considerably faster than several short ones. } Only the buffer address and length in the IOCB are used by the get characters function. Func}tion code 9, PUT RECORD The put record command will write a single line to an output file: the lin}e defined by the starting address of the buffer and either the length of the buffer if no end of line ($9B) bytes} are encountered, or the first end-of-line byte. Only the buffer address and length in the IOCB are used in this }command. MYDOS Technical Manual page 4 Version 4.50 Function code} 11, PUT CHARACTERS The put characters command will write the contents of a buffer defined by its add}ress and length (in the IOCB) to a file opened for output. Unless an error occurs, the entire buffer is always written} to the file unless the write is to an output/update file and the end of the file is reached or the write is to a}n output/append or create file and the disk has filled. Only the buffer address and length fields in the IOCB} are used when the put character function is used. The single byte put character (using the A register as data) is} supported by setting the length bytes to 0. Function code 12, CLOSE A FILE To terminat}e use of a file (and for an output file, to write the incomplete buffer to the disk) the IOCB used to access the f}ile should be closed. This is done by setting the function code in the IOCB to 12 and calling CIO. The close }function does not use any of the data in the IOCB for any purpose whatsoever. Function code 13, READ ST}ATUS The read status command is issued to an unopened IOCB, with the buffer address that of a file} name string. If the file is not present, that error condition is returned, if it is locked, that error co}ndition is returned; otherwise, a normal completion code is returned. Only the function code and the buffer address i}n the IOCB are needed. Function code 32, RENAME A FILE The rename function is passed a} character string (pointed to by the buffer address in the IOCB), the first part of the string being a file name }identifying the file or files to be renamed. Following a single invalid character (one invalid in the file name, tha}t is) a simple file name must also be present: this second file name cannot include any drive or directory nam}es. An example, using a comma as the invalid character, is "D2:TEST>PGMS>A.OUT,ZCPY" which will change the string} needed to access the file "D2:TEST>PGMS>A.OUT" to "D2:TEST>PGMS>ZCPY" -- Note that only the last file na}me (if subdirectories are used) can be changed; to change "PGMS" to "MLPROGS", the buffer must contain "D}2:TEST>PGMS,MLPROGS". Wild card characters should appear only in the part of the file name following }the last ":" or ">", and their effect is best described by an example. The string "D2:TEST:*.*,*.XYZ" will rena}me all the files in the TEST directory, making each extension ".XYZ". If the directory had the files "ATEST.BAS",} "LOG", and "REPORT.XYZ" in it, the result would be a directory with "ATEST.XYZ", "LOG.XYZ" and "REPORT.XYZ" in i}t. MYDOS Technical Manual page 5 Version 4.50 Function code 33, D}ELETE A FILE The delete function removes any files that match the file name string pointed to by t}he buffer address in the IOCB. Files locked will not be deleted, so must be unlocked before being removed, and s}ubdirectories that are not empty (that have a file in them) cannot be deleted. If either case is attempted, the corres}ponding error code is returned. Otherwise, the files are removed and their data areas are returned to the fr}ee space on the disk. Files that have been deleted may be "undeleted" by various utility programs ONLY if the d}ata has not been overwritten. If you write to the disk after you have just deleted a file on that disk, chances are} that you will not be able to recover the file. Function code 34, MAKE DIRECTORY The m}ake directory function will create a new subdirectory on a disk (it is not used to create the first directory, that is t}he "root directory" identified by the drive specification "D1:", for example). It is called through CIO by st}oring the address of the new directory's name in the IOCB buffer address and setting up AUX1 and AUX2 as f}or an open call (see Function code 3), normally AUX1=8 and AUX2=0. This function has no effect on the current default di}rectory; and if it is desired to make the newly created directory the default one, the program must make a set }directory call (Function code 41) following the make directory call (the order is very important, because th}e default directory cannot be set to a nonexistent directory). CIO function code 42 may also be used to acc}ess this function; the parameters are the same. Function code 35, LOCK FILE A file can }be "locked" so that it may not be modified or deleted inadvertently, by calling CIO with the lock function. The buf}fer address is used to point to a file name string that identifies the files on the disk to be locked. The onl}y file modification that can be performed on a locked file is to unlock it. The lock function can be requested f}or a file already locked, and it will return no error (unlike other file modification calls to CIO), but the status of }the file will not have been changed. Function code 36, UNLOCK FILE The unlock functio}n is identical to the lock function except that is re-enables the modification or deletion of an unlocked file. }A file that is not locked can be unlocked with no error returned and no change in the file's status. } MYDOS Technical Manual page 6 Version 4.50 Function code 37, POINT TO POSITION IN F}ILE The point function is passed the 3-byte disk address to be positioned to in the twelfth throug}h fourteenth bytes of the IOCB. On return, the next byte read from that IOCB will be the one that was read or }written next after the corresponding note function was executed. A point call to CIO can only be made if the fi}le can be used for input: that is, if it is opened for input or update processing. The first two bytes} of the disk address are a sector number (in low byte / high byte format) and the third is the byte (offset) w}ithin the sector. If a file is being appended to (opened with AUX1=9), a point function call made }before closing the file may return an unexpected error (this cannot happen with the note function, however). } A problem can occur if the file being pointed to is in the last half of a 16 Megabyte disk: Atari BASICs do not }allow sector number to be greater than 32767. A solution is to use the following BASIC substitute for the POIN}T statement (with attention paid to the fact the the two AUX bytes must match the two used to open the file): OPEN }#K,AUX1,AUX2,"D5:BIGFILE" . . . NOTE #K,SECTOR,BYTE . . . POKE 844+16*K,ASC(CHR$(SECTOR)):POKE 845+16*K,I}NT(SECTOR/256) POKE 846+16*K,BYTE: XIO 37,#K,AUX1,AUX2,"D:" Function code 38, NOTE POSITION IN FILE } The note function returns in the twelfth through fourteenth bytes of the IOCB a 3-byte disk address }that may be used at a later time to reposition the file using the point function. The note function can be} used on files open for input, output, update or appending. The three bytes returned are the low byte of the sect}or address, the high byte of the sector address, and the byte (offset) within the sector, in that order. } Function code 39, LOAD MEMORY The load memory function takes a file formatted in the ATARI DOS }2 executable program format (generated by the "K" command, by the assembler/editor cartridge, by AMAC or MAC65, o}r by any of several compilers for the ATARI computers), and loads its contents into memory as specified in th}e file. No offset control is provided and no part of memory is protected from the loading process. The }initialization and execution addresses (if any) can be individually enabled and disabled, to permit loading and patc}hing a program then writing it back to the disk for normal use. To load a program into memory, the }address of the file name string is stored into the buffer address, and a value of 4, 5, 6 or 7 MYDOS Technical M}anual page 7 Version 4.50 is stored into the AUX1 field. If AUX1 is 4, both the init}ialization routines and the run address are executed after closing the IOCB, but before returning to the calli}ng program. If AUX1 is 5, the initialization routines are disabled, but the program will be run. If AUX1 is } 6, the initialization routines will be run, but the program execute address will be loaded and ignored. If AUX1 is 7, t}he text of the program will be loaded into memory, but no other activity will be performed. CIO function code 40 }performs the exact same function as this (39). Function code 41, SET DEFAULT DIRECTORY }The set directory command will use the contents of the buffer as a file name and open the specified file, determining i}f that file is a valid directory. If so, it will become the new default directory. File names of the form "D:..}." will be assumed to be in the default directory (which may be on any disk in the system and may be either the r}oot directory of that disk or a subdirectory). Only the buffer address and the function code are significa}nt when setting the default directory. Function code 254, FORMAT A DISKETTE The format} function uses the contents of the buffer pointed to by the buffer address to identify the drive containing the diske}tte to be formatted. If both AUX1 and AUX2 are zero, the disk is formatted according to the capacity data} in the system control table defined using the "O" command. If AUX2 bit 7 is set to 1, the format operation is s}kipped and an empty file system is written to the diskette. (This assumes the disk is preformatted.) The remaining } 15 bits of AUX1 and AUX2 are used as a 15 bit number to specify the number of sectors available on the dis }k (permitting the use of the last few sectors of a disk outside the file system if desired). You may format a dis }k in enhanced density (MYDOS compatible - not DOS 2.5 type format) by setting AUX1 to 1, and AUX2 to 0. } VII. DISK STRUCTURES SUPPORTING MYDOS 4.50 MYDOS uses the first three sectors of a disk to hold some disk } information and the initial boot program if the drive contains DOS.SYS and DUP.SYS. Sector $168 (and sectors } $167, $166, $165, etc., if the disk is formatted as a higher capacity disk not compatible with ATARI DOS 2) i }s used to hold a bit map of available sectors and several flag byte identifying the default format of files on the } disk. Sectors $169 through $170 contain main disk directory data, identifying the files on the disk, their }sizes and their starting sector number. Note that this usage, when the diskette is a 719 sector volume } declared to be DOS 2 compatible, is in fact exactly the same as ATARI MYDOS Technical Manual page 8 } Version 4.50 DOS 2 would make of the disk. The default single sided format differs only in } that sector 720 is not left out of the file system in MYDOS but is used to provide 708 free sectors on an empty disk }ette rather than 707. The only significant change made when the high capacity format is chosen are that en }ough sectors before sector $168 are allocated to assign a bit for each sector that may be allocated for a file or } for use by the system (VTOC sectors). The high capacity disk directory may be read by ATARI DOS 2, but the data in th }e files can only be accessed if it falls in the first 1023 sectors of the disk and then only if the file number } checking code in DOS 2 is disabled. This format allows MYDOS to support accessing disks of up to 65,535 sectors }of 256 bytes each (approximately 16 Mbytes). Compatibility with DOS 2.0 is further reduced if subdirectories } are used: to ATARI DOS, the subdirectories will appear to be simple files with unreadable contents. The subdire }ctory's files will not be accessible and the subdirectory can be damaged if it is written to (even by appendin }g). For this reason disks sold to the general public, exchanged with friends, and so forth, should not contain } subdirectories unless there is reason to require that the disk be used with MYDOS. A further problem with exc }hanging diskettes is that there are many different formats are used by vendors of double sided disk systems for }the ATARI. For this reason, double sided disks not only require both computers use MYDOS, but also require that they use } the same disk system (PERCOM, SWP, Astra, Supra or whatever). VIII. MYDOS 4 MEMORY MAP } The MYDOS 4.50 disk operating system occupies the area from $0700 to $1EE9 at all times, and when the menu is }active, it also occupies the area from $294A to $4331. In addition, the first 16 bytes of the floating point } workspace ($D4 - $E3) are used by MYDOS at that time. Unlike ATARI DOS 2, MYDOS utility program (DUP.SYS) also } calls the floating point ROM entry points. The nonresident part of MYDOS 4.50 starts loading at $294A, reserving the }area from $1EE9 to $2949 for disk buffers and drivers. Allocating three disk buffers leaves approximately 2500 byt }es for resident drivers that will not be overwritten by the nonresident portion of DOS (contained in DUP.SYS). } IX. CUSTOMIZING A SYSTEM DISK RAMdisk Configurations The RAMdisk driver included in MYDOS } 4.50 is already configured for the Atari 130XE computer and uses its banked 64K bank of memory for the RAMdisk !