California QSO Party Logging Program Helpful Hints /ver 4.5 Sept. 1993 Corrected minor bugs in curser location. Corrected multiple mult totaling error. Deleted support for a back up floppy. Prevents logging a call without a number and QTH. Increased QTH data size from 10 to 20 characters. This means v4.5 cannot read log files made with v4.4 and earlier. /ver 4.4 Oct. 1992 Fixed bug which logged contact if back arrow was used to edit a serial nr. /ver 4.3 Sept. 1992 Added ALT- function keys for viewing mult list and log. Also ALT-F1 = toggle CQ/HUNT mode ALT-F2 = show multipliers screen ALT-F3 = show log screen ALT-F5 = fix last call sign ALT-F6 = fix last QSO serial number ALT-F7 = fix last QSO QTH (may not update mult screen right away) ALT-F10= change CW keying port Added ALT display line at bottom of screen as a reminder for ALT-F keys. Made ALT-F5,6,7 (fix last QSO) more goof proof. Made F1 thru F10 CW memories. F1 thru F8 can be altered with Shift-F1, Shift F2, etc. Added band by band QSO total display. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This disk is the latest software I wrote for CQP. It isn't fancy but it gets the job done. It started over 8 years ago as an "after the contest" dupe checking and printing program and has grown into a full blown on the air logging tool. That was before K1EA came out with CT. This program doesn't have all the nice bells and whistles of CT, but I like the format free data entry of this program. The program is written in Quick Basic. The .BAS files are included should you be interested in digging into the program listings. Please feel free to give copies to friends. I cannot guarantee fault free operation on your computer. PLEASE try it out BEFORE the contest starts! There is NO help file... please read these hints: Hints: 1. Set your DOS clock to GMT. 1.1 Run the program CQP44.EXE with the file CAINIAL.DTA on the same disk & same directory. The .DTA file contins all the set up (initialization data). If the program can't find this file it creates a new one... and you have to manually enter all the multiplier names, etc yourself. 2. Start by selecting initialization from the menu. The initialization allows you to set things like your callsign, the disk file you want the log to be called, etc. It is pretty self explanatory. Note the CW strings. They act just like a memory keyer. Whatever you put in those memories is sent when you push the F1, F2, etc. key. F1 doesn't have to be a CQ, F2 doesn't have to be a QRZ, but its convenient if they are. The F10 key sends the QSO number followed by whatever you program into the fourth memory (rept stands for 'report'). Other F keys can be programmed from the main operating screen by SHIFT-F(key). When all the initialization stuff looks right, enter 0 or just hit the RETURN key to advance to the multiplier list. There are two lists, depending if you selected IN or OUT of state operation. It is important to know the first 2 or 3 letters of each mult. I've tried to use standard names, but if you like you can change any or all to your own choosing. Keep in mind, the program will try to match whatever you type in the exchange with this list. For example, I set up British Columbia as: VE7. So when I work VE7CC, I enter "VE7" and not "BC". That way the program recognizes the multiplier. When all the mults look the way you want them, enter a 0 or just hit return. All the initialization data will be written to disk so you only have to do this once. Of course, you can change things again later. Note: If you are operating IN Calif... you normally enter the county name for the QTH instead of "CA". Thus you can easily miss the CA mult. I recommend entering the first Ca station QTH as: "CA/xxxxx" where xxxxx is the county given in the exchange. ex: CA/LAX 3. Band change. This should be no problem except you cannot change bands while involved with the on-the-air routine. Simply exit the on-the-air routine with the ALT F8 key, change bands (and/or mode), and get back to the fun. Band changes involve closing the log file, then opening it fresh and reading in all data. This is because the original program needed to conserve memory (from the old CP/M days) and only stores in RAM those callsigns which were worked on the band in use. I'll change that when I figure out how to extend QBASIC array variables beyond 64k. If you know how to do that, please drop me a note. 4. On-the-air operation. That's what this program is all about! BEFORE you start banging away in the contest, TRY out the program first to get used to it. If you are working PHONE only, the operation is simple. Ignore the mode (hunt and pounce / call cq). Simply enter callsigns as you hear them. Hit the space bar after the call. If it is a dupe you will see it immediately. Enter the report as a number, space, and QTH (remember those mult names). Any number and any text will work for this. This program uses an unformatted data field. This means you can enter callsigns, QSO number, and QTH in any order! If you entered a busted call, simply type it again correctly without having to backspace or tab. The program is smart enough to recognize that W6YL is a call, 123 is the number, and VE3 is a QTH as long as a space separates the entries: W6ODP 456 LAX will be logged correctly. W6OGP 45 LAX 456 W6ODP will also be logged correctly. There is no limit to the number of corrections as long as they are typed BEFORE hitting the enter key!! There will be some stations operating on county lines and giving two, or even three county QTHs. Enter them all with a slash character / seperating the names. For example: GLEN/MEND/TUL There is no limit as to how many mults you can get with a single QSO, but practically... QTH data is truncated after the 20th character. There is a "mobile rule" which says a station can be contacted again on same band and mode IF he has moved into a different multiplier QTH. Enter the station & his report. Its still a dupe for points, but the new multiplier counts! 