Downloading and Installing tk500
on Windows-Based Systems

This is experimental software and probably contains defects. It remains under development. When available, newer versions of tk500 will be made available for download at this web site.

Downloading and Installing tk500 for Windows

1. Download and run the free tcl/tk software from: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/tcl/tcl832.exe .

   It will ask you to choose a directory in which to install the tcl/tk software. You must intall it in a new folder named C:\tcl on the C partition.
   

2. Create another installation folder, named C:\tk500. It will be used for the tk500 program and data files.
   
3. Download the zipped version of tk500, tk500-15.zip into the C:\tk500 folder you created.
   
4. Unzip the file into the C:\tk500 folder after downloading it. (Note to Windows XP users: Be careful to extract the zip file into the correct folder. Windows XP defaults to the wrong folder and you must explicitly choose the correct folder.)
   
5. Remove the tk500.ini configuration file if you have one left over from a previous installation.
   
6. You must reboot Windows before using tk500 for the first time.
   
7. To start tk500, run the C:\tk500\tk500.bat batch file.

Notes

1. This installation procedure changed and is now the same for Windows XP, Windows 98, and Windows ME. The older instructions required editing the autoexec.bat file, a file not used in Windows XP.
2. If you create a shortcut to C:\tk500\tk500.bat, the shortcut works best if it is set up to run minimized and close on exit.
3. Be sure to read a memory image from your radio and save it in a template (.tk5) file as a backup before making any changes.
4. Some Windows XP users and users with insufficient RAM report problems with the tabbed notebook-style representation of memory channels. If you experience a problem using the tabbed notebook, you can view the memory channels in a simple, scrolled window instead by checking the Memory channels appear in scrolled window option under the View menu.

   The scrolled window option lets you view, but not change, the memory channel settings with tk500. You will have to export channels to a CSV file, use a separate text editor or spreadsheet program to change the channel settings, then import them back into tk500.