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#1zz
The Amiga Contest Logging Programs V3.03
Copyright 1992,1993 by Peter Hardie VE5VA
General Instructions (25-Mar-93)
1. Introduction
These instructions describe the features that apply to all versions of
the contest logging programs (currently: CQWW, WPX, CARF, FD, SS, ARLX
and QRP).
Instructions specific to each contest program haven't been written yet
but if you're familiar with the exchange in a contest then you shouldn't
have trouble figuring out how to talk to them.
You use these programs AT YOUR OWN RISK on an AS-IS basis. I do NOT
guarantee that these programs will perform as described, nor as you
expect them to, and I accept no liability whatever if these programs
lose information, score incorrectly or in any other way fail to perform
correctly.
You MUST read Chapter 7.
If you have used these programs before, then at least read Chapter 6
"KNOWN BUGS and SHORTCOMINGS" to see if any major bugs have been fixed
or found. Also look at the file "changes" which documents changes made
to the programs as I go along.
In order to use the programs you MUST be able to use a text editor to
set up some of the files that control the programs and at the moment the
programs can only be started from the shell. I hope to add workbench
support some time or other.
1.1 For the impatient
Those of you who don't read past the introduction of any documentation
will find that as long as you use the same directory structure as exists
on the disk, then you won't need to do much in the way of setting up the
programs other than to put a setenv command in your startup-sequence
which describes your local timezone so that the program can compute UTC
for proper timestamping of your log entries. You must also do the
following:
- If you are going to use computer control of your rig you must start
up the appropriate driver program before you start up a contest
program (currently this is fairly easy because I only support the
IC735).
- If you use the AREXX functions (PacketCluster) then you must have a
copy of rexxhost.library in your LIBS: directory. The library is
supplied with this distribution. BUT there is currently NO program
to send the packetcluster information to the logger programs. You
can write one yourself. I hope to have one ready soon.z
- You must set up a default file for each program you wish to run. In
addition, you can put some of the common default commands in a
global.defaults file in the lists directory.
2. Hardware Requirements.
2.1 Computer
The logging programs should run on any Amiga which has at least 512K of
memory. A hard drive is preferable for storing the log during the
contest as the I/O is faster, but it is not essential. However, when
running the program, your log file MUST be on disk. If you tell the
computer to store the log in ram, a power failure will lose your entire
log. The program has been tested on an A3000 using Kickstart 1.3 and
2.04 and both work. It has also been partially tested on an A1000 with
2Mb using Kickstart 1.3 and it also works (although the AREXX port
hasn't been tested there).
The memory requirement will be the most critical for those of you with
only 512k. When allocating the memory for the log, the programs ask for
it all in one big lump. This way you will know before you start a
contest whether or not you have enough memory. By default, the programs
ask for enough space to handle 2000 QSOs. You can specify a larger or
smaller number of QSOs by using the 'n' command in the default file for
the specific contest. But you must ensure that whatever number you
choose, it will be big enough to handle the whole contest. If you don't
make the number big enough then the program will terminate as soon as
the limit has been reached. In this case you can increase the QSO size
by editing the default file and then starting the contest program again.
The programs also allocate smaller chunks of memory for the multiplier
lists and to do some types of report.
2.2 Audio output
The computer sends an audible beep out of the audio jacks when an error
(e.g. a dupe or unrecognized callsign) occurs. The old A1000 monitor has
the audio built-in so there's nothing for you to do to use it except
turn up the volume. Some of the newer monitors (e.g. 1950) do not have
audio output so you must hook up the Amiga's audio output to a suitable
amplifier and speaker. When sending a beep to the monitor, the computer
also generates a DisplayBeep() function which causes the screen to
flash. This is useful if you wear headphones and won't be able to hear
the computer.
It takes a noticeable amount of time to transmit the three beeps to the
audio device when a dupe or error occurs and so you have the option, in
the default file, of turning the audio off (if you use headphones you
probably won't hear it anyway!). The command "a 0" in the default file
will turn the audio off.
The hardware described in the remaining sections is all optional.
z
2.3 Computer controlled radios
The program has been tested with an ICOM IC-735 using a homebrew
interface. It also works on a FT-767GX using their FIF-232C interface.
I plan to also have the program understand various other ICOM, Yaesu and
Kenwood rigs. The diagram for my IC-735 interface, which uses two 2N2222
transistors is included in a separate file (iface.txt). If your rig is
not supported yet then send me a detailed spec of the computer commands
and the interface required and I'll try to add it to the list.
All computer controlled radios use the serial port but some of them need
more of the pins wired up than others. The IC-735 requires that the
following pins be connected:
Pin 2 Tx
Pin 3 Rx
Pin 7 Gnd
My interface also requires +12V to be connected and some of the
commercial interfaces may also need it:
Pin 23 (A1000 only) +12V
Pin 9 (all others) +12V
If you make up a homebrew interface you must be VERY careful to
identify the +12V pin correctly or you could blow the 8520 chip. You
must also take great care when plugging the interface into the serial
port's DB-25. The port uses a male plug and if you use a DB-25 female
with a metal shell, then the shell could short the +12V to ground. This
blows a fuse in the computer and it costs a lot of money to replace it.
