
AMSTNS 3.2.1             AM Station Search Software                  980903
                Copyright 1995-8 by Robert J. Carpenter, W3OTC
                 12708 Circle Drive, Rockville, MD 20850-3713
                       1-301-762-5838  w3otc@amsat.org

CONTENTS:
        1: Disclaimer
        2: Requirements
        3: Main Features
        4: Help in Using AMSTNS
        5: Use With DeLorme Street Atlas(R)
        6: Installation
        6a: DOS Installation
        6b: Windows 3.1 Installation
        6c: Windows 95 Installation
        7: Downloading Data from the FCC
        8: Supporting Programs
        9: The Help Screen
       10: A Sample Details Box
       11: The On-Screen Command Line
       12: The Choices Screen
       13: Mexican States
       14: Canadian Provinces
       15: File Names

1: DISCLAIMER:
==============
The author disclaims all responsibility for any result of the use or 
misuse of this software and/or database. 

This version of AMSTNS is shareware.  You are encouraged to send the 
registration fee of US$20 to the above address.  This fee covers use of both 
TVFMSTNS 7.x and AMSTNS 3.x.  AMSTNS may be freely distributed.

2: REQUIREMENTS: 
================
A PC with 386 (operation without a math coprocessor is very slow), a 
486DX66 or a Pentium is preferred, approximately seven megabytes of free hard 
disk space, VGA display, MS-DOS 3.3 or more recent.  AMSTNS will run as a DOS 
program with Windows 3.1 or 95. When using DOS, 640K RAM is adequate; 
operation with Windows 3.1 requires eight megabytes of RAM; 16 megabytes of 
RAM are recommended if you are using Windows 95. If you wish to download an 
updated version of the database directly from the FCC, an additional 20 
megabytes or so of hard disk space are temporarily required to import and 
convert the FCC data. 

This version of AMSTNS uses an enhanced AMSTNS.PRF file to carry settings 
over to the next time you run AMSTNS. Since you won't already have this 
version PRF file, my own PRF file will be installed. If you had a previous 
version of TNFMSTNS, the corresponding file was named AMSTN2.PRF. You will
want to enter your home name and location as the SPCL location using the F10 
CHOICES screen. 


3: MAIN FEATURES: 
=================
AMSTNS allows display of the "interesting" data records contained in the FCC's 
AM engineering and comments broadcast station database in the following ways.  
The FCC engineering comments are displayed.  Directional antenna patterns are 
displayed. 

    1>  CITY - Stations within a chosen distance of the city/state are 
               displayed sorted by frequency, and subsorted by state/province 
               and city if there are multiple stations on a frequency.

    2>  FREQUENCY - Stations on the given frequency are displayed sorted 
               by state/province and city-within-state.  Filters are 
               provided for direction and distance. Mexican states and 
               Canadian provinces appear after the US states.

    3>  CALL - All stations matching the given first 2, 3, or 4 call letter 
               characters are displayed sorted by frequency, and further
               sorted by state/province and city. For three-letter calls, 
               append a <space> character to prevent display of all four-
               character calls that match the given three characters.

Waypoint ("Startup") files for Street Atlas which are created by AMSTNS can be 
uploaded to at least a Garmin GPS by means of the G7TO program which is part 
of this package.  You should read G7TO.DOC for more information. 

TVFMSTNS operates much faster in full-screen mode. You will want to use 
<Alt-Enter> to switch TVFMSTNS to and from full-screen mode when using Street 
Atlas. 

The follwing installation will result in the "keep compressed" mode of 
operation. This saves about five megabytes of hard disk space when TVFMSTNS 
is not running. The program will start faster if the "keep uncompressed" mode 
is used. To change to this mode, display the folder / directory containing 
TVFMSTNS.  Double click on (or type) UNZDATA batch file. To return to the 
"keep compressed" mode, use ZIPDATA instead. 


