Shareware Grab Bag/Shareware Grab Bag.iso/090/fielday.arc/FIELDAY.DOC

Text File | 1987-06-07 | 27KB | 515 lines

                         WARNING.

     This program is not warranted in any way.  When you use this
program, you accept responsibility for the consequences of it's
use and/or misuse.  The author does not guarantee the
applicability of this program or any of it's outputs to your
situation, or the performance of this program in any way.  The
author is not responsible for any loss, corruption, or
destruction of data, or any real or imagined damage to any
physical equipment.

INTRODUCTION.

     In order to have a successful Field Day operation, you must
not only "work'em all", but turn in a completed dupesheet or a
sorted log/list of callsigns.  This program will log a callsign
and an associated report to support a Field Day activity.  The
primary intent is to be a real-time logger, but it can be used to
de-dupe the log after the contest if so desired.  Each band and
mode combination are logged as a separate file.  Approximately
1000 stations with their reports can be logged in one file, with
a duplicate entry detected and rejected in under 2 seconds.
Sound prompting is used to help the operator know if an entry has
been accepted or rejected.  If desired, a print log of each
contact as it is worked during the contest can be generated,
along with any error corrections.  An associated utility program,
FDAYUTIL, will format a report suitable for submission to the
ARRL.
     Each active transmitter will have to have it's own
computer/printer combination.  This program has run successfully
under Double DOS, allowing two copies of it to run at a time on
one computer.  This technique would work for a properly situated
computer, but care would have to be taken to make sure you have
switched to the proper log for the station you are logging for.
The running print log would also be confusing, as the printed
contacts would be interspersed for both logs.  In conclusion,
this program is great for operations where the total participants
are at a premium and you have a computer and power available for
each active transmitter.  One person can very easily handle both
logging and operating with this system.

                         FIELDAY

STARTUP.

     To start the program, press your Caps Locks key on, sign on
to the drive containing the program, which is the file
FIELDAY.EXE, and type FIELDAY.  The program will load and display
a brag screen which will remind you to set your Caps Lock on and
make sure your internal date/time clock has been set. If a
printer is available, you can use it to keep a running print log.
The program will prompt to see if a printer is available and
online.
     After pressing enter, the prompt asks for the name of the
FIELDAY log file to create or load.  The top of the screen will
show any possible FIELDAY files on the current drive, files which
end with the file extension .DAT.  You may use a legitimate
pathname and/or drive specification letter combination in
addition to the filename.  Do not type in the filename extension
(.DAT).  If the filename or pathname are invalid, an error
message will be returned.  If the filename is valid and the file
is found, the file will be loaded into memory.  If the filename
is valid but it does not currently exist on the current
drive/path, it will be assumed that you wish to start a log for
this file.  You have up to 8 characters for the filename.  If you
do not enter anything (null entry) and press enter, it will be
interpreted as a desire to end the program and you will exit to
DOS.
     A corresponding index file will be created if a new file
(log) is created and must be present if you load an old file.
The index file ends with the extension .NDX.  This file is
created when a file is saved and should be kept with the data
file (on the same drive/path).  If the proper index file is not
present, the program will return an error message of invalid
filename.  A file without it's index file cannot be used.
     The filename should be meaningful to the operators of the
computer, probably constructed from the band and mode (40CW,
80SSB, e.t.c.).  This will enable other operators to know the
filenames at a glance and not have to ask the previous operator
what name was used.  Starting a new log by accident (using a
wrong filename) instead of using the old one will defeat the
purpose and operation of the logging program.
     If online print logging was selected, the start of log for
filename "X" heading will be sent to the printer.
     The next screen you see will be the main menu.  This is the
screen after the successful file load or a good new filename.  At
this point, any of the options on the screen are valid, but the
next choice used will probably be number 1, start the program
(begin logging).

MAIN MENU.

