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Information about “CONLOG”
An Amateur radio (Ham) logging and log printing program specifically for
the ARRL November sweepstakes contest.
In the world of the amateur radio operator, or Ham, documentation is a
priority. There's a need to know who you have contacted, when you made
the contact, the parameters of the frequency, etc. Recording this
information calls for a lot of pencil pushing over several forms.
CONLOG eases the finger cramp associated with radio logging by providing
a single structured data entry screen for the radio operator. Working
in the radio room, CONLOG accepts the log information field by field as
the operator makes the call. Later, CONLOG prints the contact
documentation on American Radio Relay League approved forms. CONLOG
also prints radio statistics, including: avgerage number of contacts per
minute, total contacts for each band, and number of contacts since last
band change.
CONLOG also provides a screen standby feature to avoid video burn-in, a
DOS shell feature, and a notepad. The manual provides several sample
data entry screens.
CONLOG.DOC
==================
= CONLOG =
= November =
= Sweepstakes =
= Logging System =
==================
Steven E. Margison, WA9DRE
Program and Documentation Copyright 1987-1989
by Steven E. Margison -- All Rights Reserved
--------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------
Introduction ................................. 1
A. Background ...................... 1
B. Supplied Files .................. 2
C. Hardware Requirements ........... 2
D. Other Software Requirements ..... 3
Installation ................................. 5
A. Backup and Working Disks ........ 5
B. CONFIG.SYS ...................... 6
C. Date & Time ..................... 7
D. Hard Disk INstallation .......... 8
E. Configuration ................... 8
INSTCLOG ..................................... 9
A. Usage ........................... 9
B. Editing CONLOG.PRM .............. 11
C. Customizing CONLOG Operation..... 14
CONLOG ....................................... 16
A. Files and Formats ............... 16
B. Screens ......................... 19
C. Logging On and Off .............. 19
D. Changing Bands .................. 20
E. Printer Listing ................. 20
F. Making Contacts ................. 20
G. Statistics ...................... 23
H. Delete a Contact ................ 24
I. Edit a Contact .................. 24
J. File Functions .................. 25
K. Standby (Screen Saver)........... 26
L. Invoking DOS from CONLOG ........ 26
M. Terminating CONLOG .............. 26
N. Using the Notepad Function ...... 27
O. Resumption of Operations ........ 28
DUPSHEET ..................................... 29
LOGSHEET ..................................... 30
File Maintenance ............................. 31
A. Saving to Disk .................. 31
B. Replacing & Deleting BACKUP.LOG . 31
C. Using the Log Information ....... 32
Shareware .................................... 33
Warranty ..................................... 35
Screen Layouts ....................... Appendix A
Registration Form .................... Appendix B
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background
You're a ham, and so am I, so this manual will largely
be a person to person chat, rather than a dry technical
treatise. I'm WA9DRE, licensed in 1962, and veteran of over 20
hectic weekends in November called the "ARRL November
Sweepstakes". Maybe we've wound up in each others' logs. If
not, I'll be looking for you next time (especially if you're
ALASK, YU-NWT, or PAC).
CONLOG was started about 9 years ago on an old Z80-based
system as a simple duplicate check program. It evolved into a
full logging program and logsheet printing program. In its
first year as a full logging program my score went up by about
25%, confirming my theory that automated logging could increase
the efficiency of contest operators, especially single operator
stations. In addition, instead of spending hours re-copying my
logs and dupsheets for submission (they'd never be able to read
the hastily done originals!), I generated beautifully printed
sheets ready to be mailed only an hour after the contest ended!
That version of CONLOG was, however, not available to
other hams, since it was created for a custom-built computer
with a professional programmer's operating system normally not
available to the hobbyist. It was inevitable, I suppose, that I
should join the ranks of IBM-PC owners, which I did in 1986.
And, for the 1986 Sweepstakes, I had a totally new contest
logging program running on the PC.
Which brings us to the point. For several years I have
been creating IBM-PC programs as an independent shareware author
(more about shareware later). Now, I am making CONLOG available
to other contesters as an inexpensive shareware program. Use
CONLOG once, and you'll throw out the ARRL's venerable log
forms. (By the way, the printouts made by CONLOG were submitted
to the ARRL, and with their consultation were made acceptable as
official submissions.)
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 1
B. Supplied Files
The following files should be present as part of a full
CONLOG distribution:
CONLOG.EXE Logging program
INSTCLOG.EXE Installation program
DUPSHEET.EXE Duplicate Checksheet Formatter
LOGSHEET.EXE Log Sheet Formatter
SYMBOL.EXE support program for formatters
CONLOG.DOC This manual for "plain" printers
CONLOG.IBM This manual for IBM/Epson printers
NOEOF.BAT Strips EOF marker from backup file
README Any update notes not in the manual
README.1ST If present, read this file FIRST!
These files may be on either a distribution diskette, or may be
found on certain Bulletin Board Systems as the file CLOG18.EXE
or CNLOG180.EXE. These EXE files are "self-extracting archives".
In other words, each file is actually a compressed collection of
files, with a special section of executable code which causes
the files to expand themselves. Of course, if you're reading
this, you've probably already expanded the files!
C. Hardware Requirements
CONLOG will run on a floppy disk system with at least
110K of memory available after DOS has been loaded any any other
device drivers and resident programs you may use. Generally
speaking this means a system with at least 192K of installed
memory. The program will run faster on a hard disk, but a
floppy is sufficient.
CONLOG has been tested on genuine IBM PC/XTs and ATs,
and on many different "clones". As long as your system is a
true compatible, it should work without any problems. Your
operating system must be MS-DOS version 2.11 or higher. Version
3.00 or higher is to be preferred because of advanced critical
error handling.
Any standard video adapter may be used: CGA, MONO, or
EGA. If you are using an EGA or CGA video card but using a
composite monochrome monitor, CONLOG can be configured to use
only black and white, blinking, and highlighted text to avoid
the usual shading problems associated with color output on
non-color monitors. If a MONO adapter is used, CONLOG senses it
and automatically uses non-color text.
Your printer should be an IBM Graphics compatible
printer, or Epson FX-type printer. Most printers sold with
IBM-PCs fall into this category. Typical printers include the
Epson MX/RX/FX series, any Okidata with IBM Plug 'n' Play ROMs,
most STAR brand printers, and many others. However, if your
printer is not IBM or Epson compatible, CONLOG can be configured
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 2
to print out in plain text compatible with any printer,
including daisy wheels. It is also possible to configure CONLOG
to use non-IBM control codes for boldface, italics, and double
width printing in the forms, although graphics require one of
the two supported types.
D. Other Software Requirements
CONLOG is a completely self-sufficient system requiring
no other software (other than the DOS operating system).
However, you may desire to manually edit the logging files or
parameter file in which case you will need to have a text
editor. Any editing done on CONLOG files must be done in a
"non-document" mode. That means that the editor may NOT insert
special characters or mark characters by setting the high bit of
each character (WordStar does this in its document mode), nor
may it automatically replace horizontal TAB characters with
spaces. CONLOG uses the TAB character as a field delimiter in
the logging files, and replacing the TAB character with spaces
will cause the CONLOG system to malfunction. Many text editors
have an option which will allow TABs to be automatically
expanded or left intact. Be sure this option is set to leave
TABs intact. Check your editor documentation if you are unsure
of what it does to TAB characters.
Memory-resident programs, or "TSRs" are becoming more
and more common, and they are largely very useful. CONLOG is
not a memory-resident program, but it does use some of the DOS
interrupts. Most TSR programs are written in a "well-behaved"
manner; i.e., they will not create any conflicts with other
programs. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. If you
are using any TSR programs which use the function keys as
"hotkeys" (the key you press to activate the TSR program), there
will probably be a conflict, since the TSR will "trap" the
function keys before CONLOG can respond to them. If this is the
case, either change the other program's hotkeys (if possible) or
do not install that program when running CONLOG. CONLOG also
uses the real-time interrupt, which is another favorite of TSR
programs. If CONLOG should not keep time, more than likely
there is a conflict with a TSR program. CONLOG plays by the
generally accepted rules, and will peacefully co-exist with any
other program which also plays by the rules. CONLOG has been
successfully tested with many TSR programs, but it cannot be
guaranteed to be compatible with everything on the market. If
you think you are having trouble with CONLOG because of a memory
resident program, reboot your system with NO resident programs
and then try CONLOG. If the trouble goes away, add your resident
programs one-by-one, testing CONLOG after each installation.
When the trouble comes back, you'll know which program is the
culprit. (TSR, by the way, means Terminate and Stay Resident.)
There is one confirmed TSR program which causes the
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 3
timekeeping functions of CONLOG to fail. The program, which has
appeared under several names, is designed to automatically
"park" the heads on a hard disk if a certain time period passes
with no disk activity. Do NOT use this program with CONLOG.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 4
II. Installation
At this point, I could write pages and pages on how to
use your computer. Many commercial instruction manuals go on ad
nauseum about which end of the disk to insert, which drive is
A:, etc. I am going to assume that you know the basics of your
system. If you are not familiar with such things as "path",
"directory", "drive", "FORMAT", etc., then I suggest you stop
here and review your DOS manual first.
After installing the program files as instructed next,
BE SURE TO RUN THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM "INSTCLOG" BEFORE USING
ANY OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS! Until the CONLOG system is properly
installed, the program will not execute. Installation is
required because there is much information that CONLOG needs to
know about your station before logging can be accomplished.
Installation is NOT required because of any copy protection
scheme.
A. Backup and Working Disks
CONLOG is not copy protected. In fact, copying is urged
(see chapter on shareware). But the first copies you should
make are for yourself. Your original diskette, whether received
as a distribution diskette or expanded from a downloaded EXE
file, should be used to make one or more working copies of the
disk, and then stored in a safe place. NEVER execute the
programs from your original master disk. If something should go
wrong (unlikely) your original disk may be lost.
If you are using a floppy based system, I suggest
formatting a fresh disk, without the system files (do not use
the /S option to FORMAT), and copying onto it all of the EXE
files from the distribution disk.
