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Text File | 1995-02-14 | 50KB | 1,823 lines

This is HISTORY.DOC - Records the development of Super-Duper. Registered Users: You'll see that there are significant changes to SD every few weeks or so. To benefit from these, you should send me a blank formatted 3.5" disk, two IRCs and a return addressed envelope at regular intervals. Apart from new features in the program, I am constantly updating the .CTY country multiplier files. If you know of any prefix changes, please forward the details so that I can update the .CTY files for the benefit of all users. My e-mail address is okanep@iol.ei Coming in Version 7.01. I hope to enable CW keying via the parallel printer port. Other plans for SDCHECK are to add log statistics, QSOs per hour, and by operator in multi-op contests. I plan to give a choice of RSGB or ARRL formats for the .LOG files from Type 4, 9, 10 and 11 contests. Version 7.00 7th February 1995 All Contests: Space Bar - Extra compatibility with other contest loggers. Thanks G4TSH To suit SD users who also use other contest loggers, you can now use the Space Bar to enter a callsign and skip the RST field. This change does not affect users who prefer the Enter key. The Space Bar is equivalent to the Enter key in most fields other than those intended to accept plain text, for example, Type 11 Postal Codes. If you're in OVR (overwrite) mode and the cursor is not to the right of the data, then the Space Bar will create a space, unless the field is already at maximum size, in which case it's equivalent to Enter. There's one significant difference. If you have returned to the callsign field, after completing the remaining field(s), the QSO will be logged when you press Space. TAB Key. A reminder that you should use the TAB key ONLY when you need to complete or amend an earlier field, or when you need to leave an incomplete field. For example, with fewer than three characters in the callsign field, TAB is the only way to move to the RST or Serial fields. PRINT & WRITE Commands. These have been transferred from SD to SDCHECK. SDCHECK has been re-written with separate options to create files for dupe sheets, multiplier lists, contest entry logs, printed logs and summary sheets. This applies to all SD contest types (0 - 11) and also to SDC (Commonwealth Contest). However, SDU and SDI retain, for the moment, their integrated PRINT and WRITE commands MLT Files. PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, JAPAN, AUSTRIA, HOLYLAND added. Thanks OE4BKU ARRL Contest - Quebec. The Canadian Postal Service uses QC as the preferred abbreviation for Quebec. SD now accepts QU, PQ or QC for Quebec. Whichever you type, QC is recorded. CW Keyer. Any memory with the #N parameter now picks up the name corresponding to a callsign (LOAD command) even if the name is not already displayed on screen. Thanks GM3POI Version 6.08 16th January 1995 LOAD Command - all contests. The #N parameter in CW keyer memory text will send the name whenever you have a callsign match. By this, I mean that the name must already appear on screen. This parameter should not be preceded by a space. For example, TU#N will send "TU John" where name is John, and "TU" (no following space) where there is no match. ARI (Italy) International DX Contest. Type 10. The multiplier file ITALY.MLT has been added. In addition, the maximum number of area codes has been raised from 96 to 104. Variable QSO Points - Type 10 Area and Country multipliers. Now you can specify points for any (all) QSO with stations giving Area codes. For example, 10 points for all QSOs with Italian staions in the ARI Contest, whereas other QSOs score 0, 1 or 3 points for own country, own continent, other continent. (You define the points). CW Keyer. Under certain circumstances, SD (but not SDI, SDC or SDU) would crash when invoking the keyer from other than the logging line. Fixed. Thanks G3YLC AFS Contest. (Type 11 where you answer N to RoPoCo?) Points shown as 0 on LOG file. Format fixed. Was probably wrong since V6.04. Thanks G3KAF SDCHECK Program. Two bugs. For Type 9 or 10 contests it defaulted to RSGB.CTY rather than reading the CTY file chosen at the start of the contest. Secondly, it was crashing on comment records - starting with #. Fixed. Thanks VA3PI WRITE Command - Type 9 and 10 contests. The .LOG files are in RSGB format. You'll have the choice of ARRL or RSGB formats in the next release when the WRITE and PRINT commands will be transferred to Program SDCHECK. UBA Contest. Belgian stations no longer give a serial. SDU modified, and UBA.MLT updated with new multipliers. 31 Jan. SDU for ON entrants. Scoring not correct for new European Union countries. Fixed. Also, WRITE and PRINT formats corrected. Thanks ON5LF IOTA Contest. In the opening screen, SDI did not do a full check on callsigns such as VE3AA/PA so that it was not recognised as PA when checking for own country while logging. Fixed. Thanks ON9CCQ Version 6.07 12th December 1994 Variable QSO Points - Type 9 and 10 Contests. You can specify QSO points by any combination of band, mode and location (own country, own continent, and other continents). For this you must enter 0 in the Points per QSO field. If you enter any other value in this field SD assigns that value to all QSOs. Callsign edits, on QSOs already logged, update points as necessary. ARRL 10m Contest - ARRL10.MLT multiplier file supplied. Use Type 10, and select ARRL10 as the .MLT file and DXCC as the .CTY file. Suggest you use 10m for CW and 15m for SSB. SD doesn't allow you to work a station on both modes on the same band. Set Points per QSO to 0, then select 4 points per QSO for CW and 