This is a walk through the SAFE EMS User Interface and assumes that you have it installed on your computer. If not, then you to need to go to Section D in this manual and find out how to load/install the UI (User Interface) onto your computer. To learn to use the UI you do not need to have a radio, it is just that without a radio you will not be able to actually send or receive messages.

If you do have the UI executed (running), then near the upper left-hand corner of the S.A.F.E. EMS window (computer screen) there is a HELP pull down menu which lists twelve help files labeled A to L

While not necessary for understanding the UI, the information in the following four files (sections of this manual - if you are reading the printed manual) are necessary in setting up the complete physical system:

B. Computer Required
D. Radio Setup
E. Power Supply
F. Antenna Setup

H. - S.A.F.E. Networking.

A. "S.A.F.E. EMS Introduction" is a general introduction to the system.

G. "EMP Protection" contains instructions on how to protect the hardware from EMP.

I. "Modification Support" contains tools and documentation for programmers wishing to modify this User Interface.

J. "On-line Documentation" is the link to The SAFE EMS (Emergency Messaging System) on-line documentation.

K. "Build Info" allows you to know which version you are working with in case we make changes in the future.

L. "About" gives a very brief explanation about the purpose of the SAFE EMS System as well as the historical sources of the system and lists our teams for both hardware and software.


plus:
There is also on your transport media - Source code and tools for re-engineering the software.

Below is approximately the screen that you should see on your computer when you open the S.A.F.E EMS user interface.

a. The vertical [white on the left and beige color on the right] window on the far left of the screen is the "multi-channel" window which shows the various frequencies (channels) that you are receiving. You can expand/narrow the size of this window by 'grabbing' the right edge of it with your mouse and moving it. You can move the bar all the way to the left so that the window disappears. You should try expanding the window to its maximum and minimum. At minimum you will see that it disappears altogether on the left - but you can still grab it from there. In practice you may decide to not use the "multi-channel" window. It is a matter of purpose and style that you control.

b. At the bottom of the "multi-channel" window is a blue slider bar that adjusts from -6.0 to 20.0 to control noise suppression in the "multi-channel" window. The higher the number the more the suppression. If you are not hooked up to a working radio, and you set the value low enough you will see random garbage being generated by your sound board.

c. If you click on one of the channel bars in the window three things will take place. (1) That bar will become highlighted in black. (2) The pointer on the waterfall will jump to that frequency and (3) the signal being received on that frequency will be displayed in the purple signal receiving window. It is important to understand this relationship between the selected channel in the "multi-channel" window and both the pointer on the waterfall and the "purple signal receiving window" if it is not being intentionally suppressed there. Just taking a few moments to change bar selections on the "multi-channel window" will make the relationship apparent.

d. There is at the bottom of the "multi-channel window" a clear button which will clear all the channels simultaneously. If the suppression slider is set low enough, then in a few moments signals or noise will again begin to appear in the "multi-channel window".

a. The blue "waterfall" window at the bottom of the screen is your other channel selector.

b. Using your mouse on the waterfall - a yellow pointer will appear where ever you point your mouse.

c. Wherever you left click your mouse on the waterfall - the red pointer will jump to that location and the frequency will be displayed in the frequency display window on the control bar - which is discussed further down.

d. When you select a frequency with the red pointer - the dark highlight bar that we just discussed in the previous "multi-channel" window will simultaneously move.

e. In practice you will move the frequency selector onto some signal that you wish to read in more detail than you are seeing in the multi-channel window, or onto some frequency where you wish to transmit.

f. You can also remotely move the red pointer on the waterfall by moving the highlighted black bar in multi-channel window - as discussed above.

a. The white window/pane is where you compose messages that you wish to send out. You may just put your mouse pointer there and start typing or you can copy text from some other file and using your mouse buttons - paste it there.

b. If you fill the window with text there will appear a slider bar to the right of the window that will permit you to navigate up and down in the window.

c. You can change the boundary of this window by putting your mouse on the button dividing it from the window above and left clicking your mouse so that you can move the dividing bar up or down.

d. The right button on your mouse provides you with five important functions in this window. (Just place the mouse pointer in the window and click on the right button of the mouse.)