Therefore, whenever you plug in the serial port interface, TURN THE
COMPUTER OFF FIRST! The only way you can safely plug in the interface
without blowing the fuse while the computer is switched on is by using
an all-plastic DB-25.
Yaesu rigs appear to need the same pins connected as the ICOM.
Kenwood rigs also require:
Pin 4 CTS
Pin 5 RTS
although I suspect that my version of the program will not suffer if
these pins were not connected.
Some rigs, notably the Yaesu FT757GX can only receive commands from the
computer and cannot transmit responses at all. The logging programs
allow for control of the radio from the computer so that provided you
use only the program to control the rig, it can log your contacts for
you. But it might be safer to get used to doing without.
z
2.4 Morse code output
WARNING - as of V3.00 the morse code output has been moved from the RS-
232 Pin 20 to joystick Pin 9.
All the contest programs have a built-in keyer with ten memories. The
keyer speed and the content of the memories can be initially set in a
configuration file and also modified on-the-fly from 10 to 50wpm. The
morse code is transmitted out of pin 9 of the second joystick port. PTT
is output from Pin 5 of the joystick port. You do not have to use the
PTT output - you can use your rig's VOX to key your rig if you wish.
The cursor UP and DOWN keys can be used to change the keyer's CW speed
by plus or minus 2wpm each time the key is hit.
2.5 Morse code input
All of the contest programs also provide an electronic morse code keyer.
The keyer can emulate an iambic paddle with dot and dash memory and a
choice of either Curtis A or B timing. It will also emulate a semi-
automatic bug with automatic dots and manual dash, or just a straight
key (which is just the key connected to the dash side of the semi-
automatic bug).
This function is used by connecting your key to the second joystick
port. The pin connections are:
Pin 8 - Gnd
Pin 2 - Dot Input
Pin 4 - Dash Input (or straight key)
This function was provided more as an academic exercise to show that I
could do it, but it can also be useful if you need to send something
which is not covered by the content of the ten memories and it is more
convenient to have your paddle connected to the computer instead of your
keyer.
In the future, I may add code to read what you are transmitting with the
paddle so that you it will read the callsign and save you having to type
that in.
z
3. Software
When you use the contesting software you will need one or two programs
depending upon the hardware configuration. If you are going to use
computer control of your radio then you must first run a program (in the
drivers directory) that corresponds to your rig. For example, before I
use any contest program, I must first:
run drivers/ic735
This program handles the interface to the rig. Once this program is
running you do not need to kill it after stopping the logging program.
You can leave it running in the background so that if you start up the
logging program again later, you do not also have to start up the
driver.
If you do not start up a driver program, the contest program will report
that there is no driver and will then use a default frequency and mode
which you can set in one of the default files (see below). Also, if
there's no driver, you must tell the program when you change frequency
or mode on the rig. There is an easy way to do this using the band
stacking feature which is explained later.
The driver program can be terminated by executing the program called
stopdriver in the drivers sub-directory.
Once the driver is running, you can start up the appropriate logging
program, whether it be WPX, QRP or whatever. All need the name of the
logging file to be used. I use, for example,
qrp ve5va.qrp
If you do a lot of contesting it would probably help if the name of the
logging file contained the date and mode: e.g.
cqww 1992-cw.cqww
Do NOT use a name that starts with the word "log". The programs output a
formatted log to file whose name begins with "log" and it is safest not
to use this so that the program does not destroy your log file.
Some of the functions of the logging programs are common to all and
others are specific to the particular program.
3.1 General functions
All of the programs can be terminated by typing a Control-D or by
clicking the left mouse button while pointing at the top left corner of
the window. The window does not have any gadgets on it but you can also
make the window go to the back of all the windows in the current screen
by clicking the left mouse button while pointing at the top right of the
window. You can push the entire current screen to the back of all other
screens by typing right-amiga-B.
z
3.1.1 Default file
All of the logging programs read two default files when they start up.
These allow you to set various options. All programs first read the
file called "global.defaults" which is in the "lists" directory (see
section 4 which describes support files). This file can be used to set
options such as your callsign which will be the same for all contests.
Each program then reads a defaults file which is specific to that
contest program. The name of this second file depends upon the specific
program being used and consists of the program name followed by
".defaults" and the file must be in the same directory as the contest
program. For example, the WPX program looks for the file "wpx.defaults"
and the QRP program looks for "qrp.defaults". This file is used, for
example, to initialize the content of one or more of the morse code
memories which would change depending upon the contest exchange. If you
are not using computer control of your rig you can specify a default
frequency and mode that the rig should use. Each sample default file has
documentation of the available commands but, briefly, they are:
! Comment - the line is ignored.
c call Set your callsign. NOTE that this is normally your standard
callsign but if you use a special prefix, or are portable in
a different call area or country, then you should set this
to the special callsign used so that the reports have the
correct callsign on them.
This command MUST be present.
n N Set the number of QSOs in the in-memory log to N.
