853 lines
41 KiB
Plaintext
853 lines
41 KiB
Plaintext
Volume 4, Number 42 16 November 1987
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| / \ |
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| /|oo \ |
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| - FidoNews - (_| /_) |
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| _`@/_ \ _ |
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| International | | \ \\ |
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| FidoNet Association | (*) | \ )) |
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| Newsletter ______ |__U__| / \// |
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| / FIDO \ _//|| _\ / |
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| (________) (_/(_|(____/ |
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| (jm) |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Editor in Chief: Thom Henderson
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Chief Procrastinator Emeritus: Tom Jennings
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Contributing Editors: Dale Lovell, Al Arango
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FidoNews is published weekly by the International FidoNet
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Association as its official newsletter. You are encouraged to
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submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission
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standards are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from
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node 1:1/1.
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Copyright 1987 by the International FidoNet Association. All
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rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for
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noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances,
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please contact IFNA at (314) 576-4067.
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Table of Contents
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1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
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PCjr Lives On - In EchoMail S.I.G.! ...................... 1
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SEA Letter: MGMlink ...................................... 3
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Voyager 1's Problems ..................................... 5
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2. COLUMNS .................................................. 9
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The Regular Irregular Column ............................. 9
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3. NOTICES .................................................. 14
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The Interrupt Stack ...................................... 14
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Latest Software Versions ................................. 14
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 1 16 Nov 1987
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=================================================================
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ARTICLES
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=================================================================
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Phil Kaiser and Dan Osborn
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104/904 & Jr-Msg
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The EchoMail areas have become "Special Interest Group"
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mail areas carrying help and information about various
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interests to users around the "world." The IBM-PCjr is
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just one of those Special Interest Groups. Here are some
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"bits" taken from that echomail area: Jr-Msg.
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There are about 400,000 PCjrs floating around the United
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States and Canada. Many said "It'll never make it"..
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"You can't do anything with it", "It's too expensive to
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Expand".....etc..... Well, IBM continues to supply parts
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and support for the PCjr. There are software packages that
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make use of PCjr's superior graphics abilities (comparable
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to EGA). Those with EGA can now see 16 colors in Hi-Res...
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the PCjr owners have seen them since day one.
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It was noted that the PCjr has a better monitor than the
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regular PC and there have been discussions of how to
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attach the PCjr monitors to PC and XT's. Possibly even to
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an EGA card. No facts on the EGA card (yet).
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During 1986-87, several developments occurred that
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keep the Junior in the mainstream of the MS/PC DOS
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world. These same developments have been discussed
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in the echomail area called Jr-Msg.
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The supposed maximum rate of data transmission for the
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Junior was 4800 bps .. but, a data transmission rate of
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over 10,000 bps using a NULL modem cable was discovered
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by one of the users and posted in Jr-Msg. Nothing new for
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a PC or XT owner, but supposed to be impossible for a PCjr.
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One company released a 9600 baud Serial Card. Think we knew
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about that last year. Telebit and USR, here we come!
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The Jr's single disk drive caused many people to
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ignore it when looking for an inexpensive 8088 based machine.
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But, during the last year a way to attach Bernouli Boxes
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to the Jr made it into an attractive starting point for
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someone wanting to develop a system "a little at a time."
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We already knew that we could put anything up to a 70Mb drive
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on Jr. Now, how about the optical disk?
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The 4.27 mhz clock speed made the Junior seem like the
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slowest thing around, especially since the memory on the
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motherboard has wait states bringing the Norton speed
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rating to .7 of a normal PC. However in the last year
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several people have discovered ways of increasing the
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CPU speed. There are upgrade kits for less than $100
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 2 16 Nov 1987
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that will take the PCjr to 8 mhz and there are rumors
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around that there are some jrs "out there" running at
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20mhz! (Some of these were at IBM).
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Software incompatibilities have been a bane to PCjr
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users, especially those who wanted to bring their work
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home. There have been notes in Jr-Msg (the PCjr echo area)
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on fixes to run DBase III+, MS QuickBasic 3 and Auto-CAD
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on the PCjr.
