1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
5 <!-- Title information -->
7 <title>The DXSpider User Manual v1.50</title>
8 <author>Ian Maude, G0VGS, (g0vgs@gb7mbc.net)</author>
9 <date>March 2003 revision 0.3</date>
12 A complete reference for users of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
15 <!-- Table of contents -->
18 <!-- Begin the document -->
22 <sect1>What is a DX Cluster?
25 A DX Cluster is a packet node where DX chasers on any band or mode can
26 post rare or interesting stations that they have worked or heard. Of
27 course other people are doing the same thing too, so you can find new
28 DX as well as telling others about the stations you have worked.
29 Clusters tend to be linked to each other so that the amount of people
30 using them is increased, thereby increasing the amount of posted DX.
31 Other information can be found on clusters such as on-line call books,
32 mail etc. You can talk to other stations connected to the cluster
33 network too, in real time, whether at the node you are logged into or
34 on another node connected to the network. You can also use converse
35 mode, where several stations can talk to each other in the same way.
36 Of course, the DX is still posted to you all the while!
38 <sect1>So what is DXSpider?
41 PacketCluster nodes have been around since roughly 1985. The original
42 PacketCluster idea came from Dick Newell, AK1A, and ran under DOS.
43 In about 1992 Dick stopped the development of the PacketCluster
44 software for amateur radio. Many systems are still using this
45 relatively old DOS software today.
47 There are several new compatible cluster programs around now,
48 including DXSpider. DXSpider is a clone of PacketCluster software that runs
49 under several operating systems including Linux and Windows. Linux is fast
50 becoming the choice for amateur radio stations because of it's flexibility,
51 reliability and the lack of the memory limitations of DOS. Linux supports
52 multitasking and is also multiuser. It has support for AX25, ROSE,
53 NetROM and TCPIP built in, making it the ideal choice for amateur
54 radio. It is also totally free!
56 DXSpider was conceived and begun in 1998 by Dirk Koopman, G1TLH as an
57 exercise in perl programming. It has developed rapidly and today is a
58 very powerful cluster program. It was designed to be totally compatible
59 with the AK1A program, although several commands have been extended to
60 improve functionality.
62 This manual is designed to help you become familiar with the commands
63 that DXSpider supports and to help you get the best from the program so
64 you can enjoy working that rare DX! As DXSpider is being improved all the
65 time, commands will be added as time goes by, so make sure you have
66 the most upto date version of this manual. The latest version will
67 always be included with the cluster program so if you are unsure, simply
68 ask your sysop. The manual will also be available on the wesite.
71 <sect>Logins and logouts.
74 You might not think that there is a lot of point of including a
75 section on how to log in and out of DXSpider. However, you would be
76 suprised at the difficulties some people have in simply getting in
77 and out of the cluster!
79 There are several ways a login might be achieved, dependant on how
80 the sysop has DXSpider configured. It is impossible for me to cover all
81 variations but here are the basic ones.
86 Simplicity itself. The usual <bf>CONNECT</bf> command will log you straight
87 into the cluster and you will not have to do anything else.
88 Obviously, you will have to connect to the correct callsign. Some
89 nodes use an SSID with their call so you would have to add that.
101 There are several possibilities here, dependant on how the sysop has
102 configured his system. If you are connecting via netrom then you are
103 most probably connecting from another station. Listing the nodes in
104 that station with the <bf>NODES</bf> command will tell you what callsign
105 or netrom alias to connect to. Then just issue the connect command
106 from there. It is possible that the netrom alias may connect you to
107 a node with an alias for the cluster, such as DXC. Just type this
108 and you will be connected.
115 <sect1>Telnet logins.
118 With telnet connections, the source callsign is not seen by DXSpider, so
119 you will be asked to login with your callsign.
120 To telnet to DXSpider, you would connect to a specific port. There is no
121 standard at the moment for a cluster telnet port but ask the sysop if
130 All the above are possible ways of connecting to a DXSpider cluster. You
131 may have some or all of these available to you. There may be one or
132 two additional ways to connect dependant on the network local to you.
133 However I am sure you get the idea.
138 Logging out can be done by simply issuing the standard <bf>BYE</bf>
141 You could also send a disconnect if you are using AX25, or a <bf>CLOSE</bf>
142 command if you are connected via telnet.
143 If you do not log out gracefully using one of the above commands,
144 you may find you are unable to get a full connect next time. This
145 may also happen if a netrom connection drops. You may get connected,
146 but nothing else will happen because the program thinks you are still
147 connected and will not let you connect twice under the same call.
148 However you could reconnect by adding a number to the end of your call,
150 This can be done by either altering your MYCALL setting in the TNC or
151 by altering your program configuration.
154 <sect>Setting your personal details.
157 Once logged in to the cluster, you should set your details so that
158 anybody who wishes to contact you can find out who and where you are.
159 There are four items to set, your name, qth, location and home node.
160 Setting these details also allows the use of the SHOW/HEADING and
161 SHOW/SUN commands from within the cluster. Unless you set your QTH
162 and location, these commands cannot function.
163 Once you have set your name, DXSpider will greet you with it next time
164 you login. Your QTH setting is where you live and it is a good idea
165 to add your locator to this as the location setting is converted to
166 latitude and longitude once inputted. You can actually set your location
167 in latitude/longitude or as a locator. Setting your home node will
168 tell the program where you wish mail to be sent to you.
174 set/qth Morecambe, Lancashire IO84NB
175 set/location 48 34 n 12 12 e
180 <sect>Getting and posting DX.
183 When all is said and done, this is the main function of a DX cluster.
184 In its simplest form you can just connect to the node and you will
185 start to receive DX spots almost immediately! You can check on
186 recent postings in either a general manner or on a particular band or
187 mode. You can even check DX by callsign or a fragment of a callsign.
