 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
January 1996
By Wes Hayward, W7ZOI
7700 SW Danielle Ave
Beaverton, OR 97008
Some users have encountered problems in printing from this application. This note explains how to print with virtually any printer and system. We also offer some information for using MicroSmith from Windows.
First, an Epson printer is not required for MicroSmith! Indeed, no printer is required to use the program, although one is always handy.
The only printer supported within MicroSmith is the 9-pin dot-matrix type, with the Epson being the most common example. There are many others that fall into this category. This support may be removed from later versions of MicroSmith, for most MicroSmith users now use other printers. Instead, we will relegate all printing chores to the drivers included within graphics.com, Windows, or Windows 95.
Graphics.com is part of all versions of DOS. Graphics.com version 5.0 or later contains a number of drivers, including one for the popular HP Deskjet and several for laser printers. To activate the program for an HP Deskjet, for example, you enter (at the DOS command prompt)
GRAPHICS DESKJET
followed by a carriage return. This sequence is run from DOS before running MicroSmith. You only need to run this once after booting the computer. Then, a printout is obtained from MicroSmith by pressing the Print Screen key. I'm presently using this scheme with a Laserjet printer. This is a "screen dump" and it includes the inversion that's needed. For best results, you should use the Alt+B key in MicroSmith to shift the display to monochrome. Some colors, especially yellow, do not show up at all when read for printing.
Graphics.com from DOS is a general purpose program, producing graphics output from virtually any display. I've used it for a wide variety of applications, including the demo version of PSpice that's mentioned in the MicroSmith manual.
Additional information is available regarding graphics.com by reading the DOS manual. Alternatively, type DOSHELP at the DOS prompt.
You can also print from Windows 3.1/3.11. For one way to run MicroSmith from Windows, double click the Main icon, then double click on File Manager. Go to the directory containing MicroSmith and double click on SC.EXE. Once a display is present that you would like to save, press the Print Screen key. It may require two presses. When you see the screen "blink," the image has been captured and placed on the Windows Clipboard. Then, open another application (such as a word processor) and Paste the Clipboard contents into that application.
You may wish to add items to your Windows setup to facilitate using MicroSmith from the Windows environment. The first thing required is a program group within Windows. This is created by starting with the Program Manager, which is the beginning for all other things in Windows. From there, click on File. Then, click on New. From there, pick "program group." A small window will open. In that window, go to the box labeled Description and enter Smith. Leave the Group File box blank and click on OK. You should now have an icon on screen labeled as Smith.
The next thing that might be needed is to create a new name for MicroSmith. It's presently named SC.EXE. This represented a conflict with another program on my system, so I copied the file SC.EXE to another file (in the same directory) named SMITH.EXE. This appears in a directory named RFD on my computer, short for RF Design.
The file SMITH.EXE must now be associated with icons. From the program manager, double click on the new Smith box. A window will open. Then, from the Program Manager, click on File, and then on New, followed by a click on Program Item, and OK. This opens a Program Item Properties dialog box. In the Description field, enter the phrase Smith Chart. Add the program name and path to Command Line. In my system, that was c:\RFD\SMITH.EXE. In the working directory box enter the path to your directory containing the chart. In my case, it was c:\RFD. Leave the Shortcut field with None and click on OK.
You are now ready to run MicroSmith from Windows. Merely double click on the Smith program group, followed by a double click on the Smith Chart icon.
One subtle problem exists for printing from Windows. The file generated in MicroSmith uses white lines on a black background. The usual Windows printing operation efficiently processes black on a white background. The solution is an easy one through tools that are already in Windows. Run MicroSmith to produce a white on black image and save it to the Clipboard with Print Screen. Then, open Windows Paintbrush from the Accessories program group. Before loading anything, click on the View item in the toolbar. From there, click on Tools and Linesize. Go to View again and click on Palette. You should now have a blank, full screen and can click on Edit, and then on Paste. The previously saved Smith chart will appear. Click on Pick, and then on Inverse. The chart now changes to black on white. Click on Edit and Copy to put the new image back on the Clipboard. You can now put the image in a word processor document, or view elsewhere.
It may be useful to spend some time with Paintbrush, experimenting with some of its options. It is, for example, often effective to paste Smith charts into Paintbrush after having clicked the View and the Zoom Out buttons. Other programs (HiJack, Corel Draw) are reported to be excellent for these applications.
73, W7ZOI
