RADIO MASTER Radio Maintenance Database Version 1.0 INTRODUCTION - RADIO MASTER is a database program to keep track of maintenance records for two way radios. The program was designed primarily for use by public safety agencies, but it adapts very easily to any number of applications. LICENSE - RADIO MASTER is distributed under a unique concept know as shareware. RADIO MASTER is in the public domain and has no registration fee associated with it's use. It may be distributed freely, so long as it is transferred in tact with all of it's applicable files, in their original forms. RADIO MASTER may not be altered in whole or in part at any level without written permission from the author. WARRANTY - The author makes no warranties, expressed or implied toward the use of RADIO MASTER in part or in full. The author is not responsible for any lost data or financial loss for any reason through the use of this program. Any use of this program or incompatibilities with a particular system configuration shall be the responsibility of the user. Any product or company name referred to in this documentation or program code are and shall remain registered trade marks of their respective companies. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - IBM PC,XT,AT compatible computer, 256K available RAM, Microsoft DOS Version 3.0 or higher, CGA or Monochrome video card and monitor, floppy disk drive, and a parallel printer (Optional). OVERVIEW - RADIO MASTER is a user friendly program that allows you to keep track of radios used by your agency, as well as any repairs preformed on those radios. The radios can be portables (Hand Units), mobiles (Car Radios), or base units. The program is menu driven. For the most part the user need only move the selector around the screen using the cursor or arrow keys and follow the directions that are provided. On-line help on available for most screens by pressing the F1 key. A help window will "pop up" on the screen with additional instructions about the function you are working with. RADIO MASTER uses key record files. These files are used to rapidly sort and recall data when needed. Key files are dynamic and are updated every time a record is added, deleted, or changed. This assures that the user is always working with accurate information. RADIO MASTER offers a feature that saves disk space. When a record is added RADIO MASTER searches for a "hole" left by a record that was previously deleted, rather than appending it to the end of the file. If no holes exist, RADIO MASTER will then append the record to the end of the file. Many database programs require you to "pack" the file from time to time to eliminate these holes. RADIO MASTER does this automatically. DONATION - RADIO MASTER was designed for use by Public Safety Agencies. As a public safety professional, I am aware of the need for professional level computer programs without a giant price tag. RADIO MASTER is the result of many hours of hard work in front of a keyboard using some rather costly development software. As stated before there is no required registration fee associated with RADIO MASTER, however, if the program meets your needs (and your budget can afford it) a donation of at least $20 would be greatly appreciated. Your donation goes towards the continued development of similar programs. Timothy Woll 4140 St. Lawrence Ave. Reading, Pa. 19606 FILES - The base files that come with RADIO MASTER are: RADMSTR.EXE - Main Program File. RADMSTR.MAN - User Manual Documentation. RADMSTR.HLP - On-Line Help File. The first time you run RADIO MASTER the following files will be created: RADIO.DAT - User input list of radios RADIO.(K01 thru K05) - radio key files REPAIR.DAT - User input list of repairs REPAIR.(K01 thru K05) - repair key files REPAIR.MEM - memo file for REPAIR.DAT INSTALLATION - Floppy Disk Users: Copy the RADIO MASTER base files to a clean diskette. Hard Disk Users: I recommend you run RADMSTR from it's own sub directory. To create the directory, type: MD\RADMSTR from a DOS prompt. Then type: CD\RADMSTR to change to that directory and copy the base files into that directory. GETTING STARTED - Once you have installed the program. Change to the proper directory and/or disk and type RADMSTR from a DOS prompt. The program will start and the first screen you will see is a title page. Press ENTER at the title page and the MAIN MENU will appear. Entering Radios - The first thing you will want to do is enter all the radios that are used by your department. Select one of the SHOW RADIO BY ... selections from the menu by moving the highlighted bar over the selection and pressing ENTER. A reference screen will appear. Since this is the first time you are running RADIO MASTER the file is empty and the program assumes you want to add a record. The Update window will automatically appear. Type in the requested information and type ENTER when finished with each entry. When you reach the end of the window, it will disappear and the information you just entered will appear on the reference screen. To enter the next radio, press the INS or INSERT key. The update window will appear again. Enter the information as before. If you want to abort the operation and return to the reference window press CTRL-ESC. Continue entering the radios in this manner until you have entered all the radios. Entering Repairs - Once you have finished with entering the radios, press ESC until you are back at the MAIN MENU. Move the cursor to REPAIR RECORDS and press ENTER. The REPAIR MENU will appear. Select one of the SHOW REPAIRS BY ... choices and press ENTER. As before with the Radio information, a reference window will appear, followed by an