Welcome to the FCC Remote Access System README.TXT File ================================= This file contains important information -- please read all of it. Disclaimer ------------- The Federal Communications Commission (the "Commission") makes available this software package for FCC remote access. Included in this package are the PPP Configuration/Dialer and FCC Remote Access System. The Commission makes no warranty whatsoever with respect to the software package. In no event shall the Commission, or any of its officers, employees or agents, be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, but not limited to, loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or any other loss) arising out of or relating to the existence, furnishing, functioning or use of this software package. Moreover, no obligation or liability will arise out of the Commission's technical, programming or other advice or service provided in connection with this software package. Pursuant to Report and Order, WT Docket No. 95-69, the Commission established a fee schedule for on-line access to the Commission's wide area network. A charge of $2.30 per minute will be applied to a user's telephone bill when accessing the Commission's wide area network via the 900 toll-call service. Users of the FCC Remote Access System will connect to the FCC Network via the 900 number toll-call service at a cost of $2.30 per minute. If your telephone system blocks access to 900 numbers, you will be unable to properly connect to the FCC Network. Please see your telephone administrator for assistance. When you are finished using the FCC Remote Access System, you MUST exit the PPP Dialer system to avoid additional telephone charges. Table of Contents --------------------- 1. Hardware and Software Requirements 2. Phone Numbers 3. Extracting the FCC Remote Access System 4. Installing the FCC Remote Access System 5. Running the FCC Remote Access System 6. Configure PPP 7. PPP Dialer 8. Ping 9. Troubleshooting 10. Uninstalling the FCC Remote Access System 11. Changes from Previous Version 1. Hardware and Software Requirements -------------------------------------------------  CPU: Intel 80486 or above  RAM: 8MB RAM (more recommended if you have multiple applications open)  Hard Disk: 12MB available disk space  Modem: v.32bis 14.4kbps Hayes compatible modem  Monitor: VGA or above  Mouse or other pointing device  Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft Windows for WorkGroups v3.11*  Internet browser software capable of displaying frames and tables. The products used during testing were Netscape Navigator 2.0 and Microsoft Explorer 3.0. To create backup installation disks for the FCC Remote Access System, you will need the following:  1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive  Three blank MS-DOS formatted 1.44MB floppy disks * The FCC Remote Access System has not been tested in a Windows95, Macintosh, or OS/2 environment. Therefore, the FCC will not support operating systems other than Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft Windows for Workgroups v3.11. This includes any other emulated Windows environment. If your Windows is in a networked environment, you should check with your local network administrator for any potential conflicts with the PPP Dialer you will use to connect to the FCC Network. Such conflicts may occur with any TCP/IP installed network protocol. The PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) Dialer, when configured with the appropriate parameters, will establish a direct (point-to-point) connection from your PC to the FCC Network. This direct connection is not routed through the Internet. 2. Phone Numbers ---------------------- 202-414-1250 - Technical Support for installing/using this software The FCC Technical Support Hotline is generally available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. 202-682-5851 - FCC Auction BBS 202-418-1400 - FCC Auction Hotline 3. Extracting the FCC Remote Access System ----------------------------------------------------------- To extract the FCC Remote Access System, start File Manager in the Main Program group, open the file folder where you downloaded the executable, and double-click on REMACC40.EXE. A message will appear listing the default directory to which the software will extract. If this directory does not exist, it will be created automatically. Press Unzip to begin extracting the software. When the extraction is complete, a message will appear listing the number of files that were unzipped. The setup program will start automatically. 4. Installing the FCC Remote Access System ------------------------------------------------------------- After you extract the software from the compressed files, you must install the FCC Remote Access System. The setup program will start automatically after extraction. If you wish to install at a later time, you can start the setup program manually by starting File Manager, opening the file folder to which you extracted the software and double-clicking on SETUP.EXE. When the setup program begins, a screen will appear listing the default directory to which the software will install. Press the Install button, then press OK to install to the specified directory. If the directory does not exist, the setup program will create it automatically. When the installation is complete, a message may appear asking you to restart Windows so that changes made by the installation may take effect. Press Restart to restart Windows, or press Stay Here to restart at a later time. If you receive this message, do not use the FCC Remote Access System until you restart Windows. To create backup installation disks for the FCC Remote Access System, go to File Manager, open the file folder to which you extracted the software, double-click on BACKUP.BAT, and follow the instructions on the screen. 5. Running the FCC Remote Access System ------------------------------------------------------------ You will now have a new Program Manager group called FCC Remote Access System v4.0 with the following icons: Configure PPP, PPP Dialer, Ping, FCC Remote Access System, Readme File, and Uninstall. If you did not specify the location of your Internet browser software during installation, you will need to do the following: click on the FCC Remote Access System icon to highlight it, click on File | Properties, and insert the path to your Internet browser executable on the command line BEFORE the http location. For example, if the command line reads http://web_auction1.fcc.gov and your Internet browser executable is located in c:\netscape\netscape.exe, you would modify the command line to read as c:\netscape\netscape.exe http:\\web_auction1.fcc.gov Double-clicking on the FCC Remote Access System icon will now start your browser with the appropriate location. You must verify/modify the parameters in Configure PPP prior to using the PPP Dialer. You must start the PPP Dialer and be connected to the FCC Network before you start the FCC Remote Access System. Disable any screen saver software before using the FCC Remote Access System. For technical assistance in installing or using this software, contact the FCC Technical Support Hotline at (202) 414-1250. The FCC Technical Support Hotline will be generally available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. 