} providing 499 free (single density, 128 byte) sectors. The "O" command provides an easy way to alter the operati "}on of the RAMdisk driver for other common banked memory systems. Most memory upgrades for the 800XL and 130XE u #}se the same mapping address (the PORTB pins of the PIA chip in the computer). A 128K RAMdisk can be used in an Ata $}ri 130XE using the last unused pin of that port with no tradeoff (selecting the 64K bank is done with bit 6 of PORTB). %}If MYDOS Technical Manual page 9 Version 4.50 you have such a system, ente &}r a "2" for the page sequence, or just use the default sequence (answer "Y" to the question "Use default page s '}equence..."). If, instead of adding one or two rows of 64K memory chips, the enhancement replaces the (} entire memory of the computer with a single bank of 256K memory chips, then the banked memory is a total of 192K )}and 4 bits of the port must be used to select the memory bank. Often the bits used are bits 0 and 1 (as in the 130XE) a *}long with bit 6 (as in the expansion above) and bit 5 (used in the 130XE to control banking screen memory). +}Programs that bank screen memory (a very odd proposition because of the difficulty of obtaining a useful sharing ,}of the banked memory page bits between the screen memory and the program) will not work with this enhancement. T -}his is the approach used in the Newell Industries 256K upgrade for the Atari 800XL. If the enhancement .} is done externally or to an Atari 800 (with its internal expansion slots), a new dedicated register may be used /}to map the 16K pages. The Axlon RAMPOWER 128 card for the Atari 800 works this way. In such a system, the pages are se 0}lected by writing a page number to the mapping address and no sharing of the 8 bit byte is necessary. The addr 1}ess of the mapping register is entered explicitly and page sequence "5" is the proper sequence. Th 2}e page sequence table coded into MYDOS is actually one 32 byte sequence table of numbers to be stored in the mapping reg 3}ister. MYDOS 4.50 has a feature that allows you to skip all this configuration stuff, if the upgrade is XE co 4}mpatible. In the configuration, MYDOS will create a custom page sequence for your memory upgrade, and update 5} its pointers. If you choose to enter our own page sequence, the number of 16K pages determines the number of bytes 6} to be used. You may use one of the four built-in page sequences by entering a single sequence number: 7} Seq. No. Page Values OR Value 0 E3, E7, EB, EF, C3, C7, CB, CF, 8} 83, 87, 8B, 8F, A3, A7, AB, AF 00 1 C3, C7, CB, CF, 83, 87, 8B, 8F, E3, E7, EB, EF 9}, A3, A7, AB, AF 00 2 A3, A7, AB, AF, C3, C7, CB, CF, E3, E7, EB, EF, 83, 87, 8B, 8F :} 00 5 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 0A, 0B, 0C, 0D, 0E, 0F FF ;} As an example, if you want to use BASIC/XE in extended mode (or use a program that uses the standard XE banks: page <}s E3, E7, EB, and EF), and you have a RAMBO XL upgrade, set your memory size to 128K, and use the page sequence =}of: 1 or C3,C7,CB,CF,83,87,8B,8F,00 This will configure the RAMdisk to use only that >}part of the banked memory not used by BASIC/XE. MYDOS Technical Manual page 10 V ?}ersion 4.50 The file RAMBOOT.M65, the MAC/65 assembler source code for which is in the file RAMBOOT.AU @}T, is an AUTORUN.SYS file that simulates the operation of Atari DOS 2.5 and its RAMdisk. It "formats" the RAMdisk A}and copies DUP.SYS to it, as well as setting the RAMdisk unit number and the unit used to access the DUP.SYS and MEM.SA B}V files to 8. By modifying the code in the source file and creating a modified AUTORUN.SYS file, the C}drive used to save MEM.SAV and fetch DUP.SYS can be modified, other files than just DUP.SYS can be copied to the D}RAMdisk when the system is booted, or any other operation could be performed that you find useful. N E}umber of Files Open at Once The number of files that may be simultaneously open is set with the same b F}yte as in ATARI DOS 2: location $0709 (decimal 1801). This byte contains a number from 1 to 16 setting the number of di G}sk files that may be open at the same time. Normally it is set to 3, the smallest number that supports all H} the functions in the MYDOS menu. Specifically, a copy from one disk file to another requires three open disk I} files. The value in the distributed version of MYDOS 4.50 is three. To permit more or fewer files open, use the "O" J} command followed by a RETURN. To permanently change the maximum number of files, use the "H" command to w K}rite a modified MYDOS system to a disk. Each file that may be open at one time requires the allocation of a 256 L}byte buffer so setting this value to 7 (instead of 3) will cause MYDOS to be 1024 bytes longer than before and the M}programs loaded must begin no lower than $22E9 (instead of $1EE9). In corresponding fashion, by setting N}the value to 1, a BBS program can be loaded in with 512 bytes of additional memory if only one disk file is e O}ver open at one time (commonly true of bulletin board programs). Controlling the Disk Drives Acces P}sed by MYDOS Like ATARI DOS 2, MYDOS automatically identifies the disk drives that are present when Q}booted up initially and any time it is reinitialized (some programs do this on exiting to the DOS, and it is a R}lways done if the RESET key is pressed). MYDOS 4.50 is distributed with drives 1 and 2 configured, all others are o S}mitted in order to speed up the booting process. To modify the maximum configuration MYDOS will use, invoke th T}e "O" command for each drive to be added to (or removed from) the system. Pressing the RESET key will then use t U}his value to redefine the system to configure the drive(s). To permanently change the maximum drive configura V}tion, use the "H" command, writing a new copy of MYDOS back to the system disk. Selecting or Disabling W} Write-with-Verify MYDOS 4.50 is distributed with the write-with-verify disabled. Most drives are ver X}y reliable, and will never give you a problem. If MYDOS Technical Manual page 11 Version 4. Y}50 however, something happens (such as dust, a scratch in the oxide coating, or some other problem Z} that may have arisen since the diskette was formatted), the error might not be detected. In short, if you [}are working with something that you want to be absolutely positive that is perfectly saved, enable the verify. This \}will cause the drive to read back each sector after it has been written, taking about three times the time normall ]}y taken on a write without verify. The byte at location $0779 (1913 decimal) controls all write oper ^}ations to the disk. If the value "poked" into it is $57 (87 decimal), then all writes will be read back to verify _} the action was successful. If the value "poked" into $0779 is $50 (80 decimal) then writes will be assumed succes `}sful, and will be performed in about one third the usual time. Note that this address is not the same as in MYDO a}S 4.0 and 4.1 (where it was $0770 or 1904 decimal). This byte is defined, along with the count of the number of b} buffers to be allocated when the file manager is initialized, whenever the "O" command is invoked with no d c}rive specified (only a RETURN is entered in response to the drive number query). To permanently alter it, rewr d}ite MYDOS back to the disk using the "H" command after changing it. X. DISK DRIVE INTERFACE (via SIO) e} The physical disk drives and diskettes are external to the ATARI home computers and the ones suppo f}rted by MYDOS 4 are normally attached to the "serial interface connector" on the right side or back of the q}B%DOS SYSB*)DUP SYSB{SMYDOS45DTXTBeHAM_P2 ATAB>HAM_P1 ATA computer. High capacity or "hard" disks may also be connected to the parallel port of 800XL and 130XE computer r}s. The software in the operating system (OS ROMs) to access the devices attached to either connector is call s} the "serial I/O driver" or SIO for short. The MYDOS disk operating system uses this lower level driver to pa t}ss all commands and information to and from the physical disk drive. Several commands were defined by ATARI to commu u}nicate with the 810 disk drive and most vendors of high performance disk systems for the Atari have adopted v} a slightly extended version of this set of commands. MYDOS will operate with any disk system that supports the w} original 810 set, but the full set of commands is required to support all the functions. An additional fu x}nction necessary to perform automatic density selection is that the drive should automatically identify the de y}nsity of a diskette inserted in it if the first operation is a read of sector 1 (this is necessary if the drive is z}to boot either a double or single density diskette). The minimum set of disk drive functions to support M {}YDOS (or ATARI DOS 2 for that matter) are: Device Unit Command Direction Byte Ct. Aux Bytes Function |} $31 Drive# $21 From Drive 128/256 0 FORMAT DISK $31 Drive# $50 To Drive 128/256 1 }} to 720 WRITE(no vfy) $31 Drive# $52 From Drive 128/256 1 to 720 READ $31 Drive# $53 From Dr ~}ive 4 0 READ STATUS $31 Drive# $57 To Drive 128/256 1 to 720 WRITE(verify) MYD }OS Technical Manual page 12 Version 4.50 An additional command to format a disk }in enhanced density is: $31 Drive# $22 From Drive 128 0 FORMAT DISK The } byte count is always 128 for a single density drive, and is 128 for the first three sectors (1, 2, and 3) of a doub }le density drive. All other sectors on a double density drive are 256 bytes long. The FORMAT f }unction is always called with a sector number in the range of 4 to 720. It expects 128 bytes from a single density dri }ve and 256 bytes from a double density drive. The first byte returned by the READ STATUS command is ex }pected to indicate the sector size -- if bit 5 is a 1 (bit 7 is the sign bit) then the sectors are large ( }256 bytes), otherwise, they are small (128 bytes). The auxiliary bytes are treated as an address to a se }ctor on the diskette, and range from 1 to 720 (when in DOS 2 compatible mode) or from 1 to 65,535 (when accessing }large capacity disk drives). The additional functions used to configure disk drives dynamicall }y are: Device Unit Command Direction Byte Ct. Aux Bytes Function $31 Drive# $4E From D }rive 12 1 to 720 READ CFG. $31 Drive# $4F To Drive 12 1 to 720 WRITE CFG. } These commands are used to configure the drives identified as configurable when the computer is booted: if there } is a possibility that a drive does not support these functions, it should be defined as not configurable (such }as the Atari 810). These commands are used by the "P" command, permitting reconfiguration of a disk drive on de }mand - to format a