Contents

GeoClock for Windows  version 7.2

What is GeoClock

Getting Started

Common Problems

Main Bar

 File

  Edit GEOn.DAT

  Edir GEOCLOCK.INI

  Make Zoom Up

  Setup

  Screen Saver Setup

  Exit

 Maps

  World

  Zoom Up

  Zoom Home

  Random

  Map List

 Controls

  Save Settings

  Time Control

  Window Controls

  Options

  Command Entry

  Back

  City/Country

  Lat/Long Lines

 Actions

  Where is

  Distance

  Scripts

Reset

Help

HAM radio

Advanced Topics

Registration

What's New


What Is GeoClock

"It's inconceivable that you won't like this program."

  -- Jerry Pournelle, BYTE

GeoClock shows the current time (based on your computer's clock) with a high quality map of the earth.  The current sun position is displayed, and the parts of the earth in sunlight and twilight are highlighted.  This display is automatically updated every few seconds.  Local sunrise, sunset, the sun's azimuth and elevation, and times around the world are also displayed.  A variety of map backgrounds and other options are available. A color graphics adapter (640x480x16 or better) and a hard disk are required.  Both DOS and Windows 3.x versions are included with registration.

GeoClock is distributed as shareware.  This means that if you use and enjoy the program, you are expected to register it.  See "Ordering GeoClock" for details.  The registered version includes the zoom, distance measuring, and city time display functions, and at least 40 maps.

GeoClock

Joseph R Ahlgren

2218 N Tuckahoe St

Arlington VA 22205

Voice 703-241-2661

BBS 703-241-7980

FAX 703-241-5809

CompuServe 70461,2340 (Joe Ahlgren)

Internet  jahlgren@capaccess.org


Getting Started

See also:

Initial Setup

System Requirements

Using GeoClock

If you have purchased the registered version of GeoClock for Windows, there is a SETUP program on the distribution disk that installs and customizes GeoClock.

GeoClock is available in both DOS and Windows versions.  GeoClock for Windows is distributed in the file GCKWINxx.ZIP (where xx is the version number).  This ZIP has file has the following files:

GEOCKWIN.EXE   (GeoClock for Windows executable file)

GEOCKWIN.HLP   (GeoClock for Windows Help file)

USCITY.BIN     (US city data base)

WRLDCITY.BIN   (world city data base)

GECONFIG.DAT   (initial configuration information)

GEOCLOCK.DAT   (default map annotation file)

GEOn.DAT       (n=1,2,2000, and 2501) (Map annotation files)

MAPn.EGA       (n=1,2,2000, and 2501) (Map graphics files)

(The distribution file for GeoClock for DOS is GEOCLKxx.ZIP.  This file has all the files listed above, except the first two, plus the special files required for DOS)

In addition, there is an extra file which contains more maps and some additional features:

MAPn.EGA       (n=3,4,5)

GEOn.DAT       (n=3,4,5)

ZIPCODES.BIN   (zip code configuration file)

To set up GeoClock, you must at a minimum unZIP the GCKWINxx.ZIP file to a directory made for GeoClock.  If you have a version of GeoClock for DOS, you should place the Windows files in the same directory.  You can unZIP other GeoClock files if you have them.  If you have a registered version of GeoClock for DOS, you should run the REGISTER program to register the Windows version.  At this point you can set up an icon for GEOCKWIN.EXE and run the program.  GeoClock will take you though a setup menu the first time you run it.

When GeoClock for Windows runs, it creates several files:

GCWINDEX.BIN   (list of maps)

GCWZOOMU.BIN   (zoom up control file)

GEOCLOCK.INI   (GeoClock for Windows configuration information)

GeoClock does *NOT* make any changes to Windows files, or add any DLLs to Windows.


Common Problems

1.  Contrast is poor.  Click FILE/SETUP.  Make sure the proper box is checked in the Video radio box.  In particular, if you have a black/grey/white monitor, be sure the Grey box is checked.  If you have a 16 color system, check the 16 color box.

2.  Out of Resources message.  This is caused by some old video drivers in 65K and 16M color modes.  If you can get GeoClock running, when a map is displayed, press "C" and then enter NOGLYPH and return.  You may have to check the OK box a few times before it takes.  If this eliminates the Out of Resources messages, click FILE/GEOCLOCK.INI and add the line NOGLYPH and save the file.  It is also possible to start GEOCKWIN.EXE with NOGLYPH on the command line.  See NOGLYPH

3.  Slow updates.  Click CONTROLS/TIME CONTROLS, and set the Foreground Update time to 0.01.  You might want to save this setting (click CONTROLS/SAVE SETTINGS ON EXIT ) if it helps.  The Windows version of GeoClock is inherently much slower than the DOS version.  Also, the update time is more or less proportional to the screen area, so making the window smaller will increase the speed.

4.  Missing maps when installing update.  GeoClock updates must be installed to the same directory as the original registered copy of GeoClock for the update to incorporate all the original programs and maps.  Reinstall.

5.  The sun is not in the right place or local times are not correct.  This is usually caused by your PC's system clock not being set to the correct time (check AM/PM if you are not using a 24 hour clock), or by having a wrong or missing PCZONE command in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI file.  Click the FILE/SETUP menu item to set the correct time zone.

6.  Your home town is not displayed, or is in the wrong place, or your local time zone is not displayed.  Run the FILE/SETUP menu item to provide the required information.  If your city is not listed in the setup, and your zip code covers a very large area, you might want to get your latitude and longitude from a good atlas, your local airport or weather station, or from the GeoClock BBS.

7.  BuckMaster CDROM does not work with GeoClock.   Starting with the October 1995 release, BuckMaster has changed the format of the data files that GeoClock uses, and will not release the new format.  GeoClock does support the QRZ CDROM, which is much less expensive and more available than the BuckMaster disk, as well as the BuckMaster disks that contain the HAMCALL.129 file.


Using GeoClock

GeoClock is available for DOS and for Windows 3.x.  Both versions use a similar interface and share most files.

GeoClock for Windows is distributed in the GCKWINxx.ZIP (where xx is the version number).  This file contains:

GEOCKWIN.EXE (executable file)

GEOCKWIN.HLP (Windows help file)

If you already have a registered copy of the DOS version or a previous GeoClock for Windows version, unZIP the file into the directory with the prior GeoClock materials, and then run the REGISTER program.  If you are installing new a registered version of GeoClock for Windows, execute the SETUP program on the GeoClock for Windows diskette.

After the files have been installed, you can execute GEOCKWIN using the program manager, or by setting up an icon for the program.  The first time GEOCKWIN is run, it will automatically take you though the customization and setup procedure.

There are a variety of way to navigate through the maps.  The easiest is to click the left mouse button over an area of interest.  This displays the highest resolution map containing that point.  Clicking the right mouse button displays successively large area maps until the world map is reached.  You can also use the Gazetteer function (press W or select Actions|Where Is) to bring up the most detailed map containing a particular city.  You can also use the functions in the map menu, including map list, to select a map.

You can access many functions with a single key press or mouse click.


Single Key Commands

Important:  If you are running without a border, the main menu bar will not appear, and you must use these single key commands.  In particular, pressing N will activate the windows controls menu so that the menu bar can be restored.

There are a number of functions which can be controlled by a single keystroke or a mouse click:

Function Key 1   Help!

?  Help!

C  Command Entry

D  Distance measurement

K  Switch back to previous map

L  Toggle latitude/longitude display

M  Select map from list

N  Window Controls

O  Major Options

R  Reset time, scripts, etc

S  Set speed of time passage

T  Set Time

U  Set Update Interval

W  Where Is...

X  Exit

Y  Toggle between city and country display

0..9 Start script

<space>    Terminate script

Left-clicking the mouse over a point on the map will zoom down to the most detailed map containing that point.

Right-clicking the mouse over the map will zoom up to the next less detailed map.


System Requirements

GeoClock for windows will run on a minimal windows system - VGA, 4 MB RAM, 80286 processor.  However, the performance will be extremely poor on such a system.  We recommend as a minimum:

486DX33 processor

8 MB RAM

256 color display

800x600 display


Whats New

GeoClock for Windows runs under Windows 3.x.  It uses the same files and utility programs as the DOS version, and ordinarily both versions should be installed in the same directory.  The primary features in the Windows version that are not available in the DOS version are:

+ Maps may be scaled to any size

+ Runs in the background or foreground

+ Online setup

+ Simplified interaction

The primary features in the DOS version that are not in the Windows version are:

- Advanced zoom and distance functions

- GeoGlobe

The Windows 3.x version has a few limitations due to Windows 3.x characteristics:

- Non-rectangular maps limited to 800x600

- Much slower update times

- Less accurate timing

- Much larger program size.

New in 7.2 versus 7.0 are

- Better responsiveness

- Handling 16 color, grey scale, and 640x480 resolution systems automatically

- Support for the QRZ CD-ROM in the HAM package

- Specific network support

- True windows screen saver mode

- Wallpaper mode


File

File Menu

  Quit

  Edit GEOn.DAT

  Edir GEOCLOCK.INI

  Setup


Quit

Pressing Q, selecting this menu item, or pressing ESCape twice terminates GeoClock and closes all GeoClock Windows.


Edit DAT files

Annotation and other map display characteristics are controlled by text files.  For any particular map (for example, MAP1), there is a corresponding text file (for example, GEO1.DAT) that has the specific custom characteristics for that map.  The GECONFIG.DAT and GEOCLOCK.INI files have customization data that applies to all maps.  These files ordinarily do not need to be changed by the user, but they may be edited using the menu items.  The various commands and their syntax and functions are described in detail in the Commands section of help.


Make Zoom Up Table

In most GeoClock installations, more than one map can serve as the world map (the map at the top of the zoom hierarchy).  The menu item allows the user to select the particular map to be used as the world map.

You can develop your own zoom hierarchy by using the DOS progran MAKEZOOM with the W parameter:

MAKEZOOM W

See the GeoClock for DOS documentation for more information about this program.


Set Up

GeoClock for Windows must be configured for your particular location.  In particular, the time zone of your computer's clock MUST be set correctly, or all the times, the sun and moon positions, and the sunlight curve, will be incorrect.

To set up GeoClock, selected the Setup item from the Files menu.  (The setup program is run automatically the first time you start GeoClock).

First, check the Video Radio-Group in the upper right corner.  Automatic works on most systems, but if you have a shade-of-grey rather than a color monitor, you should check the "grey" box.

There are three ways to specify your location, which is used to calculate sun rise and set times, and to mark your location on the maps.

1)  If you live in the US, the most accurate way is to use the "Init by ZipCode" button.  By specifying your 5 digit postal zip code, your location accurate to a few kilometers, and your time zone, will be set.  After typing your zip code, you must enter your city name in the box (this area will show ENTER_NAME_FOR_ZIP_CODE_00000).  If you get the message INVALID_ZIP_CODE (which can mean that you have a new zip code not in the table GeoClock uses, or a zip code outside the 50 states), you must use one of the other methods.

2)  You can use the "Init by LookUp" button.  This will allow you to pick your location from about 4000 cities around the world using the GeoClock Gazetteer.  Select the "US city" or "World City" radio buttons to determine which data base to use.  You can sort by city name or by state/country name.  Double click the city you want, or click the OK button when the city is highlighted.  If your city does not appear, you should pick the city that is closest and is in the same time zone.

3)  You can enter the city and location manually.  Type the city name, latitude and longitude in the appropriate boxes.  Make sure the latitude and longitude are in the correct format.

You select when your city will be displayed by the "Show City" radio group.  If you select "never", you r city will only appear on the maps if it happens to be included in the standard data file for that map.  If you select "when on map", your city will appear on the map, and your city will be used for showing sun rise and sunset and local time, whenever the city fits on the map displayed.  If the city does not fit on the map displayed, the primary city in the standard data file for that map will be used.  If you select "always", your city will be displayed on the map if it fits, but will always be used for sun rise and sunset and local time zone information.

Once your city and location are selected, you must set the time zone information.  If you use methods 1 or 2, the time zone fields will automatically be filled in.  There is usually no reason to change these settings.  If you use method 3, it is best to use method 2 to set to a close city in the same time zone, then use method 3 to change to city and location.  If you need to change the time zone, use the drop down list to pick the proper zone.  The drop down list shows the GeoClock time zone code name, then the name(s) of the standard and summer zones (for example, ET is EDT in the summer, and EST the rest of the year), and the hours from UTC (GMT) for standard and summer time (for ET, -5 and -4).  The location time zone is the time zone your location uses.  The PC time zone is for the time zone your PC is set to.  Usually this is the same as the local zone, but some PC users keep the PC clock on UTC, or on standard time all year, and these users must set the PC time zone to that zone.

When you click OK, this configuration information will be written to the GEOCLOCK.INI file and will be used every time GeoClock starts.


Screen Saver Setup

GeoClock can be setup as a Windows screen saver.  After GeoClock is initially configured from this menu, you can select, configure, and test the screen saver from the Windows Control Panel (Desktop).

In the upper left is a radio group that specifies what is to be done while the screen saver is active.  The first choice is to display a single map, selected by clicking the "select map" button.  The second allows maps to be changed at fixed intervals.  The maps are chosen at random from the types checked in the "Random Maps" check boxes.  The third, the most flexible method, allows a script to be used to determine the screen saver action.  Be sure to include a REPEAT command at the end of the script so that the map changing continues.

The "update" time is the number of seconds that the screen saver waits between screen updates.  This permits processing by other windows programs that are still running.  This value should be fairly large (30 seconds or more) if you frequently have long tasks (like a data base update or network server activities) running when the screen saver because active.

The "change map" time is the minimum number of seconds between changing maps when using the second screen saver mode (random maps).  The actual time may be somewhat larger, depending on the update time, the load from other running programs, and the speed of your system.

The "show seconds" checkbox controls whether seconds are shown in the time box at the bottom of the screen.  If you are not updating frequently, the seconds data can be in error, so it may be better not to display it.

The "show border" checkbox controls whether a windows border and title bar are display.  Ordinarily, this should not be displayed in a screen saver, so it should not be checked.

If you set a password , before the screen saver terminates you will be asked to supply the password.  The screen saver will not terminate unless the correct password is entered.

As with all screen savers, when the GeoClock screen saver is activated by Windows, any key press or mouse movement will terminate the program.

See Screen Saver and Wallpaper , Scripts , and Power for more detailed technical information.