The program defaults to 2000. Each QSO is about 80 bytes, so
the default requires at least 160Kb of ram for the log. If
you aren't going to make anywhere near 2000 QSOs you can cut
this down to a more reasonable number (e.g. 1000, 500 or
whatever - but make sure you OVERestimate).
l N string Set CW memory N to the string.
m S Set morse code speed to S wpm. S is an integer between 10
and 50.
p N Set the Field Day or QRP ARCI power output multiplier to N.
You MUST have this set correctly for these two contests
because it directly affects the scoring and the report
outputs.
P string Set your output power to the string (no more than 5 chars).
Not used in scoring the log, it is only printed on QSLs when
I get around to writing the QSL label program.
s F Set the QRP ARCI power Source multiplier to F.
F defaults to 1 but if you use a battery you would use 1.25
t Z Set your local timezone to Z (see next section for format). z
f freq Mode Set the default frequency to 'freq' and mode to 'Mode'.
The frequency is specified in kilohertz.
k N Set keyer type to N. 0=Iambic-B, 1=Iambic-A, 2=Bug
h N Set QRP ARCI homebrew bonus points to N.
b Backup the log entries to the printer as they
are entered. The program always writes each QSO to the disk
and this command makes it write it to the printer as well.
If you edit the log and make any changes they are written to
the printer so that you can keep track of the changes.
Serious contesters should use this option as a failsafe.
a n Turn the audio on (n=1) or off (n=0). If the audio is off
the program responds to dupes faster because it doesn't
have to send three beeps to the audio device.
q n Set the type of QRP contest. Currently 0 is QRP-ARCI and
1 is MI-QRP. If MI-QRP is chosen then the power multiplier
(p command) is forced to one.
x N Set the PTT delay to N*10 milliseconds ... i.e. the PTT
delay is specified in units of 10 milliseconds.
It is strongly recommended that you use the printer backup throughout a
contest so that a disk (or program) failure will not lose your entire
log.
3.1.2 The date and time
All versions of the logging programs keep track of the date and time and
store these in each log entry. They also show the current time in the
top left of the screen. Just before you start a contest you should first
ensure that your clock is set to the correct time (local or UTC) by
synchronizing it to one of the time services such as WWV. If your
computer time is local time and not UTC, then you must also tell the
computer about your local time zone. This can be done in one of two
ways. Either you can specify the 't' command in the default file or you
can put a setenv command in your s:startup-sequence file which defines
the name TZ_CHU as your local time. In either case you specify your
local timezone as hours (and optionally minutes) west (positive) or east
(negative) of Greenwich. The program also handles daylight savings time
conversion and this must be specified in the same 't' command or setenv
call if it is applied in your area. Finally, if your timezone uses
daylight savings time, then the program also needs to know whether you
are in the northern or southern hemisphere and you encode this bit of
information by specifying the DST indicator in lower (North) or upper
(South) case. The general format of the time is:
[-]hh[:mm][D]
This means that the time is specified as a number of hours which can be
preceded by an optional minus sign (for EAST) and optionally followed byz
a number of minutes (e.g. 3:30 for Newfoundland) and all of this can
have an optional letter after it to specify that your timezone uses
daylight savings time.
The dates of the start and end of DST are different in various parts of
the world. You indicate which is used in your zone by one of the
following letters. If you are in the northern hemisphere then you must
specify the letter in lower case, and if you are in the southern
hemisphere then you must specify it in upper case. The letters and the
dates of the start and end of DST are listed below:
d or D: North America. Start first Sunday in April and end last Sunday
in October.
u or U: U.K. Start last Sunday in March and end last Sunday in
October (approximately! - the precise dates are set by act of
parliament each year).
e or E: Europe. Start last Sunday in March and end last Sunday in
September.
c or C: China(!). Start 12th April and end 12th September.
If you specify upper case for the southern hemisphere then the start and
end of DST are reversed. In all cases the start and end occur at 2am.
The best thing to do is to add a setenv command in your
s:startup-sequence file so that you don't have to put it into each of
the default files and risk forgetting one of them. If you use any of my
other programs, such as the CBBS packet program or the CHU program, then
you won't have to do anything extra with them if you use setenv TZ_CHU
in your startup file because they all use the same routine to check for
your timezone and adjust to UTC. I use the command:
setenv TZ_CHU 6
in my s:startup-sequence file because I am in the Central Standard Time
zone (6 hours west of Greenwich) and we do not use daylight savings
time (to be pedantically precise, we are actually on permanent Mountain
Daylight Savings Time but very few people understand the difference, or
care!). In Germany, which is one hour ahead of UTC and uses European
daylight savings time you would use:
setenv TZ_CHU -1e
I am not sure what DST is used in Australia or New Zealand but if, as an
example, they use the same DST as the U.K. (except that they start in
October and end in March) then an upper case 'U' is specified along with
the timezone correction.
(The odd name "TZ_CHU" is derived from a program I wrote which reads the
time from Canadian radio station CHU and sets the amiga battery clock
fairly precisely).
z
3.1.3 QSO entry
All of the programs enter a QSO on the bottom line of the screen and
when it is complete, move it up one line. Above that line is a title
which shows the name of each field. The fields whose title is
highlighted are the only fields that you need to enter data into. The
others will be filled in by the computer. For example, in the WPX
contest the title starts with the callsign, rst and QSO number. The
callsign and QSO number are highlighted but the rst is not. Thus, you
enter a callsign and QSO number, but the computer will fill in the rst
for you when you type a carriage return to complete the QSO information.