     The main menu comes up after you have successfully loaded an
existing file or started a new one and offers 7 choices:

1. Start program
2. Save files
3. Error correction
4. Log listing
5. Tally of calls (by call area with grand total)
6. Change to a new log
7. Quit the program

     The bottom of the screen shows the current loaded filename.
Select the desired function by entering the number and then press
enter.  The first option will start the logging portion of the
program, which begins with a prompt to enter a callsign.  The
second entry will save the entire log to disk using the filename
you entered at startup time.  The third selection allows editing
or deletion of a defective callsign and/or report.  Entry four
lists the current log to the screen, starting with call area 0
through 9.  Number five shows a tally of stations worked by the
call areas, with a total of how many worked.  The sixth selection
also saves the entire current log and then places you at the
prompt for a filename, allowing you to exit the current log and
load another (or start a new one) without leaving the program.
Seven is the exit selection, which prompts you to make you sure
you want to exit.  Number 2 or 6 must be performed before you
exit or any stations logged during this session will be lost.

MENU OPTION 1.

      This selection is the main function of the program, de-
duping and logging contacts and their reports.  After selecting
number 1 from the main menu and pressing enter, the screen will
clear, the 25th line will display the current log filename, and
you will be prompted to enter a callsign.  A null entry caused by
pressing enter without entering anything will return you to the
main menu.  If you enter a callsign without the Caps Lock on or
enter a callsign which is invalid, you will be prompted with a
descriptive error message.  A valid callsign is a callsign which
is between 4 and 6 characters long, has a number in the first 3
characters, and is in caps.  Do not enter a slash (/) for
portable stations, as some stations do not consistently use the
slash for portable operation.  When they change operators, the
new operator may or may not use the slash-portable notation,
causing FIELDAY to assume the entered callsign is a different
station.
     After a valid callsign has been entered, the program checks
the entry against previously logged callsigns.  If the callsign
has not been previously logged, the program prompts you for a
report.  If the callsign has been previously logged (worked), the
program sounds a long, low tone and prompts with the word "Dupe".
Press enter and the program will return to the prompt to enter a
callsign.
     Once a callsign has been accepted and the program prompts
for a report, enter a report consisting of the Field Day class
and the ARRL Section.  Since the class begins with a number (1A,
3D, e.t.c.), the program edits the report for a number as it's
first character.  The report is not edited for length or any
other characters, just a number as the first character.  A
typical report is 1AMDC or 2BNNJ.  The uniform use of the ARRL
abbreviations is not necessary, but will make the submitted log
look better.  When a good report is entered, the printer strobes
an entry of the callsign, time, date, report, and the contact
number.  The computer sounds two quick tones, the screen clears,
and the logged report is printed at the top of the screen above
the prompt for the next callsign.
     The report is constructed from the internal date/time clock
and your entered information.  The date and time are not required
to be accurate, but they are useful statistical data for
analyzing later using the utility program FDAYUTIL.  A complete,
accepted report in the file looks like this, "1AMDC06-2512:15".
This report says a 1A class station in ARRL area MDC was worked
on June 25th at 12:15.  The quotes are added by the system when
the file is written to disk.
     If no report is entered and you press enter (null entry),
the program returns to the enter callsign prompt.  This is the
condition which will occur when a callsign is entered just to
check if it has been worked, the contact was missed and should
not be logged, or you wish to begin to return to the main menu
without logging the current callsign.
     The tendency may be to check a callsign and then forget that
a report was not entered, since the station wasn't worked.  If
another callsign is entered (thinking you are at the enter
callsign prompt), the program will catch the error, as U.S.
callsigns don't begin with a number and the program edits the
report for a leading number.  This check will keep you from
getting 180 degrees out of sync in every case except if you enter
a callsign beginning with a number (foreign callsign).  Not many
foreign stations participate in Field Day.  The proper exit with
no action taken is a null entry, pressing enter without any other
keyboard entries.  This will back the program up one step each
time.  The main exception is at the main menu.  The exit to DOS
is a menu selection to prevent an accidental exit and the loss of
the logged data.    Don't waste time fretting an incorrect entry.
Take note of the incorrect data (either callsign or report) and
correct it during a slack time with main menu option 3.
     If the amount of callsigns entered exceeds the ceiling
amount (out of string memory), the program logs the entry which
exceeded the maximum, saves the log file to disk, and returns you
to the DOS prompt with a message that the limit was exceeded.
The utility program, FDAYUTIL, will print a manual dupe sheet
from the full log file.  At this point, the logging can continue
if a new filename is entered to represent the same band/mode,
with the manual dupe sheet assisting the program.  Any duplicates
which are in the continuation log file can be weeded out by the
log print option of the utility program.  Keep in mind, each
Field Day log file is for one band/mode.  A station can be worked
twice on each band, once on voice and once on CW/Digital.
FIELDAY's capabilities will be more than sufficient for most
Field Day operations.  File saves and loads usually take under a
minute, so changing bands (files) is a minor inconvenience, often
done when you change operators and/or loggers.

