Ham Radio 2000 #2

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RXCLUS 6.6- USER MANUAL (October 1997) *** 1. INTRODUCTION *** 1.0 PURPOSE RXCLUS is a tool for licensed radio-amateurs and SWL's who are interested in DX'ing and are QRV in packet-radio. It makes possible to receive informations transmitted on the PacketCluster system without having to establish a connection to a cluster node. It identifies the frames sent to cluster users, and also those exchanged between two cluster nodes with a special protocol. This possibility is especially interesting for the SWL's during the night time as it makes possible the reception of cluster informations even if no user is connected on the local node ! With no connexion established, DX, WWV and ANN informations (with a connexion: also Talk) are recognised among all the frames heard on the monitored frequency and are the only ones to be displayed. Each information is displayed only once, even if it is repeated many times on the frequency because several users are connected or there are many retries. So you get the same result as if you would be connected to the cluster, but without additional traffic on the air and with no link failures problems. It is not a problem if the monitored frequency is shared with other packet services (Mailbox, and so on). There is of course a restriction: if you are not connected to the cluster, you cannot send informations requests ! But RXCLUS can attenuate strongly this problem: DX and WWV informations can be stored in databases on disk and you can recall them using different search criterias, like on the cluster. Furthermore, a world countries database allows the program to give many informations and make some calculations like a cluster node: prefix allocation, WAZ and ITU zones of a country, azimut and distance, local time. If this is not enough, for example if you wish to enter a DX spot on the cluster, you can switch to the monitor mode. In this mode, you can see all the traffic on the frequency and also connect a node like with any other terminal software. 1.1 MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES - displays all frames or only DX-Cluster informations - stores the received DX and WWV informations into databases - search in the DX database by DX call, band (1.8 MHz to 24 GHz), comment or logger - personal databases for the worked/confirmed DXCC and IOTA countries - display of missing countries lists on each band or mode - DX alert if a spotted country is not worked/confirmed on the mode/band - informations about all DXCC countries (coordinates, local time,..) - can use almost any TNC which can be connected to a serial port. With the TFX or TFPCX interface, also BayCom modems can be used. - screen saver - 25 or 50 lines modes - DOS shell - supports many languages (english, french, german and several other languages, see section 2.2). 1.2 IMPROVEMENTS SINCE THE LAST VERSIONS V6.0 : database for worked/confirmed DXCC countries on 10-160 m and CW/SSB, DXCC worked/confirmed score for each band and mode, alert on arrival of a DX spot if the country is not worked or not confirmed on the band or mode, file COUNTRY.DAT includes many new prefix allocations (especially in the former USSR), improved monitor mode (buffer up to 1500 lines), support for TFX/TFPCX interface, TNC initialisation and reinitialisation files, reception of personal Talk messages. V6.1 : DX spots rejection by mode (CW or SSB), keyword ESC may be used in TNC.INI and TNC.EXI (for NordLink EPROMs for example), standard prefix added in the country informations window (F10). V6.2 : a received text can be written to disk, the DXCC table can be printed (also to a file), scroll bar for the DXCC database, F8 und F10 go directly to the last spotted DXCC country. V6.3 : - RTTY mode + 6m and SAT bands included in the DXCC database - the DX-beep can be desactivated for any band and mode - special beep when a Talk is received - use of non standard IRQ's and I/O ports is now possible - sunrise/sunset times added to the country informations (F10) - the monitor buffer can be written to disk - transmission of text files - increased use of scroll bars. V6.4 : - not worked or not confirmed coutries or bands can be announced in CW using the internal loudspeaker (sound cards are not supported at the moment). - 50 lines video mode (only with VGA cards) - separate line for command input and editing in monitor mode, including quick recall of the last 10 transmitted lines. - hotkeys (Alt-F1..F9) for quick transmitting of common cluster and/or TNC commands - limited support of CLUSSE DX-Cluster system. Only DX spots in connected mode are identified for the moment, not the beacons whose format is difficult to use with the algorithms currently used in RXCLUS. - fixed a major bug preventing the flow control to operate and the 7 bits modes to be used between PC and TNC. V6.5 : - display of missing countries by band or mode - spots are accepted up to 24 GHz (previously: 1.2 GHz) - lines up to 255 characters may be sent (previously: 78) - help screen also in monitor mode - DX and monitor buffers can be cleared - spots announcing missing countries are displayed with special colors in monitor mode also - major update of DXCC.RAW and COUNTRY.DAT - fixed bugs sometimes causing crashes of V6.4-6.4b when the monitor buffer was full or when lines longer then 80 characters were received. V6.6 : - database of worked and confirmed IOTA groups (NOT an IOTA database due to a copyright on it !) - alarm when a missing IOTA reference number is spotted - file DXCCLINK.DAT to define the DXCC country of calls when this can't be done automatically (VP8,...) - file SEEKCALL.TXT for calls for which you want an alarm every time they are spotted. - (almost) no more duplicate spots if you receive frames from a Clusse node and from a