5. If, while entering call, number, or QTH you screw up or the guy QSYs on you, don't worry. Use the ESC key to erase the entire line and start over. This only works BEFORE you hit the RETURN key. If you happen to log a dupe, don't worry, it won't be added to the score. 6. The most previous QSO is displayed above the working line. If you blew the call, or report, you can fix it with the F keys shown. The alt-F5, alt-F6, and alt-F7 keys halt activation of all other routines until you type in the new data and hit RETURN. If you don't want to change anything just hit RETURN with no new data to return to the normal operation. The score displayed in the upper right corner may not be accurate after you have changed either the call sign (if a dupe is involved), or if the QTH involves a new multiplier. However, after the next band change, the display should be accurate. If, while entering data, you wish to see the log; hit F12 (or alt-F3). This is a new feature for V4.2. The last 21 log entries are displayed. If you want to go back farther, simply enter the log number you want to see. You then get 21 log entries starting with that number. Just hit ENTER (with no number) to get back to operating. If, while entering data, you wish to see the multiplier list, hit alt-F2. The multiplier list is displayed with still needed multipliers highlighted. Hit any key to return (don't hit F keys!). 7. For CW operation things get interesting! If the CW sidetone is set to anything between 37 and 30000 Hz (setup menu), the computer speaker blares CW to you at the frequency you selected. If you selected anything less than 36 Hz (like 1), then the CW is sent to your serial port.#1. The serial port can be changed by F11 (or ALT F2), but it is not stored in the configuration. You need to build a key adapter to plug into the computer to key your xmitter. I used a 120 ohm resister and a 2N2222. This is the same circuit as the K1EA program uses. In fact, if you already have a cable which works with CT, it should work with this program too. (Parallel port keying is not supported). Pin 20 is the signal. Connect pin 20 to the 120 ohm resister. The other end of the resister is connected to the base of the transistor. The emitter is connected to ground (pin 7). The collector should be connected via small coax to your keying line (+12 volt) and in parallel with your normal key. Works FB with my TS-930S! The keying timing is computer clock speed independent. If you have a "TURBO" switch on your PC, set it one way or the other but don't change it while running this program. Use up arrow and down arrow keys to change CW speed. Any CW message can be stopped with the ESC key. F1 and F2 are general purpose CW keyer memories. You can put anything you wish into them during set up. In CW mode, the bottom line refers to them as CQ and QRZ. F3 sends the most recent callsign typed. F9 should be used to store your own call. F10 sends the current serial number plus state/county (which it gets from the set up info). Using F1 or F2 forces the mode into "call CQ mode" while F9 forces the mode into "Hunt and Pounce mode". There are two other keys which send CW: In "call CQ mode", the backslash "\" and "]" keys send: "TU QRZ ". The backward apostrophe ` and front bracket [ keys send: " ". In Hunt and Pounce mode, ] and \ do nothing; the ` or [ keys send: "R ". The most common screw-up is using these keys in the wrong mode!! You can change the mode with ALT F1. CW keys call CQ mode Hunt & Pounce mode F1 msg # 1 msg #1, change to CQ mode F2 msg #2 msg #2, change to CQ mode F9 ur call, ur call change to H&P F10 QSO #, QTH QSO #, QTH \ or ] TU QRZ DE (ignored) ` or [ R The ~ key toggles on/off the auto-exchange feature. This only works in the "call CQ mode" and is really nice when you are running a good rate. It works like this: When someone answers your CQ, you type in his call and hit the space bar -- then the computer sends that callsign plus the exchange (same as "[" key) automatically. In fact, everytime you type a callsign, it sends the exchange. After the exchange data is entered and the QSO logged by hitting , the message TU QRZ DE is sent automatically. Consider this an "expert" mode. I don't recommend it since its so easy just to hit the "[" and "]" keys when needed. 10. AFTER the contest data entering. This is the original program I wrote long ago. Later, I added the on-the-air part. To use this routine, FIRST select the band you want to start with, THEN select - 1 append new QSOs to the log. The format is simple but tedious. You exit the routine by entering three commas ",,," Don't worry about dupes, they are taken care of automatically. When you get tired, just exit with the commas, and quit the program. Everything is saved on disk. When you go back to it, you simply pick up where you left off. When it comes time to change band.... you MUST exit with the three commas; change band; then go back to appending. 11. The separate CAPRINT program CONVERTS the log file and writes it back to disk as an ASCII file. You will be prompted for a file name. This program also tabulates the score, and gives band break down. You can simply copy this data to your summary sheet. CU in the pile up. 73 de Al, AD6E 3330 Farthing Way San Jose, CA. 95132