MENU OPTION 2.

     This option will save your complete current log, writing out
the data and a new index file.  These files are standard BASIC
output files, called CSV ( comma separated value) files by some
other programs.  Each record is a line in the file, with the
fields delimited by double quotes and separated by commas.  These
files are usable by any program which can accept CSV files, such
as Lotus 123, Supercalc, and Dbase II and III.  The utility
program FDAYUTIL can use the output file(s) to produce various
reports.
    After the file save is complete, the main menu will
reappear.  An exit can now be performed or logging can resume, as
the log up to this point has been saved.  This and option 6 are
the only disk save of the log, as the log resides in memory
during the rest of the operation.  Do this often whenever you can
spare the time.  Any calls logged since the last save will be
lost if power is lost.  They can be re-entered from the print log
if you selected the running print log option.

MENU OPTION 3.

     This option allows the deletion of a callsign and it's
report, the changing of a callsign, or the changing of a report.
The first prompt will be for a callsign to correct, as this is
the primary search element.  Once a callsign has been entered,
the previously logged callsigns are searched for a match.  If a
match is not found, the prompt will state this and ask for
another callsign to correct.  A null entry will cause the program
to return to the main menu.
     If a match is found, the existing callsign and it's
associated report are displayed along with a prompt asking for a
"D" if the entry needs to be deleted.  Entering a "D" will
replace the current entry with a number representing the array it
was stored in and the word "deleted" in the report area.  This
entry will be visible if a log list (option 4) is selected from
the main menu; it will be screened out of the file at the time
the log is saved with an option 2 or 6.  If a null entry is made,
the program will assume the callsign does not need to be changed.
If a callsign is entered, it is checked for validity and to make
sure it has not been already been worked.  If it has been worked,
the entry to be corrected is deleted, as the entry to replace it
with is a duplicate.  If the replacement callsign is not a
duplicate, it is accepted.  If a callsign is found and you have
changed it or not, the opportunity is presented to change the
elements of the report.  The date, time, and report are all
presented for change.  Any entry not changed remains as it was.
Any input is accepted as a valid replacement for the entry it is
replacing.  The changed elements are printed on the printer, if
that option was selected in the beginning.  If the computer loses
power before the log is saved, the log can be reconstructed from
the running print log, including any error corrections.
     Any entry can be answered with a null entry to affect no
change and a return to the main menu.  If a callsign is retrieved
and does not need any fixing, just press enter in response to the
questions and the program will return to the main menu.
     Report items can be changed with this option, however, if
the contact rate is running high, the changes can be made after
the contest with this option or any word processor in the non-
document mode.  That would be the time to change items such as
the ARRL section (setting all abbreviations to the same value),
as word processors have powerful search and replace commands.
This section should be used during the contest to correct
incorrect callsigns as soon as possible, as they need to be
unique and accurate in memory in order to insure no duplicates
are accepted.

MENU OPTION 4.

     If you type a 4 and press enter, the currently logged
callsigns will be listed on the screen. The display will pause
after one full screen. If just enter is pressed, the log listing
will continue.  If any character is entered and then enter is
pressed, the listing will terminate and return to the main menu.
The log will list the entries from call area 0 to 9.  This is a
useful method to spot a defective entry.  The defective entry can
be corrected or deleted with main menu option 3.

MENU OPTION 5.

     This option will show a one screen tally of a stations
worked by call area, with a grand total.  The grand total
represents the total contacts for this log file minus deleted
entries, so it may be less than the total of the call areas added
up.
     The free memory notation is the free string space available.
This value gives an idea of when the automatic save and program
shutdown will activate (when this value falls under 550 bytes
free).

MENU OPTION 6.

     If you need to change logs, this option saves the current
log, sends the end of log for filename "X" heading to the printer
(if selected), and presents the prompt to enter a filename.  If a
null entry is made, the program will terminate.  If a valid
filename is entered, the program will load the file and go to the
main menu or start a new file with the entered name and go to the
main menu.  A defective file/pathname will give an error message
and loop back to the enter filename prompt.  This is the normal
method to change log files without exiting the program.