Some of the contest programs require that you type a space or tab
between each field (they ALL require a tab or space after the callsign).
However, there are some exceptions. The SS program does not require any
tabs between the fields of the exchange because it can determine where
one ends and another begins so you can type the entire SS exchange in
without typing a tab or space.
Some of the programs will fill in information for you if they can. For
example, CQWW will fill in the CQ zone of the callsign just typed if the
country is entirely contained within one CQ zone. For example, entering
any G call will cause CQWW to fill in 14 for the CQ zone. I have set up
the dxcc.list file so that it also splits some of the Canadian callsigns
into their call areas and CQWW will fill in those zones that can be
identified from their prefix.
The SS program will fill in some dummy information for an exchange if
you enter a DX call.
The ARLX program will accept just the letter 'K' if a DX stations sends
you "KW" as their exchange. The program will change the 'K' to 'KW' for
you.
As you type in data on the QSO line you can use:
- the backspace key to delete the previous character
- the delete key to delete the current field. If the cursor is at the
beginning of a field, then move to the beginning of the previous
field.
- the cursor left key moves the cursor one place to the left without
deleting the character. Typing the cursor left key with the shift
key down makes the cursor move back to a question mark in the
callsign field if there is one, or to the first field that is
blank.
- the cursor right key moves the cursor non-destructively one place to
the right.
- a space or tab key causes the cursor to move to the next field to the
right. If the field just entered was the callsign then the call is
duped and the program will flash the screen and cause an audible
beep (if audio is on) for a dupe (in which case you can either
delete the call and start again, or enter the QSO anyway). If the
cursor is at the beginning of a field and nothing has yet been
entered then the cursor will remain where it is. But if the cursorz
is at the beginning of a field that already contains data then the
cursor will skip to the next field without changing the current
one.
- a carriage return key is only valid at the end of the last field and
then the line is entered, but ONLY if there is no question mark in
the callsign field. This is the ONLY way to get a QSO entered in
the log.
- typing the Alt key and carriage return makes the cursor go to the end
of the entry line but does not enter it (you must hit CR again for
that).
- the escape key makes the cursor move to the right until it finds
either a field whose first character is blank or the end of the
data entry line, and then the cursor stops. This is useful for
skipping over previously entered fields, or fields that have been
automatically filled in by the computer.
The first field on the line is always the callsign of the station being
worked. When you hit a space or tab key, the callsign is checked and if
it is a dupe under the contest rules, then the screen will flash and the
audio output will beep. The program will also display the highlighted
string "*DUPE*" above and to the right of the callsign - typing any key
makes this disappear. If you have a dupe, you can enter the delete key
to remove the callsign or you can continue with the exchange and enter
the QSO anyway. Dupes are indicated in the log by putting "?DUPE" in the
score field. But, in any case, the QSO will score zero and will not
generate any multipliers. If you do not hear a complete call, you can
enter a question mark (e.g. NJ7?) and then enter the remainder of the
QSO. You can then easily return to the callsign to fill in the missing
piece by typing the shift and cursor left keys. Then type escape to get
to the end of the field, followed by carriage return to enter the QSO.
If you enter an invalid callsign then the display will flash and the
message "INVALID CALLSIGN" will appear above the title line. If the
call is valid but the program cannot locate the callsign in the country
list, or it cannot find a valid prefix in WPX, the program will beep and
the multiplier field will have question marks entered into it. If you
entered the call incorrectly then edit the call and try again. But if
you are sure you have the call entered correctly then you should enter
the QSO anyway and proceed with the contest, although this contact won't
be scored at this time. The error will be caused by a problem with the
dxcc.list. Either during the contest (if you have time) or after it is
over, you can examine the callsign and the dxcc.list to see why the
program could not recognize the call. Then correct the error, either
using the editing function in the logging program to correct the
callsign, or with a text editor to correct the dxcc.list and then simply
start up the logging program again with the log as input. When the
logging program is started, it always re-scores and re-dupes the current
log file so that once you have corrected an error the logging program
will correct the score and remove the question marks from the
multiplier field. You can then proceed to generate the required reports
using the %R command.
Some numeric fields in the contest will allow you to type in a cut-
number instead of a numeral. The RST field and the serial number fieldz
in WPX and other contests allow you to do this. This is useful on CW so
that you can type exactly what you hear (if you wish). For example, in
WPX you may get a serial number transmitted to you as "aont". If you
type this in, the program will correctly translate it into 1090.
The serial number field in WPX, the Nr/Power field in QRP-ARCI and some
other fields will also be right adjusted after entry. For example, if
you receive the serial number "45" in WPX, it will be left adjusted in
the serial number field when you type it, but when you enter the QSO by
typing carriage return, the field will be right adjusted.
3.1.4 Frequency and mode
If you are using computer controlled frequency and mode then you can
change the rig's frequency and mode by using the mouse. Pointing the
mouse at the mode display and clicking the left button causes the
computer to change the rig's mode to the next in its list which is in
the order LSB, USB, AM, CW, RTTY (if the rig has it) and FM.
