[GreenKeys] Release: HeavyMetal 3.1.002

Tue Apr 3 12:51:17 EDT 2012

Hello folks!

    I had a couple busy days, (baby’s 1st birthday).
    As I have received many comments both in my email and in this list, I merged and divided it by topic to clearly answer each.
    Annnnd here I go!

1- Packaged EXE version is too heavy
Absolutely. The perl code itself is just 300kb, but to make it work as an exe, you need loads of perl stuff. And not only that... to make the GUI work, newer ActivePerl kept me giving errors so I had to include many packages as duplicates. So yes.. it weights indeed a LOT. Unfortunately I cannot do anything about it. I actually dislike the fact that it is writte in perl, because when compared to other languages for desktop applications it is slow and you need the whole environment for it to work, but as the original was in perl, i just kep moving that forward. On the other hand perl is super flexible and allows to easily modify anything. So as always in life, it is a compromise.

2- Too many configs to make it work
Well... yes. Just for a start, dealing with TTYs and serial ports imply LOTS of configs that are different in every case. If everybody would own a Teletype M28, then pretty much all configs could be removed and left with hardcoded values. But every TTY is its own world, so we need lots of configs for them to tweak it. The good news is that once it is printing, you don’t have to modify anything there.

3- Too many bells and whistles
Again... yes. There are loads of functionality there. I made menus and GUI to make it easier to configure and use. I tried to make it as self explaining as I could. The idea of this software is that it merges current internet technologies with this old mechanical hardware (harwarde in the utmost meaning) so kids in a museum can play with it and end up saying “COOOOOL”. Hence you in particular might not be interested in many of these.
If the GUI is too cluttered, something that could be easily done, is to drop parts of the GUI. This could be configurable, so you would not need to see that many knobs to touch. But the functionality would be deep in there anyway... and available via text commands.

4- Why sessions?! I like HM2.6 simple style
Well, this is a necessity. There are several communications channels in HM, even several TTYs, modems, messenger, telnet, etc etc etc. The only way to make all that to work is to have sessions. Sorry for that.

5- Why don’t you just fix what is broken in HM2.6?
Sorry but that is simply not possible. HM uses packages that are no longer available in current ActivePerl distributions. Hence I cannot even RUN the HM2.6 in my PC. Even if I get an old ActivePerl I cannot install the required packages, because in a clever move a couple years ago, ActiveState blocked access to old version repositories, and now charges you a fee for getting that.

6- HM vs ITTY
Well, these are two entirely different beasts. ITTY deals with audio over internet and uses already existing software for it, and a glitch in the audio will cause trouble. HM simply deals with text, but you cannot get the content of ITTY into HM because there is no text feed from ITTY. In part in this new HM version, with RSS News support, you don’t need ITTY because you can get loads and loads of news contents. But you will surely be interested in ITTY because of the content targeted to us.
One option would be to build a RSS feed dedicated to us. Doing that would be fairly easy. It would be similar in how the “Historical records” are handled in HM.

7- Total lack of help
Yeah that might be the biggest problem. I know everything by heart but only managed to write a couple instructions. What HM really needs is a Wiki where people can write good tutorials. I can provide the Wiki, but I canot easily find the time to write the tutorials. I barely could find the time to write the help that is available in my page, and the help available in the $HELP command.

8- Problems with this version/build
Some of you guys have helped me a lot in the last days, and I was able to fix a number of bugs/issues that v3.1.002 had. So I have already cooked a v3.1.003 which is being tested. I expect to release it the next weekend. So if you haven’t installed it yet, please wait a few days more.

9- Windows 7 x64
Ouch.... well nobody has tested a real COM port on this system... so any volunteer, please get in contact with me. It allows me that we could have trouble with the use of setdiv for the slow baud rates.

10- USB serial port
According to some datasheets I have been reading, it is possible to run USB serial ports that make use of some chipsets at configured nonstandard baud rates. If anybody has one of those, can get in contact with me?

Annnnd that’s it. 

REGARDS!!

Javier Albinarrate
LU8AJA

On 4/2/2012 14:11, Steve Garrison wrote: 
  Guys, I seem to have gotten RTTYMailer to work just fine.  Using both Win7 64bit and XP SP3.  Would be glad to help any others that might want to try, but it might be easier to do while on the phone and both of us in front of our computers.  Anyone that wants to give it a shot is welcome to contact me off list and we can work out a phone sched to get you going.  I might add, it might be better if you’re using a Windows OS though or we won’t be comparing oranges to oranges (maybe oranges to apples, which might not be worthwhile).

  I sure want to see ITTY continue far into the future, and not even think about it going away.  I find it easy to use, and have the old and new versions of HM working as well.  Even have the Aetheric Message Machine software and hardware from John Nagle humming right along.  I find them all good tools and have always aspired to have as many tools in my tool chest as possible.

  If each of you that thought all this software was tough to learn how to use, imagine taking one of your teletype to someone who had no idea about them and asking them to get it working.  You just thought you felt like a fish out of water.