MENU OPTION 7.

     Choice 7 will clear the screen and ask if you really intend
to leave the program.  The log is not saved by this option and
answering a "Y" to this prompt will exit to DOS without saving
the log.  An option 2 or 6 should be performed before this
selection unless you intentionally want to not save this file.
Giving a null entry will cause a return to the main menu.
                       FDAYUTIL

PURPOSE.

     This program is the utility program to use in conjunction
with the Field Day logging program, FIELDAY.  The logging program
produces an ASCII log file in the CSV (Comma Separated Value)
format and an index file.  Each line terminated by a carriage
return is a record, with fields within the record bracketed by
double quotes (") and separated by commas.  Each of the options
offer the ability to do another log file after they complete
before returning to the main menu.
     Sign on the drive/path containing FDAYUTIL.EXE and type
FDAYUTIL.  After the brag screen, the main menu will appear.

MENU OPTION 1.

     This function will produce a sorted, formatted log print,
suitable for submitting to the ARRL as part of your Field Day
entry.  The only thing you have to produce manually is the
required summary sheet which summarizes the totals per band/mode.
The totals for each band and mode are printed at the bottom of
each log.  A prompt will appear asking for a heading (up to 54
characters), with the program supplying the page numbers.  You
may also control the total amount of lines per page.
Approximately 2000 entries from one input file can be sorted and
printed.
     If you continued logging the same band/mode on a second file
(because you exceeded the program's limits during logging), you
should join the two data files with the DOS concatenate technique
and submit that file to the program.  Just type input_file1 +
inputfile2 output_filename, substituting the appropriate
filenames.  Refer to your DOS manual for more information.  The
data files (ending in .DAT) are the only ones needed for the log
print option.  Any duplicates found during the sort are weeded
out and the total dupes eliminated is printed on the screen.

MENU OPTION 2.

     The FIELDAY log files can be dumped to print in the same
approximate format used by the manual dupe sheets.  This option
will prompt for a filename and offer you the option to issue an
ASCII control string (decimal 15) to your printer.  That is the
code to put Epson control code compatible printers into the
compressed print mode.  If you are going to produce this manual
dupe sheet on narrow (8 inch) paper, this will be necessary.  If
you have wide paper loaded (14 inch), you can produce the report
in normal 10 pitch print without the compressed control code.  A
master printer reset code is issued to your printer before
returning to the main menu.
     Each of the call areas are sorted individually and printed
in column format with the call area number at the top and bottom.
The report is as long as the longest column, the call area which
has the most contacts in it.  The page will be labeled top and
bottom with the filename.
     This report will allow manual duping to carry on if your
computer or AC power source dies during the contest.  The log
file disk can be taken to a working computer to complete this
report.
     If the report was produced because the program's limit for
total contacts was exceeded, this report can be used along with
the computer to continue logging/de-duping.  Place the report
along side the computer and start a new log file for the
band/mode needed.  Check the callsign to be worked against the
paper dupe sheet and then enter it into the program for a
duplicate check.  The small amount of duplicates that might slip
by can be removed by the log printing function after the contest.
     This function can only handle one FIELDAY data file at a
time.  The data and index file must both be available on the same
drive/pathname.  The index file is necessary because the program
loads the callsigns into arrays according to the call number
areas.  You cannot concatenate log files for input to this
function, as the index files would not be accurate.

MENU OPTION 3.

