Link Communications RLC-4, Manual, Page: 102 / 228

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RLC-4 V1.79 Copyright © 1998 Link Communications Inc. 9/18/98
repeater, it messes up the courtesy beep on the other repeater as well, since everything gets stored
in one big snapshot macro. You can't make a snapshot macro that does just what you want; it
always restores a whole configuration at once.
The solution to the dilemma illustrated above is to use multiple command macros that do exactly
what you want them to and nothing else. If you want a macro to connect you to Link A and not to
Link B, make a multiple command macro to disconnect your repeater from Link B and connect it to
Link A. Executing this macro will not interfere with anything else that is going on in the controller
like a snapshot would.
Limits on Macros:
Since one macro can call another macro, you may wonder if macro 170 could call 171, which could
call 172, which could call 173, etc. until you had called 10 macros or so. The answer is not quite.
There are two limits. One is that if the total time it takes the processor to decode and execute the
whole chained macro sequence is more than ½ second or so, the controller may reset itself. It is
unlikely that you will ever reach this limit (it would probably take more than 10 macros all hooked
together to even come close to this limit). The other limit restricts how deeply the macros can be
nested (called from another macro). This is not a limit on how many commands can be called inside
of a macro. It is not a limit on how many macros can be executed from one macro. It is a limit on
one macro calling another macro that calls another macro that calls another macro. You can think
of it as a limit on how deep an outline can go. For example, you execute macro 172. It calls
Command 038, macro 173, and Command 000. This can be shown as the level with roman
numerals:
I Call Command 038
II Call macro 173
III Call Command 000 and connect port 1 and 3
Macro 173 could contain Command 007 and call macro 174. Since macro 174 is called from macro
173, it is
nested one level deeper, to level 2. This could be shown as capital letters in the outline:
I Call Command 038
II Call macro 173
A
Call Command 007
B Call macro 174
III Call Command 000 and connect port 1 and 3
Macro 174 could call macros 175, 176 and 177. Macro 174 is nested one level deeper than 173, so
it is at level 3.
I Call Command 038
II Call macro 173
A
Call Command 007
B Call macro 174
1
Call macro 175