This is a simple telnet client specially developed for accessing the chats of
ON4KST when you can't (or don't want) to use the WEB
interface. I made this software for my own use because in my radio QTH by
the countryside I only can access the Internet using the GPRS mobile phone. The
cost of this service (at least in Spain) depends on the number of bytes
sent/received, so using the WEB interface was simply too expensive. On the
other hand, standard telnet clients did not offer the functionalities and formatting
options I wanted.
You can download and use this software for free for your own private use,
however please understand that I don't offer any kind of support and I don't
promise to develop new versions in the future. Anyway if you have some comment
you can always E-Mail it to me.
After downloading the setup program you simply have to run it to install the
application. Then you will find a new "KSTchat" option in the
"Start" menu of Windows. (IMPORTANT:
If you already have an older version of the program you MUST uninstall it before
running the setup of this new version. VERY IMPORTANT:
You MUST place the downloaded setup program "KSTClient_Setup.exe" in
an EMPTY folder, then with Windows Explorer open that folder and double click
the file in order to run the installation)
In the folder where you have installed the program (by default it goes to C:\Program
Files\KSTclient) you will find 4 files:
KSTClient.exe is the executable program.
KSTClient.ini is the file holding the configuration parameters (Do
not change it unless you are sure of what you are doing)
(Please notice that since July-2010 you should change
the Host server from www.on4kst.info to www.on4kst.org)
KSTClient.html is the file containing the basic explanation of
what KSTClient is.
Warning.wav is the sound file to play when a new "watch
text" is detected.
Enjoy it! See you in some of the ON4KST's VHF or EME chats.
Changes in version 1.6:
Support of Internet Explorer 8. After installing this version of I.E. the
"Automatic alignment" function did no work in former versions.
Changes in version 1.5:
DX-Spots containing the < and > characters where not properly shown (like
"JM19<TR>JN01").
A welcome screen is shown on program start-up, providing some basic
information about the program.
Changes in version 1.4:
Support of Internet Explorer 7. After installing this version of I.E. the
"Automatic alignment" function did no work in former versions.
Changes in version 1.3:
The program was slowing down the system after being connected for a long
period.
Possibility to change the font, its size and also the space between lines
(modifying the INI file)
Possibility to choose whether the program must always align to the bottom
of the texts (normal mode when watching the chat) or not (for reviewing past
messages)
Changes in version 1.2:
Fixed a possible bug that made the program hung during start-up and before
connection.
Changes in version 1.1:
Warning sound could not be disabled in former version.
Possibility to decide whether or not the watch texts should be searched in
the chat prompt.
Connection by IP address was not sending the login automatically.
A few other minor bugs.
Other user requests:
That the "connect" would be done automatic after start and a
default command, for example "2" would be send ?
Size and the position of the client. Would it be possible to store the
size of the window and the position of it, so that it would be the same after
restart ?
Would it be possible to remove the "Texts to watch" area and
place it in a menu, or a different window (or make it "optional"
to display)? The reason I ask, is that I would like to make the vertical
size of the main window smaller, to fit on the same screen as WSJT. This
would be easier/neater if there was no "Texts to watch" area. An
alternative would be to move the "Text" edit box and "Send
text" button to the top of the window.
Possibility to save the text to a file.
With telnet, we can keep the traffic very low and keep the Kb cost down.
During Contests and DXpeditions however, it is almost impossible to
keep up with all the messages on the screen. I wonder whether you might
consider adding another OPTION to the program to enable ONLY those lines
which contain a WATCHED TEXT to be displayed. In the case of a DXpedition,
it would only show lines which are of interest.