Formatted: Footer distance from

edge: 1,78 cm

Installation
Guidelines
Ver 3.1
Introduction
AmosConnect Crew is a cost-effective and convenient way for crewmembers to send and
receive an SMS (GSM Short Message Service) to GSM phones or a short text email using
a prepaid card. The system works seamlessly with the ship’s own AmosConnect system,
but there is no need for involvement by ships’ officers for setup or for tracking of use.

There are two versions of the AmosConnect Crew software on the installation CD:

1. Full pre-paid version – in which all messages sent from the ship to shore are
charged using the crewmember’s ChatCard.

2. Free email version – in which all email sent and received is free of charge and
the company pays a monthly fee for the provision of the service. SMS messages
sent are charged using the crewmember’s ChatCard. Installation of this version
requires a license key which will be included in the package supplied if the
company has signed up for the free email service.

This guide describes how to install and configure the AmosConnect Crew software.

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Software components and system requirements

Software components and system requirements

The AmosConnect Crew system is composed of the following components:

1. The AmosConnect Crew Ship Server – this must be installed only on the pc
where the AmosConnect Post office dedicated for AmosConnect Crew is
installed. It is preferred that the PC should be “always-ON” so that the whole
system works properly.

2. The AmosConnect Crew Client application– this is the PC program that users
must use to access the AmosConnect Crew system. This PC application may be
installed on the same PC with the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server and/or on
any other PC in the vessel’s network.

The AmosConnect Crew software is compatible with AmosConnect Basic and

licensed version 5.2.1 and higher. It is also compatible with the Windows operating
systems ME, 2000 Pro SP5, XP Home SP2 and XP Pro SP2.

The AmosConnect Crew software will make use of an AmosConnect mailbox to send
and receive the Crew email and SMS messages. The installation program will suggest the
name “ADMIN” as the default name as this mailbox will always be present in both the
Basic and licensed versions of AmosConnect.

See below for instructions for setting up AmosConnect Crew to work via a separate
mailbox

The software for both the server and the client can be found in the “AmosConnect Crew”
folder on the AmosConnect CD Rom.

The server software is called: Setupserver.exe

For the full prepaid version the client Software is called: Setup_xanticclient .exe

For the free email version the client software is called: Setup_xanticclientFE.exe.
For this version an activation key is required. If your company has applied for this
version you will find the key in the package provided to you.

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Configuring your AmosConnect Post Office Mailbox
dedicated for AmosConnect Crew

For installations on AmosConnect licensed version a separate mailbox may be created

onboard solely for the crew email and SMS. In this case it must be ensured that the
mailbox name and password settings are identical in the AmosConnect Crew software
and AmosConnect installation and that this mailbox is also created on the AmosConnect
hub. Otherwise messages coming from the shore will be rejected by the hub as
undeliverable.

To setup such a mailbox please contact your system administrator to configure the extra
mailbox via the AmosConnect Online web application or consult the installation guide for
AmosConnect Post Office in the Help Menu of the AmosConnect application.

You are now ready to install AmosConnect Crew.

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Installing the AmosConnect Crew System

The AmosConnect Crew system is composed of the following components:

1. The AmosConnect Crew Ship Server – this must be installed ONLY ON THE
PC WHERE THE AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE is running on.. It is preferred
that the PC should be “always-ON” so that the whole system functions properly.

2. The AmosConnect Crew Client GUI – this is the interface with which users may
access the AmosConnect Crew system. This Client GUI may be installed on the
same PC with the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server and/or on any other PC in
the vessel’s network.

Please strictly follow the installation instructions for the two components to ensure that
the system will work properly.

Installing the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INSTALL THE AmosConnect Crew

Ship Server ONLY ON THE SAME PC ON WHICH YOUR AMOSCONNECT POST
OFFICE is running.

1. Insert your AmosConnect Crew Installer CD on your PC’s CD Drive and select the
appropriate program from the menu.

2. The installation process will run automatically. All you need to do is to follow the
instructions on the screen (screen prompts). The following screen will be displayed:

Click on the tab “Next” if you want to proceed with the installation.

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3. The following screen will be displayed:

This prompts you for the location in your PC where you want to put AmosConnect
Crew program files. It is highly recommended that you do not change the default
setting of the installation process to make sure that the program will work properly.
Click on the tab “Next”

4. The following screen will be displayed:

This prompts you for the location of the AmosConnect Crew program shortcut in
your Start Menu. Again, it is highly recommended that you do not change the
default settings of the installation process to make sure that the program will work
properly. Click on the tab “Next”.

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5. The following screen will be displayed:

This prompts you for additional options or tasks to be performed while installing
AmosConnect Crew . Again, it is highly recommended that you do not change the
default settings of the installation process to make sure that the program will work
properly. Click on the tab “Next”.

