==================== +----+ | | | | | +--+ --+ | | | -+| | | +--| | | | || | | | | | | +---|+ +--+ +--+ + + +- ver 2.09 ==================== SMALL ARMS EXTERIOR BALLISTICS FOR IBM PC's and COMPATIBLES ---- Benjamin W. Hartley Forest Park Estates #103 Jaffrey, NH 03452 [Voice#: (603) 532-6248] +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | _______ | | ____|__ | (R) | | --| | |------------------- | | | ____|__ | Association of | | | | |_| Shareware | | |__| o | Professionals | | -----| | |--------------------- | | |___|___| MEMBER | | | | | | This program is produced by a member of the Association of | | Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the | | shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve | | a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the | | member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can | | help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but | | does not provide technical support for members' products. Please | | write to the ASP Ombudsman, 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442, | | or send a CompuServe message to: ASP Ombudsman 72050,1433. | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ (This is ASCII-formatted QBALL.DOC, the On-disk documentation.) "QBALL" -- Source code, executable files, and documentation are (c) 1992 by Benjamin W. Hartley. All rights reserved. [ QBALL -- Exterior Ballistics -- ii ] TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- Dedication, Disclaimer, License, Copyright Information..........i Table of Contents..............................................ii Introduction..................................................iii About Shareware................................................iv Chapter page ------- ---- 1. Getting started..............................................1 1.1 Files required......................................1 1.2 Will It Work ?......................................1 1.3 Copying the program.................................2 1.4 Printing the documentation..........................2 1.5 General Instructions................................3 1.6 Starting QBALL......................................4 2. Computing ballistic or gun data..............................7 2.1 Preliminary data entry..............................7 2.2 Computing and displaying a range table..............8 2.3 Displaying graphics................................11 2.4 Changing input data................................16 2.5 Other ballistic procedures.........................17 3. Inferring ballistic coefficients............................22 3.1 First Run: r1 = 0..................................23 3.2 Second Run: r1 = 25................................24 4. Printing tables.............................................25 4.1 Printer warnings...................................25 4.2 Screen dumps.......................................25 4.3 Printer setup......................................25 4.4 Print functions....................................25 4.5 Typical printed output.............................26 5. Configuring display and default starting values.............27 5.1 The Configuration Menu.............................27 5.2 Switch toggles (set defaults)......................27 5.3 Configuring display colors.........................28 5.4 Using the values you've set........................28 5.5 Some other considerations..........................28 Some Afterthoughts and Some Wrinkles...........................30 Appendices:-- A. Glossary....................................................33 B. Example of Ballistic Coefficient from Tabular Data..........39 C. Example QBALLSAV.* file.....................................41 D. Selected bibliography.......................................43 E. Error analysis..............................................44 F. Error Messages, Default Starting Values.....................47 G. Enhancement form............................................53 H. Registration form...........................................55 [ QBALL -- Exterior Ballistics -- iv ] About Shareware --------------- Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific excep- tions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifi- cally grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low. Shareware also has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. QBALL is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using QBALL and con- tinue to use QBALL after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $25.00 to the author. The $25.00 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another, just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of QBALL must register and pay for their copies of QBALL within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site- License arrangements may be made by contacting the author. [ QBALL -- Exterior Ballistics -- 1 ] Chapter 1 --------- Getting Started """"""""""""""" 1.1 Files Required. -------------- QBALL is initially distributed with the following files: QBALL EXE -- The QBALL executable file. QBALL FON -- The QBALL graphics font file. QBALLODD DOC -- Odd-numbered documentation pages. QBALLEVN DOC -- Even-numbered documentation pages. QBREADME BAT -- Prints short intro on screen. QBALLENH DOC -- The QBALL enhancement form. QBALLREG DOC -- The QBALL registration form. WARRANTY DOC -- What's covered and for how long. LICENSE DOC -- "Thou shalt and thou shalt not..." USERPACK LST -- A files list like this one. (Note: Registered copies of QBALL are distributed in non-compressed format, with no *.DOC files) The only absolutely, positively, gotta-have files are QBALL.EXE. and QBALL.FON. The documentation is helpful, but you can get by without it. The rest qualify as "nice to have." 1.2 Will It Work ? -------------- In its present incarnation, QBALL is written in and compiled as a stand-alone .EXE file using Microsoft Professional Development System, version 7.1. QBALL was written on a Gateway 2000 AT clone, with an 80286 process- or, AMI BIOS, MS-DOS 5.0 with 4DOS 4.0 command processor, 5 1/4" (1.2 meg) and 3 1/2" (1.44 meg) floppy drives, 40 megabyte hard-disk, and Samsung CM4531 EGA monitor. No coprocessor was used. QBALL Version 2.09 does not include any routines from third parties. QBALL should function on any PC-DOS or MS-DOS compatible computer, and will detect the presence of a CGA or EGA card/monitor. If no graphic equipment is installed, QBALL internally disables its graphics routines. The purely tabular routines, however, remain usable. [ QBALL -- Exterior Ballistics -- 3 ] 1.5 General instructions. -------------------- Selecting menu options. Press the key corresponding to the letter which is highlighted/bracketed in that option. For example, to choose option
, press upper- or lower-case "P." QBALL's menus are not
case sensitive. If the option does not appear, or appears in low-
intensity color, QBALL will "beep", and do nothing further.
