1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
5 <!-- Title information -->
7 <title>The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.48</title>
8 <author>Ian Maude, G0VGS, (ianmaude@btinternet.com)</author>
9 <date>Version 1.48 August 2001 revision 1.1</date>
12 A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
15 <!-- Table of contents -->
18 <!-- Begin the document -->
20 <sect>Routing and Filtering
25 From DXSpider version 1.48, major changes were introduced to the way
26 node connections are treated. This is part of an ongoing process to
27 remove problems with loops and to enable talk and other functions to
28 propagate across the whole of the worldwide cluster network. In fact,
29 in a Spider network, it would be useful, perhaps even necessary to
30 have loops. This would give real resilience to the network, meaning
31 that if a link dropped, the information flow would simply come in and
32 go out via a different route. Of course, we do not have a complete
33 network of Spider nodes, there are other programs out there. Some of
34 these do not have any protection from loops. Certainly AK1A does not
35 handle loops well at all. It is therefore necessary to have some form
36 of protection for these nodes.
39 In fact DXSpider has had a simple system for some time which is called
40 <it>isolation</it>. This is similar to what, in other systems such as
41 <bf>clx</bf>, is called <it>passive mode</it>. A more detailed explanation
42 of <it>isolation</it> is given further below. This system is still available
43 and, for simple networks, is probably all that you need.
46 The new functionality introduced in version 1.48 is filtering the node
47 and user protocol frames on a "per interface" basis. We call this
48 <it>route filtering</it>. This is used <bf>instead of</bf>
52 What this really means is that you can control more or less completely
53 which PC protocol frames, to do with user and node management, pass to
54 each of your partner nodes. You can also limit what comes into your
55 node from your partners. You can even control the settings that your
56 partner node has for the routing information that it sends to you
57 (using the <it>rcmd</it> command).
62 Initially when route filters were being tested we generated a
63 "default" filter. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that this
64 might suit the UK cluster network but didn't really fit anybody else.
65 However using a default filter is an appropriate thing to do. How, is
69 The first thing that you must do is determine whether you need to do route filtering <bf>at all</bf>. If you are a "normal" node with two or three partners
70 and you arranged in an "official" non-looping tree type network, then <bf>you do
71 not need to do route filtering</bf> and you will feel a lot better for not
72 getting involved. If you are successfully using <it>isolation</it> then you
73 also probably don't need to use route filtering.
76 You will only require this functionality if you are
77 "well-connected". What that means is that you are connected to several
78 different parts of (say) the EU cluster and, at the same time, also
79 connected to two or three places in the US which, in turn are
80 connected back to the EU. This is called a "loop" and if you are
81 seriously looped then you need filtering.
84 I should at this stage give a little bit of background on filters. All
85 the filters in Spider work in basically the same way. You can either
86 accept or reject various options in order to create the filter rules
87 you wish to achieve. Some filters are user settable, others can only
88 be altered by the sysop. Route filtering can only be done by the sysop.
91 Anyway, without further discouragement, let me start the process
94 <sect1>The node_default filter
97 All normal systems should have a default routing filter and it should
98 usually be set to send only the normal, unlooped, view of your
99 "national" network. Here in the UK that means nodes from the UK and
100 Eire, in EU it is more complex as the networks there grew up in a more
104 The generic commands are:-
107 reject/route node_default <filter_option>
111 accept/route node_default <filter_option>
114 where filter_option is one of the following ...
117 call <prefixes>
118 call_dxcc <numbers>
119 call_itu <numbers>
120 call_zone <numbers>
121 channel <prefixes>
122 channel_dxcc <numbers>
123 channel_itu <numbers>
124 channel_zone <numbers>
127 Please be careful if you alter this setting, it will affect
128 <bf><it>ALL</it></bf> your links!
131 For the default routing filter then you have two real choices: either
132 a "national" view or the "safe" option of only your own
133 callsign. Examples of each (for my node: GB7DJK) are:-
136 acc/route node_default call_dxcc 61,38
137 acc/route node_default call gb7djk
140 GB7DJK uses the first of these. The DXCC countries can be obtained from the
141 <it>show/prefix</it> command.
144 The example filters shown control <it>output</it> <bf>TO</bf> all your
145 partner nodes unless they have a specific filter applied to them (see
149 It is also possible to control the <it>incoming</it> routing
150 information that you are prepared to accept <bf>FROM</bf> your partner
151 nodes. The reason this is necessary is to make sure that stuff like
152 mail, pings and similar commands a) go down the correct links and b)
153 don't loop around excessively. Again using GB7DJK as an example a typical
154 default input filter would be something like:
157 rej/route node_default input call_dxcc 61,38 and not channel_dxcc 61,38
160 What this does is accept node and user information for our national
161 network from nodes that are in our national network, but rejects such
162 information from anyone else. Although it doesn't explicitly say so,
163 by implication, any other node information (not from the UK and Eire)
167 As I imagine it will take a little while to get one's head around all of this you
168 can study the effect of any rules that you try by watching the debug output
175 After you have got tired of that, to put it back the way it was:-
181 <sect1>General route filtering
184 Exactly the same rules apply for general route filtering. You would
185 use either an accept filter or a reject filter like this ...
188 reject/route <node_call> <filter_option>
192 accept/route <node_call> <filter_option>
196 Here are some examples of route filters ...
199 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
200 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
201 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
202 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
205 In practice you will either be opening the default filter out for a
206 partner by defining a specific filter for that callsign:-
210 acc/route gb7baa input all
213 or restricting it quite a lot, in fact making it very nearly like an <it>isolated</it> node, like this:-
216 acc/route pi4ehv-8 call gb7djk
217 rej/route pi4ehv-8 input call_dxcc 61,38
220 This last example takes everything except UK and Eire from PI4EHV-8
221 but only sends him my local configuration (just a PC19 for GB7DJK and
222 PC16s for my local users).
225 It is possible to do <bf>much</bf> more complex rules, there are up to 10
226 accept/reject pairs per callsign per filter. For more information see the
230 <sect1>General filter rules
233 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
234 v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
235 about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
236 DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
237 anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
240 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
241 are <em>accept</em>, <em>reject</em> and <em>clear</em>. First we will look
242 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
243 DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
246 In general terms you can create a "reject" or an "accept" filter which can have
247 up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
254 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters
255 for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different
256 accept or reject command reference for more details.
258 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
265 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
268 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
275 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
276 principles to all types of filter.
278 <sect1>Types of filter
281 There are two main types of filter, <em>accept</em> or <em>reject</em>. You
282 can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
283 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
284 filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
285 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
286 action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
290 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
291 will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
292 then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
293 For example if you have a single line <em>accept</em> filter ...
296 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
299 then you will <em>ONLY</em> get VHF spots <em>from</em> or <em>to</em> CQ zones
303 If you set a reject filter like this ...
306 reject/spots on hf/cw
309 Then you will get everything <em>EXCEPT</em> HF CW spots. You could make this
310 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
311 and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
312 CW, then you could say ...
315 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
318 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
321 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
324 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
325 until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
326 wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
327 don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
330 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
331 understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
334 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
335 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
338 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
339 which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
342 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
343 you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
344 This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
345 more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
348 You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
349 at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
350 are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <em>APART</em> from those in
351 zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
352 not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
353 logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
356 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
359 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
360 here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
362 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
363 simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
364 to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
365 one line. For example ...
