WinHdg Index
Windows Heading & Country Finder

About WinHdg

Using WinHdg

Setting Own Coordinates

Prefix File Format

Country File Format

Future Enhancements

Bugs

ShareWare Notice

Registration Form

Packing List

Copyright Notice

Disclaimer


About WinHdg

WinHdg is a Ham Radio program for finding heading and country information from callsign prefix data.

What I needed was a Windows program that I could input a callsign or prefix and get country and heading data quickly. I also wanted a program that wouldn't take up a bunch of space on my desktop.

I am a member of one of the local DX packet clusters and I used to use the SHOW/HEADING command quite often. I really like having WinHdg available, especially at times when I am using my TNC for something else, or when the cluster is very busy.

WinHdg was written in Turbo Pascal 7.0 on a 386DX25 system running Windows 3.1 in the 386 enhanced mode.


Using WinHdg

I wanted to keep WinHdg very straight forward. Therefore the only input on the main window is the Prefix box. WinHdg will look up the prefix and display the primary prefix, country, heading, distance and CQ zone data as you type.

A minimize button is provided to take WinHdg off the desktop while still having it readily available for use.

I avoided putting  a menu bar in the window in order to keep WinHdg's window compact, so I added the needed menu commands to WinHdg's system menu. A mouse click on WinHdg's system menu box brings up items like Setting Own Coords, Help and About.


Setting Own Coords
Setting Own Coordinates

Enter your home latitude and longitude as a decimal value. Also use  + or - values for north or south and west or east coordinates.

Northerly latitudes are taken as positive.

Southerly latitudes are taken as negative.

Westerly longitudes are taken as positive.

Easterly longitudes are taken as negative.

Example:

The coordinates of my QTH here in Littlerock, CA (no... not Arkansas! hi hi.) are 34 degrees 31 minutes North by 118 degrees 1 minute West.

34 degs 31 mins north = 34 + 31/60 = +34.517 latitude

118 degs  1 mins west = 118 + 1/60 = +118.017 longitude

So I would enter +34.517 for my latitude and +118.017 for my longitude. Clicking the OK button will save these values in WINHDG.INI in the main windows directory.


Prefix File
Prefix File Format

WINPFX.TXT contains the secondary to primary prefix data. WinHdg scans the first column backwards, until it finds a match. Then the primary prefix in the second column is used to look up country data in WINCTY.TXT.

To change a secondary to primary lookup, use a text editor on  WINPFX.TXT. If you have Paradox, perform your changes to WINPFX.DB then export the file to WINPFX.TXT using the options of commas for field separators and none for delimiters.

Make sure to keep the secondary prefix column (the first column) in alphabetical order since WinHdg scans backwards and stops on the first match.

Example:

We enter the callsign KH1AA. The program searches up through the list looking for the first match and finds KH1 in the first column. This translates to WH1 (Baker, Howland Is.) in the second column, and all's well.

Secondary	Primary

.	.

.	.

.	.

K,	W

KH0,	WH0

KH1,	WH1	<- stops here

KH2,	WH2

.	.

.	.

.	.

but... if we have the data arranged as in the table below, the program will stop at K, translating to W (USA).

Secondary	Primary

.	.

.	.

.	.

KH0,	WH0

KH1,	WH1

K,	W	<- stops here

KH2,	WH2

.	.

.	.

.	.

If you have looked at WINPFX.TXT you have probably noticed some call signs in the first column. This overrides the default prefix for that particular callsign in cases where the default would be incorrect. This would also work if the callsigns were added to the end of the file.

Note:  If you modify this data file you must restart WinHdg for the changes to take effect.


Country File
Country File Format

WINCTY.TXT contains the primary prefix, CQ zone, country and coordinates. WinHdg scans the first column forwards, until it finds a match. The coordinate fields are used to calculate the heading and distance and then all the data is updated on the screen.

To change a primary prefix lookup, use a text editor on  WINCTY.TXT. If you have Paradox, perform your changes to WINCTY.DB then export the file to WINPFX.TXT using the options of commas for field separators and none for delimiters.

WINCTY.TXT does not need to be in alphabetical order, but remember that you only need one entry per country.

In most cases I tried to input country coordinates that centered on each country. If you want to change the coordinates, follow the same latitude/longitude format as explained in Setting Own Coordinates.

Note:  If you modify this data file you must restart WinHdg for the changes to take effect.


Bugs

If you find any bugs in the software, please report what circumstances the bug occurred under, what processor, what operating system, what windows version, etc.

You may also send in comments, likes, dislikes and what other features you would like to see on this software.


ShareWare Notice

WinHdg is distributed as a ShareWare program. This gives you the opportunity to try WinHdg for the 30 day free trial period. This method of distribution was selected to provide you with the opportunity to obtain a useful application at  a low price.

If you find WinHdg useful and decide to continue using it, then print out a registration form and send it in along with your registration fee. I will send you a registered copy of WinHdg with no registration reminder messages. You will also be entitled to one free update upon receipt of your old disk and as it becomes available.

Feel free to give your friends a copy of WinHdg to try out!


Registration Form
----------------------------------------------

WinHdg 1.0 Registration Form

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

Make your check or money order out to John Jearos. Your order will be shipped within 10 working days.

Callsign_____________________________________

Name_______________________________________

Address_____________________________________

City_________________________________________

State_______________      Zip____________________

Country______________________________________

Where you obtained your ShareWare copy of this program?

____________________________________________

Quantity................................................	________

WinHdg Registration @ $ 5.95 ea...	________

Shipping & Handling (USA)................	$ 2.00

Shipping & Handling (Foreign)..........	$ 5.00

Total.......................................................	________

John Jearos

-WA6FHI-

8540 East Avenue U5

Littlerock, CA 93543


Packing List

The following files should be included in the package, and should all be in a common sub-directory on your hard drive.

WINHDG.EXE	Program file

WINHDG.WRI	Document file

WINPFX.TXT   	Prefix file

WINPFX.DB	Prefix file (Paradox format)

WINCTY.TXT   	Country file

WINCTY.DB	Country file (Paradox format)

WINHDG.HLP	Help file

REGISTER.WRI	Registration form

BWCC.DLL	Custom controls

FILE_ID.DIZ	File description for BBS's

REAME.TXT   	Installation instructions


Copyright Notice

WINDOWS HEADING & COUNTRY FINDER Copyright © 1994 John Jearos.


Disclaimer

I, John Jearos, shall not in any case be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or other damages that may arise from using this software. This includes, but is not limited to, computer hardware, computer software, operating systems, and any computer or computing accessories. By evaluating this software you assume all liability for it's use and operation, or it's failure to operate as expected.


Future Enhancements

- An install program to make the installation of WinHdg and updates more straight forward.

-A built-in Prefix & Country file editor to make additions and changes to these files easier, and without having to bring up an external editor or Paradox.