2 points for SSB. Use the commands SSB and CW to change mode as appropriate after you "change" bands. All Contests. The command PRE(FIX) gives continuous automatic partial call checking by prefix. Once you try it, you'll probably use it all the time! However, a second PRE(FIX) command will stop it. Thanks G3SQX Version 6.06 14th November 1994 CTY and MLT files. You may comment out any lne by inserting # as the first character. It's useful for adding comments or for temporarily removing countries or areas that do not qualify in a particular contest. Type 10 - Formerly UK work all. Now amended to cater for many contests with either country or area multipliers - but not both in the one QSO. An example is the RSGB 1.8 MHz contest. Use the $ symbol followed by a country prefix, one per line, to indicate which countries (in Type 10 comtests only) give an area code, and which don't qualify as country multipliers. See RSGB.MLT for more information. Thanks G0IWT MLT records beginning with $ are ignored by all contest types other than 10. Type 9 - Formerly UK work non-UK only. This has been amended to cater for many contests with country multipliers only. You select the relevant country multiplier file from the opening screen, and you can make up your own custom files. For example, for RSGB contests where UK entrants work non-UK only, select RSGB(.CTY). For the Scandinavian Activity Contest, select SAC. The program does not stop you from logging stations that don't qualify for points in the contest. Contests with Country multipliers. When you enter a callsign, you get an immediate band analysis for the corresponding country. This may be useful for requesting skeds on other bands. Contests with Area multipliers. When you enter a callsign already worked on another band, you get an immediate band analysis for that area. Again, this may be useful for requesting skeds on other bands. Contests with Received Serials. You're warned if you record a lower serial than that logged for an earlier QSO with the same station. This often indicates an incorrect serial in one of the QSOs. Memory keyer and Partial callsigns. When you enter a partial callsign and playback a memory which includes the #C (Callsign logged) parameter, the keyer will include any further characters you type. There's one restriction - you must complete entry of the remainder of the callsign before the keyer finishes sending the character(s) you entered initially. Thanks G3SQX On slower machines, such as XTs, there's a gap at present between the two parts of the callsign. I'm working on a fix. Commonwealth Contest - SDC. Bonus file BERU.MLT updated as per RadCom for November 1994. PACC Contest. Province/Area descriptions now in PACC.MLT. Thanks G0LZL Version 6.05 14th September 1994 RST other than 59(9). In normal logging mode, SD skips the RST field. Previously, if you received other than 59(9) you had to enter the next field (usually a serial) before you could use TAB to edit the RST. Now, when you press Enter in an empty Serial field, you're taken directly to the RST field. A further Enter returns you to the Serial field. This way, you can log RST (other than 599) and Serial in the correct sequence by using only the Enter key. This works also in ARRL DX - Type 0/1 and RoPoCo/AFS - Type 11, and in the Commonwealth, IOTA and UBA contests. Thanks G3SQX Partial Call Window. A key is shown to indicate which calls are "GOOD" (on the current band) and which are "bad". Thanks G3SQX F4/F5 - Country Multiplier Analyses. Any callsign, or partial callsign, entered before invoking F4 or F5 is preserved. Thanks G3SQX Dupes not worked. When advised of a dupe, and you press Enter to clear the logging line, the callsign is loaded into the Quick Memory table. Thanks G3SQX Working Dupes. If you tabbed to the RST field from the serial field after entering a serial you could not log the duplicate QSO. Fixed. Version 6.04 24th August 1994 All Contests. The command RATEOFF suppresses the QSO Rate display. RATEON restores it. The default is ON. RoPoCo Contest - Type 11. Thanks G3SQX CW keyboard mode is now available in the Post Code field. The Post Code field has been extended to eleven characters to allow for erroneous additions in earlier QSOs. The PRINT command transfers all 11 characters. Edits to the received Post Code in the previous QSO are now included in the keyer exchange for the current QSO. Type 8, SSB Field Day. Edits of a callsign with /P which retained the /P reduced the QSO points from 5 to 2. Fixed. Thanks EI9FK Skeds and Memos. The current or the most recent callsign is now inserted. Saves you having to re-enter it. Use Esc to clear it if it's not appropriate. Thanks G0IWT Version 6.03 20th July 1994 Type 4 Contests. SLOVENIA.MLT supplied for European HF Championship. Thanks G5LP When using this file, SD permits QSOs on both CW and SSB, on any band, with the same station. Any other MLT file allows both modes but flags the second QSO on the same band, irrespective of mode, as a dupe. No serials are sent or received. See Version 6.00. For this contest, separate logs are required by band. Use PRINT command to create separate ASCII logs by band, and edit these using a text editor (you'll need to delete the Serial Sent and amend the points to 1 for SSB, 2 for CW). SDI - IOTA Contest. I've made more efficient use of memory to make room for an additional 100 QSOs compared to V6.02. The limit is now about 2650, or 3050 if you delete all records from DXCC.CTY except the one for your own country. Commands 20C (20 metre CW), 80S (80 metre SSB) etc. added to speed up band and mode changes. Version 6.02 13th June 1994 All contests with variable points per QSO. The