6. Configure PPP --------------------- After installing the FCC Remote Access System, check your Windows directory to ensure that a winsock.dll file is not there. If a winsock.dll file is there, we recommend that you rename it to winsock.oem. If you need to use a previously installed PPP connection application, simply rename the winsock.oem back to winsock.dll. Make sure that no other PPP package is in your Path. To check this, you can go to the DOS prompt and enter path. If any directory containing a PPP package appears in the path, edit your autoexec.bat file to remove references to that directory, then save and reboot. ------------------------------------------- The PPP Dialer software cannot be used without first running the Configure PPP program. To change the configuration of your PPP dialer, double-click on the icon labeled "Configure PPP." The communications setup screen will appear. Under the box labeled "Modem," select the com port to which your modem is connected. Under the box labeled "Speed," select 38400, or the maximum DTE rate that your modem can support. In most cases, carrier detect should not be checked and flow control should be checked. The remainder of the screen has default values which should provide you with the optimal performance available. The DNS should be set to 165.135.22.249. Click on the "Script" button to bring up the Script Setup window. This window provides you with the ability to give specific commands to the modem. Click on the box labeled "Selected Modem" and choose the entry from the list which most closely matches the modem installed on your PC. If you experience difficulty connecting to the FCC Network, try entering one of the following generic, Hayes-compatible modem strings in the 'Reset Modem String' box: atz at&f It may be necessary to change the command in the box labeled "Modem Dial Prefix" to accommodate how you make calls. For example: long distance or 900 service, no dialing prefix used: ATDT1 long distance or 900 service, dialing prefix of 9 used: ATDT91 turn off call waiting, long distance or 900 service, no dialing prefix used: ATDT*70,1 The default configuration provided should be compatible with most systems. If you have problems connecting, refer to the Troubleshooting section for possible solutions. 7. PPP Dialer ---------------- Double-click on the icon labeled "PPP Dialer" to connect to the FCC Network. The status of your connection attempt will be displayed. If your telephone system blocks access to 900 numbers, you may be unable to properly connect to the FCC Network. Please see your telephone administrator for assistance. Once you have established a PPP connection, you can switch to the FCC Remote Access System v4.0 program group and double-click on the FCC Remote Access System icon to start the software. To terminate the PPP connection, select the File | Exit menu option. When you are finished using the FCC Remote Access System, you MUST exit the PPP Dialer system to avoid additional telephone charges. 8. Ping --------- If you would like to test the status of the PPP connection, double-click on the "Ping" icon. The Ping system will tell you if your computer is able to communicate with (ping) the FCC Network. If the ping returns, then you have established a good connection. Under the Number menu option, choose the number of pings you wish to send (one, continuous, or a user-specified number). Under the Specifications menu option, you can customize the type of request (e.g., icmp timestamp request), the interval between pings and the timeout setting; the default settings should suffice. In the host name box, enter 165.135.22.249. Press the start button. The status and packets boxes will display information concerning whether the ping was returned. 9. Troubleshooting ----------------------- Below are problems you may encounter and possible solutions for resolving/isolating these problems. *Modem does not respond Check COM port setting Check that you have selected the appropriate modem in the 'Selected Modem' list or try entering atz or at&f in the 'Reset Modem String' box Check for IRQ conflicts with your modem Check the physical connections Change Carrier Detect Change Flow Control *Modem connects but does not return an IP address Check that you have selected the appropriate modem in the 'Selected Modem' list or try entering atz or at&f in the 'Reset Modem String' box Verify the DNS is set to 165.135.22.249 Verify the MRU and MTU are set to 1500 Turn off VJ Compression Change timeout to 15 (this is found on the Script Setup screen in Configure PPP) Check for IRQ conflicts with your modem Unload network drivers *SQLSERVER errors Turn off VJ Compression Check for the existence of multiple winsock.dll files on your PC Test the PPP connection with the Ping program Unload network drivers 10. Uninstalling the FCC Remote Access System ------------------------------------------------------------- To uninstall the FCC Remote Access System, double-click on the Uninstall icon in the FCC Remote Access System v4.0 program group. Press Start to uninstall the software. Please note that the Uninstall program will remove ALL versions of the software located in that installation directory. Alternatively, you may uninstall the FCC Remote Access System by deleting the directory to which you installed the software, then switching to Program Manager and deleting the FCC Remote Access System v4.0 icons and group. For technical assistance with the FCC Remote Access System, contact the FCC Technical Support Hotline at (202) 414-1250. The FCC Technical Support Hotline will be generally available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. 11. Changes from Previous Software Version ------------------------------------------------------  A new, redesigned FCC Remote Access System  A software requirement has been added for an Internet browser capable of supporting frames and tables. The products used during testing were Netscape Navigator 2.0 and Microsoft Explorer 3.0.  The modem selection list has been updated to include more 28.8kbps modems.  An Uninstaller feature has been added.