This chapter gives some tips and tricks on using the program. All tips are from Tom, N1MM unless otherwise mentioned. The tips are examples how you could use the program, not how you should use it, that is up to you!
Two Entry Windows
Here is what you should be able to do:
With one vfo on one band, and another on the same or second
band, you should be able to jump from spot-to-spot using
Ctrl+up/down arrow on the main vfo. With
Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down arrow , you should be able to jump from
spot to spot on the secondary vfo. If your radio has dual receive
(Orion, FT-1000 series), you should be able to listen to both
VFOs at once. Alt+F12 swaps MAIN and SUB receiver.
With the Orion and FT-1000 series, the way I envision this
being used in S&P: You would find a station on the main vfo,
and wait for it. In dual receive, you would used Ctrl+Shift
Up/Down arrow to find another station that is ready to be
worked. You would call whichever station is ready first. This
could be done on two bands (SOA), or on a single band (MM). If
one has spotted a number of calls locally (QSYing wipes the call
& spots QSO in bandmap), one could use it on one or more
bands in SO.
Bandmaps - Clicking on a spot on either bandmap will set that vfo to keyboard & transmit focus, and put the call in the callframe. Double-clicking will put the call in the callsign field.
Please print and read the keyboard assignments help. Your will be rewarded with greater enjoyment of the program. Trust me.
The ONLY time they are to be used is for Search & Pounce AND the only thing they are good for is to do a quick match up of a partial call you hear on the radio with what you are seeing go by in the band map so you can keep moving instead of stopping to listen. That being said, the size of the band map can be kept small and well zoomed so it only shows a narrow part of the band...
Now why you might ask?? I want to see multipliers that just got spotted
at the bottom of the band when I'm CQ-ing up at the top of the band, or I
want to see multipliers on another band. THAT is what the Available window
is for! Learn to use it and it will serve you well in finding multipliers
on other bands. So shrink the band maps and enlarge the Available window
and
be more efficient at both scanning the band yourself and grabbing
spots. Now wait, what about if I want to tune up the band to the next
multiplier, shouldn't I have more band map shown so I can click on the next
one up the band??? NO, that is what Ctrl-Alt-UpArrow/Ctrl-Alt-DownArrow are for,
if you want to click on mults use the Available window list instead... sort
it by frequency
if you must, but I prefer to go after the freshest spots
first since they are most likely to still be there. 73, Dave K1TTT
I can't go over this enough. All the pretty bandmap stuff is not there to look nice. It's there to help you make Q's. Here is how to do it...
When there are lots of spots in the bandmap, you can work lots of stations with S&P. Start anywhere in the band. Press Ctrl+Up. Listen. Is he CLOSE to ready to be called? If yes, call him. If not, press Ctrl+Up again. Repeat this until you work through all the available Q's. This way you don't waste time listening to endless repeats when one station is working a weak one. I have made a 90/hr rate doing this.
More tips: If a spot is dead, or not in a legal part of the band, use Alt+D to delete it. You won't have to stop at it next time.
If you don't want to see spots for the wrong mode, right-click Allow spots for this contest's mode(s) only in the packet window. Be careful using this one on 80 & 40.
Print the Key Assignments for how to jump between mults.
Variation: You are CQ'ing, but the rate is slow. Use the S&P technique to jump between spots. Then quickly return to your CQ frequency with Alt+Q.
Unassisted S&P: DO NOT TURN OFF "Show non-workable spots" this is there ONLY for US Sprints, as those stations move around after every qso. Here is my recommendation. Tune up or down the band, listening and watching the entry window for band edges, but also for calls that you have heard before or worked before in the callframe. If the call is unworkable, speed up your tuning, and find the next station. When you come to a station who is working someone else, type in his callsign. Work him if it is quick. If not, tune on, and the guy's call will be spotted. Tune up for a short time, then return to his freq with Ctrl+Up or Ctrl+Down. If he is ready, work him, if not repeat the process of trying to find another station.
In all cases DO NOT TURN OFF "Show non-workable spots". The bandmaps are not supposed to be nice & clean. They are supposed to show you where stations can be worked. The bandmaps can be zoomed with the numeric +/- keys or by right-clicking on the bandmap. It is important to know if a frequency is in use to save time listening to a dupe or non-workable station.
The final, dirty little secret... What do you call a spot where there is no station? Your new CQ frequency...