6. The following screen will be displayed:

This is a summary of the installation process. Click on the tab “Install” to proceed
with the installation.

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7. The following screen will be displayed:

This shows the progress of the installation process. Please make sure that you do
not abort the process so that the installation would be successful and the program
will work properly.

8. The following screen will be displayed:

This step starts the configuration of the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INPUT THE CORRECT SETTINGS SO THAT THE
SYSTEM WILL WORK PROPERLY. Click on the tab “Next”.
After clicking on the “Next” button, the wizard will check to see if the AmosConnect
application is configured as the default mail client. You will see the following prompt
if this is not the case

Click Yes to continue with the configuration.

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The following screen will be displayed:

9. In this step you have to indicate the Mailbox on the AmosConnect Post Office that
will be used by the AmosConnect Crew server to send and receive all the Crew Deleted: AmosConnct
messages. This Mailbox must be configured on the AmosConnect Post Office and
the name and password must match the ones you fill in this screen. The default
setup is “ADMIN” as the name and “admin” as the password. If you normally do not
use a password when entering the ADMIN Mailbox in the AmosConnect application
then these are the right settings. Otherwise you need to change the password in
this dialog box to match the password set in your AmosConnect installation.

If the Mailbox is not setup on your AmosConnect Post office please contact your
system administrator to configure the extra mailbox via the AmosConnect Online
web application.

10. The following screen will be displayed:

This screen describes the additional options to be used by the AmosConnect Crew
Ship Server. Again, it is highly recommended that you do not change the default
settings of the installation process to make sure that the program will work
properly. Click on the tab “Next”.

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11. The following screen will be displayed:

You have successfully configured the settings for the AmosConnect Crew Ship
Server. Click on the tab “Finish”.

12. The following screen will be displayed:

Click on the tab “Finish”

13. You have now successfully installed the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.

14. If you click on the tab “Cancel” anytime during:

a. The Setup process, the following screen will be displayed:

i. If you click on the tab “Yes”, the setup process will be aborted and
the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server will not be installed.

ii. If you click on the tab “No”, the setup process will continue. You
will be directed back to the previous screen prior to cancellation of
the process.

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b. The Configuration process, the following screen will be displayed:

i. If you click on the tab “Yes”, the configuration process will be

aborted and the previous AmosConnect Crew Ship Server
settings will be kept.

ii. If you click on the tab “No”, the configuration process will continue.
You will be directed back to the previous screen prior to
cancellation of the process.

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Installing the AmosConnect Crew Client GUI

The AmosConnect Crew Client GUI is the main interface with which users may access
their accounts. Please make sure to install the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server before
installing the AmosConnect Crew Client GUI.

The AmosConnect Crew Client GUI may be installed on any PC in the vessel’s
network.

1. Insert your AmosConnect Crew Installer CD on your PC’s CD Drive.

2. The installation process will run automatically. All you need to do is to follow the
instructions on the screen (screen prompts). The following screen will be displayed:

3. The following screen will be displayed:

This prompts you for the location in your PC where you want to put the
AmosConnect Crew Client GUI program files. It is highly recommended that you
do not change the default setting of the installation process to make sure that the
program will work properly. Click on the tab “Next”

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4. The following screen will be displayed:

This prompts you for the location of the AmosConnect Crew program shortcut in
your Start Menu. Again, it is highly recommended that you do not change the
default settings of the installation process to make sure that the program will work
properly. Click on the tab “Next”.

5. The following screen will be displayed:

This prompts you for additional options or tasks to be performed while installing
AmosConnect Crew . Again, it is highly recommended that you do not change the
default settings of the installation process to make sure that the program will work
properly. Click on the tab “Next”.

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6. The following screen will be displayed:

This is a summary of the installation process. Click on the tab “Install” to proceed
with the installation.

7. The following screen will be displayed:

This shows the progress of the installation process. Please make sure that you do
not abort the process so that the installation will be successful and the program will
work properly.

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8. The following screen will be displayed:

Click on the tab “Finish”.

9. The AmosConnect Crew Client GUI will automatically search for the
AmosConnect Crew Ship Server before opening.

a. If the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server cannot be found, the following

screen will appear:

Please input the IP address of the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server then
click on the tab “OK”. This is the IP address of the PC which also contains
the AMOSCONNECT Mailbox dedicated for AmosConnect Crew . Please
refer to section below “Checking the PC with AMOSCONNECT POST
OFFICE”.

b. If the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server is not running, the following

screen will appear:

THE AmosConnect Crew Client CANNOT BE RUN OR OPENED.

PLEASE RUN THE AmosConnect Crew Ship Server THEN RUN THE
AmosConnect Crew Client AGAIN.