4: HELP IN USING AMSTNS:
========================
The command items across the top of the screen, plus the "Choices" and "Help" 
screens, provide information on the use of AMSTNS.  Refer the end of this 
file for sample screens.  Up and down arrow, as well as Home and End are used 
to select any "found" station for display of detail and antenna pattern.

The Field feature allows the display of unattenuated field strength at one 
kilometer at any integer one-degree azimuth. This feature is toggled on and 
off with F9.  The azimuth is selected in one-degree steps by Left Arrow for 
counter-clockwise motion, and Right Arrow for clockwise motion.  The step size 
is increased to 15 degrees for Ctrl-LeftArrow and Ctrl-RightArrow. 

The augmentation file for a directional pattern may be ignored, if it exists.  
Augmentations are "fudges" to correct the predicted pattern to match reality.  
Unfortunately some contain gross errors and this option allows these few to 
be ignored. Press F3 in F10 Choices to toggle this option on/off. 


5: USE WITH DELORME STREET ATLAS(R)
===================================
AMSTNS produces "Startup" (waypoint) files for use by DeLorme Street Atlas 3, 
4 and 5.  This description will call the files SAn and the directories ATLASn. 
The Street Atlas directory must be in the same disk partition (C: D: etc) as 
the AMSTNS directory to use this feature.  A waypoint SAn file is produced by 
AMSTNS on every search, and written into all the Atlas3/4/5 directories in its 
disk partition.  The file produced by a "City" search is M_xxxxxx.SAn, where 
xxxxxx represents the first 6 characters of the city name; the file produced 
by a call search is Mxxxxxx.SAn, where xxxxxx represents the station's call 
letters.  A separate file is created for each frequency searched: M1150.SAn 
M0930.SAn, etc.  The waypoint files produced by AMSTNS contain the "M" to 
differentiate them from similar files produced by the TVFMSTNS program. 

You can control the size of the text and station markers by means of the F10 
CHOICES screen.  The value of sizes range from vs (very small) to through 
s, m, and l, to vl (very large). The shapes are diamond, square, dot, star, 
triangle, and the colors are black, blue, green, red, yellow. 

The interface from AMSTNS to Street Atlas is by means of the G7TO.EXE 
3.02.12, a freeware program by Ron Henderson, WA7TAS.  A copy of G7TO.EXE must 
be in the same directory as AMSTNS, and is automatically loaded there from the 
distribution disks.  Earlier versions of G7TO may give the wrong icons, or 
worse.  You may download more recent versions of G7TO from Ron's site, but I 
cannot guarantee that AMSTNS will work correctly with them. 
           //www.proaxis.com/~crh/gps/g7to/g7to.htm

The geographic coordinates in the FCC files are claimed to be in terms of the 
NAD27 datum.  Street Atlas operates on the more recent NAD83 (WGS84) datum.  
AMSTNS converts the FCC data.   While this conversion helps (especially in the 
West where the difference can be 100 meters or more), some stations now end up 
in the middle of roads.  Perhaps they furnished the FCC with data in terms of 
NAD83 instead of the required NAD27, since many people don't know of the 
difference.

1- Street Atlas apparently locks access to the SAn file it is currently 
displaying, therefor AMSTNS cannot write to a file which Street Atlas is 
displaying.  Any operation may be done in AMSTNS, you just won't create a new 
version of the SAn file Street Atlas is currently displaying.  To allow AMSTNS 
to write a new version of the file that Street Atlas is displaying, 
temporarily have Street Atlas display ANY other xxx.SAn file.  

2- I have had good result running AMSTNS from a desktop shortcut under Win95. 
If this is not successful for you, you may find that it is necessary to run 
AMSTNS from a DOS prompt.  Go to Start | Programs | DOS Prompt.  Then change 
to the AMSTNS directory [cd \amstns] and type "amstns". 

3- Start Street Atlas. You may want to position and size Street Atlas so that 
the AMSTNS screen just peeps out from under an edge of Street Atlas. 