(place fresh disk in drive B:)
FORMAT B:
(place CONLOG disk in drive A:)
COPY A:*.EXE B:
- or -
DISKCOPY A: B:
(and follow the program prompts)
The documentation files are not needed during program execution
and will simply use up disk space. Run CONLOG from this disk,
and after the contest is over, save the entire disk, making a
new disk for next year's contest. In the unlikely event that a
future update of CONLOG cannot use log files from earlier
versions, you will then have preserved not only your log files,
but the programs needed to manipulate them as well. Granted,
there is probably no need to re-print any logs at a later date,
but there is no point in burning bridges either.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 5
If you are using a hard disk system, then I suggest
copying your final log files onto a freshly formatted diskette
after the contest and placing this archive disk in a safe place.
If you get a newer version of CONLOG in the future, be sure to
save the current version in the unlikely event that the log
files will be incompatible.
B. CONFIG.SYS
When DOS is first booted up, many items of information
are initialized. Some items, which are very common, are the
system date and time, the "prompt", and the "path" environment
variable. These are usually set from within a file called
"AUTOEXEC.BAT". Although sometimes missing from floppy-based
systems, this file is omnipresent on hard-disk systems. There
is also another file which is often overlooked on both floppy
and hard disk systems: CONFIG.SYS. This file contains
information relating to additional device drivers, country
information, ram disk initialization, and other strange and
wonderful items. If this file is not available during boot up,
DOS does not complain; it simply makes certain assumptions which
are usually valid. One of the assumptions made is the number of
file handles which can be simultaneously open by all programs.
File Handles are the means used to identify file or
device channels between DOS and application programs. They are
numbered beginning at 0. By default, each executing program
starts with 5 file handles which are automatically opened by
DOS:
standard input -- the keyboard
standard output -- the screen
standard error -- the screen (and sometimes the
keyboard also)
standard aux -- usually the first serial port found
standard printer -- the "PRN:" channel, usually LPT1:
The first two channels, standard input and standard output, may
be "redirected" from the command line using the '<' and '>'
symbols. (You DID read about that in your DOS manual didn't
you??) The other channels may not be redirected from the command
line, but may be altered using the DOS "MODE" command.
The point of this discussion is that 5 file handles are
automatically opened at program execution time, whether they
will be used or not. (Just as an aside, CONLOG uses standard
input and error, but not the others. INSTCLOG uses standard
input, output, and error, and the others use standard output and
error. None of the programs will allow standard input or output
redirection. Attempts to do that will get you a warning message
and the program will terminate.) Unless specified differently,
DOS will default to a maximum of 8 possible file handles. This
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 6
leaves just 3 extra handles available for CONLOG. If you don't
do anything tricky, this is enough. However, if you should exit
to DOS from within CONLOG (more about this later), you will
probably not have enough file handles left to do anything
meaningful. CONLOG uses at most 2 file handles. INSTCLOG also
uses two, while LOGSHEET and DUPSHEET use 1 each. However,
LOGSHEET and DUPSHEET each invoke another subsidiary program,
and this may cause the 8 handle limit to be exceeded.
How is the 8 handle limit altered? Well, that's where
CONFIG.SYS comes in. Check yours now. If it exists, look for a
line like this:
files=20
If it is NOT present, then add it to your CONFIG.SYS using your
favorite text editor. The line shown above will alter the
default number of files to a maximum of 20. This is the
recommended "standard" by power-users of DOS. More and more
programs are using larger numbers of files. By setting
files=20, it is unlikely that you will ever encounter strange
program problems due to the lack of sufficient file handles.
C. Date & Time
CONLOG keeps track of the date and time for all contacts
made. Therefore, it is IMPERATIVE that your system date and
time be correctly set before invoking CONLOG. If your system has
a real-time clock built in, then you probably already have it
set to adjust the system clock at boot up. (By the way; when did
you last check the time???) If not, then either add the "DATE"
and "TIME" commands to your AUTOEXEC.BAT, or execute them
manually.
CONLOG "cheats" a little. It never looks at the month,
which it forces internally to be always November. This was
primarily done to allow practice runs of CONLOG in other months,
and make the program look like it was November. (I'm in serious
trouble if they ever move the contest to July!) However, CONLOG
does look at the date and the year, and of course the time.
Seconds are used only to initially sync CONLOG's clock with the
system clock. CONLOG does not report time to the second.
For logging purposes, all times should be in UTC (GMT).
This can be accomplished by either setting your system clock to
UTC time, or by establishing a time zone or hour offset during
the configuration of CONLOG. (This is explained a little later.)
If such a time zone is set, then CONLOG will automatically
adjust the system time to UTC time when making log entries and
displaying the time onscreen. This eliminates the need to reset
your system time from local to UTC for the contest and then back
again. Of course, any date/time stamps on the logging files
will still reflect your system time, since CONLOG does not
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 7
actually reset the system clock.
D. Hard Disk Installation
Hard disk installation is very easy. First, make a
working directory:
c:
cd \
mkdir nss
cd nss
Of course, you can name the directory anything you like, or make
the directory under another directory instead of the root
directory. Once in the working directory, place the CONLOG
distribution disk into drive A: and enter:
copy a:*.EXE b:
As with the floppy installation, the documentation files are not
needed except to make a printed copy once.
At the end of the contest, I recommend placing the final
logging files onto a floppy disk for safekeeping. Whether you
leave them on your hard drive as well is up to you.
E. Configuration
CONLOG must be told something about yourself and your
system in order to function correctly. This procedure is called
"configuration", and consists of creating a special file named
CONLOG.PRM. This file will contain all of the special knowledge
required by the entire CONLOG logging system. The file is
normally placed in the same directory (or disk) as the
executable programs, but it may be placed anywhere in your
current "path" as well. If it cannot be found or opened by
CONLOG, LOGSHEET, or DUPSHEET, these programs will report the
error and terminate. INSTCLOG does not report the inability to
find CONLOG.PRM, since this program is used to create it in the
first place. Details of using INSTCLOG are in the following
chapter.
If you are a glutton for punishment, you may create a
CONLOG.PRM file with any standard text editor which does NOT
make special files (such as WordStar does in the document mode).
Details on the format of the file are in the next chapter. The
only time you must manually edit the parameter file is to change
the printer control sequences for boldface, double width, and
italic printing.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 8
III. INSTCLOG
A. Usage
The CONLOG system requires a parameter file named
CONLOG.PRM, which contains all the customized information for
your installation. This file contains your name, QTH, section,
check, rig info, club affiliation, power, time zone offset, plus
program information regarding printer capabilities, screen
colors, etc. This file is normally in the same directory as the
CONLOG programs, but may actually be located in any
drive:\directory specified in your PATH variable.
CONLOG.PRM is an ASCII text file which may be created
using a standard text editor. However, to insure accuracy,
simplicity, and avoid syntax errors in the file, INSTCLOG is
provided to automate the task. INSTCLOG is an interactive
program which asks you for each item of information required and
processes your responses into the parameter file. There are no
command line arguments to INSTCLOG; simply execute it as any
other program. If INSTCLOG finds a file named CONLOG.PRM in the
current directory ONLY, then it will retrieve information from
that file for each question and display the current entry. This
entry may then be replaced with a new one or used as is.
INSTCLOG will ultimately rename the old CONLOG.PRM file to
CONLOG.BAK and then make a new CONLOG.PRM file.
Most items requested require text information, such as
your name, address, etc. Several items require a simple yes or
no (Y/N) response, or a single digit parameter. For all cases
of text input, INSTCLOG allows you to edit the line as you type,
and only accepts the line when the <enter> key is pressed. To
edit, simply use the backspace ( <-- ) key as you would in any
text editor. The <HOME> key erases the entire entry and allows
you to start over. The left arrow cursor key is accepted as
though it were the backspace key. INSTCLOG will only allow a
certain number of characters for each entry; the maximum
determined by the available space for that information in the
other programs. When the limit is reached, no further
characters are allowed, and each keypress sounds a beep. The
<enter>, <home>, and backspace keys will still function as
expected, however. INSTCLOG parses the keystrokes to allow only
valid data for the entry. For example, when asked for your
"check", only digits 0-9 will be accepted. Some entries will
automatically convert lower case characters to upper case,
others will leave case as is. The <ESC>ape key performs a
special function. It tells INSTCLOG to quit and NOT make a new
parameter file. This allows you to evacuate the program if you
really mess up.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 9
This is the order in which information will be
requested:
CALLSIGN maximum 10 characters
NAME maximum 50 characters
ADDRESS maximum 50 characters
CITY,STATE,ZIP maximum 60 characters
SECTION maximum 20 characters
CHECK maximum 2 digits
POWER maximum 4 digits
TIMEZONE maximum 3 characters
RIG INFO maximum 3 lines of 79 chars
SINGLE/MULTI OP STATION? S/M response
CLUB AFFILIATION maximum 50 characters
PRINTER PORT NUMBER 1, 2, or 3 is valid
PRINTER TYPE 1, 2, or 3 is valid
SLASH ZEROS? Yes/No response
AUDIBLE ALARMS? 0, 1, 2, 3 is valid
AUTO-ADVANCE FROM CHECK? 1 or 2 is valid
SECTION NAME STYLE 1 or 2 is valid
ORDER OF DATA ENTRY A, B, C is valid
COLOR SELECTION (see below)
The four items mentioned above just before color
selection will be discussed in detail under heading C in this
manual section.
Color selection is effective ONLY if a color video card
is detected. A miniature screen is presented in the upper left
corner and a menu of color parameters in the upper right corner.