Rate is everything...
Approaching CQWW SSB means the start of the main part of the contest season. Enhancements to the program will be curtailed during this part of the year to focus on eliminating any bugs or performance problems.
Testing
Please start testing with your favorite
fall/ winter contest in the autumn. Make a copy of ham.mdb (or
whatever you have called it), and use last year's contest as a
test platform. Why?
Some problems only appear with larger logs. Find out performance
issues. I relay on the users to let me know about them.
Would you like a guide to testing? Check out the website
(Download | Other Files and select "TestPlan.wri". We would be
interested in any improvements you would like to suggest for this
form.
Key Assignments
Now is also a good time to review
the Key Assignments. That is a good place to start to pique your
interest in what the program can do. The Key Assignments
Shortlist is great to print and hang beside the radio.
ESM
If you are planning to operate CW or RTTY, you
MUST learn about ESM (Enter Sends Messages). It reduces fatigue
and errors by sending the right message each time just by
pressing Enter. It may take you a while to understand and set up
ESM, so don't leave this to the last minute. Believe me, those
that learn to use ESM, love it.
Dual entry windows.
It would be a good idea to try
those out, so you don't get frustrated during the contest. For
your reference:
\ backslash switches keyboard focus,
Ctrl+left/right arrow changes keyboard & transmit
focus.
Also, Ctrl+Fn, and Ctrl+Enter send on the radio
that does NOT have focus.
Configurer options
Finally, make sure you
understand what settings you want for the following Configurer
options:
Later in a contest, you hear a lot of stations that you have already worked, whether on this band or another band.
If you check Autocompletion mode (Configurer | Other tab) the program will match the first characters that you typed to previous callsigns. It will then pre-fill the callsign field with the rest of the call. The portion of the call that you did not type will be highlighted, and you can remove it with the delete key. However, if you press space, the call will be kept in its entirety.
This function is similar the technique used in Internet Explorer to "guess" which url you are typing.
Some like it, some don't. Try it with an existing log that has a large number of QSOs.
You should rarely/never have to use the edit window during a contest. To get back your last QSO, press Ctrl+Q. To go back another QSO, use Ctrl+Q again. To go forward, use Ctrl+A. These keys ignore QSOs made by other stations when in Multi-User mode. It is also much better, because you are using the same Entry window to edit that your fingers have gotten used to. To abandon edit of a QSO, press Escape. The background color of the text panes changes while in "quick edit"
Hitting F1 should always call CQ in CW/SSB and also place you in Running mode? Here is the trick.
N1MM logger places the program in Running mode when
- CQ are the first two letters of the text sent by the function key
for CW or anywhere in the name of the wav file name for SSB or
text for all Digital modes.
- CQ are the first two letters of the caption of the function key for
CW and SSB or anywhere in the caption of the function key for Digital modes.
So
we have to program a CQ macro on one of the the S&P buttons.
Then when S&P and you press F1 (my choice) it switches to run
automatically and the buttons are now the run buttons. Tune off
the run frequency and they revert back to S&P. Default the
function key F1 does not contain a CQ so that is what we have to
change. The following changes to your Message Buttons to have F1
always call CQ.
Note: Even when doing the above, while in ESM, the
Enter key still sends Your Call once, like normal S&P
operation with ESM.
Note: Where the CQ has to be in the caption depends on the mode used! At the begining will always be ok.
If you want to 'silence' the function keys so they do not send anything and do not PTT the radio, ust put a single blank space in the Fkey contents of the button you want to silence. A space is a real character, but not one that is transmitted, and the program knows not to switch the PTT in that case.
The info window supports this by allowing you to set how many QSOs per hour you want to try to accomplish. As you are contesting, the four rate panes will let you know if you are at less than 50% of goal (red), between 50-100% of goal (yellow), or ahead of goal (green).
Note whatever goals you set for an hour will continue until the hour for the next goal is reached.
What if you want to beat last year's score?
The program supports that as well. Just open LAST year's log, and click the Import Goals button. Choose the day (1 or 2) and press enter. You goals are now set to your hourly totals from last year. Don't forget to start a new log for this year! The goals will be kept until you reset them explicitly or until you LOAD A NEW DATABASE.
You don't want to have a different database for each (small) contest. This is a common misconception.
What do you do if you have problems during a contest?