Packetcluster (or compatible) node. - DXCC (and IOTA) functions can be called also from the monitor mode. 1.3 ABOUT THE DXCC COUNTRIES IDENTIFICATION Each time a DX spot on 10-160 m is received, RXCLUS tries to determine the DXCC country, so that the information can be displayed in a special way if this country is not worked or not confirmed on the band or in the mode. This identification relies on the use of different prefixes for each country, so it cannot be successful if several DXCC countries are using a common prefix and there is no other criteria to distinguish them. At the moment, reliable country identifiation seems impossible for the following countries (in brackets the number of DXCC countries using each prefix) : 3D2 (3), 3Y (2), CE0 (3), FO (2), HK0 (2), JD1 (2), VK0 (2), VP8 (5), ZK1 (2). Other countries can be incorrectly identified due to exceptions to the usual rules, for example : ST0 (ST0K=Sudan), VK9 (quite many cases), VU (VU2APS=Andaman) Countries using FR (4), KG4 (2) and SV (2) prefixes can however be identified due to other criteria (see below). In this situation, country identification cannot claim to be error-free. It follows that you should check the indications given by the program (not worked, not confirmed or already confirmed) for all DXCC countries sharing a common prefix. Starting with version 6.6, this problem can be solved in most cases by using the DXCCLINK.TXT file (see below). Special prefixes, even those used for the very first time on the amateur bands, should however not be a problem as long as they conform to the ITU prefix allocations. All those allocations were entered in the COUNTRY.DAT file (sorry if there are a few errors !). For those who would like to better understand the country identification process, here are its the main steps : 1) The program seeks the callsign in DXCCLINK.TXT. In case of success, it reads the country assigned to this station and jumps to step 6. 2) Portable calls (with "/") are first inverted if the part before the (first) "/" is longer then the one after it, except if the latter is only 1 character long (/P,...) or countains only any number of figures (/24,...). For example: W3XYZ/VP9 becomes VP9/W3XYZ. A70ID/24 or DL0XYZ/M does not change. The prefix identifying the DXCC country should now be at the beginning of the callsign string. Callsign in "/AM" or "/MM" are treated as not belonging to any DXCC country. One (seldom) situation is still not correctly handled: if there are as many characters before and after the "/". For example, K9AJ/KH5K would not be inverted. 3) Some particular situations are now handled: - calls beginning with FR (/B,E,J: Juan de Nova, /G: Glorioso, /T: Tromelin, else Reunion) - calls beginning with KG4 (2 letters suffix --> Guantanamo Bay, else USA) - calls beginning with SV (/A: Mount Athos, else Greece) In those cases, the process continues at step 6. 4) Now the first 4 characters of the callsign are extracted. The program search for an exact match by comparison with all the prefixes in COUNTRY.DAT. If the prefix is found, the normal prefix for this country can be read in COUNTRY.DAT. Only this normal prefix will be used for the next steps. 5) If this search was not successful, the same seek is made again in COUNTRY.DAT, but this time only with the first 3 characteres of the callsign. If still not successful, the same is done with the first 2 characters and with just the first character. If no search was successful, the country identification failed. In this situation, no DX alart can be issued in any case. 6) In case of success, the normal prefix found in COUNTRY.DAT (or in DXCCLINK.TXT) is now searched for in DXCC.DAT. The prefixes used in DXCC.DAT must match the normal prefixes found in COUNTRY.DAT ! If the normal prefix is found in DXCC.DAT (this should always happen if the above rule was followed), your personal data about this country are now accessible to the program. 7) The band and mode are extracted from the DX spot and compared with your personal data. If the country status is '-' (not worked) on the band or the mode, the spot is displayed using the colors set in RXCLUS.CFG for not worked countries, together with 3 beeps. If the country status is 'W' (worked, but not confirmed), the spot is displayed using the colors set in RXCLUS.CFG for not confirmed countries, together with 2 beeps. If its status is 'C' (confirmed) or 'A' (validated by the ARRL), the spot is displayed with the normal colors (set in RXCLUS.CFG for all informations), together with a single beep. Remarks: 1) No mode identification (and no mode rejection) is performed on 160 m as the whole band is used in CW or in SSB during contests. 2) The identification of RTTY spots is based only on the keyword RTTY in the commentar field, not on the frequency. 3) On 30 m, all informations are treated as being CW spots, as there is no IARU SSB allocation on that band. 4) For the other bands, the mode borders are 3600, 7040, 14100, 18110, 21150, 24930 and 28225 kHz. 1.4 IDENTIFICATION OF THE IOTA REFERENCES. If the IOTA parameter is set to 1 in RXCLUS.CFG, the program checks the remarks field of all incoming DX spots on HF bands (except those on bands you rejected) for IOTA references, so that an alarm can be issued (see section 1.5) if this island group is not worked or not confirmed. Spots about unnumbered new IOTA groups can also be recognised as long as both words "NEW" and "IOTA" can be found in the commentar field, or a continent abbreviation and the word "NEW", for example: OC-NEW. IOTA references can be identified in several formats: the correct one (for example EU-001) which everybody should use (!) but also EU?001 (? = any character, also a space), EU001, EU-01 and EU01 (but not EU 01, EU-1 or EU1, which would too easily lead to wrong alarms !). 