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I think what we are getting at is The PCjr is alive and well
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in the world of PC's, XT's and AT's (as well as all the clones).
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If you have a PCjr and really WANT to know more about it, what
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you CAN do with it or just what OTHERS have done with it....
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we would like you or your PCjr users to "join" us on Jr-Msg.
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Ask your Regional Echomail Co-Ordinator to "pick-up" Jr-Msg from
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the National Backbone. - OR - Contact Matt Mayer at 115/212
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or Phil Kaiser at 104/904.....and join us "Direct".
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 3 16 Nov 1987
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Kilgore Trout, 1:107/6
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What's Happening at SEA?
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How often have you gone searching for a link to some conference
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you've heard of? Even worse, have you ever painstakingly located
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a conference link, just to find that someone you swap echomail
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with daily had it all along? Don't you wish there was some easy
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way to automate all that? Well, there is!
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MGMlink was written to locate new conference links over existing
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channels. It works on the assumption that you'd rather add some
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more traffic to an existing phone call than to make another call.
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MGMlink is essentially a query system for a remote data base.
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The data base it queries is that massive, thinly-spread data base
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on conference topology that is stored collectively in in
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everyone's AREAS.BBS files. Here's how it works:
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Let's say there's some conference called STAMPS dedicated to
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stamp collectors. You, being an avid philatelist, would like
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to get it. So you type the command:
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mgmlink stamps
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MGMlink will create a netmail message to everyone you now do
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echomail with, asking for a path to the STAMPS conference.
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Suppose one of those people is Gee Wong, who carries the
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STAMPS conference. Every day he invokes MGMlink in an
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external event. His MGMlink will automatically create a
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netmail message to you telling you that he has STAMPS and can
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pass it to you.
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Let's make that example a little tougher. Suppose Gee
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doesn't have STAMPS; now what happens? Well, if Gee has told
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his MGMlink that he's willing to add new conferences if
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people want them, then his MGMlink will create a new query to
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everyone he does echomail with.
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Suppose one of those people is Dave O'Shea, an ardent
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philatelist who would not be caught dead without his STAMPS
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conference. His MGMlink will respond to the query by sending
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you a netmail message telling you that he has STAMPS, and he
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can send it to Gee, who can pass it to you.
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The harder case shows the real power of MGMlink. It can locate
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an indirect link like that through any number of middlemen. What
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MGMlink is actually doing is tracing backwards through your
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echomail links until it finds a source.
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This starts to sound like an awful lot of MGMlink query messages
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floating around, but it's not that bad. Several things limit how
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 4 16 Nov 1987
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far an MGMlink query can propagate.
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One, of course, is that not everyone is running MGMlink, but this
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could change.
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Another is that few people will be willing to act as a "backbone
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node" and add new conferences just to pass them through to
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others. If you tell MGMlink that you don't want to add new
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conferences, then any query that reaches you will be stopped
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cold.
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Another is that MGMlink keeps track of "side chains", so that
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nobody should ever get more than one copy of any given MGMlink
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query message.
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And finally you can tell MGMlink to send a query only to certain
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nodes. Suppose, for example, that you get tons and tones of
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echomail from three people, and then pass it on to a dozen
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others, with very little going the other way. You can tell
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MGMlink to limit queries to the three "upstream" nodes.
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Who should run MGMlink? Anyone who wants to be a "backbone"
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node, passing along conferences to help out those around them,
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and anyone who is trying to promote a conference should look into
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MGMlink.
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Do you need to use MGM to use MGMlink? Of course not. We
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believe in modular programming. Every program in the MGM system
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is written to do a specific task, and to be useable as a stand-
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alone utility to accomplish that task. MGMlink in particular
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will work with any popular PC conferencing system (including
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EchoMail, Confmail, Opus, and even TBBS), because MGMlink queries
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and answers move as normal network mail.
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Products mentioned in this article may be file requested from
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1:107/6 at any time outside of National Mail Hour, or may be
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downloaded from the SEA customer support board at (201) 473-1991.