score for each QSO is now shown in the logging window. Callsign edits which affect the score now update the score. This applies to CQ WW Contest IARU HF Championship CQ 160m Contest CQ WPX Contest CW Field Day SSB Field Day RSGB 7 MHz Contest UBA Contest Note: Callsign edits in CQ WW and IARU HF do not check or update the Zone. You should do this yourself if necessary. Novice Mode (variable RST Sent). In some contests with serials, you could not log the QSO if you exited the serial field with TAB. Fixed. Thanks G0OZS CQ WPX Contest. A callsign edit where both the old and the new prefix were multipliers did not display "Mult" in the logging window. Fixed. Version 6.01 25th May 1994 All contests and all variants of Super-Duper. You may now run SD from within Windows. The only disadvantage is that the CW speed shown may differ greatly from what you hear. I've increased the nominal speed range from 2 to 200 wpm so that you can compensate. This variance between the CW speed shown and the actual speed applies only when you start SD while Windows is already running. CW keyer - all contests. If you programmed a memory with #E to simulate the Enter key, it was recognised only in the callsign field. #E now works in all fields. Thanks G3HVX Version 6.00 26th April 1994 All contests and all variants of Super-Duper. Single key CW keyer playback at last, using F1 to F10, when Caps Lock is on. Many users asked for this, but G3SQX and G3VMW were very persuasive. You'll know Caps Lock is on, without having to look at the keyboard, by the presence of the symbol ^ to the left of the callsign field on the logging line. Thanks to EI7GY for help with the BIOS calls in the program. The Enter key may now be added as a parameter (#E) to any of the 10 memories. For example, you might select a single function key to send Call + full exchange + Enter. When Caps Lock is off (no ^ symbol), SD's standard functions are available, together with Ctrl-Z etc. and Alt-F1 keyer options. Type 4 Contests. Received serials are now optional. This is appropriate for some contests, such as the King of Spain contest, in which you give a serial but you don't receive one. Version 5.38 16th April 1994 All contests: Data input routine. On some modern notebooks the timer would not count seconds while waiting for data entry. In turn, the QSO rates were not updated every 10 seconds. Fixed. King of Spain Contest - and other Type 4 contests. Now you can have variable length provinces (multipliers). There's no need to insert trailing spaces. All Contests: You can switch to CW keyboard mode, or you can adjust speed with ( and ) from any field. Thanks G3SQX RoPoCo Contest - Type 11: The PRINT command showed only the first 4 Postcode characters. Fixed. Thanks G3SQX SDI - IOTA Contest: Band edits on previously logged non-IOTA QSOs could corrupt the Multiplier Summary by Continent. Fixed. Version 5.37 2nd April 1994 SDI - IOTA Contest only. Print file created by the PRINT command did not Thanks G4BUO distinguish between SSB and CW QSOs. Fixed. Own Callsign field on cover sheet is now a maximum Thanks G4BUO of 12 characters. Allows EJ/G4BUO/P etc. If, when editing, you removed an IOTA reference, Thanks G4BUO QSO points were not reduced. Fixed. You can no longer, while logging, enter an IOTA reference if there was no reference recorded on earlier QSOs with that station. If the station is on an island, then all QSOs will have the IOTA reference added when you edit any one such QSO. A band edit, using F1 or F2, on the first QSO logged with no IOTA reference flagged the QSO as a multiplier. Fixed. CQ WPX Contest. Own country QSOs in NA no longer score 2 points. Thanks VA3PI Version 5.36 24th March 1994 AUDIT Trail. Not reporting QSOs logged due to broken code in V5.35. Fixed. Edits to a QSO immediately following an edit of the band logged were not reported. Fixed. CTY Files: Formatting errors, colons or semicolons missing, no longer crash the program. You're told what line needs attention. CWZERO Command: The option to send K after the exchange has been removed. Now that all memories are fully user- programmable it's no longer needed. Thanks G0SAH Type 4 Contests: HUNGARY.MLT and POLAND.MLT now have the province/area names. Thanks GM0GNT Version 5.35 13th March 1994 CW Keyer - Many improvements. The command CWTEST toggles between sounding your computer speaker and providing a keying signal at the serial port. This lets you test all messages and experiment with keyboard mode. Please note that SD cannot sound the computer speaker and key your rig at the same time. You can change speed at any time using the ( and ) keys - there's no need to switch to keyboard mode. You can return to logging mode, from keyboard mode, simply by pressing Enter. Note that weight changes are not reflected in the audible CW. All 10 memories may be redefined, and settings will Thanks G3PJT be held permanently in a file named SDKEYER.MSG. G3SQX You can change messages within SD in the normal way using Shift F1 etc. or by editing SDKEYER.MSG directly. Remember that spaces are significant. SDV (for VHF) uses SDVKEYER.MSG. You may 'program' the memories with the following Thanks G3SQX parameters. Any combination may be used in any memory. #R Registered callsign. #C Callsign worked. #S Serial. #P Previous serial. #L Locator (SDV only). Messages are available at all times, even in keyboard Thanks G3SQX mode. Keyboard mode: Comma and Full Stop have been added, Thanks G3VMW together with AR ; and VA : (or '). TYPE 10: UK entrants work all. While logging a non-UK station, you could not TAB back to change the RST received. Fixed. Thanks G3SQX G4CWH TYPE 1: ARRL Contest for DX entrants. Power used