Screen Saver Password

The screen saver mode of GeoClock supports password protection.  If a password is specified when the screen saver is set up, this password must be supplied to shut down the screen saver.  This, in theory, protects your computer if you walk away while running a sensitive application or have access to sensitive files.

Click the "set" button on the GeoClock screen saver setup menu to set the password.  You can type a password in the "New Password" edit box.  If the "old password required" box is checked, you must enter your current password in the "Old Password" box before a new password will be accepted or that box or the "use password" box can be unchecked.


Map Menu

These menu items allow you to select maps in a variety of ways.  In addition, clicking the left mouse button on a point on the current map will bring up the most detailed map available containing that point, and clicking the right button will select less detailed maps containing the map displayed, until the world map is reached.  (See also ZOOMFRACT ).

  World

  Zoom Up

  Zoom Home

  Random

  Back

  Map List


World

Selecting this menu item changes to the map at the top of the zoom sequence.  This is usually a map of the world.


Zoom Up

Selecting this menu item, or clicking on the map with the right mouse button, moves to the next larger map containing the currently displayed map.


Zoom Home

Selecting this menu item switches to the smallest map containing the home town selected for this installation.  See setup .


Random

Selecting this menu item displays a map chosen at random from all available maps.  This will always be different from the currently displayed map.


Back

Pressing "K" or selecting this menu item displays the map prior to the current maps (goes bacK).


Map List

Selecting this menu item, or pressing the "M" key, displays a list of all available maps.  The maps are sorted by size, title, or number according to the "Sort Method" radio box.  Double clicking an entry, or selecting an entry and then clicking OK, will display the selected map.


Controls

These menu items provide ways to control the appearance of GeoClock.

  Save Settings

  Time Control

  Window Controls

  Options

  Command Entry

  City/Country

  Lat/Long Lines


Save Settings

This check item determines whether or not the user settings, such as window sizes and positions, are save between GeoClock runs.  The setting information is written to the GEOCLOCK.INI file.  To save the current settings, you can toggle the Save Settings button on the Controls|Window Controls menu item.


Command Entry

GeoClock has a large number of commands which may be used to control the display.  The most commonly used commands have been implemented on the mneu bar at the top of the screen.  You can activate any of these commands by clicking the approprate menu item (such as Controls|Lat/Long).  Many commands can be activate by pressing a single letter (such as "L" for Lat/Long)  Other commands (such as SUNANGLE) may be included in the configuration file, in a data file, on the GeoClock command line, or entered interactively by pressing the C (for Command) key while GeoClock is displaying a map.

  The commands are described in detail in another section of help.


Time Control

This dialog box allows the current time to be changed (this affects GeoClock time display but not the system time), and also allows the update intervals to be changed.

The first six spin boxes change the current time.  The hours are based on a 24 hour clock.  Above the hours spin box is an indication of the time zone to which the time corresponds.

The Fgnd Update box allows the GeoClock foreground update interval to be changed.  This is the number of seconds that GeoClock will remain idle between screen refreshes while GeoClock is in the foreground.  0 seconds indicates that GeoClock will update continuously.  The default value is 5 seconds.

The Bgnd Update box allows the GeoClock foreground update interval to be changed.  This is the number of seconds that GeoClock will remain idle between screen refreshes while GeoClock is in the background.  0 seconds indicates that GeoClock will update continuously.  This setting is not recommended because other applications will become sluggish.  The default value is 60 seconds.

The Time Rate box determines how much time will appear to pass every time the screen is updated.  For example, 24 causes the displayed time to change by 24 hours (1 day) every time the screen is updated.  This feature can be used to see how the sun and moon and sunlight curves change over the day or season.


Window Controls

This dialog box controls how GeoClock will be displayed on the screen.  The X and Y spin boxes on the right allow the width and height of the map display to be varied.  These can be set to 640x480, or 800x600, by clicking the appropriate button.

The radio buttons in the upper left set how GeoClock will respond to window size changes.  If "Full Control" is selected, the window may be set to any size.  If "4x3 aspect" is selected, the window will be constrained to maintaining a 4x3 aspect ratio, which gives the most accurate map display.  If the window size is changed while this button is selected, whichever dimension is changed last will be held, while the other dimension will be changed to maintain 4x3.  For example, if the left vertical side is dragged left so that the width is 720 pixels, the height will be changed to 540 pixels.

The radio buttons in the middle left control the window state.  Selecting "Maximize" maximizes the window, "Minimize" minimizes the window, and "Normal" restores the window to the last non-maximum non-minimum state.  These are equivalent to the maximize, minimize, and restore buttons and system menu choices.

The upper check box on the left controls whether or not the display will be forced into the background.  If the box is checked, GeoClock will always run as the bottom-most window.  Combined with the Maximized command, this makes GeoClock into wallpaper.

The lower check box on the left enables or disables the display of the menu bar, title bar, and border of the map window.  This display is disabled, the map display will be somewhat larger, but the mouse cannot be used to change window size or position, or select menu items.  All hot keys still function in this mode.  Therefore, pressing "N" will bring up this dialog box and the bars and borders can be reenabled.


Options

This menu allows you to change to eight most commonly used values in GeoClock.  Select the item by clicking the appropriate radio button on the left, then select a new value by clicking the appropriate radio button on the right.  You can make the change effective in this run only, or you can make the value the new default value for GeoClock (writting the value to GEOCLOCK.INI) or the value for that map only (writting the value to GEOn.DAT).

Legend controls the data displayed at the bottom of the screen

Display Mode controls how sun shading is displayed

Units controls statute/nautical miles in the distance function

Moon controls the display of the moon symbol and ephemeris data

City Time Format controls showing day ahead/behind with arrows

Year Format selectes between two and four digit year format

Show Seconds controls the display of time seconds

Show Day of Week controls showing the day of week

Month Format controls showing text or number months


City/Country

Pressing "Y" or selecting this menu item toggles between showing city names and country names on the maps.


Lat/Long Lines

Pressing "L" or selecting this menu item toggles between showing or not showing latitude and longitude lines on the maps.


Actions

These selections control special features of GeoClock.

Where is

Distance

Scripts


Where is

GeoClock has a data base with about 4000 cities around the world.  Using this dialog box, you can select any one and display the city on the best map containing that place, in addition to finding the current local time, sun rise, and sunset.

The radio boxes on the right control whether to display US or world cities, and whether to sort the cities by city name or country/state name.  Pressing a letter key will advance the display to the first city (or country/state) starting with that letter.  The selected city will be displayed in the box along with the current local time.

Selecting OK will display that city on the best map GeoClock has containing the city.  Selecting Ignore will continue to display the current city.  Selecting Cancel will restore the display of the primary city on that map.


Distance

Clicking on this menu item, or pressing D, starts a special two point distance measuring function.  One point is fixed and the other is controlled by the mouse.  Pressing a mouse button, or pressing ENTER, moves the first point to the current mouse position.  At the bottom of the screen, the coordinates of both points, the distance between them, and the azimuths between them are displayed.  To exit the distance function, click the reset menu item, or press ESCape.


Scripts

10 scripts can be played by GeoClock.  Each script consists of  GeoClock command lines (including a map selection command) and optionally a time (by default, 60 seconds).  At the end of the specified interval, the next command line in the script is executed.  Scripts can be edited and controlled from the Actions|Scripts... menu item.

One way to start a script is to press a number key (0 through 9).  The corresponding script file is named GEOSCR0.DAT through GEOSRC9.DAT.  Another way to invoke a script is to use the command SCRIPTx, where x is any number.  The corresponding script file is GEOSCRx.DAT.  If this command is on the command line in GECONFIG.DAT or in GEOCLOCK.INI, that script is executed as soon as GeoClock starts.  If not, and if GEOSCR0.DAT exists, it is executed automatically when GeoClock is started. If the script encounters a REPEAT command, the script restarts at the beginning of the file.  If the script encounters a HALT command, GeoClock immediately stops and returns to DOS.  The script stops when the end of the script file is reached, or any key is pressed.

  Example:

GEOSCR9.DAT contains:

MAP1  LINE30  SHOWLL

MAP2  LINE5

RANDOM  30  NOLINE

REPEAT

When 9 is pressed, MAP1 with LINE30 and SHOWLL is displayed for 15 seconds. then MAP2 with LINE5 is displayed for 15 seconds, then a randomly selected map is displayed for 30 seconds with NOLINE, and the sequence repeats.

Scripts can also be used as macro keys.  For example, if GEOSCR1.DAT contains:

MAPP1

then when 1 is pressed, the next sequential map in map number sequence is displayed.  If GEOSCR2.DAT contains:

T+0.0416666667

then when 2 is pressed, the current time is advanced by one hour (1/24 day).


Reset

Pressing "R" or selecting this menu item sets the GeoClock time to the current system time, and changes the update intervals to their default values, and sets the time passage to real time.


Help Menu

Clicking the Help item in this menu starts the GeoClock help system.

Clicking the About item in this menu gives basic information about the GeoClock program, including version number and registration status.  You can start the registration screen by clicking the REGISTER button, or get information about registering by clicking the WHY button.  Clicking the INFO button gives some technical information that may be usefull in debugging.

Clicking the Register item in this menu starts the registration screen.


Advanced Topics

These topics cover a variety of technical aspects of GeoClock

About Lat/Long

Configuring For Your Time Zone

About Sunrise and Sunset

About The Terminator

City Locations on Maps

Finding Your Latitude and Longitude

City Name Placement and Time Display

Ephemeris Data and Accuracy

Software structure

Map Generation System

Screen Saver and Wallpaper


About Time Zones

Time zones are more complicated than most people think.  To begin with, they change with longitude, so that the sun is approximately overhead at noon.  However, various political decisions based on uniformity, local custom, and how to handle daylight saving time (or summer time), have made time zones very complex.  There are a number of changes every year, and countries can and do change their time systems without warning.

Data for all known time zones (about 100, including permutations of daylight saving time) are distributed with GeoClock.  They are included in the GEOZONES.DAT file.

To specify a time zone, several items are needed.  First, how the time zone relates to the standard time zone must be defined.  This zone is variously called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) or Zulu Time (Z).  US Eastern Standard Time is five hours behind (earlier than) GMT.  Next, the dates and times when the zone changes to and from summer time must be defined.  US Eastern Time goes to summer time on April 7, 1991 at 0700 GMT, and returns to standard time on October 27, 1991 at 0700 GMT.  Finally, names for the time zone and the standard and summer times must be specified.  As an example, US Eastern Time from April 1991 to April 1992 is specified by:

ZONE   ET     EST     -5     EDT     -4     91/04/07:7   91/10/27:7

ET is the name the time zone is referred to by all GeoClock commands.  The definition states that the zone is called EST and is 5 hours behind GMT, except between 91/04/07 0700 GMT and 91/10/27 0700 GMT, when it is called EDT and is 4 hours behind GMT.  A special time zone called ST gives true local sun time.

If the ZONE commands are not for the correct year, GeoClock will automatically update.  This update is close but not always correct, and countries' summer time definitions can change.  Therefore, I recommend that the ZONE commands be kept current. A GEOZONES.DAT file with current time zone data is available on the GeoClock Bulletin Board.

The PCZONE command sets the relationship between the local time on the PC's clock and GMT, i.e., declares which time zone the PC's clock is in. It takes one parameter - a time zone code, as defined in the ZONE command. For example, if you use Eastern Time, specify:

PCZONE ET

This command is best used in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI files.


About Lat/Long

Every point on the Earth's surface has an address.  The first part of the address is the latitude, which is the distance north or south of the equator.  The second part of the address is the longitude, which is the distance east or west of a line going from the north pole to the south pole through Greenwich, England (this is called the Greenwich meridian). Since the Earth is a sphere, these distances are expressed as angles.

There are several ways to express these angles. The first system was invented by the Babylonians about 5000 years ago.  It divides angles into 360 degrees ( ), each degree into 60 minutes ('), and each minute into 60 seconds (").  The Washington Monument is 38  53' 21.5" north of the equator, and 77  2' 8.0" west of the Greenwich meridian in this system. This location is accurate to about 60 feet, or 0.5 seconds. GeoClock can use this system.  For example, the Washington Monument is at 38x53x21.5N  77x2x8.0W

A more modern system gives these same angles as decimal degrees. North latitudes and east longitudes are positive, while south and west are negative.  GeoClock can use this system also.  It is used for data files distributed with GeoClock.  For example, the Washington Monument is at +38.8893  -77.0356


Configuring For Your Time Zone

GeoClock has a comprehensive system for handling all known time zones in the world.  The GEOZONES.DAT file contains definitions of all time zones and daylight saving time systems identified to date.  You can read or print this file for the complete list.

These definitions include the dates for switching between standard and summer time (for example, 91/04/07 and 91/10/27 for most of the U.S. in 1991), the common names for standard and summer time (for example, EST and EDT), and a codename to refer to the definition (for example, ET).  Ordinarily, you should not need to change these definitions.  Each time zone is preceded by the keyword ZONE.

To make sure that GeoClock gives the proper sun position, you must tell GeoClock what time zone your PC's clock uses.  (For most users, this will be the time zone in which you live.)  This is done by using Setup or editing GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI and adding the proper PCZONE command.  This command should be placed in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI file. s The format is:

PCZONE  codename

where codename is the codename for the time zone, as listed in the ZONE commands.  There should be no other characters on this line.

    Some common codenames are:

ET      Eastern Standard/Daylight Time

EST     Eastern Standard Time all year (most of Indiana)

CT      Central Standard/Daylight Time

MT      Mountain Standard/Daylight Time

MST     Mountain Standard Time all year (Arizona)

PT      Pacific Standard/Daylight Time

AKT     Alaska

HST     Hawaii

UKT     United Kingdom, Ireland

+1A     Most of continental Europe

+2A     Eastern Europe

JST     Japan

The GEOSETUP program will prompt you for the time zone code (or supply it automatically if you live in a US zip code area) and place the time zone code in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI files.


About Sunrise and Sunset

GeoClock calculates the sunrise and sunset times for your location. The times are usually within one minute of local newspaper data.

The precise moment of sunrise or sunset is difficult to determine.  It depends not only on the position of the Earth and sun, but also on the terrain near you (it appears to rise later from behind a mountain than from the sea), and on the earth's atmosphere.  Another complication is that the sun appears quite large, and takes about two minutes to shift position by its own diameter.  All these factors together mean that even at sea level, the sun appears to just break above the horizon when it is in reality almost one degree BELOW the horizon.

