|
Questions and answers are arranged in the following
sections.
Purchasing, Downloading, and
Installation
What is the difference between PacTerm 98 and PacTerm for
Windows?
PacTerm for Windows is a newer version of PacTerm 98.
I have the Demo version of PacTerm for Windows. Why won't the HF
modes and radio control work?
The Demo version of PacTerm for Windows only allows you access to VHF
packet and RTTY receive.
You can use the HF modes and radio control once you have purchased the full version of PacTerm
for Windows and
have your serial number and activation key.
How do I purchase the full version of PacTerm for
Windows?
You can purchase the full version of PacTerm for Windows from your Amateur Radio
supply dealer or directly from Creative Services Software.
More information is available on the PacTerm for
Windows Sales
page. The
price of the full version of PacTerm for Windows is $99.95. Once you have purchased the full
version, you will be supplied with a serial number and activation key.
I have purchased the full version of PacTerm for
Windows and can't get my
serial number and activation key to work.
First make sure you have typed in your serial number and activation key
exactly as you received them. The activation key is case sensitive. Upper case
letters should be typed in as upper case and lower case letters should be typed in as
lower case. Also make sure you are distinguishing correctly between ones and lower
case L and between zeros and the letter O. If you received your serial number and
activation key by email, you can simply cut and paste your it into PacTerm
for Windows.
I purchased PacTerm 98 a while ago and would like to
download the newest version to upgrade my current version. I only
see a Demo version of PacTerm for Windows on the web site though.
You can download the Demo version of PacTerm for Windows. Your Serial Number and
Activation Key will unlock the full features in the Demo
version. If you have a
KAM XL, you will need to purchase an upgrade to enable the KAM XL
features. More information is available on the Sales
page.
I keep getting an error message
after I download one file from the web site. It looks like it's trying to install but then fails.
If you have an add-on utility that automatically installs ZIPped files for
you, that feature should be disabled. You cannot install PacTerm for
Windows until you have
downloaded and unZIPped all of the files. Download the files and either unzip all
files into a folder on your hard drive or unzip each file onto a separate floppy
disk. After this has been done, you can begin the installation.
How can I find out what version of PacTerm 98 or PacTerm
for Windows I have
installed?
The PacTerm version number appears on the splash screen
as you start PacTerm 98 or PacTerm for Windows. You can also get the version number by
clicking on Help, About while PacTerm 98 or PacTerm for Windows is open.
How do I remove PacTerm 98 or PacTerm for Windows from
my system?
Go to Control Panel and open Add/Remove programs.
Select PacTerm from the list.
Do I need to uninstall my current version of PacTerm 98
or PacTerm for Windows before I upgrade to a newer version?
No, just install the new version in the same folder as the
old version.
I want to take some text from a
PacTerm window and put it into another PacTerm window or into another
application. How do I do that?
You can use the Windows "copy" and
"paste" function. Highlight the text that you want to copy. You
do this by placing your mouse cursor at the beginning of the text segment
you want to copy. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the mouse
to the end of the text segment and release the mouse button. The text
should appear in a different "highlighted" color. To copy the text,
select "Copy" from the PacTerm "Edit" menu or click the right mouse button
over the highlighted text and select "Copy" from the popup Windows menu.
The keystroke combination CTRL-C will also copy the text. Place your
mouse cursor in the application or the PacTerm window you wish to place the
text. Select "Paste" from the "Edit" menu or click the right mouse
button and select "Paste" or use the keystroke combination CTRL-V. If
you need to edit the text you just copied, Notepad is a standard Windows
program that works well for this. Just paste your text into Notepad
and edit the text. You can then copy the text and paste it back into
PacTerm or wherever you need it.
When I start PacTerm for Windows, I have a window with a large blue section
at the top and a smaller white section on the bottom. How do I use this window?
The first time you start PacTerm for Windows, you will have a large blue section at
the top of the window and a smaller white section at the bottom of the window. The small
white section is the chat buffer. This is where you type in commands and text. The larger
blue section is the receive buffer. Any text received and the results of any commands and
text you type will appear in this window.
How can I resize or increase the size of the windows?
Grab the edge or the corner of the window with your mouse. You will see
the mouse cursor change from a single-headed arrow or an "I" shaped cursor to a
double-headed arrow. Once you get the double-headed double-headed arrow, hold down the
left mouse button and move the mouse to stretch it to the desired size. Release the left
mouse button to set the size of the window.
What are these other two windows at the bottom of the screen?
The small windows at the bottom of your screen are your Command Window and
your Monitor Window. The results of any commands or text you type into the chat
buffer will appear in the Command Window. The Monitor Window monitors network
traffic over the radio port. You can leave them open or minimize them. If you
minimize them, just click on the appropriate icon on your taskbar to open them up again.