A "rainbow" of possible colors is presented underneath these
items. You should be able to see 15 of the 16 colors in this
rainbow (the 16th is, of course, black). If you cannot see all
15 visible colors, adjust the color controls on your monitor
before proceeding. (As a matter of fact, you can use this
program any time you want to adjust your monitor. It displays
all 16 of the possible CGA colors.) Some color monitors, notably
the genuine IBM ones, cannot display color #08, which is
actually a highlighted black. It should show up as a faint
gray. If your monitor does not display that shade without
cranking up the intensity to a very high level, then just treat
it as another black. Don't risk harming your screen to get that
color to show. You are then prompted to select an item to
adjust from the menu, and then a color for that item. After
each selection, the miniature screen in the upper left is
re-painted to reflect the change. When the screen first appears
it uses the colors in the current parameter file, or my defaults
if there is no current parameter file. When you have the colors
the way you like them, one menu selection allows you to save
them. This option also causes the final creation of the
parameter file and the exit from INSTCLOG.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 10
The only other "tricky" entry is the TIMEZONE entry.
This is used by the CONLOG program to offset the system clock to
UTC time. You may enter any of the usual timezone designations:
EST
EDT
CST
CDT
MST
MDT
PST
PDT
UTC
GMT
Z
If your timezone is not listed above, as for the Pacific
Section, then enter an hourly offset from your local time (as
set in your system clock) to UTC, expressed as 1 or 2 digits.
For example, Central Standard Time (CST) is 6 hours behind UTC,
and could therefore be entered as "6" instead of "CST". Note
that it is assumed that any time offset will be hours to be
ADDED to local time to meet UTC time. This is valid since all
participants in the contest are in a relatively narrow range of
time zones. If your system clock is set to UTC, then use UTC,
GMT, Z, or simply 0.
B. Editing CONLOG.PRM
Normally, CONLOG.PRM may be completely setup by running
INSTCLOG. However, since it is a straight ASCII text file, it is
possible to edit the file to alter entries. Although the file
is ASCII text, there are certain rules which must be observed.
Each line in the file describes a single item, and is of
the form:
id=data
where "id" is a code to indicate which item is being described,
the "=" sign separates the id code from the data, and "data" is
the actual data assigned.
The first line of the file must be a designation of the
format for the configuration file. For Version 1.80 this line
must read:
@=0489
Any numerical codes (such as printer control codes or
color codes) must be entered as decimal values in the range
0-255. If multiple values are needed, each is separated by a
comma. No other characters may be used.
For all text entries (name, address, etc.) the maximum
number of characters for the entry (after the "=") is as
indicated in the previous section. Exceeding any entry's size
WILL CAUSE THE CONLOG PROGRAMS TO FAIL!
Here is a list of the code ids and associated data:
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 11
C=callsign
N=your name
A=street address or P.O. Box
Q=city, state, ZIP
S=section name (spelled out, not abbreviated)
Y=your check (last two digits of year first licensed)
P=transmit power in watts
Z=time zone designation or offset
F1=first line of rig information
F2=second line of rig information
F3=third line of rig information
Omit any "F" entry not used
M+ (If you are a multi-op station)
- or -
M- (if you are a single-op station)
H=name of club affiliation
Omit the H= entry if not affiliated with a club
L=printer port number: 1, 2, or 3
G+ (If your printer supports IBM/Epson style graphics)
- or -
G- (If your printer is not IBM graphics compatible)
B+=boldface ON printer control string (see notes below)
B-=boldface OFF
I+=italics ON
I-=italics OFF
W+=double width ON
W-=double width OFF
0+ (to enable slashing zeros on printouts)
- or -
0- (to disable slashing of zeros)
T=Audible alarm code 0, 1, 2, or 3
V+ (to enable auto-advance after check entry)
- or -
V- (to disable auto-advance)
U+ (to enable short section names display)
- or -
U- (to use long section names)
X=nnnnn (selects order of data entry on screen from left to right)
(where nnnnn are the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4)
R=color selections (see notes below)
- or -
R- (to disable colors)
- or -
R_ (to disable colors but keep worked sections visible)
The printer entries deserve some further explanation.
First, your printer must be connected to LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3.
CONLOG may NOT be used with serial port printers, only parallel
port printers. Fortunately, serial printers are becoming
increasingly rare, which is why serial printers are not
supported. Second, some printers have a slashed zero as a
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 12
standard character form, while most do not. If you have a
printer which slashes zeros, then set the slashed zero entry OFF
(0-). Otherwise, set it ON (0+) to cause overprinting of any
printer line with slashes at each zero character. This feature
applies only to DUPSHEET and LOGSHEET. The printer logging
output of CONLOG does not slash zeros. Finally, the control
strings for boldface, and double width default to IBM-type
printer codes, with italics enabled if you have selected an
"Epson" type of printer. If you have a printer which uses other
codes, then you will have to edit them into these lines.
(Actually, this is the only real need for editing this file.)
The data fields of these lines contain the decimal control
character strings to enable or disable the named feature, with
an additional decimal value as the first value. This additional
value is the number of control characters in the string. For
example, the IBM control sequence to turn on boldface printing
is "<ESC>ape E", which is decimal value 27 and 69. Since this
string consists of two control characters, the string would be
entered as:
B+=2,27,69
Make sure that each value is separated by ONLY a single comma.
The maximum number of control characters for each entry is 9,
which should be more than enough for any printer. If a feature
is not supported, or if you simply want to defeat it, then
either eliminate both the ON and OFF control strings from the
file, or set the first value to 0 as follows:
I+=0
I-=0
The above two lines will defeat italics printing.
The color entry (R=) is formatted just as the printer
control strings, except that there is a fixed number of values
which MUST be entered. Each value represents a color used on
the screen, and must be represented as a two-digit decimal
number in the range 00-15. The order of entries is:
Main Background
Main Border & window borders
Main Text
Data Input & window text
Function Key Menu Background
Function Key Menu Border
Function Key Menu Text
Highlights
Error Background
Error Text
Statistics
Worked Section Color
To defeat all colors, simply use R- as a entry. Of course, if
your default video device is a monochrome adapter card, this
entry will be ignored anyway. Using R_ will defeat colors, but
allow worked sections to be underlined on monochrome adapters,
and dark blue on color adapters. Here is a list of the legal
color values:
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 13
00 Black 08 Gray (hi intensity black)
01 Blue 09 Light Blue
02 Green 10 Light Green
03 Cyan 11 Light Cyan
04 Red 12 Light Red
05 Magenta 13 Light Magenta
06 Yellow 14 Light Yellow
07 White 15 High Intensity White
Use care in assigning any color value above 08 to a background
color, since you will get blinking foreground colors instead.
There are no "Light" background colors.
Any line beginning with a semi-colon (;) is treated as a
"comment" line, and is ignored by all CONLOG programs. This
allows you to enter notes into the file relative to the meanings
of the lines, if you wish.
It cannot be stressed to strongly that errors in the
parameter file will seriously affect operation of all CONLOG
programs, even though the programs attempt to validate the
syntax of each line before trusting it. I strongly suggest
using INSTCLOG first and printing out the resultant CONLOG.PRM
file before attempting to edit it. The printout will serve as a
sample of proper entry format.
C. Customizing CONLOG Operation
There are several items which will configure CONLOG to
your own tastes. The INSTCLOG program requests a selection for
each of the following items. If you are manually editing
CONLOG.PRM, use the number selection given below for each item.
First of these is the autible alarm selection. You may select:
0 = no alarms at all
1 = alarm on data entry or system error
2 = alarm on duplicate callsign
3 = alarm on duplicate callsign and data entry/system error
I suggest using selection 2 or 3, unless you plan on wearing
headphones. In that case, it doesn't matter if you have audible
alarms or not.
Since the check field always requires exactly 2 digits
entered, it makes sense to automatically advance to the next
field after the digits are entered. This is especially true if
you are a fairly accurate and fast typist. CONLOG may be
configured to accomplish this auto-advance, or to advance only
after the <space> or <enter> keys are pressed. Select:
1 = no auto-advance
2 = auto-advance enabled
CONLOG has always used the "traditional", or long
section names, rather than the newer 2 or 3 letter
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 14
abbreviations. This is primarily due to tradition and nothing
else. However, there is good reason to use the shorter section
names, especially on CW. So, beginning with Version 1.80, both
section names are supported. In the section field, you may
enter EITHER the long or short section name at any time, and
CONLOG will accept it. The section name display in the lower
half of the screen must display one or the other, though. You
may select the format of section names thus:
1 = long names
2 = short names
Note that this selection does not affect logsheet printouts,
which will continue to use only the traditional section names.
Lastly, CONLOG now allows the order of data entry to be
customized. The original order of data entry, and the default
method if none other is specified, is:
CALL NR PREC CHECK SECTION
This is the order shown on all the screen layouts in the
Appendix of this manual. An alternate form, perhaps useful to
CW operators is:
NR PREC CALL CHECK SECTION
These two formats may be selected as follows:
A = CALL NR PREC CHECK SECTION
B = NR PREC CALL CHECK SECTION
INSTCLOG allows a response of 'C' to the format request, which
then allows you to arrange the five entry field in any order you
prefer. Each field is assigned a number as follows:
0 = CALL
1 = NR
2 = PREC
3 = CHECK
4 = SECTION
The object is to arrange the five digits in the order you wish
them to appear in the CONLOG screen from left to right. The
default condition would therefore be "01234". The alternate (CW
operator's) format would be "12034". Note that you must specify
all five digits, with no digit more than once. INSTCLOG will
check your response for accuracy and reject anything not valid.
If you are editing CONLOG.PRM, the data entry field may
be omitted if you wish to use the standard "01234" arrangement.
Otherwise, the data entry format line should read:
X=nnnnn
where "nnnnn" are the five digits representing the fields, in
the order you desire them from left to right. Since you are not
using INSTCLOG, be sure that you have all five digits, in the
range 0-4, with no digit more than once. The CONLOG program
expects this line to be valid, and will fail to work if this
line is inaccurate!
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 15
IV. CONLOG
A. Files and Formats
Logging information from CONLOG is saved to disk in two
different formats. The first format is in a file named
BACKUP.LOG, and saves data on all operations done during the
operation of CONLOG. This file is used as a disaster backup. If
power should fail, or your system should fail, BACKUP.LOG can be
used to recover your log intact up to, and probably including,
the last entry. Information saved includes each log entry,
times on and off, log entries deleted or edited, and the time
and filename of log dumps to disk. Total time spent on each
band is not recoverable, but that information is not really
necessary for logging anyway.