Pointing at any digit of the frequency display and holding down the left
mouse button will cause that digit to be incremented at a rate of 7
times per second until you let go of the button. If you hold down the
right mouse button then the digit will be decremented 7 times per
second. In either case the rig's frequency will be updated as this
occurs. The Yaesu protocol is rather slow and so this function is not
too impressive on the FT767, but on an ICOM IC-735 it works much better.
If you are not using computer control of a rig (i.e. there's no
background driver) then the program initially displays the frequency and
mode that are set in the default file and these can also be modified by
using the mouse buttons.
3.1.5 Morse code display
If the rig is in CW mode, the morse code speed is displayed below the
list of the memory contents and you can change the speed of the keyer by
pointing the mouse at either of the digits and clicking either the left
or right mouse buttons. Each click of the left mouse button adds one to
the digit and each click of the right mouse button subtracts one. The
keying speed is limited to between 10 and 50 WPM.
Beside the CW speed is the name of the type of keyer which will be one
of Iambic A, Iambic B or Bug. Clicking the left mouse button on this
field will cause the program to change to the next type in the sequence.
The keyer type can be set in the default file.
The line underneath the CW speed shows the value set for PTT delay. This
number is in units of 10 ms. Setting it to zero turns PTT off.
Each of the 10 CW memories is associated with one of the corresponding
Function keys - thus, memory 1 is associated with F1. Typing just the
function key causes that memory to be transmitted in morse code out of
Pin 20 (DTR) on the RS-232 plug. The content of a memory can be changed
by holding down the shift key and then typing the corresponding functionz
key. The cursor will move to the selected memory and you can then type
in what you want. Type a carriage return to finish typing the string.
The display only shows the first 15 or so characters of each memory
string, but each memory string can be up to 80 characters long.
There are some abbreviations which you can use when entering data into a
memory.
%c is replaced by the callsign that is currently stored on the bottom
line of the display even if it is incomplete (e.g. NJ7?)
%C is replaced by your callsign which is specified in the default file.
%N is replaced by the current QSO number. A limited form of cut number
is employed. Leading zeroes are sent as the letter 'T'. Embedded or
trailing zeroes are sent as the letter 'O' and the number 9 is
always sent as 'N'.
%n is the same as %N except that leading zeroes are sent as the letter
'T' but no other cut-numbers are used.
%R is replaced by the transmitted RST field.
At the moment none of the memories has a specific meaning to the
program. However, I intend to make memory 10 a "CQ" memory such that if
you type the control key and F10 then the content of the memory will be
transmitted followed by a delay of about 5 seconds and if you do not
type any key or touch the CW paddle, then the memory will be transmitted
again to a maximum of 20 times.
At a future date I also hope to change the program so that you can
specify a separate speed for each memory and also a way to chain the
memories together.
3.1.6 Band stacking
Holding down the shift key while pressing one of the up, down, left or
right arrows on the NUMERIC PAD (not the cursor control keys) causes one
of the band stacking functions. Shift-8 causes the current frequency,
mode and content of the callsign field to be stored in an internal
stack. Pressing shift-4 or shift-6 causes the program to move through
the stack returning the content of the stack to the operational fields.
If a computer controlled rig is used its current frequency and mode will
be set to the current stacked value. The stack will hold up to 50
entries. This feature is useful when you hear a station that is very
busy and you decide not to wait to bust the pileup. Type in the callsign
of the station and then hit shift-8 to remember the station's callsign,
frequency and mode. Once a stack entry has been recalled, it can be
deleted from the stack by typing shift-2. This feature works even if a
computer controlled rig is not present and allows you to store common
frequency/mode pairs (the callsign can be blank) in the stack. Switching
to another frequency or mode is easy using this feature.
The program stores the current content of the stack in the file
"stack.dat" and if this file is present when the program is started, it
is used to initialize the content of the stack. If you do not have a
computer controlled rig you can initialize the stack to contain az
frequency/mode pair for each band and then use the left and right arrows
on the numeric pad to select the appropriate freq/mode.
3.1.7 Special Functions
If the callsign field on the bottom line of the screen begins with the
'%' symbol, then the remainder of the line is interpreted as a command
to the logging program. These commands perform such functions as
generating reports and editing the log.
Each function can be called in one of two ways. Either you can type a
command of the form:
%C <arg>
where C is a single character and <arg> is an optional argument. This
command is typed in place of a callsign.
Alternatively, the commands can be called with a control key combination
consisting of the control key and the command letter. In this case you
cannot specify an argument. As an example, to do an all-band report you
can either type the command:
%R
in place of a callsign, or you can just type the key combination
control R (i.e. type the "r" key while holding down the control key).
3.1.7.1 %R Generating Reports
The command:
%R
produces an all-band summary report, logs for each band and dupe sheets
for each band. Some contests, such as Sweepstakes, do not require
separate band reports, in which case the program simply produces one log
and dupe file.
