HamComm 3.1 Information

HamComm 3.1

This product is discontinued, but, due to public pressure, we are forced to make this the
UNOFFICIAL HAMCOMM PAGE.

If you download this program you MUST agree to the terms specified

We suggest that you now evaluate SkySweeper as an alternative

HamComm 3.1 Copyright (c) 1990 - 2000 by W.F. Schroeder DL5YEC. All rights reserved. This is NOT a "public domain" or "freeware" program. You were granted a limited license to use this software for evaluation purposes for a period of 30 days. If you intend to continue using this software after the 30 day evaluation period, you should have made a registration payment. This is no longer possible, as from December 31st 2000. We would like to say THANKYOU to all of the people who registered, but remind you that by downloading this software now, you are not supporting anyone.
The English manual is in the file HC.DOC - Please READ IT - No questions should be sent either to us, nor the author. THERE IS NO LONGER ANY SUPPORT FOR THIS PRODUCT - YOU ACCEPT IT "AS-IS", OR REMOVE IT FROM YOUR MACHINE.

You can now download your local language versions of the related text files in Dutch or Italian

DUTCH - `Download the DUTCH TEXT FILES`

HamComm is een programma voor ham radio communicatie. Versie 3.1 ondersteunt ontvangst en zenden van radio teletype (RTTY) en Morse code signalen. Ingebouwde modes zijn BAUDOT, ASCII, AMTOR ARQ/FEC SITOR A/B en NAVTEX. Voor PACTOR uitzendingen is er een 'Listen' mode beschikbaar. Weerstation rapporten in het SHIP en SYNOP formaat kunnen ook gedecodeerd worden.
and

ITALIAN - `Download the ITALIAN TEXT FILES`

HamComm Š un programma per comunicazioni radioamatoriali. La versione 3.1 consente di ricevere e trasmettere segnali di tipo telescrivente e codice Morse. Le modalit… disponibili sono: BAUDOT, ASCII, AMTOR ARQ/FEC, SITOR A/B e NAVTEX. Per il PACTOR Š disponibile una versione 'listen' ( ricezione ). Anche i rapporti delle stazione meteorologiche nei formati SHIP e SYNOP possono essere decodificati.

HamComm is a program for ham radio communications. It supports reception and transmission of radio teletype (RTTY), AMTOR ARQ/FEC, SITOR A/B, NAVTEX and Morse code (CW) signals. A decoder for SHIP and SYNOP reports from weather stations is also included. PACTOR decoding is available with the registered version.

HamComm does not require an RTTY converter, not even a modem chip. The audio output of the transceiver is connected to the serial port of any PC/XT/AT compatible computer thru a very simple low-cost interface. Only one IC is needed (Op-Amp TL071 or similar) and a few diodes, capacitors and resistors. Even easier, use the Pervisell Demodulator.

For transmission a tone signal is available at the COM port which can be connected to the microphone input of the transceiver thru a passive r/c filter. Audio frequency decoding and serial/parallel conversion are all done in software.
HamComm will automatically detect the type of video adapter in use. MDA, CGA, EGA, VGA and Hercules are supported. All graphics routines are written in assembler for speed. No attempt has been made to avoid screen flicker (snow) on cheap CGAs.

HamComm may work to some degree on XT machines, but the graphics displays of the input signal are more fun to watch on an AT-class computer. Nearly all of the functions can also be controlled by using a mouse. A hard disk is recommended but not required. All texts are written in English and the online help system includes the schematics for the interface circuit. It is easier to use the Pervisell Demodulator if you are not a home constructor. There are also predefined standard phrases, a QTH distance/direction calculator and a callsign decoder. Currently about 370KB of free ram is required.
HamComm will probably NOT run under any kind of multitasking software like Windows 3.x/95/NT or OS/2. It needs direct control of the interrupt controller, timer chip and serial I/O hardware.

The Tuning Indicator shown on the right is an invaluable aid. Not only does it ensure quick and accurate tuning for all data modes, but it also helps you find the 1900 Hz centre frequency for you favourite FAX program. Just download the software and try it for 30 days.
HamComm 3.1 and the Pervisell Demodulator are a wonderful combination. Once you have tried them, you just won't be able to resist the Registered Version!

This SPECTRUM display shows an RTTY signal with 425Hz shift. The yellow lines are the signal, the green lines show the expected mark and space tones. Note the blue 'shadow'. It can be used to visualize the bandwidth of your radio if you slowly tune up and down a few times.

This is HamComm's SCOPE display. It shows an RTTY signal with 425Hz shift at 50 Baud. The scope grid has been switched off.

Another shot of the SCOPE display shows a single AMTOR block with 170Hz shift. The block has three characters, 7 bits each at 100 Baud, e.g. 10ms per bit.

Navtex on 518 KHz is a very interesting frequency for shipping reports. You only have to listen at the right times to get results like in the following screen shots.
Just click on the link and download the latest information on NAVTEX. This is the NAVTEX LIST compiled by Marius Rensen, Hannover Germany.
Unzip it, check out the best times for your locality and try yet one more of HamComms's modes right now.

Remember, software authors spend a great amount of time generating software. When you've evaluated HamComm, remember that just one of the reasons for discontinuing this product was the lack of registrations

Inside HamComm: AutoUnshift and the data debug key

Did you know ... ... that HamComm’s RX/TX screen has a data 'debug' feature? This function is toggled on and off using the control-B key and while it is active the '!' character is shown in the flags field on the lower right window border. Depending on the current mode some invisible control characters are embedded in the received and transmitted data streams. For RTTY and AMTOR there are the 'carriage-return' , 'line-feed' and also 'letters' and 'figures' characters for letter/figure switching. The character is used with extended Baudot. HamComm will show you these characters if you activate the data debug option. If you want to dig into the inner workings of AMTOR you will be able to see how the protocol works as the request, alpha, beta, cs1, cs2 etc. characters are also shown. Using data debug you can investigate how HamComm handles special situations like 'AutoUnshift'. This feature, also called 'Unshift-On-Space', is supported by most RTTY controllers. Whenever a space character is received the letter/figure state is automatically 'unshifted', e.g. set to letters to avoid garbled text caused by false characters. For normal text this is a good idea, but not with the following example: "YOUR RST IS 599 599 599." Only the first 599 will survive because on the following space the receiving station will revert to letters state. The receiving station isn't to blame, there is no way to tell a real character from a false one. So it is up to the sender to do something about it. One way is to avoid the space and use some other character from the figures group: "599-599-599". This is simple but easily forgotten. HamComm uses a different approach: whenever a space is followed by a character from the 'figures' group an extra character will be inserted. This will ensure that the text is printed correctly if the receiving station uses AutoUnshift or not. Try it out: hit F3 to select Baudot, control-B to activate data debug, control-T to transmit and then type "RST IS 599 599 599."

If you want to download HamComm, then CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CONDITIONS OF DOWNLOAD

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