1.5 ALARM SYSTEM Some DX spots are of special interest for an user. This can be determined by checking the DXCC and IOTA databases, or the SEEKCALL.TXT file (see section 2.10). Those spots are displayed with different colors and some beeps and an announce in CW through the internal loudspeaker helps making them difficult to miss. At the moment, the format of those announcements can't be changed by the user. Please note that only one alarm can be issued for each DX spot. That means that a spot announcing a country missing in a mode or on a band, but also a missing IOTA reference number, will be handled only as missing for the DXCC. Here is a list from the highest to the lowest priority of each possible reason for an alarm and the format used for each : 1) The DX call appears in SEEKCALL.TXT : 5 beeps then in CW the word "CALL" followed by the full callsign. 2) Missing DXCC country (mode or band): 3 beeps of increasing height then in CW the word "DX", the mode or band and the prefix of the country. 3) Missing IOTA reference: 3 beeps of increasing height then in CW the word "IOTA" and the IOTA reference number. 4) Not confirmed DXCC country (mode or band): 2 beeps of decreasing height then in CW the word "DX", the mode or band and the prefix of the country. 5) Not confirmed IOTA reference: 2 beeps of decreasing height then in CW the word "IOTA" and the IOTA reference number. The following parameters in RXCLUS.CFG affect the audible alarms: - IOTA : turns the IOTA alarm on/off. When it is off only the alarms of type 1, 2 and 4 are issued. - SOUND: turns the sound on /off (not only for the alarms !). This setting can be changed temporarily from the program with Alt-G. - ALARMLEVEL: sets which alarms must be audible. This setting can be changed temporarily from the program with Alt-B (see section 3.1 for more details). - CWTONE et CWSPEED set the height and the speed of the CW keying. CWTONE = 0 turns off any CW announcements. Colors used to display the different kinds of alarms can be set in the last part of RXCLUS.CFG. *** 2. INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION *** 2.1 HARDWARE REQUISITS - An IBM compatible computer (8088 to Pentium), 1 MB RAM, monochrome or color display. A harddisk is strongly recommended, especially if you wish to store the informations on disk. - A TNC on the serial port of the PC, with any EPROM which provide a terminal mode, or a BayCom modem with the TFX or TFPCX interface. Internal cards (for example DRSI) are however not supported. - A receiver able to receive a frequency used for cluster traffic (to users or between two cluster nodes). 2.2 NEW INSTALLATION Copy the archive RXCLUS66.ZIP in the wanted directory and unpack it with PKUNZIP. You will get the following files: RXCLUS66.EXE program file RXCLUS.CFG configuration file RXC66FRA.TXT user manual in french RXC66ENG.TXT user manual in english RXC66DEU.TXT user manual in german MESSAGES.ENG texts in english MESSAGES.FRA texts in french MESSAGES.DEU texts in german MESSAGES.ITA texts in italian (tnx I-121171) MESSAGES.ESP texts in spanish (tnx F1NGP) MESSAGES.NLD texts in dutch (tnx ON7EE) MESSAGES.TCH texts in czech (tnx OK1DLE) MESSAGES.SVK texts in slovak (tnx OM3CBR) COUNTRY.DAT world countries database DXINFO.DAT sample of DX database WWVINFO.DAT sample of WWV database DXCC.RAW used to create DXCC.DAT (worked + confirmed countries) TNC.INI sample TNC initialisation file TNC.EXI sample TNC reinitialisation file BAYCOM.BAT sample batch to start RXCLUS if using a Baycom modem DXCCLINK.TXT sample for this optional file (see section 2.9) SEEKCALL.TXT sample for this optional file (see section 2.10) DXCC6263.EXE conversion utility for an old DXCC.DAT. 2.3 UPGRADE FROM OLD VERSIONS In this case, you should unpack the archive in a new directory. This makes impossible that files are overwritten when they should be kept. a) Files to be replaced : - the language files (MESSAGES.*) - the old manual (RXC*.TXT) - the old program - the configuration file RXCLUS.CFG (*1) - the country database COUNTRY.DAT (*2) b) Files which should be kept : - DXINFO.DAT (*3) - WWVINFO.DAT (*3) - TNC.INI (*4) - TNC.EXI (*4) - DXCC.DAT (read below !) (*5) Remarks : *1 : You should keep the old configuration file for some time as you could find there the values for some customizations you made. Sri, RXCLUS can at the moment not look for existing parameters in an old .CFG file. *2 : The old version could technically be further used, but you would loose the recent updates. *3 : It would be a pity to overwrite all DX and WWV spots recorded in your databases with the few ones provided as an example for the new installations ! *4 : TNC.INI and TNC.EXI from version 6.1 and newer don't need any change. Those from version 6.0 need a small modification only if you use TFX/TFPCX: just add the 3 letters "ESC" at the beginning of each command. *5 : It is very important that you keep your existing DXCC.DAT if you entered your worked and confirmed countries into it. The provided DXCC.RAW is not requested in this case and may be deleted. If you were running version 6.3 or newer, you can keep using your existing DXCC.DAT without any modification. If you were running an older version, you have to run first the provided conversion utility DXCC6263.EXE which will create a DXCC.DAT in the new format without loosing any information. A backup copy of the old database will be created with the name DXCC.V62. This copy can be erased at any time. In case of an upgrade from an old version (up to 6.4 included), you MUST change 4 Prefixes in your DXCC database: 3D6 --> 3DA, KH7 --> KH7K, UA1 --> R1F and 4J (MV-Island)--> R1M. If this is not done, those countries would no more be identified. If you didn't enter any data into the DXCC database (or are a new user of RXCLUS), than you don't need to do anything. 