World of Ham Radio 1997

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Super-Duper for VHF V7.08 The Contest Logging Program by EI5DI ________________________________ SDV is a comprehensive VHF contest logging program that's really easy to use, and is equally suitable for experienced or novice contesters. The program is derived from Super-Duper, which caters for the major international and RSGB HF contests. Main Features: * Fast, simple logging and editing - no multiple keystrokes. * Instant duping, whether 3 or 3000 QSOs logged. * Tracks any combination of County, Country and Locator Square multipliers. * Partial Callsign enquiry by prefix or suffix. * Unique feature - instantly checks log for consistency after each QSO or Edit. * Permits any combination of on-line or off- line logging. * Built-in memory keyer. * Prepares your log in the RSGB recommended format for entries on disk. * Log is 100% ASCII - edit with any text editor. * Prints log by band, with page totals. * Optional printed audit trail of QSOs and Edits. * Updates log file after every QSO or Edit. Super-Duper for VHF - Copyright (c) 1990-95 Paul O'Kane EI5DI All rights Reserved _______________________________________________________________ SDV - Super-Duper for VHF is different! Since it's so easy to get started, new users can be contesting and having fun within two minutes of loading the program. It's also professional - serious contesters will find all the main features needed for a winning entry. I've introduced a few innovations with SDV. However, since the others use non-standard data entry methods, I prefer to call them essentials. In particular, you press Enter after every field. If preferred, you may use Space as an alternative to Enter. In either case, the QSO will be logged as soon as you've entered enough data. SDV knows when the QSO is complete, and lets you concentrate on keeping your QSO rate up. In addition, I've done away with multiple keystrokes. All logging and editing functions (and the CW keyer) use single keys. You'll see for yourself why SDV sets the standard for ease of data entry and editing. I have assumed that you are familiar with MS-DOS concepts and utilities. If not, please take some time to get to know them before using the program. You should practise with Super-Duper for VHF before using it for real. Why not experiment with QSOs from a previous contest? If you're new to contest logging on computer, you'll soon realise that the computer demands more attention than your radio, and you'll need both hands free. In phone contests this means a boom mic and either VOX or a foot-switch - anything less will slow you down. Finally, you should ensure that your computer and peripherals are "clean" - that is, you can't hear them on your receiver, and also that they're not affected by RF from your rig. CAPACITY Super-Duper for VHF uses conventional memory, the lower 640k. With MS-DOS Version 5 or later, you can have up to 4000 QSOs in a single contest file - the actual number depends on parameters in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. This should be enough for most VHF contest weekends! REGISTRATION Super-Duper for VHF (Version 7.08) is shareware, but it is not free. If you find it useful, in particular if you use it for any contest for which you submit an entry, you are obliged to pay the registration fee. A group or club registration does not entitle individuals in the group to use the program under their own callsigns. Please refer to REGISTER.DOC for full information. You are registered only if your callsign is shown on the opening screen following the words "Licensed to". When you register you will receive a copy of the latest version of the program identified with your callsign, together with a printed manual, and you'll be entitled to support for 12 months. During this time you can have updates on request (on receipt of a blank formatted 3.5" disk together with 2 IRCs for return postage, or 4 IRCs outside the European Union), and a return addressed envelope. 5.25" disks are not supported. You'll see, from the SDV-HIST.DOC file, that there has been a history of constant improvements and bug fixes. To benefit from these, you should request updates every three or four months. At present, there is no copy protection on the program and registered users may make copies for backup purposes only. When registered, you may use SDV with any callsign for which you, and you alone, hold the licence. You may not use SDV with another call for which you personally do not hold the licence. I know and you know that I'm taking a risk by releasing SDV without copy protection. I've spent hundreds of hours developing and testing this program and I don't like being ripped off. So, if any group or individual asks you for a copy of the program other than one licensed to "DEMO", please realise that he or she is asking you to steal. Give them my name and address so that they can order a copy for themselves. SDV is a bargain at the price! Send your registration fee to Paul O'Kane EI5DI 36 Coolkill Sandyford Dublin 18 Ireland e-mail address okanep@iol.ie Telephone: (01) 295 3668 From UK. 01 0353 1295 3668 Elsewhere +353 1295 3668 You can use the form included in the file REGISTER.DOC. The program is supplied only on 3.5" diskettes. The registration fee is £25.00 (Sterling or Irish pounds). Please add £3.00 for airmail postage outside the UK and Ireland. After twelve months, you will have the option of renewing your registration at a cost of 60% of whatever initial fee applies at that time. You are not obliged to re-register, but will not otherwise be entitled to support or updates. Without continuity of registration, you may re-register by paying the initial registration fee. STARTING Super-Duper for VHF. The following commands assume your distribution disk is loaded in Drive A and your hard disk is Drive C. I have also assumed that you have included the command PROMPT $P$G in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. All the relevant files for SD are contained in the file SD708.ZIP The files for the IOTA contest are in SDI708.ZIP For VHF, the files for SDV are in SDV708.ZIP I've assumed you have a copy of PKUNZIP.EXE which is accessible from the directory in which you propose to store the files. Here's what you should do. 1. Load the distribution diskette in Drive A: 2. C:\>MD SD (You type MD SD) Makes a directory SD on your hard disk. You can skip this if you alreay have an SD directory. 3. C:\>CD SD (You type CD SD) Change to directory SD on your hard disk. 4. C:\SD>PKUNZIP -O A:SD708 (You type PKUNZIP -O A:SD708) That's the letter O, not Zero. Unpacks all the HF Program files. 5. C:\SD>PKUNZIP -O A:SDV708 (You type PKUNZIP -O A:SDV708) Unpacks all the VHF Program files. 6. C:\SD>PKUNZIP -O A:SDI708 (You type PKUNZIP -O A:SDI708) Unpacks all the IOTA Program files. Now you're ready to try the programs. Type SD or SDV followed by any name, up to 8 characters, to see the options. The characters used in the name may be any combination of alphabetic or numeric, up to a total of eight. Other characters will be ignored. For example: SDV VHFFD96 will open, or will create a contest file called VHFFD96, which will have an extension .VHF. If you're using a monochrome monitor or a portable computer, the display may be more legible if you type SDV - (that's SDV followed by space followed by minus). You may include the contest file name immediately after the minus sign. SDV -VHFFD96 opens contest file VHFFD96 for a monochrome monitor. The first screen records cover sheet information such as Callsign, Name and Address. Many of these fields can be omitted, but the program will insist on getting Mode - SSB or FM or CW, and Locator. You exit from this screen by pressing the TAB key rather than the Return key when you have finished editing. The next screen asks for Band, and loads any previous QSOs for this contest. You can then change mode or choose on-line logging which takes the QSO times from the computer clock (don't forget to set this to GMT). If you answer N to this question, it is assumed you will be entering QSOs off-line which were worked earlier. LOGGING QSOs. The main QSO entry screen then appears. Super-Duper for VHF has been designed with the intention of making the logging of QSOs as simple and fast as possible. In most cases, it is necessary to record only the Callsign and RSTs. You can ignore the Serial and Locator fields if no relevant data was received. Reports of 59(9) are assumed, but can be easily changed if necessary. When a locator is entered, distance and points are displayed immediately. You move from one field to the next by pressing Enter. The QSO will be logged as soon as you Enter from the Comments field, provided that the Callsign and RST Sent and Received are valid. If you have entered a serial or locator, the QSO will be logged only if they are also valid. By pressing TAB you can move between Callsign, RST, Serial, Locator and Comments without logging the QSO. A reason for doing this might be to complete or correct a field before logging. For example, you might miss part of the Callsign and not want to log the QSO until it's complete. Whether or not you use TAB to move between fields, the QSO will be logged only after an Enter, and only if all fields are valid. (The Serial, Locator and Comments fields may be left blank). To summarise, press Enter after each field, or use TAB to amend or complete an earlier field. Shift/TAB will let you move in the opposite direction. HELP. You'll get a summary of most commands or edit functions by typing HELP, followed by Enter, in the Callsign field. You should refer to the command summary at the end of this document, and please experiment with them all. EDITING FIELDS - Call, Serial, Locator. I've provided versatile editing functions for data entry as summarised below - please take time to familiarise yourself with them before the contest so that you'll know, without having to stop and think, the appropriate commands or keystrokes when it matters. I've tried to keep things simple by eliminating the need for multiple keystrokes which are all very well for computer enthusiasts but are not so convenient when you're new to keyboards. Esc Deletes or clears a field, a second Esc will restore it. Minus Abandons QSO Entry or Edit - returns to QSO