188 Of course, once you get the hang of things, it is expected that you
189 start posting some yourself! After all, there would be no clusters
190 if people did not post DX and you get the added thrill of the hunt!
195 As we have already said, it is possible just to connect to the
196 cluster and you will receive spots automatically. However, you may
197 wish to check on spots just posted. Maybe you wish to see if a
198 particular band is open or if a certain callsign is active, perhaps a
199 DXpedition. The command to do this is <bf>SHOW/DX</bf>. Without any
200 other arguments, this command will output the last 10 spots
201 posted. It is possible to look at more than this, for example the
202 last 20 or 50 spots, by adding the number to the command. You can
203 make it even more specific by adding a band in either wavelength or
204 frequency, and/or any additional information such as QSL details.
214 will show the last 10, 5 and 20 spots received by the cluster
225 will show the last 5, 10 or 20 spots on 20 metres only.
227 It is also possible to check for certain callsigns, or fragments of
228 callsigns in the same way.
237 would show the last 5 or 10 dx spots containing the callsign g0vgs.
240 You can check for DX by offset and also by specifying a comment to
251 would show the spots that arrived between 30 and 40 spots ago and any
252 spots with the word <em>iota</em> in the comment field. The case of
253 the comment is not important.
255 Checking DX posted on a certain day is possible too. All you have
256 to do here is to specify how many days ago it was like this ...
264 It is of course possible to specify multiple arguments.
269 show/dx 20 prefix 9a on vhf day 30
272 This would show the last 20 spots posted by or about calls with the prefix
273 9a on vhf 30 days ago.
275 As you can see the <bf>SHOW/DX</bf> command is very flexible, so if you are
276 not sure whether something will work or not, try it and see! More
277 information can be found in the Command Set section.
282 To post DX you use the <bf>DX</bf> command. The syntax is shown below.
287 dx (frequency) (callsign) (remarks)
290 Where frequency is in kilohertz and the callsign is the callsign of
291 the station you have worked or heard, (ie not your own callsign!).
292 The remarks section allows you to add information like the operators
293 name or perhaps a location. Actually DXSpider will allow the frequency
294 and callsign fields to be entered in any order.
299 dx 14004 pa3ezl OP Aurelio 599
302 In fact, all the following will give the same result...
305 dx 14004 pa3ezl OP Aurelio 599
306 dx pa3ezl 14004 OP Aurelio 599
307 dx pa3ezl 14.004 OP Aurelio 599
310 This posting, or callout as it is known, will be forwarded to all
311 other connected stations both at the cluster you are connected to and
312 other active clusters in the network. The callout will also be sent
313 to you as proof of receipt.
315 <sect>Headings and propagation
318 There are three commands in DXSpider to help you get the best DX possible.
319 These are <bf>SHOW/SUN</bf>, <bf>SHOW/MOON</bf> and
320 <bf>SHOW/HEADING</bf>. These commands will only work for you if you
321 have entered your personal details. They use your entered location as
322 a reference, so if you have not entered it or have entered it incorrectly
323 they will not return the correct information.
328 The <bf>SHOW/SUN</bf> command can be used in three different ways. It
329 can be used to show sunrise and sunset times for your own station, a
330 particular callsign or a prefix.
338 The output from this would look something like this ..
342 Location Rise Set Azim Elev
343 G0VGS Morecambe, Lancashire 07:08Z 17:39Z 205.3 24.1
350 would look like this ...
354 Location Rise Set Azim Elev
355 5B Cyprus-5B 04:23Z 15:40Z 244.0 18.8
358 You can also specify multiple arguments like this ...
361 sh/sun gw4veq 5b4ab zs
364 and then the output would look like this ...
367 sh/sun gw4veq 5b4ab zs
368 Location Rise Set Azim Elev
369 GW4VEQ Brungwran, Isle of Anglesey IO 07:14Z 17:48Z 204.9 24.9
370 5B Cyprus-5B 04:23Z 15:40Z 244.5 18.3
371 ZS So-Africa-ZS1-ZS 04:31Z 17:28Z 289.9 41.3
372 ZS So-Africa-ZS5-ZS 03:44Z 16:34Z 278.5 32.0
373 ZS So-Africa-ZS6-ZS 03:59Z 16:42Z 277.6 35.0
379 The <bf>SHOW/MOON</bf> command works in the same way as the
380 <bf>SHOW/SUN</bf> command. This program however, calculates the
381 rise and set times of the moon for a prefix or callsign, together
382 with the current azimuth and elevation of the sun at these
391 The output from this command would look like this ..
395 Location Rise Set Azim Elev RGain dB
396 EA Spain-EA 08:15Z 20:09Z 257.2 9.5 -0.6
399 You can see that the output is similar to the <bf>SHOW/SUN</bf>
400 command, with slightly different fields.
405 The <bf>SHOW/HEADING</bf> command works in the same way as the
406 <bf>SHOW/SUN</bf> and <bf>SHOW/MOON</bf> commands but outputs beam
407 headings for a specified callsign or prefix. Reciprocal beam headings
416 The output from this command would look like this ..
420 ZL New-Zealand-ZL1-ZL: 7 degs - dist: 11238 mi, 18087 km Reciprocal heading: 355 degs
421 ZL New-Zealand-ZL2-ZL: 9 degs - dist: 11540 mi, 18574 km Reciprocal heading: 353 degs
422 ZL New-Zealand-ZL3-ZL: 19 degs - dist: 11634 mi, 18724 km Reciprocal heading: 345 degs
423 ZL New-Zealand-ZL4-ZL: 34 degs - dist: 11783 mi, 18963 km Reciprocal heading: 332 degs
428 <sect1>Making announcements.
