************** *** SUNKEY *** ************** The program SUNKEY enables you to enter your sunspot data directly into your computer. It will run on almost any PC operating system, including DOS, Windows 3.1, Win95, and Win98. ******************** *** INSTALLATION *** ******************** To install the program, first choose a folder (directory) where you wish to keep your sunspot data. You may wish to create a new folder (directory) specifically for this purpose. Then copy the file SUNKEY.EXE into that folder (directory). If you operate under DOS, installation is complete. To run the program, simply change to the sunspot directory and type the command "SUNKEY". If you run Windows, you can run the program in two ways. One way is to start a "DOS prompt", then change to the sunspot directory and type the command "SUNKEY" (just as though you were running DOS). The other way is to create a link to the program, so you can run it directly from Windows. Start the program "Windows Explorer", and navigate until you find the file SUNKEY.EXE in your sunspot directory. Click the RIGHT mouse button on that file; you will be offered a menu of options. Choose the option "Create Shortcut". This will create an icon (which looks like the DOS prompt icon). You can copy this icon onto your desktop, or into the start menu, using the Windows Explorer program. Now click the RIGHT mouse button on the "Shortcut to SUNKEY". Select the option "Properties". Under the "program" tab, you will find a small check-box for "Close on Exit". Click this check-box, to set the "close on exit" option. To run the program, locate your newly created "Shortcut to SUNKEY". If it is in your start-menu, single-click the icon to start the program; if it is on your desktop, double-click the icon. ****************************** *** RUNNING THE FIRST TIME *** ****************************** The first time you run the program, it will ask you some basic information about yourself. It wants to know your name, your AAVSO observer I.D., and your address. It will also ask you how you want to enter your sunspot data, i.e., what order you want to type in the fields. It will then save this information, so you won't have to enter it again. First you are asked: Your name = Please enter your name as you would like it to appear in your sunspot data reports. Now you are asked Your AAVSO observer I.D. = Enter the AAVSO observer I.D. code you have been assigned. If you haven't yet been assigned an observer I.D. code, leave this blank (simply hit ). Next you are asked Address (line 1 of 3) = Enter the first line of your postal address. This is followed by Address (line 2 of 3) = Address (line 3 of 3) = Then you are asked e-mail address = Enter your current e-mail address, if you have one. If not, leave this blank (just hit ). Now you have the opportunity to enter additional information, such as the instrument, method, magnification, etc. The program asks: Please enter any additional information you wish included in your report: Enter up to 10 lines of additional information, in exactly the form you wish it printed in your regular reports. For example, you might enter the following: instrument: refractor aperture: 60mm focal length: 900 mm observations direct, 1000 oaks filter, H25mm eyepiece Now the program wants to know the order in which you will enter your data fields. SUNKEY accepts any or all of the following fields: DAY UT day of the month for the observation SEE Seeing conditions: E excellent G good F fair P poor UT Universal Time of the observation G Group count (whole disk) S Spot count (whole disk) W Wolf number (= 10 * G + S) NG Northern-hemisphere group count SG Southern-hemisphere group count NS Northern-hemisphere spot count SS Southern-hemisphere spot count REMARK Remark These are the fields, in their usual order, as present on the standard report form. You don't have to enter them all, but these at least are required: DAY, UT, G, S, W. You also don't have to enter them in the standard order; you can choose your own, except that the DAY must always be the first field, and the REMARK must always be the last. That's why SUNKEY shows you the list of fields in standard order, and asks you whether you want to enter data in this form. If you say "Y" (for YES), then it will expect you to enter all the standard data fields in standard order. If you say "N" (for NO), it will ask you Please select your own order for entering the fields. Note that the DAY must be the first field, and the REMARK must be the last. Select the fields, in order, from the following list SEE seeing NG north groups UT Universal Time SG south groups G groups NS north spots S spots SS south spots R, W Wolf number REMARK remark Field # 1 = Day Field # 2 = Enter the appropriate code for the field you wish to enter after the DAY. For example, if you want to enter the Universal Time, enter "UT", or if you want the group count, enter "G". After you have specified field #2, it will ask Field # 3 = Enter the code for the next field. Keep entering until you have specified all the fields you wish to enter. Note that if you specify the "REMARK" field, then the program assumes that this is the *last* field. Also, if you leave a field blank (by just hitting ), the program assumes that you have finished specifying the fields you wish to enter. If you have not included REMARK as one of your fields, the program automatically sets the last field to be "REMARK". At this point the program creates a user profile, in the file "SPROFILE.DAT" in the sunspot folder. Now the program begins running in normal operation. ******************************** *** RUNNING NORMAL OPERATION *** ******************************** When running under normal operation, the first thing you are asked is: Month and year = Enter the month then the year, during which the observations were made. Now the program needs to know what you wish to name the file you will create. It suggest a name which consists of your AAVSO observer code, the last 2 digits of the year, the 2 digits representing the month, and a suffix ".RAW". If, for example, your observer code is "GF", and you are entering data for January 1999, the program suggests the output file name Output file = GF9901.RAW If this name is acceptable, just hit . If not, change the name to what you would like it to be, then hit . If the file name you have chosen already exists, the program informs you: File GF9901.RAW already exists. Append? Y If you wish to append to the existing file, hit (taking the default answer for yes). If not, enter a for no, then hit enter, and you will be asked to choose a different filename. Now you are ready to enter daily observations. The program prompts you for the day of the first observation, by printing your observer ID, the month and year, and a line indicating the fields you will enter, in their entry order: GF January 1999 |Day| see | UT | g | s | W | ng | sg | ns | ss | The program places the cursor under "Day". Note: this prompt line will be given if you enter data in standard order; if you have a different order of data entry, the prompt line will show the fields you have chosen, in your order. Enter the day, then hit . The cursor will advance to the next field. In this example, the next field is "see", the seeing. When you enter the seeing, you may enter one of the codes "E", "G", "F", or "P". However, you may also enter digits to represent these codes, in the following manner: =========================== digit code meaning =========================== 0 E excellent 1 G good 2 F fair 3 P poor =========================== The reason we have put this in the program, is that it enables you to enter the seeing conditions using the numeric keypad on a standard keyboard. By doing so, you can enter *ALL* the data (except REMARKs) using only the numeric keypad, and experience has shown that for observers who are used to using the numeric keypad, this makes data entry very much faster. After entering each field, hit and the cursor will advance to the next field. If you have made a mistake, then hit the key, and the cursor will retreat to the previous field. You may then make any correction you wish. After entering the last non-REMARK field, the cursor advances to the next LINE. You may now enter any remark for that observation. You may still, at this point, hit the key to retreat to previous fields. Once you finish entering the REMARK, the record is complete. The REMARK you have entered will be removed from the screen, but is stored in memory and will be attached to your data observation. Now the program prompts you for the next day's observation. When you have finished the last observation of the month, and you are prompted for "Day", hit the "escape" key , and the program assumes you are finished for that month. After you have enterd the last observation for the month, the data file for that month will look something like this: ********* SUNKEY 02-03-1999 13:16:25 Solar data from: GF Grant Foster myaddress line 1 myaddress line 2 myaddress line 3 gfoster@aavso.org myinfo line 1 myinfo line 2 myinfo line 3 For the month of: JANUARY 1999 | Day | see | UT | g | s | W | ng | sg | ns | ss | Obs. | Remarks 1 G 1111 1 1 11 1 0 1 0 | GF | Demo