[DogParkList] Re: MacLoggerDX Contest Log Fields
B. Scott Andersen
bsandersen@mac.com
Sat, 31 May 2003 21:52:52 -0400
Dear Don,
My goodness. I went into the office for a few hours to catch up on
some things and look what you've done. I can't leave you alone for
a minute! :-)
You were exactly right to check the ADIF standard and the LOTW stuff. I
was going to suggest that (but, of course, you're right on the ball with
this stuff). Actually, putting "Logbook of the World Ready" on your
product
description would be a nice bragging point.
By the way, the ARRL doesn't have a digital signature client
for the Macintosh yet. Did you have any interest in checking that
out once
they release the source? They claim they are "looking for
volunteers".
<minirant>Of course, it makes me wonder what my ARRL dues are for
if me
and my Macintosh are 2nd class citizens. They've got a LINUX
client but
no Macintosh client. Sheesh!</minirant>
The SRX (received serial number--numeric only) and the SRXString
(received exchange data) can only be entered manual at the time of the
QSO. Leaving that as a simple editable field seems fine to me.
The STX (transmitted serial number) is the one field that "must" have
the auto-increment capability. Let's ignore the STXString field for a
moment.
Let me make a suggestion about how the implement this (just a draft)
and we
can see how much (if any) of my musings are useful.
----
First, the upper panel (above the tabs) looks really nice right now. I'm
reluctant to add anything up there for any of this unless we really
can't
think of another way.
I think we actually talked about this once (back in December) but one
option
is to create a tab for control of contest behavior and to setup and
spawn the
Cabrillo processor. I'm going to assume that that's not what is going
to happen.
[If you do decide to create a "contest" tab, then things get even
easier.]
In the "Prefs" tab there is some open area below the DX Alarms
checkboxes.
I might suggest two new controls in this small area: a checkbox and a
text
field with a label.
+------ Contesting -----------+
| |
| Autogen serial #'s [ ] |
| Next serial # [ ] |
| |
+-----------------------------+
IF the checkbox is in the unchecked state THEN
IF the next serial number field is empty THEN
when the user puts an X there the next serial # is set to 1
ELSE
when the user puts an X there the number appear in the field is
unaltered
FI
ELSE
when the user unchecks the box any value in the box is left unchanged
FI
The next serial number value is NOT persistent between application
restarts.
(You don't need to write it to disk).
The next serial number value is a editable text area but only natural
numbers
are allowed. No signs (+/-). No decimal point (.). Only digits. Leading
zeros
are suppressed/eliminated. [If a user enters "001" you can, at your
option,
convert that to simply "1".]
When a QSO is logged:
If the checkbox "autogen serial #'s" is checked, then the current
value of the
associated text box is written into the serial number sent field of
the QSO.
Also, the value in the "Next serial #" text field is incremented by
1. That is,
if a user were to click on the "Prefs" panel again and look at that
text area
they would see a "2" in that field after the first QSO had been
logged.
If the checkbox "autogen serial #'s" is NOT checked, no value is
stamped
into the serial number sent field. The value in the "Next serial #",
if any,
is left unaltered. (This behavior allows people to "drop out of a
contest"
temporarily and make some QSOs that won't apply toward the contest
score.
When they wish to "return to the contest" the numbers pick right up
where
they left off.]
----
> (I made all the new fields Str31, but perhaps SRX and STX can be 15
> chars and SRX_STRING and STX_STRING could be 63).
As for field sizes, I think 15 is more than adequate for the STX and
SRX fields.
You might think that the other fields would be OK at Str31 but consider
this nightmarish exchange for the ARRL November sweeps:
W4/KB1AAA/MM 1234 B W1/KC8ZZZ/MM 71 EMA
111111111122222222223333333333
123456789012345678901234567890123456789
Some nerd operating portable, on a boat, away from his home state, talks
to another nerd doing the same thing off the coast of Massachusetts. I
actually have no idea if this is a legal call setup or if this exchange
would ever happen. But, it is plausible enough that you should probably
allow it.
So, reluctantly, I guess the Str63 is probably a better choice. Then
again, if
I had to do this exchange, I'd turn the radio off, get a beer, and read
the
paper for a while. :-)
I downloaded b16 before I left work tonight. Then, apparently, you
posted
b17. Man, you work FAST! :-) I'll check out the new one in the morning.
==> I should reiterate: what a fantastic job you do with this stuff!
==> It is my pleasure to drop whatever ideas I can to help out. Please
==> feel free to use some, most, all, or none of what I suggest.
==> You're the developer; I'm just the nutty user. :-)
-- Scott
PS Regarding:
>> 6) document including revised "B. Scott Andersen's Contesting Tips"
>> for the manual.
I'd be honored to be included. Of course, now that you've got all these
changes
in place, I'll need to revise my suggestions!
On Saturday, May 31, 2003, at 04:49 PM, Don Agro wrote:
> Hi Scott,
>
> On Saturday, May 31, 2003, at 07:13 AM, Don Agro wrote:
>
>> 1) review ADIF 2.1.1 and LOTW to finalize spec (above).
>> 2) Add new fields to database.
>> 3) add new fields to log table (display and edit).
>> 4) add new fields to ADIF import/export.
>> 5) add UI support, auto increment etc.
>> 6) document including revised "B. Scott Andersen's Contesting Tips"
>> for the manual.
>
> I have done steps 1-5 with the following exception -
>
> There is UI support for SRX autoincrement, and SRX_STRING
> The only way to enter STX or STX_STRING is by editing the actual log
> entry.
> I still need to think about how to do this. Your suggestions are
> welcome.
>
> (I may have mixed up SRX and STX - I made SRX the self generated auto
> increment field).
>
> (I made all the new fields Str31, but perhaps SRX and STX can be 15
> chars and SRX_STRING and STX_STRING could be 63).
>
> <ftp://dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX2.9b17.sit>
>
> Give it a try and let me know what you think.
>
>
> Best Regards,
> Don Agro
>
> D o g P a r k S o f t w a r e L t d .
>
> email: dagro@dogparksoftware.com
> www: http://www.dogparksoftware.com
>
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>
B. Scott Andersen | "Magic is real, unless declared integer."
bsandersen@mac.com | -- The collected sayings of Wiz Zumwalt
Acton, Massachusetts | Amateur Radio ==> ne1rd