431 Occasionally, you may wish to post something that does not fall into
432 the normal parameters for a DX callout. You may wish to tell
433 everybody connected that 10 FM is open for example, or ask if anyone
434 knows the QSL manager for a certain callsign etc. You can do this
435 using the <bf>ANNOUNCE</bf> command.
440 announce 10 FM is open in IO84NB to europe.
443 That would let everyone know locally that this was the case, however
444 it would not be forwarded to other nodes connected. To send
445 announcements to other connected nodes as well, you would use the
446 <bf>FULL</bf> extension.
451 announce full Anyone seen EA7WA today?
454 Be cautious in your use of announce full. There are many other tools
455 available to get the information you require and the judicious use of
456 this command is frowned upon as it creates a great deal of traffic
459 <sect1>Listing announcements.
462 You can list previous announcements in the standard format with the
463 <bf>SHOW</bf> command. As before you can list just the last 5 or as
470 show/announcements 10
473 <sect>Nodes and users.
476 You can check which nodes are connected in the network, who is
477 logged on locally, who is logged on at all the nodes or even
478 just one node in particular. This is handy if you wish to see whether
479 a friend is connected at the node they use. To see who is connected
480 to the nodes, the <bf>SHOW/CONFIGURATION</bf> command is used.
486 show/configuration/nodes
487 show/configuration (node_call)
488 show/configuration (prefix)
491 The first of our three examples would output something like this,
499 GB7BIG (GD0TEP) GD3UMW
500 GB7BPQ (G0INA) G0RCI G3AKU G3OCA
502 GB7DJK G0FYD G0REK G1TLH G4PEL G4SOZ
503 G4TVR G7SQW K8AZ M0CTQ-1 MM1CXE-10
506 GB7DXC (G0HDB) G0WFK (G1FYC) G3KWK G3LME
507 G3OIL G4BGW G4FUJ (G4PDQ) GW7SMV
509 (GB7DXG) GU6EFB GU7DHI
510 GB7DXK G1NTW G3IBI G3NSM G3XAQ G4CUS
512 GB7DXM G1EUC G3GAF G3LAS G4ZTR G8WXU
516 You will notice that EI5TCR is showing only that it has 7 users and not
517 giving the actual callsigns. This means that this node is on a limited
518 protocol of some kind, probably because of a contest situation where
519 slow radio links can block up and fail if too much information is sent
522 The second example would just show the nodes connected in the
528 GB7BAA GB7BAA GB7BPQ (GB7CDX) GB7DJK GB7DXA
529 GB7DXC GB7DXE (GB7DXG) GB7DXK GB7DXL
530 GB7DXM GB7DXS GB7IPT GB7MRS GB7UJS
531 GB7YDX KL7G N2TLY (ON0DXK)
532 GB7BIG EI5TCR GB7ADX GB7BIG GB7UDX
538 If we insert the node_call pi4tue-8 into the third example, then
539 this would be the output,
543 PI4TUE-8 9A1CMA-6 DF6PW DL4FAY DL4KAK DL4WF-2
544 F5NOD-2 F5PAC IZ0CSR N6CR OH2BLD
545 ON1LVL-13 ON4CBT ON4CJP ON5DXL-14 ON7NQ
546 PA0RCT PA3DYS PA3FDO PA5KW-4 PI4TUE-9
550 As you can see, only the users of the requested node are shown.
552 You can also use a prefix to show only a group of nodes. For example
553 you may only wish to see who is connected to the nodes in the UK. To
554 do this simply use a prefix like this ...
557 show/configuration gb7
560 To show the locally connected users, the <bf>SHOW/USERS</bf> command is
569 The output of this command would look like this,
572 Callsigns connected to GB7MBC
573 G0JHC G0NEI G0VGS G0VGS-2 G0YLM
580 You can send a single comment or start a dedicated talk session to
581 another user by using the <bf>TALK</bf> command.
584 Talk mode is used to send a one line comment or greeting to a
585 specific user connected either at your node or another in the
586 network. You can also enter into a dedicated talk session with
587 another user. Talks will be automatically forwarded to other nodes
588 if the station you are talking to is not connected locally.
589 You can find out who is connected by using the
590 <bf>SHOW/CONFIGURATION</bf> command, (described earlier).
595 talk g0rdi Having a good day Iain?
598 This example would send the line "Having a good day Iain?" to the
599 user g0rdi but would leave you in normal mode.
603 Entering Talkmode, /EX to end, /<cmd> to run a command
607 As you can see, you can still run commands whilst in talk mode.
608 Simply prefix the command with a / like /sh/dx and you will get
610 If the user is connected to another node, you may have to use a
611 slightly extended version of the <bf>TALK</bf> command.
617 To exit talk mode, you issue the command <bf>/ex</bf>.
619 Whilst in talk mode you will still receive DX spots. This means that
620 you can chat to a friend whilst working DX.
625 You can send and receive both personal mail and bulletins with DXSpider
628 <sect1>The "directory" command.
631 To list mail you would use the <bf>DIRECTORY</bf> command. On its
632 own, this command will output the last ten messages received by the
633 node, either to or from yourself or bulletins such as "DX" and "ALL".
634 As with other commands you can display more by specifying a number
635 with the command. You should be aware that Spider will accept
636 these commands by separating with either a slash or a space, so
637 <em>dir new</em> and <em>dir/new</em> work in the same way.