2.4 MULTILANGUAGE SUPPORT Starting with version 5.0, RXCLUS supports almost any language. This is possible as all messages are stored in language files independant from the EXE file and read at program start. About 10 such files are usually provided, see section 2.2 for those actually included with this version. All language files have MESSAGES as name and an extension identifying the language (ENG=english, FRA=french, DEU=german,...). Please note that language files from a version are usually not compatible with other versions of RXCLUS ! The language file actually used by RXCLUS is still MESSAGES.TXT, but this file is not included in the distribution to spare some place. If no MESSAGES.TXT is found at the program start, RXCLUS creates one by copying MESSAGES.ENG, that means the default language is english. Another language may be selected by copying yourself the wanted language file as MESSAGES.TXT. For example, to choose italian you have to type: COPY MESSAGES.ITA MESSAGES.TXT You can edit those text files to slightly modify the sentences or to translate them. But you must be very careful : if you suppress or add any line, the program will not start or will not work properly. Before any modification you should make a backup copy of the original file. The author would be pleased to receive text files translated in other languages. They will be included with later distributions if the translator agrees to handle a few new liness requested by the development of the program. 2.5 PARAMETER SETTING AND CUSTOMIZATION The file RXCLUS.CFG is read each time RXCLUS is started. It contains command lines and comment lines which make this file self- explaining. The allowed values are mentioned for each parameter. Almost all you may wish to change in RXCLUS can be customized in this file (communication parameters but also colors, bands to receive,...). The following rules are used in this file : - Comment lines (which must start with a "#") and blank lines are ignored by the program. - Command lines must always state a parameter name, an "=" and the value assigned to this parameter. - Comments are not allowed in the command lines. - The sequence in which the commands appear in the file is not important. To quickly test the program you don't need to modify this file IF your TNC is connected to COM 1 at 9600 Bd. If you want to further use RXCLUS, you should edit the configuration file to set your call (used for receiving the Talk messages in connected mode and at the top of each page when you print your DXCC database), geographical coordinates (parameters MYLAT and MYLONG) and probably change the colors and a few other parameters. It's very important that you check the whole file to be sure you did not miss any opportunity to configure RXCLUS as you want. 2.6 TNC SETTINGS RXCLUS uses two files to configurate the TNC: - TNC.INI contains commands to be sent at the program start - TNC.EXI contains commands to be sent when exiting RXCLUS. Both files are optional. RXCLUS will start normally without them, but the TNC will remain in its previous state. This can work perfectly if all your terminal programs can use the same TNC setting and if your TNC stores its parameters permanently with a battery. Else, and always if you have to use TFX/TFPCX, you have to use at least TNC.INI. Commands must be written as they are to be received by the TNC, with the exception of those who must start with an <Esc> character (for TFX/TFPCX, NordLink EPROMS,...). In this case, just put the 3 letters ESC before the command. The program will replace them by an <Esc> character (ASCII #27). Comment lines must start with a "#" character in the first column. For a TNC with TAPR EPROM you could include in TNC.INI : MY your_call MONITOR ON FLOW ON With TFX/TFPCX you should include at least : ESCI your_call ESCM USIC ESCS 1 ESCZ 1 If the latter situation, don't forget to set COM=5 in RXCLUS.CFG and to use the following steps to start RXCLUS : - switch the TNC into KISS mode - load TFX or TFPCX - start RXCLUS. If you use RXCLUS only in non connected mode (SWL for example), only the command activating the monitoring of received frames (MONITOR or M) is needed if this is not a permanent setting of your TNC. Most TNC settings are not critical with the following exceptions : - MONITOR ***must*** be ON if you use RXCLUS in non connected mode - If lines are displayed on the top of each other in Monitor mode, set AUTOLF to ON (or ESC A to 1). - If you use MFILTER to reject some ASCII codes, be sure that Ctrl-G (ASCII 7) is NOT in the reject list. Else, no DX spot can be identified as such and nothing will be displayed in DX receive mode ! - FLOW should be set to ON (Z = 1 or 3 with a TF EPROM). 2.7 USE WITH A BAYCOM MODEM. RXCLUS can also be used with such a modem if you use additionally the TFX or TFPCX interface. Those interfaces are not included in the RXCLUS archive but can be found on many BBS's or on the internet (links can be found on my home page, see section 5). TFX or TFCPX must be started before RXCLUS. The best is to use a batch like this one (which is included as BAYCOM.BAT in the distribution) : With TFX : TFX -c:1 -r:4 -b:1200 (if you use COM1 and IRQ 4) RXCLUSxy (xy = version number of RXCLUS) TFX -u (unloads the driver at the end) With TFPCX286 (or TFPCX) : TFPCX286 -pcom1 (if you use COM1) RXCLUSxy (xy = version number of RXCLUS) TFPCX286 -u (unloads the driver at the end) In RXCLUS.CFG you have to set PORT=5 and SPEED=1200. Don't bother trying to change IRQ or IOPORT, this has to be done on the start line of TFX or TFPCX ! In the files TNC.INI and TNC.EXI, don't forget the lettres ESC at the beginning of each command. 