The second type of file is a "log dump" file, which
saves the log information currently in memory. This type of
file does not save deleted entries, and only saves the edited
copy of an edited entry. It also saves section and QSO totals,
total time logged on, and other vital information. It may also
be used to recover from a power or system failure, but it will
only be as accurate as the last time the log dump was performed.
Unlike the BACKUP.LOG file, which is automatically created and
updated, the log dump files are created only on operator command
(see section I in this chapter, and chapter VII.). The log dump
file is the file used with LOGSHEET and DUPSHEET to create the
final printouts. BACKUP.LOG cannot be used for this purpose.
Both file types are saved as ASCII text files, with one
entry per line. However, the BACKUP.LOG format is not readily
readable, since information is stored in a format which is
convenient for use by CONLOG, rather than readable by real
humans. The BACKUP.LOG format looks like this:
;File opened: 1207Z, 11-19-89
+0727 14 0000
: WA9XYZ 0001 0023 B 62 56 0727 2 0000
: W1AW 0002 0001 A 24 00 0728 2 0001
: K9ABY 0003 0123 B 55 63 0730 3 0003
@ K9ABY 0003
;EDIT WA9XYZ 0001
! WA9XYZ 0001 0024 B 62 56 0727 2 0005
-0732 14 0005
;File: LOG89.001 Saved 11-19-89 1212Z
;READ LOG FILE: log89.001 at 1300Z 11-19-89
;File closed: 1301Z, 11-14-89
This short excerpt shows just about all of the entries which can
occur in the BACKUP.LOG. Note that each time you execute CONLOG,
it will append new data to any existing BACKUP.LOG file in the
current directory. If there is none, then it will be created
anew. It should be obvious that the first character in each
line has a special meaning. These are:
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 16
; Comment or note for "human" readers
+ Indicates a "time on" entry
- Indicates a "time off" entry
: Indicates a QSO entry
@ Indicates a deleted QSO entry
! Indicates an edited QSO entry
The data following each code character varies with the type of
entry. For time on and off entries, the first set of digits is
the current time (UTC is assumed) in minutes since midnight of
the current day. The next set of digits is the date, and
finally is the current total time logged on in the contest, also
expressed in minutes.
QSO entries begin with the callsign, of course, followed
by your QSO number, and then the other station's QSO number.
Next is the precedence, check, section, time worked, band, and
total contest time in that order. The section is specified as a
number which is translated within all CONLOG programs to a
section name. Number 00 is the CONN section, and number 76 is
the YU-NWT section. The numbers are ordered as they appear on
the CONLOG screen, proceeding downward in each column. Of
course, this information is really not necessary for you to
know, but it helps to understand what this log format contains.
The band entry is also a number which corresponds to a band,
with 1 being 80 meters, and 6 being 160 meters. Band 0 means
that no band was selected. The entry time and total time are
expressed in minutes since midnight, and total minutes,
respectively.
An edited entry appears in the same format as a normal
QSO entry, except that certain fields will not change. The time
worked and your QSO number cannot be altered. The total time
will be the total time when the edit took place. This total
time field is used during recovery functions to constantly
update the total time counter.
The comment entries appear for noting when files were
saved or recovered, and for logging times when the BACKUP.LOG
file was opened and closed. They are for user information only,
and have no other purpose.
Although possible, it is EXTREMELY UNWISE to attempt to
edit the BACKUP.LOG file. Tab characters are used as field
delimiters within each line, and they may NOT be altered to
spaces. In addition, some text editors place and end-of-file
marker character in a file. If this occurs, CONLOG will later
append new data AFTER the EOF marker, and all that data will
then be difficult, if not impossible, to recover. To cover this
last case, a batch file is provided called NOEOF.BAT, which can
be used to remove an EOF character from the BACKUP.LOG file. If
you should happen to edit this file, be sure to run NOEOF.BAT
before attempting to re-use BACKUP.LOG with the CONLOG program.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 17
The format of the log dump file is similar to that of
BACKUP.LOG, but more readable to a "real person". The format of
lines is:
;File: LOG89.001 Saved 11-19-89 1212Z
+ TIME ON 11-14-89 1207Z
: WA9XYZ 1 24 B Ill 62 1207Z 40
: W1AW 2 1 A Conn 24 1208Z 40
- TIME OFF 11-14-89 1212Z
>Conn 1
>Ill 1
;QSOs SECTIONS SCORE TOTAL TIME
# 2 2 8 00:05
;Next number to send is:
!4
;Total band times: 80-40-20-15-10-160
&0000 0005 0000 0000 0000 0000
The same scheme of identifying each line with a code
character is used, except that some different characters are
used. Here is a list of the codes for the log dumps:
; Comment or note for "human" readers
+ Indicates a "time on" entry
- Indicates a "time off" entry
: Indicates a QSO entry
> Indicates a section total
# Indicates scoring and logging totals
! Indicates the next number you will send
& Indicates total times (in minutes) for each band
In these files, all times are reported as normal hours
and minutes, except for the total times on each band. That item
is reported as total minutes. The QSO entry line should be easy
to read. The fields in order are callsign, your number, his
number, precedence, section, check, entry time, and band. You
will notice in the above example that there are no entries for
deleted or edited QSO entries. That is because deletions should
not appear in the log, and only the final edited entry is valid.
Compare this example to the BACKUP.LOG example above and note
that the K9ABY entry does not appear (since it was deleted), and
the WA9XYZ shows his number as 24, which is the edited version
(the original entry was 23). All items relating to section
totals and score totals are for the use of LOGSHEET and DUPSHEET
programs, and for restoring the complete log to memory if you
re-execute CONLOG. The section names are always specified in the
"long" format, even if you have configured CONLOG to use short
section names. The short section name configuration affects
ONLY the CONLOG display screen, nothing else.
The same cautions apply to the log dump files as to
BACKUP.LOG regarding editing them. There really shouldn't be
any need for that, but if so, all tab characters must be
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 18
preserved. However, an end of file marker character is
acceptable here, since these files are never appended, only
created new.
Section I of this chapter and chapter VII explain more
about using the various file recovery and save functions.
B. Screens
There are three screens used in the CONLOG program. The
main screen is used for actually logging QSOs. The function key
menu "pops up" in the lower half of the main screen in order to
give access to special non-logging functions. The function key
menu is visible when you first execute the program. The special
functions menu is also displayed in the bottom half of the
screen, and contains extra features related to contest
operation. Refer to Appendix A for printouts of the screen
formats.
The function key menu is displayed whenever CONLOG is in
the "command mode", and disappears when CONLOG is in the
"logging mode". The switch is made with the <F1> key. It will
toggle CONLOG between the two modes. The special functions menu
may be invoked by pressing the <ALT> key and <F1> keys at the
same time. The special functions menu allows the <F1> key to
return to logging mode, or the <F2> key to switch directly to
the command mode. If you are not logged in to the contest, the
<F1> key in the special functions menu will not be operative.
C. Logging On and Off
Logging on and off creates entries in the contest log
which indicate the times you started and stopped working the
contest. Current rules state that an "off" period must be at
least 30 minutes, but CONLOG does not enforce that rule. Be
sure you observe it, however, to avoid disqualification of your
log. Logging on and off may only be done from the command mode.
If you are currently logged off, CONLOG cannot be placed into
the logging mode. An error message will appear if you attempt
to use the <F1> key while logged off. The function key menu
will always be displayed while you are logged off.
Pressing <F2> while in the command mode will log you on
or off, and the legend onscreen will change accordingly. When
you log on, the total contest time counter will begin to run as
well, and will stop when you log off.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 19
D. Changing Bands
The band you are working must be manually selected in
the command mode. This is accomplished with the <F5> key. Each
time it is pressed the BAND field of the main screen will change
to the next band. The order of change is 80-40-20-15-10-160 and
then back to 80 again. You may alter the band setting
regardless of being logged on or off.
It is VERY easy to forget to change the band setting
when changing the band on your rig. This could cause your log
to be disqualified. BE SURE to change the band information in
CONLOG whenever you change bands on your rig!
E. Printer Listing
Besides the normal backup files which CONLOG creates, it
is possible to also log each operation to your printer. In the
command mode, function key <F9> toggles printer logging on and
off. The legend on the function key menu will report the
current setting. This may be toggled regardless of being logged
on or off. If you use this function, be sure your printer is
online and loaded with paper. If CONLOG detects any printer
error during operation, a warning message is displayed for a few
seconds, and the printer is automatically toggled off. This
feature is a handy way of being able to quickly scan back
through your log without having to save it to disk, exit to DOS,
and look at it in that manner.
F. Making Contacts
This is where the fun begins. After getting your rig
warmed up, laying in a supply of your favorite liquid
refreshment, kicking the kids and spouse out of the house, and
taking the phone off the hook, you're ready to begin making
contacts.
If using floppy disks, place the CONLOG working disk
into either drive A: or B: as you desire. Switch to that drive,
and invoke the program by typing
CONLOG
This will run the program and establish or re-open the
BACKUP.LOG file. DO NOT REMOVE THIS DISK WHILE CONLOG IS
EXECUTING! To do so will cause failure of CONLOG and loss of
your backup log file!
If using hard disk, change to the CONLOG directory and
invoke the program as above. Obviously, you cannot remove the
disk, so there should be no trouble here.
After the sign-on screen appears, hit any key (except
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 20
Ctrl-Break) and CONLOG will be ready for use. First, use <F5>
to set your band. Then, use <F2> to log "on" to the contest.
Finally, use <F1> to enter logging mode.
The main screen (Appendix A) is divided into separate
areas depending upon the information being reported. The top
line is the only line actually used in making the log entry.
The second line will always report the next number for you to
send, and your current band. The lower half of the screen
reports the sections NOT WORKED. As you make contacts in new
sections, this area will gradually become empty.