had gone missing from both the .LOG and the .PRT files. Fixed. All contests with serial numbers. Sometimes, when other contests are taking place at the same time, the station you work replies with something other than a serial. For example, French stations may give their Departement. SD now permits you to record this data, but will still recognise serials and insert leading zeros as necessary. Thanks GM4SID SDC - Commonwealth Contest. Check for own country now uses the callsign entered rather than the registered callsign. Thanks G3PJT SDC used by G3PJT, winner of the 1994 Commonwealth Contest (VP9/G3PJT). Version 5.34 24th February 1994 CW Keyer - all Contests with serial numbers: The command Thanks G4JBH CWZERO allows you to select the character 0, O or G5LP T to represent zeros, other than leading zeros, in GM4SID the serial. The default is that zeros are sent in full. Leading zeros are always sent as T. CWZERO also allows you to select whether or not "K" is sent following exchanges. NOSOUND Command. When logging a station already worked on another band, the previous QSOs are displayed in a window on the top right of the screen. However, the NOSOUND command suppressed this display. Fixed. Thanks EI9FK Version 5.33 10th February 1994 LOAD Command: The LST file information is now displayed on screen even if the QSO is a potential dupe. If you have AUDIT selected, new QSOs will have the LST information printed, however this does not apply to Edits. Thanks GM4SID UBA Contest (Program SDU). F9 display of previous QSOs with a given callsign showed QSOs displaced one band. Fixed. Thanks G5LP RSGB Contests for UK entrants. JA prefixes of the type 8J9 and 8J9XX/3 are now recognised correctly as Area 9 and Area 3 respectively. Thanks G4TSH Version 5.32 30th January 1994 All contests: The COLOUR command has been extended to allow selection of the window title text colour. All contests: The CW keyer is enabled irrespective of mode. Thanks G0SAH Version 5.31 12th January 1994 Type 5. CQ 160m Contest. QSOs with ON, PA, YU etc. assumed the prefix was a W/VE state/province multiplier in addition to country multiplier. Fixed. Thanks G3UEG Type 11: RoPoCo or AFS. When using variable RST sent, part of the QSO rate box was overwritten. Fixed. Thanks GM4SID All CW Contests: If you switched to variable RST Sent (with the RST command) and used the keyer while the cursor was in the RST Sent field, the cursor would move to the RST Received field and duplicate the RST Sent value. Fixed. Thanks GM4SID UBA Contest: Released as a separate program (SDU) at no extra charge to current registered SD users. Uses SDCHECK for check lists. Comonwealth Contest: SDCHECK is now the only Check List program supplied. It works with SD, SDC and SDU. CTY Files: I've edited them to reflect the new Russian and CIS prefixes. They may be incomplete or incorrect. Be careful! Version 5.30 19th December 1993 Multi-mode Contests. The commands MODE, CW and SSB have been added to make it easier to change mode quickly. Type 5. ARRL 10m Contest. Changed to the CQ 160m Contest. Chances are that 160m will be open more often than 10m over the next few years. Thanks G3UEG Type 0. ARRL DX Contest for W/VE entrants. Band Edits with F1 or F2 increased the multiplier count. Fixed. LOAD Command, all contests: Callsigns in the .LST files are converted to upper case, if necessary, while loading. In addition, spaces before the callsign are ignored. Thanks G3RIR WRITE and PRINT commands. The disk files created by these commands are named after your contest name rather than your callsign. Version 5.29 5th December 1993 AUDIT Command - all Contests. The AUDIT command logs all QSOs and Edits to a printer connected to the parallel port. With AUDIT, you'll have a printed record from which you may recreate your contest log includng all edits. It is not intended as a substitute for a printed log. Printing takes place AFTER each QSO or Edit is written to disk. If the printer goes off-line, or is not switched on, the program will pause for about 15 seconds to allow you to remedy the situation. After 15 seconds the QSO or Edit will be ignored, i.e. will not be printed. The NOAUDIT command terminates printing. Thanks G5LP G3ECS All Contests. If you tried to run SD from a write-protected disk, it would stop with Error 70 which wasn't too helpful. Now you're told what the problem is in plain language. Version 5.28 1st December 1993 CQWW Contest. The check list program SDCHECK was picking up the DXCC.CTY file rather than the CQWW.CTY file and listing the wrong multipliers. Fixed. Thanks G0LZL All contests. To avoid SD or SDC or SDI trying to operate on an inappropriate .ALL file, SDC files (Commonwealth Contest) are now Type 15, and SDI files (IOTA Contest) are Type 16. SDCHECK, SDCCHECK and SDICHECK have been modified accordingly. CW Keyer: Since turning off the TIMER in V5.27, the keyer now sounds fine on 8088/8086 machines. SDC (Commonwealth Contest). In the LOG file created by the WRITE command, bonus QSOs were incorrectly scored as 20 points. The correct score is 25 points (including a bonus of 20). Version 5.27 28th November 1993 LOAD Command. This would fail at times, and apparently randomly, while reading a large .LST file. Fixed by turning off the timer. The timer updates the time display every second, and re-calculates the QSO rates every 10 seconds. It was responsible for certain obscure errors which I was unable to reproduce including random crashes when using the keyer. The timer is now turned off when any Command is entered in the callsign field and when the keyer is operating. Thanks GM4SID TYPE 10 - RSGB contests where UK work all. USA calls beginning with K