     After Field Day is over, you may wish to run this function
to analyze the patterns of contact activity during the contest.
This option produces a histogram (graph), with the vertical axis
representing total contacts and the horizontal axis representing
time in 15 minute increments.  After selecting number 3 and
pressing enter, a prompt for a filename will appear and then an
offer to issue an ASCII control string (decimal 15) to your
printer.  The graph will need this compressed code to fit on 8
inch wide paper, but will not need the compressed code for 14
inch paper.  A master printer reset code is issued before
returning to the main menu.
     The log file reports are loaded from disk and sorted, then
graphed as a vertical line of asterisks, each asterisk
representing one contact in the labeled 15 minute interval.
     The program prompts for the contest start month, day of the
month, and starting hour (24 hour style).  The time line (X axis)
is labeled, starting with the start hour and continuing for 30
hours.  The longest contest this is intended for is 30 hours
(Field Day is 27 hours long for those who didn't setup prior to
startup), with up to 50 contacts in a 15 minute period.  Log data
files (.DAT) containing up to 2000 contacts total can be DOS
concatenated before input to make very interesting graphs.  For
instance, you can concatenate all of your SSB logs to get the big
picture of SSB activity across the entire contest.  Likewise, you
can combine the SSB and CW logs for a particular band to get an
idea of the activity on a certain band.  If you run a limited
Field Day activity or want to "tune" the amount of operators on
hand for a particular band or mode, this can tell when the
largest amount of contacts per 15 minute period occurred.



MENU OPTION 4.

     This option is the program exit.  After returning from any
of the 3 other functions, just type a 4 and press return to
return to DOS.

HISTORY.

     The logging program, FIELDAY, was first attempted on a Texas
Instruments TI99 computer.  I did not have enough access to the
computer to accomplish the task, so I continued it on a Commodore
C64.  I coded a version successfully on this computer and then
migrated the code to a CPM machine.  When the IBMPC became more
popular and available, I moved the code to this machine and
started compiling it.  A very satisfactory version was developed
with the IBM version 1.0 compiler.  The advent of the Microsoft
QuickBASIC compiler and it's low price encouraged me to re-write
it for this compiler.  This compiler allows structured constructs
and no line numbers, making the code look much like C or Pascal.
These modules were compiled using version 2.01 of the QuickBASIC
compiler.
     This program could be more powerful with a larger amount of
callsigns internal or searched from disk.  I decided to keep the
entire log in memory at one time, limiting the program's total
number of contacts.  The log is not fetched from disk or checked
from disk for callsign searches.  If I spent enough effort, I'm
sure I could implement multi-segment storage and increase logging
space.  Program development time is at a premium for me and this
program probably has sufficient power and capability for over 90%
of the Field Day operations.
     The utility program, FDAYUTIL, was developed as three
separate programs.  Due to the modular nature of structured code,
I was able to perfect each of these functions as a stand-alone
program, and then cut and paste them into one program.  This
program performs the mundane tasks that would burden the logging
program with seldom used code.
     If you find these programs interesting and use them, I would
appreciate a donation to show your appreciation for my efforts
($10.00 or more is suggested ).  Even if you do not feel driven
to donate to my effort, I welcome criticism, suggestions for
improvements/changes, and general comments.  Please include the
link date from the brag screen when writing.  A reasonable
donation will entitle you to postcard notification of newer
releases of these programs (bug squashes, upgrades).  I will be
glad to negotiate concerning selling the source code to these
programs.

FIELDAY   Version 1.3, link date 06/06/87  21:53:26

     fix log list on the screen function (menu item 4) - would
not list callsigns in the 9 call area after letter L, did not
affect any other functions, duping, file output, or error
correction.

FIELDAY   Version 1.2, link date 05/22/87  13:05:08

     fix problem at main menu - when you have already done some
logging and return to main menu, entering an invalid entry at the
main menu prompt (letter instead of number, number out of 1-7
range) would cause the program to prompt for a new filename,
losing the previous log
     trap for printer not ready error, give you another chance to
put it online (if printer option was selected)
     fix screen flicker during log list and main menu null
selection, due to carriage return and linefeed on INPUT statement
     make error selection callsign entry stay at top of screen
after error messages
     change input callsign edit, edit for non-caps character in
first two positions of inputed callsign, check entire callsign
for character outside of valid range (0-9, A-Z)
     move error code 52 to error handling for error code 64, both
due to invalid filename/pathname

FIELDAY   Version 1.1, link date 05/12/87  10:02:22

     bug squash for change logs function, menu item 6, program
was not reinitializing arrays, log data from previous log was
retained.

FIELDAY   Version 1.0, link date 03/27/87  14:51:42

FDAYUTIL  Version 1.0, link date 04/18/87  20:54:39

Forrest C. Hudspeth WA3FAE
5883 Woodbine Road
Woodbine, Maryland 21797

Compuserve ID 72126,1173
or drop a message on:
3-Winks ham BBS 301-258-9044

73's and good luck!