How do I tell which window is the active window when I'm running
PacTerm for Windows?
In Windows, the active window is indicated by a different color on the top
title bar of the window. You can use <Alt>-<Tab> to switch between
windows that are covered up or minimized. You can also click on the appropriate
button on your taskbar to bring up an inactive or minimized window.
These colors and font sizes are hard to read on my monitor. Can I
change them?
Yes you can. Just click on "Format" in the menu bar. Click on
"Font" to change the size and style of font. Click on "Color" to
change the color of the window background and fonts.
I have some phrases that I type frequently. Is there some way I
can assign them to a keystroke?
In PacTerm for Windows you can set up Macros that will automatically type out some
text when you type a certain keystroke. To set up your macros, click on "File"
and "Settings" from the menu. Click on the "Edit Macros" tab for
either VHF or HF and use the arrows to select a macro number. Type in a brief title and
macro text. Click "OK". To access your macros, you can either type the keystroke
or click on "Macros" from the menu and select the appropriate macro title.
Is there an easy way to automate connections I use frequently?
You can add in Quick Connects for frequently used connections. In the main
program window, click on "TNC" on the menu bar, then click "Connect".
When the Connection window comes up, click on "Options" and then "Add Quick
Connect" to add a new connection. Once you have built your Quick Connects, clicking
the "C" button on the Toolbar will bring up your Quick Connect window.
How do I switch to Terminal mode before I exit?
In the main program window, click on "Mode" and then
"Terminal" in the menu bar. Once you have switched to Terminal mode, Exit the
program. You can also select "Return to Terminal Mode on Exit" under the
Mode menu and the TNC will be automatically returned to terminal mode when you exit the
program.
I get garbage when I run some of the modes like RTTY and
Pactor. I'm having trouble read the text.
With these modes, PacTerm for Windows just displays the
information it receives from the TNC. It doesn't do any additional
processing of the signal. Some common things that cause this
are: a signal that's not strong enough, running upper side band
instead of lower side band (exceptions are CW and PSK31), the signal may not
be tuned properly, or you may need to check your hardware setup for problems
there.
PacTerm for Windows gave me a TNC initialization error so I shut down
PacTerm. Now I can't get the Monitor window to close. What do I do?
After you have closed PacTerm for Windows, press
<Ctrl-Alt-Del> once only. This will bring up the Task Manager.
Highlight the Monitor Window task and click on "End Task".
There may be a delay and a confirmation will come up asking if you want to the task.
(You may have to do this a second time before the confirmation window comes up.)
Click "End Task" to go ahead close the Monitor Window. You should be able
to continue using Windows at this point.
DX4WIN and PacTerm 98
I'm trying to use PacTerm for Windows with DX4WIN but I
get an error message that says "Target Application Window not
found".
If you get an error message in DX4WIN that says
"Target Application Window not found: Class: CSS TNC PROGRAM, Title:
PACTERM '98", check your settings in DX4WIN. In DX4WIN click on
File and then Preferences from the menu. On the "Setup
Parameters" window, select the tab on the right labeled
"packet1". Check the following settings in the top line of
the window. Upper case, lower case, and spacing must match what is
shown here.
TNC interface Type: Regular
COM Port: Msg
Message handshake:
CSS TNC PROGRAM|PacTerm '98
The pipe or | character can be found above the backslash
or \ character on your keyboard.
Why does my KAM switch from transmit to receive sometimes?
By default, the watchdog timer is enabled in the KAM. If you are in
Transmit mode and exceed the 2 1/2 minute timeout, the KAM will switch from Transmit to
Receive. When this happens, press Transmit button again and any text in the chat
buffer will be sent at that time.
How can I increase the size of the Transmit or Type-Ahead
buffer in PacTerm for Windows? Anything more than a few lines of text causes
the keyboard to stop responding.
Currently it is not possible to change the size of the Transmit buffer. In
Receive mode you are limited to 256 bytes due to limitations of the TNC
while in Host mode. In Transmit mode you do not have this limitation. We hope to have a
work around for this problem in a future upgrade.
I have Trumpet Winsock as my TCP/IP driver and the Trumpet dialer
comes up when I start PacTerm for Windows.
If Trumpet Winsock is your TCP/IP driver, the Trumpet dialer loads when
you start PacTerm for Windows. This is in the design of the Trumpet Winsock driver. Microsoft
Dial Up Networking does not have this issue. The work around for this problem is to
close the Trumpet dialer and continue in PacTerm for Windows. (This information comes from Trumpet
Support)
PacTerm 98 is
showing the wrong date.
PacTerm 98 is Y2K compliant. However, there are some known interactions and errors that may occur with Windows and the
Real Time Clock and the computer's BIOS. If you are having Y2K
problems with your software, check the article below for
more information.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/year2k/white/rtbios/rtbios1.htm
|