or N were not identified by call area, due to a recent typing error. Fixed. Thanks GM4SID Version 5.26 14th November 1993 All Contests with Country Multipliers (or Bonus points): On entering the callsign, you are advised immediately if the country is needed. Thanks G4JFS All Contests: When you enter a callsign that you've worked on other bands, you get a message telling you the number of bands. For example, with two earlier QSOs the message is "3 Bands". LOAD Command: Allows you to load reference lists of callsigns and any other information such as names and membership numbers from external files with a .LST extension. When you enter a matching callsign, the information is shown. Thanks GM4SID. Version 5.25 2nd November 1993 Dupes - all Contests: When warned of potential dupes, the date and time of the earlier QSO are shown. This will help in two-day contests and when using SD in DXpedition mode. Thanks G4LJF. TYPE 10 RSGB Contests where UK entrants work all. Edits of previous QSOs with non-UK stations insisted on getting a UK county. Fixed. Version 5.24 23rd October 1993 CQWW Contest. The country multiplier file CQWW.CTY is included. It takes into account additional European multipliers which include GM - Shetlands, IT - Sicily, UN1 - Karelo-Finnish Republic, 4U1V - United Nations, Austria. Opening Screen. If you entered a contest type outside the range shown the program would stop. Now you get to select again. Version 5.23 12th October 1993 All contests. Partial call checking by suffix or prefix switches the callsign entry mode to INS or OVR respectively. The LOCK command keeps the entry mode to whichever has been most recently selected with the Insert key. This is for CT users who prefer the callsign entry mode to be INS at all times. UNLOCK restores SD's normal operation. Thanks G3SQX All contests with country multipliers. The call area modification in 5.22 backfired slightly in that the country checking routine ignored callsign characters occuring after the prefix. This meant that the correct country was not always identified. Fixed. Version 5.22 2nd October 1993 All contests. Calls of the type OH3AA/1 are now recognised as call area 1 and prefix OH1. Thanks EI7CC Summary Sheet from SDCHECK. The summary score is now listed in low to high frequency (160m - 10m) sequence. Thanks G3SJJ Version 5.21 12th September 1993 COLOUR Command - all contests. The COLOUR (or COLOR) command has been added. You can now select Window, Log and QSO Entry colours. The selections are temporary; SD always starts with the default colours. Thanks EI9HQ OZ4RT Version 5.20 7th September 1993 All multi-op contests: A fault in my error checking code in the routine to create the .OPR file, combined with any callsign entered (or edited) that my prefix checking routine couldn't handle (such as a call ending in //P), caused the program to crash and to delete either the .OPR file or the .ALL file. This error had been present in all versions since 3.35. Fixed. Thanks EI9FK Version 5.19 13th August 1993 All contests: F9 - display QSOs by Callsign. Now checks for all the usual suffixes which are ignored for the purpose of dupe checking. Therefore, if you request QSOs with EI5DI, you'll also see those for EI5DI/P /M /QRP etc. This applies also to the automatic display, when you enter a new callsign, of QSOs on other bands. Dupes - all contests. Dupes of the type W1AA and W1AA/1 were not detected. Fixed. Thanks G3UFY WPX contest: For callsigns of the type 4X/K1AA, the correct prefix, 4X0, is now shown. Thanks EI7CC. Version 5.18 8th August 1993 DUMP Command - all contests. Now leaves two generations of copies of your log file on drive A. The most recent has a .DMP extension, and the older one has a .OLD extension. FASTDUMP Command. FASTDUMP has been added to dump to the disk (presumably a hard disk) and directory from which you're running the program - it's much faster but less secure than DUMP. Country Multiplier Files (.CTY): Commas may now be included in the description (country name) field. Contests NOT needing the DXCC.CTY file. Band edits, using F1 or F2 would stop the program because I had disturbed the code in Version 5.12 or 5.13. Fixed. Check Lists - All Contests. On full pages, some callsigns were missed from the last line. Fixed. Thanks G4JFS Version 5.17 27th July 1993 DUMP Command - all contests. When using the DUMP option, if you had more than 1200 or so QSOs logged, the transfer would stop with the message "Problem writing to Disk A". Fixed. Multi-op contests. If you used the OPR command to denote a new operator, but did not enter anything else, Error 5 was reported the next time you restarted SD (or SDI). Thanks G4ADD Super-Duper for IOTA. SDICHECK would not list more than 10 multipliers on 10 Metres and 15 on 15 Metres. Fixed. Thanks G3KMA 1993 IOTA Contest. The three top scoring entrants used SDI, as did no fewer than 17 UK entrants. Version 5.16 11th July 1993 CW Contests: When you toggle to keyboard mode, from logging mode, you now get a message telling you how to return to logging mode. It was possible to enter keyboard mode by accident and not realise what had happened. Thanks G3YLC Check Lists from SDCHECK. The previous 5-column display truncated some long calls. It's now 4-column. Thanks G3YLC IOTA Contest: The three top scoring entrants all used SDI. Version 5.15 20th June 1993 TYPE 4. Originally RSGB contests for DX entrants. This type formerly recognised multipliers from SDTYPE4.MLT. Now you can specify the file directly from the opening screen. SDTYPE4.MLT is no longer needed and has been removed. The options are RSGB, PACC, HELVETIA, SPAIN, POLAND, HUNGARY corresponding to the area multiplier (.MLT) files