Tips and Tricks
The AGWPE program has some valuable features that might not be readily
apparent:
Use Selective
Packet Routing
Launch AGWPE-Dependent
Applications Automatically
Use Alternate Languages
Use GMT
Time
Use Alternate AGWPE Configurations
Override AGWPE's Traffic Parameters
Decipher Packet Headers
Use a Loopback Port
Build a Watchdog Timer
"DEBUG"-ing
For some of the AGWsoft client programs, such as AGWTerm or
AGWDXCluster, the callsign and SSID you use in the program will be
noted by AGWPE. If you use different SSIDs in each program, then
AGWPE can route packets to the proper program.
As an example, let's say that you are running both a BBS program with a
callsign of SV2AGW-1 and a DX Cluster program with a callsign of
SV2AGW-12. AGWPE will know that packets to SV2AGW-1 must be directed
to the BBS program and packets to SV2AGW-12 must be directed to the
DX Cluster program. Neither program gets packets intended for the
other.
Launch
AGWPE-Dependent Applications Automatically
Use AGWPE's auto start feature to
automatically load application programs or utilities as soon as
AGWPE is finished loading. For example, if you mostly use UI-View
with AGWPE, you could add UI-View as an auto start client. Then when
you start AGWPE, UI-View will launch immediately, too. The
auto start feature is found on the AGWPE menu under
Startup Programs. Configure the
StartUp Programs window to start the
applications you want.
AGWPE has support for many languages other than English
(the default). The alternate language files were created by other
AGWPE users and they are included within the main AGWPE zip file, e.g.
french.zip.
(If you want to create an alternate language file for your language,
see the instructions in AGWPE's Help file:
Help > Index> Multilingual Support.)
Note: Not all words in the AGWPE menus and dialog boxes will translate.
To use an alternate language file:
1. Unzip the language
file of your choice, e.g. French.zip, into the AGWPE folder. The
three unzipped files of importance that will appear are files
ending in " .lng", ".hlp"
and " .cnt". So if you unzip
the French.zip file you should see these new files:
1036.lng, agwpe_f.hlp, and
agwpe_f.cnt (the .lng file has menu and dialog
translations, the .hlp file is the translation of the AGWPE 'Help"
file, and the .cnt file is the
table of contents for the help file).
2. Open the agwpe.ini file in the AGWPE
folder. You should see a line with Windows'
language code number, e.g.
LANGUAGE=1036
This is the code for the language you
selected when you installed Windows (1032=Greek, 1033=English,
1036=French, 1044=Norwegian,
etc.) You you can not edit this number in
AGWPE.ini
since AGWPE is programmed to get it from Windows.
3. When AGWPE starts, it looks to see if
there is a .lng file that
matches this language code. If the Windows language code is 1036
(French) and AGWPE finds a 1036.lng file (French) in the AGWPE
folder, it will load the French language files. Otherwise, AGWPE
will use the default language of English.
4. If you want to use a language in AGWPE
that is different from the default Windows language, you will
need to rename the AGWPE language files to match the default
Windows language code. Let us assume 1033 (English) is the
Windows language code and 1036 (French) is our desired language
in AGWPE:
- First, rename the
desired ".lng" file, e.g.
1036.lng
(French) to match the Windows' language code
specified in the agwpe.ini
file, i.e. 1033 (English). So, to install the French files
on an English machine -- we
would rename 1036.lng to be
1033.lng.
- Then rename the " .hlp" file you
unzipped, e.g. agwpe_f.hlp, to be
agwpe.hlp
- Finally, rename the " .cnt" file you
unzipped, e.g. agwpe_f.cnt, to be
agwpe.cnt
5. When you restart AGWPE, it will use
the replacement language files.
AGWPE can use either Local (Computer) time or GMT (Greenwich Mean
Time or UTC ) in reporting
packets received. To change the time zone, you will need to edit the AGWPE.ini file:
under the [TNC] section, add either GMT=1 for the GMT time stamp or
GMT=0 (the default) for a local time
stamp. If there is no entry, then it uses local time. Example of GMT
time setting:
[TNC]
GMT=1
There may be times when you
want to start AGWPE in a specific configuration, say for
different TNCs or to auto start different programs. The easiest way
to do this is to create duplicate AGWPE folders. Each folder will
have the full program but different AGWPE configuration ".ini"
files. Then use shortcuts that point to the AGWPE programs in the
different folders. Use shortcut names that describe the
configuration files, for example, "AGWPE PacLink" or "AGWPE ICOM 706"
or "AGWPE Loopback".