368 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
371 would redefine our earlier example, or
377 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
383 <sect1>Filter options
386 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
387 various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
389 <sect1>Default filters
392 Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can
393 be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even
394 if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default
395 rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces,
396 WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like
400 accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
401 set/hops node_default spot 50
404 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY.
405 This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to
406 override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should
407 you require. It is important to note that default filters should be
408 considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the
409 default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
411 <sect1>Advanced filtering
414 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
417 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
418 can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
423 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
426 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will
427 automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said <em>reject all
428 HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
429 accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones
430 14, 15 and 16</em>. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and
431 an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
434 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default
435 for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example
436 what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed
437 to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line
438 lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
440 <sect1>Basic hop control
443 In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the file
444 that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default hops on the
445 various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to alter the hops for.
446 You may be happy with the default settings of course, but this powerful tool
447 can help to protect and improve the network. The file will look something
452 # hop table construction
457 # default hopcount to use
460 # some variable hop counts based on message type
471 # the per node hop control thingy
503 Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and contains a
504 series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot. The figures here
505 are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of how the file works.
508 You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is running.
509 If you alter the file during runtime, the command <em>load/hops</em> will
510 bring your changes into effect.
512 <sect1>Isolating networks
515 It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node using the
516 <em>set/isolate <node_call></em> command.
519 The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from another
520 node connected to your node. Your node will appear on and otherwise behave
521 normally on every network to which you are connected, but data from an isolated
522 network will not cross onto any other network or vice versa. However all the
523 spot, announce and WWV traffic and personal messages will still be handled
524 locally (because you are a real node on all connected networks), that is locally
525 connected users will appear on all networks and will be able to access and
526 receive information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will
527 be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a gateway for
528 another network, he can still still send a talk/announce etc message via your
529 node and it will be routed across.
532 The only limitation currently is that non-private messages cannot be passed down
533 isolated links regardless of whether they are generated locally. This will change
534 when the bulletin routing facility is added.
537 If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive all
538 information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass any information
539 back to the isolated node. There are times when you would like to forward only
540 spots across a link (maybe during a contest for example). To do this, isolate
541 the node in the normal way and put in a filter in the /spider/filter/spots
542 directory to override the isolate. This filter can be very simple and consists
543 of just one line ....
547 [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 3] # The last figure (3) is the hop count
553 <sect1>Filtering Mail
556 In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called badmsg.pl.issue. Rename
557 this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The original looks something like this ....
561 # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having
562 # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before
566 # The format of each line is as follows
568 # type source pattern
569 # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex
571 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
572 # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject
573 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
575 # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code.
577 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
578 # causes the action to be taken.
580 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
581 # for the action specified
599 I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of subject
600 headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of the cluster or
601 the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is usually because of
602 rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale etc in a particular country.
604 <sect1>Filtering DX callouts (Depricated)
607 <bf><it>From version 1.47, this method is replaced by the command set/baddx</it></bf>
610 In the same way as mail, there are some types of spot we do not wish to pass on
611 to users or linked cluster nodes. In the /spider/data directory you will find
612 a file called baddx.pl.issue. Rename this to baddx.pl and edit the file. The
613 original looks like this ....
617 # the list of dx spot addresses that we don't store and don't pass on
638 Again, this is simply a list of names we do not want to see in the spotted
639 field of a DX callout.
642 <sect1>Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
645 Create a file in /spider/data called <em>badwords</em>. The format is quite
646 simple. Lines beginning with # are ignored so comments can be added. An
647 example file is below ...
650 # Below is a list of words we do not wish to see on the cluster
651 grunge grunged grunging
652 splodge splodger splodging
657 Multiple words can be used on the same line as shown. Obviously these
658 are just examples :-)
661 You can reload the file from the cluster prompt as sysop with load/badwords.
666 DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports both
667 personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands to ensure
668 that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send mail almost
669 immediately, assuming that the target is on line. However, only one
670 mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a mail message is already
671 being sent or recieved, then the new message will be queued until it has
674 The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the sysop
675 sets the "keep" flag using the <em>msg</em> command.
680 Personal mail is sent using the <em>sp</em> command. This is actually the
681 default method of sending mail and so a simple <em>s</em> for send will do.
682 A full list of the send commands and options is in the <em>command set</em>
683 section, so I will not duplicate them here.
688 Bulletin mail is sent by using the <em>sb</em> command. This is one of the
689 most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a bulletin
690 mail with <em>s</em> or <em>sp</em> instead of <em>sb</em> and of course
691 the message never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop
692 by using the <em>msg</em> command.
694 <P>Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file.
699 DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations needed
700 in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated differently, there
701 is no need for a list of accepted bulletin addresses. It is necessary, however,
702 to tell the program which links accept which bulletins. For example, it is
703 pointless sending bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK
704 ones. The file that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg.
705 At default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename it
706 to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements.
707 The format is below ...
711 # this is an example message forwarding file for the system
713 # The format of each line is as follows
715 # type to/from/at pattern action destinations
716 # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ]
718 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
719 # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin
720 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
721 # action: I - ignore, F - forward
722 # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns
724 # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded
726 # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code.
728 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
729 # causes the action to be taken.
731 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
732 # for the action specified
734 # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the
735 # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have
736 # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if
737 # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately
738 # on first connection)
744 'B', 'T', 'LOCAL', 'F', [ qw(GB7MBC) ],
745 'B', 'T', 'ALL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
746 'B', 'T', 'UK', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
747 'B', 'T', 'QSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
748 'B', 'T', 'QSLINF', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
749 'B', 'T', 'DX', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
750 'B', 'T', 'DXINFO', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
751 'B', 'T', 'DXNEWS', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
752 'B', 'T', 'DXQSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
753 'B', 'T', 'SYSOP', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
754 'B', 'T', '50MHZ', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
758 Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you wish
759 that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to "UK" will
760 only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14.
763 To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward
766 <sect1>The msg command
769 The <em>msg</em> command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the
770 sysop. It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other
771 changes to manage the cluster mail.
773 Here is a full list of the various options ...
776 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
777 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
778 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
779 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
780 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
781 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
782 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
783 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
784 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
785 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waiting time for this message
786 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
787 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
788 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
789 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
792 These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop user.
794 <sect1>Message status
797 You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the command
798 <em>stat/msg</em>. This will give you additional information on the
799 message number including which nodes have received it, which node it
800 was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of
804 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
807 Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z
811 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT
813 Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX
817 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
820 <sect1>Filtering mail
823 This is described in the section on <em>Other filters</em> so I will not
826 <sect1>Distribution lists
829 Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of
830 mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other
831 sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called <em>distro</em>. You
832 put any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called
833 SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops.
836 qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX
837 GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH
838 GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS)
841 Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this list.
846 Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the sysop
847 of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS and pushes
848 any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from Spider to the BBS,
849 the interface is one-way.