4- Do searches in AMSTNS and click on the "open" symbol in Street 
Atlas and choose the "M" file you want to display.  The SAn screen will be 
centered and its scale adjusted to show all the stations in the M file you 
chose. [Sometimes the scale is set a bit too low, use PageUp if some stations 
are off the screen.] 

5- You may load other M or V files, and you may go back to AMSTNS by clicking 
on it.  Setting the AMSTNS distance reference to STN can be used to resolve 
situations where too many transmitters are co-sited for clear viewing in SA.  
Beyond six calls at a site, the site marker is written in red. 

6- AMSTNS must be terminated by its Alt-F10 command.  Do not use Win95's "X" 
feature to exit AMSTNS.

6: INSTALLATION
=============== 
AMSTNS must not be placed in the same subdirectory or folder as TVFMSTNS.

If you download over the Internet, the distribution is contained in 
AMSTNS32.ZIP.  Make a temporary directory/folder and download AMSTNS32.ZIP 
into it. Then unZIP it using PKUNZIP, WINZIP, or other standard tools.  You 
should have the following files: 

readme32.1st amsetup.exe pkunzip.exe
amprog.zip amsprt.zip amdata.zip

If you obtained the program on diskettes, they will contain the above files. 
The AMDATA file will span onto diskette 2.

You may now proceed with AMSETUP.EXE as outlined below.


6a: DOS INSTALLATION:
====================
 1- Change to the directory (or diskette) containing the above 6 files.
 2- Type AMSETUP followed by the Enter key. Answer the questions.

6b: WINDOWS 3.1 (r) INSTALLATION:
=================================
 1- Open the File Manager.
 2- Open the folder/directory (or diskette) containing the above 6 files.
 3- Double-click on AMSETUP.EXE. Answer the questions.

AMMSTNS is a DOS program. You can run it from its own special WINDOWS 3.1 
icon if you follow these steps.   
 1-  Start Windows 3.1 .
 2-  Start the File Manager, found in Main.
 3-  Double click on the directory where TFSETUP has placed AMSTNS.EXE.
 4-  Expand the Group where you want to place the icon on the screen. Both the 
File Manager and the target Group must be visible, so you may have to resize 
them for the following step.                 
 5-  Find the AMSTNS.EXE file and drag it to a blank part of the Group where 
you want its icon to appear. 
 6-  Single click on the AMSTNS "MSDOS" icon which has appeared as the 
result of step 5.  Then click on File on the control bar. Click on 
"Properties...". 
 7-  Click on Change Icon. You will be told that no icon could be found. Click 
OK. Click on Browse. Click your way to the directory containing AMSTNS.EXE. 
Click on AMSTNS.ICO. Click on OK enough times to get you back to the normal 
windows screen. AMSTNS should now have its own special "tower" icon. 

6c: WINDOWS 95 (r) INSTALLATION:
=================================
 1- Open "My Computer".
 2- Open the folder (or diskette) containing the above 6 files.
 3- Double-click on AMSETUP Application. Answer the questions.
 4- Use "My Computer" to display the c:\AMSTNS folder, or wherever you 
    chose to have AMSETUP load AMSTNS.EXE. [AMSTNS Application]
 5- Single right click on the AMSTNS Application.
 6- Left click on "Make Shortcut".
 7- Drag the shortcut (icon) to the desktop if you wish.


7: DOWNLOADING DATA FROM THE FCC:
==================================
Instructions for downloading and converting data from the FCC are contained in 
the READSPRT.1ST file.                

8: SUPPORTING PROGRAMS:
========================
Programs to expand and convert data downloaded from the FCC are contained in 
the AMSPRT.ZIP file.  AMSETUP will install the programs in this file, or you 
can UNZIP them into the directory / folder containing AMSTNS.EXE yourself.


9:                          THE HELP SCREEN
        _______________________________________________________________

    To display AM stations in or near a city:
      Press F4 and enter two-letter state/province abbreviation, or
      Press F3 if you are already in the desired state, then enter
           the first few letters of the desired city.
    To display all stations on an AM frequency:
      Press F5 and enter the AM frequency.
    To search for stations by call: 
      Press F6 and type the first 2, 3, or 4 characters of the call.
           To select a 3-letter call, type a <space> after the call.