By default, GeoClock uses the value of 0.833 degrees below the horizon to compute sunrise and sunset.  This agrees well with observed times at moderate latitudes and flat terrain.  The SUNANGLE parameter, which is the angle GeoClock uses for the sunrise and sunset calculations, can be adjusted to correspond to your local conditions.


About The Terminator

The terminator is the boundary between day and night.  Its position changes during the day (it makes a complete circuit around the Earth in one day), and it also changes during the year.  Daylight is longer in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere from about March 21 to September 21, and daylight is longer in the southern than in the northern hemisphere during the rest of the year.  You can see the changes by using the time control features of GeoClock.

The terminator more or less divides the Earth into halves: facing the sun and facing away from the sun.  Like sunrise and sunset times, the precise location of the terminator is hard to define.  By default, GeoClock shows the optical terminator, which corresponds to visual sunrise and

sunset.  The SUNLIGHT command can be used to control the precise terminator position.  If it is set to the same value as SUNANGLE, the terminator position will agree with sunrise and sunset.

GeoClock also shows the twilight terminator.  By default, GeoClock uses -6^, which corresponds to the civil definition of twilight: the time when it is so dark that you must use your headlights.  The TWILIGHT parameter is used to control the precise definition of this terminator.


City Locations on Maps

GeoClock has great flexibility in displaying cities on the maps.  For most maps (e.g., MAP2) there is a corresponding text file (e.g., GEO2.DAT) that contains the customization information for that map.  GEOCLOCK.DAT is used for MAP1, and any other map that does not have a corresponding GEOn.DAT file.

The first line of any GEOn.DAT file is the time zone codename that determines which time zone will be used for time display on that map.  For example, ET indicates Eastern time, and CT indicates central time.  (See "Configuring for Your Time Zone.")  This should normally be the time zone codename for the first city listed (the second line of the file).  This city is the "primary" city for the map.  The rest of the lines in the file specify the names and locations of other cities to be displayed.

The format for display of a city is   "Latitude Longitude Name".  Either decimal degrees or degrees minutes seconds (DMS) may be used.  In the decimal degree format, the minus sign (-) indicates south latitude (south of the equator) and west longitude (in the western hemisphere).  For DMS format, separate entries by an "x", and place the direction indicator at the end.  For example, 31 degrees 15 minutes west longitude would be 31x15W in DMS, and -31.25 in decimal, while 45 degrees 12 minutes 38 seconds north latitude would be 45x12x38N in DMS and 45.2106 in decimal.  Some examples of these lines are:

  34.00     -118.25   Los Angeles

  30x3N     31x15E    Cairo

  -26.17    28.03     Johannesburg

  27x49N    85x21E    Katmandu Nepal

The first city listed in a file is the "primary" city.  It is used for the astronomical calculations which are normally shown at the bottom of the map.  The sunrise and sunset time, azimuth and elevation to the sun, local time, and the sun's sub point (the point on earth where the sun is directly overhead) can be displayed for this location.


Finding Your Latitude and Longitude

Accurate lat/long are essential for proper display of cities on a map, and also for accurate sunrise and sunset times of a map's "primary" city.  An error of one degree of longitude changes sunrise and sunset by four minutes.  The easiest way to find a particular latitude and longitude is to look it up in an atlas.  The next easiest way is to call your local airport or weather bureau for the information.  You can also leave a request for information on the GeoClock Bulletin Board, and you should get a reply in a short time.


City Name Placement and Time Display

For registered users only, additional control over city placement, color, size, and local time display is possible.  All are marked by characters appearing after an exclamation point (!) on a city line in GEOn.DAT.  This new data consists of an optional string of characters as follows:

     A - show city name Above mark

     B - show city name Below mark

     L - show city name Left of mark

     R - show city name Right of mark

     Y - show city name in color 5 (Yellow by default)

     E - show city name in 8x14 font

     M - show city name in 8x8 font (default)

     S - show city name in 4x8 font

     T - show city name in 4x6 font

     X - show city name in external font (see FONTLOAD command)

number - show city name in color number (e.g., 6 shows city name in

         color 6).  Color numbers are described in "Color Control."

     N - show a name without a mark.  This is particularly useful if you

         want to name an area, such as the Pacific Ocean

     Z - indicates a country name rather than a city name

     O - display the last symbol defined (see SYMDEF) instead of the normal

         marker for the city.

After these optional codes, the line may be followed by a space and a time zone code.  If included, this specifies that the local time for that city is to be displayed to the right of the city name.  If a "*" is included, the name of the time zone will be displayed in addition to the time.  THE SPACING OF THESE CHARACTERS IS CRITICAL.  For example:

                  ET

   38.90   -77.02  Washington !E

   42.65   -73.75  Albany !Y

   35.08  -106.65  Albuquerque ! *MT

   42.28   -83.75  Ann Arbor !A

   33.75   -84.39  Atlanta !0

   44.30   -69.76  Augusta

   33.52   -86.81  Birmingham ! CT

   46.80  -100.78  Bismarck !B6 *CT

In this example, Washington will be displayed in the 8x14 font, Albany will be displayed in yellow, Albuquerque will be followed by the local time and MST or MDT as appropriate, Ann Arbor will appear above the marker, Atlanta will be displayed in color 0 (red), Birmingham will appear follow by local (central) time but without a CST or CDT, and Bismarck will be displayed below the marker in color 6 (black) and followed by local time and CST or CDT.


Ephemeris Data and Accuracy

The ephemeris data in GeoClock is calculated using formulas from "Astronomical Formulae for Calculators" (Jean Meeus, Willmann-Bell Inc, Richmond VA).  They were calibrated by comparing with data from "Interactive Computer Ephemeris" (ICE) (Nautical Almanac Office, Code FA, US Naval Observatory, Washington, DC 20392).  For a period of 400 days including 1991, the maximum and RMS latitude errors are 0.0047383 and 0.0019377 degrees, while the maximum and RMS longitude errors are 0.0131104 and 0.0053660 degrees.  This accuracy is approximately four times better than the method used in GeoClock 4.2 and earlier, and should provide better accuracy for past and future years.

The terminator is shown as the locations where the sun's center is a specified angle above the horizon, ignoring atmospheric effects.  For 0 degrees, the sunrise occurs earlier and the sunset occurs later than the terminator indicates.  The sun rise and sun set times are also computed as the times that the sun's center is a specified angle above or below the horizon.  The default value, -0.8333, corresponds to the normal definition of sun rise and set (as printed in newspapers and almanacs), where the visible top edge of the sun just breaks the horizon.


Software structure

GeoClock for Windows is written entirely in 16-bit Delphi 1.0, with a very small amount on inline assembly for speed in some of the main loops.  Much of the code was directly transported from the DOS version, and it took only 3 months from buying the compiler to the first working version of GeoClock for Windows.  As a fourth generation language, it is hard to estimate the number of lines in a Delphi program, but there are about 1.3 million bytes in the source code, including the data structures that support the Windows, menus, and forms.

GeoClock for DOS is written entirely in Turbo Pascal version 7.0, except for the mouse interface routines and a few inline sections required for speed. It has approximately 19000 lines of source code. It uses 8 byte reals for most calculations, and thus relies on the 80x87 emulation package for systems without a math co-processor. It uses a custom graphics package which provides access to special hardware features (such as independent control of screen planes, fast fill, and preserving the graphics memory during text display) that are not available in the EGAVGA.BGI driver.


Map Generation System

The maps used for the GeoClock program were produced by a custom data base and software system. This system consists of a highly compressed vectorized map data base and a set of programs to convert the data into custom maps. The data bases are used. The primary data base is a PC conversion of World Data Bank II. It contains approximately 5.7 million vectors covering coastlines, islands, lakes, rivers, and similar geologic features, together with political boundary data. It covers the entire earth, and included features are accurate to approximately 600 meters. World Data Bank II was converted to this custom PC format by an ad hoc program which took advantage of specific features of both data bases. In its operational form, the PC data base uses approximately 0.84 bytes per vector, and in archival form takes approximately 0.5 bytes per vector. The data base is therefore easily stored and manipulated on an AT class PC.

A secondary data base is a PC conversion of 1979 1:2 Million Digital Line Graph data base from USGS.  It includes highway and railroad data in addition to much more detailed physical and political features, and contains about 8.3 million vectors covering the 50 states, compressed to about 13 MB (1.6 bytes per record) on the PC.

A third data base is a PC conversion of the 1992 "Digital Chart of the World", made by digitizing 1:1 Million ONC charts (and some other paper sources).  The extracted the data (highway, railroad, coastlines, islands, lakes, rivers, and streams) contains about 30 million vectors and compressed to about 50 MB on the PC.

A graphics tablet and several custom programs are used to add features than were not contained in the original data bases, for example, the borders of the countries of the former USSR.

Custom maps are generated by using two programs. The first, MAPGEN, reads the appropriate parts of the map data base and produces separation files of the required feature data as EGA, VGA, or 800x600 raster images. Rectangular, polar, orthoscopic, azimuthal-equidistant, and Lambert projections may be used in forming these separation files. Depending on complexity and scale, this process takes between 30 and 300 seconds on an AT with a co-processor. The second, MOVIE, allows the user to process the separation files to select the features and colors for the final map, including filling areas. This program also writes the map in a rasterized compressed format with headers and trailers so that it may be easily used as background data for other programs (for example, the GeoClock program).

Both these programs, and the converted data bases, are proprietary and not yet available to the general public. World Data Bank II is available from National Technical Information Center, Springfield, VA, for about $1000 on 5 reels of tape.  Both the 1;2,000,000 DLG data base ($30 on one CD-ROM) and the Digital Chart of the World ($200 on 4 CD-ROMs) are available from the US Geological Survey (Earth Science Information Center) in Reston VA.


Screen Saver and Wallpaper

The GeoClock screen saver can be initially configured by running GeoClock and running the FILES/SCREEN SAVER SETUP menu item.  After this is run, you can select the GeoClock screen saver (GEOCLOCK SAVER) from the list of screen savers in the windows desktop.  The information in this section is not required to configure or use the GeoClock screen saver, but it provided only for technical background.

GeoClock has some special features which allows it to be used as a Windows screen saver.  Because of the way Windows runs screen savers, it is necessary to copy some files to the main windows directory.  In particular, a GEOCKWIN.SCR (which is just a renamed GEOCKWIN.EXE)a special GEOCLOCK.INI are copied to this directory.  In addition, some GEOSCR*.DAT files might be created when the screen saver is configured.  To insure that the proper files are generated, before screen saver is used, you should run GeoClock and click the FILES/SCREEN SAVER SETUP item and do the initial configuration.

The screen saver mode uses the map and data files in the main GeoClock directory.  To access these files, the GEOCLOCK.INI in the windows directory has a NETWORK command pointing to this directory:

NETWORK@geoclock directory@windows directory@

This GEOCLOCK.INI also has the commands that establish the screen saver parameters (SCRNSAVER, BORDER, SIZE, SCRIPT, UWIN, etc).  The GEOCLOCK.INI in the main GeoClock directory is also read (so that commands such as PCZONE and HTS can be picked up), but the commands in windows directory version take precedence.

If you have set a password but forget it, the only way to recover is to restart windows and delete the GEOCLOCK.INI file in your windows directory (not the GeoClock directory), then run GeoClock from the GeoClock directory and rerun the screen saver setup.

Since GeoClock is written in Delphi, the screen saver mode will not run exactly like a screen saver written using the Microsoft SCRSAVER.LIB.  In particular, the password set for other screensavers will not effect the GeoClock password, and vice versa.  In addition, it may be possible, with suitably wild keystrokes, to escape out of the GeoClock screen saver password dialog without entering the password.  Note that even the Microsoft screen savers are not bulletproof.  You can ALT-CTRL-DEL while a screen saver is running, and choose to terminate the application, which will return full control of the computer (including any open applications) to the person at the keyboard.

The wallpaper mode of GeoClock just forces GeoClock to always be in the background.  Thus, all windows and icons appear in front of GeoClock.  Be sure to set the background update time to a large value (60 seconds is the default), or the wallpaper will take significant resources from the system.  If you add GeoClock to the startup group with the command line parameter INBACK1 , it will come up as windows wallpaper when windows is started.


Commands

GeoClock has a large number of commands which may be used to control the display.  The most commonly used commands have been implemented in an Icon Bar, which is displayed at the top of the screen.  A mouse device may be used to activate any of these commands simply by moving the mouse controlled cursor to the appropriate icon and clicking on it with the left mouse key.  The commands consisting of a single letter (such as S) are activated by pressing that letter.  The other commands (such as MAP) may be included in the configuration file, in a data file, on the GeoClock command line, or entered interactively by pressing the C (for Command) key while GeoClock is displaying a map.

    The available commands are listed alphabetically below.  (For a list by command type, see Commands By Type )  More detailed information is available in other sections of Help.

BLANK	Sunlight highlighting is not used

BORDERn	Control window border

CALL	Specify initial call sign

CITY	Display city names

CLINE	Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines

COLOR	Set color (out of 64)

COUNTRY	Display country names

Country/City	Toggle between city and country display

DARK	No sunlight is displayed

DATAFILE	Select extension for data files

DATECHANGEn	Control display of next/previous date

DRAWCIRCLE	Draw circle on map

DRAWFCIRCLE	Draw a filled circle on map

DRAWLINE	Draw line on map

DST	Control Daylight Saving Time

EPHEMERISdisp	Control display of ephemeris data

F	Set rate of time passage

FAST	Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations

FCOLOR	Set map frame color

FONTE	Set default font to 8x14

FONTM	Set default font to 8x8

FONTS	Set default font to 4x8

FONTT	Set default font to 4x6

FONTX	Set default font to external font

FONTLOAD	Loads an external font

FORCEMARK	Always display location markers for cities

FULL	City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend

GINCLUDE (or GI)	Global include data file

GLINC	Set longitude line increment

GLSPEC	Specific longitude line

GRID	Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines

HALT	Terminate script and return to Windows

HAM	Activate HAM features

HAMCD	Specify option HAM CDROM data base

HAMDB	Specify HAM data base  maximum speed configuration

HAMDBX	Specify HAM data base  minimum memory configuration

HIDELL	Do not show Latitude/Longitude values

HTA	Display specified city as primary city on all maps

HTN	Do not display specified city on any maps

HTS	Display specified city as primary city on local maps

INBACKn	Force window to background

INCLUDE (or I)	Include data file

LIGHT	All sunlight is displayed

LINE	Set lat/long line increment

LINEPERM	Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent

LLCOLOR	Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels

MAP	Select MAP from list

MAPCENTERn	Center world map on longitude n

MAPMINUSn	Selects the previous sequential map using sort

MAPPLUSn	Selects the next sequential map using sort method n

MAPn	Changes to MAP number n

MARK	Display location markers for cities.