852 Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary mail.
853 Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by using the
854 Forward.pl file very carefully.
859 Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
860 chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
861 with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
862 to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
863 database but will expand with time.
865 <sect1>Creating databases
868 Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
869 sent from the cluster prompt as the <em>sysop</em> user.
871 To create a database you use the command <em>dbcreate</em>. It can
872 be used in 3 different ways like so ..
878 To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
879 name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
880 simply defines it to say that it exists.
883 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
886 This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
887 scanned, then the second, the third etc...
890 dbcreate <name> remote <name>
893 This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
894 name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
895 node_call of the remote node, for example...
898 dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
901 Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
902 chain can be a remote database.
904 <sect1>Importing databases
907 The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
908 AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
909 This will be added to with time.
911 To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp
912 and then issue the following command ...
915 dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
918 This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if
921 <sect1>Checking available databases
924 Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
925 added. To do this use the <em>dbavail</em> command. This will
926 output the available databases. For example ...
930 DB Name Location Chain
934 G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
937 <sect1>Looking up databases
940 To look for information in a defined database, simply use the <em>dbshow</em>
941 command, for example ...
944 dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
947 will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
948 database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users
949 you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
950 <em>show</em> command like this ...
953 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
956 Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
958 <sect1>Removing databases
961 To delete an existing database you use the <em>dbremove</em> command.
968 would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
969 system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
970 If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created
971 from scratch if you still required it.
973 <sect>Information, files and useful programs
978 One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
979 information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a banner
980 that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message of the day"
981 or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in /spider/data called motd
982 and edit it to say whatever you want. It is purely a text file and will be
983 sent automatically to anyone logging in to the cluster.
985 <sect1>Downtime message
988 If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or maintenance but
989 the machine is still running, a message can be sent to the user advising them
990 of the fact. This message lives in the /spider/data directory and is called
991 "offline". Simply create the file and edit it to say whatever you wish.
992 This file will be sent to a user attempting to log into the cluster when
993 DXSpider is not actually running.
995 <sect1>Other text messages
998 You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input the file
999 name. This could be for news items or maybe information for new users.
1000 To set this up, make a directory under /spider called <em>packclus</em>.
1001 Under this directory you can create files called <em>news</em> or <em>newuser</em>
1002 for example. In fact you can create files with any names you like. These can
1003 be listed by the user with the command ....
1009 They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
1015 If the file they want to read is called <em>news</em>. You could also set
1016 an alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type <em>news</em>
1019 You can also store other information in this directory, either directly or
1020 nested under directories. One use for this would be to store DX bulletins
1021 such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed and read by the user.
1022 To keep things tidy, make a directory under /spider/packclus called
1023 <em>bulletin</em>. Now copy any OPDX or similar bulletins into it. These
1024 can be listed by the user in the same way as above using the <em>show/files</em>
1025 command with an extension for the bulletin directory you have just created,
1033 An example would look like this ....
1037 bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
1040 You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory) there is a
1041 file called <em>news</em> and a directory called <em>bulletin</em>. You can
1042 also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file <em>news</em>,
1043 you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to whether the
1044 file has been updated since you last read it. To read the file called
1045 <em>news</em> you would simply issue the command ....
1051 To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command ....
1055 opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1056 opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1057 opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1058 opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1059 opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1060 opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1061 opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1062 opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1063 opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1064 opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1065 opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1066 opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1067 opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1068 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
1071 You can now read any file in this directory using the type command, like this ....
1074 type bulletin/opdx391
1075 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
1076 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
1080 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
1081 Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
1082 Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
1083 Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
1084 Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
1085 & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
1086 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
1089 The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
1091 <sect1>The Aliases file
1094 You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this file to
1095 /spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see something like this ...
1101 # provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally
1102 # helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never
1103 # read nor understand help files)
1105 # This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is
1106 # later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm
1108 # PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST
1109 # match the filenames!)
1111 # Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it.
1112 # This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release.
1114 # You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as
1115 # you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect
1116 # so you need not add it as an alias.
1124 '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos',
1127 '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce',
1128 '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce',
1129 '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce',
1136 '^del', 'kill', 'kill',
1137 '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill',
1138 '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory',
1139 '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory',
1140 '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory',
1141 '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory',
1142 '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory',
1143 '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory',
1144 '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory',
1145 '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1162 '^l$', 'directory', 'directory',
1163 '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory',
1164 '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1169 '^news', 'type news', 'type',
1179 '^r$', 'read', 'read',
1180 '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd',
1183 '^s/p$', 'send', 'send',
1184 '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send',
1185 '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode',
1186 '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep',
1187 '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here',
1188 '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce',
1189 '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx',
1190 '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk',
1191 '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv',
1192 '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx',
1193 '^sh$', 'show', 'show',
1194 '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow',
1195 '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files',
1196 '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration',
1197 '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration',
1198 '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail',
1199 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx',
1200 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx',
1201 '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx',
1202 '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow',
1203 '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
1204 '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
1205 '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
1206 '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who',
1207 '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster',
1208 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv',
1209 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv',
1210 '^sp$', 'send', 'send',
1214 '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk',
1215 '^t$', 'talk', 'talk',
1222 '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx',
1223 '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx',
1234 You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may not
1235 always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test the
1236 results once you have set an alias.
1241 In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for the sysop.
1242 This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities and colour for spots,
1243 announces etc. To use this program, simply use console.pl instead of client.
1246 To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and edit the
1247 file with your favourite editor.
1249 <sect1>Updating kepler data
1252 Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order for
1253 this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly. In
1254 general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
1255 Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
1256 file. You do this with the <em>export</em> command from the cluster prompt
1257 as the sysop. For example ...
1260 export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
1263 would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
1264 /spider/perl directory.
1266 Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
1267 the perl directory called <em>convkeps.pl</em>. All we need to do now is
1268 convert the file like so ...
1271 ./convkeps.pl keps.in
1274 Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
1280 That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
1282 <sect1>The QRZ callbook
1285 The command <em>sh/qrz</em> will only work once you have followed a few
1286 simple steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
1287 Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the file
1288 /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match your user
1289 ID and password. You also at this point need to set $allow=1 to complete
1290 the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the proprieter of
1291 <htmlurl url="http://www.qrz.com" name="qrz.com"> for allowing this access.
1296 CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider is held
1297 at <htmlurl url="http://www.sourceforge.net" name="Sourceforge">. This means
1298 that it is possible to update your DXSpider installation to the latest
1299 sources by using a few simple commands.
1302 THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!!! ONLY DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A TEST
1303 INSTALLATION OR ARE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CLUSTER CRASH ON YOU!!!
1304 THIS MUST BE CONSIDERED AT LEAST BETA TESTING AND MAYBE EVEN ALPHA!!
1305 YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
1308 DID I MENTION..... ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE
1312 I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and
1313 Internet access running.
1316 BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR
1317 ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!!
1320 Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the
1321 CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several
1322 steps which are listed below ...
1325 First login as the user <em>sysop</em>. Next you need to connect to the CVS
1326 repository. You do this with the command below ...
