Abel can ring call changes, calling bells up or down or by place. It can either ring a call change composition, or you can conduct call changes yourself.

Call changes are called 'up' if the first bell mentioned has to move up one place in the change. Thus, from

123456

the call "3 to 4" (or sometimes, "3 after 4") will give:

124356

Call changes are called 'down' if the first bell mentioned has to move down one place in the change. From

123456

the call "3 to 1" will produce:

132456

Call changes are called 'by place' if the bell in the first place mentioned has to move up one place in the change. From

135246

the call "2 3" will produce:

153246

If you want to ring true "Devon-style" call-changes with closed handstroke leads ("cartwheeling"), then before you leave the Ringing Options menu, use the arrows next to the Handstroke Gap option to reduce this from 1.0 down to 0.0. If you prefer your handstrokes open, leave this set at 1.0.

If you want to ring a call change composition, you first open the file (method collection) containing the call change composition you want - for example, there’s a file called "Call Changes.mcf" that contains a selection of call change compositions. Next select the composition from the drop-down on the left of the screen. Then click the Start button, start to ring a bell yourself if you wish, and click Go. Abel rings the composition, making calls at handstroke in the normal way. The calls are spoken, and shown on screen.

The number of whole-pulls between calls is specified in the composition. If you want the next call to occur sooner than the composition specifies, click the Bob button (or press the Bob key) - a call will then occur at the next handstroke. If, on the other hand, you want to delay the next call, click the Plain button (or press the Plain key); this can be useful if you’re confused about where you are.

If you want to conduct call changes, turn on Manual Call Changes in the Ringing Options dialog, see above: click "On" in the Manual Call Changes box. Also choose whether you want call changes to be called up, down or by place; then click OK.

When you have turned on call changes, click on the Start button to set the bells ringing rounds. Now, click on a bell/place. If you are calling up or down, this is the ‘active' bell - that is, the bell that is being told to move (the first one you would mention if you were calling this in the tower). So, if the bells are ringing in queens (135246) and you click on the 3 whencalling ‘up' you will cause the 3 to ring after the 5. If you're calling down and click on the 3, it will lead. If you are calling by place, you click on a bell place, and the bell in that place moves up: so, from queens, if you click on thirds place, 5 will move up and ring after 2.

Normally Abel gives an immediate verbal prompt for a call change you called yourself; if you don't want this, you can turn off voice prompts for calls in the Sound Options dialog (or you can set Nonconducted in the Ringing Options). Just as in the tower, the change takes effect at the handstroke following the call.

You can if you like click on several bells in one change. This only makes sense if it produces a logical end result - if you're calling up and from rounds click on 3 and then click on 4, you end up back where you started from (think about it)! But if you click (quickly) on 2, 4 and 6 then you can get from

12345678

to

13254768

in one change.

You can ring a bell yourself with call changes selected. But if you want to rotate the circle so that the J key rings a bell other than the treble, or so that an external bell is mapped to a different Abel bell, you must choose your bell by clicking it BEFORE THE ROUNDS START. Once rounds have started, Abel uses mouse clicks to mean 'do a call change'.

To avoid some very strange effects, call changes are ignored if a method is ringing.

NOTE: when you've turned on manual call changes, clicking on a bell during the ringing causes a call change. With call changes turned off, clicking on a bell rotates the bell circle (it always does this when the bells are not ringing). Don't get confused!

See also:

  Using the simulator
  Adding Call Change Compositions
  Editing Call Change Compositions