1. Cut

Highlight with the left button of your mouse information that you wish to remove
and with the right button select "cut" from the drop down menu.
2. Copy

Highlight with the left button of your mouse information that you wish to copy
and with the right button select "copy" from the drop down menu.
The copied material will be stored on your computer scratch pad
for use as with any text editing program.
3. Paste

Highlight (select) with the left button of your mouse the location where you wish to paste
the text that is on your computer scratch pad
(this text may have been copied a source other than in this program)
and with the right button select paste from the drop down menu.
4. Clear

Select clear from the drop down menu and all the text in the window will be removed..
5. Word wrap

This button when selected turns word wrap on for the window and when unselected turns it off.

a. The purple window is where the text that you are receiving (or the text that you are sending - AS IT IS SENT) - appears.

b. If the window fills with text, there will appear a slider bar to the right of the window that will permit you to navigate up and down in the window.

c. You can change the boundary of this window by putting your mouse on the button dividing it from the window below and left clicking your mouse so that you can move the dividing bar up or down.

d. The right button on your mouse provides you with five important functions in this window:


1. Copy

Highlight with the left button of your mouse
information that you wish to copy
and with the right button select "copy" from the drop down menu.
The copied material will be stored on your computer scratch pad
for use as with any text editing program or for pasting into the white window.
2. Clear

Select clear from the drop down menu and all the text in the window will be removed.
3. Select All

Select All in the drop down menu causes all the text in the window to be highlighted.
4. Save as

Save as ...brings up the file selection window where you can name a file
and select a folder where you want the information in the window to be saved.
5. Word wrap

This button when selected turns word wrap on for the window and when unselected turns it off.

The Control Bar is located in between the White Window where one composes text for transmitting and the Blue Waterfall at the bottom of the screen.

a. The small "white" window/box at the left-hand side of the Control Bar is where there may appear a rare message from the system if something should go astray. You may never see a message there.

b. Moving to the right along the Control Bar the first button marked "Sound" brings up the window for configuring the sound card.


Usually the system will automatically locate which devices you have much in the same way that a USB port recognizes different devices.

At the right-hand side of both the Capture and Playback bars/buttons you will see an expansion symbol. By clicking on the expansion symbol you are given a choice of the various resources in your computer that you can choose among. You wish to choose the one that you have your transceiver plugged into.

You can then save the configuration with the Save button (the middle button at the bottom of this window that you have opened.

If for some reason you decide to use/try other devices you can temporarily do so and then use the "Restore defaults" to return to the defaults that you have saved.

Other variables in the window that are not related to your application are inoperable or defaulted to your requirement.

When you are done with this window you can either use the "Close" button or the usual window control buttons in the upper right hand corner of the window.

After initially installing your software, you may never need/wish to access the "Sound" button/window again.


c. The next button to the right is the "SQL" (squelch) button.


It toggles between on and off. If it is on there is a simulated yellow LED that appears lit.

When the SQL is on, you can then control the amount of squelch with the vertical slider at the far right of the Waterfall and Control Bar.

The squelch controls the amount of noise being received/displayed and helps you to clear up the signal.


d. The next item is a number in the middle of a white box just before the middle of the bar. This is the transmit level attenuator in db (decibels).


You can jog the attenuation from 0.0 to -30.0 using either the fast or slow buttons that are on both the right and left of the number in the white box.

This display must be used to set the signal indicator on the front of the radio transceiver so that the latter shows as nearly as possible three bars/LEDs.