1329 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login
1332 You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your machine should
1333 return to a normal linux prompt.
1336 What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation that
1337 you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you just want
1338 to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for testing.
1340 If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to /home/sysop
1342 If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp
1345 The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your current
1349 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider
1352 This command is all on one line.
1355 Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3 simply compresses
1356 the download to improve speed.
1357 When this has finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full
1358 tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the magic that
1362 Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if you have
1363 just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball.
1366 If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ...
1369 tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider
1371 tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz
1374 This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course.
1377 NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the permissions
1378 correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T YOU?????
1380 Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make)
1383 At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart the cluster
1384 in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new commands or features
1385 expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster will have been restarted then so it
1386 will be too late to worry about it!
1389 Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply connect to the
1390 Internet and then, as the user <em>sysop</em> ...
1397 and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the "C" client
1398 if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if any of the perl scripts
1399 have been altered or added, again, CVS will tell you.
1402 You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file.
1404 <sect>The DXSpider command set
1407 Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster prompt.
1408 Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some commands that are useful
1409 for a sysop. These are listed below in alphabetical order. The number in
1410 brackets following the command name is the permissions level needed to use
1413 <sect1>accept/announce (0)
1417 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
1422 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
1424 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
1425 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
1426 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1428 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1431 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1432 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1434 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1435 origin_itu <numbers>
1436 origin_zone <numbers>
1441 wx 1 filter WX announces
1442 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
1449 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
1450 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
1459 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK stations.
1460 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1466 but this probably for advanced users...
1468 <sect1>accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
1472 <bf>accept/announce <call> [input] [0-9]<pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
1476 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1477 default for nodes and users eg:-
1481 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2
1482 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2
1485 <sect1>accept/route (8)
1489 <bf>accept/route <call> [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'accept' filter line for routing
1493 Create an 'accept this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
1496 An accept filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches this filter
1497 it is passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1498 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1501 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1504 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
1505 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1508 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
1509 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1510 origin_itu <numbers>
1511 origin_zone <numbers>
1518 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
1519 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
1523 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1529 <sect1>accept/spots (0)
1533 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
1538 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
1541 An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
1542 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
1543 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1545 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1548 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
1549 on <range> same as 'freq'
1550 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
1551 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1553 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1564 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
1565 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
1566 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
1567 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get
1568 too hung up about that)
1574 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1577 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
1583 but this probably for advanced users...
1585 <sect1>accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
1589 <bf>accept/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Spot filter sysop version
1593 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1594 default for nodes and users eg:-
1597 accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
1598 accept/spot node_default all
1599 set/hops node_default 10
1601 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2
1604 <sect1>accept/wcy (0)
1608 <bf>accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> set an accept WCY filter
1612 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1613 filter on the following fields:-
1616 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1618 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1619 origin_itu <numbers>
1620 origin_zone <numbers>
1628 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
1629 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
1631 This command is really provided for future use.
1633 See HELP FILTER for information.
1635 <sect1>accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
1639 <bf>accept/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
1640 WCY filter sysop version
1644 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1645 default for nodes and users eg:-
1648 accept/wcy node_default all
1649 set/hops node_default 10
1652 <sect1>accept/wwv (0)
1656 <bf>accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept WWV filter
1660 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1661 filter on the following fields:-
1664 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1666 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1667 origin_itu <numbers>
1668 origin_zone <numbers>
1678 accept/wwv by_zone 4
1681 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
1682 by stations in the US).
1684 See HELP FILTER for information.
1686 <sect1>accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
1690 <bf>accept/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
1691 WWV filter sysop version
1695 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1696 default for nodes and users eg:-
1699 accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
1700 accept/wwv node_default all
1701 set/hops node_default 10
1703 accept/wwv user_default by W,K
1710 <bf>announce <text></bf> Send an announcement to local users
1714 Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where <text> is the text
1715 of the announcement you wish to broadcast. If you do not wish to receive
1716 announces, use the <em>set/noannounce</em> command. Any announces made by
1717 a sysop will override set/noannounce.
1719 <sect1>announce full (0)
1723 <bf>announce full <text></bf> Send an announcement cluster wide
1727 This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster
1731 <sect1>announce sysop (5)
1735 <bf>announce sysop <text></bf>
1739 Send an announcement to Sysops only
1745 <bf>apropos <string></bf> Search the help database
1749 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive),
1750 and print the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
1756 <bf>bye</bf> Exit from the cluster
1760 This will disconnect you from the cluster
1766 <bf>catchup <node_call> All|[<msgno> ...]</bf>
1767 Mark a message as sent
1771 When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another node
1772 is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new partner
1773 node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl file, all
1774 outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them. This may well
1775 be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by using these
1780 catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
1783 and to undo what you have just done:-
1786 uncatchup GB7DJK all
1787 uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
1790 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again.
1792 Order is not important.
1794 <sect1>clear/spots (0)
1798 <bf>clear/spots [1|all]</bf> Clear a spot filter line
1802 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or to
1803 remove the whole filter.
1805 If you have a filter:-
1809 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1818 you will be left with:-
1821 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1830 the filter will be completely removed.
1837 <bf>connect <callsign></bf> Start a connection to another DX Cluster
1841 Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to the
1842 DX cluster <callsign>. This process creates a new 'client' process which will
1843 use the script in /spider/connect/<callsign> to effect the 'chat' exchange
1844 necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the cluster <callsign>.
1850 <bf>dbavail</bf> Show a list of all the databases in the system
1854 The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases defined
1855 in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
1861 <bf>dbcreate <name></bf> Create a database entry<newline>
1862 <bf>dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>..]</bf> Create a
1863 chained database entry<newline>
1864 <bf>dbcreate <name> remote <node></bf> Create a remote database
1869 DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't actually
1870 create anything, just defines it.
1872 The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they are
1873 therefore already 'indexed'.
1875 You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg:
1879 You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword.
1880 This will search each database one after the other. A typical example
1883 DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad
1885 No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist, in
1886 fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do each of
1887 the chained databases.
1889 Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on another
1892 DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc
1894 Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a
1895 a chain can be a remote database eg:
1897 DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc
1899 To see what databases have been defined do:
1901 DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND)
1903 It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases file
1904 to allow people to use the 'SHOW/<dbname>' style syntax. So you would
1905 need to add a line like:-
1911 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
1921 to work as they may be used to.
1923 See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to databases.
1924 See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry
1930 <bf>dbimport <dbname></bf> Import AK1A data into a database
1934 If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use
1935 this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing
1936 database. For example:-
1938 DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
1940 will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the
1941 oblast database held locally.
1947 <bf>dbremove <dbname></bf> Delete a database
1951 DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any data
1952 file that is associated with it.
1954 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
1960 will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also remove
1961 the associated datafile.
1965 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
1967 You have been warned.
1973 <bf>dbshow <dbname> <key></bf> Display an entry, if it exists,
1978 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database system.