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Product Filename to request
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MGMlink 1.10 MGMLINK.ARC
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MGMlink documentation MGMDOCS.ARC
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 5 16 Nov 1987
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Fredric Rice, 200/3
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Voyager 1's Problems
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And you thought your computer was flakey. Here is a story about
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mans greatest probe ever launched into space and its flakes.
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This is an actual account of Voyager 1 and the problems it
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encountered December 13'th, 1979. Written by Fredric L. Rice,
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August 1985. Original reference material may be found at
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Griffith Observatory, located at 2800 East Observatorty Road, Los
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Angeles, California. 90027. Request back issue of Griffith
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Observer, May 1980. Page 11 for Stephen S. Fentress, "Lost In
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Space". Direct requests to Dr. Edwin C. Krupp and staff. You may
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aquire subscriptions to the Griffith Observer through the same
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address. It provides a great quantity of understandable
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information concerning astronomy.
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---
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There is a concept making the rounds describing the attitude of
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electronic equipment when it decides to do something out of the
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ordinary, by itself, without being asked to. The concept is
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titled "Digi-nerds". It may include just about anything you care
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to name. It strikes once, leaving much damage.
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The cause of digi-nerds is not known. Perhaps cosmic rays, which
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bombard us constantly, strike our equipment, mutating a zero into
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a one, or a one into a zero. The result may never be noticed, or
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it may spell disaster for your bank account.
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When Voyager 1 completed its mid-course correction, December
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13'th, 1979, it met up with a digi-nerd at 48,000 miles an hour,
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and 619 million miles from home.
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The course correction required a 37 minute burn to effect a
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change in speed of eleven miles an hour. During that time, the
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radio dish had to be turned away from its Earth-Line so that the
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engine would be aligned according to its flight plan. The Voyager
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vehicles were designed to carry out complicated maneuvers like
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this without requiring any instructions from Earth.
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All went according to plan; Saturn had been treated to a rare and
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beautiful sight of a new star tracking through its distant skys.
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After the main burn, an inhabitant of Saturn, (if he had had a
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good telescope), might have seen some additional flashes as
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Voyager attempted to realign itself to its Earth-Line using its
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attitude control thrusters.
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Voyager 1 regains its Earth orientation by locating the Sun and
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the star Canopus. When the Sun tracker is locked onto the Sun,
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and the star tracker is locked onto Canopus, the radio disk is
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aligned exactly at Earth. When contact was not restored at 3:13
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p.m. P.S.T. on December 13, it was known that something had gone
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wrong.
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To find the Sun, the vehicle rotates itself a few degrees at a
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 6 16 Nov 1987
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time until the Sun tracker lockes onto the Sun. There is only
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one stellar object that can be as bright at the Sun, (even at 711
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million miles the Sun is an impressive sight). When the Sun is
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positivly identified, the vehicle rotates itself along another
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axis until the star tracker locates Canopus.
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The Deep Space Network Antenna located in Madrid heard a faint
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signal from Voyager. This gave the scientist the idea that the
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probe was basicly healthy but somehow simply misaligned. Even if
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this be the case, if the device was too badly misaligned, it
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might not be able to read a command from Earth telling it how to
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find Earth again.
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Voyager 1 was on the verge of being lost forever. Adrift in the
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heavens with no possibility of being recovered. Unable to report
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its posistion and the cause of its ailments.
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Dr. Jones and his Spacecraft Team knew that Alpha Centauri and
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Rigel could deceive the star tracker. Based on the possibility
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that one of these stars was locked onto, the team beamed
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instructions through the Deep Space Network at Madrid to the lost
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spacecraft in the hopes that a strong enough signal could be
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read. Dr. Jones directed the spacecraft to align itself with the
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assumption that it was locked onto Alpha Centauri.
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Voyager 1 did receive the instructions, and it did attempt to
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realign itself according to its new instructions. Alpha Centauri
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was the wrong star. Radio contact was not improved after the
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spacecraft completed its instructions.
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Next, Voyager was instructed to realign itself base on the
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assumption it was locked onto Rigel. This did not improve radio
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reception, causing much disappointment to the Spacecraft Team.