647 Of course most of the time you will only want to list new mail sent
648 to you personally since your last login. However you might also like
649 to check for general mail received by the node. In fact if there is
650 new mail for you, the cluster will tell you when you login. You will
651 also be informed if new mail arrives for you during the time you are
653 Mail is not only sent to callsigns though. Mail can also be sent to
654 subjects like "all" or "local" or "dx" etc. You can treat these
655 bulletins in the same way as personal mail with the directory
665 directory/from <call>
668 The last option will only show mail from a callsign if it was sent to
669 you personally or was sent as a bulletin. There are some additional
670 commands and these can be found in the DXSpider Command Reference section.
675 The output of the <bf>DIRECTORY</bf> command could be something like
680 20735 2 ALL GW7SMV 21-Feb 1204Z REC 9E1S QSL TDY 50Mhz....
681 20823 308 UK G0HDB 22-Feb 2334Z Help - which district code?
682 20824 105 ALL W9AE 23-Feb 0349Z S0NY QSL address?
683 20825 2 UK G0LRJ 23-Feb 0806Z QSL REC LZ2CJ/1.CARD NO-750.
684 20858 2 ALL GW7SMV 24-Feb 0905Z REC S92DX QSL CARD TDY 50Mhz
685 20921 200 ALL GM4FDM 27-Feb 2203Z Trip to VP8
686 20949 375 ALL K0MN 27-Feb 0428Z ST0P cards are gd @ ARRL
687 20950 2 UK G0LRJ 28-Feb 0835Z QSL REC SV9/IZ0CKJ/P EU-187.
688 20987 569 ALL GD0TEP 1-Mar 1733Z Portable contests
689 21076 2 ALL G4AFJ 3-Mar 1743Z kh6nd/kh5 qsl received
690 21184-p 599 GW4HAT G0VGS 4-Mar 1518Z Re: Time
693 The first column is the actual message number. If the message is a
694 personal one to you, you will see a letter 'p' after this number. If
695 the message has been read, there will be a '-' between the message
696 number and the 'p'. This only works for personal messages. The next
697 column shows the file size of the message. The third column shows the
698 address the message was sent to and the next column shows who sent it.
699 The rest is fairly self-explanatory.
701 Reading a message is as simple as typing read, followed by the
702 message number that you wish to read.
710 will read message number 25. However the mail will be displayed in it's
711 entirety unless you specify a page length. You can set your page length
712 to any number you like and when the message reaches that number of lines
713 you will get a prompt giving you options.
725 Sending mail is done in the time honoured way. First you specify
726 a recipient for the message, then you will be prompted for a subject.
727 Once you have done this you will be asked to type your message.
728 Please remember that there is no automatic word wrap, so unless you
729 are using a client that wraps lines automatically, remember to hit
730 return at the end of each line.
736 Enter Subject (30 characters):
738 Enter Message /EX to send or /ABORT to exit
740 Just a quick note to say that I can make Thursday after all. The
741 appointment I had has cancelled so we are go!
746 At this point you can either hit return and enter /ex to send the
747 message or use /abort at any time to abort it. You can now display
748 the message in the normal way. There are several send options and
749 these are listed in the Command Set section. These include sending
750 mail to several recipients and asking for a return receipt.
753 <sect1>Replying to mail.
756 If mail is addressed to you or to a bulletin address, you can use the
757 <bf>REPLY</bf> command to reply to it. Using this command, the
758 subject will be automatically set for you as "Re: subject", whatever
770 To delete a message, you use the <em>delete</em> command.
771 You can only delete messages sent to or received by yourself.
772 Bulletins are dealt with automatically or by the sysop.
774 <sect>Filtering (From version 1.45)
776 <sect1>General filter rules
779 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
780 v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
781 about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
782 DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
783 anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
786 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
787 are <em>accept</em>, <em>reject</em> and <em>clear</em>. First we will look
788 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
789 DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
792 In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which can have
793 up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
800 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are
801 filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each
802 different accept or reject command reference for more details.
804 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
811 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
814 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
821 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
822 principles to all types of filter.
824 <sect1>Types of filter
827 There are two main types of filter, <em>accept</em> or <em>reject</em>. You
828 can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
829 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
830 filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
831 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
832 action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
836 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
837 will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
838 then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
839 For example if you have a single line <em>accept</em> filter ...
842 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
845 then you will <em>ONLY</em> get VHF spots <em>from</em> or <em>to</em> CQ zones
849 If you set a reject filter like this ...
852 reject/spots on hf/cw
855 Then you will get everything <em>EXCEPT</em> HF CW spots. You could make this
856 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
857 and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
858 CW, then you could say ...
861 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
864 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
867 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
870 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
871 until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
872 wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
873 don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
876 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
877 understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
880 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
881 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
884 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
885 which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
888 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
889 you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
890 This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
891 more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
894 You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
895 at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
896 are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <em>APART</em> from those in
897 zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
898 not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
899 logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
902 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
905 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
906 here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
908 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
909 simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
910 to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
911 one line. For example ...
914 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
917 would redefine our earlier example, or
923 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
929 <sect1>Filter options
932 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
933 various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
935 <sect1>Advanced filtering
938 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
941 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
942 can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
947 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
950 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This
951 will automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have
952 said <em>reject all HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept
953 all others at HF. Also accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or
954 by operators in the zones 14, 15 and 16</em>. Each filter slot actually
955 has a 'reject' slot and an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed
956 BEFORE the accept slot.
959 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the
960 default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'.
961 In the example what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non
962 hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets through everything
963 else on HF. The next filter line lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
966 <sect>Hints, tips and common questions.
969 <bf/Q./These commands seem very long! Can I shorten them?
971 <bf/A./Of course you can and the usual abbreviations work. If you
974 <bf/Q./I am not sure if this command is correct. Can I cause any
977 <bf/A./Do not be afraid to try a command to see if it will work,
978 at the worst you will get an error message. If you require any
979 help on a command, just type help followed by the command you
980 want help on. Look at the "DXSpider Command Reference" section to see
981 what help can be found.