NOTE: With the addition of the ability to configure the order of
data entry, it is difficult to explain the sequence of operation
for all possible configurations. Therefore, it will be assumed
that the default field order is in use. If you change this,
remember that data entry always progresses from left to right on
the screen, starting with the left-most field.
The cursor is always on the top line, and shows you where your
next character will be entered. For a fresh entry it starts in
the CALLSIGN field. It is not necessary to fill in the entry
fields in order, but they must be all filled in before the entry
may be logged.
For all but the PREC field, the entry may be edited by
using the backspace ( <- ) key. In addition, the <HOME> key
will erase the current field and place the cursor at the start
of the field. Invalid keystrokes will cause a "beep" (if alarms
have been enabled during configuration) and will not be echoed
to the display. The CALLSIGN field does not accept any
punctuation, so do not attempt to enter any portable ("slash")
identifier suffix. It really isn't needed for logging anyway.
Duplicate checking is performed when the CALLSIGN field
has been filled, and movement to another field is attempted.
When the log begins to get large, there may be a slight pause
during the search process. If the callsign is already in the
log, an error message is displayed next to the CALLSIGN field
showing the number you sent to that station. After a pause of
several seconds, the error message is erased, and the CALLSIGN
field is cleared out. (Anytime an error message is displayed by
CONLOG, a keystroke will terminate the message before the normal
timeout.)
If you re-enter a field which was already filled in, any
characters typed will first cause the field to be blanked.
Otherwise, the field may be left alone by moving to another
field.
Moving to another field is done by pressing the <enter>
key, or <space> key. This will move the cursor to the starting
position of the next field to the right, with wrap-around from
the SECTION field to the CALLSIGN field. You may also directly
move either to the next field right or the next field left by
using the cursor right or left arrow keys respectively. This is
handy for moving across a field without making an entry into it,
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 21
or without disturbing an entry already in place. <enter> and
<space> only leave a field if an entry has been made in the
field. To move and leave the field blank, use the arrow keys.
The <DEL>ete key will clear all fields and place the
cursor back into the CALLSIGN field. If all fields have been
filled, but the entry has not been logged, you will be
questioned by the system to see if you really want to clear the
pending entry. A "y" response will complete the clear. Any
other response will ignore the delete request.
The <INS>ert key is used to actually log the contact.
All fields must be filled, or the <INS> key will be ignored. If
the log entry is made, the entry fields will be cleared and the
cursor placed in the CALLSIGN field. The next number to send
will be incremented, and the scoring line will be updated. The
last entry logged will be displayed just above the section
tally, and if the contact was a new section, its name will be
removed from the section tally. Finally, the entry will be
saved in the BACKUP.LOG file, and sent to the printer if printer
logging is turned on.
The <F1> key may be used at any time to return to
command mode, without disturbing any pending entry on the
screen. Likewise, the <ALT-F1> key combination may be used at
any time to invoke the special functions menu, without
disturbing any pending entry.
The PREC field is entered slightly differently. When
first entered, the field defaults to "B", and that precedence
may be selected simply by hitting the <enter> key. If the
precedence is "A" or "Q", then simply type an "A" or "Q" in
either upper or lower case. Use the <enter> key or one of the
other keys described above to move to the next or previous
field.
The SECTION field has extra features. The section can
be typed in if desired, or the cursor up and down arrow keys can
be used to scan through the list of sections until the desired
section is found. The <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys may be similarly
used, except they scan by 15 sections at a time, whereas the up
and down arrow keys scan in one section increments. Any time a
section is selected which has not been worked, its name in the
section tally is highlighted. When typing in the section name,
either upper or lower case characters may be used. Due to space
limitations on the screen, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI)
section is listed under the 5th call area instead of the 4th
call area. A hyphen (-) after the Puerto Rico (PR) section
reminds you that USVI should be listed next.
At any time, you may enter either the "traditional" long
section name or the new shortened name. CONLOG will accept
either one. During configuration you have the option of
selecting which format will be displayed on the screen, but that
does not limit which format you may manually enter.
If, during configuration, you have selected
"auto-advance" out of the check field, the second digit entered
in this field will automatically cause the cursor to advance to
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 22
the next field to the right. It is not required to press
<enter> or <space> to leave the field. In this manner, the
check field works similar to the precedence field, which also
doesn't require an <enter> key following data entry.
G. Statistics
CONLOG contains some simple statistics intended to aid
contest strategy. These statistics include:
Average number of contacts per minute
Total contacts for each band
Number of contacts since the last band change
Total time operated on each band
Total time operated since last band change
Average number of contacts per minute since last band change
It should be easy to see how this information can help determine
when a band change is in order, or when it's naptime!
The average contacts per minute are calculated as the
total number of contacts divided by the total number of minutes
logged in (your total time). This average is carried only to 1
decimal place, and is updated every minute when the time and
total time displays are updated. The value may be followed by a
"+" or "-" sign to indicate that the current average is more or
less than the previous average. If neither sign appears, then
the average hasn't changed. Like any average, changes will be
most dramatic when the total time and/or total contacts are low
numbers, and will be slower to change when the values are
higher. The average number of contacts since the last band
change is calculated the same way, except that it is reset each
time the band is changed.
Just above the sections worked display are the total
QSOs for each band, and the total time spent on that band. The
count is updated for each contact, and the time is updated each
minute. In addition, there is a final "CURRENT" entry, which is
reset to zero each time the band is changed, and shows how many
contacts were made since the last band change, and how much time
has elapsed since the band change. The counts are not saved to
the backup logs, but the times are. Reading a file into the
program will reconstruct the counts accurately. Total times for
each band are not recoverable from the BACKUP.LOG file. If you
recover from this file, the band times will be reset to 0.
However, this is not critical information for logging, so no
real problem exists.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 23
H. Delete a Contact
Sometimes you work a station and log him, only to find
out that he really wasn't working you. Or perhaps you simply
jumped the gun and hit <INS>ert before you really confirmed the
contact. (It happens!) Any logged contact may be deleted by
first using <F1> to enter command mode, and then selecting <F3>
to delete an entry. You will be asked for either the callsign
of the station or your QSO number. If the entry is found in the
log, you will be asked to confirm the delete. After completing
the action, use the <F1> key to return to logging mode. Note
that the deleted call is still in memory, but marked as
"deleted", so that it will not be matched during duplicate
checking, and will not be saved to a log file later. The QSO
number associated with that contact may not be used over again.
In addition, your score will be adjusted accordingly. If the
contact represented the only contact in a section, the section
name will re-appear in the section tally.
I. Edit a Contact
You work a station and copy his check as "66". Several
minutes later you hear him again, only much clearer this time,
and realize that he is reporting a check of "56". You can
correct the entry by returning to command mode with the <F1>
key, and pressing the <F4> key to edit an entry. You will be
prompted for either the callsign or your QSO number. If the
contact is found, the data from that contact will be placed into
the top line of the main screen, and the cursor will be placed
in the CALLSIGN field. This is the only time when the cursor
will be in the main screen while the function key menu is also
displayed. You may now edit any of the fields displayed just as
though it were a new entry. Note that any entry in the CALLSIGN
field will cause duplicate checking to occur. This means that
simply hitting <enter> in that field will run a duplicate check
on the current callsign, which will cause a duplicate to be
reported. Therefore, unless you really want to change the
CALLSIGN field, use the cursor left or right keys to change to
the next field, not the <enter> key.
The <DEL>ete key will abort the editing process at once.
The <INS>ert key will complete the edit function. You will be
prompted one final time to confirm the edit or abort it. If
confirmed, the entry will replace the old entry in memory. If a
section change was made, the scores and section totals will be
adjusted as needed. If the section was not changed, the score
and totals won't change either.
Certain items associated with a log entry may not be
edited. These include your QSO number, the time worked, and the
band used. The reasons for not allowing alteration of these
items should be reasonably obvious from a contest rules
standpoint.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 24
J. File Functions
The <F8> key in the command mode controls the three file
functions available. They are:
Write the log to a logfile
Read a logfile into memory
Recover from BACKUP.LOG
The last choice would be used only if a power or system failure
caused an exit from CONLOG and the log had not been recently
saved to a logfile.
The current log in memory should be written to disk
before any exit from CONLOG, and before using the <F7> Suspend
to DOS function.
After pressing <F8>, you will be prompted for the type
of file function you wish to perform. If you choose to write
the log file, the entire log in memory will be written to a new
file. The name of the file will be:
LOGyy.nnn
where "yy" is the last two digits of the current year, and "nnn"
is a number from 001 to 999. CONLOG automatically searches the
current directory and uses the lowest number available.
Therefore, for 1989, the first file written would be
"LOG89.001", and the fifth file would be "LOG89.005". If you
write more than 999 files, the final extension will be "000",
and each write will overwrite the last file with that number.
You may use the <F7> function to exit to DOS and erase some
files. Normally, you will not save more than 999 files, so
there should be no need to erase intermediate files until after
the contest (unless you get short of disk space).
If you choose to read in a log file, you will be
prompted to enter the name of the file to read. This should be
the most recent log file saved, so that the log will be as up to
date as possible. If the log file was created and nothing
further was entered after that, then the log will be fully up to
date. If you have data currently in memory, you will be warned
that it will be lost, and allowed to confirm or abort the read
operation.
If you choose to recover from BACKUP.LOG, that file will
be read and your memory log will be restored. If there is data
in memory at present, you will be warned and given the
opportunity to confirm or abort the operation.
When you will be logging off the contest for an extended
period of time, say an hour or more, you should log off with the
<F2> key, save the file to disk, and then exit the program using
<F10>. Later, execute CONLOG again, and as the first operation,
select <F8> and a Read operation on the last file saved. This
will restore you to the condition at which you left off.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 25
K. Standby (Screen Saver)
CONLOG is a "static" screen program. In other words,
much of the information displayed never changes. It is possible
to permanently etch information into the phosphor of a CRT.