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 c. If the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server was found or the manual input of
the IP address was accepted, the following screen will appear:

10. You may now log into the system using the AmosConnect Crew Registration
Card.

11. If you click on the tab “Cancel” anytime during the Setup process, the following
screen will be displayed:

a. If you click on the tab “Yes”, the setup process will be aborted and the
AmosConnect Crew Client GUI will not be installed.

b. If you click on the tab “No”, the setup process will continue. You will be
directed back to the previous screen prior to cancellation of the process.

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Troubleshooting Tips:
To make sure that the AmosConnect Crew system is working properly, you can run
some tests to check that settings are properly configured.

1. Make sure that the vessel’s email system (AmosMail or AmosConnect) is open,
with the AmosConnect Crew email account properly configured and running.

2. Run the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.

3. Run the AmosConnect Crew Client. Using the AmosConnect Crew

Registration Card provided, input the login ID under the field “username” and
the password under the field “password”. Click “login”.

4. Send a test email or SMS message.

5. Go to the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server and run the “Send and Check Email
Client” or “Make Call” option.

6. Click on “Send/Receive” in your email client. The email coming from the
AmosConnect Crew Ship Server should be sent together with all the other
emails of the vessel.

7. After a while, you should be able to receive the test message you sent.

8. Try to send back a reply to the test message.

9. Wait for about 15 minutes then try to again click on “Send/Receive” in your email
client. There should be an email intended for the AmosConnect Crew Ship
Server.

10. Go to the PC with the AmosConnect Crew Client GUI. Try to login again using
the previous username (login ID) and password that you used in Step 3. You
should be able to login to the system.

11. Check your “Inbox”. You should have received the reply test message you sent.

If on the server system a message pops up saying “MAPI failed to Logon”

If this happens then the AmosConnect Crew Server is unable to communicate with the
AmosConnect Post office. This can be caused by:

1. The wrong mail box name and/or mailbox password is set in the AmosConnect
Crew server
Right click on the AmosConnect server icon in the windows system tray (bottom
right hand corner)
Select ship server configuration to start the configuration wizard
In the second screen of the wizard make sure that the mailbox name and the
password are the same as configured in the AmosConnect Post Office.

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 2. The default mail client for the PC is not set to AmosConnect or Amos Mail
To check this setting please start the Internet Explorer
Select “Tools
Internet Options”
Select “Programs” tab
Select AmosConnect or Amos Mail in the “E-mail” list box and click OK.
Deleted: ¶
¶
Checking the settings of AmosConnect Crew PC: ¶
¶
1. Check the IP address of the AmosConnect Crew PC: ¶
a. On the AmosConnect Crew PC, click “Start – Run”. Type “command”. A ¶
¶
DOS Window would pop up. Type “ipconfig”.
¶
b. Several values will be displayed. ¶
i. Please take note of the IP Address. This is your AmosConnect
Crew Ship Server IP address.
ii. Please take note of the Subnet Mask. This should have the same
first 3 octets as the Subnet Mask of the PC/Server where the
vessel’s email system is located
2. Open the Ship Server program. Click the AmosConnect Crew logo/icon on lower
right corner of your screen then select Mail Server Configuration. The settings
should be the same as those setup in the PC/Server where the vessel’s email
system is located:
a. E-Mail Address – this should be the same email address setup in the
vessel’s email system; standard or default email address is
txt2mail.vesselname@companydomain.com;
b. Incoming mail (POP3) server – this should be the IP address of the
PC/Server where the vessel’s email system is located
c. Outgoing mail (SMTP) server – same as incoming mail server.
d. Account Name – txt2mail
e. Password – txt2mail
f. Incoming mail (POP3) – 110 (time to check = 1 minute)
g. Outgoing mail (SMTP) – 25 (time to check = 1 minute)
3. Click Finish. Click the AmosConnect Crew logo again then select Options. The
settings should be:
a. Country Server
i. Name – Country Server
ii. E-mail Address – cserver@txt2mail.net
b. Ship Server
i. IP – this should be the IP address of the AmosConnect Crew PC
ii. Port – 10999
4. Click OK. Click the AmosConnect Crew logo again then select Server. The
following IP’s should be displayed and the boxes across checked:
a. 127.0.0.1
b. The IP address of the AmosConnect Crew PC
5. Click Start Server then close it.
6. Open the AmosConnect Crew Client GUI (where you login). If the screen asks
for the IP address of the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server, please do so. Deleted: ¶

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Checking the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server:
1. To check the settings of the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server, you can run the
Configuration Wizard at anytime.

a. Run the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server program.

b. Click on the icon that appears at the lower right corner of the taskbar.
Select “Ship Server Configuration”.

c. You may then follow the instructions as described above under “Installing
the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server” Steps 8 to 11.