If you want to create a single band entry then specify the band with the
%R command:
%R 15
Will produce single band entry reports for the 15 meter band. The file
name of the summary report (which should always be printed) has the form
report_MM.PGM where MM is the mode ('cw','sb' or if all-mode then 'all')
and PGM is the name of the logging program ('qrp', 'wpx' etc). The log
file names are of the form MM_BB.PGM where MM is the mode (cw or sb) and
BB is the band (either the numeric band for a single band entry or 'all'
for an all-band entry). Similarly, the dupe file names have the form
dupe_MMBB.PGM. All the files are produced in the current directory and
are spaced ready for printing (you can use the print command in the
df0:c directory).
z
The QRP contest also allows hi-band and lo-band entries and reports for
these entries can be generated with "%R H" or "%R L".
At the moment the contest reports are generated in a form suitable for
printing. I hope to add the ability to output reports in a format such
that, if you have CROSSDOS(tm) or the public domain program MSH, the
logging programs will generate the reports ready for copying to an MS-
DOS formatted disk.
3.1.7.2 %E Edit the Log
The command:
%E
causes the program to enter screen editing mode. It shows QSOs in blocks
of 16 at a time on the screen and you can edit the QSOs and move forward
or backwards through the log. When the program first enters edit mode it
always shows the last block of QSOs and the cursor will be pointing at
the callsign of the last QSO in the log. This enables you to rapidly
edit the last QSO, if necessary. The four cursor keys in combination
with the shift, control and alt keys can be used to perform the
following functions:
- Cursor up
Moves the cursor up to the previous QSO, maintaining its current X
coordinate on the screen. If the cursor is on the top QSO on the
screen then the previous block of 16 QSOs will be displayed unless
the program is displaying the first 16 QSOs in the log, in which
case nothing will happen.
- Alt Cursor up
Moves cursor back to a previous QSO which contains '?' (indicating
a questionable callsign or a DUPE).
- Shift cursor up
Move back one QSO block if there is one.
- Control cursor up
Displays the first block and moves the cursor to the first QSO.
- Cursor down
Similar to cursor up functions. Moves cursor down one line on the
screen if not at the last QSO in the log. If at the last line on
the screen then show the next block if there is one.
- Alt cursor down
Move cursor down to next QSO containing '?' if there is one.
- Shift cursor down
Move forward one QSO block if there is one.
z
- Control cursor down
Displays the last block and moves the cursor to the last QSO.
- Cursor left
Move cursor one place left. If at the beginning of the line, do
nothing.
- Shift cursor left
Move cursor to beginning of current line.
- Cursor right
Move cursor one place right. If at the end of line, do nothing.
- Shift cursor right
Move cursor to end of current line.
The backspace key deletes the character to its left (i.e. changes it to
a space).
Typing alphanumeric characters or the characters '/' or '.' or a space
types those characters over the top of what was there - i.e. it
replaces them in the log.
When you edit a log entry it can change the score. You can change as
many QSOs in the log as you wish but when you terminate the editing
session the program rescores the whole log.
Typing Control-D terminates the editing function and returns you to
logging mode (after rescoring the log if any changes have been made).
If you edit any QSO, then when you terminate the program, it will also
do a backup function (see next section).
3.1.7.3 %B Backup the memory log
If no filename follows the %B command then the current disk log is
copied to the file:
/backup/backup.PPP
where PPP is the abbreviation for the contest program you are using such
as wpx or wrp. Then it writes the in-memory log into the original disk
log. Note that this requires that the directory called "backup" is
present as it is provided on the distribution disk. If you cannot put
the backup directory on the same disk as the contest programs then an
environment variable LOGBACKUP must be defined before the program is
started. It is best to put a setenv command in your s:startup-sequence
file so that it is defined every time you reboot your system. It can be
defined to be in ram: (not very wise though!), or a directory on a hard
or floppy disk (much wiser).
z
If you specify a filename e.g. "%B work:log.backup" then the disk log is
copied to that file before the memory log is copied to the current disk
log.
The program does an automatic backup when you terminate the program if
you have edited any QSOs at all.
3.1.7.4 %F Changing the Frequency and mode
When the computer is not being used with a computer controlled radio the
displayed frequency and mode can be changed using the mouse or the stack
as previously described. You can also use a command of the form:
%F FREQ MODE
This command changes the displayed frequency to FREQ which must be
specified in kilohertz and must not contain commas. The MODE must be
present and is one of:
cw lsb usb am fm rtty
3.1.7.5 %S Score the log
The command %S causes the program to rescore the log and display any
changes that result. You should normally not need to do this since a new
QSO is scored upon entry and if you edit the log it is also rescored if
necessary when the edit function is terminated.
3.1.7.6 %X Screen dump
The command %X creates a file of the form screen.PPP where PPP is the
name of the program (e.g. wpx) and the file will contain an ASCII
representation of what is on the screen at the time the %S command is
given. This is more a debugging command than a feature.