(Check out your bank's "Money Machine" screen to see what I
mean!) CONLOG normally won't be used enough to cause this
problem, but a feature has been added to help avoid it if you
leave the contest for some minutes and don't want to exit
CONLOG. Using <F1> to enter command mode, press <F6> to invoke
the screen standby. The screen will be blanked except for one
line, which reminds you to press the space bar to restore normal
operation.
L. Invoking DOS from CONLOG
It is possible (if you have enough memory) to
temporarily exit CONLOG back to the normal DOS prompt, without
actually exiting CONLOG. This can be done to quickly check disk
space, look at the directory, print a file, or whatever. What
can be done is mainly limited by how much free memory is
available on your system with CONLOG in place. From the
function key menu, press <F7> to suspend CONLOG operation and
exit to DOS. If the suspension works, you will get your normal
DOS prompt. To return to CONLOG, type "EXIT<enter>" and you
will be returned to CONLOG as you left it.
If you are "logged into" the contest when invoking DOS,
the time you spend in DOS will be added to your total time when
you return to CONLOG. If you are going to be in DOS for more
than 30 minutes, be sure to log off the contest first, so the
time will not continue to accumulate.
M. Terminating CONLOG
From the command mode, simply press <F10> to quit
CONLOG. If you have made any changes to the log since the last
time you saved the log, CONLOG will remind you of the fact and
ask if you really want to exit without saving the log. In all
cases, CONLOG will request confirmation of your decision to exit
before the exit actually happens.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 26
N. Using the Notepad Function
I don't know how you operate the contest, but when I am
"queued up" to work a station, I usually enter as much
information as possible before the station works me. Then, I
need only enter his QSO number and I'm done. If I decide to
move on for awhile, I jot this info down on paper and add the
frequency, and then come back later. The "notepad" feature of
CONLOG has been added to perform this function electronically.
The notepad is 25 "slots" in the computer's memory which can
store a station's callsign, precedence, section, check, and an
optional frequency notation. Later, this information can be
printed out, viewed, or automatically retrieved into the logging
screen.
The notepad functions are invoked from the special
functions menu with the <ALT-F1> key combination. There are
three choices on this menu to handle the notepad:
F3 Save An Entry to the Notepad
F4 Print the Notepad
F5 View the Notepad
To save an entry in the notepad, first enter the callsign of the
station in the logging screen as normal. Then, enter the
remainder of the station's data, except his QSO number. It is
not necessary to enter all information as long as either the
section or check is entered. Precedence, if not entered,
defaults to "B". After entering this information, invoke the
special functions menu with <ALT-F1> and press <F3>. You will
be prompted for a frequency. If you wish, you may enter from 1
to 5 digits representing the kHz of the station. Or, simply
press <RETURN> to omit a frequency entry. After the frequency
is keyed in, pressing <RETURN> will enter the information into
the notepad.
If you enter a station into the notepad which is already
there, the old information will simply be replaced with the new
information. A station will not occupy more than one notepad
slot.
There are 25 slots in the notepad. If a 26th entry is
saved, it replaces the oldest entry in the notepad.
To view the items in the notepad, press <F5> in the
special functions menu. A window will open in the center of the
screen with the first available notepad entry. (This may not
actually be the first entry you made in the notepad, however.)
Pressing the <SPACE> bar will advance to the next entry, until
all have been displayed. When no more entries are available,
the window closes. Also, pressing the <ESC> key at any time
will terminate the viewing function. Pressing the minus <-> key
will delete the currently displayed entry from the notepad.
The <F4> key in the special functions menu will cause
the entire notepad to be printed out on the printer. The
printer logging option from the command menu does not have to be
on for this to operate. However, the printer does have to be
ready and online. The notepad entries are printed out in order
for however many entries are valid.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 27
The most helpful feature of the notepad is its ability
to automatically recall information. When a callsign is entered
in the logging screen, a duplicate check is, of course, made
against the log. If the callsign is not a dupe, then the
notepad is searched. If the callsign is found in the notepad,
the notepad information is automatically transferred to the
logging screen fields, where it may be used as is, or edited as
though you had manually entered it. If you do not log the
station, the entry remains in the notepad. However, if you now
log the station with the <INS> keystroke, then this station is
deleted from the notepad automatically, thus freeing up a slot
in the notepad for a new entry.
The notepad information is not actually valid logging
data, but it is nice to preserve it if you exit the program and
resume later. The RESUME.LOG file will save the notepad
information for later recovery. (See the next stion for
details.)
O. Resumption of Operations
Beginning with Version 1.80, CONLOG incorporates a
feature which automatically restores all data when CONLOG is
invoked. Upon exiting CONLOG a special file is automatically
created, named "RESUME.LOG". This file is NOT, repeat NOT, a
text file, and cannot be edited or viewed! The "RESUME.LOG"
file contains the following information:
Last file number saved
Band active when program exited
Printer ON/OFF status
All active notepad items
When CONLOG is run, the RESUME.LOG file is read and the band,
printer, and notepad are restored to the conditions existing
when CONLOG was exited last. Also, the last log file to be
saved is automatically restored. The net effect is to restore
operations exactly as they were when the program was last
exited. Of course, if the wrong log file is read in, a
different one can be re-read with the <F8> function.
Alternately, you can erase the RESUME.LOG file before running
CONLOG. If the RESUME.LOG file is missing, CONLOG does not
attempt any restoration of operations; it just starts anew.
IMPORTANT: When starting the contest from the
beginning, be sure than no RESUME.LOG file is present! In other
words, after completing the CW weekend, erase RESUME.LOG before
the Phone weekend. In addition, it is not necessary to save the
RESUME.LOG file after the contest is completed. No information
of any real value is preserved in that file. It is only for
convenience in resuming operations during the contest.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 28
V. DUPSHEET
Even though a logging program like CONLOG will
positively prevent duplicate contacts, the ARRL still requires a
duplicate check sheet for all log entries totaling 200 QSOs or
more. However, the ARRL has agreed to accept an alphabetic
printout of callsigns, arranged by call area, in lieu of the
standard handwritten form they issue. DUPSHEET is a program
which prints a duplicate check sheet from your log file.
DUPSHEET will not use the BACKUP.LOG file, only a log
file which was created with the (W)rite option of <F8> in the
CONLOG program. The filename specified must have the last two
digits of the year as the last two characters in the basename
portion of the filename. Filenames generated by CONLOG are
acceptable. If you rename these files, be sure to observe the
same basic format:
LOG89.007 is O.K.
PHONE89.LOG is O.K.
SWEEPS.89A is invalid
To use, simply invoke DUPSHEET with the name of the log
file to use:
dupsheet log89.008
Naturally, substitute your actual filename in the example above.
All printer configuration information will be retrieved from
CONLOG.PRM, which must be available and already established by
running INSTCLOG. (See Chapter III.)
The printout will be made with call area 0 first,
proceeding through call area 9, and then Canada. Within each
call area, callsigns will be arranged alphabetically by callsign
suffix. Prefixes are ignored for sorting, and this is
considered acceptable by the ARRL. To sort by both prefix and
suffix would extend the time the sort takes by a very great
amount, and for no real purpose. Even a sort of 300 entries on
a typical 4.77mHz IBM-XT will take a number of seconds. The
larger the file, the longer the sort. BE PATIENT! Just because
nothing seems to be happening doesn't mean the program has
crashed. If your contacts number into the thousand range, the
sort on a standard XT may even take a minute or more.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 29
VI. LOGSHEET
The final stage in working the "sweeps" is preparing a
log and summary sheet for submission to the ARRL. LOGSHEET is a
program which performs this function from your log file.
LOGSHEET will not use the BACKUP.LOG file, only a log
file which was created with the (W)rite option of <F8> in the
CONLOG program. The filename specified must have the last two
digits of the year as the last two characters in the basename
portion of the filename. Filenames generated by CONLOG are
acceptable. If you rename these files, be sure to observe the
same basic format:
LOG89.007 is O.K.
PHONE89.LOG is O.K.
SWEEPS.89A is invalid
To use, simply invoke LOGSHEET with the name of the log
file to use and the word "phone" or "cw" to indicate which mode
was worked:
logsheet log89.008 phone
Naturally, substitute your actual filename and mode in the
example above. The filename must be the first parameter and the
mode second. All printer configuration information will be
retrieved from CONLOG.PRM, which must be available and already
established by running INSTCLOG. (See Chapter III.) In addition,
LOGSHEET collects all the miscellaneous information entered in
CONLOG.PRM to complete the summary and log sheet headings.
Basically, there is nothing to do after running
LOGSHEET. The logsheets will be printed first, followed by the
summary. Just sign and date the summary form where indicated.
If you are a multi-op station, you will also need to fill in the
callsigns of all operators in the space provided.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 30
VII. File Maintenance
A. Saving to Disk
While running CONLOG, the <F8> function can be invoked
at any time to write out a disk file of the complete log. This
should be done as frequently as you see fit. I suggest writing
the log every 1 hour or 100 contacts, whichever comes first, but
adjust this to your operating conditions. The BACKUP.LOG will
always be up to date, but it should be relied upon only as a
disaster backup, not as the primary disk image of the log. A
current log dump always gives me a "warm, fuzzy feeling", as it
should do for you, too. Naturally, this log dump should ALWAYS
be done before exiting CONLOG. If you don't, CONLOG will remind
you before you are allowed to exit the program.
After the contest, use the last dump as the file for
creating the log sheets and duplicate check sheets. When they
are properly printed out, you can erase all of the earlier log
dump files. Don't even bother to save them on a floppy -- only
the last file is really valid.
If you operate both the cw and phone contests, be sure
to save the BACKUP.LOG and LOG??.* files in a separate directory
or floppy disk before running the phone weekend. This is very
important! If you don't, your phone operation may become
appended to, or replace your cw logs!
Finally, the RESUME.LOG file is created when CONLOG is
exited. It is used for automatic resumption of operations.
After the contest is over, erase this file. It will serve no
further purpose.