diskette, for example. (To format a disk on an Indus drive, issue the "P" command to manually chan }ge the density on the drive, then issue the "I" command). The individual bytes transferred by these comm }ands are defined as follows: byte 0: Tracks per side (40 for a standard disk drive) byte 1: Disk Drive Ste }p Rate (as defined by Western Digital) byte 2: Sectors/Track -- high byte (usually 0) byte 3: Sectors/Track -- }low byte(18 for standard diskettes) byte 4: Side Code (0=single sided, 1=double sided) byte 5: Disk Type Code - }- bit 2: 0=single density, 1=double density bit 1: 0=5 1/4 inch diskette, 1=8 inch diskette dri }ve byte 6: High byte of Bytes/Sector (0 for single density) byte 7: Low byte of Bytes/Sector (128 for single de }nsity) byte 8: Translation control bit 7: 1=40 trk. disk I/O on an 80 trk. drive MYDOS Technica }l Manual page 13 Version 4.50 bit 6: Always 1 (to indicate drive present) } bit 1: 1=Handle sectors 1, 2, and 3 as full size sectors bit 0: 1=Sectors number 0-17 (for exampl }e), not 1-18 bytes 9-11 are not used by MYDOS (see the drive documentation as to how they are to be set } -- usually zeroes) MYDOS 4.50 (unlike version 3 of MYDOS) always issues a read configuration comm }and before writing the configuration to the drive and the contents of bytes 9-11 are written exactly as they were } previously read (so they will be unchanged). An additional change in the usage of this command occurs }when a high capacity drive (hard disk) is configured. The configuration data for such a drive is very complex and }is usually built into the drive controller or written to a "magic" location on the disk. To support partitioning } of very large drives (larger than 16 Megabytes), MYDOS issues a write configuration command with the number of secto }rs per track set to number of sectors on the disk (as defined in the "O" command) and the number of tracks se }t to 1. All high capacity disks are large sector drives (using 256 byte sectors). XI. RAMDISK INTERFACE } The driver built into MYDOS is intended to eliminate the need for a "driver" to use common RAMdisk }s. The required characteristics of the hardware can be most easily described by explaining what is done to acces }s a "sector" of information in the extended RAM. (1) The sector number is divided by 128, and the } remainder is then multiplied by 128 and added to 16384 to get the starting address of the sector i }n memory (it will be between $4000 and $7F00). (2) The quotient is used to index into a page table with } one entry for each 16K that can be mapped into the memory area from $4000 to $7FFF. (3) The value from } the page table is "AND"ed with the contents of the mapping register, and rewritten to the mapping }register. (4) The data is moved to(from) the area addressed above from(to) the sector buffers at the hi }gh end of MYDOS. (5) The mapping register is restored to its non-mapping state by "OR"ing the restore v }alue with the mapping register and rewriting the result to the mapping register. No }te that this design forces the RAMdisk to be single density and no larger than 4 megabytes (256 pages of 16384 byte }s each). Out of that, MYDOS can only accommodate 1 megabyte, because its table is only 64 bytes long. } As you can see, the parameters are the mapping register address ($CFFF for Axlon boards and $D301 for the Atari } 130XE), the value "OR"ed into the register to reset the system back to normal ($FF for MYDOS Technical Manual } page 14 Version 4.50 the Axlon and $00 for the Atari 130XE types), and the actual } map values. These values are determined by first identifying the bits in the mapping register to be left unchang }ed and setting them to "1" in each of the register values. Second, the remaining bits are filled in with all the }legal combinations of mapping bits. The values for the Newell Industries 256K upgrade (which uses the 130XE mapping, mor }e or less) are given here as an example -- future versions of this board and other memory expansion products are } not necessarily going to use the same design. Bits: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 x x x x x 1 1 } First, set bits 7, 1 & 0 in all the mapping values 1 0 0 0 0 0 }1 1 These are the 12 (of 32) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 } 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 } 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 } 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 Lastly, since the mapping register at $D301 }can be read as well as written, it can be left exactly as it was before we used it by "OR"ing the initial va }lue with zero (leaving it unchanged). The sequence is then: 83, 87, 8B, 8F, C3, C7, CB, CF, E3, E7, EB, EF, 0. } MYDOS Technical Manual page 15 Version 4.50 XIII. ERR }OR CODES AND THEIR SOURCES 3 Last byte of file read, next read will return EOF (MYDOS) 128 Break Abort }(OS ROMs) 129 IOCB already open (OS ROMs) 130 No such device defined in the system (OS ROMs) 131 Write-o }nly IOCB, cannot read (OS ROMs) 132 Invalid command (OS ROMs) 133 Device or File not open (OS ROMs) 134 }Invalid IOCB reference (OS ROMs) 135 Read-only IOCB, cannot write (OS ROMs) 136 Attempt to read past end of fil }e (MYDOS) 137 Truncated record (OS ROMs) 138 Device Timeout (OS ROMs) 139 Device NAK (serial bus failure }, OS ROMs) 141 Cursor out of range for graphics mode (OS ROMs) 142 Data frame overrun (serial bus failure, OS R }OMs) 143 Data frame checksum error (serial bus failure, OS ROMs) 144 Device I/O error (in peripheral hardware, }OS ROMs) 146 Function not provided by handler (OS ROMs) 147 Insufficient RAM for graphics mode selected (OS ROM }s) 160 Invalid Unit/Drive Number, zero or greater than 7 (both MYDOS and OS ROMs) 161 No sector buff }er available, too many open files (MYDOS) 162 Disk full, cannot allocate space for output file (MYDOS) 163* Writ }e protected or system error - disk is not readable (MYDOS) 164 File number in link does not match the file's directory } location (MYDOS) 165 Invalid file name (MYDOS) 166 Byte not within file, invalid POINT request (MYD }OS) 167 File locked, cannot be altered (MYDOS) 168 Invalid IOCB (MYDOS and OS ROMs) 169 Directory full, }cannot create a 65-th entry in a directory -- entries may be used for "lost" as well as real files (MYD }OS) 170 File not in directory, cannot be opened for input (MYDOS) 171 IOCB not open (MYDOS and OS ROMs) 17 }2* File or directory of same name already exists in parent directory, cannot create (MYDOS) 173 Bad disket }te or drive, cannot format diskette (MYDOS) 174* Directory not in parent directory (MYDOS) 175* Directory not emp }ty, cannot delete (MYDOS) 180* Not a binary file 181* Invalid address range for loading a binary file, END Followup-To: rec.radio.amateur.miscApproved: news-answers-reques }t@MIT.Edu,rec-radio-info@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.caSender: ikluft@sbay.org (Ian Kluft)X-Content-Currency: This FAQ changes regularly }. When a saved or printed copy is over 6 months old, please obtain a new one. Instructions in Part 2 indicate where t }o find them via NetNews, FTP, and e-mail.Organization: Kluft ConsultingDate: Tue, 29 Mar 1994 01:41:02 GMTSupersedes: Message-ID: Expires: Tue, 3 May 1994 01:40:55 GMTX-P }osting-Frequency: posted on the 7th of each month A how-to-find-the-FAQ article is posted on the 14th, 21st, and 28thRepl }y-To: hamradio-faq@kluft.com (Ham Radio FAQ Coordinators)Lines: 865Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.radio.amateur.misc:32314 }rec.radio.info:4784 rec.answers:4656 news.answers:16957Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.4Archive-name: radio/ham-radio/faq/part2 }Revision: 3.3 1994/02/09 01:33:36Rec.radio.amateur.misc Frequently Asked QuestionsPart 2 - Amateur Radio Organizations, Se }rvices, and Information Sources------------------------------------------------------------------------------Questions dis }cussed in Part 2: (dates indicate last modification)** Where can I find Ham Radio information with a computer? (11/92) }* The rec.radio.* newsgroups (2/94) * The ARRL e-mail server (1/93) * The KA6ETB e-mail "HAM-server" (2/94) * The } Internet File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (2/94) * Access to FTP archives via electronic mail (1/93) * World-Wide Web, W }AIS, and Gopher (2/94) * The Ham-Radio mail list: rec.radio.amateur.misc by mail (9/93) * Telephone BBS's with Ham-re }lated information (9/93) * Callsign servers and geographical name servers (1/94) * FTP access to FCC Part 97 and FCC }Amateur Radio question pools (1/94) * Lists of radio modifications and extensions (2/94)** Can I send ARRL or W5YI elec }tronic mail? (11/92)** "Why doesn't the ARRL do...?" (11/92)** What magazines are available for Ham Radio? (pre-4/92)** } How do I use the incoming and outgoing QSL bureau? (11/92)** Are there any news groups for CAP? (11/92)** What's the nam }e of the QRP club that issues QRP numbers? (9/93)** How do I become a 10-10 member? (9/93)** How do I join MARS? (9/93)* }* How do I join RACES? (pre-4/92)** What organizations are available to help handicapped hams? (pre-4/92)** I am looking } for a specific ham, can anyone help me find him? (6/93)** Can I post my neat new ham related program on rec.radio.amateur. }misc? (pre-4/92)** Where can I get ham radio software for my computer? (9/93)** Are there Dialup News services or BBS }s for Amateur Radio? (4/92)** Where can I find VE sessions in my local area? (9/93)** Why isn't XXX available electronica }lly? (1/94)** I'd like to volunteer to help ham radio through electronic information services like those mentioned in t }his FAQ list. Where should I start? (2/94)--Rec.radio.amateur.misc Frequently-asked Questions------------------Part 2-- }** Where can I find Ham Radio information with a computer?This question has many answers spanning several electronic med }iaincluding UseNet, electronic mail, the Internet, dialup bulletin boardsystems (BBS) and others. Various electronic inf }ormation sources aresummarized under the subheadings that follow.All electronic mail addresses listed are in Internet fo }rmat. If yoursite is not connected to the Internet and does not support Internet-style mail addresses, you will need to }contact either your systemadministrators or a local "guru" to find out how or if you can sendmail to the sites listed. A }sk them, "how can I get mail to theInternet?" and show them the address you're interested in. * The rec.radio.* newsgr }oupsThe primary distribution mechanism for this FAQ is UseNet. Thereare several newsgroups dealing with Amateur Radio an }d other aspectsof radio. The full list is as follows:rec.radio.amateur.misc (*) Ham Radio - misc/general topicsre }c.radio.amateur.antenna Ham Radio - antenna construction/theoryrec.radio.amateur.equipment Ham Radio - manufactured } equipment/modsrec.radio.amateur.digital.misc Ham Radio - digital radio modes: packet/AMTOR/RTTY/etc (formerly r.r.a.p }acket)rec.radio.amateur.homebrew Ham Radio - radio experimentation, kitsrec.radio.amateur.policy Ham Radio - po }licy & regulationrec.radio.amateur.space Ham Radio - satellites, EME, shuttle/MIRrec.radio.broadcasting pu}blic broadcast radiorec.radio.cb Citizens' Band Radiorec.radio.info (*) periodic info from }all rec.radio groupsrec.radio.noncomm misc non-commercial radio topicsrec.radio.shortwave Shortwa}ve Radiorec.radio.scanner Utility Radio above 30Mhzrec.radio.swap radio equipment wanted and} for saleCountry- or region-specific newsgroups include the following:aus.radio Australia (misc rad}io topics)aus.radio.amsat Australia (amateur satellites)aus.radio.packet Australia (packet r}adio)de.comm.ham Deutschland/Germanyfj.comm.ham Japanuk.radio.amateur } United Kingdomin.ham-radio USA, Indianasbay.hams USA, CA, South Bay Area/Silico}n Valleytriangle.radio USA, NC, Research Triangle areaThis FAQ is cross-posted to the newsgroups marked }with asterisks (*).It is also cross-posted to rec.answers (the archive for FAQs in therec.