3.2 AREXX Support (PacketCluster)
I have added an AREXX port to the contest programs and included on the
distribution disk the public domain AREXX library called
rexxhost.library. All contest programs start up the AREXX port named
VE5VA_LOGGER so that they will be able to send and receive AREXX
commands. In order to use the AREXX functions you must have a copy of
rexxhost.library in your LIBS: directory. If you do not have AREXX
running, or do not have a copy of rexxhost.library, it doesn't matter
because the programs will ignore it if it isn't there. At the moment the
AREXX port is used to do a simple demonstration of PacketCluster support
which will be expanded in the future to give full support from a
separate program (like the computer interface drivers). The trivial
AREXX program test.lgx shows how to send DX messages to the contest
program.
z
When a DX spot arrives, the program first dupes it. If it is a dupe then
the DX spot message is ignored. If it is not a dupe then the program
displays the new DX info in the bottom right of the screen at the top of
a list of DX spots. As new ones are added the old ones are pushed down
so that the one displayed at the top of the list is the most recent one.
The program displays the most recent five DX spots it has received but
internally it actually stores up to 50.
You do not have to respond immediately to an incoming DX spot. If you
are busy the spot can be left on the DX queue as long as you don't let
the queue get too big. However, there are three control characters you
can type which affect the DX spots. Typing ^K deletes the DX spot at the
top of the list. Typing ^P pushes the top DX spot onto the stack and
then deletes it from the list. Typing ^G means "Go there right now" and
the program will change to the frequency of the DX spot and will also
copy the callsign into the data entry area at the bottom of the screen.
You can type ^K or ^P while you are entering a callsign or other QSO
data.
Although not useful yet, the programs can also send AREXX messages. The
@ command typed in the callsign field specifies an AREXX port address
(similar to the AREXX ADDRESS command) and then a string following the &
command is sent to that port. For example:
@FANCYDEMO
&HELLO THERE - THIS IS A TEST
will send the string "HELLO THERE - THIS IS A TEST" to the AREXX port
whose name is "FANCYDEMO". At the moment the program only uses upper
case and therefore it can't be used to send to ports whose AREXX address
contains lowercase or which expects lowercase commands. This ability to
send to an AREXX port will be used to allow the operator to send DX
spots to a PacketCluster.
The addition of the AREXX port will allow other programmers to write
separate programs which can interface to the logger programs. The only
thing we would need to cooperate on is the structure and content of the
AREXX commands and all details of the internal workings of the programs
will be irrelevant. z
4. Support Files
All of the contest programs use some auxiliary files. For contests in
which a DXCC country is a multiplier, the file dxcc.list is used. The
CQWW program uses both the dxcc.list and the file called wae.list which
contains a list of countries that are in the WAE list but not in the
DXCC list (e.g. Sicily). The FD and SS programs use files to describe
the ARRL sections.
All of these files must reside in the same directory and on the
distribution disk they are in the directory called "lists". If you keep
this structure then you do not need to do anything to tell logger where
to find this directory. If, for some reason, you must move the lists
directory somewhere else then you can tell logger where it is by
defining an environment variable called LOGLISTS. For example you could
use:
setenv LOGLIST work:logger/lists
in your startup sequence.
4.1 The DXCC files
The dxcc.list and wae.list files have the same format and their
structure is described in the comments at the beginning of the files.
The CQWW program reads both the dxcc and wae files. Several of the other
programs, such as ARLX, use the dxcc file.
It is very difficult for me to keep these files up to date. It is
therefore essential that you ensure that these files are correct when
using a DX contesting program.
Wildcards are allowed to specify a range of matching callsigns and
currently the wildcards are:
# matches a string of numeric digits.
$ matches a single numeric digit
@ matches a string of alphabetic characters
$ matches a single alphabetic character
* matches an alphanumeric string only
Country prefixes can also be specified as a range when this is
appropriate. For example, Canada is allocated the entire block of
callsigns from VAA through to VGZ. This can be entered in the dxcc.list
file as VA-VG (but NOT VAA-VGZ). Wildcards are more efficient if they
can be used because they cause only one prefix entry in the internal
country list. Thus, 4U#UN will cause only one entry in the table but
will match a wide range of 4U calls. Whereas VA-VG will generate seven
entries, one for each of VA, VB, ...., VG.
The DXCC files contain entries for CQ and ITU zones. These MUST be
entered correctly and if the country being entered covers two or more of
these zones then ALL the zones must be entered. This is because if onlyz
one zone is entered, then the CQWW contest, for example, will assume
that the country is entirely within one zone and will automatically fill
the zone information into the QSO line during the contest. So, if the
country (e.g. the U.S., Canada) covers more than one zone, these zones
must be entered so that CQWW will not fill in a zone at all. It is
possible to split up a country into callsign areas if this also splits
them into individual CQ and/or ITU zones. For example, although Canada
is spread across several ITU and CQ zones, the province of Saskatchewan
(VE5) is entirely contained within CQ zone 4 and ITU zone 3. An entry
can be made in the dxcc.list file which informs the program of this so
that the CQWW program can fill in the zone. See the dxcc.list file for
an example of how this is done. It is more difficult to do the same
thing for U.S. calls because their callsign areas do not necessarily
reflect actual geographic location. Thus a W6 need not be in California.
It is best to leave the U.S. entries as they are.
Currently the latitude and longitude are read in by the program but are
not used in any way. I plan to add a beam heading calculation to the
programs at some point so you should ensure that the latitude and
longitude entries are correct.
4.2 ARRL sections (FD and SS)
The ARRL sections are kept in the file ss.list. The format is somewhat
different than the country lists since zones and lat/long are omitted.