2. You may also check the other settings of the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server
to make sure the system is running properly.

a. Click on the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server icon at the lower right
corner of the taskbar. Select “Server”

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 The following screen will appear:

(This is just a sample screen shot so please disregard the values)

Please make sure that the IP address of the AmosConnect Crew Ship
Server is in the list and the boxes across are ticked. Click on the tab
“Start Server”.

b. Click on the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server icon at the lower right
corner of the taskbar. Select “Options”

This procedure shows the additional settings of the AmosConnect Crew

Ship Server (IP Address). It is highly recommended that you do not
change the default settings to make sure that the program will work
properly. The following screens will appear:

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 Please make sure that the values for the fields correspond to the proper
settings.

c. Click on the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server icon at the lower right
corner of the taskbar. Select “Event Log Viewer”

This procedure shows AmosConnect Crew Ship Server system

information which is very useful in troubleshooting. Among the available
information is:

i. Server Log – this section includes system information like OS

version, CPU info and activities of the AmosConnect Crew Ship
Server internal file system.

To view details, click on any item under “Server Log”. Sample

screen follows:

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ii. Sending Log – this section includes all activities of the
AmosConnect Crew Ship Server internal file system when
sending messages (connecting to AmosConnect).

To view details, click on any item under “Sending Log”. Sample

screen follows:

iii. Receiving Log – this section includes all activities of the

AmosConnect Crew Ship Server internal file system when
retrieving messages (connecting to AmosConnect).

To view details, click on any item under “Receiving Log”. Sample

screen follows:

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 iv. SMSUser – this section includes details about users (User Data)
registered in the system like Login ID, Username, Available
Credits, Unread Messages and Last Login Date. Sample screen
follows:

v. View Error – this section includes details about errors that may
occur within the system. Sample screen follows:

d. Click on the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server icon at the lower right
corner of the taskbar. Select “Clean Log Files”

This procedure erases the system log files in order to prevent

accumulation into large file sizes.

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 e. Click on the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server icon at the lower right
corner of the taskbar. Select “Send and Check Email Client”

This procedure overrides the default timing with which the AmosConnect
Crew Ship Server sends messages to AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE. This
is a useful procedure especially when testing.

3. Check the IP settings of the PC. To do this, please just follow the instructions
described under “Checking the PC with AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE”
Section 2.

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Initial Testing of the Whole System
1. Make sure that your AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE is open, properly configured
and running. The AmosConnect Crew Ship Server will not be able to process
messages if this is not done.

2. Run the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.

3. Run the AmosConnect Crew Client. Using the AmosConnect Crew

Registration Card provided, input the login ID under the field “username” and
the password under the field “password”. Click “login”.

4. Go to the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server and run the “Send and Check Email
Client” option. Please refer to Section 2.f under “Checking the AmosConnect
Crew Ship Server”.

5. Click on the button “Dial” in your AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE. The email
coming from the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server should be sent together with
all the other emails of the vessel.

6. Wait for about 15 minutes then try to again click on the button “Dial” in your
AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE in order to retrieve incoming emails. There should
be an email intended for the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.

7. Go to the PC with the AmosConnect Crew Client GUI. Try to login again using
the previous username (login ID) and password that you used in Section 3. You
should be able to login to the system.

8. Check your “Inbox”. You should have received a welcome/registration email from
AmosConnect Crew .

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System Check Testing of the Whole System
1. Make sure that your AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE is open, properly configured and
running. The AmosConnect Crew Ship Server will not be able to process messages
if this is not done.

2. Run the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.

3. Run the AmosConnect Crew Client. Using the AmosConnect Crew Registration
Card provided, input the login ID under the field “username” and the password
under the field “password”. Click “login”.

4. Send a test email or SMS message.

5. Go to the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server and run the “Send and Check Email
Client” option. Please refer to Section 2.f under “Checking the AmosConnect Crew
Ship Server”.

6. Click on the button “Dial” in your AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE. The email coming
from the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server should be sent together with all the
other emails of the vessel.

7. After a while, you should be able to receive the test message you sent.

8. Try to send back a reply to the test message.

9. Wait for about 15 minutes then try to again click on the button “Dial” in your
AMOSCONNECT POST OFFICE in order to retrieve incoming emails. There should be
an email intended for the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server.

10. Go to the PC with the AmosConnect Crew Client GUI. Try to login again using the
previous username (login ID) and password that you used in Section 3. You should
be able to login to the system.

11. Check your “Inbox”. You should have received the reply test message you sent.

Please refer to the AmosConnect Crew Users’ Manual for more info on how to use the
AmosConnect Crew Client GUI.