983 <bf/Q./How should I use the announce command?
985 <bf/A./With respect. Use the command by all means, but please
986 only use the "full" extension if absolutely necessary. It can
987 create a LOT of messages passing between clusters.
989 <bf/Q./I like to be working in the shack while logged into the
990 cluster but I can't be looking at the screen all the time. How
991 can I be alerted when anything happens?
993 <bf/A./Use the <bf>SET/BEEP</bf> command. You can find information
994 on this in the "DXSpider Command Reference" section.
996 <bf/Q./I got disconnected from the cluster and now I can't log
997 back in again. What is wrong?
999 <bf/A./Probably the cluster thinks you are still logged on and
1000 will not let you reconnect using the same call to prevent loops.
1001 Try logging on again adding an ssid to your callsign as DXSpider
1002 treats G0YLM and G0YLM-1 as different users.
1004 <bf/Q./How do I know if I have got the latest version of this
1007 <bf/A./The latest and greatest will always be on the Website. It will
1008 also be included with every release of DXSpider. As always, if unsure,
1009 ask your sysop what version number is the latest.
1011 <sect>The DXSpider command reference
1017 <bf>accept</bf> Set a filter to accept something
1021 Create a filter to accept something
1023 There are 2 types of filter, accept and reject. See HELP FILTERING for more
1025 <sect1>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern>
1029 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'accept' filter line for announce
1033 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
1035 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
1036 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1037 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1039 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1042 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1043 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1044 origin <prefixes>
1045 origin_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1046 origin_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
1047 origin_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1048 origin_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,NH
1049 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
1050 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
1051 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1052 by_state <states>
1053 channel <prefixes>
1054 wx 1 filter WX announces
1055 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
1062 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
1063 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
1073 acc/ann by_state va,nh,ri,nh
1076 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1082 but this probably for advanced users...
1083 <sect1>accept/spots [0-9] <pattern>
1087 <bf>accept/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'accept' filter line for spots
1091 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
1093 An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
1094 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1095 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1097 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1100 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
1101 on <range> same as 'freq'
1102 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
1103 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1105 call_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1106 call_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
1107 call_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1108 call_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,ME
1109 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
1110 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
1111 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1112 by_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,ME
1113 origin <prefixes>
1114 channel <prefixes>
1117 'call' means the callsign that has spotted 'by' whoever.
1119 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
1120 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
1121 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
1122 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get
1123 too hung up about that)
1129 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1132 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
1141 acc/spots by_state VA,NH,RI,MA,ME
1144 but this probably for advanced users...
1145 <sect1>accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern>
1149 <bf>accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> set an 'accept' WCY filter
1153 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1154 filter on the following fields:-
1157 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1158 origin <prefixes>
1159 origin_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1160 origin_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
1161 origin_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1162 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
1163 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
1164 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1165 channel <prefixes>
1168 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
1169 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
1171 This command is really provided for future use.
1173 See HELP FILTER for information.
1174 <sect1>accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern>
1178 <bf>accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> set an 'accept' WWV filter
1182 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1183 filter on the following fields:-
1186 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1187 origin <prefixes>
1188 origin_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1189 origin_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
1190 origin_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1191 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
1192 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
1193 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1194 channel <prefixes>
1200 accept/wwv by_zone 4
1203 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
1204 by stations in the US).
1206 See HELP FILTER for information.
1207 <sect1>announce <text>
1211 <bf>announce <text></bf> Send an announcement to LOCAL users only
1215 <text> is the text of the announcement you wish to broadcast
1216 <sect1>announce full <text>
1220 <bf>announce full <text></bf> Send an announcement cluster wide
1224 This will send your announcement cluster wide
1225 <sect1>apropos <string>
1229 <bf>apropos <string></bf> Search help database for <string>
1233 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive), and print
1234 the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
1235 <sect1>blank [<string>] [<nn>]
1239 <bf>blank [<string>] [<nn>]</bf> Print nn (default 1) blank lines (or strings)
1243 In its basic form this command prints one or more blank lines. However if
1244 you pass it a string it will replicate the string for the width of the
1245 screen (default 80) and then print that one or more times, so:
1251 prints two blank lines
1257 prints a row of - characters once.
1263 prints 'abcabcabcabcabcabc....'
1265 This is really only of any use in a script file and you can print a maximum
1271 <bf>bye</bf> Exit from the cluster
1275 This will disconnect you from the cluster
1276 <sect1>chat <group> <text>
1280 <bf>chat <group> <text></bf> Chat or Conference to a group
1284 It is now possible to JOIN a group and have network wide conferencing to that
1285 group. DXSpider does not (and probably will not) implement the AK1A
1286 conference mode as this seems very limiting, is hardly used and doesn't seem
1287 to work too well anyway.
1289 This system uses the existing ANN system and is compatible with both other
1290 DXSpider nodes and AK1A clusters (they use ANN/<group>).
1292 You can be a member of as many "groups" as you want. To join a group type:-
1295 JOIN FOC (where FOC is the group name)
1298 To leave a group type:-
1304 You can see which groups you are in by typing:-
1310 and you can see whether your mate is in the group, if he connects to the
1311 same node as you, by typing:-
1317 To send a message to a group type:-
1320 CHAT FOC hello everyone
1326 CH #9000 hello I am back
1329 See also JOIN, LEAVE, SHOW/CHAT
1330 <sect1>clear/announce [1|all]
1334 <bf>clear/announce [1|all]</bf> Clear a announce filter line
1338 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a annouce filter or to
1339 remove the whole filter.
1341 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
1342 <sect1>clear/route [1|all]
1346 <bf>clear/route [1|all]</bf> Clear a route filter line
1350 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a route filter or to
1351 remove the whole filter.