1979 It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local Aliases file
1980 so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of enquiry such as:
1986 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
1987 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
1998 <bf>debug</bf> Set the cluster program into debug mode
2002 Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the cluster
2009 It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has finished.
2011 <sect1>directory (0)
2015 <bf>directory</bf> List messages<newline>
2016 <bf>directory all</bf> List all messages<newline>
2017 <bf>directory own</bf> List your own messages<newline>
2018 <bf>directory new</bf> List all new messages<newline>
2019 <bf>directory to <call></bf> List all messages to <call><newline>
2020 <bf>directory from <call></bf> List all messages from <call><newline>
2021 <bf>directory subject <string></bf> List all messages with <string>
2023 <bf>directory <nn></bf> List last <nn> messages<newline>
2024 <bf>directory <from>-<to></bf> List messages <from> message <to> message <newline>
2028 List the messages in the messages directory.
2030 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
2031 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
2032 'p' then this indicates that the message has been read.
2034 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
2037 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
2042 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
2045 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a syntax:-
2053 <sect1>directory (extended for sysops) (5)
2056 Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL messages.
2058 <sect1>disconnect (8)
2062 <bf>disconnect <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Disconnect a user or node
2066 Disconnect any <call> connected locally
2072 <bf>dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks></bf> Send a DX spot
2076 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
2077 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
2085 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end
2086 of the command and they will be added to the spot.
2089 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
2092 You can credit someone else by saying:-
2095 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
2098 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
2099 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
2105 <bf>export <msgno> <filename></bf> Export a message to a file
2109 Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a local
2110 console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be in a form
2111 ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in the import
2112 directory (/spider/msg/import).
2114 This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide some
2115 measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same user as the
2116 main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere the cluster can
2117 access. For example:-
2121 <sect1>export_users (9)
2125 <bf>export_users [<filename>]</bf> Export the users database to ascii
2129 Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename
2130 is given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc.
2132 If the file already exists it will be renamed to <filename>.o. In fact
2133 up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o' on the
2136 BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No check is
2137 made on the filename (if any) that you specify.
2139 <sect1>forward/latlong (8)
2143 <bf>forward/latlong <node_call></bf> Send latitude and longitude
2144 information to another cluster
2148 This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that your
2149 cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving this
2150 information is that more locator information is held by you. This
2151 means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you have
2152 <em>set/dxgrid</em> enabled. This could be a LOT of information though, so
2153 it is not recommended on slow links.
2155 <sect1>forward/opername (1)
2159 <bf>forward/opername <call></bf> Send out information on this <call>
2164 This command sends out any information held in the user file which can
2165 be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH, Location
2166 and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is available.
2172 <bf>help <cmd></bf> Get help on a command
2176 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated
2177 to SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
2179 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help database
2180 for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely commands
2181 to look at with HELP.
2187 <bf>init <node call></bf> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node
2191 This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node
2192 that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may
2193 work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or
2194 better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD <node> DISC/F <your
2197 Best of luck - you will need it.
2203 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ..]</bf> Delete a message
2204 from the local system
2208 Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to
2209 delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are
2216 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...]</bf> Remove or erase a message from
2218 <bf>kill from <call></bf> Remove all messages from a callsign<newline>
2219 <bf>kill to <call></bf> Remove all messages to a callsign<newline>
2223 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign using
2224 this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
2226 As a sysop you can kill any message on the system.
2228 <sect1>kill full (5)
2232 <bf>kill full <msgno> [<msgno>]</bf> Delete a message from the
2237 Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system.
2239 This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the same subject
2240 will be deleted. Beware!
2246 <bf>links</bf> Show which nodes are physically connected
2250 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and
2251 some information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
2254 <sect1>load/aliases (9)
2258 <bf>load/aliases</bf> Reload the command alias table
2262 Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You will need to
2263 do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is running in order for the
2264 changes to take effect.
2267 <sect1>load/baddx (9)
2271 <bf>load/baddx</bf> Reload the bad DX table
2275 Reload the /spider/data/baddx.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2276 the cluster is running. This table contains the DX Calls that, if spotted,
2277 will not be passed on. FR0G and TEST are classic examples.
2279 <sect1>load/badmsg (9)
2283 <bf>load/badmsg</bf> Reload the bad message table
2287 Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2288 the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl regular
2289 expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of each message.
2290 If any of them match then that message is immediately deleted on receipt.
2292 <sect1>load/badwords (9)
2296 <bf>load/badwords</bf> Reload the badwords file
2300 Reload the /spider/data/badwords file if you have changed it manually whilst
2301 the cluster is running. This file contains a list of words which, if found
2302 on certain text portions of PC protocol, will cause those protocol frames
2303 to be rejected. It will all put out a message if any of these words are
2304 used on the announce, dx and talk commands. The words can be one or
2305 more on a line, lines starting with '#' are ignored.
2307 <sect1>load/bands (9)
2311 <bf>load/bands</bf> Reload the band limits table
2315 Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2316 the cluster is running.
2318 <sect1>load/cmd_cache (9)
2322 <bf>load/cmd_cache</bf> Reload the automatic command cache
2326 Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it will
2327 automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it can get confused
2328 if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or delete a command in the
2329 local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one again. Execute this command to
2330 reset everything back to the state it was just after a cluster restart.
2332 <sect1>load/forward (9)
2336 <bf>load/forward</bf> Reload the msg forwarding routing table
2339 Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it
2340 manually whilst the cluster is running.
2342 <sect1>load/messages (9)
2346 <bf>load/messages</bf> Reload the system messages file
2350 If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst fiddling/writing ne
2351 commands) you can have them take effect during a cluster session by executing this
2352 command. You need to do this if get something like :-
2354 unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en'
2356 <sect1>load/prefixes (9)
2360 <bf>load/prefixes</bf> Reload the prefix table
2364 Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it manually
2365 whilst the cluster is running.
2371 <bf>merge <node> [<no spots>/<no wwv>]</bf> Ask for the
2372 latest spots and WWV
2376 MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By default
2377 it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you select. The
2378 node must be connected locally.
2380 You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be appended
2381 to your databases they will not duplicate any that have recently been added
2382 (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV data).
2388 <bf>msg <cmd> <msgno> [data ...]</bf> Alter various message
2393 Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or bulletin
2394 or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this message from timing
2398 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
2399 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
2400 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
2401 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
2402 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
2403 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
2404 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
2405 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
2406 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
2407 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waitting time for this message
2408 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
2409 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
2410 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
2411 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
2414 You can look at the status of a message by using:-
2416 STAT/MSG <msgno>
2418 This will display more information on the message than DIR does.
2424 <bf>pc <call> <text></bf> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to <call>
2428 Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No processing is done on
2429 the text. This command allows you to send PC Protocol to unstick things if problems
2430 arise (messages get stuck etc). eg:-
2432 pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^
2434 You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user but
2435 without any processing, added of "from <blah> to <blah>" or whatever.
2437 pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!!
2443 <bf>ping <node></bf> Check the link quality between nodes
2447 his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on
2448 the network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this
2449 is a good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time
2450 it takes is output to the console in seconds.
2451 Any visible cluster node can be PINGed.
2458 <bf>rcmd <node call> <cmd></bf> Send a command to another DX cluster
2462 This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX Cluster
2463 node that is connected to the system.