Should you encounter any problems at any step of the testing, please refer to the
troubleshooting tips to check the settings. If the test is still unsuccessful, please send an
email to SMS Global thru support@smsglobal.net or call +63 2 757 4844.

For better operations and maintenance of the system, PLEASE REBOOT THE PC with
the AmosConnect Crew Ship Server ONCE A WEEK.

YOU ARE NOW READY TO USE THE AmosConnect Crew System

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 AmosConnect Crew SYSTEM TECHNICAL FAQs
The following white paper should assist any technical staff to learn the overall
AmosConnect Crew process flow in order to understand the system better. This would
enable any technical staff to provide adequate technical support to any client.

PROCESS FLOW
Using the User Interface, each seafarer needs to open an AmosConnect Crew account
through the AmosConnect Crew Prepaid Registration Card. The Registration Card
contains a Login number and a unique password which the seafarer shall use to access
the system. The Registration Card is pre-loaded with a designated number of credit
units with which the seafarer can use to send messages. When the initial credits are
used up, the seafarer may reload through the AmosConnect Crew Prepaid Reload
Card. These cards shall be made available to the seafarer onboard the vessel, through
the crewing agents, or through the vessel’s communications service provider, among
others. An SMS message of 160 characters and email message of 460 characters is
counted as one message. Only sending is charged with one credit unit. Receiving
messages is free. System administration messages such as reload and log out are not
charged

As soon as the seafarer finishes composing his message on the User Interface, the
AmosConnect Crew Ship Server immediately receives the messages. These messages
are then packed or encapsulated by batch into an email. Depending on the vessel’s
default email client or POP3/SMTP server configurations for receiving messages, the
Ship Server then sends this email to the vessel’s default email client or to the
POP3/SMTP server. The Ship Server may be configured to send this packed email on a
scheduled basis.

When the Master or Officer connects to the AmosConnect hub to transfer the vessel’s
business traffic (from their default email client or POP3/SMTP server) using the vessel’s
satellite communications system, the packed email from the Ship Server is also sent as
a standard email.

The AmosConnect Crew Country Server located in the Technical Office of SMS Global
will then receives this email. The Country Server then “parses” or “bursts” the email
into messages intended for the individual recipients. These messages are stored in a
database server which interfaces with the accounting system to enforce prepaid billing or
credit system.

Once credit for the individual seafarer is validly established, the Country Server then
sends the individual messages to the intended recipients, either as emails or SMS.

The SMS messages are sent to SMS Global’s SMS gateways which then send them to the
respective country destinations (local mobile phone providers).

The Sender’s number reflected on the messages received by the mobile phone
subscriber is a unique number corresponding to the seafarer AmosConnect Crew
subscriber. This unique number is where the mobile phone subscriber sends or replies to

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the messages of the seafarer AmosConnect Crew subscriber. The current standard
numbering convention is:

For all countries except the Philippines: +278388940XXXXXX

For the Philippines:

Smart – 2770370YYYYYYY

Globe – 23710370YYYYYYY

Where:

XXXXXX is the 6-digit AmosConnect Crew Login ID of the sender; and

YYYYYYY is the 7-digit internal ID from our Philippine gateway

NOTE: No “+” sign in front of the Philippine SMS numbers

On the other hand, the email address convention is XXXXXX@txt2mail.net where

XXXXXX is the 6-digit Login ID of the sender. The outgoing emails are directly sent out
to the intended recipients using the Country Server’s own SMTP servers.

The Country Server receives all the SMS messages from land-based mobile phone
subscribers plus the email messages intended for the seafarer AmosConnect Crew
subscriber. These messages are then packed into an email which is then sent to the
inbox of the respective vessels on the AmosConnect hub.

When the Master or Officer receives their emails (thru their default email client or
POP3/SMTP server) using the vessel’s satellite communications system, the packed email
from the Country Server is also received as a standard email.

The Ship Server then retrieves this packed email from the vessel’s default email client
or POP3/SMTP server. It then “parses” or “bursts” this packed email into individual
messages intended for the individual seafarer and sends these to the User Interface.

The User Interface then displays, in ticker tape fashion, the list of the seafarers and
the number of new messages. The seafarer does not have to login to the system to know
if he has received any new messages. Once he sees his name on the ticker tape, he can
then login to the system.

The messages are now ready to be read.

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AmosConnect Crew COUNTRY SERVER
The Country Server is located at the data center of SMS Global. The Country Server is
the heart of the AmosConnect Crew system since it is the engine which processes all
the messages, sends them accordingly to our SMS or email gateways and keeps track of
the each account’s credit status. At the same time, the Country Server keeps track of
all the vessels registered and installed with the system.