1. Make sure you have a previous version of the logging program around that you have used successfully in the past.
2. Make sure you have tested the program ahead of time using the modes you plan to use during the contest. Log a few sample QSOs. Check all the windows you plan to use. Connect to packet or telnet if that is your plan. You might want to run through a test plan. See: TestPlan.wri
If found problems before the contest, please send the bugs in to be fixed as much before the contest as possible
2. Check the update page on the N1MM website. We frequently fix problems during the contest. The problems that we try to fix are either fatal ones, or low-risk ones. Nonessential functions that present some risk to fix, are left until after the contest.
The Up and Down arrow keys can be used to tune your radio. If you are in S&P, then just use them to tune in the station you are trying to work. This is particularly good for packet spots.
If you are running, you might try this technique. Set your radio up for split, and use the up/down arrows as RIT.
The amount to be tuned up/down with each press of a key is set on the Configurer Other tab.
CW Macro tip: Some calls have letter combinations where
it's hard for to copy correctly. E.g. 6Y2A is often copied as
BY2A. To help make your call easier to copy, Go to 'Config |
Change Packet/CW/SSB/Digital Message Buttons | Change CW
Buttons', and try changing the default F1 and/or F4 message where
* is used for your call. In this example, 6Y2A changes F4 from *
to >6<~Y2A.
Result: the 6 is sent 2 WPM slower compared to the rest of the
call, and an additional half space is added between the 6 and Y.
Try other combinations of <, >, or ~ to make your call
easier to copy.
Contest Spacing: Go to 'Config | Change Ports, Telnet Address, Other | Function Keys'. The box is default ON for "Use Contest Spacing for CW". This setting changes the spacing between words in your CW, where "N1MM 599 5" is 3 words. Default is 6 bits for "contest spacing". When this box is not checked, 7 bits between words is used, which is "normal spacing".
The "work dupes" option in the configurer is for ESM and running mode. All it does is determine what is sent when a dupe calls you AND YOU PRESS ENTER.
When using Enter Send Message (ESM) mode the behavior is a follows:A goal of the program is to promote good operating. Working
dupes while running is good operating. That's why work dupes is
the DEFAULT. It is an option because an argument was made that in
a long exchange contest like SS, you might not want to
automatically work dupes.
What I suspect happened is that someone turned work dupes off
while playing with the program. This is a complicated program.
Changing options that you don't know the meaning of can lead to a
lot of confusion. My advice is:
What setting should I use for the Packet Spot Timeout?
For general DX-ing, 30 minutes is not too long.
For a contest, you might want to crank it down to 20 minutes,
since there is more movement of stations. Also, a lower timeout
will mean fewer spots are managed by the program. This may help
performance for those with marginally performing machines.
For testing packet spot behavior when there are few spots, or for testing performance, a timeout setting of 1000 minutes might be right.
SOA = Single Operator Assisted
Try these techniques:
There are three possibilities to find a worked call in the log. The results are shown in the bottom part of the low window below the logged QSOs.
Using a * is called a "like" search in SQL. The problem is that a "like" search is very slow so on slow computers this will take some time.
In VHF contests use Alt+= (equal) and the program will search everything which matches the content of the callsign and the gridsquare fields.
There is a lot of confusion about how contests are stored in
the logging program.
To clear this up, let's start with a couple of definitions:
Database - an Access 2000 format database file with a
file extension of .mdb. Any number of contests may be stored in a
database.
Contest - a set of QSOs within the database. They are
stored in rows in a table called DXLOG. Each contest row has a
ContestNr which ties it to a ContestInstance entry.
Much of the confusion comes from people thinking that they
need to have only one contest in a database. This is not the
case. I have only one database that I log "official" QSOs in. (Of
course I have many test & backup databases.) Why? because the
performance of the program is not very sensitive to database
size. I currently have about 14,000 QSOs in my database.
Now if you plan to go on a DXpedition and log 25,000 QSOs, I
would recommend a separate database for that. For most users,
no.
Another thing. Did you ever notice the option"Copy (and compact) Database". This is one I bet you never use, but should use. Deleted space in most databases is not recovered automatically, and Access is no exception. If you delete a contest, or delete contacts (see tip on deleting contacts), you will need to run this option to recover the space. Do you need to run it every day? No. Maybe once every 6 months would do for most people, or before archiving a database.
