tk545 Release Notes

Version 1.4

October 29, 2002

New commands sort memory channels by frequency or by label, in any 100-channel bank or in all 100-channel banks. Users can save the sorted memory channel list to a CSV file.
Duplicate frequency check.
When importing channels from a CSV file, values for selectivity and AGC are now optional and defaults will be used if no values are specified.
New messages diagnose erroneous lines in a CSV file.
A new command under the Data menu clears all memory channels. This is useful before opening a memory channel CSV file if you want to override the current channels instead of merging the channels in the file with the current channels. If you do not clear the channels before opening a new file, the channel information from the file will be merged with the previous channel information.
After reading the memory channel list from the radio and saving it in a file, tk545 will open the file and display the channels in a window.

September 14, 2002

Added label caching. tk545 keeps track of frequency labels from the .csv file and adds them to a cache file. The cache file will be used to display a label associated with a frequency.
Added a large font frequency usage note display, which may be disabled. It shows the usage label below the frequency display.
Removed the requirement that the serial port be a character special device when run under Linux. This change permits using a symbolic link as a serial port, which is typical in Mandrake Linux environments.
The Line Enhance button is now labeled NR Hold.

February 21, 2002

Added Ben Mesander's MacOS X changes.
Reorganized source files. There are now fewer files and some the files are now common with tk8500.

February 11, 2002

Added log file feature. tk545 will save the date, time, frequency, mode, signal strength, and a comment in a .csv format file chosen by the user. The user is prompted for an optional comment.
Added the ability to choose a different font and colors for the program graphics.

January 9, 2002

You can now set the radio's clock from the computer in either GMT or local time zone. (suggested by Ben Mesander)
Added View menu on the option bar
Added new analog-style slide rule dial which tracks the digital frequency display. The slide rule dial is an option in the new View menu.
A Session History facility remembers the frequency, mode, and time whenever you change the frequency or mode. You can view these changes in a separate Session History window and click on a previous setting to return the radio to that frequency and mode. Session History is an option in the new View menu.
Added an S-Meter/indicators enable/disable option in the View menu. Disabling the S-Meter and indicators prevents the software from polling the radio for the signal strength, AM lock, and stereo, and may be desirable on slower computers or while debugging.
An option permits you to tie the bandwidth to the emission mode so the bandwidth is set to Intermediate whenever you change modes. (suggested by Steve Walker)
Indicator shows when AM stereo signals are detected. (However, the radio claims to detect stereo when it should not.)
Indicator shows when AM signals are locked. (suggested by Steve Walker)
Added new Presets menu so radio may be tuned quickly to standard time stations, e.g., WWV, CHU. Preset info is read from the presets.tcl file. (requested by Steve Walker)

December 30, 2001

This is a beta version of tk545 and probably contains bugs. Made these changes:

tk545 prompts the user to identify the serial port if it does not find a configuration file.
Mode, IF Bandwidth, and Passband shift are now stored in the configuration file so they can be recalled from the previous session.
Added Steve Walker's code to permit a user to unlock the front panel, manually tune the radio using the front panel knob. The user can then press the Syn key to resync the computer frequency display to the radio's display.

December 29, 2001

Note: This is a beta version of tk545 and probably contains bugs.

Ben Mesander helped add more logic to support Mac OSX and made several suggestions.
Configuration file name changed to .tk545rc on UNIX platform(s) and tk545.ini on Windows platform.
tk545 now saves most of the radio operating parameters in the configuration file so it can remember the settings from the previous session. It creates the configuration file when the user invokes the menus
```
File -> Save setup
```
MHz and kHz keys added to the keypad.
Frequencies entered into the main frequency display may end in the letter M, m, K, or k to signify MHz or kHz.
Added a channel number label next to the main frequency display.
Changed frequency slewing (autotune) button arrangement and algorithm. Enabled frequency display during slewing.
Created new Options, Tweaks, and RTTY pulldown menus. Added several checkbuttons and radiobuttons within the menus to control radio setup parameters.
Added new Debug option on the Radio menu so you can monitor the computer/radio communications in the background when running tk545.
The S-meter is now active while memory scanning.
Fixed bug which caused failure when RTTY mode is selected. The radio is now prevented from using the serial port to send RTTY decoded data streams.

Fixed the bug which resulted in the following error message:

Error in startup script: can't use empty string as operand of "/"
    while executing
 "expr {$v / $max}"
 (procedure "updateMeter" line 9)

December 20, 2001

Note: This is the initial beta version of tk545.

Revised October 29, 2002