  Steve G./N4TTY

  From: greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of NNN7DXB at aol.com
  Sent: Monday, April 02, 2012 1:45 PM
  To: GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
  Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Release: HeavyMetal 3.1.002

  Hi George and Group:

  "User Unfriendly" for most of the ITTY/MMTTY applications seems to be
  an understatement. On some occassions, I have been able to copy ITTY
  pretty well, but WLO and NATIONAL - never. Sending via the RTTY
  Mailer - never happen.

  Seems much of this stuff is written for the engineer, advanced ham,
  and for those who have all the time and patience in the world to 
  want to fiddle with it. Not so for many of us. 

  The RTTY Mailer is equally hard to work with, and in my opinion,
  it needs to be made much simpler, if this is possible. I have tried
  for a few years now to try and send (and understand) how the Mailer
  works, but to no avail. I am not alone. Talking with other folks on
  the GK list and in other groups, the problem is the same: very
  difficult, with no instructions, guidance or explanations as to how
  this thing works, what it can do, and what its' limitations are.

  So far, its' been a hit and miss system. Some days, it might
  work, but most days, it doesn't for many of us.

  Overall, the concept of online teletype is great, but in the end,
  it needs to be made much easier, simpler and user friendly across
  the board for the non-techie type to work with. One of the ways
  to do this is to have someone write some detailed instructions
  or operating tutorials so we know "how" it is supposed to work
  and what to do if it doesn't (and who to contact). Another way
  is to use plain language that we are all familiar with, rather
  than some of the tech talk that some assume we all know.

  There is little point in having such a complicated system if so
  few can actually enjoy it. I would agree that KISS is the solution.
  Once folks get the hang of it and learn it, we can all begin
  to input traffic to the system. The problem is not with too little
  teletype traffic, but rather, trying to input and access the system
  which is where the focus needs to be. Otherwise, there is lots
  of traffic out here; we just can't get it into your system.....

  My 2 cents worth too.

  Dave

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This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.htmlI haven't had time to mess with HM yet. I downloaded all the files for Linux. I never have had any issues with copying ITTY. I use the XP pro Dell GX620 on the test bench with vlc and output the sound card to my Dovetron  1000R and fire up the 28ASR..nada problema. I've gotten all 3 streams to work, but normally use the national port.
Thanks to George and Bill for the service.

-tim k6tpk

-- 
24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case...coincidence?
A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory!
----------------------------------------------------------
T.P. (Tim) Kirkpatrick [K6TPK]
Email:  tpk at sonic.net

All - - -

Just lookjing at the GUI for the new Heavy Metal, it looks nice.

Looking at the GUI for Ham Radio Deluxe, it looks nice.

However, it appears that you have to have a college degree in order 
to make either play with any expectation of success.

Jack has just reported that the new behomoth is showing some flaws. 
God help poor Javier when he starts getting complaints.

IMHO these are less than user friendly arrangements.

Even MMTTY has a considerable number of options that take some 
delving into in order to understand just what is going on. I like 
MMTTY because you can port it out to an RS-232 port and drive a 
teletype with it. It has a drawback in that the RS-232 port is 
certainly not in synchronization with what is on the screen.

So, praise be to the wonders of a large multi-function application, 
but, the old phrase "KISS", (keep it simple, stupid) makes any 
application that is basically a small combination of features far 
more desirable than the jumbo jobs due to the fact that it is a lot 
easier to unravel the problem with a narrow focused application than 
one of them does-all-including-slice-bread jobs that take a ream of 
paper to print out all of the how-to-do-its.

I was amazed to find that The ITTY Mailer falls into the category of 
the bewildering.

When I am running full bore I have an "ITTY" version of the mailer 
as well as a "National" version of the mailer running, as well as a 
somewhat persnickity program for the WLO News Input. I can crank out 
ten or more stories per hour to each channel with my "awkward" 
set-up.

It JUST WORKS!!

And for those who use linux, MacDonald's, or other systems, good for 
you. Just bear in mind that the Windows systems, as sometimes trying 
they may be, are still the internationally best supported.

ITTY has been tailored around DOS and the various Windows versions 
that have popped up as Mr. Gates and Crew work feverishly to make 
another 100 billion bucks so they can have foundations for drilling 
water wells on Mt Everest.

The Windows stuff does work. And you have to feel blessed that 
amongst us we have a genius such as Bill Bytheway, in whose 
professional life 6000 lines of code was nothing. He has worked on 
systems so sophisticated that it makes Windows look like a wimp.

Thanks to Bill Buzbee, Javier, John Nagle, and Bill B. that this 
small group is privelaged to have such talent willing to build 
applications so that the unwashed such as myself can have some more 
bells and whistles to dink around with.

I just urge them to try and keep their efforts in the 1 or so 
megabyte range, so the wee folk will have some chance of being able 
to make their products manageable, relatively fault free, and 
something to brag about.

A nickle's worth from W7TTY

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