Customizing the Transceiver with the Configuration File

The UHFA.CFG file is used to configure some of the parameters used in the transceiver. This is a pure text file and can be edited with any text editor. By changing parameters you are able to customize the operation and appearance of the transceiver for your particular use. In the early going much of the transceiver configuration could only be altered through direct editing of variables in this file. Much of the common operation has moved to "DIALOG BOXES" to allow easy configuration changes

quit_save_state=0 0

If you need to get back to the default set of parameters, delete the UHFA.CFG file and restart the DSP-10 program. Upon shutdown, a new UHFA.CFG file will be created. It will contain all the default parameters.

Transverter Definition - All of the parameters to define a transverter are given on a single line that starts with "tvtr". All parameters must be present. There can be up to 21 lines corresponding to the 16 amateur bands from 50 MHz through 147 GHz, along with 5 extra "bands" corresponding to 2-meter VFO's. The trick here is that 2 meters is treated just as though it was a transverter with 0 frequency local oscillator. The parameters, in order, are:

DOS Visit

Operations, such as editing the UHFA.CFG configuration file or setting the date, cannot be performed while the DSP-10 is running. Closing the program is somewhat time consuming, and does undesirable operations such as erasing transmit buffers. An alternative is to leave the DSP-10 loaded, but to run a second copy of DOS. This is allowed for by the command Alt-Sh-5 (same as Alt-%). The result is a DOS command processor text screen that is fully functional, but limited in available memory. This carries the nickname "DOS Visit." One returns to the DSP-10 by typing "Exit<Enter>". It is not necessary to leave the current directory in any particular state.

The default DOS Visit saves the DSP-10 screen to a file and frees up memory required for a screen save. This adds a couple of seconds to the DOS Visit, but makes over 100K of memory available to the second user. For those not needing that much memory, it is a bit faster to change the configuration file variable mem_virtual from 1 to 0.
After returning to DSP-10 operation, the 8-second serial buffer will have been overflowed and an "E1 Data Lost" error message is to be expected.

The left-hand column in the following list is taken from a typical UHFA.CFG, which is a plain text file. Lines that start with a pair of forward slashes, "//" are comments, not variables. The comment precedes the variable(s) to which it relates. The second column indicates how this variable may be changed, either from the DSP-10 program or direct editing of UHFA.CFG. Changes within the DSP-10 are through either keystrokes or dialog boxes that are brought to the screen by the keys indicated here. The third column indicates the default value that results if the variable is not in the configuration file, or if the file does not exist.

All configuration files start with a line "UHFACFG2" that is a check on the file validity. This line should never be changed. All configuration variables are saved when exiting the DSP-10 program, at DOS Visits, and from the keyboard command Alt-0 (zero). When the configuration is saved, all previous data is overwritten.

Some of the variables listed under Method of Change as "Do Not Edit" are primarily bookeeping matters for the DSP-10, and normally, are never changed manually. Entries that are edited in BOXES, are linked with the key strokes to open the edit box and to descriptive pages. Entries as "Edit Here", do not have entry BOXES, and are edited in this file, however there are still links to descriptive text.