The SETUP Menu Options
USE WINDOWS OPEN DIALOG For use with the LOAD PIC and LOAD ANY Commands
Select this option if you prefer to use the standard Windows load feature.
It is included for those users who prefer the Windows Standard Dialog over the EasyPal Load Dialog and may be preferred in some Windows versions where users are not fully conversant with how the Windows file system works... Especially Important for Windows 7 Users.
SETUP C/S - SOUNDCARD - PTT
CALLSIGN Enter your CALLSIGN here. A Callsign MUST be entered for Transmission to be allowed.
Your Callsign is transmitted within the Header information and will be displayed in the Receive Callsign window when your transmission is being received correctly.
SOUNDCARD Select the INPUT and OUTPUT devices for your computer system here.
Remember... INPUT relates to the RECEIVE signal... OUTPUT to TRANSMIT signal.
You should set the LEVEL of the signal you RECEIVE by adjusting the controls of your PC to Radio Interface (if present) and / or the RECORD / INPUT controls within your PC Soundcard software.
The level of TRANSMIT Audio from your PC to Transmitter should likewise be adjusted with the controls of your Radio Interface or PC Soundcard Volume controls. A shortcut to your PC Volume control can frequently be found on your Windows Taskbar.
For those users who have Multiple Soundcards installed in their PC systems it is vitally important that the correct soundcard is selected for any level changes to have an effect on your transmitted or received signals.
The levels selected relating to INPUT will have a direct effect on EasyPal's ability to correctly decode Pictures.
These settings are CRITICAL
Too high or too low a signal level from your Receiver via your Radio Interface to your PC soundcard will result in Total or partial LOSS OF RECEIVE SIGNAL.
EasyPal will correctly receive and decode when ALL RECEIVE INDICATORS SHOW GREEN.
Commonly referred to as the TRAFFIC LIGHTS the Indicators consist of a vertical stack of Five Indicators titled SYNC to the top left of the RX/TX/VIEW Window.
These Indicators will turn from OFF to RED to GREEN as EasyPal synchronises and Decodes the Received signal.
100% GREEN Indicators throughout the entire Reception process is NOT considered as Fatal within EasyPal.
The level of your soundcard INPUT will have DIRECT effect on these Indicators.
Failure to set the INPUT LEVEL of your soundcard or Interface is the most frequent cause of inability to Receive Pictures. You are encouraged to experiment with these levels until reliable reception / decoding is accomplished.
Loss of SYNC will result in MISSING or BAD SEGMENTS within the Picture being Received.
Depending on the Transmitted Signal Mode (see Main Screen options) EasyPal has the ability to cope with missing segments of the Transmitted signal to a greater or lesser extent.
The BSR (Bad Segment Request) facility allows reception of only the Missing / Bad received segments. See Main Screen Options for an in-depth description of BSR
USE COMMPORT (PTT rts/dtr) Used to select the method of TRANSMIT - RECEIVE Switching used by EasyPal and your Interface to control your Transceiver.
Select this Option if you use RS232 Type rts/dtr Switching
USE COMMPORT (PTT CAT) Used to select the method of TRANSMIT - RECEIVE Switching used by EasyPal and your Interface to control your Transceiver.
Select this Option if you use CAT type Switching
SET MAX STABILITY (IF NECESSARY) Some systems may have random shutdowns when using "LoadPic" or the "VIEW" tab.
These functions are locked out when "Max Stability" is checked. This is mainly a Windows 7 problem. Hopefully, the VCL components causing this will be updated in the future.
PICTURE DOWNSIZE OPTIONS (TX ONLY)
HIRES (Downsize if >320 x 256) Picture resolution will resize a large image to fit within 320 x 256 pixels
DEFAULT Picture Resolution Will resize down a large image to fit within 640 x 480 pixels
HIRES (Downsize if >800 x 600) Picture Resolution will resize a large image to fit within 800x600 pixels
HIRES (Downsize if >1064 x 768) Picture Resolution will resize a large image to fit within 1024 x 764 pixels
HIRES (Downsize if > 1280x1024) Picture Resolution will resize a large image to fit within 1280x1024 pixels
HIRES BEST. No Resizing. Slower encode and decode. Longer transmission times. BEWARE.. VERY LONG TRANSMISSION TIMES CAN RESULT
These options select the Automatic Resizing Options of a Picture to be TRANSMITTED. Pictures above the selected limits are Downsized to within the limits.