The most important thing to remember about databases is to BACK THEM UP. Periodically copy your database to a backup device, or zip it up and copy to a floppy. Even e-mailing it to work would do! It is your entire record for all of your QSOs using the program. Don't lose it. Also, if you are going to import data, or delete data, that is a good time to back up your database. If you don't have the data anymore, no one can help you!
A. The best way upgrade the database to the current version by opening it with a current version of the program on the first machine. Then you can open it with the same version on the second machine, and no database upgrades will need to be done.
Please do a backup first!
Now what do I mean by a "database upgrade"? From time to time, I add columns, indexes, data etc. to the database. For each of those changes, I have the program query the database to see if the change has already been made. If not, I make the change. To the user of the program, this is automatic. All he will notice is that startup takes some additional time.
This works very well. Haven't had any complaints. Nevertheless, a database that is a year or two since the last time it was opened will have quite a bit of updating to be done. Why not do it on a known, working machine?
This topic affects all users, but multi-user contesters the most.
As part of the multi-user support, I implemented a DELETEDQS
contest. When a contact is "deleted" with Alt+D or the Delete
key, it is not really deleted. It is moved to the DELETEDQS
contest. Yes, you could go to DELETEDQS, and remove it, but that
would not be wise. Why?
Because there is no reason to delete it, and there are good
reasons not to. With it in DELETEDQS, you can recover it by
exporting it to an ADIF file, changing the ADIF file and
importing it into the original contest. That, however is not the
overriding reason not to touch DELETEDQS. The main reason is a
Multi-User reason.
In multi-user, DELETEDQS is how I determine to "delete" a contact in the logs of other stations. Since no contact is ever really deleted, I need only gather all the QSOs and DELETEDQS logged by a station and add or update them in the other station's logs. This lets me avoid the danger of deleting rows in a database. Therefore, DON'T MESS WITH DELETEDQS during the contest. Make a backup after the contest of all the stations' logs. Then you can do anything you want, and I can help you recover, since you have a backup. If you don't follow this advice, you will not be happy. :-(
Oh, but if it is a dupe, that's different, right? NO! Log dupes. Cabrillo doesn't care, the contest sponsor doesn't care, and it doesn't hurt your score. It CAN help your score. Log those dupes, and DON'T delete them.
Have you ever noticed that the logging program will "spot" dupes in the bandmaps. That is, if you type in the call of a dupe then tune away from it, the entry fields will be cleared (wiped) and the call placed in the bandmap.
That feature is always active. There is a similar feature that you must turn on to use. It is called "QSYing wipes the call & spots QSO in bandmap". It does the same thing as the dupe spotting, but for other calls you enter. You must be in S&P mode for this to work.
This option is good for combing a band for stations to work during a contest. If a station you hear is not finishing a qso, you can move on to find another. The program will spot the call in bold, and you can use Ctrl+Up/Down to go back through and work the ones you skipped.
What are exchange abbreviations?
Some contests require sections, counties or other entities for
the exchange. These must be LOGGED with standard abbreviations.
The menu item Change Exchange Abbreviations under Config allows
you to edit them.
What if you don't like for example the standard ARRL
abbreviations? Well, you can enter your own. Let's say you'd like
to enter CONN for CT. You can ADD CONN CT in the exchange
abbreviation list and if you enter CONN or CT, the program will
LOG CT. Don't replace the abbreviations that are already there.
It's best to just add the ones you like. (I use the presence of
certain abbreviations to determine whether to reload some of the
lists.)
What do you do if the calls are crowded together on the
bandmaps? You need to zoom in or out...
There are two ways to do it. On a traditional keyboard, using the
numeric pad plus (+) and minus (-) keys will zoom the current
bandmap. The current bandmap is the one with the cyan frequency
display. If you want to do it with the mouse, hold the cursor
over the bandmap you want to zoom, then right click. Choose zoom
in or zoom out.
It is also possible not to show "non workable contacts". This means that only the stations are shown in the bandmaps which are valid QSOs in the contest and not have been worked before (all normally gray contacts will disappear from the bandmaps).
Watch for gray line openings when your sunrise or sunset match
the other station's sunrise or sunset. You must have entered your
lat/long accurately (watch the +/-) in the Station dialog. Your
sunrise & sunset times can be found in Help/About.
Sunrise & sunset for a prefix or call can be found by typing
it in the entry window, and looking at the Info window. Note that
the sunset & sunset times are for whatever central point in
that country is specified in the loaded country file (wl_cty.dat
or cty.dat).