* newsgroups) and to news.answe }rs (UseNet's general repository forFAQs.) These should be the first places to look for new currentcopies of the FAQ.M }ost of the rec.radio newsgroups have their own FAQs as well. * The ARRL e-mail serverARRL is the American Radio Relay  }League, representing and promotingAmateur Radio in the USA. They have established an automated fileserver which responds } to information requests via electronic mail.To use the server, send mail to info@arrl.org with any number ofone-line com }mands in your message. Valid commands are as follows:helpsends more detailed instructions about the e-mail serverindex} sends a list of the files currently availablesend file sends a file (replace "file" with the file's name) se}veral files are referenced by name in parts of this FAQquitends command processing - use it if a signature will be a}ppended to your messageThe server program will respond to the commands, each in a separatemessage. Among many other inf}ormative files, a current copy of theFAQ (updated monthly) can be obtained from the ARRL e-mail server.Other parts of thi}s FAQ refer to specific files on the ARRL server. * The KA6ETB e-mail "HAM-server"Steve Harding KA6ETB has an e-mail s}erver on his 386 PC at home withover 40 megabytes of Ham Radio-related files (at the time of thiswriting.) You can reque}st any of those files with an e-mail messageto the HAM-server at ham-server@grafex.sbay.org. This sitehas a mostly-diffe}rent selection of files than the ARRL, though someoverlap is unavoidable. The HAM-server seems to have more emphasison M}S-DOS programs and binary files though there are many plain-textarticles as well.Use these commands to send requests to }the KA6ETB HAM-server.HELP instructions and info about the HAM-serverINDEX list of files available from the }systemGET send a file (see the HELP notes for more info on  getting binary files in uuencode or xxenc}ode format)NEWFILES list of new files since the given datePING used for testing your path to the HAM-server}, it just sends a simple reply so you can look at the path dataQUIT makes the HAM-server stop reading t}he message (so it won't try to read your .signature) * The Internet File Transfer Protocol (FTP)Sites connected t}o the Internet can access large amounts of dataalmost anywhere in the world, often at high speeds. One common wayto tran}sfer the data you want is FTP. Some sites offer a servicecalled "anonymous FTP" which allows remote users to access a set }ofpublic files without requiring a password.Perry Rovers coordinates a fairly definitive list (formerlymaintained by T}om Czarnik) of anonymous FTP sites, their IPIP numbers, time zones, general contents, and access policieswhich he posts t }o several newsgroups, including comp.archives,comp.sources.wanted and news.answers. It is itself availablevia anonymous !}FTP (how about that?? :-) from (among other places)rtfm.mit.edu under directory /pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list. For s"}pecific information about exact locations of files by name, the Archie database server may be of help. First check if anyo#}ne hasinstalled the "archie" program on your machine and use it. Archie mayalso be accessed by telnetting to one of many$} sites. The listof archie sites is numerous and growing fast. For a currentlist of sites, telnet to archie.sura.net (l%}ogin "archie"), thenplease use the one closest to you to conserve network bandwidth.For those without telnet capability,&} the database may be accessed non-interactively via mail server. Send E-mail with the word "help" to archie@host where h'}ost is one of the Archie sites above. The above two resources (the FTP list and the Archie server) are extremely powerfu(}l tools for finding out "what's out there" at various FTP sites around the world. *PLEASE* exhaust their capabilities be)}fore posting requests to the net. The following is a brief summary of major ham-related FTP sites andplaces where you ca*}n obtain a current copy of this FAQ:ftp.cs.buffalo.edu(submissions to this ftp site should be made tobowen@cs.buffal+}o.edu) - Contains many ham radio files, including the FAQs, Elmer list, SWL and scanner info, PacketFAQ, examination op,}portunities, information on variousregulations, information on commercial radios (i.e. GE orMotorola), SSTV (slow-scan -}TV), HTs (handheld transceivers).Recently, the rec.radio.amateur Working Group (rra-wg,see below for more information a.}bout their mailing list)has started to encourage archivers of radio modificationinstructions to mirror them at this sit/}e. In this way,maintainers may come and go but the collection ofmods will remain continuously available (and undergo 0}constant positive growth). This FAQ is updated monthlyhere.grivel.une.edu.auThis site contains a mirror of ftp.cs.1}buffalo.edu's Ham Radioarchives. It provides a shorter distance if you're inAustralia or if Australia is a shorter net2}.path for you thanNew York.nic.funet.fiThis is one of the largest FTP sites in Europe and maybe themost popular. 3}There are many directories of Ham-related filesin /pub/ham. /pub/ham/info contains a mirror of Buffalo.Other topics av4}ailable here include amiga, antenna, HF, packet,satellite, scanners, program sources, VHF and others.This site is also 5}one of the article archives for therec.radio.info newsgroup.ftp.uu.netA large FTP site in the USA - UUNET contains so6}urces andbinaries for many different types of computers.wuarchive.wustl.eduA "mirror" of the files that were on the n7}ow-defunctwsmr-simtel20.army.mil FTP site, plus a *LOT* more.If you are on a Unix box locally, see if your systemadm8}inistrator will "NFS-mount" these files for faster/easer access. ucsd.eduThe "home" site (with the most recent ve9}rsions for the largestnumber of different computer platforms) of the KA9Q TCP/IP Network Operating System (NOS), other :}ham-related software, and the archives for the Info-Hams, Packet-Radio, Ham-Policy, Radio-Info and TCP-Group digests. ;}vixen.cso.uiuc.educd pub/ham-radio - This site contains the HyperCard Hamstacks written by Diana Carlson as well as AS<}CII readable ham radio question pools. ftp.apple.comcd pub/ham-radio - Ham software and information, especiallyMac=}intosh softwarewolfen.cc.uow.edu.auathene.uni-paderborn.deham radio files and software for the Amiga computer system >}rtfm.mit.educd pub/usenet/news.answers - all participating FAQs andperiodic informational postings are archived here, ?}includingthose from the rec.radio.* newsgroups which can be found inpub/usenet/news.answers/radio. Participating FAQs @}areautomatically archived here when they are posted on UseNet.ftp.amdahl.comcd pub/radio/amateur - the most up-to-datA}e copy of the FAQ(updated nightly when changes are made)world.std.comThis site contains many ham radio related prograB}ms and documents. It also is the only FTP-able site containingup-to-date copies of the files also available via e-mailC}on the ARRL's information server.See also the file FTP-INFO on the ARRL e-mail server.If you experience difficulty cD}onnecting to the above FTP sites, sometroubleshooting hints are shown below. The unfortunate situation hereis that NetneE}ws is far more prevalent than direct Internet hookups,accurate name servers, smart mailers and routers, and of course,telF}net and FTP client services. What this means is that your troublemay be caused by MANY factors.Here's some hints to cheG}ck what's wrong:* It may very well be that your newsfeed and email are via dialup line and UUCP (Unix-to-Unix copy) in tH}he wee hours of the morning. If this is the case, then you have no direct connection to the Internet and thus cannot uI}se real-time interactive services like FTP and telnet.* If you are at a college or university, your host (ie, the computJ}er you are logged onto) may be on the Bitnet network, which has an email gateway to the Internet, but no direct connectK} capability.* If you do have a direct connection to the Internet, does your host have telnet and/or FTP client programs?L} (ie, if you type "ftp" or "telnet" at your command prompt, do you get anything?) Many hosts, particularly IBM mainfrM}ames not running Unix, do not support these services!* Can you telnet to other hosts and get a login prompt? It may vN}ery well be that some hosts are "not recognized" due to misconfigured connections and inaccurate host tables/name serversO} (*.mil computers are *NOTORIOUS* for this!)* If you get "host not in host table" or "host unknown" or similar error, P}try telnetting via the IP number, a set of four 1-3-digit numbers separated by periods (eg, 198.137.220.1). The exact IPQ} number for the site can be obtained via the nslookup utility, if your computer supports it. (The FAQ does not print IPR} addresses any more because they change so often.) Your system may not recognize the "fully-qualified domain name" (liS}ke callsign.cs.buffalo.edu), but it should ALWAYS recognize an IP number if their network is reachable from yours.* IT}f you get "network unreachable" check with some more knowledgeable users if your site is actually connected to the InterneU}t. If it is, a link in the network may be temporarily disconnected for maintenance (or by accident.)* In the case ofV} telnetting to a non-default port (as in the case with the callbook servers), if telnet doesn't work, buW}t you can telnet to the default login port (ie, no qualifiers), then the manner at which the port qualifier is entered mayX} be system dependent. Also, at many education sites, it is common practice to block telnet connections above TCP sockeY}t 1000 or so in a somewhat misguided attempt to block usage of  "recreational" TCP socket applications such as MultipleZ} User Dungeons (MUD's) or Internet Relay Chat (IRC). In most cases, a polite word to the system administrators, pointi[}ng out the worthwhile services available on sockets 2000 and 3000 will get telnet service unblocked, at least for those\} ports.* Syntax for telnetting from different operating systems differ.  Some common command syntaxes are: (angle brac]}kets are for  readability, do not type these in literally) Berkeley Unix or VMS with Wollongong TCP/IP uses syntax:t^}elnet  Other possibilities to try:telnet console (for 2000 port)telnet open :telnet /telnet /port= (for Multinet on VMS)* Compression techniques are different for dif`}ferent operating systems. However, these hints should help: foo.sit needs Macintosh UnStuffit to unstuff foo.hqxa} needs Macintosh BinHex to uncompress foo.tar needs Unix or GNU tar utility to extract archived files foo.Z needs Ub}nix 'uncompress' to uncompress or VMS compress_vms.exe (on gatekeeper.dec.com) will work too. foo.z needs the GNc}U gzip utility (from prep.ai.mit.edu) to uncompress it. gzip will also uncompress *.Z files. If more than one metd}hod was used, like for foo.hqx.Z, start at the outside and work in (so uncompress on Unix with 'uncompress' first, trane}sfer to MacIntosh, then  uncompress with BinHex to get uncompressed file).* There is an excellent introduction to FTP anf}d archiving software regularly posted to comp.binaries.ibm.pc and news.answers.