Upon installation of the Ship Server on a vessel, the Country Server receives a system
registration email from the email address associated/configured for use by the Ship
Server to send and receive. The Country Server then creates a vessel account for the
particular Ship Server Email Address (this Ship Server Email Address is unknown to
and hidden from the users and their friends or relatives). It is for this reason then that
when the Ship Server configuration is changed, particularly the email address
associated with it, the Country Server treats the new email address as a new Ship
Server installation. Thus, all users associated with the original Ship Server Email
Address are deemed as deactivated.

Upon registration of a user into the system, the user’s account is created in the Country
Server. The Login ID and password are validated and approved then associated with
the Ship Server Email Address. The Country Server then registers the user with the
international and Philippine SMS gateways so that the user may be assigned his GSM
numbers. Upon confirmation of registration with the SMS gateways, the Country Server
then sends a confirmation email back to the user (via the Ship Server and User
Interface). The user may then use the system. Should the Country Server not receive
any confirmation from the SMS gateways (for various reasons), all these registration
requests are repeated, queued and re-sent to the SMS gateways until such time that the
registration is confirmed by the SMS gateways.

Upon receipt of a deactivation/sign off request from a user (either manually- or system-
initiated), the Country Server sends a deactivation/sign off confirmation to the Ship
Server. The Country Server then tags the user’s account so that all message traffic is
managed according to instructions received (from the user or the Ship Server itself)
upon signing off. When the user reactivates his account, the Country Server shall
associate the user with the new Ship Server Email Address then send his existing
records (credits and address book) accordingly.

The Country Server currently uses SMPP 3.4 to interface with our international SMS
gateway and HTTP GET to interface with our Philippine SMS gateway.

For both gateways, the Country Server queues all messages until we get confirmation
from the gateways that their servers received the messages. As with all mobile phone
operators’ standards, SMS message delivery is on best efforts basis, i.e., no guarantees
given that the SMS message would be actually received by the mobile phone.

On the other hand, both the international and Philippine gateways also queue all their
outgoing messages for delivery to our servers until such time that the Country Server
confirms receipt of the messages.

The Country Server uses the international standard SMTP 2.0 to process all outgoing
emails. Mail encoding used for sending is the international standard 7-bit encoding with
default character set “US-ASCII”.

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The Country Server can process all incoming emails formatted as “Plain Text” or
“Multipart/Alternative” and encoded as either 7-bit or 8-bit. It currently does not
support “HTML” or “Multipart/Mixed”. Upon receipt of an “HTML” or
“Multipart/Mixed” email, the Country Server bounces the message back to the
sender together with a system message informing the sender of the rejection of the
message.

The Country Server also only accepts incoming emails of up to 1,380 characters. This is
the limit that can be displayed on the User Interface. Upon receipt of an email with
more than 1,380 characters, the Country Server bounces the message back to the
sender together with a system message informing the sender of the rejection of the
message.

At the same time, the Country Server does not accept incoming emails with
attachments. Upon receipt of an email with attachment, the Country Server bounces
the message back to the sender together with a system message informing the sender of
the rejection of the message.

Additionally, the Country Server now accepts incoming emails with multiple
AmosConnect Crew subscribers as recipients.

The Country Server serves as the audit/clearinghouse for credits of all users’ accounts.
The Country Server always counterchecks and validates the credit usage per user per
message based on information received from the Ship Server. Should there be any
discrepancies beyond the regular and normal credit usage pattern, the Country Server
sends an automated system message to the user advising him to unregister or sign off
from the system so as to reset or refresh his account’s credit records, i.e., reconcile and
synchronize the account’s credit records on the Ship Server with the Country Server.
Should the user refuse or does not unregister, a manual unregister of his account may
be forced.

During a user’s credit top-up or reload process, the Country Server only needs to
receive the first reload attempt email. Once the Reload String is validated, the
Country Server sends a system message confirming the successful reload attempt.
However, if the user attempts to replay the same reload string (thinking that the first
reload attempt was not successful) while the Ship Server still has not received the
Country Server’s successful reload attempt confirmation email, the Country Server
(having already validated the first reload attempt) shall automatically send a “used card”
notification message to the user. The user need not be confused especially since the
reload string is specified and identified in both the Country Server’s “successful reload”
and “used card” notification.

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AmosConnect Crew SHIP SERVER
The Ship Server processes all messages for each seafarer. It serves as the main
connection between the vessel’s default email client or POP3/SMTP server and the User
Interface. It thus handles incoming (from the default email client) and outgoing (from
the User Interface) messages.

For additional security, SMS Global highly recommends that the Ship Server be installed
separately from the User Interface. Further, SMS Global highly recommends that the
Ship Server be installed on the same PC where the email client or POP3/SMTP Server or
dialer is installed.