2.8 SETTING YOUR WORKED AND CONFIRMED COUNTRIES If you would like RXCLUS to issue a visible and audible alarm each time a spot annonces a country you didn't work (or didn't receive confirmation from) on the band or in the mode, you have to enter your list of worked and confirmed countries into the DXCC database. This DXCC.DAT file must be modified from inside RXCLUS (function F8) and never with a text editor. The prefixes and names for all 329 current DXCC countries are already in the database (last updates: P5, BV9P and BS7). "All you have to do" is to enter for each country the status of each band and mode. This is quite a long work, but think this will help you a lot increasing your band scores, especially in the case of those semi-rare countries you always forgot you need them on some bands ! Refer to section 3.4 for explanations about the DXCC database edition and the values to be entered in the fields. If you are upgrading from a version older then V6.3, your old DXCC.DAT can't be used directly with this version. You have to run first the provided conversion utility DXCC6263.EXE which will create a DXCC.DAT in the new format without loosing any information. A backup copy of the old database will be created with the name DXCC.V62. This copy can be erased at any time. 2.9 THE DXCCLINK.TXT FILE This text file, which can be edited with any editor able to save in ASCII format, is intended to link callsigns to DXCC countries. This is useful when the automatical identification is wrong (some VP8's, ZK1's,...). Each line (max. 100) countains 2 items separated by one or more spaces : - a callsign - a prefix. The prefix must be the main prefix of the DXCC country, e.g. the one used in DXCC.DAT and COUNTRY.DAT for this country. Upcase and lowcase are both accepted. Entries in this file have of course priority over the automatical country identification. 2.10 THE SEEKCALL.TXT FILE This text file, which can be edited with any editor able to save in ASCII format, contains a list if callsigns for which you want an alarm to be issued every time they are spotted (on any band or mode). Just enter the callsigns, using a line for each, maximum 10, both upcase and lowcase are allowed. *** 3. USING RXCLUS *** 3.1 DX RECEIVE MODE This is the default mode when you start the program. In this mode, RXCLUS displays the DX, WWV and ANN (according to the choices you made in RXCLUS.CFG) transmitted on the monitored frequency. In connected mode, Talk lines can also be displayed. DX and WWV informations are written to the databases if this function was activated in the configuration file. Available functions are : F1 : displays a short form of the commands (help). F2 : displays the DX spots database (DXINFO.DAT file). F3 : displays the WWV database (WWVINFO.DAT file). F4 : searches in the DX database for a DX call or a portion of a call. You'll be prompted for a string to search for. This string is searched for at the beginning of the calls, unless you add "*" as first or last character (like *HB or HB*); in this case, the string will be searched for at any place in the callsigns. F5 : DX search by band. You'll be prompted for the band (in MHz). All bands allocated to amateur radio anywhere in the world between 1.8 MHz and 24 GHz can be searched. For bands which are wider then 1 MHz, any frequency within the band may be used. F6 : search in the comment fields of the DX spots. You'll be prompted for the string to search for (for example: QSL, IOTA, AO-13,...). F7 : search in the logger field of the DX spots (you may enter a full call or just the begin of a call). F8 : displays the personal database a worked/confirmed DXCC countries. The line which appears in inverted video is the one corresponding to the last short wave DX spot whose country could be identified. F9 : displays the database of worked/confirmed IOTA numbers. F10 : display informations about a country. Enter a 2 letter prefix (unless more is needed) and you will get the prefix allocation, ITU and WAZ zones, latitude/longitude, distance, azimut, local time (summer times are not taken into account), sunrise and sunset times. The dialog window which appears when you call this function first proposes the normal prefix of the last station spotted on HF/6m/SAT and whose DXCC country could be identified. Alt-B : changes the DX alarm level, which allows to restrict the use of the bell to the spots announcing missing or not confirmed countries (on the band/mode combination). The default value is set in RXCLUS.CFG and the current setting is displayed on the bottom line, almost at the right corner (figure between 0 and 3). The possible settings are: 0 = no beep at all 1 = beep only for not worked countries 2 = beep for not worked and not confirmed countries 3 = beep for each DX spot Each use of Ctrl-B change the alarm level using the cycle: 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 0. There is no DX alarm in any case if the general use of the sound (see below) is disabled. Alt-D : DOS Shell. If the screen saver was activated, it is disabled until you come back to RXCLUS by typing "EXIT" at the DOS prompt. Alt-G : Toggles all sounds on/off (when receiving a spot, editing a database,...). This command modifies the default setting in RXCLUS.CFG without having to restart the program. Alt-M : Toggles between monitor and DX receive modes. Alt-N : Erases the DX buffer and cleans the screen (asks for a confirmation before processing). Alt-P : Toggles the printing of the arriving informations on/off. The printer must be connected to LPT1. Alt-X : Quit the program. All those functions can also be called with the mouse by clicking left on the function's name or abbreviation on the top or bottom line. Clicking right has always the same effect as using the "Esc" key. 3.2 DATABASE MAINTENANCE MODE (DX or WWV) When you enter this mode (with F2 or F3), the most recent 23 informations in the database are displayed, one of them being displayed in inverted video. This is the selected information, that means the one on which a command