2465 Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system knows
2466 that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b) whether the
2467 other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c) whether you have
2468 permission to send this command at all.
2474 <bf>read</bf> Read the next unread personal message addressed to you<newline>
2475 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read the specified message<newline>
2479 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
2480 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
2483 <sect1>read (extended for sysops) (5)
2487 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read a message on the system
2491 As a sysop you may read any message on the system
2493 <sect1>reject/announce
2497 <bf>reject/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
2502 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
2504 An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
2505 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2506 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2508 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2511 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2512 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2514 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2515 origin_itu <numbers>
2516 origin_zone <numbers>
2521 wx 1 filter WX announces
2522 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
2528 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
2531 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2537 but this probably for advanced users...
2539 <sect1>reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
2543 <bf>reject/announce <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
2547 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2548 default for nodes and users eg:-
2552 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2
2553 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2
2556 <sect1>reject/route (8)
2560 <bf>reject/route <call> [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'reject' filter line for routing
2564 Create an 'reject this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
2567 An reject filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches this filter
2568 it is NOT passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please
2569 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2570 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2573 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
2574 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2577 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
2578 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2579 origin_itu <numbers>
2580 origin_zone <numbers>
2587 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
2591 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2594 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
2597 <sect1>reject/spots (0)
2601 <bf>reject/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
2606 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
2608 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
2609 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2610 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2612 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2615 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2616 on <range> same as 'freq'
2617 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2618 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2620 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2630 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2631 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2632 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
2633 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get
2634 too hung up about that)
2640 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2643 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2649 but this probably for advanced users...
2651 <sect1>reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
2655 <bf>reject/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2656 Reject spot filter sysop version
2660 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2661 default for nodes and users eg:-
2664 reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
2665 reject/spot node_default all
2666 set/hops node_default 10
2668 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2
2671 <sect1>reject/wcy (0)
2675 <bf>reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WCY filter
2679 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2680 filter on the following fields:-
2683 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2685 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2686 origin_itu <numbers>
2687 origin_zone <numbers>
2694 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
2695 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
2697 This command is really provided for future use.
2699 See HELP FILTER for information.
2701 <sect1>reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2705 <bf>reject/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2706 WCY reject filter sysop version
2710 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2711 default for nodes and users eg:-
2713 reject/wcy gb7djk all
2715 <sect1>reject/wwv (0)
2719 <bf>reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WWV filter
2723 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2724 filter on the following fields:-
2727 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2729 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2730 origin_itu <numbers>
2731 origin_zone <numbers>
2741 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
2744 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
2745 by stations in the US).
2747 See HELP FILTER for information.
2749 <sect1>reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2753 <bf>reject/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2754 WWV reject filter sysop version
2757 <P>This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2758 default for nodes and users eg:-
2761 reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
2762 reject/wwv node_default all
2764 reject/wwv user_default by W
2771 <bf>reply</bf> Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read<newline>
2772 <bf>reply <msgno></bf> Reply (privately) to the specified message<newline>
2773 <bf>reply B <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message<newline>
2774 <bf>reply NOPrivate <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified
2776 <bf>reply RR <msgno></bf> Reply to the specified message with read
2781 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
2782 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
2784 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
2785 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND
2786 for further details)
2792 <bf>send <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Send a message to
2793 one or more callsigns<newline>
2794 <bf>send RR <call></bf> Send a message and ask for a read receipt<newline>
2795 <bf>send COPY <msgno> <call></bf> Send a copy of a message
2797 <bf>send PRIVATE <call></bf> Send a personal message<newline>
2798 <bf>send NOPRIVATE <call></bf> Send a message to all stations<newline>
2802 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either to
2803 an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
2805 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that is
2806 it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster node that
2807 that callsign is connected to.
2809 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
2811 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
2814 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
2817 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you will
2818 receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
2820 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak)
2821 SP is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
2823 <sect1>set/address (0)
2827 <bf>set/address <your_address></bf> Record your postal address
2831 Literally, record your address details on the cluster.
2833 <sect1>set/announce (0)
2837 <bf>set/announce</bf> Allow announce messages
2841 Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal.
2843 <sect1>set/arcluster (5)
2847 <bf>set/arcluster <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
2848 the node_call an AR-Cluster type node
2852 Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node
2854 <sect1>set/baddx (8)
2858 <bf>set/baddx <call></bf> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign field
2859 of a dx spot being propagated
2863 Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the callsign
2864 field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be displayed and they
2865 will not be sent onto other nodes.
2867 The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
2870 set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G
2873 To allow a word again, use the following command ...
2879 <sect1>set/badnode (6)
2883 <bf>set/badnode <node_call></bf> Stop spots from this node_call
2888 Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node
2889 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
2890 sent onto other nodes.
2892 The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:-
2898 will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's)
2904 will allow spots from him again.
2906 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
2908 <sect1>set/badspotter (8)
2912 <bf>set/badspotter <call></bf> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated
2916 Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this callsign
2917 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
2918 sent onto other nodes.
2920 The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
2923 set/badspotter VE2STN
2926 will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you must
2927 enter them specifically.
2930 unset/badspotter VE2STN
2933 will allow spots from him again.
2935 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
2941 <bf>set/beep</bf> Add beeps to terminal messages
2945 Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages.
2951 <bf>set/bbs <call> [<call>..]</bf>Make <call> a BBS
2958 <bf>set/clx <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
2959 the node_call a CLX type node
2963 Set the node_call as a CLX type node
2965 <sect1>set/debug (9)
2969 <bf>set/debug <name></bf> Add a debug level to the debug set
2973 You can choose to log several different levels. The levels are
2981 You can show what levels you are logging with the <em>show/debug</em>
2984 You can remove a debug level with unset/debug <name>
2990 <bf>set/dx</bf>Allow DX messages to arrive at your terminal
2994 You can stop DX messages with the <em>unset/dx</em> command
2996 <sect1>set/dxgrid (0)
3000 <bf>set/dxgrid</bf>Allow grid squares on the end of DX messages
3004 Some logging programs do not like the additional information at
3005 the end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the <em>unset/dxgrid</em>
3006 command to remove the grid squares.
3008 <sect1>set/dxnet (5)
3012 <bf>set/dxnet <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3013 the node_call a DXNet type node
3017 Set the node_call as a DXNet type node
3023 <bf>set/echo</bf> Make the cluster echo your input
3027 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
3028 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
3029 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command
3030 to change the setting appropriately.
3032 You can remove the echo with the <em>unset/echo</em> command
3034 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3036 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
3042 <bf>set/here</bf> Set the here flag
3046 Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your
3047 callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the <em>unset/here</em>
3048 command to let people know you are away. This simply puts brackets
3049 around your callsign to indicate you are not available.
3051 <sect1>set/homenode (0)
3055 <bf>set/homenode <node_call></bf> Set your home cluster
3059 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages sent
3060 to you will normally find their way there should you not be connected.
3071 <bf>set/hops <node_call> ann|spots|wwv|wcy <n></bf>
3076 Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node.
3078 This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node
3079 for currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts.