with the same prefix. RSGB Contests. The log file created by WRITE did not correspond precisely to the recommended RSGB format in all cases, in particular the position of QSO points in NFD. All RSGB contest types have been reviewed and corrected. Thanks G0JQI PRINT Command - all Contests. The PRINT option created a file CALLSIGN.PRT each time it was used. This was inconvenient if you wanted separate prints for individual bands. The file extensions are now .10 .15 etc. (.PRT for all bands). Thanks G3IZD CQWW Contest. NA-NA QSOs score 2 points, not 1 as before. Thanks G0SLY. Version 5.14 7th June 1993 Scandinavian Activity Contest (SAC). SAC.CTY is supplied. Use Type 9. Registered Users: SD now allows more flexibility with the callsign you enter at startup. For example, if G0SLY is the registered user, calls such as GD0SLY or EI/G0SLY are permitted. Maximum length remains at 8 characters. All Contests - Prefix Checking Routine: Callsigns starting with / would crash the program. Fixed. Error Checking Routines tightened up. (ON ERROR). Data input routine: Allowed 13 characters (onw too many) in callsign when in Insert mode. Fixed. INS/OVR. When logging, and in a field other than the callsign, the Insert key didn't always toggle between INS and OVR modes. Fixed. Version 5.13 23rd May 1993 Now using PowerBASIC V3.0b. CW keyer. Although the code was changed in V5.10 to include COM3 and COM4, the previous compiler (PowerBASIC V2.0a) ignored it. Type 0 and Type 10 Band edits using F1 and F2: A QSO already logged which had been a multiplier on the old band, and which was now a dupe on the new band was not flagged as such. Fixed. Version 5.12 18th May 1993 CW contests. Ctrl-R re-enabled. (Also Alt-F10). Sends previous serial. I had removed it because F10 used to do what the Minus key does now - abandons a QSO, and sometimes I would hit F10 instead of Alt-F10. Type 0 - originally intended solely for the ARRL DX contest from W/VE. This can now be used in any contest with country multipliers that count separately on each band, and with constant points per QSO irrespective of band. In the opening screen, the "State" field now accepts 2 characters which will be picked up by the keyer in CW contests. If you're logging serials, note that you'll have to insert leading zeros. You will have to edit the DXCC.CTY file to delete country records that don't apply. Don't forget to keep a copy of your original DXCC.CTY file. Version 5.11 10th May 1993 Check Partial by Prefix or Suffix. F7 and F8 were formerly used. Now, Comma and Full Stop (Period) are the only options for these functions. F7 now sets up a Sked, or a Reminder which will trigger an alarm 1 minute before the time set. F8 will display the next 7 Skeds. If you enter a Sked, but leave the time field blank, it's assumed you are recording a memo or note for use after the contest. Memos will not be shown in the Sked window. All these reminders or notes are written to the .MMO file. You can peruse them, after the contest, with any text editor or word processor. Thanks VU2PTT Version 5.10 6th May 1993 CW keyer. Choice of COM1-COM4. Thanks G0KJV TUNE Command. Will key the rig until any other key is pressed. Valid for CW contests only. Version 5.09 14th April 1993 Wildcard characters. The characters ? or * are allowed in callsigns. Thanks EI6EW Contests with serials, but no state, county or zone multipliers: If, after editing a serial, you used Tab rather than Enter, an "Invalid State" was flagged and the edit would have to be abandoned with Minus. Fixed. Version 5.08 26th March 1993 The option to create multiplier files, corresponding to SDTYPE4.MLT assumed that all multiplier IDs would be the same length - 2 or 3 characters. This does not apply in the Spanish contest where the mul- tiplier IDs can be 1 or 2 characters. The program has been corrected to allow for this and similar circumstances. Refer to the SPAIN.MLT file to see what to do. When logging, you must enter a trailing space(s) if appropriate. Thanks G0KJV ITALY.MLT, POLAND.MLT and HELVETIA.MLT files supplied. Thanks GM4HQF The Type 4 option now allows multi-mode operation. Any station may be worked on SSB or on CW, but not on both modes, on each band. However, each multiplier counts once only, irrespective of mode. Version 5.07 15th March 1993 The WRITE command caused the program to crash if it was used during the same session in which the contest file was created. However, it would work if the program was restarted. Fixed. Thanks G3KAF TYPE 11 - RoPoCo/AFS. Format of .LOG file for AFS option corrected. Thanks G3KAF TYPE 10 or 11. County code not appended to CW exchange if it was entered in lower case. Fixed. Thanks G3PJT Version 5.06 9th March 1993 Following the WRITE command in RSGB multi-op contests, I had not suppressed one of my program test messages. This had the effect of slowing the creation of the LOG file to 15 QSOs per minute. Fixed. Thanks G3KAF Version 5.05 3rd March 1993 Following report of problem in RSGB 7MHz contest, I found that a callsign edit, on a QSO that was a multiplier, to a callsign that was now a dupe, was not flagged as a dupe. This applied only to contests with country multipliers. Fixed. Thanks G4BWP Version 5.04 2nd March 1993 Type 11 - RoPoCo/AFS. When you answer Y to RoPoCo? the keyer sends 599 followed by the previous Post Code received. You have to manually send your own Post Code for the first QSO. If you answer N, the keyer sends 599 followed by Serial. Thanks G4WYG Version 5.03 11th February 1993 Contests with multipliers. Bug found - not reported by any users. When the band was edited on a logged QSO, if there was a QSO which had been a dupe of the edited QSO on