The Ship Server communicates with the vessel’s default email client thru standard
email protocols. MAPI 2.0 is used to communicate with Outlook Express while Direct
Access and/or Extended MAPI are used for Outlook. Standard networking protocol TCP/IP
and email protocol POP3/SMTP are used to communicate with standard POP3/SMTP
servers. Thus, just like standard email clients, the system can be configured to send and
receive messages on a scheduled basis.

For both the email client and POP3/SMTP server interface versions of the AmosConnect
Crew, profiles, accounts (for the Ship Server Email Address) and/or message rules
(like for Outlook and Outlook Express) need to be setup properly (please refer to the
corresponding service provider for more information on how to do this). When the
settings or configurations are not properly setup or synchronized with the settings or
configurations on the Ship Server, the Ship Server will not is able to send or receive
emails properly.

The Ship Server sends or receives emails using one particular (usually dedicated) email
account (interfacing either with the vessel’s default email client or POP3/SMTP server).
The Ship Server is configured to be associated and used only with the Ship Server
Email Address. Thus, the Ship Server queues all outgoing emails and does not
retrieve incoming emails when the particular Ship Server Email Address, account or
profile is not in use. If this particular Ship Server Email Address association is
changed in the configuration settings of the Ship Server, all existing active users
accounts shall then be automatically deactivated.

The Country Server always sends “7-bit” encoded emails to the Ship Server Email
Address. However, some mail servers change the encoding into their own defaults and
thus override the Country Server’s email encoding. To get around this, the Ship
Server was programmed so that it can handle all incoming emails formatted as “7-bit”,
“8-bit” or “Quoted Printable”. Should the incoming emails be in another
format/encoding, the Ship Server does not process said emails. Meanwhile, format for
outgoing emails is dependent on the SMTP server settings of the vessel’s default email
client or POP3/SMTP server.

The Ship Server contains all the databases (users, address books, mailboxes, etc.)
being used by all users onboard the vessel. Thus, such functions as user verification can
be handled quickly and promptly.

Upon receipt of any operation (registration, address book maintenance, message

submission, credit reload or deactivation) from the User Interface, the Ship Server
converts all these operations on a per user basis, packs them into an email then sends it

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to the vessel’s default email client or POP3/SMTP server at a preset timing (which can be
overrode anytime using the manual sending and retrieval option). Conversely, the
incoming emails from the Country Server contain several operations for each user
which the Ship Server breaks down and distributes to the respective users.

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USER INTERFACE
The AmosConnect Crew Client Graphic User Interface (GUI) may be installed on
any PC onboard the vessel. It uses standard network protocol TCP/IP to connect to the
Ship Server. This ensures ease of use, installation and troubleshooting and generic
compatibility within any network.

The User Interface enables the seafarer-subscriber to execute the following functions:

1. REGISTRATION

a. Register as a new user of the system – the user has the option to
register his desired name of up to a maximum of 15 characters (preferably
without any punctuation marks). This username is used to register the
user with the SMS gateways and is thus permanent and cannot be
changed (the SMS gateways do not offer the option to change
usernames).
The period for confirmation of registration is arbitrarily set at 24 hours
from initial registration in order to give enough time for:
i. The captain/officer of the vessel to dialup to send or retrieve
emails;
ii. The SMS gateways to confirm successful registration
b. Deactivate his account from the system – when the user goes on
shore leave or has finished his tenure on the vessel, he should deactivate
his account (user-initiated deactivation). However, should he forget to
deactivate his account, the Ship Server can be set to automatically
deactivate accounts that are inactive for 2 weeks (system-initiated
deactivation).
i. User-initiated deactivation
1. With autoreply – user may choose to compose an
autoreply message which would be received by everyone
sending him a message after deactivation.
2. Autoforward – user may choose to specify an email
address to which all his messages after deactivation would
be forwarded.
ii. System-initiated deactivation – the Country Server shall send a
system message to everyone sending a user any message after
deactivation.
c. Reactivate his account – a user may reactivate his account by simply
signing into the system using his Login ID and password. He shall then get
back his remaining credits (at time of deactivation) and address book.
Upon reactivation, the user shall be asked for his username again (the
User Interface treats a reactivation as a new user registration). Even if the
user puts in a different name, the Country Server shall still use the original
username that he first registered with the system.

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 A user may login to any vessel equipped with the AmosConnect Crew
system, regardless of the service provider, system version or vessel.

2. SYSTEM ACCESS

a. Login with Password – the login ID and password are permanent pre-
loaded and system-generated strings.
b. Logoff – the ticker display notifying a user of his new messages shall be
reset only after said user logs off his session.