3083 set/hops gb7djk ann 10
3084 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20
3087 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command
3088 creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system.
3090 <sect1>set/isolate (9)
3094 <bf>set/isolate <node call></bf> Isolate a node from the rest of the network
3098 Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full protocol
3099 member of its network and can see all spots on it, but nothing either leaks
3100 out from it nor goes back into from the rest of the nodes connected to you.
3102 You can potentially connect several nodes in this way.
3104 You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1) command.
3106 You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate.
3108 <sect1>set/language (0)
3112 <bf>set/language <language></bf> Set the language you wish to use
3116 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use. Currently
3117 the languages available are <em>en</em> (English) and <em>nl</em> (Dutch).
3119 <sect1>set/location (0)
3123 <bf>set/location <lat and long></bf> Set your latitude and longitude
3127 You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use the
3128 <em>set/qra</em> command which will do the conversion for you.
3131 set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E
3135 <sect1>set/sys_location (9)
3139 <bf>set/sys_location <lat & long></bf> Set your cluster latitude and longitude
3143 In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the system
3144 what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a SET/QRA
3145 then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For example:-
3148 SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E
3151 <sect1>set/logininfo (0)
3155 <bf>set/logininfo</bf> Show logins and logouts of nodes and users
3159 Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster. You
3160 can stop these messages by using the <em>unset/logininfo</em> command.
3163 <sect1>set/lockout (9)
3167 <bf>set/lockout <call></bf> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster
3171 You can show who is locked out with the <em>show/lockout</em> command.
3172 To allow the user to connect again, use the <em>unset/lockout</em> command.
3178 <bf>set/name <your_name></bf> Set your name
3182 Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:-
3192 <bf>set/node <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Make the callsign an AK1A cluster
3196 Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and
3197 fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands.
3199 From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster
3208 To see what your nodes are set to, use the <em>show/nodes</em> command.
3210 <sect1>set/obscount (9)
3214 <bf>set/obscount <count> <node call></bf> Set the 'pump-up'
3215 obsolescence counter
3219 From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals (see
3220 SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes. There is a 'pump-up'
3221 counter which is decremented on every outgoing ping and then reset to
3222 the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping. The default value of this
3225 What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at
3226 (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just before
3227 what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected.
3229 If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using
3230 default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15 minutes,
3237 <bf>set/page <n></bf> Set the number of lines per page
3241 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of lines
3242 of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20. Setting it
3243 explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
3250 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3253 <sect1>set/password (9)
3257 <bf>set/password <callsign> <string></bf> Set a users password
3261 The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string
3262 can contain any characters but any spaces are removed (you can type in
3263 spaces - but they won't appear in the password). You can see the
3264 result with STAT/USER. The password is the usual 30 character baycom
3267 <sect1>set/pinginterval (9)
3271 <bf>set/pinginterval <time> <node call></bf> Set the ping time
3272 to neighbouring nodes
3276 As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals
3277 in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and, in future, to
3278 affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300 secs or 5 minutes.
3280 You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't.
3282 But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and seconds
3283 for numbers greater than that.
3285 This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end
3286 (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT
3287 for more information.
3289 <sect1>set/privilege (9)
3293 <bf>set/privilege <n> <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Set the
3294 privilege level on a call
3298 Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that pertain
3299 to commands are as default:-
3303 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs
3304 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc-
3305 connect), the normal level for another node.
3306 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect)
3307 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS
3311 If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote connection
3312 your privilege will automatically be set to 0.
3314 <sect1>set/spider (5)
3318 <bf>set/spider <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3319 the node_call a DXSpider type node
3323 Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node
3325 <sect1>set/sys_qra (9)
3329 <bf>set/sys_qra <locator></bf> Set your cluster QRA locator
3336 <bf>set/qra <locator></bf> Set your QRA locator
3340 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have not
3341 done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set roughly
3342 correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
3352 <bf>set/qth <your QTH></bf> Set your QTH
3356 Tell the system where your are. For example:-
3359 set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk
3366 <bf>set/talk</bf> Allow talk messages to be seen at your console
3370 Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off
3371 talks with the <em>unset/talk</em> command.
3377 <bf>set/wcy</bf> Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console
3381 Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3382 WCY messages with the <em>unset/wcy</em> command.
3388 <bf>set/wwv</bf> Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console
3392 Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3393 WWV messages with the <em>unset/wwv</em> command.
3399 <bf>set/wx</bf> Allow WX messages to be seen at your console
3403 Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3404 WX messages with the <em>unset/wx</em> command.
3406 <sect1>show/baddx (1)
3410 <bf>show/baddx</bf>Show all the bad dx calls in the system
3414 Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX
3415 for more information.
3417 <sect1>show/badnode (6)
3421 <bf>show/badnode</bf> Show all the bad nodes in the system
3425 Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE
3426 for more information.
3428 <sect1>show/badspotter (1)
3432 <bf>show/badspotter</bf> Show all the bad spotters in the system
3436 Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see SET/BADSPOTTER
3437 for more information.
3439 <sect1>show/configuration (0)
3443 <bf>show/configuration [<node>]</bf> Show all visible nodes and their users
3447 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen
3448 and the nodes to which they are connected. With the optional <em>node</em>,
3449 you can specify a particular node to look at.
3451 This command is normally abbreviated to: sh/c
3453 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
3455 <sect1>show/configuration/node (0)
3459 <bf>show/configuration/node</bf> Show all the nodes connected
3463 Show all the nodes connected locally and the nodes they have connected.
3465 <sect1>show/connect (1)
3469 <bf>show/connect</bf> Show all the active connections
3473 This command shows information on all the active connections known to
3474 the node. This command gives slightly more information than WHO.
3476 <sect1>show/date (0)
3480 <bf>show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
3485 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the format
3486 of the date string if no arguments are given.
3488 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
3489 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
3490 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
3491 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
3493 <sect1>show/debug (9)
3497 <bf>show/debug</bf> Show what levels of debug you are logging
3501 The levels can be set with <em>set/debug</em>
3507 <bf>show/dx [options]</bf> interrogate the spot database
3511 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots
3512 (sysop configurable, but usually 10).
3514 In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly
3515 any order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
3518 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
3519 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
3521 <number> - the number of spots you want
3522 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in
3525 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
3526 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
3527 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
3529 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
3530 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
3532 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
3534 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call>
3537 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
3538 held in the spot database.
3540 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will
3541 look for the string iota and anything which looks like
3542 an iota island number. If you specify then it will look
3545 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if
3546 you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator.
3553 SH/DX on 20m info iota
3554 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
3561 <sect1>show/dxcc (0)
3565 <bf>show/dxcc <prefix></bf> Interrogate the spot database by country
3569 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
3570 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is
3571 and then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
3573 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command.
3578 SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota
3581 <sect1>show/files (0)
3585 <bf>show/files [<filearea> [<string>]]</bf> List
3586 the contents of a filearea
3590 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
3591 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file
3595 SH/FILES <filearea>
3598 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
3601 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
3602 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
3605 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
3608 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
3610 <sect1>show/filter (0)
3614 <bf>show/filter</bf> Show the filters you have set
3618 Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command
3619 displays all the filters set - for all the various categories.