The first column specifies the correct abbreviation for the ARRL section
and the second column specifies the full name of the section. The last
column specifies any of the variations that you might receive in an
actual contest. You can type in what you hear and the program will
replace it with the correct abbreviation when you enter the QSO. For
example, if someone sends you the section "MISS", you can type this in
and the program will change it to "MS" when you enter the QSO. On SSB,
whenever you hear the words "North", "East", "South" or "West", enter
them as a single letter with a space after them. So if you hear "EAST
BAY" enter it as "E BAY". It would help if you look through the ss.list
file before a contest to familiarize yourself with what it considers to
be acceptable abbreviations. You can, of course, add more abbreviations
if you wish.
One word of caution. The ARRL abbreviation for the Los Angeles section
is "LAX", whereas "LA" is the state of Louisiana. If you type "LA" for
the Los Angeles section, the program has no way to know that it is
incorrect and will score it as a QSO with Louisiana. On SSB, it is best
to just enter "LOS" for a Los Angeles QSO because the ss.list will take
care of it and change it to LAX.
4.3 QRP contest
The QRP ARCI contest uses states/provinces/countries as multipliers, but
the only file it uses at the moment is the dxcc.list. This means that
you MUST enter the correct state abbreviation. I will eventually add
another file to this program so that it will do for states/provinces
what the ss.list file does for ARRL sections.
4.4 CARF contestz
This contest uses two files. The first, ve.list, contains only the dxcc
entry for Canada. The other, carf.list, contains a file formatted like
ss.list which allows mapping of strings into the correct province
abbreviation. For example, "QUEBEC" or "QUE" will be mapped to the
correct "PQ".
4.5 SS contest
The sweepstakes contest program uses the ss.list as described above in
Section 4.2, but it also uses a file called "w-ve.list". This file is
formatted like the dxcc.list file (in fact it is taken from it) and
contains only the dxcc entries for Canada, the U.S.A. and its
possessions. This allows the SS program to detect when a DX callsign has
been entered. It will log, but not score, a DX contact.z
5. LOG FILE STRUCTURE
No matter which contest program you use, the log file always consists of
lines of 80 characters each, the 80th character being the linefeed and
the 79th character indicates which contest program produced the log.
This allows you to edit the log file with an editing program instead of
using the editing function in the contest programs. BUT be warned that
if you modify a line, it MUST still be exactly 80 characters long when
you are done.
The codes used at the end of the line are:
F Field day (FD)
X CQ WPX (WPX)
Q QRP ARCI (QRP)
A ARRL DX (ARLX)
C CQWW DX (CQWW)
E DARC WAE (WAE)
S Sweepstakes (SS)
T CARF contest (CARF)
The WAE contest hasn't been written yet.
If you look at the log file you will notice that all the fields up to
and including the callsign are always the same size and in the same
columns. What follows after the callsign depends upon the contest
exchange but the received exchange follows the callsign. After that are
columns which, depending upon the contest, show the contest exchange,
new multipliers and, finally, the score for that QSO. If the QSO is a
dupe, or the program could not recognize the callsign, then the score
field contains "?DUPE" or "?ERROR". The SS program also uses ?DX if the
QSO was a DX contact.
6. KNOWN BUGS and SHORTCOMINGS
- There is currently no way to change the transmitted QSO serial number. It
is directly tied to the number of QSOs in the log.
z
7. The AUTHOR
I have had chronic fatigue syndrome since September of 1984 and have
been on long term disability ever since. These programs are the result
of very slowly working on them a bit at a time, when I am able, over the
course of over two years (plus some prodding from Cyril VE5CB). There is
no timetable associated with the enhancements mentioned in the above
documentation. If I feel well enough to tackle something I will do it.
If I don't, then it doesn't get done.
I have made these programs available for anonymous FTP on the site
ftp.usask.ca in the directory pub/amiga/hamradio. If you want to be
notified of a new release then send your Internet address to me:
hardie@herald.usask.ca
The programs may be freely distributed - with the accent on FREELY. NO
CHARGE MAY BE MADE FOR DISTRIBUTING THESE PROGRAMS (other than the cost
of the disk and a reasonable charge for postage) AND NO COMMERCIAL
DISTRIBUTION, INCLUDING THAT BY COMPANIES WHO SELL COLLECTIONS OF
PROGRAMS, IS PERMITTED.
THE SOURCE CODE WILL NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE.
I RESERVE TO MYSELF THE RIGHT TO SEND THESE PROGRAMS TO FRED FISH FOR
DISTRIBUTION. DO NOT SEND THEM TO HIM.
IF I FIND THAT THE ABOVE CONDITIONS ARE NOT ADHERED TO THEN I WILL
EITHER STOP DEVELOPMENT AND/OR DISTRIBUTION ENTIRELY, OR I WILL MODIFY
THE PROGRAMS SO THAT VARIOUS PARTS OF THE PROGRAM ARE ENCODED AND YOU
WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO GET THE UPDATES FROM ME.
Thanks to Olaf Bartel for his completely public domain rexxhost.library.
The complete package is on Fred Fish disk #682c