* If all else fails, ASK your system admig}nistrator or check system documentation. * Access to FTP archives via electronic mailANY BITNET, EARN, or NorthNET h}site can access the Princeton mail server. It will be most efficient if you know the complete pathand filename for anythi}ing you wish to transfer, but you can use 'cd' and 'ls -l' commands to move about and browse the remote site'sdirectoriesj}. The Archie database server may also be useful to searchfor files and their directory locations on FTP sites around the wk}orld (see below). Please be patient when using non-interactive mail servers such as BITFTP as each request may take sevel}ral hours (or longer) to be fulfilled. For access to the FTP server, send email to bitftp@pucc.bitnet (for BITNET, EARm}N and NorthNET users ONLY!). Subject doesn't matter. The text of the email is the FTP commands one after another. For n}example, suppose you wanted to access the FTP site lcs.mit.edu: FTP lcs.mit.edu USER anonymous PASS yourname@yo}oursite(not required) ASCII CD telecom-archives GET filenames BYEA help file is available giving detaip}led instructions by puttingthe single word HELP into the text of the email.For nonBITNET users, there is also a FTPMAIL q}server at ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com. Commands include: REPLY ,CONNECT [HOST [user [pass]]], ASCII, BINARY, COMPRr}ESS, COMPACT,UUENCODE, BTOA, LS , DIR , GET , QUIT,HELP. Get the help file for more informats}ion by sending mail withthe single line "help". The ftpmail site may complain if you try try to get more than 1 file pert} email request. Here is an example of a request:  reply your_name@your_site connect vixen.cso.uiuc.edu binau}ry uuencode get pub/ham-radio/extra-pool.txt quitA note on the use of FTP mailservers: If you want to use v}FTPmailservers, like FTPMAIL, please be considerate of any systems thatyour mail must pass through. The quickest way to w}find yourself cut off from the world is to make the admins of sites that pass your mailpass 60Mb of X11 graphics system sx}ource. If you need large amountsof information from a mailserver, contact your admin for help -- it may already be availy}able, or he may know a better way to get it. * World-Wide Web, WAIS, and GopherA new generation of information retrievz}al tools exploded into greatpopularity on the Internet in 1993. They are the gopher protocol,wide-area information serve{}r (WAIS) and World-Wide Web (WWW). Theyare indeed complete topics of discussion unto themselves which canbe found, among|} other places, in the following newsgroups: comp.archives comp.infosystems.announce comp.infosystems.gopher }}comp.infosystems.wais comp.infosystems.wwwPlease read those newsgroups if you have questions about the softwareor ho~}w to use it.At the current rate of growth, we can never hope to list all theservers. We would like cooperation from peo}ple who assemble WWWservers to add references to other useful Ham Radio informationavailable at other WWW, gopher, WAIS, }and FTP sites. That way the FAQcan direct readers to servers that can reference more servers withmore information than w}e can include on a periodic UseNet posting.Some useful URLs (uniform resource locators) which can be used withWWW are as} follows:file://ftp.cs.buffalo.edu/pub/ham-radio Buffalo FTP files via WWWfile://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/radio/ham-r}adio Ham Radio FAQs & infowais://rtfm.mit.edu/usenet/radio all radio FAQs & infohttp://www.acs.ncsu.edu}/HamRadio NC State HamRadio WWW Serverhttp://gluon.imsa.edu/~scott/hamradio.html Experimental WWW PageAlt}hough still very much works-in-progress, the last two URL'sare excellent examples of WWW servers with numerous references}to other resources. * The UCSD Ham-Radio mail list: rec.radio.amateur.misc by mailYou can use rec.radio.amateur.misc e}ven if your site has no NetNewsfeed. To subscribe to rec.radio.amateur.misc, send email to:Ham-Radio-Request@ucsd.edu}In the body of the message, write:subscribe Ham-RadioIf your local e-mail software does not provide a valid return addre}ss(i.e. Bitnet, many Milnet sites, and many non-Unix e-mail packages)you can provide your return address between the "sub}scribe" and thename of the mailing list (i.e. "subscribe myname@here.org Ham-Radio".)Similarly, to subscribe to some oth}er rec.radio.* newsgroups, usethe following directions: (all addresses here are @ucsd.edu)Request address List ad}dress NewsgroupHam-Radio-Request Ham-Radio rec.radio.amateur.miscHam-Digital-Request Ham-Digital r}ec.radio.amateur.digital.miscHam-Policy-Request Ham-Policy rec.radio.amateur.policyHam-Equip-Request Ham-}Equip rec.radio.amateur.equipmentHam-Ant-Request Ham-Ant rec.radio.amateur.antennaHam-Homebrew-Poli}cy Ham-Homebrew rec.radio.amateur.homebrewHam-Space-Request Ham-Space rec.radio.amateur.spaceRadio-Inf}o-Request Radio-Info rec.radio.infoIMPORTANT NETIQUETTE NOTE: never ever send a request to subscribeor unsubsc}ribe from *any* mail list to the list itself. Always usethe REQUEST address. Otherwise you'll end up broadcasting yourr}equest to everyone on the list and getting lots of people angry atyou. (Seriously - this is a completely avoidable mistake} and itdoes irritate a lot of people.)TO UNSUBSCRIBE, follow directions above, changing the command word "subscribe" t}o "unsubscribe" DON'T POST TO THE NEWSGROUP ITSELF! USE THE REQUEST ADDRESS!Help is available by using the command wor}d "help". Note that commandwords MUST be the first word on each line of the message.You can post to rec.radio.amateur.*} by sending your posting email tothe mail list addresses at ucsd.edu. Since rec.radio.info is amoderated newsgroup, requ}ests to post to it may be sent to Radio-Infobut they will be mailed to the moderator,rec-radio-info@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.ca, fo}r posting.All of the Amateur radio newsgroups are archived for FTP on ucsd.eduunder subdirectory mailarchives/$(mail-li}st-name$). However, Radio-Infois not archived at UCSD because almost everything is either on one ofthe other lists or in} the news.answers archives at rtfm.mit.edu(see also funic.funet.fi above).To subscribe to rec.radio.shortwave, send emai}l to listserv@cuvma.columbia.edu, message is "subscribe swl-l (your name)" * Telephone BBS's with Ham-related informat}ionAmong many, a large one is WB3FFV. Use 8/N/1. The phone numbers are(410)-661-2475 1200-38400/MNP5/V32bis/V42bis(41}0)-661-2598 1200-38400/MNP5/V32bis/V42bis/PEP(410)-661-2648 1200-19200/MNP5/V42bis/PEPLogin is bbs, no password. This BB}S is also available via UUCP,login is uucpanon, no password. For a list of available files, try:uucp wb3ffv!~/FILES /usr}/spool/uucppublicAnother one is N8EMR at phone 614-895-2553, login hbbs. Data settingsare 8 bits, NO parity, 1 stop bit}. N8EMR has a comprehensive list ofother ham-related BBS's on-line.ARRL has a BBS called "HIRAM", named after the Leagu}e's founder.The number is 203-666-0578. More information can be obtained fromthe file ARRL-BBS on the ARRL e-mail server}.For a more complete list of Ham Radio BBS's, see the file BBS onthe ARRL server. See also the file BBS_LIST.TXT on the} KA6ETBHAM-server. Also see many of the FTP sites listed earlier in thissection. There is now way to keep a list like t}his anywhere nearup-to-date so giving you a lot of sources is the next-best thing! * Callsign servers and geographical} name serversWe know of online callsign servers for the USA, Canada and UK.If you are at an Internet site you can connec}t using telnet to thefollowing callbook server (covering the USA and Canada):callsign.cs.buffalo.eduThere is also a ge}neral geographical name server at martini.eecs.umich.eduFor the UK, you can use a WWW client to access the following URL}:http://www.mcc.ac.uk/htbin/callbookThe callbook server sits on port number 2000 and the geographicalname server sits }on port 3000. These are different port numbersthan what telnet usually defaults to. So if you just telnet to thesemachin}es, you will get a login prompt instead of the server. How youtell your telnet program to connect to port 2000 or 3000 inst}ead of the default port is operating system dependent but it is usually done with a line liketelnet callsign.cs.Buffal}o.edu 2000If this doesn't work, check the telnet/FTP troubleshooting hintsabove or consult your local systems guru for t}he proper command string.The interactive servers are designed to be somewhat self-explanatoryand they support fairly det}ailed help facilities. The first command you should execute when connecting to one of these servers is "info". This will }list general info about that server and how to use it. You should then type "help" to list the various commands available. }Typing "help" followed by a command name will give you a little more detail about that command. Servers allow searches by} call, last name, zip code or city and also provide regular expression filters to trim your searches so you get a reasona}ble amount of output.Both these servers are built from a database distributed by RustyCarruth, N7IKQ. This database curr}ently contains US and Canadian callsigns and it does not contain club calls. A new version of the database is sent around} approximately once a year.There is also an email callsign server at callbook@sat.datapoint.com(The UUCP address is ...}!uunet!dptspd!callbook). In the body of the text, say "lookup" followed by callsigns you want to look up. If your maile}r appends signature files, you should put a line "quit" at the end of your request (before the signature file). If you wan}t help, put the word "help" on a line by itself. Here is what a request might look like:helplookup kc1sp wn4bbj}lookup n0fzdquitThere is another email callsign server at callbook@n8emr.cmhnet.org.The subject line is the list of c}allsigns to lookup. All other linesare ignored. This same callsign server can be accessed with packetradio via cbook@n8}jyv.#cmh.oh.usa.na. The body of the message shouldinclude "REPLY n8jyv!HOME_BBS!CALL" (where HOME_BBS is YOUR home BBS,a}nd CALL is YOUR callsign), carriage return, "CALL call1 call2 ..."(where call1 call2 .... is space separated list of callsi}gns you wantto lookup).If you are a packet radio station, callserver data is available fromREQQTH@WA4ONG.VA.USA.NA, su}bject line should be up to 5 US callsigns,separated by spaces. For Canadian calls, use the callserver atREQQTH@VE3JF.ON.}CAN. Body of message is ignored. The server is an OS interface to the MBL packet BBS using the Buckmaster CD-ROM callsi}gn database.The FCC "call sign hotline" at 717-337-1212 is available for thosewho wish to listen to the call signs alloc}ated in each group for eachdistrict. This requires only a touch-tone telephone to use. * FTP access to FCC Part 97 an}d FCC Amateur Radio question poolsPart 97 is part of the FCC regulations and only applies to the USA.As of 1/94, a curren}t copy can be found at ftp.cs.buffalo.edu inthe /pub/ham-radio directory.An ASCII copy of the question pools are availab}le by ftp from the ARRL e-mail server. * Lists of radio modifications and extensions[see also rec.radio.amateur.equi}pment]The largest collection of mods data that we know about is kept atftp.cs.buffalo.edu in the /pub/ham-radio/mods dire}ctory. The maintainer of this archive strongly encourages all existingarchivers of mods to mirror their collections on t}his site.in this way, maintainers will come and go, but the collectionof mods will remain stable and accessible.There }is a packet radio Mods Server. To get the directories, senda packet as follows:SP REQFIL@N2IMC.NJ.USA.NASubject: MO}DS\Dir.1/EXTo get the mod, send to same place, with Subject MODS\Filename.ext.REMEMBER that any modification is likel}y to void your warranty andthat these mods are NOT guaranteed to work. This list is suppliedhere because it is a frequen}tly-asked question on the newsgroup.** Can I send ARRL or W5YI electronic mail?Several ARRL HQ staffers can be contacted} via the net. Their e-mailaddresses are available from the ARRL e-mail file server in thefile called "EMAIL".ARRL req}uests that you include your postal address (the slow kind) incase they need to send you nonelectronic material in answer to} yourrequest.W5YI, a large VEC, can be reached at the following address:Fred Maia, W5YI 3511297}@mcimail.com** "Why doesn't the ARRL do...?"If you want the ARRL to do something, tell them! Direct input from aconce}rned member (or, actually, any concerned Ham) carries a lot moreweight than hearsay from any source. Their e-mail addresse}s areavailable from the ARRL e-mail file server (see above). They wantdirect input - that's why those addresses are avai}lable.