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G8MNY > TECH 19.03.09 08:20l 165 Lines 7528 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 20889_GB7CIP
Read: GUEST
Subj: Y Extended ASCII graphics
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<F5GOV<F1ZNR<ON0AR<GB7CIP
Sent: 090318/2249Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EU #:20889 [Caterham] $:20889_GB7CIP
From: G8MNY@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EU
To : TECH@WW
Hi Readers, (Updated Oct 08)
Most of the TECH bulletins use the very efficient 8 bit graphics. If you
suspect your SYSOP is using 7 bit links have a word.
The 8 bit extended ASCII graphics character set is 256 characters, on PCs it
was called the "CODE PAGE" & it used to be selected in the CONFIG.SYS file so
that all applications running on that PC would use that coding. The one for
English is CODE PAGE 437 & for USA is 850, but that one has no Ohms sign & some
of the double line graphics are different on 850! These original graphic
character sets give the most compatible standard to non MS PC systems,
e.g. Linux / Mac OS / Dumb Terminals etc.
VIEWING EXTENDED 8 BIT GRAPHICS
Ú¿
[] = ÀÙ, | = ³, - = Ä, Ts = Â ´Ã Á, Ohm = ê, Degree = ø, +/- = ñ
ALT 218 191 179 196 194 180 195 193 234 248 241
KEY 192 217 (not all C/Pages)
(Unfortunately for radio work Lambda is not available, Best Try ",\")
If you're not seeing graphics similar to the characters above, make sure your
TNC has PARAM 8 Bit = ON, & that your PCs terminal/client software is set up to
view with a suitable "character set", often miss called "FONT SET". (the word
"FONT" should mean the character shape/style/size, rather than the ASCII
character mapping set, as modern software often misuses this word.)
Note many poorer CLIENT programmes can only do 96 characters, out of the 256,
so they are not really suitable for serious packet radio work.
Also when viewing ASCII Graphics, don't use "justify" or "variable spacing" as
this will screws up the graphic sketch!
I have no specific answer as to why new systems drop compatibility to the well
established international Code Page standard, or why some software ignores
machine specific setup files, but is does happen. The 16 bit UNICODE that can
do all the characters in the world (65536 characters) is not used for data
comms as it is so inefficient!
GENERAL GUIDE
If you are running a Windows 95/98/2000 (XP/VESTA may be different) system try
adding these lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT as it may do the trick..
mode con codepage prepare=((437) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ega.cpi)
mode con codepage select=437
keyb uk,,C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\keyboard.sys
Or read the Windows "GENERAL.TXT" notes on running CHANGECP.EXE or CHDOSCP.EXE
from the resource kits to put back the missing code pages (many files needed!).
From Bryan G0SYR...
"It is still difficult to exchange drawings efficiently so that everyone can
view them. Which ever format is chosen it immediately restricts the number of
people that can view them & John chooses to send them as he does so that the
maximum number of stations can view them on a variety of systems & yet keeps
the file size to a minimum for transmission over radio."
"Even viewing/printing John's extended graphics drawings can be tricky for
some to find a suitable font on modern machines."
"For anyone using Win98 (& probably earlier versions) & having problems
'seeing' drawings from G8MNY's TECH series try loading them into NOTEPAD &
using TERMINAL font." If your using Word6 try Terminal Font @ 10-11 cpi.
Recently I found that the 'MSDraw' font also gave reasonable results on
slightly more modern machine that didn't have Terminal available.
From Mel G4WYW ...
"I am using Winpack here & have experimented with different fonts. The ones
that work for me are as follows: WINPACK 17, TERMINAL 18, COURIER,
COURIER NEW, FIXEDSYS, LUCIDA CONSOLE, WST-GERMAN
There may be others. What I suggest you do is what I did. Find a bulletin to
Tech, display it in your browser, (played with mine in WinPack) & then
highlight all text, find your fonts, change to each one, & see how you like it.
Make sure to try each font size as well because that can make some difference."
From Michael DK3HG ...
"Under Linux Debian Sarge you must install xfonts-terminus-dos, then run:
xterm -font vga to display ASCII > 128
Now you can display with Linux & X11 the ascii posting from g8mny & others."
PRINTING
The same goes for printing, if you can see the graphics on your screen OK, but
cannot print it correctly, then your printer software setup is WRONG!
See the various footnotes for all your software & hardware products to work
properly together. (this is no mean task!)
e.g. what printer driver programme & versions & patches are correct for your..
1/ operating system,
2/ terminal/client software mode,
3/ printer make & model
4/ printer emulation package, mode settings, or chipset etc,
Or spend a few hours on the various supplier help lines!
Another approach is to screen dump a diagram to a much larger Bitmap file .BMP
& import that into a paint box to print.
FORMATS OTHER THAN ASCII for DIAGRAMS
CAD options
I use Orcad myself for proper drawings, but unless you have the same make of
software, version No, & identical large library files, the small diagram data
files are useless. This goes for all Cad programmes.
Most cad programmes are not pan platform... LINUX / APPLE MAC / MS DOS 3/4/5/6
/WINDOWS 3/95/98/2000/WINXP/VESTA. Most need Binary file send (7+ for packet
BBSs) except "FidoCad". But if you use specialist (PRIVATE) coded programmes to
make data files, this may be considered illegal by some Radio Regulators!
BBS SYSOPs are required to vet all the bulletin content on their systems, so
any messages that are too difficult to vet on the host machine (e.g. LINUX),
may just get deleted rather than vetted!
GRAPHIC files
JPEG, PCX, BMP, GIF etc.
Although these are available on most platforms they need binary send, & most
files are very large & have to be split into many 7+ files. These soon jam up
the small bandwidth available on Packet. e.g. a 3K text & ASCII diagram bul,
was 3x 10K data buls without the associated text, but the diagram did look a
bit better.
Also if any 7+ part goes missing or corrupts over the BBS multi hops the whole
thing is useless & becomes a waste of space, as any single part missing the
whole is NOT decodable. (I know you can generate error reports etc. but it is
slow for many readers to do this to the originator, not all SPs get through).
Again these formats could carry "dirty" pictures etc. SYSOPs also must vet
these on their systems, so these can often just get deleted off the BBS!
CONCLUSION
From the above, I decided the best packet friendly format for text bulletins
with drawings, for the widest international readership, is ONLY the 8 bit
Extended ASCII graphics set.
In a graphics 7+ format my 309 TECH files averaging about 6k each, would be
turned into 1600 9k files! So using these 7+ data formats may be considered
greedy & inefficient & inconsiderate to other BBS users.
K.I.S.S. is the best option for most, immediately viewable for most readers
with only a small % needing to view in another programme.
By using ASCII the result should be a VERY compact file ideal for Packet &
easy for your SYSOP to check & vet before releasing. And it will be quick &
easy to read on many platforms & in any language....
Date/Time : 12-Oct 22:36 2004
Title : hello
From: LW5DIX@LW6EVE.#1661.BA.ARG.SA
To : G8MNY@GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EU
name javier qra lw5dix
qth argentina
tex is spinif
amigo muy buena los informes de tecnica
me gustaria si tiene web ok
saludos
73 y dx
(it's just the text that's not international!)
Why don't U send an interesting bul?
73 de John G8MNY @ GB7CIP
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