Entry mode. (Think of this as "take away" - it's useful if you get into trouble during an edit or if making corrections to a new QSO would take too long - it lets you start again from the beginning.) Remember: Esc and Minus update the Quick Memo Table. Home or [ Moves to the start of a field. End or ] Moves to the end of a field. Delete Deletes the character under the cursor. Backspace Deletes the character to the left of the cursor. Use the arrow keys to move right and left. CALLSIGN ENTRY MODES. There are two modes of entry for Callsign fields - Overwrite and Insert. The default is Overwrite, as shown by OVR under the Callsign field. You can switch to Insert mode, shown as INS, by pressing the Insert key. In Overwrite mode, anything you type replaces what's under the cursor. In Insert mode, anything typed is inserted (added) before existing characters. Insert mode is useful when you have missed the prefix in a Callsign and need to complete it after recording the remaining QSO information. In this mode, when you return to the Callsign field, the cursor will be positioned at the first column, ready for the prefix. In Overwrite mode, the cursor is placed to the right of any existing Callsign. When you check for Partial Calls by prefix, the Callsign entry mode is automatically switched to OVR. A check by suffix switches the mode to INS. If you prefer the program to not switch the modes when checking Partial Calls, type LOCK in the callsign field. In this case, the callsign entry mode will be changed only when you press the Insert key. As you might expect, the UNLOCK command restores automatic switching. If you need to insert characters in a callsign when in Overwrite mode, press the space bar to create spaces which you then replace with the missing letters of the callsign. It's sometimes faster to do this than to switch to Insert mode. Please experiment so that it will be automatic when you need it. DEALING WITH DUPES. When you type a callsign, followed by Enter, you'll hear a warning beep, "II" in Morse, if it's a potential dupe. If it's not a dupe, you'll hear "R". In this way, you'll know whether or not you can go ahead without having to look at the screen. If you prefer not to log a dupe, press Enter until you leave the Serial field to clear the QSO logging line. Alternatively, the minus key (-) will also abandon the QSO and clear the logging line. To log the QSO as a dupe, enter the new serial (or zero), and the locator or comments if appropriate. Since this is a dupe, you'll have to enter the same locator and county code as logged in the original QSO, and the program will check this. If you've worked the station already, but on another band or mode, you'll hear "V" in Morse. This indicates that the correct Locator and County, as already logged, will be entered for you if appropriate. You can suppress all sounds, apart from dupe warnings, by typing NOSOUND in the Callsign field, and SOUND to restore them. If a station calling you turns out to be a dupe, it's nearly always quicker to work it and log the contact rather than tell him he's a dupe. There's no point in arguing or getting annoyed with stations that are dupes - after all, not everyone has the luxury of a computer for logging. Dupes will be flagged in the log and will not score. For duping purposes, Super-Duper for VHF tests for calls such as OH6AA and OH6AA/9, and for the following suffixes. /P /M /A /MM /AM /QRP For example, if GI3OTV has already been worked, GI3OTV/P will be flagged as a dupe on the same band. This feature applies both to new QSOs and to edits.. HUNTING AND POUNCING You'll probably spend a large proportion of each contest searching for stations needed on the current band. Super- Duper for VHF provides options to make this as fast and as simple as possible. When hunting other stations, type the callsign and press Enter. You'll hear "R" if it's OK to call, otherwise you hear "II" and a potential dupe is reported. If the latter, just press Minus and the logging line will clear, ready for the next callsign. If it takes too long to type the full callsign, type the first 2 or 3 characters followed by comma to get a list, in alphabetic sequence, of all stations already worked with that prefix on any band. Callsigns shown in bold, and in upper-case, are needed on this band. If the station you're interested in has already been worked, type Esc to clear the Callsign field ready for the next callsign or prefix. If the callsign isn't shown, then it hasn't been logged on any band and you can go ahead. In the same way, full-stop (period) lists all stations worked with any given suffix. As noted above, the callsign entry mode will be OVR after a prefix check, and INS after a suffix check. If you prefer to have manual control over the entry mode, use the LOCK command to restrict mode changes to the Insert key. UNLOCK will restore SDV's normal operation. The command PREFIX gives a continuous automatic prefix check whenever you have two or more characters in the callsign field. It may be abbreviated to PRE. Repeat the command to suppress automatic prefix checking. Most users find this so convenient, they leave it enabled at all times. SKEDS