User Manual |

6. Options |

Contents of this page |

6.1 Introduction 6.2 Sound effects 6.3 Realistic movements 6.4 Lamp filter 6.5 Lamp box 6.6 Textured case & Lighter 6.7 Serial input & Serial output

6.1 Introduction |

|  | The Options-menu, as shown on the left, gives access to a number of options that can be set by the user. The default settings and some other configurable parameters can be set via Choices... as described in chapter 7. Please note that some option may be greyed out, if that option is not available in the currently selected simulation or if the option has been disabled from Choices....

6.2 Sound effects |

The first option controls the sound which is on by default. Whenever a key is pressed, a realistic sound sample is played. The sound was recorded from a real Enigma M4 by Jim Oram in the USA. Whenever the sound is considered to be disturbing, e.g. in a class room, it may be turned off by deselecting this option. You may disable sound permanently, by deselecting it in Choices....

6.3 Realistic movements |

The Enigma Simulator tries to mimic the behaviour of the real Enigma as accurately as possible. Whenever a key is pressed it takes a little while before the encoding is worked out. This is exactly how a real Enigma behaves. Pressing a key involves activating the rotating stepping mechanism of the wheels and occasionally a turnover on the next wheel. First the mechanism is moved into the new position and then the ciphering takes place. A sound is used to illustrate the mechanical process. Moving the wheels manually with the mouse in the Enigma-window has the same behaviour as on a real Enigma. Here too a sound is used to illustrate the movement. If you don't want this realistic behaviour, you may turn it off by deselecting the option Realistic movements in the Options-menu. If you do so, the encoding process is much faster and the wheels can be moved in place more quickly. If you want to study the behaviour of the Enigma, you may want to leave this option on however.

6.4 Lamp filter |

Some Enigma models were equipped with an optional lamp filter. This is a transparent green filter that can be placed over the lamps on the lamp panel. Locks on the Enigma case were used to keep the filter in place. If available, the option Lamp filter can be used to turn the filter on or off. Alternatively, you may click on the locks in the Enigma-window to do the same. The filter was used to make the encoded letters better readable in bright sunlight. |  |
Without filter
With filter

6.5 Lamp box |

The Swiss K Enigma was equipped with an external lamp box to allow an extra operator to read and write down the ciphered message. Use this option to open/close the extra lamp box. The option is greyed out on models without an external lamp box. Additionally, you may click on one of the 'locks' on the panel to add or remove a green lamp filter. |  |
Without filter
With filter

6.6 Textured case & Lighter |

The are two menu options to control the appearance of the Enigma's metal case in the Enigma-window. By default a rather dark metal texture will be used that closely resembles the actual texture of the Enigma. If Textured case is deselected, a dark grey colour will be used instead. Additionally, you may want to tick the option Lighter to make both texture and background colour a little bit lighter. This can be useful if your monitor has a low contrast. |  |
Standard texture
Lighter texture

6.7 Serial input & Serial output |

These two options are only available if the serial port is enabled for use by Enigma. The serial port can be enabled via Choices.... Once the serial port is enabled, you may turn it off temporarily by deselecting these options. More information about the use of the serial port is available in chapter 8.

© Copyright Paul Reuvers. Last changed: Mon,18 Aug 2003.08:27:54