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Though they did not know what star Voyager was locked on, they
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did know that from its point of view the Sun and Earth appeared
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eight degrees apart. If the spacecraft could be made to wobble
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out an eight degree cone, the signal from the spacecraft could be
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made to sweep accross the Earth every now and then, and they
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would be able to learn more information about where the
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spacecraft was pointing.
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The maneuver worked. On December 16'th, almost complete contact
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was regained through the Canberra, Australia, tracking station.
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Total loss of signal time exceeded 71 hours. In order to learn
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why the spacecraft has gone astray, Dr. Jones and his team
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ordered it to replay all information it had on what had happened
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for the last three days. Records showed an error in
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communications between two on board computers, and there was
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nothing showing to restrict another attempt to regain normal
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contact. The spacecraft was instructed to go through its Earth-
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Find maneuver December 19'th, and on December 20'th, Voyager was
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again in full contact with the Earth.
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Reconstruction of the detailed data Voyager offered showed that
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the spacecrafts master computer had ordered a secondary computer
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 7 16 Nov 1987
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to shut down the engines at the end of the course correction.
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Commands such as this are requested twice, and it was the second
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instruction that got garbled between the two computers. The
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first instruction had indeed shut down the engines yet the second
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corrupted instruction was not understood by the secondary
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computer. This computer reported the strange instruction to the
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master computer who declaired an abort.
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When a spacecraft abort is executed, all operations are thrown
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away and the Earth-Find maneuver is executed. Voyager did this,
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and in fact did find the Sun. It was while the spacecraft was on
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its search for Canopus that another emergency was detected.
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The attitude control system reported a leak in the primary
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thrusters. Actually, the master computer had requested from 1026
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to 1094 "shots" from the attitude control thrusters, while the
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attitude control computer interprets more than 1000 as evidence
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of a leak. It reported a problem and the star search was aborted.
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So there it stood, with only a minimal contact with Earth; its
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star tracker not pointing at any known object. The spacecraft
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was compleatly healthy but for no known reason a garbled
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transmission from the master computer to the slave had triggered
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an emergency.
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There had been more than five hundred thousand instructions to
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cross its data bus, and it had already executed six previous
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Earth Find maneuvers.
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Sometimes our failures turn out to be our biggest triumphs. To
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defeat a problem which might end our achievements is a better
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boost to our moral than the defeating of a known hazard,
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(Remember Apolo 13 and the problems circumvented by those
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aboard).
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The space shuttle will no doubt encounter digi-nerds on one of
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its many scheduled flights. We can only hope it wont be over 600
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million miles away when it does.
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---
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Additional information:
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1) Voyager 1 was 56 light minutes away when the emergency
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started.
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2) Using the Earth-Find maneuver, the entire sky can be
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searched in about four hours, eighteen minutes.
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3) Voyager 2 will encounter Uranus in 1986, and Neptune in
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1989.
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---
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Stephen S. Fentress suggests additional reading:
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 8 16 Nov 1987
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1) Edelson, R. E. et al. , "Voyager Telecommunications: The
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Broadcast From Jupiter", Science, 204, 913, (June 1979).
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---
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For information on the Holmann transfer, read:
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1) Melbourne, W. G., "Navigation Between the Planets", Scientific
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American, 234, 58, (June 1976). [Authors note: If you want to
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read "Navigation", don't forget your calculator and paper.
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This article offers simple formula that is fun to try].
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---
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Authors notes:
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The Griffith Observer is a publication that everyone who is
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interested in astronomy should subscribe to. At the time of
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this articles release into the Public Domain, 12 issues of the
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Griffith Observer were going for $5.00. This money, after
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||
paying for the publication costs, goes towards the "Friends of
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the Observatory" fund. Edwin C. Krupp, who manages the
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building, (who also hosted the series "Project Universe" that
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you have probibly seen on public television), uses the money
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to maintain the observatory. If you want additional
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information, contact Mr. Krupp by U. S. Snail, or send Fido-
|
||
Mail to Fredric Rice (200/3), and I can deliver informational
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||
requests for you.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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FidoNews 4-42 Page 9 16 Nov 1987
|
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=================================================================
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COLUMNS
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=================================================================
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-- The Regular Irregular Column --
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Dale Lovell
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157/504
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Well, this column has finally become a little irregular.
