Accessing the #MARAC chat channel:



Step One – Download mIRC from www.mirc.com and execute it.

Step Two - Configuration: With mIRC running, now we will configure it. Be patient, this will take you about 5 minutes.

Click on "View" in the top menu bar, go down to "Options..."

Click on the "+" (plus) next to "Connect" and that will expand that menu to reveal several other options.

Click on "Connect" and fill in the info boxes there. Use your CALLSIGN and name for your "Nickname". For instance: W5UGD-John or KG4UPA-Deb, and for the alternate nickname, use a variation of it, like W5UGD_John, W5UGD-John2.

Click on "Servers" and then click "ADD" and enter this information: For description, enter "MARAC Chat" for IRC Server enter "irc.superhosts.net" and click "ADD"

Click on "Options" and put check marks next to the top two options (connect on startup and reconnect on disconnect).

Still on the "OPTIONS" menu, select "PERFORM", select "Enable Perform on Connect"

Then in the big "perform commands" input window below where it says "all networks" and enter the following line:
/join #marac

Click on "Identd" and put a check mark next to "enable identd" for "User ID" use your callsign.

Step Three - Connect: Go back under "Connect" and then "Servers" and select "Connect to server". At this point, you should be connected to IRC (it may take up to 20 seconds to initialize everything). And you should find yourself in the #MARAC chat channel!

Step Four - Adding a Highlight option: If you wish to be alerted to certain words that are said, such as your callsign or name, so you don't miss anything, you need to do this.

Get back to the Options area (View/Options...) and expand the "IRC" options by clicking on the "+" (plus) to show "highlight"

Put a check next to "Enable Highlighting".

Click on "ADD" and enter your callsign as the word to highlight.

Select COLOR and change it to something bright.

Click on "OKAY" and have someone type your nick, it should change the color of that line on IRC.

NOTE: The line will only be highlighted if someone else types your highlight word/phrase.

Repeat this process and add a highlight phrase of "spot:" so you will be alerted when someone posts a county run.
That’s pretty much it!


Once all this is done, you will want to visit www.superhosts.net/cht.html and learn how to install the County Hunter Tools, which offers you some nice tools like a SPOTS window.

Once online, you should type !marachelp in the #MARAC chat channel to get a list of commands too!

73,

John / W5UGD / WarNPeace