[DogParkList] Re: MacLoggerDX Contest Log Fields

[Don Agro]

Hi Scott,

On Saturday, May 31, 2003, at 09:52  PM, B. Scott Andersen wrote:

> 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! :-)

Heh :)

> 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".

I think Steve Palm (N9YTY) (Author of EchoMac) has started to take a 
look at it.
He has posted some preliminary results on the Ham-Mac list.

We are exporting ADIF and LOTW will eventually process ADIF on the Mac, 
so whatever changes need to be made to MacLoggerDX in the future to be 
compatible will be made.

> 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 got rid of QSL sent and QSL Received fields (only from the upper 
panel) since they are rarely/never? entered in the heat of a 
contest/QSO. This made room for all four fields, and STX is auto 
incrementing from whatever number the user enters, or from zero if the 
user does nothing. I didn't include a preference switch because I don't 
think it's harmful to have this turned on all the time ? (I think this 
may be wrong though).

> 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.]

I've sort of run out of room for a contest tab, but we can integrate 
setting up and spawning the cabrillo processor from the UI in other 
ways (I just haven't thought of a good one yet :)
Perhaps spawning the carbrillo front end could bring up a set-up 
screen. At the simplest level - a menu item for "Setup Cabrillo" and 
one for "Run Cabrillo" ?


> 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.

My only argument with this, is that I think you really need all four 
fields readily accessible in the main data entry area when things get 
fast and furious.

> +------ 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".]

This has all pretty much been done in the beta. I just posted:

<ftp://dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX2.9b19.sit>

Give it a test drive, and let me know if I've gone down any wrong paths.

My assumptions are (Please correct me if this is wrong) :

For some contests we use numeric serial numbers:

* STX is auto incrementing and only needs to be set once (except for 
interruptions)
* STX is different for every QSO and hand entered after being received 
from the station worked.

For other contests we use string serial numbers:

* STX_STRING is entered once and not changed for the duration (same for 
every QSO - but could be changed on the fly)
* SRX_STRING is different for every QSO and hand entered after being 
received from the station worked.


Both SRX and STX are limited to integers, with some leading zeroes for 
cosmetic reasons.
STX is auto incrementing with any start/restart number allowed, but as 
of yet - no way to turn it off.
SRX_STRING and STX_STRING are free-form text.

> 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.

This is partially implemented.

>   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.]

This is a good point, I will add the preference check box in an 
upcoming beta - for now it is always on - but the user can enter a new 
starting number at any time.

> ----
>> (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 made those changes but they didn't make it into this beta - they will 
be in the next one.
STX, SRX - 15 chars
STX_STRING and SRX_STRING - 63 chars

> 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.

We are up to b19 now :)

> ==> 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. :-)

Thanks Scott, but you are seriously underestimating your contribution.

> -- 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!

Thanks Scott, I think your earlier email to Anthony Rodgers, edited to 
include the modifications to MacLoggerDX + any changes to your Cabrillo 
processor would make a fabulous manual page: "MacLoggerDX and 
Contesting".


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