MARKLIMIT	Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city

MOONdisp	Control display of moon

NAUTICAL	Display distances in nautical miles

NETWORK	Network configuration

NOCITY	Do not display city names

NODAY	Does not show display the day of the week

NOGRID	Do not display GeoClock selected lat/long lines

NOGLYPH	Do not display glyphs on buttons

NOHAM	Deactivate HAM features

NOHT	Same as HTN

NOLINE	Do not display latitude/longitude lines

NOMARK	Do not display location markers

NOMONTH	Show month number rather than name

NONE	No legend

NORMAL	Normal Display

NOSECONDS	Shows time to last minute

PALETTE	Specify Windows color

PCZONE	Specify PC time zone

POWER	screen saver / power saver interaction

Quit	Terminate GeoClock

RANDOMn	Select map at random

REM	Remark  remainder of line is ignored

REPEAT	Start script over from first line

RESIZEn	Control window resizing

SCRIPT	Invoke a specific script

SCRNSAVER	Control screen saver attributes

SHOWDAY	Show day of week

SHOWLL	Show Latitude/Longitude values

SHOWMONTH	Show month name rather than number

SHOWSECONDS	Show time to nearest second

SLOW	Use high accuracy but slower calculations

STATUTE	Display distances in statute miles

SUN	City, sun rise/set, local time legend

SUNANGLE	Sun rise/set definition

SUNLIGHT	Terminator definition

SYMBOL	Displays an external symbol

SYMDEF	Load an external symbol definition

SIZE	Control size state of window

T	Set new time

TEXT	Display text on all maps

TEXTBG	Set text background color

TIME	Local time only legend

TLINC	Set latitude line increment

TLMASK	Twilight area pattern

TLSPEC	Specific latitude line

TWILIGHT	Twilight terminator definition

UWIN	Set update times

VECTOR (or V)	Continue a line

WINDOW	Set window size and position

WINSET	specifies that the GeoClock program has been initialized

YEAR2	Show 2 digit year

YEAR4	Show 4 digit year

ZONE	Define time zone

ZOOMFRACT	Set screen active area for zoom


Commands By Type

Sun and Moon Display

BLANK	Sunlight highlighting is not used

DARK	No sunlight is displayed

LIGHT	All sunlight is displayed

MOONdisp	Control display of moon

NORMAL	Normal Display

SUNANGLE	Sun rise/set definition

SUNLIGHT	Terminator definition

TLMASK	Twilight area pattern

TWILIGHT	Twilight terminator definition

Windows controls

BORDERn	Control window border

INBACKn	Force window to background

POWER	screen saver / power saver interaction

RESIZEn	Control window resizing

SCRNSAVER	Control screen saver attributes

SIZE	Control size state of window

WINDOW	Set window size and position

WINSET	specifies that the GeoClock program has been initialized

HAM radio

CALL	Specify initial call sign

HAM	Activate HAM features

HAMCD	Specify option HAM CDROM data base

HAMDB	Specify HAM data base  maximum speed configuration

HAMDBX	Specify HAM data base  minimum memory configuration

NOHAM	Deactivate HAM features

Map Annotation

CITY	Display city names

COUNTRY	Display country names

Country/City	Toggle between city and country display

DATAFILE	Select extension for data files

FORCEMARK	Always display location markers for cities

GINCLUDE (or GI)	Global include data file

HTA	Display specified city as primary city on all maps

HTN	Do not display specified city on any maps

HTS	Display specified city as primary city on local maps

INCLUDE (or I)	Include data file

MARK	Display location markers for cities.

MARKLIMIT	Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city

NOCITY	Do not display city names

NOHT	Same as HTN

NOMARK	Do not display location markers

Lat/Long lines

CLINE	Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines

GLINC	Set longitude line increment

GLSPEC	Specific longitude line

GRID	Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines

HIDELL	Do not show Latitude/Longitude values

LINE	Set lat/long line increment

LINEPERM	Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent

NOGRID	Do not display GeoClock selected lat/long lines

NOLINE	Do not display latitude/longitude lines

SHOWLL	Show Latitude/Longitude values

TLINC	Set latitude line increment

TLSPEC	Specific latitude line

Screen Display

COLOR	Set color (out of 64)

FCOLOR	Set map frame color

LLCOLOR	Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels

PALETTE	Specify Windows color

TEXTBG	Set text background color

Time Display

DATECHANGEn	Control display of next/previous date

DST	Control Daylight Saving Time

F	Set rate of time passage

NODAY	Does not show display the day of the week

NOMONTH	Show month number rather than name

NOSECONDS	Shows time to last minute

PCZONE	Specify PC time zone

SHOWDAY	Show day of week

SHOWMONTH	Show month name rather than number

SHOWSECONDS	Show time to nearest second

T	Set new time

YEAR2	Show 2 digit year

YEAR4	Show 4 digit year

ZONE	Define time zone

Drawing

DRAWCIRCLE	Draw circle on map

DRAWFCIRCLE	Draw a filled circle on map

DRAWLINE	Draw line on mapn

SYMBOL	Displays an external symbol

SYMDEF	Load an external symbol definition

TEXT	Display text on all maps

VECTOR (or V)	Continue a line

System Control

FAST	Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations

NAUTICAL	Display distances in nautical miles

NETWORK	Network Configuration

NOGLYPH	Do not display glyphs on buttons

Quit	Terminate GeoClock

REM	Remark  remainder of line is ignored

SLOW	Use high accuracy but slower calculations

STATUTE	Display distances in statute miles

UWIN	Set update times

ZOOMFRACT	Set screen active area for zoom

Fonts

FONTE	Set default font to 8x14

FONTM	Set default font to 8x8

FONTS	Set default font to 4x8

FONTT	Set default font to 4x6

FONTX	Set default font to external font

FONTLOAD	Loads an external font

Legend

FULL	City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend

NONE	No legend

SUN	City, sun rise/set, local time legend

TIME	Local time only legend

Scripts

HALT	Terminate script and return to Windows

REPEAT	Start script over from first line

SCRIPT	Invoke a specific script

Map Selection

MAP	Select MAP from list

MAPCENTERn	Center world map on longitude n

MAPMINUSn	Selects the previous sequential map using sort

MAPPLUSn	Selects the next sequential map using sort method n

MAPn	Changes to MAP number n

RANDOMn	Changes to random map


Sun and Moon Display Commands

BLANK	Sunlight highlighting is not used

DARK	No sunlight is displayed

LIGHT	All sunlight is displayed

MOONdisp	Control display of moon

NORMAL	Normal Display

SUNANGLE	Sun rise/set definition

SUNLIGHT	Terminator definition

TLMASK	Twilight area pattern

TWILIGHT	Twilight terminator definition


Windows controls Commands

BORDERn	Control window border

INBACKn	Force window to background

POWER	screen saver / power saver interaction

RESIZEn	Control window resizing

SCRNSAVER	Control screen saver attributes

SIZE	Control size state of window

WINDOW	Set window size and position

WINSET	specifies that the GeoClock program has been initialized


HAM radio Commands

CALL	Specify initial call sign

HAM	Activate HAM features

HAMCD	Specify option HAM CDROM data base

HAMDB	Specify HAM data base  maximum speed configuration

HAMDBX	Specify HAM data base  minimum memory configuration

NOHAM	Deactivate HAM features


Map Annotation Commands

CITY	Display city names

COUNTRY	Display country names

Country/City	Toggle between city and country display

DATAFILE	Select extension for data files

FORCEMARK	Always display location markers for cities

GINCLUDE (or GI)	Global include data file

HTA	Display specified city as primary city on all maps

HTN	Do not display specified city on any maps

HTS	Display specified city as primary city on local maps

INCLUDE (or I)	Include data file

MARK	Display location markers for cities.

MARKLIMIT	Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city

NOCITY	Do not display city names

NOHT	Same as HTN

NOMARK	Do not display location markers


Lat/Long lines Commands

CLINE	Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines

GLINC	Set longitude line increment

GLSPEC	Specific longitude line

GRID	Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines

HIDELL	Do not show Latitude/Longitude values

LINE	Set lat/long line increment

LINEPERM	Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent

NOGRID	Do not display GeoClock selected lat/long lines

NOLINE	Do not display latitude/longitude lines

SHOWLL	Show Latitude/Longitude values

TLINC	Set latitude line increment

TLSPEC	Specific latitude line


Screen Display Commands

COLOR	Set color (out of 64)

FCOLOR	Set map frame color

LLCOLOR	Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels

PALETTE	Specify Windows color

TEXTBG	Set text background color


Time Display Commands

DATECHANGEn	Control display of next/previous date

DST	Control Daylight Saving Time

F	Set rate of time passage

NODAY	Does not show display the day of the week

NOMONTH	Show month number rather than name

NOSECONDS	Shows time to last minute

PCZONE	Specify PC time zone

SHOWDAY	Show day of week

SHOWMONTH	Show month name rather than number

SHOWSECONDS	Show time to nearest second

T	Set new time

YEAR2	Show 2 digit year

YEAR4	Show 4 digit year

ZONE	Define time zone


Drawing Commands

DRAWCIRCLE	Draw circle on map

DRAWFCIRCLE	Draw a filled circle on map

DRAWLINE	Draw line on mapn

SYMBOL	Displays an external symbol

SYMDEF	Load an external symbol definition

TEXT	Display text on all maps

VECTOR (or V)	Continue a line


System Control Commands

FAST	Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations

NAUTICAL	Display distances in nautical miles

NOGLYPH	Do not display glyphs on buttons

NETWORK	Network configuration

Quit	Terminate GeoClock

REM	Remark  remainder of line is ignored

SLOW	Use high accuracy but slower calculations

STATUTE	Display distances in statute miles

UWIN	Set update times

ZOOMFRACT	Set screen active area for zoom


Fonts Commands

FONTE	Set default font to 8x14

FONTM	Set default font to 8x8

FONTS	Set default font to 4x8

FONTT	Set default font to 4x6

FONTX	Set default font to external font

FONTLOAD	Loads an external font


Legend Commands

FULL	City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend

NONE	No legend

SUN	City, sun rise/set, local time legend

TIME	Local time only legend


Scripts Commands

HALT	Terminate script and return to Windows

REPEAT	Start script over from first line

SCRIPT	Invoke a specific script


Map Selection Commands

MAP	Select MAP from list

MAPCENTERn	Center world map on longitude n

MAPMINUSn	Selects the previous sequential map using sort

MAPPLUSn	Selects the next sequential map using sort method n

MAPn	Changes to MAP number n

RANDOMn	Changes to a random map


BLANK

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

BLANK        Highlighting is not used

This does not perform any highlighting.  This is appropriate for some specialized maps which use more than 7 colors.


Border

See Windows controls Commands

BORDERn      Control border

BORDER1 causes all window borders to be hidden, including all four border lines, the top menu, the title bar, and the system control items such as the minimize, maximize, and system control menu.

BORDER0 displays all these items.


CALL

See HAM radio Commands

CALL         Specify initial call sign

This commands allows the initial call sign, when a HAM map is brought up, to be specified.  For example, GEOCLK MAP9009 CALL=K3NA   will cause the HAM package to be activated with K3NA data displayed.  The last displayed call sign will be displayed after switching away from and then back to a HAM map.


CITY

See Map Annotation Commands

CITY         Display city names.  The city names and locations are contained in the corresponding GEO*.DAT file.  The name is usually displayed to the right of the location, but the name may be moved if it does not fit.  The location can be controlled by the user, and local time can be added (see Advanced Topics).


CLINE

See Lat/Long lines Commands

CLINE        Clear all specific latitude/longitude lines

CLINE removes all non-permanent special lines from the display.  CLINE1 removes all line including permanent lines.


COLOR

See Screen Display Commands

COLOR        Set color

The COLOR command provides a way to change the GeoClock default colors. The format is:

COLORnddbb

where n is the feature number (0-7), dd is the color value for the non-sunlit feature, and bb is the color value for the sunlit feature (n+8). The easiest way to get the proper values is to use the CSET menu. The proper COLOR commands to produce the colors as modified by CSET are given on the right hand side of the CSET menu. For example, for the color values given in the CSET example, the command is COLOR22062.


COUNTRY

See Map Annotation Commands

COUNTRY      Display country names

Supporting the above capability is a control character used after the ! in GEOn entries: Z.  Any city (or entry in the GEOn.DAT file) with a !Z is not displayed unless the COUNTRY command has been given.  CITY reverts back to normal display, and cities with the !Z are not displayed.  In the data files included, this capability is used to toggle between normal display of cities and times, and display of country names.


Country/City

See Map Annotation Commands

Country/City   Toggle between city and country display

Selecting this menu item, or pressing Y, toggles between display of city names and country names.


DARK

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

DARK           No sunlight is displayed

This does not highlight any of the screen, and does not display the sun symbol.


DATAFILE

See Map Annotation Commands

DATAFILE     Select extension for data files

This command sets the extension to be used for GEOn files.  By default, it is DAT (the previous default).  This allows multiple sets of GEOn files to be used with the maps.  If the extension does not exist, then DAT is used.  For example, DATAFILE XYZ would first check GEOn.XYZ, and if it does not exist, then check GEOn.DAT, and it that did not exist, check GEOCLOCK.DAT.


DATECHANGEn

See Time Display Commands

DATECHANGEn  Control display of next/previous date

If n is 0, the date is not indicated.  If n is 1, the local time shows a ":" if the local date is the same as the current date, it shows an up-arrow if the local date is one day ahead of the current date, and it shows a down-arrow of the local date is one day behind the current date.