1353 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
1354 <sect1>clear/spots [0-9|all]
1358 <bf>clear/spots [0-9|all]</bf> Clear a spot filter line
1362 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or to
1363 remove the whole filter.
1365 If you have a filter:-
1369 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1378 you will be left with:-
1381 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1390 the filter will be completely removed.
1391 <sect1>clear/wcy [1|all]
1395 <bf>clear/wcy [1|all]</bf> Clear a WCY filter line
1399 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a WCY filter or to
1400 remove the whole filter.
1402 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
1403 <sect1>clear/wwv [1|all]
1407 <bf>clear/wwv [1|all]</bf> Clear a WWV filter line
1411 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a WWV filter or to
1412 remove the whole filter.
1414 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
1419 <bf>dbavail</bf> Show a list of all the Databases in the system
1423 Title says it all really, this command lists all the databases defined
1424 in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
1425 <sect1>dbshow <dbname> <key>
1429 <bf>dbshow <dbname> <key></bf> Display an entry, if it exists, in a database
1433 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database system.
1434 It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local Aliases file
1435 so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of enquiry such as:
1441 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
1442 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
1452 <bf>directory</bf> List messages
1456 <sect1>directory <from>-<to>
1460 <bf>directory <from>-<to></bf> List messages <from> message <to> message
1464 List the messages in the messages directory.
1466 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
1467 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
1468 'p' then this indicates that the message has been read.
1470 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
1473 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
1480 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
1483 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a syntax:-
1490 <sect1>directory <nn>
1494 <bf>directory <nn></bf> List last <nn> messages
1498 <sect1>directory all
1502 <bf>directory all</bf> List all messages
1506 <sect1>directory from <call>
1510 <bf>directory from <call></bf> List all messages from <call>
1514 <sect1>directory new
1518 <bf>directory new</bf> List all new messages
1522 <sect1>directory own
1526 <bf>directory own</bf> List your own messages
1530 <sect1>directory subject <string>
1534 <bf>directory subject <string></bf> List all messages with <string> in subject
1538 <sect1>directory to <call>
1542 <bf>directory to <call></bf> List all messages to <call>
1546 <sect1>dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks>
1550 <bf>dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks></bf> Send a DX spot
1554 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
1555 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
1563 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end
1564 of the command and they will be added to the spot.
1567 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
1570 You can credit someone else by saying:-
1573 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
1576 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
1577 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
1578 <sect1>echo <line>
1582 <bf>echo <line></bf> Echo the line to the output
1586 This command is useful in scripts and so forth for printing the
1587 line that you give to the command to the output. You can use this
1588 in user_default scripts and the SAVE command for titling and so forth
1590 The script will interpret certain standard "escape" sequences as follows:-
1593 \t - becomes a TAB character (0x09 in ascii)
1594 \a - becomes a BEEP character (0x07 in ascii)
1595 \n - prints a new line
1598 So the following example:-
1601 echo GB7DJK is a dxcluster
1607 GB7DJK is a dxcluster
1610 on the output. You don't need a \n on the end of the line you want to send.
1612 A more complex example:-
1615 echo GB7DJK\n\tg1tlh\tDirk\n\tg3xvf\tRichard
1632 <bf>filtering...</bf> Filtering things in DXSpider
1636 There are a number of things you can filter in the DXSpider system. They
1637 all use the same general mechanism.
1639 In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which
1640 can have up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example:-
1647 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There
1648 are filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops)
1649 connects. See each different accept or reject command reference for
1652 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter and
1653 one to show you what you have set. They are:-
1666 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
1668 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply
1669 the principles to all types of filter.
1671 There are two main types of filter 'accept' or 'reject'; which you use
1672 depends entirely on how you look at the world and what is least
1673 writing to achieve what you want. Each filter has 10 lines (of any
1674 length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the action
1675 you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
1678 The important thing to remember is that if you specify a 'reject'
1679 filter (all the lines in it say 'reject/spots' (for instance)) then if
1680 a spot comes in that doesn't match any of the lines then you will get
1681 it BUT if you specify an 'accept' filter then any spots that don't
1682 match are dumped. For example if I have a one line accept filter:-
1685 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1688 then automatically you will ONLY get VHF spots from or to CQ zones 14
1689 15 and 16. If you set a reject filter like:
1692 reject/spots on hf/cw
1695 Then you will get everything EXCEPT HF CW spots, If you am interested in IOTA
1696 and will work it even on CW then you could say:-
1699 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
1702 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
1705 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
1708 which is exactly the same. You should choose one or the other until
1709 you are confortable with the way it works. Yes, you can mix them
1710 (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
1711 don't try this at home until you can analyse the results that you get
1712 without ringing up the sysop for help.
1714 Another useful addition now is filtering by US state
1717 accept/spots by_state VA,NH,RI,ME
1720 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your
1721 own understanding or simply convenience. I have one set frequently:-
1724 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
1725 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1728 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots (being a class B I can't
1729 read any CW and couldn't possibly be interested in HF :-) and also
1730 rejects any spots on VHF which don't either originate or spot someone
1733 This is an exmaple where you would use the line number (1 and 2 in
1734 this case), if you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits
1735 '0'-'9' are available.