and REMINDERS. SDV allows you to record scheduled events of which you would like to be reminded, and you can also record comments or memos for reference after the contest. Skeds, Reminders and Memos are initiated simply by pressing F7, or by typing SKED or MEMO, followed by Enter, in the callsign field. This will write a timed record to a disk file called NAME.MMO, where NAME is the name of your contest file. The difference between a Sked (or Reminder) and a Memo is that you include a time with the former. For a Memo you leave the time blank. SDV keeps track of all your Skeds and Reminders and displays a warning one minute before the due time, and also during the relevant 60 second period unless another Sked is due. To see the next 7 events you have scheduled, press F8. They are displayed in a table that replaces the Score window. To return to the Score window, press Minus. You can abandon data entry for a Sked from either the Time or the Comments field by typing Minus. You could also use the Sked facility to give timed reminders of when to do backups (with DUMP or FASTDUMP) or as a reminder to check for band openings. You might use the Memo facility to log QSOs with stations that don't qualify for points in the contest concerned. There's no need to include the time with such comments, because the current time is automatically written to the .MMO file together with your comments. If you do enter a time, SDV assumes you're recording a Sked or Reminder. QUICK MEMO. Whenever you use Esc to delete a callsign, or Minus to delete data on the logging line, whatever was in the Callsign field is recorded in a table in memory. The eight most recent entries are held, and can be recalled by F10 that displays them in a new window. You might use this as a reminder for callsigns or frequencies, while you work other stations in the meantime. It's worth trying it out for yourself - you probably won't realise how useful it is just by reading about it. Any of the entries can be retrieved and placed in the Callsign field by using the Up or Down Arrow keys followed by Enter. Any other key will return to normal logging. MULTIPLIERS - County, Country and Locator. As QSOs are logged, the multiplier window shows Counties worked and needed for the current band. Those needed remain in bold type, whereas those worked are dimmed and appear in lower-case. You can quickly check multipliers for other bands by using F1 and F2 to go up and down the bands. The County field requires 3 characters. The standard abbreviations shown in the multiplier window are the only combinations permitted. SDV tracks your QSOs with Scottish regions and flags the first three QSOs in each region as multipliers, and you can see, from the display, how many multiplier QSOs you need with each region. In the log, multiplier QSOs are indicated by the "-" and "=" signs beside the callsign, where "-" represents a single multiplier (either county or country), and "=" represents two multipliers (both county and country). QSOs that count as three multipliers have a triple bar beside the callsign In contests with Locator Square multipliers, F3 displays a summary of squares worked and needed on the current band. NAVIGATE THE LOG. To see earlier log entries, use the following keys in the Callsign field, which should be empty. Page Up Back 6 QSOs. Page Down Forward 6 QSOs. Home Back 50 QSOs. End Forward 50 QSOs. To see all QSOs for a particular Callsign - type the Callsign and press F9. This is useful in finding the QSO no. or serial no. corresponding to a specific QSO, in the event that you want to edit the log entry. If you press F9 when the Callsign field is empty, you'll get the information for the most recent QSO (or Edit). EDITING PREVIOUSLY LOGGED QSOs. This could hardly be easier. There are two simple methods for getting to the QSO you want to edit. The first is to use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow keys until you reach the QSO you want. You'll find that these keys work so long as you don't change any field in a QSO. Once you do, you must log the edited QSO (with Enter), or abandon the edit (with minus) before editing another QSO. As an alternative, you can go directly to any QSO by typing the QSO number in the Callsign field followed by Enter. To find QSO numbers for any callsign, type the callsign followed by F9. Use Esc to clear the callsign. If you enter a number in the Callsign field and then press TAB, Super- Duper for VHF assumes you've entered a partial callsign, and will take you to the next field. When editing, TAB from one field to another to make changes. Press Enter to log the changes, if any, and you'll be returned to the entry line for logging new QSOs. If you get into trouble during an edit and need to abandon it, whether or not you've made any changes, then Minus is the way to do so. Edits take effect only when you finish with Enter. After any change in callsign, the program examines all QSOs logged for dupes to be marked or unset, and updates the log and the score as necessary. In addition, SDV ensures that the Locator and County on the edited QSO will be reflected in all other QSOs with the callsign