DRAWCIRCLE

See Drawing Commands

DRAWCIRCLE        Draw circle on map

DRAWCIRCLE latcenter longcenter latrad longrad color    draws an ellipse centered at (latcenter, longcenter) and with latitude (vertical) radius latrad and with longitude (horizontal) radius longrad, and with color. The command operates ONLY when contained in a GEOn.DAT file that is processed for the map. Color is the color in which the line will be drawn. If omitted, color defaults to 5, which is displayed as yellow. Example:

DRAWCIRCLE  38.9  -77.0  10 20 6

draws an oval centered on Washington DC that is 10 degrees from the center to the northernmost point, and 20 degrees from the center to the easternmost point, and in color 6.  Alternatively, the form: DRAWCIRCLE latcenter longcenter -radius 0 color   can be used.  This draws a circle of the specified radius (in kilometers) in the specified color around the specified center point.  For example:

DRAWCIRCLE  38.9  -77.0  -100 0 6

draws a 100 km circle in color 6 around Washington DC.  The negative sign in front of the radius, and the 0 after the radius, are required to ensure compatibility with the older system.


DRAWFCIRCLE

See Drawing Commands

DRAWFCIRCLE       Draw a filled circle on map

DRAWFCIRCLE has the same syntax as DRAWCIRCLE, except that the circle or ellipse drawn is solid rather than outlined.


DRAWLINE

See Drawing Commands

DRAWLINE         Draw line on map

DRAWLINE lat1 long1 lat2 long2 color   draws a line between (lat1, long1) and (lat2, long2) on the current map.  Color is the color in which the line will be drawn.  See "Color Control" for an explanation of the use of color.  If omitted, color defaults to 5 (yellow).  Example: DRAWLINE 38.9 -77.0 34.0 -118.3 0

draws a line between Washington DC and Los Angeles in color 0. The DRAWLINE command cannot be issued from the Command level.  It operates ONLY when contained in a GEO*.DAT file that is processed for the map, or in a text file that is appended to a map with the INCLUDE command.


DST

See Time Display Commands

DST          Control Daylight Saving Time

The method GeoClock uses to handle summer time when current data is not available in GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI is close, but not perfect.  This command specifies for which years the GeoClock computed correction is to be applied.  By default, GeoClock does not use summer time before 1980. DST is used to change this date.  The syntax is:

DST year1 year2 extrapolation

Year1 is the earliest year in which to use summer time under the current specification, and year2 is the latest year in which to use summer time.  If year2 is omitted, there is no upper limit.  For example, DST 1950 specifies that summer time is to be used from 1950 on, while DST 1985 1995 specifies that summer time is to be used only between 1985 and 1995.  "extrapolation" specifies the algorithm used to estimate summer time dates which are not included in the GEOZONES file.  If extrapolation is 1, the date used is the one closest same day of the week to the specified date (for example, 95/04/02 (a Sunday) would become 96/03/31 (also a Sunday).  If "extrapolation" is missing or any other value, and the original date is in the first or last week of the month, the new date is the same day of the week also in the first or last week of the month.  For example, 95/04/02 would become 96/04/07.


EPHEMERISdisp

See System Control Commands

EPHEMERISdisp  Control display of ephemeris data with the Distance function.  If disp is 0 or omitted, only coordinates and distances are displayed with the distance function.  If disp is 1, the current local time and time zone are displayed, along with the sun rise, sun set, sun azimuth, and sun elevation, for the selected point.


F

See Time Display Commands

Fn makes the rate of time passage n hours per iteration.  It is the equivalent of the rate of time item in the time control menu, but can be used in scripts and from the command line.


FAST

See System Control Commands

FAST         Use reduced accuracy but faster calculations

Forces GeoClock to use a faster but slightly less accurate algorithm for drawing the sunlit area. This is the default for systems without an 80x87.


FCOLOR

See Screen Display Commands

FCOLOR       Set map frame color

FCOLORn  sets the color of the frame around the map display to n.  The default value is 15 (white).  A value of 0 through 15 frames the map in that color.  Any other value (for example, -1) does not display any frame.


FONT_E

See Fonts Commands

FONT-E       Set default font to 8x14.  This font size is used for city and time display on the maps unless it is overridden by an !E, M, S, or T on the corresponding line in GEO*.DAT.


FONT_M

See Fonts Commands

FONT-M *     Set default font to 8x8


FONT_S

See Fonts Commands

FONT-S       Set default font to 4x8


FONT_T

See Fonts Commands

FONT-T       Set default font to 4x6


FONT_X

See Fonts Commands

FONT-X       Set default font to external font


FONTLOAD

See Fonts Commands

FONTLOAD     Loads an external font

FONTLOAD filename   loads the external font specified by <filename> The format of the external font file is:

Byte 0   horizontal character width in bits (w)

Byte 1   vertical character height in bits (h)

Byte 2   first character in table (c1)

Byte 3   last character in table (c2)

Bytes 4 through 4+(c2-c1+1)*h*entier((w+7)/8)  character bits   If the requested character is not in the c1..c2 range, the character is displayed as c1.


FORCEMARK

See Map Annotation Commands

FORCEMARK    Always display location markers for cities, regardless of the  presence of the "N" flag.


FULL

See Legend Commands

FULL *       City, sun rise/set, local time, sun position legend GeoClock can display a time legend at the bottom of the screen.  FULL displays the full range of time and sun-related information on the legend.  This includes primary city name, its time and date, including local time zone name, and sunrise and sunset time.  (The time zone is the one specified in the corresponding GEO*.DAT file.)  It shows sunrise and sunset times for the primary city, the sun's subpoint coordinates, and the azimuth and elevation of the sun from the primary city.  The format of the time and date can be controlled with other commands (see "Time, Zone, and Format Control").


GINCLUDE

See Map Annotation Commands

GINCLUDE (or GI)  Global include data file

The commands works the same as include above, except that the file is included on all maps.  Ordinarily, the GINCLUDE command would be in GECONFIG.DAT file, but it can be on the command line (using the @ character) or in response to P or C.  The command is canceled by GINCLUDE or GI with no file name specified.  If both GI and I are active on the same map, both files will be processed.


GLINC

See Lat/Long lines Commands

GLINC        Set longitude line increment

TLINC and GLINC allow the spacing between latitude and longitude lines to be set independently. For example, TLINC 15 and GLINC 30 set the latitude spacing to 15 degrees, and the longitude spacing to 30 degrees.


GLSPEC

See Lat/Long lines Commands

GLSPEC       Specific longitude line

TLSPEC and GLSPEC allow specific latitude and longitude lines to be displayed.  For example, TLSPEC -67 draws a latitude line at 67 degrees south (the Antarctic circle).  Up to 20 of these special lines can be specified.


GRID

See Lat/Long lines Commands

GRID         Display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines

This command overrides all the other Lat/Long commands and display GeoClock selected lines.  It is equivalent to LINE, TLINCx, GLINCy, and SHOWLL, where x and y are selected by GeoClock on a map by map basis.


HALT

See Scripts Commands

HALT         Terminate script and return to DOS


HAM

See HAM radio Commands

HAM          Activate HAM features

This command activates the HAM features on azimuthal-equidistance maps. A good place for this command is in the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to your HAM map.


HAMCD

See HAM radio Commands

HAMCD        Specify option HAM CD-ROM data base

HAMCD file   specifies that the BuckMaster HamCall (April 1995 or earlier) or QRZ CD-ROM is loaded and should be used to obtain extra information about US call signs.  If the file parameter is missing, all online local CD-ROM drives will be checked for the data base.  This will almost always correctly identify the CD, but you may specify the complete path to the data base (for example,  HAMCD D:\HAM0\HAMCALL.129 or HAMCD D:\CALLBK\CALLBKC.DAT) if GeoClock cannot automatically locate this data base.  When a call sign is parsed, the CD will be checked first.  If the call is not found, the GeoClock HAM data base (see below) will be used.


HAMDB

See HAM radio Commands

HAMDB        Specify HAM data base - maximum speed configuration HAMDB file   loads the HAM call sign data base from file the named file. Only the first occurrence of this command in a GeoClock execution is effective (i.e., the data base will not be reloaded or changed). A good place for this command is in the GEOn.DAT file corresponding to your HAM map. The HAM data base and other required files are an extra cost option in GeoClock.


HAMDBX

See HAM radio Commands

HAMDBX       Specify HAM data base - minimum memory configuration HAMDBX file   specifies the file with the HAM data base.  Whenever a call sign needs to be analyzed, the data base is loaded into temporary memory, and the memory is released after analysis.  This slows the analysis slightly, but requires about 60Kb less RAM.  If you are shelling to GeoClock from another program and get Error 203 messages when you use the HAM features, placing this command in GECONFIG.DAT may solve the problem.


HIDELL

See Lat/Long lines Commands

HIDELL *     Do not show Latitude/Longitude values


HTA

See Map Annotation Commands

HTA          Display specified city as primary city on all maps HTA/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName   forces the specified city to be the primary city on all maps.  HTA with no home town specified forces the display of a previously specified home town.  It overrides the first and second lines in every GEOn.DAT file, and thus is a shortcut method to configure GeoClock for your city.  For example, HTA/38.90/-77.03/ET/Washington   forces Washington to be the primary city on all maps, and displays ET (Eastern Time) for all ephemeris data.  HTA is an acronym from Home Town Always.


HTN

See Map Annotation Commands

HTN          Do not display specified city as primary city on any maps HTN/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName   forces the specified city to be the primary city on all maps, but prevents it from being displayed as the primary city.  HTN with no parameters does not change any previously defined city, but does prevent it from being displayed.  HTN is an acronym from Home Town Never.


HTS

See Map Annotation Commands

HTS          Display specified city as primary city on maps containing it   HTS/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName  It works identically to HTA, except that it uses the specified city only if the city appears on the map.  HTS with no parameters use a previously defined home town, but display it only if the city appears on the maps.  For example, HTS/38.90/-77.03/ET/Washington   would force Washington to be the primary city on MAP2 (US - 48 States), but not on MAP5 (Europe).  HTS is an acronym for Home Town Showing.


INBACK

See Windows controls Commands

INBACK    Forces the GeoClock windows to be bottom most.

INBACKn  If n is 1, GeoClock is always the bottom most window.  If the screen is maximized, then GeoClock functions as wallpaper in this mode.


INCLUDE

See Map Annotation Commands

INCLUDE (or I)   Include data file

When contained in a GEOn.DAT file, INCLUDE <file>  suspends reading from the file being processed, and processes all commands in the <file>.  When all commands in that file have been processed, reading resumes from the original file.  INCLUDE may be nested up to ten levels.  INCLUDE may also be used in response to the "P" command.  In this case, the named file will be included at the end of the GEOn.DAT file for the map currently displayed.

The effect of the INCLUDE command will be negated when a new map is selected or a new file is specified with INCLUDE.  The INCLUDE command can be abbreviated by I (i.e., I DATELINE).  An include file can be set on the command line or in a script by using the @ character as a separator (e.g., GEOCLK  MAP1  I@dateline).  This syntax is not allowed in data files or in response to P or C.


LIGHT

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

LIGHT        All sunlight is displayed

This highlights the entire screen, and does not display the sun symbol.  This often provides a better display of details of small-area maps, on which terminator display may be unimportant, e.g., city maps.


LINE

See Lat/Long lines Commands

LINE         Set lat/long line increment and display lines This command enables latitude and longitude lines on the display, and sets the spacing between the lines. For example, LINE15 draws latitude and longitude 15 degrees apart.


LINEPERM

See Lat/Long lines Commands

LINEPERM     Make TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent

LINEPERM makes all currently defined TLSPEC and GLSPEC lines permanent, i.e., they will be displayed on all maps.  If TLSPEC and GLSPEC commands are followed by LINEPERM in GECONFIG.DAT, these lines will be permanent.  A similar sequence in a GEOn.DAT file will make these lines permanent.  CLINE1 clear all permanent lines.


LLCOLOR

See Screen Display Commands

LLCOLOR      Set color and style of lat/long lines and labels This command takes two parameters LLCOLOR a/b.  a is the color number for the lat/long lines (the default is 6).  b is the color number for the lat/long line labels (the default value is 7).  If a is negative, the lines will overwrite all map features, while if a is positive it will only overwrite colors 1, 2, 3 (water, land, and land/water).


MAP

See Map Selection Commands

MAP          Select MAP from list

This command works identically to F.  If it is included on the GeoClock command line (for example, GEOCLK MAP), the selection menu will appear before the program starts.


MAPCENTERn

See Map Selection Commands

MAPCENTERn   Center world map on longitude n

Centers any rectangular projection world map on longitude n (more or less).  For example, MAPCENTER-77 centers the world map on Washington.  It does not have any effect on non-rectangular projection or non-world maps. Like FCOLOR, this command does not take effect immediately if used in the GEOn.DAT files  (except GEOCLOCK.DAT) or scripts, but does work correctly in GECONFIG.DAT, the command line, and "P".


MAPMINUSn

See Map Selection Commands

MAPMINUSn    Selects the previous sequential map using sort method n.  This command chooses the previous sequential map using the sort method described in MAPPLUSn.


MAPPLUSn

See Map Selection Commands

MAPPLUSn     Selects the next sequential map using sort method n.  This command chooses the next map in sequence.  If n is 1, it chooses the next high map number.  If n is 2, it chooses the next map in alphabetical order.  If n is some other number, it chooses the next map in coverage area.  If n is missing, it uses the method last selected in the "M"aplist or "F"indMap function.


MAPn

See Map Selection Commands

MAPn         Changes to MAP number n

This command displays a specific map.  For example, MAP5 displays map number 5.  If this command in included in GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI, the map specified will appear as the first map displayed.


MARK

See Map Annotation Commands

MARK         Display location markers for cities.


MARKLIMIT

See Map Annotation Commands

MARKLIMIT    Control display of cities close to HTA/HTS city This sets the minimum distance from the home town city that a city must be to be displayed.  For example, MARKLIMIT5 means that any mark within 5 pixels x and y of the home town mark will not be displayed.  The distances can be set independently, e.g., MARLIMIT5/10 means x of 5 and y of 10.  The default is -1, or no restriction.


MOONdisp

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

MOONdisp     Control display of moon

If disp is 0 or omitted, no moon is displayed.  If disp is 1, a moon symbol is displayed with approximate phase information over the correct sub-point.  If disp is 2, the text moon illumination fraction is displayed with the moon symbol.  If disp is 3, the symbol, illumination, lat, long, azimuth, and elevation are all displayed.  If disp is increased by 4, the moon is displayed using the calendar convention (i.e., the moon looks like the symbol in printed calendars).  For example, if disp is 6, the moon symbol is displayed using the calendar convention, and the moon illumination fraction is displayed in text.