1737 You can leave the word 'and' out if you want, it is implied. You can
1738 use any number of brackets to make the 'expression' as you want
1739 it. There are things called precedence rules working here which mean
1740 that you will NEED brackets in a situation like line 2 because,
1741 without it, will assume:-
1744 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
1747 annoying, but that is the way it is. If you use OR - use
1748 brackets. Whilst we are here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is
1751 If you want to alter your filter you can just redefine one or more
1752 lines of it or clear out one line. For example:-
1755 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
1764 To remove the filter in its entirty:-
1770 There are similar CLEAR commands for the other filters:-
1780 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
1782 my example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
1783 can be written with a mixed filter, eg:
1788 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1791 each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and an 'accept'
1792 slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
1794 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match,
1795 the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for
1796 'accept'. In the example what happens is that the reject is executed
1797 first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets
1798 thru everything else on HF.
1800 The next filter line lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
1805 <bf>help</bf> The HELP Command
1809 HELP is available for a number of commands. The syntax is:-
1815 Where <cmd> is the name of the command you want help on.
1817 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated
1818 to SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
1820 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help database
1821 for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely commands
1822 to look at with HELP.
1823 <sect1>join <group>
1827 <bf>join <group></bf> Join a chat or conference group
1831 JOIN allows you to join a network wide conference group. To join a
1832 group (called FOC in this case) type:-
1838 See also CHAT, LEAVE, SHOW/CHAT
1839 <sect1>kill <from msgno>-<to msgno>
1843 <bf>kill <from msgno>-<to msgno></bf> Delete a range of messages
1847 <sect1>kill <msgno> [<msgno..]
1851 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno..]</bf> Delete a message from the local system
1855 <sect1>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...]
1859 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...]</bf> Remove or erase a message from the system
1863 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign using
1864 this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
1865 <sect1>kill from <regex>
1869 <bf>kill from <regex></bf> Delete messages FROM a callsign or pattern
1873 <sect1>kill to <regex>
1877 <bf>kill to <regex></bf> Delete messages TO a callsign or pattern
1881 <sect1>leave <group>
1885 <bf>leave <group></bf> Leave a chat or conference group
1889 LEAVE allows you to leave a network wide conference group. To leave a
1890 group (called FOC in this case) type:-
1896 See also CHAT, JOIN, SHOW/CHAT
1901 <bf>links</bf> Show which nodes is physically connected
1905 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and
1906 some information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
1911 <bf>read</bf> Read the next unread personal message addressed to you
1915 <sect1>read <msgno>
1919 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read the specified message
1923 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
1924 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
1929 <bf>reject</bf> Set a filter to reject something
1933 Create a filter to reject something
1935 There are 2 types of filter, accept and reject. See HELP FILTERING for more
1937 <sect1>reject/announce [0-9] <pattern>
1941 <bf>reject/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a 'reject' filter line for announce
1945 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
1947 A reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
1948 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1949 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1951 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1954 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1955 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1956 origin <prefixes>
1957 origin_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1958 origin_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
1959 origin_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1960 origin_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,ME
1961 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
1962 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
1963 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
1964 by_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,ME
1965 channel <prefixes>
1966 wx 1 filter WX announces
1967 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
1973 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
1976 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
1982 but this probably for advanced users...
1983 <sect1>reject/spots [0-9] <pattern>
1987 <bf>reject/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a 'reject' filter line for spots
1991 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
1993 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
1994 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1995 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1997 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2000 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2001 on <range> same as 'freq'
2002 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2003 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2005 call_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2006 call_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
2007 call_zone <prefixes or numbers>
2008 call_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,ME
2009 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
2010 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
2011 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
2012 by_state <states> eg: VA,NH,RI,ME
2013 origin <prefixes>
2014 channel <prefixes>
2017 'call' means the callsign that has spotted 'by' whoever.
2019 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2020 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2021 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
2022 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get
2023 too hung up about that)
2029 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2032 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2038 but this probably for advanced users...
2039 <sect1>reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern>
2043 <bf>reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> set a 'reject' WCY filter
2047 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2048 filter on the following fields:-
2051 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2052 origin <prefixes>
2053 origin_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2054 origin_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
2055 origin_zone <prefixes or numbers>
2056 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
2057 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
2058 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
2059 channel <prefixes>
2062 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
2063 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
2065 This command is really provided for future use.
2067 See HELP FILTER for information.
2068 <sect1>reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern>
2072 <bf>reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> set a 'reject' WWV filter
2076 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2077 filter on the following fields:-
2080 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2081 origin <prefixes>
2082 origin_dxcc <prefixes or numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2083 origin_itu <prefixes or numbers> or: G,GM,GW
2084 origin_zone <prefixes or numbers>
2085 by_dxcc <prefixes or numbers>
2086 by_itu <prefixes or numbers>
2087 by_zone <prefixes or numbers>
2088 channel <prefixes>
2094 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
2097 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
2098 by stations in the US).
2100 See HELP FILTER for information.
2105 <bf>reply</bf> Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read
2109 <sect1>reply <msgno>
2113 <bf>reply <msgno></bf> Reply (privately) to the specified message
2117 <sect1>reply b <msgno>
2121 <bf>reply b <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message
2125 <sect1>reply noprivate <msgno>
2129 <bf>reply noprivate <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message
2133 <sect1>reply rr <msgno>
2137 <bf>reply rr <msgno></bf> Reply to the specified message with read receipt
2141 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
2142 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
2144 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
2145 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND
2146 for further details)
2147 <sect1>send <call> [<call> ...]
2151 <bf>send <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Send a message to one or more callsigns
2155 <sect1>send copy <msgno> <call>
2159 <bf>send copy <msgno> <call></bf> Send a copy of a message to someone
2163 <sect1>send noprivate <call>
2167 <bf>send noprivate <call></bf> Send a message to all stations
2171 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either to
2172 an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
2174 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that is
2175 it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster node that
2176 that callsign is connected to. If the <call> you have specified is in fact
2177 a known bulletin category on your node (eg: ALL) then the message should
2178 automatically become a bulletin.