Some contest rules state that the received exchange must be
acknowledged for the QSO to count.
If a contest sponsor wants you to acknowledge (i.e. confirm) the
exchange, they mean for you to send "QSL", "TU", or "R" to
indicate receipt.
This does not mean a resend from the report back to the station.
A resend would provide verification, not acknowledgment. Only
under rare circumstances would you ever repeat the other stations
exchange.
When waiting to work a station in a serial number contest, you sometimes log the number, then increment it for each time you don't win in the pileup. Ctrl+U increments the received serial # by 1.
If you fail to turn on your radio at startup, the program will refuse to log contacts. This feature is to prevent a dead radio from causing you to log contacts on a wrong frequency. If the radio really is dead, go to the configurer and remove it.
If you just forgot to turn on the radio, then turn it on. If the bandmaps do not show the frequency after 10 sec or so, you can force the program to open the radio connection by opening the configurer and pressing the "OK" button. Some people think you have to restart the program, but that is slower than the configurer approach.
Every version of the program has a revised update log with it. This log is in the zip file, and can be accessed with WordPad or from within the logging program (see the help menu).
This is a good source for determining what might have made some feature start or stop working. This is a cooperative project. The more research you can help with on reporting bugs, the quicker Rick & I can fix them.
Note that I occasionally change the description or credits on an item after another version has been released. If you did not get credit for reporting a bug, let me know I'll update the log.
The latest version always contains the most up-to-date info, so there is no reason to save old ones.
Here are the buttons I currently use for AR-Cluster nodes: I don't think these are necessarily optimal, but they give you an idea of what is possible.
NE only means (near) New England only. (W1 & W2). The first column is the command, the second column is the button label. & in the button label makes it an Alt hotkey.
Anyone want to post a similar list for other cluster software? (Please test them first.) Also, what about screening out cw or ssb spots when in a single mode contest?
Note that the menu item Tools/Clear All Spots will remove all spots from the bandmap. You might decide that there was too many unreadable stations in the bandmap. You would set a filter (below), then clear all spots. You could then use sh/dx/100 to refill the bandmaps.
| Button text |
Command
|
|---|---|
| BYE |
BYE
|
| CONN |
C K1TTT
|
| DI/N |
DI/N
|
| SH/DX |
SH/DX/30
|
| USERS |
SH/U
|
| WWV |
SH/WWV
|
| Clear NE |
set/filters dxorigstate/off
|
| Yes DX |
set/filters dxorigcty/off
|
| NE only |
set/filters dxorigstate/pass ny,nj,ct,ri,ma,nh,vt,me
|
| No DX |
set/filters dxorigcty/pass k,ve, xe
|
| No VHF |
set/filters vhf/reject
|
| K1TTT |
{MYCALL}
|
On some COMPAQ & Toshiba laptops with Win98, it has been seen that the PC can turn very slow after a beep (eg. CW monitor) has been given. Pulling down menu´s take forever, and the PC clock operates about 10 times slower than usual. This situation persists even when the logger is shut down, and until the next boot.
The fix is simple just deactivate "Monitor via PC speaker" (Config - Configure Ports - Function Keys) and boot the PC, and it will never happen again.
You only need to do this if you have noticed the behavior described above.
73 Uffe PA5DD
At a local club meeting last night we watched the FO0AAA video. I've seen a number of other DXpedition videos before and they all show the operator reaching over after each or so QSOs and moving the RX frequency. Given this is standard practice for DXpeditions, both SSB and CW, I thought it would be a useful feature to have that function built into the logging program.
As it turns out, it's really there already in N1MM. If one sets the radio on SPLIT and TXs on the second VFO, pressing either UP/DOWN ARROW moves the RX frequency up or down by the amount set in CONFIG/CONFIG PORT, TELNET......./OTHER window. It also works well for regular contesting. Put the radio on SPLIT SIMPLEX (A=B) and use the UP/DWN arrows instead of the RIT for those off frequency callers when you're RUNNING.
Gerry VE6LB/VA6XDX
The program has the possibility to record all QSOs made. With this feature it is possible to listen back to all QSOs made.
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Note. The configurer lets you pick parameters that your sound card may not support... usually 16 bit, 11025 Hz/sec is safe for all cards. |