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Unfortunately this hasn't been by design. Between trying out Fido
|
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version 12 and some programming projects for local companies, I
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just haven't had the time to write this long overdue column.
|
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Hopefully things will become somewhat more regular over the next
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few weeks.
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Several weeks ago someone wanted an unbiased opinion on Fido
|
||
12, and in Thom Henderson's reply was a thinly veiled hint to me.
|
||
Thom was aware that I had picked it up from TJ at FidoCon and
|
||
here is the long overdue review.
|
||
|
||
-- Fido version 12 (Fido Software, $150.00) --
|
||
|
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First off, Fido is no longer shareware. Up until FidoCon,
|
||
there were still some questions on how it was going to work
|
||
(software free but not the manuals for example). Everything is
|
||
now purchased from Fido Software. Registered owners of Fido will
|
||
be given a discount on version 12, but it will cost anyone else
|
||
$150.00. That includes the software and documentation, you will
|
||
not be able to download the software from any bulletin boards. I
|
||
am happy to report that the money is well worth it! Fido 12 is a
|
||
definite step forward for Fido, and at the same time retains the
|
||
flavor of Fido. Some of the most noticeable improvements are the
|
||
implementation of locks and keys, and ASCII files replacing
|
||
several BBS files and command line switches. In order to support
|
||
non-IBM users, Fido 12 does not directly support any of the
|
||
graphics like Opus. The graphics are still much the same as it
|
||
was in 11w, so some of you will be disappointed. I myself support
|
||
TJ in this, if for no other reason than graphics slow down a
|
||
system. I'm also more impressed with the content of a board
|
||
rather than how cute it can be made to look.
|
||
|
||
One of the first things I noticed is the ease in setting up
|
||
the message areas (file areas are just as easy). You no longer
|
||
have to keep bringing Fido up in the test mode or use SYSEDIT to
|
||
add, delete or change a message area. Everything is controlled in
|
||
an ASCII file called AREAS.INI. Since Fido 12 doesn't use the
|
||
SYSTEM??.BBS files it allows up to 200 message and file areas.
|
||
EchoMail junkies should love this feature as more and more
|
||
conferences become available. Fido 12 will be the only software
|
||
that will allow this many message areas. Also introduced into
|
||
Fido 12 is the concept of locks and keys. In addition to needing
|
||
a high enough privilege level, you also need to have the proper
|
||
key. You can assign each user his keys through the sysop utility
|
||
and they do not have to relate to specific privilege levels
|
||
(which would have been redundant). Their are 32 keys available
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 10 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
and this should help out immensely with maintaining a board. Keys
|
||
can be used on both file and message areas as well as the menu
|
||
commands. File areas are also set up in the AREAS.INI file with
|
||
just as much control.
|
||
|
||
All of the commands are contained in an ASCII file. Because
|
||
of this, you can change the command names (just make sure you
|
||
keep everything in order). The manual warns against changing them
|
||
for the obvious reason that it makes it hard on the users. With
|
||
all the Fido boards out there it would be inconsiderate to change
|
||
any of the commands without good reason. Once again I have to
|
||
agree with Fido Software, a standardized command set is an asset
|
||
to the bulletin board community. I've even made my TBBS commands
|
||
almost identical to Fido's (of course there were a few things I
|
||
changed to make things easier on me). If you do change the
|
||
command names, make sure you change the help files as well (there
|
||
are about half a dozen help files included). Right now the only
|
||
good reason I could think of for changing the commands is support
|
||
of foreign languages (I'm nearly positive that G)oodbye doesn't
|
||
mean a thing to many FidoNet users scattered throughout Europe!).