         Sample Display Item:   1460@N 500W WCEI  102  MD Easton
                       Frequency Ù  ³³  ³    ³      ³  ³   À City
        CP or FCC action or request Ù³ Pwr   ³ Dist Ù  À State     
               Day, Night, CritHours Ù       À Call or action  

    > Use the cursor and 'page' keys to select any station to view
      more info in the lower DETAILS box. Use F10 CHOICES for another
      reference for distances, units of measure, etc
    > Press F7 to make the currently highlighted station the Reference
      Station.  
    > F8 changes the scale factor of the antenna pattern.
    > F9 toggles the "field at azimuth" cursor on or off.  Move the cursor
      with the Right Arrow or Left Arrow.  For 15 degree steps, use Ctrl as 
      well.
    > Power is given in kilowatts unless the W is shown.
        _______________________________________________________________

10:                        A SAMPLE DETAILS BOX

1460 0B  WCEI   US MD Easton    |Freq  Class  Call  Country State City
    Day  1.0kW  Twrs 2   Augs 3 |Day,Night,CritHrs Power Towers Augments
Unlimited                       |Operating hours
Licensed                        |Lic, CP, Application, etc
   38-35-02 N 76-04-55 W        |Geographic Coords (NAD27)
From:Home         75 mi 110 deg |Distance and direction from Ref Loc 
     WMAL         73 mi 105 deg |
     MD Baltimore 78 mi 120 deg |
Last Update on 830811 by the FCC|Date this information last changed

The three distances and directions are from: the "center of gravity" of 
all station data records for the chosen city, a special location, and a
previously selected reference station.  To select a highlighted station 
to be the "reference" station, press F7.

The AM data base does not contain ownership information.
        _______________________________________________________________


11:                       THE ON-SCREEN COMMAND LINE

   F1HELP F3City F4State F5Freq F6Call F7RefSTN F8Scale F9Field altF10EXIT

        F3  Brings up the box to enter a city for a search.
        F4  Brings up the box to enter a new state, and the asks for city.
        F5  Brings up the box to enter a TV chn pr FM freq for search.
        F6  Brings up the bos to enter call letters for a search.
        F7  Sets the currently-highlighted station as a distance reference
        F8  Changes to pattern display calibration.
        F9  Toggles the cursor to display field strength at any azimuth.
        _______________________________________________________________

12:                          THE CHOICES SCREEN

    In most cases there are multiple possibilities for each function key,
    with other possibilites in brackets.
                                        
  F3   Use or Ignore Augemntation File .................. Use Aug
  F4   Increase City Search Distance..................... 25 [12-300mi]
  F5   Decrease City Search Distance.....................
  F8   Choose Reference Location.............  [one of the three possibilites]
  F9   Modify special location: [enter place name and geo coordinates]
         At the end of entire entry, press Enter
                         --------------------
  Ctrl-F1   Change to English measures .................. METRIC [English]
  Ctrl-F2   Change to minutes/seconds ............. is now decimal minutes
  Ctrl-F3   Plotting delay (to suppress plots while slewing).. 64 [0-4000]
  Ctrl-F4   Change Street Atlas(R) Text Size ............ m [vs,s,m,l,vl]
  Ctrl-F5   Change Street Atlas(R) Symbol Size .......... m [vs,s,m,l,vl]
  Ctrl-F6   Change Street Atlas(R) Symbol Shape ......... diamond
  Ctrl-F7   Change Street Atlas(R) Symbol Color ......... blue

    F10  Save changes and return to main program
        _______________________________________________________________