NAUTICAL

See System Control Commands

NAUTICAL     Display distances in nautical miles


NETWORK

See System Control Commands

NETWORK@server@local@

  This command sets GeoClock to run in network mode.  For every file to be read, the directory "local" is check, and if the file exists there, it is used.  If not, the directory "server" is used.  When a file is written, it is always written to the "local" directory.  Usually, GeoClock and all its files will be installed in the "server" directory, and each user will have his own "local".  The user can then customize his GeoClock without affecting other users.  Ordinarily, the NETWORK command should be on the command line (FILE/PROPERTIES/COMMANDLINE in Windows 3.x).  For example,

C:\SERVER\GEO\GEOCKWIN.EXE  NETWORK@C:\SERVER\GEO@X:\LOCAL\GEO@

will start GeoClock using C:\SERVER\GEO as the server directory, and X:\LOCAL\GEO as the local directory.

  A special form of the command is  NETWORK  with no additional characters.  In this case, GeoCLock uses the directory containing the GEOCKWIN.EXE file as the server directory, and the current default directory as the local directory.


NOCITY

See Map Annotation Commands

NOCITY *     Do not display city names


NODAY

See Time Display Commands

NODAY *      Does not show display the day of the week.


NOGLYPH

See System Control Commands

NOGLYPH     Do not display glyphs (small pictures) on the buttons on menus.  On some systems with high color (65K+), you may get "Out of Resources" messages due to the way Delphi hands the glyphs.  This command deletes the glyphs to prevent the "Out of Resources" messages.  A new driver for your video card, or use of WindowsNT or Windows95, may solve this problem.  If you have trouble starting GeoClock without this command, you can place it on the command line entry (GEOCKWIN.EXE  NOGLYPH) or in GEOCLOCK.INI.


NOGRID

See Lat/Long lines Commands

NOGRID *     Do not display GeoClock Selected lat/long lines.  This command negates the GRID command.


NOHAM

See HAM radio Commands

NOHAM        Deactivate HAM features


NOHT

See Map Annotation Commands

NOHT         (same as HTN) Do not display specified city as primary city on any maps HTN/Lat/Long/ZoneCode/CityName   forces the specified city to be the primary city on all maps, but prevents it from being displayed as the primary city.  HTN with no parameters does not change any previously defined city, but does prevent it from being displayed.  HTN is an acronym from Home Town Never.


NOLINE

See Lat/Long lines Commands

NOLINE *     Do not display latitude/longitude lines

NOLINE removes all latitude/longitude lines from the display.


NOMARK

See Map Annotation Commands

NOMARK *     Do not display location markers.


NOMONTH

See Time Display Commands

NOMONTH *    Show month number rather than name.


NONE

See Legend Commands

NONE         No legend


NORMAL

See Sun and Moon Display

NORMAL *     Normal Display

This highlights the sunlit area and displays the sun symbol at the sun's subpoint.


NOSECONDS

See Time Display Commands

NOSECONDS    Shows time to last minute

This command shows time to the last minute (1991/05/01 12:14)


Palette

See Screen Display Commands

  PALe/r/g/b     sets the RGB value for a GeoClock color.

e is the palette position (corresponding to the DOS version), r is the red value (0-255), g is the green value, and b is the blue value.  For example   PAL2/128/64/0 sets position 2 (dark land) to red=128, green=64, blue=0 (dark brown).

Default colors in GeoClock are as follows:

palette

posit	color	use

------	------	---------

0	red	Political Bdy (dark)

1	blue	Water (dark)

2	dark green	Land (dark)

3	green	Land/Water Bdy (dark)

4	black	Text Background (dark)

5	yellow	Aux Text Color (dark)

6	black	Lat/Long Lines (dark)

7	white	Frame and Text

8	bright red	Political Bdy (sunlit)

9	light blue	Water (sunlit)

10	green	Land (sunlit)

11	light green	Land/Water Bdy (sunlit)

12	black	Text Background (sunlit)

13	yellow	Aux Text and Sun (sunlit)

14	black	Lat/Long Lines (sunlit)

15	white	Frame and Text

The EGA graphics adapter provides for the simultaneous display of 16 colors from a palette of 64.  The VGA graphics adapter provides for the simultaneous display of 16 colors from a palette of 262144.  Most programs use the default palette, which roughly corresponds to the colors provided by the CGA in text mode.  In order to make the map display the most attractive, the EGA/VGA/SVGA version of GeoClock for DOS does not use this standard palette.  Instead, the 16 colors that can be displayed simultaneously are used to represent 16 features displayed by GeoClock. The first eight numbers are for features not in sunlight, and the second eight are for features that are in sunlight.

In Windows systems supporting at least 256 colors, GeoClock for Windows can use the full palette.  In 16 color systems (VGA), GeoClock does not have access to all available colors and the display will be somewhat less pleasing.


PCZONE

See Time Display Commands

PCZONE       Specify PC time zone

The PCZONE command sets the relationship between the local time on the PC's clock and GMT, i.e., declares which time zone the PC's clock is in. It takes one parameter - a time zone code, as defined in the ZONE command. For example, if you use Eastern Time, specify:

PCZONE ET

This command is best used in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI files, and it must follow the ZONE command that it references.


POWER

See Windows controls Commands

POWER    Control the interaction between the screen saver and power saver features.

POWERn   Specifies how the screen saver responds to power saver messages:

0  Ignore all power management messages

1  Quit screen saver on Critical Resume (that is a resume that was from an emergency power down)

2  Quit screen saver on normal resume.

4  Quit screen saver on suspend request.

These may be ORed together.  For example, POWER7 causes the screen saver to shut down if any power saver message is received.

Ordinarily, this command is not required: if the screen saver is running when the system powers down to save power, it will be running when it powers back up.  You may have to add this command to GEOCLOCK.INI if the screen saver misbehaves on a power-saver shut down or start up.


Quit

See System Control Commands

Quit           Quit GeoClock and return to Windows

Selecting this menu item, or pressing ESCape twice terminates GeoClock and closes all GeoClock Windows.


Random

See Map Selection Commands

RANDOMn         Select a new map at random

Executing this command selects a new map at random.  If the optional parameter n is included, it determines what sorts of maps can be selected:

1  World Maps

2  View From Space maps

4  Other non-rectuangular maps (polar, equi-azi, etc)

8  Non-world rectuangular maps

n is the sum of the numbers corresponding to the maps permitted.  For example, For example, RANDOM3 selects a map at random from the World maps and View from Space maps.


REM

See System Control Commands

REM          Remark - remainder of line is ignored

Remarks can be used within *.DAT files for additional documentation of the various text files you may change to customize GeoClock maps.


REPEAT

See Scripts Commands

REPEAT       Start script over from first line


Resize Control

See Windows controls Commands

RESIZEn        Control window resizing

RESIZE1 forces all window resizing, including dragging the window border, to keep the 4x3 aspect ratio all GeoClock maps use.  RESIZE0 allows full control of the window size.


SCRNSAVER

See Windows controls Commands

SCRNSAVER  sets various attributes to run GeoClock as a Windows screen saver.

SCRNSAVERa/b/c/d/e/f

  a is the mode (0=single map, 1=random maps, 2=script)

  b is the map number for the single map mode

  c is the random map selection code, see RANDOM

  d is the time in seconds between map changes in the random maps mode

  e is the script number (1 through 9) in the script mode.

  f is the one way encrypted password

This command is set automatically in the screen saver setup form and ordinarily the user does not need to modify it by hand.


SCRIPT

See Scripts Commands

SCRIPT       Invoke a specific script

SCRIPTx   invokes script x (i.e., the file GEOSCRx.DAT).  x may be any number.  This is especially useful from the command line.  Note that if GEOSCR0.DAT exists, it is automatically invoked when GeoClock starts unless the SCRIPTx command is in the GECONFIG.DAT or GEOCLOCK.INI file or on the command line.


SHOWDAY

See Time Display Commands

SHOWDAY      Show day of week

This command displays the day of the week (1991/05/01 WED 12:14:45). As in SHOWMONTH, the default is the standard 3 letter English abbreviation, but other names can be specified:

SHOWDAY SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT


SHOWLL

See Lat/Long lines Commands

SHOWLL       Show Latitude/Longitude values

This command labels all the latitude and longitude lines displayed. The labels appear on the top and left edges of the display. The labels may overlap other data.  Optionally, SHOWLL can control which axis are labeled: SHOWLLn

n and 1 = 0  show left latitude

n and 2 = 0  show right latitude

n and 4 = 0  show top longitude


SHOWMONTH

See Time Display Commands

SHOWMONTH    Show month name rather than number (91 MAY 01 12:14:45). The standard 3 letter English abbreviations are used by default. The text for the month names can be specified by giving the 12 strings to be used for the 12 months. For example:

SHOWMONTH JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC


SHOWSECONDS

See Time Display Commands

SHOWSECONDS * Show time to nearest second

This command shows time to the nearest second (1991/05/01 12:14:45).


SLOW

See System Control Commands

SLOW         Use high accuracy but slower calculations

Forces GeoClock to use the high accuracy algorithm for drawing the sunlit area.  This is the default for systems with an 80x87. On systems with an 80x87, the difference in speed between SLOW and FAST is negligible, while on those systems without an 80x87, FAST is approximately twice the speed of SLOW.  These options do not effect polar, orthoscopic, or azimuthal-equidistance maps.


STATUTE

See System Control Commands

STATUTE  *   Display distances in statute miles


SUN

See Legend Commands

SUN          City, sun rise/set, local time legend


SUNANGLE

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

SUNANGLE     Sun rise/set definition

SUNANGLE angle   sets the elevation angle of the sun used to compute sunrise and set.  The default is -0.8333 degree, which corresponds to the sun just breaking the horizon, considering refraction effects. This parameter does not affect the terminator line calculations.


SUNLIGHT

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

SUNLIGHT     Terminator definition

SUNLIGHT angle   specifies the sun's elevation angle for the terminator. The default is -0.8333, which corresponds to apparent sunrise and sunset, when the edge of the sun is just visible.  0 corresponds to the geometric terminator, which divides the earth into two equal halves.


SYMBOL

See Drawing Commands

SYMBOL     Displays an external symbol

SYMBOL  name  lat  long      displays the symbol referred to by <name> (defined by a previous SYMDEF command) centered on lat long.  This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data.

SYMBOL  filename  lat long      displays the symbol defined in <filename> centered on lat long.  This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data.

SYMBOL  filename  name  lat long      displays the symbol defined in <filename> and named <name> centered on lat long.  This symbol is drawn before any city names or times are drawn, so the symbol can be overwritten by this data.  <filename> is assumed to have more than one SYMBOL in one file, see SYMDEF.


SYMDEF

See Drawing Commands

SYMDEF     Load an external symbol definition

SYMDEF filename   loads the external symbol specified by <filename>.   The format of the external file is:

Initial Byte    length      Meaning

0               2          Number of pixels in the x direction (nx)

2               2          Number of pixels in the y direction (ny)

4               2          x pixel corresponding to the symbol center

6               2          y pixel corresponding to the symbol center

8               8          Name of symbol (trailing spaces)

10              nx*ny      Color of pixel (going horizontally from 1 to nx,

                           then vertically from 1 to ny).  0-15 displays as

                           that color.  16-255 is transparent.

Multiple symbol definitions can be included in a single file by concatenating the above structure.


Size

See Windows controls Commands

SIZE          Control size state of window

SIZE0 allows normal window size

SIZE1 forces the window to Maximized

SIZE2 forces the window to Minimized


T

See Time Display Commands

T            Set new time

Pressing the T key prompts you for a new display time in six spin boxes (year month day hour minute second).  This does not change your PC's clock.  All times in GeoClock use the 24 hour format. If this command is used on the command line or in a DAT file, the included data is interpreted as year month day hour minute second.  The data must be given with no extra characters, and exactly two digits per item.  Missing data is set to 2000/01/01 00:00:00.  For example, T9205151207 is taken as 1992/05/15  12:07:00.  A four digit year (between 1000 and 2999) is allowed.  When used on the command line or in a DAT file, the data may have a + or - followed by a number.  With this format, the current virtual time is incremented or decremented by the specified number of days.  For example, T+30 increments the time by 30 days, while T-0.25 decrements the time by 1/4 day = 6 hours.


TEXT

See Drawing Commands

TEXT         Display text on all maps

TEXTx/y/font/color/bg*text     No spaces before the * are allowed.  x is the horizontal coordinate of the starting pixel for the string (if negative, from the right of the screen), y is the vertical coordinate of the starting pixel (if negative, from the bottom of the screen, font is 0 for 8x14, 1 for 4x6, 2 for 8x8, 3 for 4x8, and 4 for the Xfont.  color is the color number for the text, and bg is the background color (-1 means transparent).  The text itself can be anything. The underscore (_) is interpreted as a space.


TEXTBG

See Screen Display Commands

TEXTBG       Set text background color

TEXTBGn    changes the text background color number to n.  The default value is 4.


TIME

See Legend Commands

TIME         Local time only legend


TLINC

See Lat/Long lines Commands

TLINC        Set latitude line increment


TLMASK

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

TLMASK       Twilight area pattern

TLMASK n   specifies the fraction (in 16ths) of halftoning for twilight display.  4 is the default, which gives 1/4 light and 3/4 dark for the twilight area.  You may have to experiment with this value to get the best display for your monitor.  A value of 4 may give a better effect, particularly if you wish to emphasize the terminator relatively to the twilight line.


TLSPEC

See Lat/Long lines Commands

TLSPEC       Specific latitude line


TWILIGHT

See Sun and Moon Display Commands

TWILIGHT     Twilight terminator definition

TWILIGHT angle   specifies the sun's elevation angle for the twilight terminator.  The default is 0.  -6.00 corresponds to civil twilight, -12 corresponds to nautical twilight, and -18 corresponds to astronomical twilight.  If this angle is greater than or equal to the SUNLIGHT parameter, the twilight area is not displayed.


UWIN

See System Control Commands

UWIN      Set the update time intervals

UWINf/b  sets the update intervals (the time that GeoClock relinquishes control to Windows before the next screen refresh).  f is the interval in seconds when GeoClock is in the foreground, and g is the interval in seconds when GeoClock is in the background.  The defaults are 1 second for foreground, and 60 seconds for background.