B. Replacing and Deleting BACKUP.LOG
The BACKUP.LOG file has no further use after the contest
is ended and the logs are printed out. At that time, it should
be deleted. Since it is no longer needed, there is no point in
using up disk space. More importantly, since CONLOG always
appends information to any existing BACKUP.LOG, erasing it will
insure that it starts fresh for the next contest, or for the
phone contest if you have already worked the cw contest.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 31
C. Using the Log Information
The log file is mainly used for creating the final
printout. However, if you print out the log file as it stands
using any convenient means, such as "copy log89.007 prn:", you
will find that at the end of the file is a list of all the
sections worked and the number of contacts in each section made.
This information may be useful to you in future contacts to
determine where to direct your beam, what geographical areas you
seem to work best, etc. Future plans for CONLOG include
statistical compilation of this data indicating the optimum
times for each section, busy hours, slack hours, etc. Until
then, use this file information as you will to improve your
score. Remember, "there's always next year"!
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 32
VIII. SHAREWARE
Shareware is reasonably priced "try-before-you-buy"
software. You can get trial copies of shareware software for
free from anyone who has a copy, or often from bulletin board
systems or commercial distributors such as PC-SIG or the Public
(Software) Library of Houston. If you use and like the program,
then you are obligated to purchase, or "register", the program
for a fee usually much lower than a typical commercial program.
By registering you will often also receive notice of available
upgrades or supplemental programs. Keep in mind that the
purchase of a program from a distributor or payment to an online
service (such as CompuServe) does NOT constitute registration of
the program since the producer of the program does not receive
one penny of that payment. Shareware is NOT public domain
software, and continued use of a program carries with it the
OBLIGATION to purchase the program. The free distribution
method is intended only as a means of obtaining a copy to
evaluate before purchasing.
The CONLOG system is a shareware program. If you use
it, please complete the order form at the end of this manual and
submit it with your payment. Notice that quantity purchases
through a club are eligible for a generous discount! You will
receive via return mail a diskette with the latest version of
the program and documentation, and will be notified of future
program upgrades. Online help is available through CompuServe
(74435,1042) or GEnie mail (S.MARGISON). Sorry, but online help
is available ONLY to registered users.
Help is also available by mail. I will try to answer
all letters within 48 hours. Non-registered users must include
a SASE for a reply. The degree of help offered to
non-registered users is purely discretionary. No phone calls,
please.
CONLOG may be freely exchanged or given away. However,
it may not be included or "bundled" with any software which is
sold or is a commercial product without prior permission. No
charge may be made for copying or transferring the files. PC
Users groups and PD software distributors may charge a nominal
fee, PROVIDED permission is requested for distribution. With
permission, a complete distribution disk will be submitted with
the latest version.
CONLOG and its documentation may not be transferred nor
exchanged in any modified form. If you really want to "hack"
the program or the documentation, by all means do so; but don't
give the hacked version to anyone else. I cannot be expected to
help others use this program if it is not the same as it was
when distributed. Under no circumstances may the copyright
notices be altered or removed from the program or this
documentation.
If you decide not to use CONLOG, then just erase it or
pass it on to someone else. If you do use it, please honor your
obligation and purchase this product. Inexpensive shareware
cannot continue to exist if those who use it continue to treat
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 33
it as a gift, rather than as a product for which the author must
receive payment. Shareware used regularly without payment is
piracy just as much as illegally copying "Lotus" or any other
commercial product. Ignore the claims by some people that
shareware, by virtue of its unique distribution method, carries
no obligation to the user. These claims are false, and
discourage many good programs from remaining as shareware.
CONLOG is somewhat unique in that it is useful for only
two weekends during the year. What, therefore, constitutes
"regular use"? If you try the program out before the contest,
that is "trial usage". However, if you actually USE the program
DURING THE CONTEST, then you are a "user" and are obligated to
purchase. Registering CONLOG after the contest is entirely
acceptable.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 34
IX. WARRANTY
Oh, this shouldn't be necessary among friends and
gentlemen, but it's really the lawyers who run the world and
they say we gotta do this:
** CONLOG, its support programs, and this
documentation are copyright 1987-89 by Steven E.
Margison.
** This program and documentation are provided "as is"
without warranty of any kind, either expressed or
implied, including but not limited to the implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose.
** The user of this program and documentation agree to
hold the author and/or distributor(s) of this program
and documentation harmless for any direct or
consequential damages resulting from its use. In
other words, "you're on your own!"
** IBM is a registered trademark of International
Business Machines Corporation.
** MS-DOS is a trademark of MicroSoft Corporation.
** Many other tradenames have been used in this
manual, acknowledgement of which may be assumed.
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page 35
APPENDIX A. Screen Layouts (Shown using standard field format)
COMMAND MENU SCREEN
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL NR PREC CHECK SECT |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: Time: 1826Z Total Time: 00:00 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 0.0 |
| 1 +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| Co| COMMAND MENU |r |
| EM|F1 Exit To Logging Mode F6 Screen Standby |e |
| Me|F2 Log On & Off --> OFF F7 Suspend to DOS |t |
| NH|F3 Delete An Entry F8 File Functions |n |
| RI|F4 Edit An Entry F9 Printer Toggle --> OFF |sk |
| Vt|F5 Select Band F10 Exit Program |ta |
| WM| Make function selection... | |
| | |T |
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
Main Logging Screen
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL NR PREC CHECK SECT |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1826Z Total Time: 00:00 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 0.0 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VE |
| Conn ENY EPa Ala Ark EBay Ariz Mich Ill Colo Mar |
| EMass NLI Del Ga La Los Ida Ohio Ind Iowa Que |
| Me NNJ MDC Ky Miss Org Mont WVa Wisc Kans Ont |
| NH SNJ WPa NC NMex SBar Nev Minn Man |
| RI WNY NFla NTex SCV Oreg Mo Sask |
| Vt SC Okla SDgo Utah Nebr Alta |
| WMass SFla STex SF Wash NDak BC |
| Tenn WTex SJV Wyo SDak NWT |
| Va SV Alask |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page A-1
Main Logging Screen with Entry Pending
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL WA9DRE NR 12 PREC B CHECK 62 SECT ILL |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1826Z Total Time: 00:00 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 0.0 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VE |
| Conn ENY EPa Ala Ark EBay Ariz Mich Ill Colo Mar |
| EMass NLI Del Ga La Los Ida Ohio Ind Iowa Que |
| Me NNJ MDC Ky Miss Org Mont WVa Wisc Kans Ont |
| NH SNJ WPa NC NMex SBar Nev Minn Man |
| RI WNY NFla NTex SCV Oreg Mo Sask |
| Vt SC Okla SDgo Utah Nebr Alta |
| WMass SFla STex SF Wash NDak BC |
| Tenn WTex SJV Wyo SDak NWT |
| Va SV Alask |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
Prompt to confirm killing of pending entry
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Kill current entry? (y/n) |
| CALL WA9DRE NR 12 PREC B CHECK 62 SECT ILL |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1827Z Total Time: 00:01 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 0.0 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VE |
| Conn ENY EPa Ala Ark EBay Ariz Mich Ill Colo Mar |
| EMass NLI Del Ga La Los Ida Ohio Ind Iowa Que |
| Me NNJ MDC Ky Miss Org Mont WVa Wisc Kans Ont |
| NH SNJ WPa NC NMex SBar Nev Minn Man |
| RI WNY NFla NTex SCV Oreg Mo Sask |
| Vt SC Okla SDgo Utah Nebr Alta |
| WMass SFla STex SF Wash NDak BC |
| Tenn WTex SJV Wyo SDak NWT |
| Va SV Alask |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page A-2
Main Menu with Several Contacts Made
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL NR PREC CHECK SECT |
| Send QSO # 6 BAND 20 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1834Z Total Time: 00:08 |
| |
| QSO Total: 5 Sections: 5 Score: 50 QSO/Min: 1.0+ |
| Last Call Logged: K9XXX |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 2 3 0 0 0 3 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:05 00:03 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:03 1.0+ |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VE |
| Conn ENY EPa Ala Ark EBay Ariz Mich Ill Colo Mar |
| EMass NLI Del Ga La Los Ida Ohio Ind Iowa Que |
| Me NNJ MDC Ky Miss Org Mont WVa Wisc Kans Ont |
| NH SNJ WPa NC NMex SBar Nev Minn Man |
| RI WNY NFla NTex SCV Oreg Mo Sask |
| Vt SC Okla SDgo Utah Nebr Alta |
| WMass SFla STex SF Wash NDak BC |
| Tenn WTex SJV Wyo SDak NWT |
| Va SV Alask |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
Error window for invalid section name (Short section names shown)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL WA9DRE NR 12 PREC B CHECK 62 SECT ILM |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1827Z Total Time: 00:01 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:02 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:02 0.0 |
| 1 2 3 +-----------------ERROR----------------+ 0 VE |
| CT ENY EPA| |L CO MAR |
| EMA NLI DE | INVALID SECTION NAME |N IA PQ |
| ME NNJ MDC| |I KS ON |
| NH SNJ WPA+--------------------------------------+ MN MB |
| RI WNY NFL NTX SCV OR MO SK |
| VT SC OK SDG UT NE AB |
| WMA SFL STX SF EW ND BC |
| TN WTX SJV WW SD NWT |
| VA SV WY |
| PR - VI PAC AK |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page A-3
Special Functions Menu Screen
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL NR PREC CHECK SECT |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1826Z Total Time: 00:00 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 0.0 |
| 1 +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| Co| SPECIAL FUNCTION MENU |r |
| EM|F1 Exit To Logging Mode F6 (future use) |e |
| Me|F2 Exit to Command Menu F7 (future use) |t |
| NH|F3 Save Entry to Notepad F8 (future use) |n |
| RI|F4 Send Notepad to Printer F9 (future use) |sk |
| Vt|F5 View Notepad F10 (future use) |ta |
| WM| Make function selection... | |
| | |T |
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
Notepad Viewing Window
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL NR PREC CHECK SECT |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1828Z Total Time: 00:02 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs+--------------VIEW NOTEPAD--------------+ 0 |
| TIME| |0:00 0.0 |
| 1 +--------------| WA9DRE Ill B 62 14275 kHz |------------+ |
| Co| | | |r |
| EM|F1 Exit To Log| <space> Scroll <ESC> Quit <-> Delete | |e |
| Me|F2 Exit to Com| | |t |
| NH|F3 Save Entry +----------------------------------------+ |n |
| RI|F4 Send Notepad to Printer F9 (future use) |sk |
| Vt|F5 View Notepad F10 (future use) |ta |
| WM| Make function selection... | |
| | |T |
| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| PR - USVI Pac |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page A-4
Short Section Names Format
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| CALL NR PREC CHECK SECT |
| Send QSO # 1 BAND 40 |
| |
| Time On: 1826Z Time: 1826Z Total Time: 00:00 |
| |
| QSO Total: 0 Sections: 0 Score: 0 QSO/Min: 0.0 |
| Last Call Logged: |
| BAND 80 40 20 15 10 160 Current Avg |
| QSOs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| TIME: 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 0.0 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VE |
| CT ENY EPA AL AR EB AZ MI IL CO MAR |
| EMA NLI DE GA LA LAX ID OH IN IA PQ |
| ME NNJ MDC KY MS ORG MT WV WI KS ON |
| NH SNJ WPA NC NM SB NV MN MB |
| RI WNY NFL NTX SCV OR MO SK |
| VT SC OK SDG UT NE AB |
| WMA SFL STX SF EW ND BC |
| TN WTX SJV WW SD NWT |
| VA SV WY |
| PR - VI PAC AK |
+----------<F1> Command Menu---------------<Alt-F1> Special Functions----------+
CONLOG November Sweepstakes Logging System Page A-5
APPENDIX B. Registration Form
======================================================================
SOFTWARE REGISTRATION FORM AND ORDER
======================================================================
This form may be photocopied or printed out.