the original band, and which was now a multiplier, in addition to being no longer a dupe, then it was not scored correctly. This had been treated correctly, but at some time in the past few weeks I had altered some code without realising its significance. Fixed. Contests with Serials. Potential dupes did not report the Serial Received due to a typing error in 5.01. Fixed. Version 5.02 30th January 1993 PRINT Command. PRINT generates a print file NAME.PRT on disk where NAME is the callsign used. To print it, use the DOS COPY or PRINT commands. Thanks G6LX Version 5.01 25th January 1993 DUPES: For potential dupes, the on-screen message is now highlighted. Thanks GW0ANA Version 5.0 15th January 1993 All Contests: Logging Mode. In the past, it was assumed that your RST Sent was always 59(9). To allow for contests or styles of operating where this is not appropriate, I've added a new logging mode which gives more flexibility. You switch from one mode to the other by typing "RST" in the callsign field followed by Enter. Thanks G0LZL Type 4 - RSGB contests for DX entrants: Type 10 - RSGB contests where UK entrants work both UK and DX. Area multiplier IDs are now held in separate ASCII text files corresponding to each contest type. For example, the UK county codes and corresponding descriptions are now held in RSGB.MLT and have been copied to both SDTYPE4.MLT and SDTYPE10.MLT. You may edit the area multiplier files, using a text editor only, to reflect any necessary changes in ex- isting contests and, more significantly, you can set up new files to cater for other contests - for example, the Helvetia contest which uses 2 letter identifiers for cantons. Descriptions can be up to 28 characters long - any longer and they will be truncated. You can have a maximum of 96 multipliers. Any additional ones are ignored. Type 5, ARRL 10 Metre Contest. Under certain circumstances the serial received from the previous QSO was logged for the current QSO, even though a different one was entered. Fixed. The LOG file created by the WRITE command did not print the State for W/VE QSOs. This was due to an error arising from the need to print spaces when a Zero serial is recorded. Fixed. RSGB Contests: For CW QSOs which qualify for Bonus points, the letter B is sounded rather than ML (multiplier). All Contests: F10 now recalls the Quick Memo table. To abandon a QSO or an Edit, you must use Minus - no alternative is provided. Whenever you log EI5DI, you get a message saying you deserve extra points. I know it's frivolous but I like it. In some earlier versions this caused screen alignment problems. When you start SD and reach the second screen, the first option now is COM1 or COM2 for cw contests. The default is COM1. This assigns the serial port which will be activated by the keyer. It is of no significance in SSB contests. To return to this option you must restart SD. Thanks G3KAF TYPE 11 - General Purpose Option - where you answer N to RoPoCo? Several minor problems corrected. When editing the Info Received field, leading zeros were deleted, and also you could not use Enter to leave this field (although edits took effect if you left with TAB and then used Enter from any other field). Under certain circumstances the log file (from WRITE) was incorrectly formatted for the non-RoPoCo option. Thanks G4WYG You can now select points per QSO. Thanks G3KAF Type 11 is no longer restricted to CW only. TYPE 6 - WPX Contest. F6 now displays corresponding prefixes worked and needed even when the character(s) cannot be uniquely associated with any country in the CTY file. SDCHECK - When multipliers were marked manually (with a text editor) on the .ALL file for the CQWW contest, the country multiplier list was not printed in certain circumstances. Fixed. Thanks G3KMA The checklist file now has a .LST suffix rather than .LOG which could be confused with a log file. The checklist (dupe sheet) file is now CHECK.LST. For WPX and RSGB checklists, serial sent is now printed instead of time of QSO. Thanks G6LX Version 4.07 6th December 1992 ARRL 10m Contest: Used by EI5DI to get world second place in the DX mixed-mode low power (150w) section, using a Kenwood TS830M barefoot to a home brew (thanks Dave EI2GB) 5 el yagi at 35 ft. SDCHECK. The summary sheet now gives the correct score in RSGB contests with bonus points. Version 4.06 18th November 1992 RSGB Contests: - Problem noted as corrected in 4.03 regarding operators in multi-op contests was not fixed properly. It also caused QSO edits to be ignored, because the edits were written to the .OPR file instead of the .ALL file due to a mixup in file numbers. Now fixed!! Version 4.05 28th October 1992 SDCHECK - Under certain conditions it would list incorrect DXCC multipliers in the multiplier summary. (However, they were correct in the .LOG file created by the WRITE command in SD). Note: new records can be inserted in any position in the .CTY files but it's tidier to keep them in sequence (by standard prefix). All Contests: When you suppress sounds, using NOSOUND, potential dupes will still give an audible warning. Thanks HB9AGA Version 4.04 17th October 1992 SDCHECK not giving multiplier lists for RSGB Contests where UK entrants work DX only (Type 9 contests). Corrected. Evaluation version "Licensed to DEMO", allows full facilities in Type 1, ARRL DX contest for DX entrants, and in Type 4, RSGB contests for DX entrants. Version 4.03 8th October 1992 All Contests: Error in country identification routine meant that calls of the type G0ABC/VK were identified correctly as a VK multiplier, if appropriate, but the log and the multiplier summary listed a G multiplier. Thanks G4ADD Commas not permittted