Note that AGWPE automatically monitors frequency traffic and can
adjust TNC timing parameters to match that traffic level. You can
override this feature (see TNC
parameters screen), but generally it would be to your advantage
to use this feature, since it relieves you of the chore of determining and implementing the
best timing parameters.
If you really want to understand what is happening
when you make a connection to another station, you need to be able
to interpret the header information in the packets being exchanged.
AGWTerm and AGWMonitor and other
programs let you see them. The
Deciphering Packet Header page on this website will help you
interpret and understand them.
For off-air testing of two programs, create a loop back port. For
instance, you could run both AGWTerminal and WinPack and use
the loop back port to "connect" them to one another.
To create a loop back port: from the AGWPE menu, select Properties,
then New Port. In the new port's Properties for Portx screen, select a
TNC Type of LoopBack Port.
After that, connect both of your applications to that same
AGWPE radio port and they can communicate with each other without going
on the air. Example: Say you want to test what your WinPack's "sign on"
message will be when someone connects to it. To do that, let's assume
you have created a loopback port in AGWPE and it is AGWPE radio port #3.
Now start both WinPack (using AGW host mode, of course) and AGWTerm, but
make sure that in their properties you have specified different
callsigns, e.g. NM5RM-6 for Winpack and NM5RM-7 for AGWTerm.
Now in, in AGWTerm, use the menu to select Actions and then Connect.
In the resulting Connect window, enter the callsign being used by the
WinPack program, NM5RM-6, and select the AGWPE loopback on port #3.
Then press the Connect button.
The two programs should now connect to one another via the loop back
port. (I shrink down the window area of both programs so that I can fit
both on the monitor and watch them simultaneously.)
Note: If instead you had wanted to execute the connect request from
WinPack, you would enter C 3 NM5RM-7 on the WinPack input line, where
the C is for connect, 3 is for the AGWPE radio port # and NM5RM-7 is
the callsign being used by AGWTerm.
Most TNCs have a timer that prevents continuous transmission in the
event of some TNC or software failure. Typically such a watchdog timer stops
transmission that last more than 2 or 3 minutes. With AGWPE's sound
card, you don't have such a timer, so here is a
page describing how to build a watchdog
timer circuit for your PTT cable.
To resolve common AGWPE configuration and operating problems, please
first use these web pages or post an inquiry to the SV2AGW Yahoo
group: http://www.egroups.com/group/SV2AGW. Very often someone in the
group has the answer.
While the program author, George SV2AGW, can not respond to every
reported problem, he does follow the Yahoo list, and if he thinks
there could be a significant problem (bug) in the AGWPE software, he
may ask you to create a debug log. To do this, close AGWPE and then
go to your AGWPE folder. Open the agwpe.ini file with Window's
Notepad and add the following lines to the end of the file:
[DEBUG]
TRACE=3
Don't forget to save the file before close it.
When you restart AGWPE, it will now create an
agwpe.log file in the AGWPE folder. It will continue to
record program events in this log as long as AGWPE is running and,
in fact, includes a record of AGWPE's shut down sequence.
Note that AGWPE will append events to the same log each time
AGWPE is restarted, so you may want to take steps to "freeze" the
log after AGWPE has closed. Do this by copying the file to some
other folder where AGWPE will not write to it; or remove the two
DEBUG lines you added to the agwpe.ini file.
Please wait for the author's invitation to send your log. Do not
send the log expecting him to diagnose a problem unique to your
setup. The DEBUG log is only used when he suspects there may be a
bug in the program that is affecting many users.
To permanently end recording to the agwpe.log, remember to remove
the two lines you added to the agwpe.ini file. If you do not, AGWPE
will continue to add to the log and it could become quite large and
waste disk space. You can delete a log file at any time without
affecting AGWPE operations.
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