One MUST NOT overdrive the signal to the transmitter. This is the control one must use to prevent overdriving.


e. The next button to the right displays the values of x1, x2, or x4. There is no x3. These are doubling values and control the scale on top of the waterfall.

f. The next item is also a number in the middle of a white box, this time just past the middle of the bar. This box is the frequency display window and displays the frequency the red cursor is currently at on the waterfall.

For the sophisticated user - this is the most important button on the control bar. It is possible to operate and ignore it by just selecting channels on the waterfall or in the multi-channel window.


You can jog the frequency up or down using either the fast or slow buttons that are on both the right and left of the number in the white box.

Doing so - you should note that the red cursor on the waterfall moves left and right across the scale. Using this jogger on the control bar is a method of fine tuning the cursor location and the frequency that you are using.

The numbers in the Multichannel window do not reflect as finely the numbers being diplayed in this channel selector window or on the waterfall. By rounding the numbers of the Multichannel window you will see that there is a direct but not exact correlation.

The number in the frequency display window is the standard/reference number so far as the User Interface is concerned. The accuracy of the frequency display and its relationship to the scale on the waterfall are presented in detail in Section D of the HELP menu (or the Table of Contents) on "D Radio Setup" for those who are technically adavanced.


g. The next button to the right is the AFC (Automatic Frequency Control) button. When you have selected AFC the simulated LED in the button will turn green. You will probably receive and transmit a better signal with the AFC on but occasionally you may be able to do better with it off.

h. The next button to the right is the Lk (Lock) button.


The Lk button drops a blue marker onto the waterfall scale showing where you first have the red cursor so that you can return to that spot.

You can then move the red cursor to a new location on the waterfall. When you click there the frequency display window will display the new frequency.

Later - if you wish to return to the first frequency - you can move the red cursor back to the blue marker.


i. The next button to the right is the "TUNE" button.


Clicking on this button turns on its red simulated LED and causes your speakers to emit a sound representing the transmit level and you can adjust this sound up or down by using the jogging buttons on the Transmit Level Attenuator (item d. above).


j. The final button to right is the RECEIVE/TRANSMIT button.


The simulated LED is not lit when in RECEIVE mode but turns red when in TRANSMIT mode (and when using the TUNE button). When you are transmitting you will hear the sound representing the transmit level. If you find that annoying you can turn it down at your speaker.

1. Using the frequency selector on the waterfall - first select a frequency on which to transmit. It may be on a signal which you have selected to receive.

2. Using the white message composition window compose or paste in a message that you wish to send. (You can actually compose and simultaneously transmit in real time if you type well enough and that is your wish).

3. When the channel is clear -


a. first - on the front of your transceiver - switch the receive switch to transmit.

b. immediately change the RECEIVE button (j above) to TRANSMIT (and you will hear the transmitting signal).

c. monitor the signal level LEDs on the front of your computer to determine that the level is 3 LEDs or less - but as close to 3 LEDs as you can attain.

d. watch the green window to see when you message completes transmitting.

e. when your message completes transmitting - immediately change the RECEIVE/TRANSMIT switch on the front of your transceiver to RECEIVE.

f. On your computer UI (User Interface) change the Red TRANSMIT button back to Green RECEIVE.


Contact and courtesy protocols should be followed.

If you are not an ADVANCED ham it is not legal/permissible for you to use the system to transmit in a non-catastrophic situation. The reason for this restriction is not because the system is difficult to operate, because it is in fact, especially as we have designed it, probably the easiest and most reliable to use of all ham systems. The reason for the restriction is simply that it is used as a reward for those who have gone through the effort required to obtain an Advanced Ham license.

While it is illegal, in non-catastrophic times, for others than advanced hams to transmit using the system - it is perfectly legal for anyone to receive on the frequencies at any time. Your SAFE EMS transceiver is shipped to you with the transmit capability disabled because it is illegal to provide them with it transmit enabled to individuals who are not authorized to use them for transmitting.

For advanced Hams to enable the transceiver for transmitting it is only necessary for them to connect a jumper as described in the Radio Setup section of this manual.