in name and address fields. They caused problems because PowerBasic saw them as record delimiters. Thanks G4ADD RSGB multi-op contests. Operators now recorded correctly. Version 4.02 3rd October 1992 RoPoCo option extended to give a choice between RoPoCo specifically, and general purpose - with appropriate print layouts after WRITE. Version 4.01 29th September 1992 Callsign Edits which changed the country had a potentially fatal bug due to the new country reference number not being zero filled, if necessary, when the QSO record was rewritten. Fixed. Version 4.00 23rd August 1992 Type 0 ARRL DX for W/VE Side added. Type 5 ARRL 10m. Now tracks DXCC multipliers after Edits, in addition to State/Province multipliers. Program SDCHECK added. Generates check lists & multiplier lists in CHECK.LOG, and a summary sheet in SUMMARY.DOC. Minus - alternative to F10 to wipe a QSO or abandon an Edit. Think of it as "take away". Thanks HB9AGA Prefix checking routine. Bug corrected which caused crashes when the callsign ended with / while logging or editing. Thanks EI7DNB Callsigns beginning with 0 (Zero) trapped. Thanks EI9FK Version 3.36 12th August 1992 Type 11 RSGB RoPoCo option added. Can be used as a general purpose option. All Contests: Quick Memo facility added. It's updated by Esc or F10 during logging. Thanks HB9AGA Keyer: Ctrl-Z to Ctrl-R. Alternatives to Alt-F1 to Alt-F10. Thanks HB9AGA Version 3.35 7th August 1992 All Contests: Thanks G3XTT Serial No. 0 permitted. Equivalent to no serial received. Multi-Op added to RSGB contests - uses .OPR files. Exit provided on Cover Screen. Comma and Full Stop - alternatives to F7 and F8 for Prefix and Suffix checks. Thanks HB9AGA Version 3.34 11th July 1992 Mixed-mode added for IARU contest. Dupes no longer display IARU or CQ zone - Zone must be entered manually to log the dupe. Version 3.33 28th April 1992 RSGB contests for UK entrants options added. (Work DX or work all). All current scoring options provided for, including 7 MHz CW contest. Suffixes such as /P /QRP now taken into account when checking for dupes after edits of QSOs already logged. Version 3.32 13th April 1992 Bug located - points not increasing when Dupe cancelled by edit. RSGB contests for DX entrants: Bonus or Multiplier choice. WPX. NA-NA QSOs 2 points high bands, 4 points on low bands. Version 3.31 25th March 1992 Option to Edit using Up and Down Arrow keys. Type 4 (RSGB for DX entrants) takes points per QSO from Cover Sheet. Keyer speed now independent of weight. Version 3.30 17th March 1992 Not shareware any more. QSO limit included in Demo versions. Speed fixed at 12 wpm in Demo versions. Version 3.22 9th March 1992 PEI, NB and LB now separate multipliers for ARRL DX contest. Version 3.21 29th February 1992 Memory keyer added, with variable speed and weight. Prefix/DXCC consistency check added. Version 3.20 23rd February 1992 Added SSB Field Day - Type 8. QSO rate updated every 10 seconds Version 3.19 12th February 1992 Added CW Field Day - Type 7. SPLIT gives log by band Version 3.18 10th February 1992 Scoring corrected for RSGB and IARU options Version 3.17 2nd February 1992 Bugs in prefix analysis sorted out - WPX Contest. Version 3.16 26th January 1992 Allows Band changes in Edit mode using F1 and F2, and checks for dupes and recalculates multiplier and points totals on both bands. Version 3.15 19th January 1992 Added WPX Contest - Type 6. MEMO command writes a memo to .MMO Version 3.14 3rd January 1992 DUMPLOG dumps a copy of the contest file (.ALL) to Drive A. Bug corrected: RST not being updated when State also changed during EDIT. Version 3.13 13th December 1991 F4 Displays, by continent, countries worked/needed by band F5 Displays countries worked by band. Version 3.12 3rd December 1991 Added Type 5 - ARRL 10m contest with DXCC multipliers. Used by EI5DI to get world first place in the mixed-mode low-power (150w) section. F3 routine added to display States/Zones worked by Band. Version 3.11 20th October 1991 Monochrome support added. Added country multiplier checking to CQWW. Version 3.10 13th October 1991 Major expansion: That's why it's out of sequence. Added support for CQWW, IARU and RSGB (DX Side) contests. All log data now recorded in a single ASCII file. HELP display added. Bug in setup screen corrected. SD without File Name gave problems. Version 3.03 23rd September 1991 QSO rate corrected after Band change or Edit by temporarily decrementing serial. Dupe and Multiplier indicators filed separately. All Bands option added to Multiplier Display table. State/Zone edits now keep multipliers consistent. Version 3.02 12th September 1991 Partial lookup by suffix added. Problem with multiplier (state) numbers corrected by using strings instead of binary. QSO record length unchanged. Version 3.01 '9th September 1991 PEI and NB were not being flagged as multipliers (= NS). Allow PE for Prince Edward Island. Total score now correctly reflects dupes created or deleted by edit. Off-line logging added. Version 3.00 'July 1991 ARRL DX Contest only. Written in PowerBASIC V2.0a. Version 2 'January 1991 ARRL DX Contest only - Written in QuickBasic. Used RAMDRIVE for the log to get over QuickBasic string limitations. Version 1 'February 1990 ARRL DX Contest - Written in GWBASIC. Used by EI5V multi-op team to score nearly 2 million points in the SSB contest March 1990. _______________________________________________________________ Thanks to Seamus McCague EI8BP for help in getting started with QuickBasic and TurboBasic, and for uploading SDI (Super-Duper for IOTA) on CompuServe. Super-Duper Copyright 1990-1994 Paul O'Kane EI5DI All rights reserved. 36 Coolkill Sandyford Dublin 18 Ireland.