When each option is selected an explanation screen is displayed.
ENCODE OPTIONS
VERY LIGHT ENCODE Selects RS1 type encoding as default. Transmission time will be increased by 13%. At least 89% of the segments transmitted must be received
LIGHT ENCODE Selects RS2 type encoding as default. Transmission time will be increased by 31%. At least 76% of the segments transmitted must be received
MEDIUM ENCODE Selects RS3 type encoding as default. Transmission time will be increased by 54%. At least 64% of the segments transmitted must be received.
HEAVY ENCODE Selects RS4 type encoding as default. Transmission time will be increased by 86%. At least 51% of the segments transmitted must be received.
Use of Encode may reduce the need for BSR's and FIX'es. No Progressive Receive Option is available in these modes
See also MAIN SCREEN OPTIONS and GLOSSARY
DISABLE OPTIONS
DISABLE RX/TX CLICK TO FULL SCREEN When selected the facility to allow a LEFT MOUSE CLICK on a Picture to toggle Full Screen View to be Disabled.
DISABLE RX TEXT MESSAGES When selected Received Test messages are Disabled.
DISABLE TX TEXT MESSAGES When selected Transmitted Text Messages are Disabled.
DISABLE RX SOUND AND TASKBAR ALERTS When selected EasyPal will NOT play an Audio Alert when a Picture is Received.
When selected the EasyPal Icon on the Windows Taskbar will NOT Flash when a Picture is Received.
DISABLE PICTURE TRANSITIONS When selected the transitions between Picture Loading / Displaying are Disabled.
UNATTENDED (NO POPUPS TO HALT PROGRAM) Does exactly what it says. For use in Unattended Mode... popups will not halt program operation allowing unattended receive.
BASIC MODE Runs EasyPal in BASIC MODE. Many Advanced features are disabled or not available on the Menus. Basic and Standard Modes can be switched as required.
BSR MODE AUTOMATIC (Reccomended) Automatic Selsction of the BSR Mode used. leave this option selected unless you wish to manually change the Mode a BSR uses,
in which case select BSR MODE USER SELECT
BSR MODE USER SELECT (Advanced) Refer to BSR MODE AUTOMATIC
REPEAT HEADER This default feature automatically repeats the header information of a Transmitted picture.
Leave this option selected unless you are 100% sure the receive station can synch to a signal at the first attempt. Loss of header information will result in total loss of receive picture.
TAG RX FILE WITH CALLSIGN/TIME/MODE When selected the Receive File will have the Callsign of the sending station, Reception time and Mode information added.
PROGRESSIVE RX PICTURE DISPLAY (NOT FOR RS FILES) When selected the Picture being received is progressively displayed.
This feature will not work with RS type transmissions. (see MAIN SCREEN OPTIONS)
W/FALL COLOR This Option allows you to select the Colour of the Waterfall. Select the Colour of your choice from the drop down list.
The NEGATIVE Option is particularly useful when using VOX for PTT control. The Inverted background colour ensures the PTT line is not unkeyed during Blanks in WF Text.
The Negative option.. Black Text on White Background also improved Synch of the Received signal.
CALIBRATE WATERFALL (WWV) Allows you to Calibrate the Waterfall to WWV. Reception of WWV in AM or FM is required.
FULL SCREEN VIEW ALWAYS FULL SCREEN Selection results in Full Screen View.. especially useful for Laptop users.
AUTO RX TO ACTUAL SIZE When selected the Received Picture is automatically resized to it's Actual Size no matter what screen display size is selected on your Monitor / RX setup. Use for Best Quality.
TX MODE = RX MODE When selected the BSR TX mode is set to the RX Mode.
DEFINE ADDITIONAL SAVE DIRECTORY
DEFINE ADDITIONAL IRFANVIEW DIRECTORY When selected additional directories for Save Files and IrfanView can be defined.
LANGUAGE Allows the user to select the default language used within EasyPal from the Drop Down list.