** What magazines are available for Ham Radio?Your local ham store may have some, but here's some popular ones(t}his is NOT a complete list!):QST, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 - basic projects and contestingCQ The Radio A}mateur's Journal, 76 North Broadway, Hicksville, NY 11801 - beginner ham radio articles73 Amateur Radio Today, WGE Cente}r, Forect Rd, Hancock, NH 03449,FAX (603) 525-4423, email: COMPUSERVE 70310,775 or Internet70310.775@compuserve.com - m}ore technical ham radio articlesQEX, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 - more technical projectsWorldRadio, 2120 28t}h St, Sacramento, CA 95818, (916) 457-3655.Subscriptions to 201 Lathrop Way, Ste D, Sacramento, CA 95815,(800) 365-SUBS} - lots of special interest columns, like QRP, ATV, YL, etc.W5YI Report, PO Box 565101, Dallas, TX 75356, 1-800-669-9594} - up-to-date information on Amateur Radio happenings, includingVE information and statistics** How do I use the inc}oming and outgoing QSL bureau?To use the outgoing QSL bureau, you must be a member of ARRL. Ingeneral, you send a bundle} of foreign (not States!) QSL cards tothe outgoing bureau in Newington, Connecticut, along with a labeloff of your QST ma}gazine (which shows ARRL membership), along with$2 per pound of cards (approximately 150 cards) or $1 for 10 cardsor less}.To use the incoming QSL bureau, you do NOT have to be a member of ARRL. Send one or more Self-Addressed Stamped Envelo}pes (size 5x7 or 6x9, NO BIGGER, NO SMALLER) with one ounce of postage attached and with your callsign in 3/4" letters in} top left hand corner where the return address label would go. If you expect a large quantityof foreign QSL cards, attac}h extra money or postage with a paperclip; do NOT affix extra postage to envelope. Send the envelopes to the QSL bureau }for your callsign area.If your callsign is xx3xxx/5, you would send it to the 3rd call area, NOT the 5th call area. Add}resses for QSL bureaus are listed in QST and on the ARRL e-mailserver (see below); if you don't have access to a QST magazi}ne, askanother ham. IMPORTANT: BE PATIENT! Turnaround time for a US QSLbureau, not considering foreign QSL bureaus, is} about 3 months.Foreign QSL bureaus and hams can be as fast as 2 months or as slow asTEN YEARS, while average is about 6-}12 months.Addresses for the US incoming and outgoing QSL Bureaus are availablefrom the ARRL e-mail server in the files c}alled "QSL-IN" and "QSL-OUT".See the question above** Are there any news groups for CAP?There is no news group just fo}r Civil Air Patrol discussions. However,rec.aviation.misc is appropriate for CAP aviation discussions and forCAP radio i}nformation, these rec.radio.amateur.* groups are available.CAP-related files are also stored on the FTP sitesunburn.cps.u}dayton.edu in pub/capital.** What's the name of the QRP club that issues QRP numbers?QRP Amateur Radio Club Internationa}l, c/o Bill Harding K4AHK,10923 Carters Oak Way, Burke, VA 22015.See also the file QRP-ADDRESSES on the ARRL e-mail serv}er.** How do I become a 10-10 member?10-10 is simply an organization to sponsor the use of the 10 meterband. It was f}irst conceived when propagation was poor on 10 meters,as a method to get more hams to use 10 meters. The past few yearsh}ave been great for 10 meters worldwide. However, "the bands areclosing down" again, and 10 meters will once again be limit}ed morefor local communications, except for sporadic band openings, untilthe next sunspot cycle.To join 10-10, work te}n 10-10 members and LOG each 10-10 number, callsign, operator's name and location. Send the list to your numericcall sig}n or DX area manager (as shown below), with $5.00 U.S. newmembership registration fee ($6.00 for foreign addresses). 10-}10 International Area Managers:USA 1 - Al Kaiser N1API, 194 Glen Hills Rd, Meriden, CT 06450USA 2 - Larry Berge}r WA2SUH, 9 Nancy Blvd, Merrick, NY 11566USA 3 - Chester Gardner N3GZE, 9028 Overhill Dr, Ellicott Cty,MD 21042}USA 4 - KY, TN, FL, VA, NC, SC only Rick Roberts N4KCC, 7106 Ridgestone Dr,Ooltewah, TN 37363USA 4 - GA, A}L, Puerto Rico only Jim Beswick W4YHF, 112 Owl Town Farm, Ellijay, GA 30540USA 5 - Grace Dunlap K5MRU,* }Box 445, LaFeria, TX 78559 *summer addr Jun-Oct Box 13, Rand, CO 80473USA 6 - Di}ck Rauschler W6ANK, 4371 Cambria St, Fremont, CA 94538USA 7 - Willie Madison WB7VZI, 10512 W Butler Dr, Peoria, } AZ 85345USA 8 - John Hugentober N8FU, 4441 Andreas Ave, Cincinatti, OH 45211USA 9 - Jim Williams N9HHU, 240 Park R}d, Creve Coeur, IL 61611USA 0 - Debbie Peterson KF0NV, RR 1 Box 35, Duncombe, IA 50532All DX- Carol Hugent}ober K8DHK,4441 Andreas Ave, Cincinatti, OH 45211For more info, see the file 10-10-INFO on the ARRL e-mail server.** }How do I join MARS?To join MARS, you have to be 14 years or older (parental consent required under age 17), be a US citiz}en or resident alien, possess a valid Amateur Radio license, possess a station capable of operatingon MARS HF frequencies}, and be able to operate the minimum amountof time for each quarter (12 hours for Army and Air Force; 18 hoursfor Navy-Ma}rines). Novices must upgrade to Technician within 6 months, else be dropped from MARS. No-Code Techs can apply, provided}they have transmit and receive HF capability for MARS frequencies (they don't need transmit capability for Amateur HF freq}uencies). Forapplication forms contact: Chief, Air Force MARSHQ AFC4A/SYXR203 W. Losey St. Room 1020Scott AFB, }IL 62225-5219(618)256-5552 Fax: (618) 256-5126Chief, US Army MARSHQ USA Information Systems CommandATTN: ASOP-HF}Ft. Huachuca, AZ 85613-5000800-633-1128Chief, Navy-Marine Corps MARSNaval Communication UnitWashington, DC 20397}-5161** How do I join RACES?Contact your nearest Civil Defense or Emergency Management Agency.The Radio Amateur Civil }Emergency Service is a part of a municipal,county, or state government. This does not mean, however, that every such gov}ernment has a RACES program. If your government doesnot have a RACES, ask them to refer you to the nearest jurisdictiont}hat does have a RACES program.** What organizations are available to help handicapped hams?Courage CenterHandihams}2915 Golden Valley RdGolden Valley, MN 55422(612) 520-0515ARRL has a Handihams information package (get it by reque}sting itthrough 2155052@mcimail.com) and a book called "The ARRL Plan forthe Disabled", available at no charge from the A}RRL Regulatory Information Branch.** I am looking for a specific ham, can anyone help me find him?Rather than sending  }out a message on Usenet, you might first try the"Radio Amateurs on Usenet" listings, maintained and posted by MarkSalyzyn } VE6MGS. The articles can be found monthly on rec.radio.infoand rec.radio.amateur.misc. If the copy in your news spool ha }sexpired for some reason, you can look up an entry in the list bysending an e-mail to reqnet@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.ca with eithe }r of thefollowing commands in the body of the message: lookup keyword keyword keyword ... return user@machine.subdoma }in.domain(Fill in the proper info for the search keyword or e-mail address.)An automated server program will reply to you}r message.If you have his/her callsign or name, you should also try one of theon-line callservers shown above. This wor}ks in most cases. (!!!)Also try directory assistance from the phone company or the locatorservice provided by the Salvat}ion Army. A Salvation Army post in yourlocal area may be able to help you. Also, the Quarter-CenturyWireless Assn maint}ains a collection of callbooks going back to "thebeginning of time". Their address is: 1409 Cooper Drive, Irving, TX7506}1. Also, the Callbook has a dial-in line for accessing new hamcallsigns. Try (1-708-234-8011) at 2400 baud.** Can I po}st my neat new ham related program on rec.radio.amateur.misc?This is really not a good idea, since many of the readers rece}ivethese newsgroups as mail digests. Posting is also a one-shot thing.If you post and someone missed it, it is gone. A }better way would be to announce the existence of your program here, along with information on how to obtain a copy of you}r program. You can also submit it to one of the FTP archive sites, which will allow the worldto access it without you ha}ving to mail it to each requestor. If you just GOTTA post it somewhere, post it to more appropriate groups, like comp.so}urces.unix or alt.sources or comp.binaries.ibm.pc.** Where can I get ham radio software for my computer?See the informati}on about Anonymous FTP, e-mail servers, andham-related telephone BBS's above. For PC-clones, see the KA6ETBHAM-server. }For Macintosh computers, see the file SOFTWARE-MAC onthe ARRL e-mail server for locations to look.** Are there Dialup Ne}ws services or BBSs for Amateur Radio?There are two major news services for ham radio. Both are run byvolunteer hams and} provide bulletins of specific interest to amateurs,hence they are perfectly legal to rebroadcast on ham bands accordingt}o FCC Regulation 97.111B(6). To lessen the load on the dialup lines,consider getting your local repeater operator to rebro}adcast it, or tape record it to play at your favorite HF net. RAIN (Radio Amateur Information Network) is produced by H}ap Holly,KC9RP, located in Illinois. The news is typically updated 8am CSTFridays. Phone numbers are 1-708-299-INFO (29 }9-4636) and 1-708-827-RAIN (827-7246).NEWSLINE is another, produced by Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. Donationsfor NEWSLINE !}are accepted at Newsline Support Fund, c/o Dr. NormChalfin K6PGX, Pasadena, CA 91102. Phone numbers are: Chicago1-70"}8-289-0423N.Florida1-407-259-4479 West Palm Beach1-407-965-1234Los Angeles1-805-296-2407 (Instant Update Line)#}Los Angeles1-213-462-0008NYC1-718-353-2801Ohio1-513-275-9991Seattle1-206-368-3969** Where can I find VE se$}ssions in my local area?VE sessions are often announced in the local newspapers, but moreoften, they are announced by loc%}al radio bulletin boards. The local packet BBS will most likely have a monthly updated schedulefor VE sessions. ARRL or&} W5YI can generally be called and asked for local VE sessions as well. Don't forget that you will need the following whe'}n you go in for an upgrade: a copy of your current Amateur license; your original Amateur license; any CSCEs (duplicate (}not required), if applicable and less than a year old; a picture ID, preferably a driver's license, passport or visa; and t)}he VE testfee (approximately $5 right now).Bart Jahnke, KB9NM, the ARRL VEC Manager (bjahnke@arrl.org) posts alisting *}of VE exams indexed by state (and some overseas sites, usuallyat embassies and military bases) to the net every 6 weeks or +}so. Thesame list can be obtained from the ARRL e-mail server under the fileEXAM-SCHEDULE. Another file of interest is E,}XAM-INFO.The ARRL list is the definitive list for ARRL VEC sessions. Thereare other smaller VECs around the USA. ARRL -}includes their scheduleswhen the info is available. The other VECs phone numbers are listedwith the ARRL info so you may.} wish to give them a call to check theirschedule if they didn't provide it to ARRL.** Why isn't XXX available electronic/}ally?This is a theme for a lot of common questions. For the "XXX" above,substitute any of the following:CallbooksD0}X QSL ListsRadio station listsvarious publicationsand more...Except for the Callbook (via callsign servers), thes1}e are not availablebecause of any of several reasons. Either there are copyright restric-tions, royalty fees, or the sou2}rce just may not have done the work.Also, not everyone that has information has reliable UseNet access.** I'd like to vo3}lunteer to help ham radio through electronic information services like those mentioned in this FAQ list. Where should4} I start?This FAQ would not be complete without a reminder that usefulresources on the net do not grow on trees, they are5} the work ofmany dedicated volunteers. The rec.radio.amateur.* newsgroupsare very fortunate to have quite a number of su6}ch volunteersproviding everything from FAQ lists to telnettable callsignservers. This doesn't mean, however, that there 7}isn't room formore information and services from additional volunteers. One such service would be more detailed FAQ lists8} for the recently--created special-interest rec.radio.amateur.