Contest configuration

Contest configuration

Station

Callsign	The Callsign which will be used during the contest
Grid square	Your Maidenhead grid square (6 letters) which will be used in VHF/UHF/SHF contests for QRB calculations
Exchange	Contest specific exchange field
DXCC prefix	your DXCC standard prefix
WAZ zone	Your CQ zone number
ITU zone	Your ITU zone number
State/Province/Other	Your US state, Canadian province or DX for all other countries
Name	The name which will be inserted in the final Cabrillo file
Address	The address which will be inserted in the final Cabrillo file
Club	The name of your club for club competitions

Contest

Contest	Select the relevant contest or dxpedition template
Category	Select the stations contest operation category
Overlay	Select the stations contest overlay category (if required).
Class	Select the stations contest power class.
Mode	Select the mode of operation for the Contest
Op. name	Enter the operators name (if required)
Power	Enter the station's power level (if required). Can be set to 1TT, KW, etc. if used for contest exchange.
Operators	Enter a comma separated list of callsigns of the station operators.

NB. There is no band category setting. Some contest definitions include categories which also include bands but most do not.
Lacking an explicit band category, DXLog will automatically determine it.
If your log contains QSO on more than band, exported Cabrillo file will say CATEGORY-BAND: ALL.
If your log contains QSO only on one band, say 20m, the exported Cabrillo file will say CATEGORY-BAND: 20M
All X-QSO are ignored in this process, so if you accidentally make a QSO on the "wrong" band, simply mark it invalid using [Ctrl][X].

After pressing enter (or mouse click on OK button) all fields are checked against contest rules defined in contest config file.
If any fields contain incorrect data, DXLog will supply a warning with instructions on how to correct the data,
It may also show possible links to the contest rules (if link is defined in contest config file).

Irregular contest configurations

Since the contest configuration panel in DXLog is fixed and some contests have very non-standard
exchanges, the information sometimes has to be entered in a non-intuitive way.

The contests listed below use the configuration panel entry fields in a non-standard way.

Contest	Exchange	State/Province/Other	Power	Name
ARRL Sweepstakes	The last 2 digits of the year of first license for either the operator or the station.	ARRL/RAC Section.	“Q” for Single Op QRP (5 Watts output or less). “A” for Single Op Low Power (150W output or less). “B” for Single Op High Power (more than 150W output). “U” for Single Op Unlimited (Regardless of power class). “M” for Multi-Op (Regardless of power class). “S” for School Club.
SSA MT CW/SSB	First four characters of grid square
CWOps CWT	Member number or country prefix (e.g. G for UK, SM for Sweden)			Operator's first name

The following contests have deviations from the standard operating procedure:

Contest	Special instructions
YO PSK31 Contest	Due to limitations in DXLog's contest rule logic you can not log the received DXCC prefix from non-YO stations. There is however no need to do this. Cabrillo export will be correct.

Contest definition files

The behavior and functionality of DXLog for a particular contest is controlled
by a contest definition file, often accompanied by support files.

A contest definition file is always of the type .TXT.

There are four types of support files: prefill databases, warning files, regular expression
files and points files.

Prefill data bases (sometimes referred to as call history files) can be of three different
types: .TXT, .DTB, and .CSV.

• .TXT is the default, plain text DXLog format.
  
• .DTB is a binary, legacy format compatible with Win-Test.
  
• .CSV is a plain text format, compatible with N1MM Logger+.

Warning files, regular expression files, and points files are always of the type .TXT.

Contest files and support files are part of the installation binary but are copied to a secondary
folder to allow user modification.

Contest files are copied to %appdata%\DXLog\Contest and support files are copied to
%appdata%\DXLog\Database.

The %appdata%\DXLog folder is hidden but these folders are reachable by typing the full path
in either the path text box in Windows Explorer or using Windows' Run command, [Win][R] or
using the menu File|Open configuration folder.

At startup, DXLog compares the age of all contest related files in the installation binary with
the age of the files in the secondary folder. If a file in the installation binary has a more
recent modification date, the file in the secondary folder is overwritten. Otherwise, it is left untouched.
The purpose of this approach is to allow the user to make modifications while still receiving updates to the files.

Between releases, contest related files are sometimes published on the DXLog support reflector.
To install them, you need to manually copy such files to the right folder.

• Contest definition files should be copied to the ...\DXLog\Contest folder.
  
• Call history or prefill database files should be copied to the ...\DXLog\Database folder.
  
• Warning files should be copied to the ...\DXLog\Database folder.
  
• Regular expression files should be copied to the ...\DXLog\Database folder.
  
• Points files should be copied to the ...\DXLog\Database folder.
  