VECTOR

See Drawing Commands

VECTOR (or V)     Continue a line

VECTOR latx longx   draws a line starting at the position of the last DRAWLINE or VECTOR, to (latx,) using the color specified in the last DRAWLINE.  For example, if the following lines immediately follow the line in the DRAWLINE example:

VECTOR  41.83   -87.75

VECTOR  38.67   -90.25

a line from Los Angeles to Chicago to St, Louis will be drawn in color 0.  The VECTOR command may be abbreviated by V (i.e., V 41.83 -87.75).


Window

See Windows controls Commands

WINDOWn/xp/yp/xs/ys

WINDOW allows all GeoClock Windows to be set to special sizes and positions

n=1 specifies the main map window

n=2 specifies the Where Is (Gazetteer) window

n=3 specifies the MapList window

n=4 specifies the About Box window

n=5 specifies the Command Entry window

n=6 specifies the Data File Edit window

n=7 specifies the Registration window

n=8 specifies the Scripts window

n=9 specifies the SetUp window

n=10 specifies the TimeSet window

n=11 specifies the Window Controls window

n=12 specifies the Zip Code window

n=13 specifies the Options window

xp is the screen relative horizontal position of the upper left corner

yp is the screen relative vertical position of the upper left corner

xs is the width in pixels

ys is the height in pixels

For example, WINDOW1/0/0/400/300 places the map window in the upper left corner of the screen, and makes the map area 400x300 pixels.

Ordinarily, the user will not have to enter this command directly.  These are written automatically to the GEOCLOCK.INI file when Save Settings is invoked.  When save settings is used, comments are automatically added to make clear which windows are effected.  For example,

WindowMain1/0/0/400/300.


Winsetup

See Windows controls Commands

WINSET specifies that the GeoClock program has been initialized for local conditions.  If this statement does not appear in GEOCLOCK.INI, GeoClock will start with the Setup window.  WINSET will be written to the GEOCLOCK.INI file automatically after GeoClock is set up.


YEAR2

See Time Display Commands

YEAR2 *      Show 2 digit year  (e.g., 91/05/01 12:14:45)


YEAR4

See Time Display Commands

YEAR4        Show 4 digit year  (e.g., 1991/05/01 12:14:45)


ZONE

See Time Display Commands

ZONE         Define time zone

This command defines a time zone: it relates the time zone to the standard time zone (variously called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) or Zulu Time (Z)); it specifies the dates and times when the zone changes to and from summer time; and it  names the time zone and the standard and summer times.  As an example, U.S. Eastern Time is specified by:

ZONE   ET     EST     -5     EDT     -4     91/04/07:7   91/10/27:7 ET is the name the time zone is referred to by all GeoClock commands. The definition states that the zone is called EST and is 5 hours behind GMT, except between 91/04/07 0700 GMT and 91/10/27 0700 GMT, when it is called EDT and is 4 hours behind GMT.

If the offset to GMT is 100 or larger, the time zone will give true local sun time (i.e., the sun is at its highest elevation at exactly 12:00 every day).  A special time zone named ST (for sun-time) is defined in the GEOZONES.DAT file for this zone.

If the ZONE commands are not for the correct year, GeoClock will automatically update them by changing each date to the closest date in the correct year which falls on the same day of the week.


ZOOMFRACT

See System Control Commands

ZOOMFRACT    Set screen active area for zoom

This command sets the size of the active area on the map for zoom to prevent zoom to areas  too close to the screen edge, and to allow map to map lateral zooming.  ZOOMFRACT1.0 allows zooming to any area on the screen.  ZOOMFRACT0.95, for example, does not allow zooming closer to the edge than 5% of the screen dimensions.  This parameter also affects the Where function, ensuring that the selected city is not too close to the edge of the map.  One consequence of this is that clicking near the edge of the map will bring up the highest resolution map containing that point but not near the edge, so the zoom function can be used to navigate laterally through the maps.


HAM radio features

  The HAM package is an add-in to the registered version of GeoClock.  It supports a variety of features to support HAM, SWL, and DX operators, and includes a custom Azimuthal-Equidistant (Great Circle) projection map centered on your location.

HAM package features

Starting the HAM package

BuckMaster and QRZ CDROMs

Call Sign Analysis

Use of other GeoClock features

Twilight zone definition

HAM data base

HAM package support


HAM package features

The GeoClock HAM package activates several new features of particular interest to amateur radio operators and short-wave listeners. These include:

Azimuthal-Equidistant (Great Circle) maps.

Day, night, and twilight zone display:

-Twilight zone parameters can be set to indicate boundaries of sun illumination on the F- and D-layers of the ionosphere.

Amateur radio call sign analysis (based on a user-maintainable call sign data base).  When a call sign (or prefix) is entered, the following information is displayed:

-Remote station location

-short and long great circle path

-short and long path azimuth and range

-remote station (reciprocal) azimuth

-UTC, local, and remote station local time

-DXCC and WAE country identifications

-CQ and ITU zones

-Continent, area, and location names

The package has three major components: a custom Azimuthal-Equidistant map centered on your station; a call sign data base, and a utility program to process the text call sign data base into the GeoClock form. Your registered copy of GeoClock will use this data base to overlay HAM data on the custom map.

The custom Azi-Equi map centered on your location is named MAP9009.EGA.  A custom GEO9009.DAT file is also provided to control the display of HAM data.

If the optional BuckMaster HamCall (April 1995 or earlier) or QRZ CD-ROM is online, the GeoClock HAM package will use the CD-ROM to provide very accurate coordinates and headings for US call signs in the data base.

These features are provided in addition to the other features of GeoClock.


Starting the HAM package

To start the HAM package, enter "GEOCLK MAP9009" at the DOS prompt.  The program will start with your custom map and an indication of the sun and terminator locations.  In the present release, ham features are activated only on the custom map.

TIP:  Edit your GECONFIG.DAT file with an ASCII text file editor and add the command "MAP 9009" as the last line of this file.  You will now be able to start the GeoClock program by simply entering GEOCLK at the DOS prompt.  GeoClock will then start up automatically with your custom map displayed.

You should see a color Azi-Equi map displayed on your screen against a black background.  Your location at the center of the map is shown with a cross symbol.  Around the edge of the map are tick marks for every 10 degrees of azimuth.  In the bottom right corner, your name, call sign, and location will be displayed.  In the bottom left corner two clock lines will be displayed: GMT clock and local time at your location.  The format of clock information can be tailored to suit your taste in clock style.  See the "commands" section of the help system.

In a few seconds (depending on the speed of your computer), the current sunlight, night, and twilight zones will be displayed.  A yellow "sun" will appear at the current sun subpoint (i.e., the spot on Earth where the sun is currently directly overhead).  GeoClock will continue to adjust the display to keep up with real time, at a rate dictated by the processing power of your computer.  The date/time of the present display is shown on the clocks in the lower left corner.

Note: The rate of updates can be slower (approximately half as fast for the worst case) whenever the boundaries of the twilight zone approach the edges of the Azi-Equi map.  This is because a larger number of calculations are required in order to accurately display the twilight zone boundary around the map edge. GeoClock automatically adjusts to this condition in order to insure that the map display remains accurate.


BuckMaster/QRZ CDROM

If your computer has a CD-ROM drive, and the BuckMaster HamCall (April 1995 or earlier) or QRZ CD-ROM is on line, GeoClock can use the database on the CD-ROM to provide very accurate locations (within a few km) and bearing for US call signs in the Data Base.  In addition, the name and home town of the owner of the call sign is displayed when the call sign is keyed in.  This feature is activated automatically if the  HAMCD  command is in GECONFIG.DAT.  If the CD-ROM drive is on a network or otherwise non-standard, that command can be used to specify the exact path and file name of the data base.

The QRZ CD-ROM can be obtained at retail or directly from the publisher:

QRZ Ham Radio CDROM

Walnut Creek CDROM

1547 Palos Verdes Mall, #260

Walnut Creek  CA  94596

Voice: 800-786-9907 or 510-674-0783

FAX: 510 674-0821

Internet:  info@cdrom.com


Call Sign Analysis

To activate call sign analysis, simply begin to type in the letters and numbers of the amateur radio call sign of interest.  When the first key is depressed, a window pops open and the call sign you are typing is displayed in the window.  Backspace and cursor keys may be used to correct any typing errors.  When the call sign has been completely entered, press the RETURN key.

To abort call sign entry, press the ESCape key.  To clear the call sign display, press any letter, then BACKSPACE and RETURN.

You do not need to enter an entire call sign.  GeoClock will operate on call sign prefixes.  However, GeoClock contains over 1,700 entries in its call sign analysis database.  By entering a complete call sign, you will frequently benefit from more precise location information.

Call signs containing "/" may be entered directly from the keyboard; e.g., FR5ZD/E, KN3T/KH6, HB0/DL7FT and SP9PBE/6.

Once a call sign has been entered, GeoClock displays the following information:

a.   a cross "mark" at the location of the station is added to the map. The location chosen is the most accurate location known to the database.

b.   the local time at that distance location is added to the bottom left corner of the screen.  This is the third clock time, labelled "mark:". This time is continually updated, along with all the other clocks on the screen.  Rules for local daylight savings (summer) time are applied.

c.   short and long great circle paths from your location to the distance "mark" are displayed on the map.  If you look carefully, you will see the long path has a yellow color.  (On an Equi-Az map, the long path is obvious: it is the path which crosses the edge of the map.)  In addition, the left side of the screen shows the following for both short and long paths:

-- azimuth (direction) from your location to the mark.

-- azimuth from the mark to your location.

-- distance in miles and kilometers.

d.   on the left side of the screen, additional information about the call sign is shown:

-- DXCC country: standard prefix and country name.

-- WAE country: standard prefix and country name.

-- area: state, region, or ooblast within the country for this particular call sign.  For USSR ooblasts, the ooblast number is also shown.

-- mark: the city or geographical spot which is displayed on the map and used for distance and bearing calculations.

-- CQ zone(s) for the area named above.

-- ITU zone(s) for the area named above.

To erase the information, press the minus (-) key.


Use of other GeoClock features

Most of the GeoClock commands and features described in the other sections of HELP are available while using the HAM package. In addition to real time operation, GeoClock can be instructed to operate at other dates and times, and to operate at accelerated rates.  Distances and great circle directions can be determined between any locations on the globe.  There are many commands which allow you to customize the type and style of information displayed on GeoClock.  You should take time to read the remaining GeoClock help sections to learn about these additional capabilities.  These will help you get the most out of your GeoClock system.

GeoClock also includes many additional maps of the world, polar regions, continents, oceans, and individual countries.  These additional maps allow you to zoom in on specific areas on interest in the globe; e.g., twilight zone crossings of Africa, etc.

While using your custom map and ham features, you can enter these other GeoClock commands by holding down the SHIFT key while pressing the appropriate letter.  For example, pressing SHIFT and T (for Time) allows you to change the date/time used to calculate the displayed day, night, and twilight zones.

Note:  The SHIFT key must be used.  The CAPS LOCK key and caps-lock status is ignored.  Any keys pressed without the SHIFT will be interpreted as characters for a call sign.

GeoClock supports two commands which are specific to ham features.

The HAMDB command specifies the name of the call sign database to be used. This command should be in the GECONFIG.DAT file. For example, HAMDB HAM.HDB specifies that HAM.HDB contains the call sign data base.  This database MUST be in the format produced by GENHAMDB, not in text format.  Only the first use of HAMDB in a given run has effect - the data base cannot be changed while GeoClock is executing.

The second command, HAM, specifies that the HAM features are to be activated.  The best place to this command is in the GEO9009.DAT file corresponding to your Azimuthal-Equidistant (Azi-Equi) map.  In the current release of GeoClock, the HAM features may only be used when the Azi-Equi map is displayed.  NOHAM deactivates the HAM features.


Twilight zone definition

One of the strengths of GeoClock is the ability for you to use the TWILIGHT and SUNLIGHT commands to determine the boundaries of the day zone, twilight zone, and night zone. You can set these boundaries to any value desired.

The value is the offset, in degrees, of the zone boundary from the edge of the (geometric) sunlight part of the earth.  Typical values of interest for shortwave operating include:

 SUNLIGHT = -6.596	Boundary where sun starts/stops illuminating the D-layer.  This controls absorption on the lower frequency shortwave radio bands.

 TWILIGHT = -14.165	Boundary where sun starts/stops illuminating the F-layer. These values are based on average D- and F- layer heights.  They define the Ionospheric Gray Line: a twilight zone where shortwave radio signals can pass through the D-layer without absorption.  Within this zone signals will encounter an illuminated F- layer whose ionization level will be normally enhanced over that found in the night zone.

Other common values for these commands include:

 SUNLIGHT = -0.833	Sunset/sunrise at sea level, taking into account the bending of light through the Earth's atmosphere and the apparent width of the sun.

 TWILIGHT = -6	Boundary of civil (legal) twilight, where it is bright enough to work outdoors.

 TWILIGHT = -12	Boundary of nautical twilight, where it is bright enough to see the horizon.  One can take navigational sightings with a sextant in this zone.

 TWILIGHT = -18	Boundary of astronomical twilight, where sunlight on the upper atmosphere interferes with the use of telescopes by astronomers.

 	To use the same values for twilight definition on all maps, enter these commands in the GECONFIG.DAT file.  To specify values for each particular map, the commands should appear in the GEO*.DAT file (where "*" represents the map number; e.g., GEO9009.DAT for your custom Equi-Az map).


HAM data base

Analysis of amateur radio call signs is driven by information contained in the ham database.  The database consists of three files:

-- HAM70.DAT:  An ASCII text file containing information described below.  You may have received a more recent version number.

-- GENHAMDB.EXE:  An executable utility which converts the ASCII text file into a binary format used by GeoClock for call sign analysis. Database validation is also performed by this utility.

-- HAM.HDB:  The binary format produced by the GENHAMDB.EXE utility program.

HAM70.DAT

 The text form of the call sign data base consists of lines specifying key data about a group of call signs. Each line consists of 11 data items:

1. CallPattern - the leading characters of the call sign group. For example, PY signifies all call signs beginning with the characters PY.

Wildcard characters are used in describing call sign patterns as follows:

# -- represents any single digit; i.e., 0, 1, 2, ... 9.

@ -- represents any single alphabetic character; i.e., A, B, ... Z.

? -- represents any single character, either alphabetic or numeric.

* -- represents any string of characters.

For example, PY#Z* represents any call sign beginning with PY, followed by any single digit, then the letter Z, and then anything else. PY0ZZ would match this pattern.

