On Linux:

If you have a bin directory in your $HOME directory then copy the executable file Kachina to that directory.  You may also copy the file to the usr/local/bin directory assuming that you have the privilege set to group write.  Create a directory with the name ".kachina" in your $HOME directory.  Note that this is a "dot" directory and will not be visible unless you use ls -a or set your gui file browser to show hidden files and directories.  The executable will store all its initialization, status, and frequency list files in this directory.  If you do not create this directory then the program will default to storing its files in your $HOME directory.  If you use the Gnome or KDE desktop you can create a desktop launch icon for the program.  The program source directory has a Kachina.png icon that is suitable for this use.

On Windows:

Create a new directory called KachinaCAT either in the C:/ directory, or in "My Documents" directory.  The Kachina program does NOT write to the registry or leave any fragments behind if you decide to delete it later.  Copy the executable file Kachina.exe (or unzip the distributed zip file) to this directory.  Right click on the file from within the Windows Explorer.  Choose "Send To/Desktop (create shortcut)" to create a desktop icon.  The shortcut will have the Kachina Indian head icon displayed for you to recognize.  On windows all of the working files will be stored in the same directory that contains the executable file.  That makes it easy for you to find the files and delete them if necessary.

On Both Operating Systems:

Kachina will create a file called "kachina.ini", a text file that contains initialization data for the program.  Do not edit this file with a text editor.  The Kachina program will not start up properly if the contents are corrupted.  This file will be created after the first time that Kachina is executed.  If you need to cold start the program, for example if you change the communications port that the Kachina is connected to, then simply delete this file.  Other parameters stored in the file will be updated and saved each time that you exit the program.  The only reason for deleting the file is for a change in communications port.

Kachina will create a file called "kachina.sta", a state file that contains data pertaining to the state of the various parameters, sliders and switches at the time that you exit the program.  This file allows the program to resume operation in that state the next time it is run.  You can delete this file with no effect on program operation.  This is a binary file and should not be altered using a hex editor or text editor.

Both the kachina.sta and the kachina.ini files will NOT BE SAVED if you exit the program by using the "X" button.  You must exit using the "Files/Exit" menu item to save these files.

Kachina will create any number of files with the extention "arv".  These are text files which contain frequency / mode pairs, one per line that the program can use for easy traversal between frequency and modes.  You could carefuly edit these files, but that should not be necessary as the program makes it easy to create these files.  The default file name is "default.arv."  You can delete these files with no adverse effect on program operation.