concerned. Super-Duper for VHF is designed to ensure consistency, since that's the only way your dupes, multipliers and points can be accurate, and therefore edits take priority over previous log entries. This works to your advantage, in that you can change the Locator or County for all QSOs with a particular station merely by editing any one such QSO. Basically, the program won't allow you to do anything inconsistent, but remember that it may not stop you from doing something wrong! You can edit any combination of fields and everything will be kept consistent, with the dupes, multipliers, and points correctly recorded. (There's one exception at present - when you edit locators on previously logged QSOs, there is no consistency check on locator multipliers). CHANGING THE BAND ON LOGGED QSOs. It may happen that you change band on-air but forget to do so on the computer. You correct any QSO concerned by moving to it, as for an Edit, and then using F1 or F2 to go up and down the bands as required. This takes effect only if you have not already changed any field in the QSO. As always, Super-Duper for VHF checks the complete log for consistency and displays the correct multipliers and score, on both the old band and the new band (not for locator multipliers) I've gone to a lot of trouble in my efforts to handle all edits correctly. If you find a combination that doesn't work, please let me know. If you do spot an error, you can correct the relevant .VHF file with a text editor - then the correct score will be shown when you reload your contest file (see the warning later about using external editors on the log). CHANGING BAND or MODE or GOING OFF-LINE. To change bands, or to go from on-line to off-line logging and vice-versa, simply type BAND in the Callsign field and hit CR. You'll be returned to the second screen. Enter the new band, or the same one if it's unchanged, and answer Y or N to "On-Line Logging ?" as appropriate. Alternatively, just type B144 to go to 144 MHz, B50 for 50 MHz, etc. The scores for the current band will be highlighted in the Summary Score window. You can also change mode or go off-line or on-line by typing OFF or ON in the Callsign field followed by CR. To change operator from the Callsign field, type OPR and you'll be prompted for the new callsign. QSO RATES. The table in the upper RHS of the screen gives the QSO rate per hour for your last 10 QSOs, last 100 QSOs, and overall rate - since the start of the contest. The values are updated every 10 seconds, so you can't relax for long without seeing your rates going down. If you haven't had 10 or 100 QSOs, then the figures relate to the actual number of QSOs completed. With the exception of the overall rate, these figures will be accurate only when on- line logging is selected for all QSOs concerned, and they are for guidance during the contest. They have no significance after the contest. There are 2 items shown on the bottom RHS of the screen. The number represents the approximate number of QSOs remaining (within memory), and the name of your contest file is also shown. MEMORY KEYER. A simple circuit will interface your computer with your keyer or radio (positive keyed only). The program does not generate a simultaneous matching sidetone. However, the command CWTEST will switch on a sidetone so that you can experiment with the keyer and set up its memories, but you cannot key your rig at the same time. The program assumes you'll be using one of the standard serial ports on your computer. You'll need a general purpose small signal NPN transistor, such as a BC182A or BC317, and a 1k resistor that will both fit inside the cover of your DB9 or DB25 connector to the computer. If you have a DB25 connector, then pin 20 is DTR (Data Terminal Ready) and pin 7 is signal ground. For a DB9 connector, pin 4 is DTR and pin 5 is signal ground. As you might expect, signal ground connects to the ground on the transmitter key input. The 1k resistor goes between the base of the transistor and DTR. The emitter goes to signal ground, and the collector goes to the positive line of the transmitter key input. You should connect the TX end of this lead in parallel with the output of your present key(er) rather than connecting it to any of your keyer inputs. If you boot your computer with the cable connected, DTR may be set to ON which will key your rig. Once you use the keyer from within the program, DTR will be set to OFF. You switch to keyboard mode with backslash "\", or single apostrophe "'" or hash "#", and you use Enter to return to logging mode. The initial speed is 28 words per minute, and you can adjust it up or down between 60 wpm and 12 wpm (all indicated speeds are approximate) with Up-Arrow or Down-Arrow or ( and ). If you're not happy with the weight, increase it with Right- Arrow, or reduce it with Left-Arrow, and restore it to 50% with the Home key. You can adjust the weight only when you're in keyboard mode. I've included this mainly because there are slight timing differences with different computers, but you might want to experiment anyway. Super-Duper for VHF has 10 CW memories and three methods of using them. Originally the only multiple keystrokes in SD were used for the keyer. Now, when Caps Lock is on, F1 to F10 will replay the memories. The only disadvantage is that you must have Caps Lock off to access the standard F1 to F10 functions. With Caps Lock off, use Ctrl Z,X,C,A,S,D,Q,W,E,R or Alt- F1 to Alt-F10. You should experiment with the Ctrl sequences. They're simpler that they might seem, particularly if you're a touch typist. INITIAL MEMORY CONTENTS. 