|
||
|
||
I'm very supportive of the locks and keys concept. I first
|
||
"discovered" this idea in the authorization flags in TBBS and I
|
||
feel they can be a great asset to a BBS program. Since locks and
|
||
keys don't affect things like download and time limits, it can
|
||
allow a sysop to create different levels of access without
|
||
granting them all out. A good example of this would be other
|
||
sysops calling your system. You might not want to give them any
|
||
more time than a normal caller, but you might want to allow them
|
||
access to additional message or file areas. Using a lock on these
|
||
new areas, you can give them the same privilege level as your
|
||
normal users but only give the other sysops the key needed for
|
||
these areas. This makes it easy for one system to become a local
|
||
center for sysops in some of the large sysop only conferences
|
||
without inviting additional trouble from them "hogging" the
|
||
bulletin board.
|
||
|
||
Bulletins can often be a great asset in a bulletin board
|
||
program. They can be used for an easy way to give users a list of
|
||
other local bulletin boards (without having to give them download
|
||
privileges), a community bulletin, a list board policies, giving
|
||
public notice of those who have contributed to a board,or even
|
||
help defray the boards operating expenses through advertising
|
||
(I've seen bulletins used for all of these purposes). Fido 12
|
||
makes a big improvement over Fido 11 by allowing up to 99
|
||
bulletins (as opposed to 1 in Fido 11w). Instead of just
|
||
displaying the EDTORIAL.BBS file, Fido 12 will lists the first
|
||
non-blank line of each BULLETIN.n file and gives the user a
|
||
chance to choose which bulletin he would like to read. I've
|
||
always viewed Fido's one bulletin limit as a serious limitation
|
||
and am very happy to see this go by the wayside.
|
||
|
||
Overall, I'm very pleased with how Fido 12 has turned out. I
|
||
was somewhat afraid that it would barely resemble the Fido many
|
||
of us have come to know. Fido Software has managed to enhance and
|
||
improve Fido, while keeping it familiar. Replacing the system
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 11 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
files and command line switches with the ASCII files will be one
|
||
of the biggest advantages of Fido 12 (there's a new command that
|
||
will let you override the file path if you want to do some remote
|
||
upkeep). The locks and keys are another nice addition to Fido. TJ
|
||
has made a product that is easily worth the asking price. If
|
||
you've been looking for an improved Fido and Opus just didn't
|
||
seem like the right thing, rest easy and get version 12 from Fido
|
||
Software. I don't think you'll regret the decision.
|
||
|
||
-- more on TBBS 2.0(S/M) --
|
||
|
||
In playing around with TBBS, I discovered a command that
|
||
many of you may find appealing. eSoft calls it a combined message
|
||
board read, I call it gang reading. In all their are three
|
||
commands; a select, a scan, and a read. Every time a user calls
|
||
up, TBBS "selects" all the message areas for combined reading and
|
||
scanning. Using the select command, they can turn off (and back
|
||
on) any of the "ganged areas". If they choose to scan the
|
||
combined areas, they can mark messages they want to read later
|
||
(by telling the combined read to only show messages that have
|
||
been marked). Some of the different ways to read messages include
|
||
forward, reverse, new messages, and marked messages. Echomail
|
||
junkies should love this feature as they can see everything with
|
||
only a few key strokes (assuming they don't pause, but have a
|
||
capture buffer filling somewhere). I've been using it myself for
|
||
the past week and it does make it convenient.
|
||
|
||
The only drawback I can see is that it could allow someone
|
||
access to a message base they normally wouldn't see. The combined
|
||
message base commands work off of the minimum privilege levels
|
||
and necessary authorization flags you created in the
|
||
configuration editor. I can see how someone might accidentally
|
||
block off a menu with the authorization flags and not worry about
|
||
the message bases that could branch off. If the flags weren't
|
||
duplicated in the message area definition, it could create a
|
||
loophole for the users. Of course this could also be a kind of
|
||
semi-hidden or undocumented part of a board, but I'd consider it
|
||
bad form.