PRODUCT: --------- CONLOG SWEEPSTAKES SYSTEM V1.80 --------------
Quantity: Amount:
_________ Standard Registrations $20.00 $______
(Payment in US Dollars ONLY)
If ordering 3 or more copies, discount the price
by 20% ($4.00) per copy LESS DISCOUNT $______
(Quantity orders to one shipping address. However,
for update purposes, please send individual names
and addresses of registrants.)
TOTAL ENCLOSED: $______
If you already have this program, from where was it obtained?
[ ]CompuServe [ ]Friend [ ]Employer [ ]BBS:__________________
Version___________ Serial No._______________
Payment is by check[ ] or money order[ ] (Sorry - no COD or charges)
NAME _____________________________________CALL: ____________
ADDRESS ____________________________________________________
CITY _______________________________________________________
STATE___________________________ ZIP _______________________
======================================================================
Send completed form and payment to:
Steven E. Margison, WA9DRE
124 Sixth Street
Downers Grove, IL, 60515
FILE1885.TXT
Disk No: 1885
Disk Title: Conlog
PC-SIG Version: S1
Program Title: Conlog
Author Version: 05/10
Author Registration: $20.00.
Special Requirements: Dos 3.0 Recomm.
In the world of the amateur radio operator, or Ham, documentation is a
priority. There's a need to know who you have contacted, when you made
the contact, the parameters of the frequency, etc. Recording this infor-
mation calls for a lot of pencil pushing over several forms.
CONLOG eases the finger cramp associated with radio logging by providing
a single structured data entry screen for the radio operator. Working in
the radio room, COMLOG accepts the log information field by field as the
operator makes the call. Later, COMLOG prints the contact documentation
on American Radio Relay League approved forms. COMLOG also prints radio
statistics, including: Avg number of contacts per minute, Total contacts
for each band, and number of contacts since last band change.
CONLOG also provides a screen standby feature to avoid video burn-in, a
DOS shell feature, and a notepad. The manual provides several sample
data entry screens.
PC-SIG
1030D East Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale Ca. 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1989 PC-SIG, Inc.
FLYER.TXT
SEM Software is a growing collection of shareware software
products for the MS-DOS community. Prices are reasonable, and
quality is high, since all software is created by a fulltime
professional software engineer with a Chicago high-tech
consulting firm. Help to registered users is available through
Compuserve, GEnie, or mail. Orders and inquiries are normally
processed within 48 hours. Free trial copies of all software
may be obtained from Compuserve (IBMSIG), Public (Software)
Library of Houston, GEnie, and many systems around the country.
Unless noted otherwise, all programs operate under MS-DOS or
PC-DOS 2.1 and above, on IBM XTs, ATs, or compatibles, and will
work on MDA, Hercules, CGA, and EGA video cards.
FOR PRINTING AND TEXT PROCESSING:
***** SUPER PRINT *****
The ultimate in printing utilities, SUPER PRINT has
just about any printing feature which could be
desired. SUPER PRINT will print files with embedded
control characters, will slash zeros, add line
numbers, add left margin space for three-hole paper,
page number, print file time and date in heading, and
other stuff. Recent additions include page length
setting, top and bottom margins, wild card filenames,
prompted printing, printer configuration file,
adjustable tab expansion, and more! This is also one
of the few printing utilties which may be the target
of piped data from another program. Now, version 2.70
includes even more enhancements, including character
translation capabilities. The most software you can
get for only $10!
****** NEAT *****
This is a text formatting program similar to UNIX
nroff, except oriented to the PC user. Virtually any
printer can be supported with several different fonts
or ribbon options. This program also has file merging
features for creating form letters merged with address
lists, or other such uses.
FOR C LANGUAGE PROGRAMMERS:
***** STEVE'S TURBO-C LIBRARY *****
This expansion library for Borland's Turbo-C has over
130 functions and growing. Although Version 1.5 of TC
contains direct video access, "Steve's Library" was
the FIRST to contain a full library of direct video
text functions for this compiler. Many users say that
my functions are even better and easier to use than
Borland's. The library includes complete source code
in C and assembler, plus several useful header files.
Included are printer BIOS service routines for fast
printer access, and async communications functions,
directly accessing the serial ports for fast access
without buffering. Up to 9600 baud is possible!
Need to accept wildcard filenames on the command line?
My exparg() function re-arranges (argc, argv) to an
expanded array with all wildcards expanded to matching
filenames.
An installable interrupt handler for the 18.2 Hertz
interrupt is included so that simple real-time
applications can be programmed which will function
properly regardless of the type of system in use.
Functions for file opening from PATH and specified
environment variables make opening a file anywhere in
the environment totally transparent to the programmer.
And now, support is also included for the switch
inputs on the game port! This 4-bit port is very
handy for reading switches or other logic levels from
any outside device.
Full documentation suitable for printing and placing
in a binder is provided, along with a utility to
automate the printing.
To demonstrate various functions from STEVE'S LIBRARY,
six utilites with source code are included. The
utilities include:
GTOD - Reports time and date in many formats
TC - Compare two text files and report differences
WC - Count words, lines, characters, and checksums
files
OKISET - Configure an Okidata Printer or similar
IBM-type printer
INPATH - Locate an executable file in current PATH
DUMP - Unique hex dump program in COLOR, with optional
highlighted bytes.
***** STEVE'S ZORTECH C LIBRARY *****
This expansion library for Zortech C has over 100
functions. Much of "Steve's Library" for Turbo - C is
included, except the direct video (which Zortech
provides). However, "Steve's Library" provides much
of what Zortech forgot, like control-break and
critical error interrupt handlers, device type
interrogation functions, a game port handler, async
functions, direct printer functions, and more. All
functions have been optimized for Zortech.
FOR AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS
***** CONLOG *****
This is the first in what will become a series of
contest logging programs for the Amateur Radio
Operator. CONLOG is intended for the annual November
Sweepstakes. This package is more than one program.
There is a logging program for use during the contest,
and two support programs to print the resulting
logsheets, summary, and duplicate check sheets. All
forms are printed with slick graphics (for IBM
compatible printers only), but can be also printed on
non-IBM printers without the graphics. The forms have
been approved by the ARRL for submission as valid
contest entries. Extra care has been taken to
preserve all log entries, even if there is a system or
power failure. The user can configure all video
attributes, plus name, QTH, rig, and section
information. This program is the result of various
programs written over the last seven years for the
Sweepstakes. No guarantees are made, but MY score has
increased by over 25% as a result of computer logging!
And the time saved in re-copying the logs (to make
them readable!) is incredible. My entry is usually
ready for mailing about 30 minutes after the contest
ends. All new contest rules are supported, including
the new West Texas section, and QRP power precedence.
Provisions are made to edit or delete log entries
during the contest, and the program absolutely will
not let you log a duplicate callsign! Log size is a
hefty 2500 entries to cover even you guys in the
COLorado section. Try it once, and throw away your
pencil! And when you work the contest, say hi to
WA9DRE when we work!
Corporations and clubs: Quantity discounts and/or site licensing
agreements are welcomed. Send your requirements for a
quotation.
GO.TXT
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ <<<< Disk #1885 CONLOG >>>> ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ To start program, type: CONLOG (press enter) ║
║ ║
║ To print documentation, type: COPY CONLOG.DOC PRN ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #1885
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
CONLOG DOC 123676 5-10-89 8:20p
CONLOG EXE 64046 5-10-89 7:41p
CONLOG ORD 1972 4-26-89 7:20p
DUPSHEET EXE 17528 5-10-89 7:43p
FILE1885 TXT 2295 12-29-89 11:39a
FLYER TXT 8292 2-09-89 7:00p
GO BAT 38 1-01-80 1:37a
GO TXT 540 1-01-80 6:37a
INSTCLOG EXE 24550 5-10-89 7:42p
LOGSHEET EXE 23852 5-10-89 7:43p
NOEOF BAT 203 12-10-86 9:12p
ORDER FRM 2159 2-09-89 6:59p
README 4107 5-10-89 12:34p
SYMBOL EXE 4090 5-10-89 7:42p
14 file(s) 277348 bytes
36864 bytes free