[TURN WORD WRAP ON]
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SERVINFO
version 1.20
July 1, 2001
by Michael Frantzeskakis
frantz@central.ntua.gr
for updates visit
www.SurClaro.com/hangar/utils/servinfo
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1. What is it?
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ServInfo is a utility that provides information for the on-line flying activity in the SATCO, IVAO or any other network that uses the SquawkBox/ProController environment.
Data are downloaded from the SATCO, IVAO or any other network and are presented in a convenient format, allowing users to easily find out details about the current on-line activity worldwide and for specific countries or airports, including details for each flight. This information can also be saved in a file and retrieved off-line.
Additionally, ServInfo provides the possibility to display response times for all the network servers, display channel and user information for selected Roger Wilco voice servers and retrieve METAR reports for airports or whole countries.
2. Installation
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2.1 First Time Users
Just unzip the contents of the zip file into a folder of your choice and run ServInfo.exe.
Files included in the zip file:
servinfo.exe : the executable
servinfo.dat : data needed by the programme (including guidelines for modifications)
readme.txt : this file
sample.sat : sample file for SATCO data
sample.iva : sample file for IVAO data
servinfo.hlp }
servinfo.cnt }: help system files
2.2 If you Have a Previous Version Installed
If you already have a previous version of ServInfo you can unzip to the same directory and override the previous version's files. Any settings you have set in the previous version (country buttons, display preferences etc.) will be preserved. If you decide to unzip in a new directory and you want to preserve the previous version's settings copy the servinfo.ini file found in the previous version's directory to the new directory.
CAUTION :
If you have made any changes to the servinfo.dat file these will be lost if this file is overridden. This versions servifo.dat file is identical with the one of version 1.13. You can use versions 1.10 or 1.12 servinfo.dat file with this version, but then you will not have the updates included in version's 1.13 file (see listing included within the servinfo.dat file). In this case you might have to re-enter manually the changes to the new servifo.dat file (make a back-up copy of the old servinfo.dat before installation).
3. Running the Program
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Just run servinfo.exe and after you close the welcome screen (you can select not to be displayed in the future by checking "dont' show again" check-box) :
- Press the "SATCO" button on the toolbar to download and display current traffic on the SATCO network
-- or --
- Press the "IVAO" button on the toolbar to download and display current traffic on the IVAO network
-- or --
- Press the "Load from file" button (second button on the top toolbar) to browse off-line the provided sample data (select the sample.sat or sample.iva file for SATCO or IVAO data)
Detailed instructions are included in the help file accessible form the "Help->Help topis" menu on the menu bar. At anytime, pressing the F1 key will display help topings relevant to the current status of the program.
4. Known Issues
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Some times, some of the pilots or controllers names might not appear in the listings, while all the other information (callsign, origin-destination, flight details etc.) is there. This information (names) is only sent once to the data servers, when the pilot or controller logs in and is not resent in subsequent updates. So, if a problem occurs in the transfer of this information between servers the name will remain blank for all the period the pilot or controller is logged to the network. If this is important to you, you can consult the web-page information (only in the case of SATCO) by pressing Ctrl-F10.
NOTE: for a long time now the SATSERV page is down, so this option will not work until the page is back
When pinging a particular network server you might always get a "Lost" indication for all tries (currently this happens with the SATCO C-Europe server). This doesn't necessarily means that the server is down, or that it's response time is above the time-out limit. It might also be the case where pinging is blocked by a firewall at that server. This can only be changed by the administrator of this server.
The number of network servers that can be displayed at the networks page is currently limited to 14 (due to space limitations on a 800x600 display). If more that 14 servers are on-line the 15th, 16th etc. are not displayed. In the highly desirable case that SATCO or IVAO will one day have in operation more that 14 servers, I will happily redesign the form to accommodate more servers.
Trying to join a channel at a RW voice server might result in a message saying that this is not allowed. Currently this happens only for the SAT-UK server and was kindly requested by the server administrators because, since the first release of ServInfo, the frequency of cases where people where abusing the SATUK RW server channels has increased.
5. Contact/Web Site
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For updates, news, FAQs, links etc. visit ServInfo's home page at: www.SurClaro.com/hangar/utils/servifo
Major updates of ServInfo are always uploaded at www.SurClaro.com and www.SurClaro. Interim versions in the periods between the release of major updates might be available at ServInfo's web-site, including bug fixes or public betas of new features.
You can contact me for comments, suggestions and bug reports at frantz@central.ntua.gr
Also, if you have not done so yet, visit the Hellenic Virtual Area Control Centre at http://SurClaro.com/greece/artcc/ and fly on-line in Greece. You will not regret it.