update window. Make entries until you reach the end of the window. It will disappear and the repair information will appear on the reference screen. When entering the serial number or the department number of the radio that was under repair, you can make your life a little easier by pressing the F2 key. A list of all numbers on file will appear. Select the one you want from the list and press ENTER. Your choice will be moved into the related field. Department number is displayed first. I recommend you use this field and look it up first. If you do, the serial number will be loaded as well. Just press ENTER to accept the serial number. You can also leave the department number blank and press F2 at the serial number field. As before a list will pop up with all serial numbers on file. The department number will be automatically loaded. You can also entry each field manually if you wish. To add additional repairs press the INS or INSERT key. The update window will appear again and you can continue as before. Continue until you have finished entering all the repair records. Using the Reference Screens - The screens will display data in a sorted format. This format is determined by the previous menu entry. For example, if you select SHOW RADIO BY MAKE from the Main Menu, the reference screen will appear with the data sorted alphabetically by the MAKE entry. Use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to move the highlighted selection about the screen. A LOCATE field is provided with most reference screens. It found at the top of the screen just under the title. This is a fast way to locate a particular entry. This is especially handy if you have a large file and need to find an entry fast. Type the information in from the keyboard. The program will search from the top down for the first record that matches your entry in the locate field. For example if you are looking for a radio with serial number MT53534453, when you type in "M" RADIO MASTER will find the first entry that has a serial number that starts with "M". When you type the next character "T", RADIO MASTER will find the first serial number that begins with "MT" and so on. You can see how this could save a lot of time. Sometimes you only need to enter a few characters to get close, then use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to move to the desired record. Changing the information - If you entered the information wrong or you need to change it of any reason, move the highlighted selection bar to the desired record and press ENTER. The update window will appear. Change whatever information you wish and press CTRL-ENTER. The information will be changed and resorted. Deleting a record - Move the highlighted selection bar to the record you wish to delete. Press the DEL or DELETE key. The update window will appear and show you the entire record. Press ENTER to delete or ESC to abort. Using the update window - These windows are used to update the reference screens. All the applicable information pertaining to a record is contained on this window. In some cases you can look-up information by pressing the F2 key. PRINTING REPORTS - RADIO MASTER is designed to print on an 80 Column wide printer. The program does not check to see if there is a printer on line. The program just "goes for it". Don't worry if you made a mistake. Just wait until your keyboard control returns in a few seconds and proceed as you wish. Shutting the printer off in the middle of a report will not hurt anything, just be sure to wait until you have keyboard control again before you turn the printer back on. Set the paper to the top of form before you begin. Make sure the printer is ON-LINE and ready to receive data. The program will eject the current sheet to the top of form, so you will be able to print one report after another without having to reset the printer each time. Before printing, the program will prompt you for a start and stop date. The report will not show any entries before to start date. The report will not show any entries after the stop date. If the start date is left blank, the program will default to the date of the earliest record. If the stop date is left blank, the program defaults to today's date. Moving about the RADIO MASTER screens - There are two basic key board commands that are common to all RADIO MASTER screens, CTRL-ENTER and CTRL-ESC. CRTL-ENTER will complete the screen and except all current data. This data will then be stored and changed if it's different than existing data. Pressing ENTER without CTRL will accept the current entry and move on to the next. CTRL-ESC will exit the current screen and abort any changes that were made. Pressing ESC without CTRL will allow you to "Back-up" one operation at a time. Printing the documentation - You can print this file by using your favorite word processor. Load the file RADMSTR.MAN in ANSII format. You can also print it from DOS by setting your printer and typing: PRINT RADMSTR.MAN from a DOS prompt. The files was constructed using an 80 column format, with a left and right margin of 10 spaces each. Thanks - I hope RADIO MASTER works well and meets your needs. It's my first attempt at a program for distribution. If you have any questions or comments please contact me at: Timothy Woll 4140 St. Lawrence Ave. Reading, Pa. 19606 I can also be reached by E-Mail via The Glass Menagerie BBS (215) 478-1430 or the FILE CABINET BBS (215) 678-9334 (Interlink). I can also be reached via PRODIGY ID# MSHT41A. I would like to thank everyone associated with RADIO MASTER, especially the program testers. An suggestions for additional programs are also encouraged. Thanks again, and happy computing.