issued at this time would apply. You can scroll up or down with the Up, Down, PageUp, PageDn, Home and End keys, or by clicking left on the corresponding symbols on the bottom line. You may also select directly an information by clicking on its line. Following maintenance functions are available : <CR>:EDIT : used to edit the selected information, usually to correct an evident mistake, and writes the changes to the disk (asks for a confirmation). F3 : MARK : marks the selected information for deletion (adds a '^' character in the column 69), but does not delete it physically. This mark can be removed by using the same command a second time. F4 : PURGE : physically erases all records having a deletion mark set (asks for a confirmation). A backup copy of the original database is created, with .BAK as an extension. F5 : TRIM : trunks the database (asks for a confirmation). All records older then the selected one are physically erased. A backup copy of the original database is created, with .BAK as an extension. All those functions may be accessed with the mouse, by clicking left on their names. Any currently displayed information may be edited directly by double clicking on its line. The edition may be ended by double clicking again on the line. This mode is left with the Esc key, by clicking left on END:ESC or by clicking right at any place. 3.3 MONITOR MODE In this mode RXCLUS works like a simple terminal program, with a reduced set of functions. File transmission and reception is indeed not the purpose of this program but were implemented just in case they may help in some circumstances, for example to save or send a small message. Please do not expect a very high performance level like in usual packet programs ! Cluster informations which arrive when you are in this mode are not displayed in a special color, but the auditive DX alarm works normally (if you did not disable it). The informations will be visible with their normal colors the next time you switch again to the DX receive mode. So you can toggle as often as you want between both modes according to what you want to see on your screen: all traffic or only DX spots. The following fonctions are currently implemented : Alt-N : Erases the monitor buffer and cleans the screen (asks for a confirmation before processing). Alt-P : Sends a password. Can be used for Packclus (Sysop) and TheNet type passwords (the latter is used by several BBS softwares, for example F6FBB). You must have already entered your password string in RXCLUS.CFG with the keyword PASSWORD. Alt-R : receive a text file. You'll be prompted for the file name (a path may be added). If this file already exists, you'll have to choose between overwriting it, appending the new data at the end of it or aborting the operation. A second Alt-R is used to stop the recording. Alt-S : send a text file. You'll be prompted for its name (a path may be added). Alt-W : write the monitor buffer to disk, i.e. all lines which can still be displayed using the direction arrows. The size of this buffer can vary between 50 and 1500 lines according to the MONBUF parameter in RXCLUS.CFG. You'll be prompted for the file name (a path may be added). If this file already exists, you'll have to choose between overwriting it, appending the new data or aborting the operation. F8 : displays the personal DXCC database. F9 : DOS-Shell (see section 3.1). F10 : country informations (see section 3.1). Alt-F1..F9 : send the command set in RXCLUS.CFG with the corresponding parameter (ALTF1 to ALTF9). Be careful not to remove the delimiters (") when editing the file. Alt-F10 : displays all strings assigned to Alt-F1 through Alt-F9. Allows to select one of those strings and send it. <Up> : recalls the last transmitted lines. With <Up> and <Down> it is possible to recall any of the last 10 transmitted lines, which can then be edited and sent again if needed. Press <End> to leave this function without sending anything. Transmission and reception of binary files is not be supported. During file reception, switching to DX receive mode is not allowed to avoid data loss. This mode is left with another Alt-M, or by clicking on "M" (short for "M"ode) or "Monitor mode" on the bottom line. 3.4 DXCC DATABASE MAINTENANCE (F8) You can see in this mode on which bands (9 bands = 160-10 m) and modes (CW and SSB) you already worked each DXCC country, received a confirmation from it or were credited by the ARRL. The letter W means worked, C means confirmed and A means credited by the ARRL (using this symbol is of course optional). An hyphen "-" means not worked. No other character can be entered into those fields. You can use the following functions : <CR> EDIT : changes any field of the selected record (the one in inverted video). You can move from a field to another using the Right/Left arrows, Home, End, Tab and Shift-Tab. <Backspace> and <Del> keys can also be used in the Pfx and name fields. The edition is closed with another <CR> to save the changes or <Esc> to discard them. With the mouse: double-click = edit the line, click left on a field = go to this field, another double-click on the line = save the changes, click right = discard the changes. <INS> inserts a line for a new country. You are switched automatically in EDIT mode and must fill immediately the prefix and name fields. If you don't, the insertion will be immediately canceled. Else, the country will be moved at the right place in the alphanumerical order when you leave the EDIT mode. <DEL> removes the DXCC country which is displayed in inverted video (after asking for a confirmation). F2 : SEARCH : displays how many countries have each status ("A", "C", "W" or "-") on each band and mode. Then it is possible to list all countries included in any total, for example all countries having the status "-" (missing) on 10 m. F3 : SCORE : displays your total of worked, confirmed and ARRL credited countries on each band and mode, and for the mixed DXCC. F4 : PRINT : prints your DXCC database to the printer or to a file. Your callsign (parameter MYCALL in RXCLUS.CFG) and the date appear on the top of each page. The number of DXCC countries on each page can be set with the PRLEN parameter in RXCLUS.CFG. Direct printing should be possible to all Epson compatible printers but probably not to some laser printers. In this case, you can use the "File" option and print the file from a program which is able to use your printer (editor, word processor,...). Deleted countries : deleted DXCC coutries can also be entered, by putting a "*" as first character in the name field. Those countries are not taken into account in the DXCC score. A vertical scroll bar was implemented to make the moves with the mouse more easy. This replaces the awful symbols on the bottom line in the older versions. The scroll bars system should be generalised in the future versions of RXCLUS. You leave the DXCC mode with the <Esc> key or by clicking on "End:Esc". If you changed any data, you will be prompted at this time if you wish to accept or discard ALL THE CHANGES globally. The changes will be written to the disk only if you answer "Yes" (EDIT, ADD and DEL functions work only on the data in memory). Attention: if you answer "No", ALL changes made since you entered the DXCC mode will be discarded. If you have to make many changes, it is a good idea to save them at regular intervals by exiting from time to time the DXCC mode ! 3.5 ADDING COUNTRIES OR PREFIXES New prefixes for a country may be added by editing the COUNTRY.DAT file (all ITU allocations should be already in this file). - search for the line countaining the informations about the country (it starts with the normal prefix for this country) - add the new prefix on one of the lines BEFORE the one you just found. Don't forget to include a "#" character before and after each prefix. A new country may be added to the DXCC personal database (refer to chapter 3.4). If you wish the country informations function (F10) and the automatic identification to work also for this new country, you have to add it also in COUNTRY.DAT. Use the same syntax as for the existing countries : - one (or more) line(s) with all prefixes used for that country, separated by "#" characters. - a single line with all informations about that country: normal prefix, name, ITU zone, WAZ zone, difference UTC-local time, latitude N (S = negative), longitude E (W = negative). You may include any number of spaces between the fields. The normal prefix MUST be the same as the one used in the DXCC personal database ! Prefixes in the DXCC personal database may also be changed, as long as the same changes are made in COUNTRY.DAT. However, a few prefixes may NOT be changed as they as used internally by RXCLUS for country identification in special cases : - FR, FR/G, FR/J, FR/T - K, KG4 - SV, SY. 3.6 THE IOTA FILE (F9) With this function you can display and edit the status of each IOTA reference number. The same symbols are used as in the DXCC database : '-' means missing, 'W' worked, 'C' confirmed and 'A' accepted for your IOTA award. If you activated the IOTA spots detection (IOTA=1 in RXCLUS.CFG), this IOTA file is also used to determine if a IOTA spot is missing or only worked to issue a visible and audible alarm. You can move through the file with the following keys: Up/Down, PageUp/PageDn (moves 10 lines up or down), Home (begin=EU-001) and End (=SA-100). You can see in the file many IOTA references which don't exist at the moment, like SA-100. This is because the file is designed to accomodate all future additions of new references as long as the IOTA policy remains the same as today. You don't need to add any new group, just ignore the numers which are currently unassigned, and update the status once you worked a new one. The parameter LASTIOTA in RXCLUS.CFG stores the highest reference number assigned in every continent. It has no effect on the IOTA file itself but allows the STAT function (see below) to return a correct number of missing references on each continent, ignoring the currently unassigned references. Following functions are available : <CR> EDIT: toggles between display mode (default when you access the file with F9) and edit mode. If you modified the file, you will be prompted to confirm if the file must be updated on disk when you return to display mode or exit the IOTA functions with <Esc>. F2 GOTO: goto a IOTA reference. Only valid references can be typed. F3 STAT: displays a statistics with the number of IOTA references having each of the possible status ('-','W','C' or 'A') on each continent. The LASTIOTA parameter is used to return a correct number of missing references (status '-'). With <CR> or a double mouse click you can display the list of all reference numbers hiding behind each total. *** 4. IN CASE OF TROUBLE *** 4.1 PROBLEMS AT PROGRAM START 4.1.1 Message : "Configuration file RXCLUS.CFG not found... program aborted". Check that the file RXCLUS.CFG is in the same directory as the program file. 4.1.2 Message : "Configuration file MESSAGES.TXT not found... program aborted". Check that the file MESSAGES.TXT in the same directory as the program file. If this file is missing, copy the file MESSAGES.ENG (or any other language file) in MESSAGES.TXT (see chapter 2.4). 4.1.3 Message : "Missing line(s) in MESSAGES.TXT, cannot run RXCLUS". The language file MESSAGES.TXT is not complete. Perhaps you made a mistake while editing this file. Copy the file MESSAGES.ENG (or any other language file) as MESSAGES.TXT (see chapter 2.5). 