3. CONTACTS OR ADDRESS BOOK MANAGEMENT

a. Add – the address book has a limit of 30 contacts. When attempting to

add the 31st contact, the system will prompt the user to make room for
the additional contact by deleting some existing contacts.
b. Edit – when the revised contact name or phone number/email address
already exists, the system will not accept the changes.
c. Delete

4. MESSAGE HANDLING

a. Compose or Write – the system automatically detects if the user is

writing an SMS message or an email so that the character counter is set at
160 for SMS and 460 for email. The user may still continue typing his
message even if the allotted characters limit is exceeded. The character
counter would reset to the original limit while the message credits counter
would increase.
The system has a limit of 3 credits per message session, i.e., a user may
only send an email of maximum 1,380 characters or an SMS of maximum
480 characters. Should he decide to send more messages, the user has to
start another “Compose” or “Write” session.
The system also prompts the user when sending to an invalid phone
number/email address, blank messages or if there is insufficient credit.
b. Send – the Sent Items folder currently has a limit of 30 messages. When
sending a message while the limit has been reached, the system will
prompt the user to delete some messages in the Sent Items folder if he
wants to save his new outgoing message.
c. Receive
d. Forward
e. Print – the user may print any of his incoming or outgoing messages at
any time.

5. ACCOUNT OR CREDIT MANAGEMENT

a. Reload credits – the user may top up/add credits to his account by using
the Reload Card or Reload String.
A user may still receive incoming messages even if his credit balance is
zero.

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6. HELP

a. Users’ Guide – the complete Users’ Manual is made available for quick
and easy interactive reference thru the Help button.
b. Support Email – a user may send any comments, suggestions,
complaints, inputs or inquiries in an email to SMSCrewMail Support by
simply clicking the Support button.
The email to SMSCrewMail Support is free of charge for all users. A user
may still send an email to SMSCrewMail Support even if his credit balance
is zero.

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COMPATIBILITY
The AmosConnect Crew Ship Server is compatible with the following:

1. OPERATING SYSTEMS
a. Windows 98SE
b. Windows ME
c. Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 5
d. Windows XP Home Service Pack 1
e. Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2

2. EMAIL CLIENTS
a. Outlook 98 Service Release 1
b. Outlook 2000 Service Release 1
c. Outlook XP Service Pack 2
d. Outlook Express 6.0
e. Outlook Express 5.0
f. Any MAPI-enabled client

3. SHIP-SIDE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

a. Xantic
i. AmosMail 5.1.1 (Visma and Xantic versions)

Minimum System Requirements:

1. AmosConnect Crew Ship Server:

a. 32 MB RAM
b. 15 MB Hard Disk Space
c. Standard 10/100 network (LAN) card

2. AmosConnect Crew Client GUI:

a. 32 MB RAM
b. 15 MB Hard Disk Space
c. Standard 10/100 network (LAN) card
d. Monitor Settings
i. Recommended
1. 1024 by 768
2. 32-bit True Color
ii. Minimum
1. 800 by 600
2. 16-bit High Color

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AmosConnect Crew is regularly and constantly updated to ensure continuous upward
compatibility with the above systems.

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TECHNICAL FAQs
All user/seafarer support issues which relate to technical problems are almost always
caused by the following:

i. Wrong settings/configuration on vessel’s email system

ii. Wrong settings/configuration on vessel’s onshore email system
iii. Wrong settings/configuration on the vessel’s AmosConnect
Crew system
iv. Firewall/antivirus settings/configuration on the vessel’s email PC
or on the AmosConnect Crew PC.
v. Firewall/antivirus settings/configuration on vessels’ onshore email
system
vi. Any other onshore Internet access-related problems
• The vessel’s email system
• AmosConnect Crew email system
• Recipients’ email system

The most important thing to remember then is to make sure that the settings or
configurations are consistent throughout the whole system.

The best way to troubleshoot is to always try to pinpoint and isolate the cause of the
problem by checking each step of the process. This is why knowledge of the
AmosConnect Crew process flow is imperative and critical.

Some troubleshooting tips in order to isolate the problem

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Contact information
Should you encounter any problems at any step of the testing, please refer to the
troubleshooting tips to check the settings. If the test is still unsuccessful you can contact
Xantic or Stratos customer services (see contact details below). If you have questions
regarding delivery of AmosConnect Crew Messages please send an email message
describing the problem using the “Support” button in the address book section of
AmosConnect Crew client application.

Customer Services
Stratos
Tel: 1 888 766 1313 Toll free in N. America
Tel: +1 709 748 4233 Worldwide
Fax: 1 877 740 4300 Toll free in N. America
Fax: +1 709 748 4300 Worldwide
E-mail: info@stratosglobal.com
Online: www.stratosglobal.com

Xantic
Tel: +61 7 5498 0000
Fax: +61 7 5498 0098
E-mail: service@xantic.net
Online: www.xantic.net

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