Manual Update for V1.53

The RLC-3 manual has been updated for V1.53.  If you only want to
know about the changes, instead of downloading a whole new manual,
read the rest of this file.  The following notes should cover the 
major differences since V1.48.

The 'C' that the beginning of the command names have been 
removed.  The default command names are now simply the three 
digit command numbers.  You can still change the command names to 
anything up to six digits long.  You can put the 'C' at the 
beginning of the command names using C062 if you wish.  This was 
done to avoid the confusion with discussing the command number 
versus the command name.  Now we can use the command name in the 
manual (when it is changed) interchangably with the command 
number. 

Commands like 009 that do not need any additional information can 
still be executed by entering the command name and unkeying.  If 
you wish to execute them without unkeying, you can force them to 
execute by pressing 'D' (used to be '*').

Commands like 000 that do need additional information (which 
ports to connect together) should now be entered as the command 
name followed by the additonal information WITHOUT A '*' IN THE 
MIDDLE.  For example, to make port one a repeater, enter "00011".  
You can force the command to execute by either unkeying or 
pressing the 'D' key (used to be '*').

Commands that take different amounts of data can now be given the 
same name, if you wish.  For example, you could name commands 000 
and 009 both to "AAA".  Then "AAA12" would use command 000 to 
connect ports 1 and 2, and "AAA" would recall the crosspoint.  
Because of this, command 012 now recalls a list of all of the 
commands with the specified name.

When working from the serial port, spaces are now allowed within 
commands.  This makes it possible to write more readable upload 
files.  For example, you could program macro 500 to speak "123" 
as follows:  "053 500 036 001 002 003 ;       comment".  Note that 
it is suggested that the ';' which indicates that the rest of the 
line is a comment should closely follow the end of the command, 
rather than come right before the comment.  It won't matter in 
most cases, but doing so will minimize the chances of overflowing 
the buffer with long command strings.  If you do get a message 
that the command is too long and overflows the buffer, remove 
some of the spaces in that command.

If you have a line followed by a ';' and a very long comment (if 
the total length of the line is more than 256 characters or so), 
the backspace key will be disabled until you press enter.  You 
will probably never encounter this, as you usually only use 
comments when making an upload file, and backspaces are not 
stored in the file.  The only reason I even mention this is so 
you won't think that your backspace key is broken if it should 
happen to you.

When uploading a command file, the controller will accept up to 
2000 characters as fast as you can send them.  If your file is 
larger than that, you will have to send it slowly enough that the 
controller can process it as it goes.  With previous software 
versions, this required between one and two seconds delay per 
line.  This delay can be added by telling your communications 
program to use a line pacing delay.  The new software may still 
require some delay, but will accept data much faster without 
missing anything.  There never has been a limit on file size.  
Using a slower baud rate will also help avoid this overflow, but 
adding the pacing delay is a better solution.

The other buffer that is involved in uploading is the serial 
buffer that is used to send the command responses back to you.  
It will overflow if you upload too quickly, with the message, 
"Serial output queue overflowed - it now looks empty".  When this 
happens, the controller is basically saying that it is out of 
space and has no choice but to throw something away.  So it just 
empties the buffer and starts over.  THIS DOES NOT CAUSE ANY 
INFORMATION TO BE LOST; the upload will still work.  You just 
won't be able to see the command responses that were lost.  If 
there were error messages in the part that was lost, you won't be 
able to see them either.  Personally, I usually upload slowly to 
avoid overflowing that buffer so I can check for errors, but if I 
know the file is OK, I upload it fast and just let the output 
buffer overflow.  Using a faster serial baud rate will help keep 
this buffer from overflowing, as the controller will be able to 
send more stuff back to you during the pacing delays at the end 
of each line.

In the long run, I plan to add XON/XOFF flow control to keep 
either buffer from overflowing.  Another thing on my to-do list :) 

Command 007 (DTMF mute) now supports two optional digits 
following the ones that are in previous versions:
- first digit = port number
- second digit = 1 for mute on / 0 for mute off
- third digit (optional) = 1 for DTMF cover tone on / 0 for off
- fourth digit (optional) = 1 for DTMF bypass on / 0 for off
    The DTMF bypass allows you to temporarily bypass the DTMF 
    mute by pressing 'D' (or whatever you change the force 
    execution digit to) after keying up before entering any 
    other DTMF tones.  The 'D' will be muted as soon as it is 
    detected (you will still get the first 40ms or so if you 
    don't have an audio delay module).  When the 'D' is 
    released, all of the following tones will be passed without 
    muting and will be ignored by the controller.

You can now use any of the 16 DTMF digits in preaccess code.  

Preaccess no longer requires "autoexecution".  In fact, there is 
no longer any need for autoexecution, as its main funtion was to 
remove the previous need to press '*' after a command name before 
the data for that command.  Because autoexecution is no longer 
needed, the voice responses to commands that don't require any 
additional information will now wait until you unkey.

The format of command 078 has been changed enough that it cannot 
be used as the manual for previous versions state.  The new 
format is:
  078 P C T E
    P is the port number (1..8, 9 for the serial port)
    C is 1 to allow command chaining, 0 to disallow it
      Chaining allows you to enter more than one command without 
      unkeying or pressing 'D' between them.  This only works 
      after commands that do not take additional data (like 008, 
      009 and all of the macros).
    T is 1 to allow timed command execution, 0 to disallow it.
      This is very handy for executing commands from the autopatch,
      as you can leave 'D' as the force-execution digit and just
      let the timer do the work.  The DTMF interdigit timer (134..141) 
      is what determines how much time between digits will cause the
      command to be executed.  Two seconds is a good starting value.
    E (optional) is the new force execution digit (default 'D').

I am sure that there are dozens of other changes that I can't 
think of right now, but I will add them to this document as I do, 
and I will update it on the ftp site.  

If you have comments or questions about this software, please 
email me directly at the address below (rather than calling), so 
I can keep working on it without too many interruptions and so I 
can reply to the listserver as well as to you and answer the 
question for everyone else as well.

Steve Strobel
steve@link-comm.com