1 TEST Call Call TEST (Where Call is from the opening screen) 2 His call 3 Exchange: RST + current serial 4 Exchange: RST + previous serial 5 TU 6 Call 7 QRL? 8 ? 9 Current serial 10 Previous serial You can change or combine these in any way you choose. In addition, you may select any combination of the following parameters when defining memory contents. When you leave SDV your definitions are held in the file SDVKEYER.DOC. #R Registered callsign. #C Most recent callsign logged. #S Current serial (or other contest data) #P Previous serial #L Locator #E Simulates the Enter key. For example, #C 5NN #S#L#E would send callsign + full exchange followed by Enter - all with a single keystroke. In contests with serials, leading zeros are sent as "T" and other zeros are sent in full. The command CWZERO allows you to choose abbreviations for non-leading zeros. If you use the Ctrl combinations, make sure that you do not have the command "BREAK=ON" in your CONFIG.SYS file, as otherwise there will be a Ctrl-C conflict that may stop the program. To change the keyer messages, use Shift-F1 etc., which will display the current message and invite you to enter a new one. If you don't enter anything, the original message will be unchanged. If you get into trouble, either in keyboard mode or when sending a preset message, Esc will stop the message and empty the keyboard buffer. When you use this keyer, make sure it's connected in parallel with whatever alternative keying method you use. If you make a mistake in entering a callsign, it's often quicker to send it on your normal key and then correct the computer entry later. REFERENCE LISTS. The LOAD command allows you to load reference files with the extension .LST. These files are typically membership lists showing callsign, name and membership number, and the information will be displayed whenever you enter a corresponding callsign. Use a text processor to create your own reference file. Each record may have up to 12 characters in the callsign and up to 20 characters of other data. There must be at least one space between the end of the callsign and the data. I use a reference list of registered users of SDV to remind me of your name during contests. LEAVING THE PROGRAM. To end the program, type END or QUIT in the Callsign field. If you're using Super-Duper VHF off-line, END and QUIT can be entered in the Time field if preferred. What happens if the power to the computer fails? Super- Duper for VHF is fail-safe, and updates the log file on disc after every QSO or edit. So, when power is restored, simply type SDV followed by your contest file name, go to the QSO entry screen and you will see the last QSO logged immediately above the data entry line. It is strongly recommended that you practice with Super- Duper for VHF before the contest. Why not practice with QSOs from a previous contest? In addition, you should ensure that your computer and peripherals are "clean" - that is, you can't hear them on your receiver, and also that they are not susceptible to RF breakthrough from your rig. A COPY OF YOUR LOG. The AUDIT command logs all QSOs and Edits to a printer connected to the parallel port. With AUDIT, you'll have a printed record from which you may recreate your contest log including all edits. Printing takes place after each QSO or Edit is written to disk. If the printer goes off-line, or is not switched on, the QSO or Edit will be ignored, i.e. will not be printed. The NOAUDIT command terminates printing. To take a copy of the current contest file, without leaving Super-Duper, type DUMP, followed by Enter, in the Callsign field. This writes your file, with an extension .DMP, to a write-enabled diskette in Drive A. This way, you'll have a backup copy of the log to be printed or analysed on any other computer, or available in case anything should happen your computer or hard disk. If there's already a .DMP file on your diskette it's renamed to .OLD before the copy to .DMP takes place, giving two "generations" of copy files. You should be aware that, depending on the number of QSOs logged and the speed of your drive, DUMP may take some time during which you cannot log further QSOs. In tests I've done, it has taken about 35 seconds to dump 1000 QSOs. Why not do this whenever you change band or operator? You can leave the same disk in Drive A for the duration of the contest. If you'd like something a lot faster, and only slightly less secure, FASTDUMP places the copy files in the same directory and device as your contest file, again with .DMP and .OLD extensions as appropriate. You should use either DUMP or FASTDUMP at intervals during the contest. Losing a few seconds is preferable to risking the loss of some or all of your contest log. Here's another option: You can use the DOS command to temporarily switch to DOS and then use standard commands to copy your log file to Drive A. This is much quicker than the DUMP command, particularly if you have a batch file with the necessary commands ready to run. For example, you could have a batch file D.BAT with these lines - (Note: change the following file name to match the one you used in the contest). COPY VHFNFD96.ALL A:*.