All characters are interpreted as upper case.  This file has been created in lower case.  If you add entries of your own, you may wish to make them upper case so that you can easily recognize your own additions for future maintenance and debugging purposes.

2. HamLat - the latitude of the location corresponding to this call sign. This may be in decimal degrees (-15.146 for 15.146 degrees South), or in degrees/minutes/seconds ("15 8 45.6S"). If the latter format is used, the latitude must be enclosed in quote marks.

3. HamLong - the longitude of the location corresponding to this call sign. This may be in decimal degrees (-15.146 for 15.146 degrees West), or in degrees/minutes/seconds ("15 8 45.6W"). If the latter format is used, the latitude must be enclosed in quote marks.

4. HamTimeZone - the time zone code for local time for this call sign group.  For example, ET stands for US Eastern time.   The time zone acronyms are defined in the GEOZONES.DAT file.

5. HamCQzone - the CQ zone for this call sign group. If the zone has imbedded spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes; e.g., "3 4 5".

6. HamITUzone - the ITU zone for this call sign group. If the zone has imbedded spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes.

7. HamContinent - the continent for this call sign group. NA, SA, AF, EU, AS, AN, and OC may be used as abbreviations.

8. DXCCprefix - the standard DXCC call sign prefix designation for this CallPattern.  The DXCC country identification for this CallPattern is determined by this prefix.

9. AreaName - the name of the area within a country which is covered by this CallPattern; e.g., state, ooblast, region, or other political subdivision.  This must be enclosed by quotes.

10. MarkName - the name of the specific place used to represent this call sign group. Ordinarily this should correspond to the latitude, longitude and time zone specified above. If the MarkName is missing, the AreaName is used.  This must be enclosed by quotes.

11. WAEprefix - the standard WAE call sign prefix designation for this CallPattern.  The WAE country identification for this CallPattern is determined by this prefix.  If omitted, it is assumed that the WAE country is the same as the DXCC country.

NOTE -- Items enclosed in quotes must be separated from one another by at least one space.  All items must be contained on a single line.

Another type of line in the text call sign data base specifies equivalences in call signs. For example, ZY* =PY* specifies that any call sign starting with ZY should be treated as if it started with PY; i.e., ZY5EG can be processed as if the call was PY5EG.

Through appropriate combinations of "equates" and wildcards, the database and analysis algorithm is capable of accurately determining the location of any call sign heard on the air, including special prefixes.

Mobile call signs (K3NA/MM, for instance) will be processed but not result in a location display on the map, since the exact location of the station is not predictable in advance.

You may add additional entries to the HAM42B.DAT (or later versions) file with a simple ASCII file editor, following the conventions outlined above.

Any line beginning with a space in column 1 is interpreted as a comment.  You can see a typical comment line in the first line of the HAM42B.DAT file, where columns are named for your convenience.

After the HAM70.DAT file has been modified, it must be converted into a format which can be processed by the GeoClock program.  The program GENHAMDB.EXE does this conversion.  To start the program, enter at the DOS prompt:  GENHAMDB (filename).  Example: GENHAMDB HAM42B.DAT

Conversion processing can take several minutes, depending on the speed of your computer.  The GENHAMDB utility provides you with a cryptic status of the current state of the conversion process.

When conversion is completed, GENHAMDB prompts you for a name for the converted file.  The normal convention is to use the name HAM.HDB.  If you do not specify a name, GENHAMDB will assume HAM.HDB.

NOTE -- GeoClock is initially configured to look for the database under the name HAM.HDB.  To change this, you must modify the GEO9009.DAT file with an ASCII file editor.  The command line HAMDB specifies the name of the .HDB file to use when your custom map is displayed.  For simplicity, you may wish to always tell GENHAMDB to name its output as HAM.HDB.

After writing the .HDB file to disk, GENHAMDB allows you to test the database without running GeoClock.  You will be prompted for a call sign. GENHAMDB takes the call sign given and looks it up in the data base, and displays the data base entry, including a summary of the equivalences used in the analysis.  You can test as many call signs as you wish before exiting the program.

Note -- You will also see other numbers displayed along with the data base entry.  These other numbers are used by the GeoClock software developers in order to debug errors.

To exit GENHAMDB, enter an empty call sign (i.e., just press the RETURN key).

If you wish to conduct further tests on the HAM.HDB file, simple re-enter GENHAMDB by typing the following command at the DOS prompt:

GENHAMDB HAM.HDB /D

where "HAM.HDB" is the name of the .HDB binary file to be tested. GENHAMDB takes note of the "/D" debug switch on the command line, skips the database construction phase, and prompts you to enter test call signs.


Support

The call sign data base included with the HAM version of GeoClock was developed initially by Eric Scace, K3NA.  This is also a copyrighted software product.  You may use the database for any other software which you have developed for your personal use (e.g., contesting software, QSL card processing programs, etc).  However, the database can not be incorporated into any software product which is sold or distributed as shareware without prior permission.

Questions, comments, additional data and corrections to the ham database are welcomed!  These can be sent to Eric via the GeoClock RBBS, or by other means to:

Eric L. Scace  K3NA

10701 Five Forks Road

Frederick MD  21701

home:  +1-301-293-2448

work:  +1-703-689-6556

fax:   +1-703-689-5036

telex: +23-740-0368  ERIC UC

X400 e-mail:  C:USA  A:Telemail  O:Sprintmail

FN: Eric  SN: Scace  MI: L.

amateur radio BBS:  K3NA @K3NA


Call Sign Analysis Algorithm

Matching Algorithm (ALG-2):

1.   Use ALG-1 on the input string.

2.   If input string does not contain a "/", done

3.   If there was no match, go to step 7

4.   If the match after the / is exact, done

5.   If the end string is /A, /M, or /P, done

6.   If the end string is a single numeric, replace the first non-leading numeric in the string before the /. If ALG-1 produces a match, done.

7.   If the string exactly matches one of the */ entries, use that entry

8.   Use the shorter of the strings before and after the / (after if equal)      and apply ALG-1

ALG-1:

1.   Find the most stringent straight match on the input string

2.   Find the most stringent equate match. If none, go to 4

3.   Make the substitutions, and find the most stringent straight match (Can be done recursively up to a maximum limit.)

4.   If only one match was found, done

5.   If both a straight and substitution match were found, use the more stringent.


Registration

GeoClock is distributed as shareware. This means that if you use and enjoy the program, you are expected to register it.  See "Ordering GeoClock" for details.  Registering your copy makes continued improvement and support for GeoClock possible.  Furthermore, the registered version includes the zoom, distance measuring, and city time display functions, plus many additional maps.  You also get access to additional map files from the GeoClock Bulletin Board System.

See Also:

 Why Register?

 Registration Form

 Updates

 Available Maps

 BBS

 Special Pricing

 Ordering GeoClock


Why Register?

Also see Registration Form

There are several important reasons you should register your copy of GeoClock:

You make continued improvement and support of the program possible

You receive MANY more maps

Your copy will display local times next to the city names

Your copy will start immediately with map display, rather than pausing at the about box

You can register new versions GeoClock free

You will be notified of new versions and products

You will be able to download special maps and utilities from the GeoClock BBS

If you have already purchased a registered version of GeoClock, you can update to a new registered version of GeoClock, including the windows version, by obtaining the shareware version (from a BBS, shareware catalog, CompuServe or other online service, or by mail), copying the new files over your existing GeoClock installation, and running the REGISTER.EXE program supplied when you purchase your original registered version of GeoClock.


Registration Form

Also see Why Register?

You can print (or save to a file) a completed order form by filling out the registration menu (under Help|Register on the main menu bar, or by pressing the register button on the about box.

The various check boxes select the options available with GeoClock.  The top right box, GeoClock Registration, is required unless you already have purchased GeoClock.  If this box is not checked, you must enter your registration number.  This will be filled in already if you are running a registered copy of GeoClock.

The next five check boxes are for the various extra map sets.

The next check box is for the HAM package.  If you want the HAM package, you must fill in your call sign (enter "none" if you don't have one), and your latitude and longitude.  If you don't know your latitude and longitude, and live outside the 50 US states, you can enter the name of the nearest large city instead.  If you live inside the US, the latitude/longitude is not necessary - we can get if from your zip code.

Finally, you can order the Spinning Globe program.  This program works much better under DOS and Windows standard mode than it does under Windows in the 386 mode, OS/2, and Windows NT.

In the box on the upper left, enter your name and shipping address.  We use post office first class mail for deliveries in the US, and post office air mail for deliveries outside the US.

In the next box, choose your payment method.  We accept checks (payable in US dollars and drawn on US banks), VISA, MasterCard, and American Express.  We do not accept purchase orders or CODs.  Money orders mailed separately (especially from France) have not proved reliable and should not be used.  If you choose a credit card, you must fill in the card number and expiration date boxes.

If you live outside the US, Canada, and APO/FPO addresses, check the air mail shipping box.

To check the order, click the Validate button.  Any erroneous data will be highlighted in red.  In addition, the total price will be displayed.  When the order is correct, press the Print button (to print the order form) or File button (to save the order form to the file ORDERGEO.TXT in the GeoClock directory).


Updates

If you have registered an older version of GeoClock, you can register a new version without cost.  Just unLZH the files from the newest shareware version of GeoClock and run the REGISTER.EXE program that was included on your original distribution disks.  The latest version is always available from the GeoClock computer bulletin board system (BBS).


Available Maps

GeoClock includes a large number of maps.  All these maps have border data for the former USSR, former Czechoslovakia, and former Yugoslavia as of the release date of this version.  While the specific maps included change from time to time to reflect changing interests, the following maps are currently included with registration:

Africa                   Australia & NZ           British Isles

Canada                   Caribbean                Europe

Far East                 Former USSR              Japan

Meso America             Mexico                   Middle East

N America                New York City (2)        North Pole

S America                SW Asia/India            South Pacific

South Pole               United States (2)        US Regional (13)

View-From-Space (6)      World (3)

These basic maps are also available in 800x600 resolution.

There are four supplemental map sets providing detailed coverage of every country in the world, the US states, and the Canadian Provinces.

North America has approximately 50 maps, including the 50 US states and the Canadian provinces.

Europe has approximately 40 maps, including all the countries of the former USSR.

Middle East / Asia / Pacific has approximately 35 maps.

Africa / South America has approximately 35 maps including Central America and the Caribbean.

The maps distributed are changed from time to time to reflect changing interests.  The GeoClock Bulletin Board always has all the maps available to registered users.


About the GeoClock Bulletin Board

A free computer Bulletin Board System (BBS) provides support for users of GeoClock.  It always has the latest version of the program available for downloading.  In addition, it provides a forum for all interested parties to exchange programs and information concerning GeoClock and high quality mapping for the IBM PC.

Everyone is welcome to use this BBS, but registered GeoClock users have access to certain special files and have higher access limits. HAM package owners also have access to the latest version of the HAM data base. Please have your registration number handy when you log on for the first time. Except for these special files, the messages and files on the board are available to everyone. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

You need a modem (1200, 2400, 9600 v.32, 14400 v.32bis) and terminal emulation software (such as ProComm or CrossTalk) for your PC to access the BBS.  The BBS uses N-8-1 communications.  The BBS number is 703-241-7980.  This is a Washington DC metro area number. GeoClock is also available from many Shareware catalogs, computer bulletin boards, and CompuServe (CSID 70461,2340).


GeoClock 7. special pricing

License for multiple users at a single site (for LAN use, estimate the number of LAN users of GeoClock):

Number    Price

1         $ 35/User

2-9       $ 30/User

10-20     $ 25/User

21-40     $ 20/User

41+       $ 15/User

Site licenses, corporate licenses, educational licenses, and other large quantity licenses are available.  Contact GeoClock directly (voice 703-241-2661, FAX 703-241-5809) for details.

SVGA basic map set - $10.

Supplemental Map Sets: $ 20 for one, $30 for two, $35 for three, $40 for all four ordered at the same time.  Available sets:

Basic (included with GeoClock registration)

North America

Europe

Asia/Pacific

South America/Africa/Middle East

Spinning Globe: $15

HAM radio support package: $ 30

Custom maps - $30 for rectangular projection maps covering at least 120,000 square miles (at least 300 miles North to South) outside the US, or at least 800 square miles (25 miles North to South) within the US.  Other projections and sizes by negotiation.

Custom modifications to GeoClock - by negotiation.  Custom modifications can generally be made on a fixed price basis after agreement to specifications.

The supplemental maps and HAM package can be used by each registered user without additional charge.  The supplemental map sets contain detailed maps of all individual countries in the areas listed above.  GEO*.DAT files accompany each country(s) map(s) and provide both city and country data.

In all cases, the purchaser must make all required copies from the supplied master copy, and must protect the software the same way the purchaser protects its own proprietary software to ensure that the license is not violated.

Terms: Payment must be by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or check in advance.  Purchase Orders are accepted only for unlimited site licenses and custom programming.  No CODs.


Ordering GeoClock 7.2

Registration of GeoClock includes a copy of the latest version of the program, a large set of maps (the basic set described in "Available Maps"), a file with the names and locations of many world cities for customizing the maps, a "starter set" of map overlay files, and an installation program for automatic set-up on a hard disk. Updates to the program are available to registered users at no charge from the GeoClock BBS.

The supplemental map sets(North America; Europe; Middle East, Asia & Pacific; South America & Africa), and the HAM package, can be ordered with the initial registration or later. Custom maps and quantity license agreements are available. Write for details.

Orders paid by cash or check are accepted by mail.  VISA, MasterCard, and American Express orders may be made by mail, voice, FAX, or electronically via the GeoClock BBS.

Purchase orders, and checks drawn on or payable to banks outside the USA, are not accepted. International postal money orders mailed separately have not proved reliable and should be avoided.  In all cases, specify whether 5.25" (1.2MB) or 3.5" (1.44MB) disks are required.

$35  GeoClock registration (DOS and Windows versions), programs, and basic map set

$5   Extra for international air mail and handling

$10  SVGA basic map set

$20  One supplemental map set

$30  Two supplemental map sets

$35  Three supplemental map sets

$40  All four supplemental map sets

$30  HAM package (include your call sign and QTH)

$15  Spinning Globe program

You can also order the basic GeoClock registered version ($35) via CompuServe's SWREG  (search for the keyword GEOCLOCK)

GeoClock   2218 N Tuckahoe St, Arlington VA

FAX: 703-241-5809 (24 hours)

CompuServe: 70461,2340

Internet: jahlgren@capaccess.org