3621 <sect1>show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
3625 <bf>show/filter <callsign></bf> Show the filters set by <callsign>
3629 A sysop can look at any filters that have been set.
3631 <sect1>show/hops (8)
3635 <bf>show/hops <node_call> [ann|spots|wcy|wwv|]</bf> Show the hop
3640 This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify
3641 which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then
3642 all the categories will be listed.
3644 <sect1>show/isolate (1)
3648 <bf>show/isolate</bf> Show a list of isolated nodes
3652 Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated.
3654 <sect1>show/lockout (9)
3658 <bf>show/lockout</bf> Show a list of excluded callsigns
3662 Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the
3663 cluster locally with the <em>set/lockout</em> command
3669 <bf>show/log [<callsign>]</bf> Show excerpts from the system log
3673 This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own
3674 it will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will
3675 show output from the log associated with that callsign.
3677 <sect1>show/moon (0)
3681 <bf>show/moon [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show moon
3686 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
3687 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
3690 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
3691 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
3692 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
3694 In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal
3695 distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit.
3697 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
3698 that you are connected to.
3711 <bf>show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long]</bf> Show
3712 the likely propagation to <prefix>
3716 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting
3717 a station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a modest
3718 power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about 0.15muV/10dB SINAD)
3720 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
3721 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
3722 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
3723 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced accuracy
3724 for paths shorter or longer than this.
3726 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
3727 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
3728 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
3729 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
3730 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
3731 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
3732 such as the Voice of America.
3734 The command will display some header information detailing its
3735 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
3736 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
3737 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
3738 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for which
3739 the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a value.
3741 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the conventional
3742 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it means that it is
3743 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by an 'm' it means that
3744 there is likely to be much fading and by an 's' that the signal is likely
3747 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
3748 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no of
3749 hours required after the prefix. For example:-
3758 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
3759 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
3760 Location Lat / Long Azim
3761 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
3762 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
3763 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
3764 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
3765 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
3768 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
3769 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
3777 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
3785 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
3786 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
3787 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
3789 <sect1>show/node (1)
3793 <bf>show/node [<node_call> ...]</bf> Show the type and version
3798 Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the
3799 command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all
3800 the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed.
3802 <sect1>show/prefix (0)
3806 <bf>show/prefix <callsign></bf> Interrogate the prefix database
3810 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
3811 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number
3812 it is and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country
3813 together with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
3818 <sect1>show/program (5)
3822 <bf>show/program</bf> Show the locations of all the included program modules
3826 Show the name and location where every program module was load from. This
3827 is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file from.
3833 <bf>show/qra <locator> [<locator>]</bf> Show the distance
3834 between locators<newline>
3835 <bf>show/qra <lat> <long></bf> Convert latitude and longitude to
3840 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
3841 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
3842 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
3843 to the locator. For example:-
3850 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator from
3851 yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and bearing from
3852 the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6 character locators.
3854 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator by
3855 using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument, for
3859 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
3866 <bf>show/qrz <callsign></bf> Show any callbook details on a callsign
3870 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet
3871 and returns any information available for that callsign. This service
3872 is provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
3874 <sect1>show/route (0)
3878 <bf>show/route <callsign></bf> Show the route to <callsign>
3882 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified are
3883 connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
3889 <sect1>show/satellite (0)
3893 <bf>show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>]</bf>
3894 Show satellite tracking data
3898 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your choice
3899 from now on for the next few hours.
3901 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a list
3902 of all the satellites known currently to the system.
3904 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
3905 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
3906 give information for the next three hours for every five minute period.
3908 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
3911 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
3917 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
3924 <bf>show/sun [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
3925 sun rise and set times
3929 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
3930 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
3933 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
3934 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
3935 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
3937 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
3938 that you are connected to.
3944 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
3947 <sect1>show/time (0)
3951 <bf>show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
3956 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
3957 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
3958 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
3959 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
3965 <bf>show/wcy</bf> Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts<newline>
3966 <bf>show/wcy <n></bf> Show the last <n> WCY broadcasts
3970 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the system
3976 <bf>show/wwv</bf> Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts<newline>
3977 <bf>show/wwv <n></bf> Show the last <n> WWV broadcasts
3981 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the system
3988 <bf>shutdown</bf> Shutdown the cluster
3992 Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider
3993 set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart.
3999 <bf>spoof <callsign> <command></bf> Run commands as another user
4003 This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows you to
4004 issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very useful for the
4005 kind of things that users seem to always get wrong.. like home_node for
4012 <bf>stat/db <dbname></bf> Show the status of a database
4016 Show the internal status of a database descriptor.
4018 Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less information.
4019 This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone other than a sysop.
4021 <sect1>stat/channel (5)
4025 <bf>stat/channel <callsign></bf> Show the status of a channel on the cluster
4029 Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel that
4030 you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for.
4032 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4038 <bf>stat/msg <msgno></bf> Show the status of a message
4042 This command shows the internal status of a message and includes information
4043 such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin etc etc.
4046 If no message number is given then the status of the message system is
4049 <sect1>stat/route_node (5)
4053 <bf>stat/route_node <callsign></bf> Show the data in a Route::Node object
4056 <sect1>stat/route_user (5)
4060 <bf>stat/route_user <callsign></bf> Show the data in a Route::User object
4063 <sect1>stat/user (5)
4067 <bf>stat/user <callsign></bf> Show the full status of a user
4071 Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret flags
4074 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4080 <bf>sysop</bf> Regain your privileges if you login remotely
4084 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
4085 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
4086 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
4087 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
4088 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
4091 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
4092 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
4093 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
4094 these values are for explanation :-):
4097 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
4105 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
4110 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
4111 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
4118 <bf>talk <callsign></bf> Enter talk mode with <callsign><newline>
4119 <bf>talk <callsign> <text></bf> Send a text message to <callsign><newline>
4120 <bf>talk <callsign> > <node_call> [<text>]</bf>
4121 Send a text message to <callsign> via <node_call>
4125 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the cluster
4126 system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a SHOW/CONFIGURATION
4127 command, they don't have to be connected locally.
4129 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
4130 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
4131 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the cluster.
4133 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can only
4134 see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use the
4135 second form of the talk message.
4137 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text message
4138 out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means is that a
4139 short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you are in a 'Talking'
4140 frame of mind and then you just type - everything you send will go to the
4141 station that you asked for.
4143 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on your
4146 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the normal
4147 command with a '/' character, eg:-
4150 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
4154 To leave talk mode type:
4164 <bf>type <filearea>/<name></bf> Look at a file in one of the fileareas
4168 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
4169 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
4173 TYPE bulletins/arld051
4176 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a
4183 <bf>who</bf> Show who is physically connected locally
4187 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
4188 what sort of connection they have
4194 <bf>wx <text></bf> Send a weather message to local users<newline>
4195 <bf>wx full <text> </bf> Send a weather message to all cluster users
4199 Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an extreme
4200 that may indicate enhanced conditions
4202 <sect1>wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
4206 <bf>wx sysop <text></bf> Send a weather message to other clusters only
4210 Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general users.