13.                         MEXICAN STATES

     AG Aguascalientes       BN Baja CA Norte        BS Baja CA Sur
     CH Chihuahua            CI Coahila              CM Campeche
     CS Chiapas              DF Dist Federal         DU Durango
     GR Guerrero             GT Guanajuato           HG Hidalgo
     JA Jalisco              MC Michoacan            ML Morelos
     MX Mexico               NA Nayarit              NL Nuevo Leon
     OA Oazaca               PU Puebla               QE Queretaro
     QR Quintana Roo         SI Sinaloa              SL San Luis Potosi
     SO Sonora               TA Tamaulipas           TB Tabasco
     TL Tlaxcala             VC Vera Cruz            YC Yucatan
                             ZA Zacatecas
        _______________________________________________________________

14.                      CANADIAN PROVINCES

     AL Alberta              SC British Columbia     MB Manitoba
     NB New Brunswick        NF Newfoundland         NS Nova Scotia
     NT North Territories    ON Ontario              PE Pr Edward Island
     QU Quebec               SA Saskatchewan         YT Yukon

15. FILE NAMES
==============
After installation, the chosen directory for AMSTNS requires the following 
files: 

 README32.1ST   This file.
 READSPRT.1ST   Instructions for the Support Files
 AMSTNS.EXE     The main program.
 AMDATA.DTA     The main data file.
 AFREQ.IDX      Indexes of all data entries by frequency.
 ASTATE.IDX        "   state/city.
 ACALL.IDX         "   call.
 AMSTATE.LIM    Geographic limits of station locations for each state.
 AMENGTOW.DAT   AM directional antenna tower data.
 AMENGAUG.DAT   AM directional antenna augmentation (fudge factor) data.
 AMENGCOM.DAT   AM comments.
 ZIPDATA.BAT    Script to compress the data to occupy less disk space between 
                times that AMSTNS is run. Operate AMSTNS in Keep 
                Compressed mode.
 UNZDATA.BAT    Script to uncompress all data. Operate AMSTNS in Keep
                Uncompressed mode.
 PKZIP.EXE      Shareware to compress data to require less disk space.
 PKUNZIP.EXE    Shareware to uncompress data. Also used during installation.
 AMSTNS.PRF     Stores preferences between times that AMSTNS is run.
 NAD2783.DAT    [Recommended] Table of corrections from NAD27 to NAD83/WGS84. 
                This data file is not required, but it results in more 
                accurate plotting of station locations on Street Atlas maps. 
 AMSTNS.ICO     [Optional] Icon for Windows installations.
 G7TO.EXE       Ron Henderson's freeware that transfers data to Street Atlas.
 G7TO.DOC       [Optional] G7TO instructions.
 G7TO.HST       [Optional] G7TO version history.
 AMANT.EXE      [Optional] Tabular display of AM directional antenna data.

The following files are not required to run AMSTNS, but are required to 
convert downloaded FCC data to the AMSTNS format, and to create the index 
files and state limit file. 
 READSPRT.1ST   Instructions for the Support Files
 UNGZ.BAT       Script to uncompress FCC's GZIPped files before conversion.
 UNGZ95.BAT     Same for Win95 long file names.
 FORMDATA.BAT   Script to convert, index, etc. FCC data for AMSTNS.
 FCC2AM.EXE     Converts FCC to AMSTNS data format in AMDATA.DTA.
 FRMAMIDX.EXE   Makes the index (*.IDX) files.
 MKSTLMAM.EXE   Makes the STATELIM.LIM file from the STATE.IDX file.
 CMNTCHK.EXE    Checks to see that the comment file is in order.
 GZIP.EXE       The GZIP (un)compress program.
 GZIP.DOC       Documentation for GZIP
        _______________________________________________________________

Note: PKUNZIP.exe and PKZIP.exe are by this program and in its installation.  
The entire PKZIP distribution package is available from the various SIMTEL 
mirror sites as the self-extracting file PKZ204G.EXE.  Registration 
information is included in the PKZ204G.EXE package.  GZIP.EXE is used in 
extracting the FCC data.  The full GZIP124.ZIP package is also available on 
the SIMTEL sites.