6. History
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version 1.20 (1 July 2001)
new features:
RW channel names related to ATC positions in "RW Voice Servers" page
Added below country buttons a row of "airport buttons"
Added button that optimizes column widths to the current window width
Additional options in the display preferences :
Set application size and position at start-up
Save last sessions size-position-column widths
Page to display at start-up
Hide/show robot pilots
In flight details window, ICAO code of closest airport is displayed
During data loading displays do not freeze
Added abort button on the METAR window
Downloading (data, metars, ping, RW) can also be aborted with Esc key
Additional indications on the status bar:
Total number of connected ATC and pilots
Automatic reloading status
Help menu added - F1 shows help topics for current display
Added help buttons on all application windows (except main)
Better handling of input of ICAO code for "default airports" for country buttons
Added a label on the toolbar that the shows the current display
Added flashing "loading" indication on the toolbar
In proxy settings added an option to remember password
Bugs Fixed
Some issues with aborting data downloading solved - had to abolish abort confirmation
More than one buttons can be set for the same country with different default airports
On data reload the currently selected airport does not change
version 1.13-beta (6 June 2001)
new features:
Options for automatic loading of data at start-up and in predefined time intervals.
Enhancements on the METAR reports window:
Request METARs for multiple stations separated by "/"
Select the weather source (including NOAA)
Toolbar added including "find" and "sort" buttons.
Button added on the main toolbar
ServInfo now supports any network besides SATCO and IVAO, that uses the SB/PC environment.
In case authentication is required for connection through a proxy, a username and password can be set.
Bugs fixed:
A bug that might have caused ServInfo to occasionally read data from the cache
Also see list of updates in the servinfo.dat file within the file
version 1.12-beta (14 May 2001)
new features:
Display of network servers IPs and export to an ipaddr.txt file
Minimized and handled as a system tray
Metar display at the "airport details" page
Metars menu added allowing request for airport by ICAO code or whole country
Customizable default airports added at "Customize Country Buttons" option
RW voice servers details downloaded along with the rest data
Option to show RW channel info expanded when new data are loaded
Bugs fixed :
RW drop-down menu, not to deselect SATCO or IVAO buttons are pressed
Problems with the use of large fonts
Problems with the use of not standard Windows colour schemes at Flight Details display
Country column in the pilots with no flight plan display is filled
Access violation error when ServInfo contains no data and downloading is interrupted
In "country details" display controllers were sorted by freq. instead of callsign
Also see list of updates in the servinfo.dat file within the file
version 1.10 (April 2001)
The data retrieval method has changed completely (use of data servers)
Old data retrieval method (web-page) is preserved only as an alternative when errors occur
Outdated data are recognized and alternative choices are presented
ServInfo now works for both the SATCO and IVAO networks
Flight status icons added at the displays
Supervisor and administrator indicators at controllers callsigns
Detailed flight information can be displayed in a separate window
Location of airplanes at the ground with no flightplan identified and displayed
Proxy settings
Network servers page redesigned to hold up to 14 servers
Bug of including in some cases the same airport twice in the airport list corrected
version 1.00 (February 2001)
First public release
version 0.90 (February 2001)
Distributed to HvACC members only for evaluation
7. Copyright and Distribution
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This utility is released as Freeware. Copyright (C) 2001 Michael Frantzeskakis.
Under no circumstances may this zip file be modified or sold for profit.
As freeware you are permitted to distribute this zip file under the condition that no files are added or removed from the archive and all the files included in the archive are not modified in any way.
Information obtained with the use of this programme is not for real world navigation.
Roger Wilco is a trademark of HearMe.
Copyright (C) 1998 1999 HearMe
NOAA metars are retrieved from the NWS (National Weather Service) web pages (http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/metar.shtml)
8. Credits
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Many thanks to Roberto Bazzano of SATSERV and Erwin Lion of IVAN for allowing me to access the data servers system and willingly providing me with all the necessary information for it's proper use. Also, the weather information feature would not have been possible without their valuable contribution and suggestions.
A big thank you to all HvACC members that beta-tested the first versions of ServInfo and provided useful feedback and encouraging words.
The text files included in Enrico Schiratti's unique WhazzUp have provided an initial source of information and a starting point for compiling the control positions ICAO codes and aliases found in servinfo.dat file (www.schiratti.com/whazzup, but of course you've already been there).
David Kings presentation of SATNET Logs (at http://207.76.75.106/logframe.html (c)SATPAC 1999-2000) proved invaluable in identifying and verifying control positions callsigns and understanding controllers logging habits. The various ACC and ARTCC web sites were also consulted.
Thanks to everybody who e-mailed me providing comments, suggestions for future versions and corrections for the servinfo.dat file
Thanks to all people in the SATCO and IVAO organizations that devote their spare time to keep the on-line flying concept alive and improving and of course to the SquawkBox, ProController and FSD development team for making this possible in the first place.
A couple of components of the freeware ICS - Internet Component Suite for Delphi by Francois Piette were used (http://users.swing.be/francois.piette/indexuk.htm).