|
||
|
||
The other new feature I discovered is in the pseudo
|
||
directory files. Pseudo-directories are lists of files that can
|
||
be downloaded. One of the first advantages I discovered is that
|
||
you can define where a file is, and how it should be listed. This
|
||
has allowed me to put ARC at the top of every file area with the
|
||
message "You will need this program to use any of the files
|
||
listed below" without having to have duplicate copies of ARC. You
|
||
can easily have the same file listed several times (and under
|
||
different "names" to your users) in different areas. It could
|
||
also be used to create a master download command on any menu. If
|
||
you copied all of your pseudo-directories into one large pseudo-
|
||
directory, someone could download any program without having to
|
||
remember which file area they should be in. This way you'd get
|
||
the benefits of having organized file areas, but still allowing
|
||
someone to download any file without having to worry if they're
|
||
in the correct file area. For awhile this seemed to mean some
|
||
extra work, until I discovered a real gem in how TBBS manages
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 12 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
pseudo-directories. It seems that they are self-cleaning. If you
|
||
delete a file on the hard drive, when TBBS next lists the pseudo-
|
||
directory it will remove any filenames and descriptions if the
|
||
file does not exist. No more checking to see what lines have to
|
||
be deleted, it's all done for you. I'm still discovering things
|
||
about TBBS, and so far it has only enhanced my appreciation of
|
||
it. I'm even more convinced that it's the only way to go for
|
||
multi-line operation.
|
||
|
||
-- Winding down... --
|
||
|
||
Sierra On-Line recently released an new arcade style game
|
||
they imported from Japan. When I made one of my regular visits to
|
||
a local computer store, I was able to see a demo of the game.
|
||
Needless to say, I left the store with a brand new game. It's
|
||
called Thexder (Sierra On-Line, $34.95) and can be very
|
||
addicting. It works with any color graphics card, but doesn't
|
||
really shine unless you have an EGA adapter. Under EGA the colors
|
||
are phenomenal, yet it runs well on any speed machine. The object
|
||
is to get through 16 different levels. Each level has no
|
||
resemblance to any of the other levels (at least up through the
|
||
first four levels) and you have to use unique strategies to
|
||
successfully complete each level. You refuel by completing a
|
||
level without using your shields and by destroying certain
|
||
denizens of the place. Knowing when to run and when to shoot is
|
||
almost half the battle (the other half is knowing what to
|
||
ignore). If you have a joystick Thexder will let you use it, but
|
||
I'd advise sticking to the keyboard. My only complaint is that it
|
||
doesn't support Hercules monochrome (thankfully I've got the EGA
|
||
Wonder to take care of things for me). Arcade game fanatics
|
||
should get many days of enjoyment out of it. Next time around
|
||
I've got another of Sierra's new programs that's a little more
|
||
text/adventure based.
|
||
|
||
As always I would like to hear your reactions and comments
|
||
on my column. If there's something you think I've missed in a
|
||
review or something you believe I should look into just drop me a
|
||
line. I try to answer all of the mail that I receive, although
|
||
sometime it may take awhile. Below you'll find my home, Usenet,
|
||
and FidoNet addresses. If you're sending me a message through
|
||
FidoNet, please mention to your sysop that mail to me must be
|
||
routed through 157/1 since I'm a private node.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Dale Lovell
|
||
3266 Vezber Drive
|
||
Seven Hills, OH 44131
|
||
|
||
FidoNet 1:157/504.1
|
||
uucp:
|
||
|
||
decvax\
|
||
>!cwruecmp!hal\
|
||
cbosgd/ \
|
||
>!ncoast!lovell
|
||
ames\ /
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 13 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
talcott \ /
|
||
>!necntc/
|
||
harvard /
|
||
sri-nic/
|
||
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 14 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
NOTICES
|
||
=================================================================
|
||
|
||
The Interrupt Stack
|
||
|
||
|
||
7 Dec 1987
|
||
Start of the Digital Equipment Users Society meeting in
|
||
Anaheim, CA. Contact Mark Buda at 1:132/777 for details.