Message macros

The following commands when entered into a message macro enables automated functions as listed

$13	Send carriage return character. (Data modes only)
$!ABCD	Execute script with name ABCD.
$!DISABLE!ABCD	Disable script with name "ABCD".
$!ENABLE!ABCD	Enable script with name "ABCD".
$ACQ	swaps radio focus and sends CQ.
$AILOCK	Enable interlock blocking.
$ALTERNATECQ	same as $ACQ.
$BANDIDpppp	Send band of Radio 1 of station pppp in the network. E.g. $BANDIDRUN1 will send band of radio 1 of station with ID RUN1.
$BANDOR	Send band of non focused radio.
$CHECK	Function unclear.
$CHECKCALL	Check validity of entered callsign (against general and contest rules).
$CLEARRIT	Set RIT to zero on supported radios.
$CORRECT	Send corrected callsign. Send nothing if callsign not corrected.
$CQ	Send CQ on focused radio. (Creates infinite loop if used with key F1.)
$CQZONE	Own CQ Zone from Station Data.
$CR	Log QSO.
$CTRLPLUS	Silently log QSO.
$CURRENT	Sends current callsign even if $CR present later in the macro.
$CURRENTCALL	Equivalent to $CURRENT.
$DELAY=###	Wait ### milliseconds.
$EXCHANGE	Exchange as entered in the configuration panel.
$FOCUS1	Change Focus to Radio 1.
$FOCUS2	Change Focus to Radio 2.
$FOCUSCALL	Move focus to Callsign field.
$FOCUSRCVD	Move focus to Rcvd field.
$FOCUSREC1	Move focus to RecInfo field.
$FOCUSREC2	Move focus to RecInfo2 field.
$FOCUSREC3	Move focus to RecInfo3 field.
$FREQIDpppp	Send frequency of Radio 1 of station pppp in the network. E.g. $FREQIDRUN1 will send frequency of radio 1 of station with ID RUN1.
$FREQnnn	Sends the frequency of the networked primary radio found on this band. Band nnn is 160, 80...15, 10, 50, 144, etc.
$FREQOR	Sends frequency of the other radio in SO2R.
$FREQP	Frequency of Radio 1.
$FREQPASSnnn	Function unclear
$FREQS	Frequency of Radio 2.
$F1-$F7	Send or play back the message associated to the function key.
$GRABPARTNER	Grabs first callsign from the Partner stack.
$GRABSPOT	Grabs spot from the bandmap on the current frequency.
$GRID	The full Maidenhead Locator from Station Data.
$GRID4	The first four characters of the Maidenhead Locator from Station Data.
$INSERT	Send message associated with the [INS] key.
$ITUZONE	ITU Zone from Station Data.
$LOGQSO	Log QSO.
$MK2R=cmd	Send command to MK2R.
$MSG1-$MSG12	Additional CW messages.
$MYCALL	Callsign set in Station Data.
$MYDXCC	Own DXCC Prefix.
$MYITUZONE	ITU Zone from Station Data.
$MYNAME	Sends operator name, set in contest configuration.
$NEXT	Sends the callsign of the next QSO line when a $CR is included in the message.
$NEXTCALL	Sends the callsign of the next QSO line when a $CR is included in the message.
$NEXTSERIAL	Sends next QSO serial number.
$OPNAME	Equivalent to $MYNAME.
$OTRSP=cmd	Send command to connected OTRSP device.
$PBINS	Plays back DVK memory associated with INSERT key. On ICOM and microHAM this is #8.
$PBPLUS	Plays back DVK memory associated with PLUS key. On microHAM this is #9.
$PILOCK	Disable interlock blocking.
$PLUS	Sends message associated with the [+] key.
$PREV_RCVD	Previous received serial.
$PREVSERIAL	Previous QSO serial number.
$QQSLRESET	Reset Quick QSL timer.
$QSOB4	Sends the QSOB4 message if "Work Dupes" is not enabled.
$QSOB4WIPE	Sends the QSOB4 message if "Work Dupes" is not enable and wipes entry field.
$R1R1	Sets the headphone audio routing to radio 1 in both ears. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$R1R2	Sets the headphone audio routing to radio 1 in left ear and radio 2 in right ear. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$R2R1	Sets the headphone audio routing to radio 2 in left ear and radio 1 in right ear. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$R2R2	Sets the headphone audio routing to radio 2 in both ears. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$RCVD	Sends received exchange without RST.
$RECINFO	Sends second part of received exchange, if applicable.
$REPEAT	Restarts the repeating CQ sequence.
$RESERVENR	Sends reservation request for serial number to number server.
$RESET	Cancels any manual change made in the audio control.
$RST	Sends report from RST Sent field (normally 5NN).
$SERIAL	sends current QSO Serial Number, or previous serial number if the log entry field is empty. Obeys abbreviation settings for CW.
$SERIALNOAB	sends unabbreviated, current QSO Serial Number, or previous serial number if the log entry field is empty.
$SPACE	Step Focus (Same as pressing space bar).
$SPACEBAR	Step Focus (Same as pressing space bar).
$STATE	Sends State/Province set in contest configuration.
$SWAPFOCUS	Swap radio focus.
$TR1	Transmit Radio 1. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$TR2	Transmit Radio 2. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$TRS	Transmit on radio opposite to focus. (Only usable in SO2R scenarios.)
$TU	Sends "TU".
$WAZZONE	Own WAZ/CQ zone from station configuration.
$WIPE	Wipe entry field.
&xy	CW prosign where xy are merged to one character.
+	increase CW speed by 4 wpm.
-	decrease CW speed by 4 wpm.
^	Half wordspace character in CW.
~	At the end of a variable means "no space" will be inserted.

Setup for "NOW" message on RTTY

$13 $CORRECT TU $CR $GRABPARTNER $LOGGEDCALL (relevant contest exchange)

Location of macro values in the contest configuration panel.

Supported contests

An up-to-date list of the currently supported contests and their support files can be found on this page'.