A D V A N C E D F U N C T I O N S When you first start up DUAT/Plus you are required to enter the information about your computer by choosing option "4." on the main menu. You will be asked which communications port your modem is on. When it was installed in your computer the switch settings were made to determine this port. It could be COM1, COM2, COM3 or COM4. COM1 or COM2 are preferred for DUAT/Plus. You will also be asked the baud rate at which your modem communicates. This can be 1200 or 2400 baud. Consult your modem manual to determine the highest speed at which your modem communicates. If you are using a 300 baud modem you may notice some problems when registering the DUAT/Plus software or when online. Please do not hesitate to call us at our 800 phone number if you experience any of these problems. The Parity should be set to N for NONE, the Data Length should be set to 8, and the Stop Bits should be set to 1. Local Echo should be set "No" for normal use. You will also be asked which printer port you are using. The answer is either LPT1 or LPT2. This assumes you are using a parallel printer. If you are using a serial printer, you will have to re- direct the data from LPT1 or LPT2 to the COM port on which you have connected your printer. See your DOS manual if you are unsure on how to redirect the Parallel Printer to a Serial one. You will also be asked whether you want the data received while "on-line" to D.T.C. DUAT to be automatically printed. The recommended answer is "N" because the entire "on-line" session is saved to a text file that can be read later by choosing option "2." on the main menu. You may then use the arrow keys to scroll through the session. The "Dialing Command" is the Modem Command to actually take the Modem "off hook" and prepare to Dial the Phone. The normal Hayes Command to Dial the phone is ATD, followed by either a P for pulse or a T for Tone. Please note that you should not enter the Pulse or Tone Here. See next paragraph on the "Pulse or Tone". "Pulse or Tone" is a question in the Communications Parameters set up screen that determines whether your telephone line is a touch tone telephone line or not. If you hear tones as you dial your telephone, choose "T" for Tone. If you normally hear a series of clicks as you dial your phone or you have a rotary dial on your phone, choose "P" for pulse dialing. The "Dial Prefix" is used if you must dial a "9" or some other number to get an outside line. If this is necessary place that number in this field in the communications parameters. If the "9" is dialed and it seems like your computer starts to dial the DUAT access number too fast thereafter, you may need a pause after the "9." To put a pause in, simply put a comma "," after the "9" in the Dial Prefix field. The "Dialing Suffix" can be entered if your modem is connected to a Business Phone System that requires dialing a suffix to complete a call. Most phones systems do not need this feature but there are a few that need to dial a code for accounting purposes. The "EGA or VGA Graphics" question should be answered with a "Y" only if you have an EGA or VGA compatible graphics adapter. EGA/VGA adapters can display 16 colors on the screen at the same time with a resolution of 640 by 350 pixels or better. If you answer this question with Y and attempt to view graphics and have an incompatible graphics adapter or monitor, unpredictable or unreadable results may occur. The Modem "Init String" is the sequence of characters used to initialize the software switches internal to the modem. The default Init String will work with 99 percent of all modems. There are some modems that require a different Init String. U S I N G A D E C O D E R DUAT/Plus version 2.0 now has the ability to use a weather decoder. You can now view decoded weather without ever leaving DUAT/Plus. All you need is a weather decoder and DUAT/Plus ver 2.0 or greater. The only restriction when using a decoder is that the decoder must be able to accept the input file and the output file on its command line. On the "Communications Parameters" option from the main menu there are three questions pertaining to this function. You should enter a "Y" in the "Use Decoder" question. This will cause DUAT/Plus to run the decoder program when you choose Review Last DUAT Session (Option #2 on the Main Menu). The "Decoder Drive and Path" should contain the disk drive letter, a colon ":", and an optional DOS Path where the decoder program is. For example, if DUAT/Plus is in drive A: and the decoder program is in drive B: then enter a "B:". If your decoder is installed on your hard drive, in a subdirectory called DECODE, then you would enter "C:\DECODE" in this field. The "Command" field contains the actual name of the weather decoder and parameters needed to run the decoder software. For example, the Aviontek WX Decoder needs the input file and the output file. In this case you would type: DECODE.EXE A:DUATPLUS.LOG A:DUATPLUS.DEC You must tell the decoder where the input file and the output file are located. The input file name should always be "DUATPLUS.LOG" and the output file should always be "DUATPLUS.DEC". Please remember that the drive letter and path of where DUAT/Plus is located, must be entered with the input file and the output file. In order for you to view your weather in the decoded format, all you have to do is 1) Choose option number one (Go Online) from the main menu. 2) Once connected, sign on to DTC's DUAT as you normally would. 3) Retrieve your weather briefing or selected weather. DUAT/Plus automatically saves all textual weather to a file called DUATPLUS.LOG. 4) Exit the DUAT system by choosing "X" from the main DUAT menu. 5) Choose "Reread Last Session" from the main menu of DUAT/Plus. If you have a "Y" in the "Use Decoder" DUAT/Plus will attempt to view the decoded weather file. If you should want to look at the original DUAT text simply press the F5 (Function key) and the original text briefing will appear. You can flip between the decoded and the encoded weather. We will remember your place in the files so you can read the briefing in decoded form and then see the encoded weather. Please note, to disable the decoder from converting your captured weather briefings, you only have to change the "Use Decoder" question from a "Y" to an "N" or from an "N" to a "Y". You do not have to alter the other prompts pertaining to the decoder. For more information on the Aviontex product mention above, please contact Aviontek directly at: Aviontek 20783 Non Pariel Way Groveland, CA 95321 or call: (408)297-4344 A U T O L O G O N T O D T C D U A T With this feature, you can simplify access to DTC DUAT down to pressing only one key. Once you have obtained your Access Code and Password from DUAT, choose option 4 (Communication Parameters) from the main menu. Position the cursor to the "Auto Logon" question and press "Y". This will enable Auto Logon. Next, enter your Access Code, and then your password in the appropriate places. You will notice that Access Code and Password are hidden. This is to prevent anyone from seeing them. This information appears as asterisks but actually are letters and numbers. Next, enter "80" in the screen width field. All IBMs and compatibles have an 80 column screen. The next field allows you to control online session pauses. If you enter a zero "0" in this field DUAT does not stop during weather briefings. This is handy if you want to get on-line, get your weather and get off-line. If you want the textual briefing to stop after every 22 lines of text enter "22". If you leave any of the above fields blank, then you will be prompted to answer those questions every time you go online. Please note, this feature is very handy, but could lead to problems. If you wish to give an associate a copy of DUAT/Plus make sure you do not give him your access code and password. They are hidden so no one will ever see them, but if someone else is using your Access Code and Password, you cannot use them. Plus, since DUAT is only for certified pilots, it is illegal. The other problem is that you might forget your Access Code and Password. Make sure you write them down somewhere in case you need them again. C H A N G E R E G I S T R A T I O N I N F O If you decide to give a copy of this software to a pilot friend, in order for him to use it he must change the registration information to reflect his name, aircraft type, pilots registration number, etc. To do so, the first time he loads DUAT/Plus he should choose option "4." on the main menu and load his communications parameters then choose option "3." to enter his information. After all of the information is entered, his computer will be tested by a call to the Flight Data Center computer. He will receive his own unique Registration number and will become eligible for software updates.