Response to "Y or N". Press upper- or lower-case "Y" or "N". (The
default for "Y" is [Enter].) If any other character is pressed, QBALL
will "squeak" and do nothing further.
ESC key. "ESC" will "back out" of data entry, and will "back up"
from a displayed menu. Each menu specifies where "ESC" will take you.
There is one exception: "Quit to DOS" requires that you press "Q",
confirm with "Y," and respond to one further prompt.
Data entry and error trapping. Type the value or string to be used
and press [Enter]. If a value already appears, press [enter] to
accept it, or overtype to change. QBALL will not accept the wrong
data type; out-of-range values will produce an error message. Use the
[Backspace] key to edit your entries before entering them. If there
is a "standard value" for the data, that value is displayed on the
prompt line in [brackets].
Swap Units option. The unit of range measure may be swapped back
and forth between Yards and Meters using the "New Input Data" menu.
As distributed, QBALL defaults to "Yards"; this may be changed using
the configuration routines.
Noises. QBALL will "squeak" upon erroneous data value entry, and
"chirps" upon completion of a computation, or upon invocation of
wap units. QBALL defaults to sounds "on"; sounds may be toggled
"off" for peace and quiet. A "flash" replaces noises in quiet mode.
Graphics. Given a CGA or an EGA card/monitor, graphics are always
enabled. You may suppress display of the graphics grid, but there is
no provision for toggling graphics completely "off."
Print options. ENSURE that your printer is on/on-line if you want
hard copy; QBALL will detect whether or not your printer is on, but not
"paper out"! You may disable the "print" function if desired.
Help. Press the [F1] key to display help in contrasting video. Help
displays are erased in ten seconds, or press any key to exit help.
Redirection of data output. QBALL does not support redirection of
data output, e.g., to a disk file, except as otherwise provided within
the graphics and computations routines.
[ QBALL -- Exterior Ballistics -- 5 ]
Having pressed a key, the screen clears, and the following screen
is displayed:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Ballistic Computations: Typical Firearm <
+=====================================+
| *** M A I N ME N U *** |
| --------------------------------- |
| uit -- Return to DOS |
+=====================================+
----------------------------------------------------------------+
[ MV: ][ C1: ][ Wt: ][ Met: 59d 0' 29.53" 78% ]|
| | | | |
| | | | |
Muzzle Ballistic Bullet Metro -- |
Velocity Coefficient Weight, Temperature, degrees F. |
(FPS) (grains) Gun Altitude, feet |
Barometric Pressure, "Hg |
Relative Humidity, percent |
|
+---------------+
|
(Please make note of the information) +--------------
(contained in the "Information Line",) [ H: 1.00][Yds]
(here shown "folded". The "Informa-) | |
(tion" or "Info Line" is updated if) | |
(changes are made to any of the in-) Sight Range
(formation it shows. Note that some) Height Units
(of the items are blank; values will) (inches) (Inverse)
(be filled in presently. )
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Go on to the next page...
[ QBALL -- Exterior Ballistics -- 7 ]
Chapter 2
---------
Computing Ballistics or Gun Data
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
2.1 Preliminary data entry.
----------------------
Before doing anything else, we're going to have to enter some in-
formation for QBALL to chew on. QBALL will ask you for data which it
does not already have. The items of information for which QBALL will
prompt you are, in order, (with suggested practice entries):
a. The ballistic coefficient (C1) for the
projectile in question . . . . . . . . . . . .250
(The leading decimal point is automatic.)
b. The bullet weight in grains . . . . . . . . . 125
c. Whether or not to use the displayed metro . . "Y"
(QBALL will default to "Standard Metro"; you)
(can use nonstandard metro, but, just to keep)
(things simple, stay with standard metro for)
(now. Press "Y" or [Enter]. )
d. The muzzle velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2300
Enter values at the appropriate places when prompted. (Try enter-
ing an impossible value or two, and see what happens.)
Here are some "impossible" values to try:
Ballistic Coefficient: 1.000;
Bullet Weight: 0; Muzzle
Velocity: 4700 FPS.
A complete list of QBALL's error messages is in Appendix E, with
the most common causes for their display.
For purposes of this tutorial, the gun/bullet is identified as
"Typical Firearm." This may be changed using the "
et Zero..." and
enter: "150" -- without the quotes, of course. (Until you set a zero
range, "Range et/Reset Current Zero Range |
| Range ave Current Data ||
| BCoeff : .250 | ave, and ave Current Data ||
| BCoeff : .250 | ave Current Data |
TermVel: 1858 FPS | On Disk: <0> thru <1> |
BCoeff : .250 +-------------------------+
ZeroRg : 150 Yards |