|
||
|
||
24 Aug 1989
|
||
Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you have something which you would like to see on this
|
||
calendar, please send a message to FidoNet node 1:1/1.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Latest Software Versions
|
||
|
||
BBS Systems Node List Other
|
||
& Mailers Version Utilities Version Utilities Version
|
||
|
||
Dutchie 2.71* EditNL 3.3 ARC 5.21
|
||
Fido 12d* MakeNL 1.10 ARCmail 1.1*
|
||
Opus 1.03a Prune 1.40 ConfMail 3.2*
|
||
SEAdog 4.10 XlatList 2.84 EchoMail 1.31
|
||
TBBS 2.0M MGM 1.1*
|
||
|
||
* Recently changed
|
||
|
||
Utility authors: Please help keep this list up to date by
|
||
reporting new versions to 1:1/1. It is not our intent to list
|
||
all utilities here, only those which verge on necessity.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 15 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
__
|
||
The World's First / \
|
||
BBS Network /|oo \
|
||
* FidoNet * (_| /_)
|
||
_`@/_ \ _
|
||
| | \ \\
|
||
| (*) | \ ))
|
||
______ |__U__| / \//
|
||
/ Fido \ _//|| _\ /
|
||
(________) (_/(_|(____/ (jm)
|
||
|
||
Membership for the International FidoNet Association
|
||
|
||
Membership in IFNA is open to any individual or organization that
|
||
pays an annual specified membership fee. IFNA serves the
|
||
international FidoNet-compatible electronic mail community to
|
||
increase worldwide communications. **
|
||
|
||
Name _________________________________ Date ________
|
||
Address ______________________________
|
||
City & State _________________________
|
||
Country_______________________________
|
||
Phone (Voice) ________________________
|
||
|
||
Net/Node Number ______________________
|
||
Board Name____________________________
|
||
Phone (Data) _________________________
|
||
Baud Rate Supported___________________
|
||
Board Restrictions____________________
|
||
Special Interests_____________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
Is there some area where you would be
|
||
willing to help out in FidoNet?_______
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
______________________________________
|
||
|
||
Send your membership form and a check or money order for $25 to:
|
||
|
||
International FidoNet Association
|
||
P. O. Box 41143
|
||
St Louis, Missouri 63141
|
||
USA
|
||
|
||
Thank you for your membership! Your participation will help to
|
||
insure the future of FidoNet.
|
||
|
||
** Please NOTE that IFNA is a general not-for-profit organization
|
||
and Articles of Association and By-Laws were adopted by the
|
||
membership in January 1987. The first elected Board of
|
||
Directors was filled in August 1987. The IFNA Echomail
|
||
Conference has been established on FidoNet to assist the
|
||
Board. We welcome your input on this Conference.
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
FidoNews 4-42 Page 16 16 Nov 1987
|
||
|
||
|
||
INTERNATIONAL FIDONET ASSOCIATION
|
||
ORDER FORM
|
||
|
||
Publications
|
||
|
||
The IFNA publications can be obtained by downloading from Fido
|
||
1/10 or other FidoNet compatible systems, or by purchasing them
|
||
directly from IFNA. We ask that all our IFNA Committee Chairmen
|
||
provide us with the latest versions of each publication, but we
|
||
can make no written guarantees.
|
||
|
||
IFNA Fido BBS listing $15.00 _____
|
||
IFNA Administrative Policy DOCs $10.00 _____
|
||
IFNA FidoNet Standards Committee DOCs $10.00 _____
|
||
|
||
Special offers for IFNA members ONLY:
|
||
|
||
System Enhancement Associates SEAdog $60.00 _____
|
||
ONLY 1 copy SEAdog per IFNA Member.
|
||
|
||
Fido Software's Fido/FidoNet $65.00 _____
|
||
ONLY 1 copy Fido/FidoNet per IFNA Member.
|
||
As of November 1, 1987 price will increase to
|
||
$100. Orders including checks for $65 will be
|
||
returned after October 31, 1987.
|
||
|
||
SUBTOTAL _____
|
||
|
||
Missouri Residents add 5.725 % Sales tax _____
|
||
|
||
International orders include $5.00 for
|
||
surface shipping or $15.00 for air shipping _____
|
||
|
||
TOTAL _____
|
||
|
||
SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:
|
||
IFNA
|
||
P.O. Box 41143
|
||
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 USA
|
||
|
||
|
||
Name________________________________
|
||
Net/Node____/____
|
||
Company_____________________________
|
||
Address_____________________________
|
||
City____________________ State____________ Zip_____
|
||
Voice Phone_________________________
|
||
|
||
|
||
Signature___________________________
|
||
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|