* newsgroups (suchas those for antennas, homebrew electroni9}cs, equipment andham radio in space) to supplement this general FAQ. Recently an electronic mailing list for amateur rad:}io FAQmaintainers, archive custodians, service providers, and othervolunteers was set up. It is the rec.radio.amateur.* ;}WorkingGroup (rra-wg). Anyone with a sincere interest is welcome tosubscribe by sending E-mail to rra-wg-request@amdahl.<}com. Thereaders of that forum would be more than happy to provide adviceand guidance with regard to an existing informat=}ion project, oreven suggest a new one to fill a currently-unmet need. INewsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc,rec.radio.info,rec.answers,news.answersPath: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news.kei.com!MathWorks.?}Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!decwrl!amd!amdahl!thunder!ikluftFrom: @}ikluft@kluft.com (Ian Kluft)Subject: rec.radio.amateur.misc Frequently Asked Questions (Part 1 of 3)Keywords: FAQ RADIO AMAA}TEUR HAMFollowup-To: rec.radio.amateur.miscApproved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu,rec-radio-info@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.caSender: B}ikluft@sbay.org (Ian Kluft)X-Content-Currency: This FAQ changes regularly. When a saved or printed copy is over 6 monthsC} old, please obtain a new one. Instructions in Part 2 indicate where to find them via NetNews, FTP, and e-mail.OrganizatD}ion: Kluft ConsultingDate: Tue, 29 Mar 1994 01:40:57 GMTSupersedes: Message-ID: Expires: Tue, 3 May 1994 01:40:55 GMTX-Posting-Frequency: posted on the 7th of each month F} A how-to-find-the-FAQ article is posted on the 14th, 21st, and 28thReply-To: hamradio-faq@kluft.com (Ham Radio FAQ CoordinG}ators)Lines: 438Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.radio.amateur.misc:32313 rec.radio.info:4783 rec.answers:4655 news.answers:1H}6956Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.4Archive-name: radio/ham-radio/faq/part1Revision: 3.0 1993/11/07 18:38:38Rec.radio.amateuI}r.misc Frequently Asked QuestionsPart 1 - Introduction to the FAQ and Amateur Radio----------------------------------------J}--------------------------------------This is a regular posting of frequently-asked questions (FAQ) about AmateurRadio, alK}so known as Ham Radio. It is intended to summarize some commonquestions on the rec.radio.amateur.misc newsgroup and Info-HaL}ms mail listas well as to help beginners get started.Please provide a copy of the FAQ to any new or soon-to-be Hams you knM}ow.Regular FAQ postings can help save network bandwidth and maintain a goodsignal-to-noise ratio in the newsgroup. HoweveN}r, they can't do it alone - you,the reader, have to use them. If you are a new user, please print and reviewthe FAQ articlO}es and look at the instructions in the news.announce.newusersnewsgroup before posting any articles. If you are an experiencP}ed user, pleasehelp by refraining from answering frequently-asked questions on the newsgroupif they are already answered byQ} the FAQ articles. Instead, send e-mail to theuser who asked the question. (It will be helpful if you include the part ofR}the FAQ that answers their question, but not the whole thing.)The FAQ cannot always prevent people from posting repetitive S}questions. Buteven if hundreds of questions get posted, it saves you from having to answerthem hundreds of times. Also, aT} friendly pointer to the FAQ in your firstanswer can help that person refer to the FAQ in the future. That is when wecan bU}egin to get a real savings of network bandwidth.To reduce the size of each article, the FAQ information is posted in 3 partV}s:Part 1 - Introduction to the FAQ and Amateur RadioPart 2 - Amateur Radio Organizations, Services, and Information SourcesW}Part 3 - Amateur Radio Advanced and Technical QuestionsTable of Contents-----------------Dates indicate last modificatiX}on.Part 1 - Introduction to the FAQ and Amateur Radio** Table of Contents (6/93)** Introduction to the FAQ (11/92) Y}* How to Contribute to the FAQ Articles (6/93) * Acknowledgements (6/93) * Notes on "Netiquette" (1/93)** What is AZ}mateur Radio? (11/92)** Who can become a ham? (6/93)** Where can I locate information and books on Amateur Radio? (9/93)[}** How much does it cost? (9/92)** Where can I take the tests? (9/93)** What are the tests like? (6/93)** What can I d\}o with a ham radio license? (5/92)** What can't I do with an Amateur Radio license? (pre-4/92)** I'm interested, who will]} help me? (11/92)** Should I build my own equipment or antenna? (11/92)Part 2 - Amateur Radio Organizations, Services, an^}d Information Sources** Where can I find Ham Radio information with a computer? (11/92) * The rec.radio.* newsgroups (6_}/93) * The ARRL e-mail server (1/93) * The KA6ETB e-mail "HAM-server" (new 9/93) * The Internet File Transfer Pro`}tocol (FTP) (9/93) * Access to FTP archives via electronic mail (1/93) * The Ham-Radio mail list: rec.radio.amateur.ma}isc by mail (9/93) * Telephone BBS's with Ham-related information (9/93) * Callsign servers and geographical name serb}vers (11/92) * FTP access to FCC Part 97 and FCC Amateur Radio question pools (9/93) * Lists of radio modifications ac}nd extensions (11/92)** Can I send ARRL or W5YI electronic mail? (11/92)** "Why doesn't the ARRL do...?" (11/92)** Whatd} magazines are available for Ham Radio? (pre-4/92)** How do I use the incoming and outgoing QSL bureau? (11/92)** Are thee}re any news groups for CAP? (11/92)** What's the name of the QRP club that issues QRP numbers? (9/93)** How do I become af} 10-10 member? (9/93)** How do I join MARS? (9/93)** How do I join RACES? (pre-4/92)** What organizations are availableg} to help handicapped hams? (pre-4/92)** I am looking for a specific ham, can anyone help me find him? (6/93)** Can I posth} my neat new ham related program on rec.radio.amateur.misc? (pre-4/92)** Where can I get ham radio software for my compi}uter? (9/93)** Are there Dialup News services or BBSs for Amateur Radio? (4/92)** Where can I find VE sessions in my locaj}l area? (9/93)** Why isn't XXX available electronically? (4/92)Part 3 - Amateur Radio Advanced and Technical Questions**k} What are the different US amateur classes and what can each of them do? (pre-4/92)** What is the best way to learn Mol}rse Code? (10/92)** What is the standard for measuring Morse code speed? (pre-4/92)** What is the standard phonetic alpham}bet? (new 9/93)** I'm confused. What do all those abbreviations mean??? (6/93)** What do all those "tones" mean? (pre-4/9n}2)** Where can I learn more about Amateur Radio if I live outside the US? (9/93)** How can I get a "reciprocal licenso}e" if I am a licensed ham from another country or if I am a FCC licensed ham who wants to operate in another country p}(on vacation)? (9/93)** My apartment or housing complex does not allow outdoor antennas, now what do I do? (9/93)** Iq} got TVI...HELP!!! (9/93)** Did you know that you can get college credit for being a ham? (pre-4/92)** On what frequencier}s do JPL and GSFC retransmit the shuttle audio? (10/92)** Can I take my HT on an airplane and operate it if I get the ps}ermission of the captain? (4/92)** How do I modify my current Amateur license? (9/93)** I'm confused about XXX, shoult}d I ask the FCC? (9/93)** Is there any information on antique radios? (pre-4/92)** Where can I buy vacuum tubes? (9/93)*u}* What do I need to get started in packet radio? (9/93)** What do I need to get started in satellite communications? (9/93v})** What is available to get started in ATV, SSTV and WEFAX? (9/93)** What are these contests I sometimes hear, and how dw}o I participate? (9/93)--Rec.radio.amateur.misc Frequently-asked Questions------------------Part 1--** Introduction to x}the FAQ * How to Contribute to the FAQ ArticlesWe accept suggestions from the Amateur Radio community. Pleaseconsiy}der that all new contributions need to be SHORT and concisein order to be included. If a contribution is too long, the FAQz}editors can help you find a more appropriate FTP archive or mailserver for your article.We always accept corrections. {} Please allow some time (often notthe next issue of the FAQ) because the FAQ maintainers do this asvolunteers so each mus|}t give higher priority to their employers.Send correspondence to hamradio-faq@amdahl.com so that it willreach all the }}FAQ coordinators: (listed in alphabetical order)Ed Hare KA1CV ehare@arrl.org (Newington, CT, USA)Jack ~}GF Hill W4PPT root@jackatak.raider.net(Brentwood, TN, USA)Ian Kluft KD6EUI ikluft@uts.amdahl.com (Santa Clara, }CA, USA)Michael Larish KD6CTZ nomad@ecst.csuchico.edu (Chico, CA, USA)Paul Schleck KD3FU pschleck@unomaha.edu (Om}aha, NE, USA)Chris Swartout N6WCP cas30@uts.amdahl.com (San Jose, CA, USA)Steve Watt KD6GGD steve@wattres.sj.ca}.us (San Jose, CA, USA)Rosalie White WA1STO rwhite@arrl.org (Newington, CT, USA)Derek Wills AA5BT oo7@ast}ro.as.utexas.edu (Austin, TX, USA) * AcknowledgementsAll questions listed as modified "pre-4/92" are entirely Diana}Carlson KC1SP's work or her editing of a contributor's work. Dianaestablished this FAQ and credit is due to her for foundi}ng thisproject.Thanks to Devon Bowen KA2NRC for accepting this FAQ in e-mail everymonth to keep the FTP archive at ftp}.cs.buffalo.edu up-to-date. * Notes on "Netiquette"The rec.radio.amateur.misc newsgroup and Info-Hams mail list have }alarge daily volume of traffic. They can operate more efficiently ifthe following netiquette guidelines are followed. P}lease take themseriously.* If you are new to UseNet, the introductory articles in news.announce.newusers are required }reading. Go to that newsgroup now. Definitely, read the instructions there before posting anything. Other rec.radio.}amateur.* readers will appreciate it!* Pick the right newsgroup. Use only the most specific newsgroup for your subject.} For example, a question about a homebrew antenna only needs to be posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna. Also, don't p}ost to rec.radio.amateur.misc when the subject can go in another rec.radio.amateur.* newsgroup. So, when there is a more }specific newsgroup, that's the one you want.* When posting a followup article, ALWAYS try to minimize the number of l}ines of quoted material from the original article.* As a general rule when you try to determine whether to reply to some}one by e-mail or with a followup article, remember to "praise in public, criticize in private." It's OK to disagree techn}ically but be careful not to attack the person with whom you disagree. Also, be careful with your use of the word "you}" when posting a follow-up article. Many unnecessary flame wars have started that way.* Use a descriptive subject. For} example, a message subject of "Ham Radio" tells the reader NOTHING about the contents of your article since the whole }newsgroup is about Ham Radio. Other examples of subjects which are so broad that they become useless could include, "H}elp," "A Question," "Antennas," or "Frequencies." Maybe "Books on Antennas?" or "Where can I find Repeater Frequencies?" }would be better, for example. Remember, in a busy newsgroup a lot of users decide which articles to read from the subj}ect line alone. If you post, don't deprive yourself of an audience!* Before answering a question, check if the FAQ adeq}uately answers it or if someone else already answered it. If you have more to add, make sure to reference either the F}AQ or the related articles.* If a user posts a question which is directly answered by the FAQ, there is no need to post }an answer - the information is already available on the newsgroup. Instead, just send an e-mail message which politely} explains where to find the FAQ. They will probably appreciate it if you include the answer to their question. (Don't } send a "nastygram" - that would just discourage future participa- tion.)