* EXIT Simply by typing D, followed by Enter, the file will be copied and you'll be returned to logging. Without a batch file, you'll need to enter EXIT to get back to SDV. If you are running short of memory, SDV may attempt to go to DOS and then return immediately to logging. In this event, you'll have to use DUMP to copy your log to a diskette. AFTER THE CONTEST - using SDVCHECK. Finally, you'll probably want to send in your contest entry. At present, you must send a printout as the RSGB VHF Contests Committee does not accept entries on disk without an accompanying printout. To create the entry on disk, use the Create Entry File option in SDVCHECK. Your log will be written in the RSGB recommended format to a file called NAME.LOG, where name is the name (prefix) for your contest file. Send a copy of the .LOG file (renamed with your callsign rather than the contest name) on a diskette together with your own Cover Sheets, Summary Sheets and Multiplier Check list. Do not edit the .LOG file in any way, for example to include headings or to split it by band. Until further notice, however, you must send a print. Enter PRINT in the Callsign field to create a disk file named NAME.144 etc where NAME is the name of your contest file. You use the PRINT command for each band worked in the contest. To print the files, use the COPY or PRINT commands. If you run into formatting problems when printing your log file(s), try loading them into any word processor. Choose a font with fixed (not proportional) spacing and, if necessary, reduce the font size or the left and right page margins to eliminate line wrapping. You should set your line spacing to 1.5 rather than 1 so that the print will be evenly distributed over the length of the page. Please note that, as of September 1995, SDV does not produce Cover Sheets, Summary Sheets or County Multiplier Check Lists to the standard required by the RSGB VHF Contests Committee. You should continue to complete the standard forms by hand. SCREEN COLOURS If you would like a change from SDV's standard colours, the COLOUR (or COLOR) command allows you to choose the Window background colour, the Log (previous QSOs) colour, the QSO entry colour and the Title text colour. Colours will be unchanged if you press Enter without first typing a number from the range indicated. EDITING THE .VHF FILE. Super-Duper for VHF creates two files. The first is NAME.VHF where NAME is whatever name you gave the contest when you started the program. This holds all the internal reference information for keeping multipliers and points consistent, especially during and after edits done from within SDV. After the contest, use Program SDVCHECK to create the.LOG file. The contents of the .LOG file are essentially a reformatted version of the .VHF file, but without the internal reference information. Contest File Record Layout (.VHF) Each record is 94 characters long, made up of 92 data characters terminated with the ASCII characters "13" and "10" (Carriage Return + Line Feed). The first 12 records are control records and should not be edited. Your first QSO is in Record 13. Field Characters Length Mode 1 - 1 1 0=CW, 1=SSB, 2=FM Band 2 - 2 1 1=50, 2=70, 3=144 4=432, 5=1.2, 6=2.4 Callsign Worked 3 - 14 12 Date - DDMMYY 15 - 20 6 Time - HHMMSS 21 - 26 6 RST Sent 27 - 29 3 RST Received 30 - 32 3 Serial Received 33 - 36 4 Locator Received 37 - 42 6 County 43 - 46 4 Comments or Notes 47 - 65 19 Locator Multiplier Ind 66 - 66 1 Serial Sent 67 - 70 4 Dupe Indicator 71 - 71 1 County Multiplier Ind 72 - 72 1 QSO sequence number 73 - 76 4 Country Multiplier Ind 77 - 77 1 Filler 78 - 82 5 Kilometres 83 - 87 5 Points 88 - 92 5 1. Take a copy of your contest file. For example COPY FD96.VHF TEST.VHF, and then work on TEST.VHF 2. Use Option 1 of SDVCHECK to edit any field in the .VHF file. 3. Remember that you must not change the length, in characters, of any line in the .VHF file. Spaces count as characters. When you use SDVCHECK you'll have no problems. 4. Do not edit the .VHF file until after the contest. If you edit it during the contest (apart from the edit functions within SDV), and then go back to logging, the results will be unpredictable. 