Downloads

In some cases the authors were uncontactable, and therefore we include these resources in the hope this will be acceptable. Please get in contact if you require a link, or other attribution.

You need to take account of the notes provided on these files, in the articles where they were linked from. For instance, the first of these items, Propking, is an Excel spreadsheet: there are some usage notes back there you will find handy.

Click on the underlined name to download the file; there may be a choice of filetype.

You will need to unzip some of these files. The zip program supplied for that here is the best small app available; as well as in zip form it is also supplied in SFX form: a self-extracting archive – double-click it and it unzips itself. Just in case you don't have a zip app yet...

Your AV program might quibble at the Excel file, since it contains macros, which resemble a virus to some antivirus programs; your AV app should stop a real one though. A pal of mine has his main email address with a super-safe postnuke-type hosting firm; their email server stops any file attachments that look remotely dodgy. It's a complete pain as he is always having to contact the support techs to dig out the attachment and forward it. You are probably better off relying on a top AV app like AVG. DO NOT contact me if your useless or not-updated AV app thinks this Excel file is a virus. Unless, of course, it can put a name to it, such as:
I-Worm/Bagle.KK, Win32/Puce.C, or Trojan-Generic.ZXW – in which case I would have to investigate further. Hmm...

To find out how to deal with these types of viruses, go to:

pc-P2P.html

I don't bother with MD5 checksums because it's too much aggro all told, and what percentage of this site's users would know what to do with them? In any case you should scan anything downloaded before you run it. AVG and Cyberhawk (both free) will deal with anything that you're likely to come across, anyway.

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Propeller Size Calculator

     Surfbaud Propking   (.xls file, filesize 142 kB)           zip file   (35 kB)

The best free PC propcalc app around (unless you know different). You'll need Excel to run it.

Unzip Program

     Aladdin Expander 1.0   (SFX file, 722 kB)                 zip file   (683 kB)

The SFX archive is an .exe file of 722 kB. The unzipped folder (in both cases) is 1.58 MB in size. This old version of Expander is the neatest and fastest unzipper around. Associate it with the archive types you want it to unzip, then when you click (for instance) a zip file, it immediately unzips it right next to the original file – perfect. No pop-up windows, no stupid questions about filenames, filepaths, do this, do that: Bosh! – it's done and dusted. It specialises in .sit and .zip files, though it has problems with modern versions that use different protocols; in these cases use QuickZip.

The app does not have (or need) an installer. Place the unzipped folder wherever you want (C:\Program Files is good), then create a shortcut for the .exe file within and put that on your desktop or wherever. The quick way is just drag it to your Taskbar and it automatically puts a shortcut there. Open the app, shell integrate it (associate it with the compressed file formats you wish it to handle – click all if in doubt), and you're done. To uninstall it, just delete the folder.

WiFi Cantenna Size Calculator

     html page   (zip file, 4kB)             Cantenna article complete   (zip file, 27kB)

A microwave waveguide size calculator for the curious, the experimenter, the adventurous, or the just plain impoverished. Simply the web page from this site, zipped, in case your browser won't save it due to your paranoid security settings – the calculator built in does of course use a javascript engine, so if you block scripts etc. you won't get very far with it.

Astronav apps

     astronav.zip     (zip file, 1.23MB)

Various astronav apps for use with sextant and PC. You can have a lot of fun with these, and improve your sights & plots by comparing them to the laptop's result.

PC Tide Table

Here's the king of the PC tide tables, wxTide. It's a worldwide 'perpetual' tidetable (until 2026 I believe), that renders everything else defunct. It may not be precisely accurate, but then neither are the tides themselves. In practice, I've found it surprisingly good: go down to the waterside and check it out for real, don't compare it with another PC or almanac tidetable and denounce it on that basis.

This is an old version, but it should do everything you want.

     wxtide26.zip     (zip file, 1.38MB)

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