* Pay attention to the size of your audience - }use the "Distribution:" header. If you leave it blank, your message will go to every civ- ilized country in the world }and occupy disk space in all news sys- tems in all those places. If that's what you intend, that's fine but make sure }your article is relevant outside your country. (In particular, Hams should already know there is more to the world than} just their own country.)* If you have an item for sale, please limit the distribution area so that, for example, an ar}ticle about a radio for sale in New Jersey won't get to California or Europe. If you wish, you may cross-post your for}-sale article to rec.radio.swap.* Software sources should be posted to either alt.sources, comp.sources.misc, or comp.so}urces.* for a specific machine type. Software binaries should be posted to the appropriate subgroup of comp.binaries.}** What is Amateur Radio?Amateur Radio is a non-commercial radio communication service whoseprimary aims are public serv}ice, technical training and experimenta-tion, and communication between private persons. Amateur Radio opera-tors are co}mmonly called hams. Hams often communicate with each otherrecreationally but also provide communications for others at pub}licevents or in times of emergency or disaster.** Who can become a ham?The answer to this question differs in every co}untry.The answer for the USA is listed below. If your country hasa newsgroup specifically for it (i.e. UK, Australia, G}ermany)the most accurate answers can be found there. See Part 2 forthe list of region-specific newsgroups.If that doe}sn't help, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)may be able to help because they communicate with similarorganizations i}n other countries, probably including yours.They can be reached by electronic mail or surface mail (seePart 2.)In the }USA, anyone who is not a representative of a foreigngovernment can be an Amateur Radio operator. There are teststhat you} must pass to get a license, however the tests are notinsurmountable. On that general level, the requirements areprobabl}y similar in almost every country.For more information on becoming a Ham in the USA, the ARRLhas a toll-free number wher}e you can request information:1-800-32-NEW-HAM (don't worry about the number being one digittoo long - the phone system i}gnores it.) Other informationcan also be obtained from the ARRL e-mail information server inthe file called PROSPECT. D}etails on the server are in Part 2.** Where can I locate information and books on Amateur Radio?Your local Radio Shack s}ells some ham radios and Amateur Radio license books. Books can also be obtained through the mailfrom ham radio organiza}tions, such as ARRL in Newington, CT(203-666-1541) and W5YI in Dallas, TX (1-800-669-9594). Theremay be one or two ham r}adio stores in the local area (ie, within 50 miles). Try looking in the Yellow Pages under RadioCommunications.For th}e Novice license, get a Novice License manual, plus 5-word-per-minute Morse code tapes, costing around $25. For the Techni}cian lic-ense, get a combined Novice and Technician License manual, and an FCCRules manual, costing around $32. The FCC }Rules manual is a good ideafor Novice also, but not necessary, since the Novice License manualcontains all the FCC Rules }that are required for the Novice License.The ARRL Education Activities Department has several programs to help amateurs }(or prospective amateurs) to get started. Ask for a "New prospect package" available free of charge, from ARRL HQ,Educat}ional Activities Department, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.Information on Ham Radio can also be obtained with your comp}uter.Part 2 of this FAQ contains a significant amount of material onthat subject.** How much does it cost?To take th}e tests for any class of amateur radio license, there isa small charge (around $5-$6 currently) to cover copying costs and}running the testing sessions. (Due to changes in 1993, Novice testsare under same procedures as the others.) The cost of} a radio isreally dependent on what you want to do. You can make your own radioand antenna for under $150. You can buy }a used single-band radio for$150-$300. Or you can buy a new multi-band multi-mode radio with allthe doodads for $300-$30}00. I'd suggest you learn more about hamradio, talk to local hams, find out what you want to do with hamradio first.**} Where can I take the tests?The Novice tests Used to be given by any two qualified hams of Generalclass license or above}. Now all the license tests are given bythree qualified Volunteer Examiners (VEs) who volunteer their time.To locate an} ARRL testing session in your area, you can contactARRL at 203-666-1541 x282.See also the section "Where can I find VE s}essions in my local area?"in Part 2 because more information is available via UseNet.** What are the tests like?First} off, come prepared to VE sessions. Bring: TWO forms of ID,one of which has a picture on it; a calculator (if necessary);} a penand two pencils; the applicable examination fee (around $5-$6 for1993); the original AND a copy of your current Ama}teur Radio license(if you have one); the original AND a copy of any CSCEs for testsyou've already passed (if you have any}).Each of the written tests (Novice, Technician, General, Advanced,and Extra) are generally a multiple choice test of ap}proximately one-tenth of the question pool. For example, if the question pool isapproximately 300 questions, then the te}st will be a 30-questiontest. You need to get 75% correct to pass. Note that they truncateto determine the correct numb}er of questions. That means for a 30question test, you need to get 22 right, which is actually only 73.3%.Once you've p}aid the small fee for Technician-Extra tests, it costsno extra to take another test, so I'd suggest you keep taking thene}xt more advanced test until you fail. If you pass the written but not the Morse code (or vice versa) for a specific class }license,you have up to one year to take the other test before you would haveto retake the written test again. Note that }some VEs will not allowyou to take the written test unless you've first taken the Morse codetest.The Morse code test i}s a receiving test only. The test run 5 to 7minutes. After the test, you are given a 10-question multiple-choiceor fill}-in-the-blank test. Passing grade is 7 or more. If you failthe 10-question test, the examiner team will examine your copy} sheetto see if you have 1 minute of solid copy with no errors. For 5 wpm,that's 25 characters, for 13 wpm, that's 65 ch}aracters, for 20 wpm,that's 100 characters. If they can find 1 minute solid copy, you'vestill passed.Hints on Morse c}ode tests: Generally, it will be a standard QSO(conversation), and it MUST contain at least one of each of the following}:26 letters A-Z, 10 numbers 0-9, comma (,), period (.), slant orslash (/), question mark (?), double dash prosign (BT), e}nd of message prosign (AR), end of contact prosign (SK).The letters count as one character, all others count as two cha}racters. There are a couple other prosigns which are worthknowing, but will not be on the test, like "I'm done talking, ne}xt"is K, "I'm done talking, back to you" is KN, "Please wait" is AS.** What can I do with a ham radio license?There ar}e so many things, it's a difficult question to answer, buthere's some ideas:* Talk to people in foreign countries.* Tal}k to people (both local and far away) on your drive to work.* Help in emergencies by providing communications.* Provide c}ommunications in parades or walkathons.* Help other people become hams.* Hook your computer to your radio and communicate} by computers.* Collect QSL cards (cards from other hams) from all over the United States and foreign countries and rece}ive awards.* Participate in contests or Field Day events.* Provide radio services to your local Civil Defense organizatio}n thru ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) or RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service).* Aid members of the U}S military by joining MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System).* Participate in transmitter hunt games and maybe build you}r own direction-finding equipment.* Have someone to talk to on those sleepless nights at home.* Receive weather pictur}es via satellites.* Build radios, antennas, learn some electronics and radio theory.* Talk to astronauts in space, or use} the moon to bounce signals back to people on the Earth.* Experiment with Amateur TV (ATV), Slow-Scan TV (SSTV), or send} still-frame pictures by facsimile.* Experiment with amateur satellite communications.** What can't I do with an Amat}eur Radio license?The most important thing you can't do is transact business of anykind over ham radio. Interference to }other hams or services, aswell as obscene, profane or indecent language is not tolerated andis illegal. Music and broadc}asting are not allowed on ham radio.Some personal conversations may not be appropriate to Amateur Radio.Do you really wan}t the whole world to hear about Aunt Mabel'shemorrhoids?** I'm interested, who will help me?There are hams who are wil}ling to become "Elmers" (mentors, helpers)in your local area. Look around and ask local hams. Search out localradio clu}bs. As well, some people have volunteered to be an Elmerover the Usenet. A list of UseNet Elmers and their e-mail address}esis posted to the newsgroup monthly. If anyone wants to be an Elmer,send e-mail toelmers-request@unomaha.eduThere} is also a lot to be said for exploring on your own. Take alook around the FTP archives and e-mail servers listed in Part }2.There's so much out there on UseNet, you'll find plenty of thingsyou're interested in.** Should I build my own equip}ment or antenna?[see also rec.radio.amateur.homebrew and rec.radio.amateur.antenna]"Homebrewing" is a fun and educational} part of ham radio. It is athrill to build your own transmitter and put it on the air. However,building your own receiv}er can be quite complicated; if you don't haveelectronics experience, you may want to buy a receiver instead. Mosthomebr}ew transmitters are QRP (transmit very low power). That's finefor an experienced ham with a very good antenna, but a Novic}e ham willjust get frustrated. Your first rig, therefore should NOT be a home-brew.Antennas can be much simpler proje}cts than the transceiver, thoughsome types are also quite involved. Most hams build their own anten-nas for base station} use and buy antennas for mobile (car) use. Mostbeginner ham books describe how to build different types of antennas.Ord}er of difficulty, from easiest to more difficult, for some commonantennas are: wire dipole, Zepp, Yagi, Quad, and Log-Peri}odic. Booksfrom many sources, including ARRL and several Hams, discuss antennasin depth.When building or even underst}anding antennas, it is good to know therelationship between the antenna element length and the frequency orwavelength it }is designed for. An antenna performs best at multiplesof 1/4 of that wavelength, though 5/8 wave also has beneficial quali}t-ies. The wavelength is related to the frequency with the followingformula:wavelength (in meters) = 300 / frequency }(in megahertz)You do not need a huge antenna or tower like ones you may see aroundyour neighborhood. Large beam antenna}s and 40-foot towers are veryexpensive. As a beginner, a simple dipole antenna is perfectlyadequate. As you gain experi}ence (and money :-), you may want toinvest in something bigger.If you can afford new rigs and antennas, there are many m}ail orderstores that advertise in ham radio magazines. If you want to buy aused rig, the best place is at a "hamfest" (h}am flea market). Youshould take along an experienced ham, since some of the used equipmentmay be inoperative, overpriced} or poor quality. You can also answerads in ham magazines or posted at ham radio stores, although often, bythe time you }call, the equipment has already been sold.+/