5. If you get into trouble during or after an edit, and find that SDV will not load the edited .VHF file - go back to Step 1. QUESTIONS and ANSWERS. Q. I've got some QSOs in the .VHF file that I want to delete. What do I do?. A. Go ahead and delete each record. Make sure you delete the whole record, and nothing else. You cannot delete a QSO from within SDV. When you log a station that doesn't count - don't worry about it, and edit it out of the .VHF file after the contest. You can also edit the Operator files for multi-operator contests. They have an OPR extension, with each record holding the Callsign (6 characters) followed by the starting QSO number for that operator. Q. What should I do if the program stops with some strange error message? A. There's quite a lot you can do to help yourself. The first thing to do is to make sure you haven't run out of space on your disk. The program does not check specifically for this. Assuming there is room on your disk, try reloading your contest file. If the program still doesn't run, then start another contest file. If you have time to examine the .VHF file, check with a text editor that it appears to be formatted properly. If the last record appears to be corrupt, delete it and reload the contest file. Error 7. Out of memory. Error 14 Out of string space. Error 57 Device I/O error. Error 61 Disk full. Error 68 Device unavailable Error 70 Disk is write protected. Error 71 Disk drive not ready. THIS IS THE SMALL PRINT: Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of EI5DI. Users of Super-Duper for VHF must accept the following disclaimer of warranty. "Super-Duper for VHF is supplied as is. EI5DI disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. EI5DI assumes no liability for damages, direct indirect or consequential, which may result from the use of Super-Duper for VHF." Remember that software is never finished! You are strongly recommended to use the AUDIT, DUMP or FASTDUMP facilities during the contest. Why not use the SKED command, before the contest, to schedule your backups? Please refer to the SDV-HIST.DOC file for information on bugs which have been corrected. You should also take a copy of your contest file with DUMP or with the MS-DOS COPY command before using any external text editor on the .VHF file. Super-Duper for VHF Copyright (c) 1990-95 Paul O'Kane EI5DI All Rights Reserved. __________________________________________ Super-Duper for VHF - Command Summary - V7.08 __________________________________________ SDV NAME - Colour display SDV -NAME - Monochrome display. __________________________________________ LOGGING Enter Accept a completed field. TAB Accept a partial or completed field - delays logging. Esc Delete or clear a field. a second Esc will restore it. Minus Abandon QSO entry. Esc or Minus update the Quick Memo. Home or [ Move to the start of a field. End or ] Move to the end of a field. Delete Delete character. Backspace Delete character to the left. Arrow keys Move left and right.. Page Up Back 6 QSOs. Page Down Forward 6 QSOs. Home Back 50 QSOs. End Forward 50 QSOs. __________________________________________ CALLSIGN ENTRY or EDIT * and ? allowed as wildcard characters. __________________________________________ WHEN WARNED OF A DUPE To work it Enter Serial. else Press Enter. __________________________________________ CONTESTS WITH SERIALS No serial given - Enter 0 (zero). __________________________________________ COMMANDS VALID IN CALLSIGN FIELD END BXX- Change to XX MHz QUIT BAND RST OPR HELP TUNE MODE ONLINE SOUND CW OFFLINE NOSOUND SSB DUMP FASTDUMP CWZERO SKED LOCK CWTEST MEMO UNLOCK AUDIT LOAD PRE(FIX) NOAUDIT COLOUR __________________________________________ CALLSIGN ENTRY MODE Insert Toggle INS/OVR. __________________________________________ SKEDS, REMINDERS, MEMOS (Caps Lock off) F7 Record them. F8 Display Skeds and Reminders. __________________________________________ HUNTING & POUNCING Comma Partial call search by prefix. Full stop Partial call search by suffix. F9 List QSOs by callsign. (Caps Lock off) __________________________________________ EDITING LOGGED QSOs. Use Up/Down keys or enter QSO number. Callsign + F9 gives QSO numbers. (Caps Lock off) Use TAB between fields. Enter when complete. F1 Edit Band LF. (Caps Lock off) F2 Edit Band HF. (Caps Lock off) Minus Abandon Edit __________________________________________ KEYER. # ' \ & < Toggle keyboard/logging mode. Down-Arrow or ( Reduce speed. Up-Arrow or ) Increase speed. Left-Arrow Reduce weight. Right-Arrow Increase weight. Home Restore 50% weight. Memory Playback. (Esc to abandon) With Caps Lock on F1 to F10 With Caps Lock off Alt-F1 to Alt-F10 or Ctrl-Z,X,C,A,S,D,Q etc. F1 TEST Call Call TEST F2 his callsign. F3 RST + current serial F4 RST + previous serial F5 TU F6 Call F7 QRL? F8 ? F9 Serial F10 Previous serial. Shift-F1 to Shift-F10 Redefine above. #R Registered callsign. #C Most recent callsign logged. #S Current serial #P Previous serial #N Name (with callsign match and LOAD) #L Locator #E Simulates the Enter key. __________________________________________ MULTIPLIER ENQUIRIES. F1 Counties next band LF. F2 Counties next band HF. F3 Individual country by band. F4 Countries by continent. F5 Countries by band. __________________________________________ QUICK MEMO F10 Recall table. Enter Retrieve data. Any other key Return to logging. __________________________________________ Super-Duper for VHF uses no multiple keystrokes for logging or editing. _______________________________________________ After the contest - use Program SDVCHECK. SDVCHECK options are 1. Post-contest Editor 2. Create Dupe Sheets 3. Multiplier Analysis 4. Create Entry File 5. Create Print File 6. Create Summary Sheet 7. QSO Rate Analysis