4.1.4 Message : "COM x not found". COM 1 to 4 : the COM port specified in RXCLUS.CFG does not exist on your computer. Change the "PORT =" statement in your RXCLUS.CFG to specify an existing port. COM 5 (= use TFX or TFPCX interface) : TFX or TFPCX was not found in memory. You have to load it before you start RXCLUS. 4.1.5 Message starting with: "*** RXCLUS.CFG :...". The value you specified for the parameter mentioned at the end of this message is not allowed, or the parameter itself is spelled incorrectly. Correct the line setting this parameter in RXCLUS.CFG. 4.1.6 The programme freezes at start only if there are commands in TNC.INI. Else, the programs starts and seems to run normally. You set HANDSHAKE=2 (=hardware handshaking) in RXCLUS.CFG but your serial cable doesn't transmit all signals requested for this control so that the program keeps waiting for an answer which never comes. There are two solutions: - set HANDSHAKE=1 (software handshaking), in the worst cases HANDSHAKE=0 (no handshaking, means data could be lost !). - use a cable transmitting all signals requested for the hardware handshaking. 4.2 RECEIVE PROBLEMS 4.2.1 No information comes in DX Receive mode, but DX informations can be seen in Monitor mode. Check that the TNC parameter MFILTER is not set to filter out the Ctrl-G (ASCII code 7) which RXCLUS must ***ABSOLUTELY*** receive. 4.2.2 Communication with the TNC (or with TFX/TFPCX) is normal in monitor mode but no traffic at all is displayed - set the TNC parameter MONITOR to ON. - if you use TFX/TFPCX: check if this interface is started with correct parameters and if the TNC is first switched in KISS mode. 4.2.3 No communication at all with the TNC, also in Monitor mode. If you use a TNC: - Incorrect parameters for the serial communication in RXCLUS.CFG. Check the settings for PORT, SPEED, PARITY, STOPBITS, DATABITS, HANDSHAKE and also COM and IOPORT if you using a non standart port. - Your TNC is not supported by RXCLUS (DRSI,...), see chapter 2.1. If you use a BayCom modem: - Check that you stated COM=5 in RXCLUS.CFG and make sure that TFX or TFPCX is loaded with the right paramaters (port !) before RXCLUS is started. 4.2.4 In Monitor mode, all lines are displayed over each other. Set the TNC parameter AUTOLF to ON. 4.2.5 You have to switch to monitor mode and press <Return>, else nothing is displayed at all. Set the TNC parameter FLOW to ON (with TF EPROMs: Z = 1 or 3). 4.3 DATABASE PROBLEMS 4.3.1 Unexpected message "database empty". - you didn't start RXCLUS from the directory where the databases are located (the DOS PATH has no effect for the data files !). - you did erase or rename erroneously the database. 4.3.2 Wrong distance and heading calculations. You did not set your geographical coordinates in RXCLUS.CFG. Edit this file and put the right values for the MYLAT (latitude) and MYLONG (longitude) parameters. Both are in decimal degrees. Southern latitudes and western longitudes are negative. 4.3.3 DX alert for not worked or not confirmed countries does not work for a country although the informations in DXCC.DAT are correct. - some countries using a common prefix cannot be distinguished, for example VP8 (5 DXCC countries). You can use the file DXCCLINK.TXT to force a correct country identification of some callsigns (see section 2.9). - check that the prefix used for that country in the DXCC personal database match the one stated as normal prefix in COUNTRY.DAT (at the beginning of the line giving for example the latitude and longitude of that country). 4.3.4 Strange display of the DXCC database (using "diagonals"). You are using a DXCC.DAT from an old version. Use the DXCC6263.EXE utility to convert it to the right format. 4.4 PROBLEMS WITH FILE TRANSMISSIONS 4.4.1. File transmission is too slow. Set the CHRDELAY parameter in RXCLUS.CFG to a lower value. Please read also the item 4.4.2 below. 4.4.2. Strange characters are displayed on the screen during file transmissions and/or parts of the files are not transmitted. Set the CHRDELAY parameter in RXCLUS.CFG to a higher value. *** 5. AVAILABILITY OF RXCLUS *** a) On the packet-radio mailboxes: new versions are sent to IBM @ EU, compacted with PKZIP and encoded with 7+. b) On the Internet: RXCLUS can be found at the following URL : http://homepage.iprolink.ch/~rchalmas You'll find also links to download the TFX or TFPCX interface, if you need it. c) On disk: RXCLUS can be received at any time from the address of the author (see below). Please enclose a self-addressed envelope and the following number of IRC's, which includes postage and a 1.44 MB floppy disk (other formats on request) : Europe and mediterranean countries (first class mail) : 3 Overseas (second class mail) : 3 Overseas (first class mail) : 4 (One IRC less if you send a formatted disk). *** 6. FINAL COMMENTS *** This software was carefully tested but no warranty can be given that it will work fine in all situations and with any equipment. All precautions were taken to avoid that it can cause damage, but the author disclaims any responsability if data loss or any other damage should however arise due to an unnoticed software error. RXCLUS belongs to the "Freeware" category. It may be used at no charge for non commercial purposes and copies may be made as long as all copies are complete, with all files and documentation of the distribution (the best is to copy the original archive file), the mention of the author is not removed nor modified, and only the price of the data support, plus postage if applicable, is to be paid by the end user. Proposals for improvements of RXCLUS, and translations of the language file are always welcome ! I wish you good reception of the DX spots and, for the licensed OM's and YL's, don't loose the good habit connecting from time to time to your prefered cluster node ! Robert CHALMAS, HB9BZA P.O.Box 1225 1227 Carouge/GE SWITZERLAND FAX: +41 22 820 05 06 Sysop DX-Cluster HB9IAC-8 MYBBS: HB9IAP email: rchalmas@iprolink.ch