2180 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
2182 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
2185 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
2188 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you will
2189 receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
2191 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak)
2192 SP is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
2194 The system will ask you for a subject. Conventionally this should be
2195 no longer than 29 characters for compatibility. Most modern cluster
2196 software should accept more.
2198 You will now be prompted to start entering your text.
2200 You finish the message by entering '/EX' on a new line. For instance:
2209 If you have started a message and you don't want to keep it then you
2210 can abandon the message with '/ABORT' on a new line, like:-
2215 oh I just can't be bothered with this
2219 If you abort the message it will NOT be sent.
2221 When you are entering the text of your message, most normal output (such
2222 as DX announcements and so on are suppressed and stored for latter display
2223 (upto 20 such lines are stored, as new ones come along, so the oldest
2226 Also, you can enter normal commands commands (and get the output
2227 immediately) whilst in the middle of a message. You do this by typing
2228 the command preceeded by a '/' character on a new line, so:-
2231 /dx g1tlh 144010 strong signal
2234 Will issue a dx annoucement to the rest of the cluster.
2236 Also, you can add the output of a command to your message by preceeding
2237 the command with '//', thus :-
2243 This will show YOU the output from SH/VHFTABLE and also store it in the
2246 You can carry on with the message until you are ready to send it.
2247 <sect1>send private <call>
2251 <bf>send private <call></bf> Send a personal message
2255 <sect1>send rr <call>
2259 <bf>send rr <call></bf> Send a message and ask for a read receipt
2263 <sect1>set/address <your address>
2267 <bf>set/address <your address></bf> Record your postal address
2275 <bf>set/announce</bf> Allow announce messages to come out on your terminal
2283 <bf>set/anntalk</bf> Allow talk like announce messages on your terminal
2291 <bf>set/beep</bf> Add a beep to DX and other messages on your terminal
2299 <bf>set/dx</bf> Allow DX messages to come out on your terminal
2307 <bf>set/dxcq</bf> Show CQ Zones on the end of DX announcements
2315 <bf>set/dxgrid</bf> Allow QRA Grid Squares on the end of DX announcements
2323 <bf>set/dxitu</bf> Show ITU Zones on the end of DX announcements
2331 <bf>set/echo</bf> Make the cluster echo your input
2335 <sect1>set/email <email> ...
2339 <bf>set/email <email> ...</bf> Set email address(es) and forward your personals
2347 <bf>set/here</bf> Tell the system you are present at your terminal
2351 <sect1>set/homenode <node>
2355 <bf>set/homenode <node> </bf> Set your normal cluster callsign
2359 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages sent
2360 to you will normally find their way there should you not be connected.
2366 <sect1>set/language <lang>
2370 <bf>set/language <lang></bf> Set the language you want to use
2374 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use. Currently
2375 the languages available are en (English), de (German), es (Spanish)
2377 <sect1>set/location <lat & long>
2381 <bf>set/location <lat & long></bf> Set your latitude and longitude
2385 <sect1>set/logininfo
2389 <bf>set/logininfo</bf> Inform when a station logs in locally
2393 <sect1>set/name <your name>
2397 <bf>set/name <your name></bf> Set your name
2401 Tell the system what your name is eg:-
2406 <sect1>set/page <lines per page>
2410 <bf>set/page <lines per page></bf> Set the lines per page
2414 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of line
2415 of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20. Setting it
2416 explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
2422 The setting is stored in your user profile.
2427 <bf>set/password</bf> Set your own password
2431 This command only works for a 'telnet' user (currently). It will
2432 only work if you have a password already set. This initial password
2433 can only be set by the sysop.
2435 When you execute this command it will ask you for your old password,
2436 then ask you to type in your new password twice (to make sure you
2437 get it right). You may or may not see the data echoed on the screen
2438 as you type, depending on the type of telnet client you have.
2439 <sect1>set/prompt <string>
2443 <bf>set/prompt <string></bf> Set your prompt to <string>
2447 <sect1>set/qra <locator>
2451 <bf>set/qra <locator></bf> Set your QRA Grid locator
2455 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have not
2456 done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set roughly
2457 correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
2462 <sect1>set/qth <your qth>
2466 <bf>set/qth <your qth></bf> Set your QTH
2470 Tell the system where you are. For example:-
2472 SET/QTH East Dereham, Norfolk
2479 <bf>set/talk</bf> Allow TALK messages to come out on your terminal
2487 <bf>set/usstate</bf> Allow US State info on the end of DX announcements
2495 <bf>set/wcy</bf> Allow WCY messages to come out on your terminal
2503 <bf>set/wwv</bf> Allow WWV messages to come out on your terminal
2511 <bf>set/wx</bf> Allow WX messages to come out on your terminal
2515 <sect1>show/chat [<group>] [<lines>]
2519 <bf>show/chat [<group>] [<lines>]</bf> Show any chat or conferencing
2523 This command allows you to see any chat or conferencing that has
2524 occurred whilst you were away. SHOW/CHAT on its own will show data for
2525 all groups. If you use a group name then it will show only chat for
2527 <sect1>show/configuration [<node>]
2531 <bf>show/configuration [<node>]</bf> Show all the nodes and users visible
2535 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen
2536 and the nodes to which they are connected.
2538 This command is normally abbreviated to: sh/c
2540 Normally, the list returned will be just for the nodes from your
2541 country (because the list otherwise will be very long).
2547 will produce a complete list of all nodes.
2549 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
2551 It is possible to supply a node or part of a prefix and you will get
2552 a list of the users for that node or list of nodes starting with
2563 <sect1>show/configuration/node
2567 <bf>show/configuration/node</bf> Show all the nodes connected locally
2571 Show all the nodes connected to this node.
2572 <sect1>show/contest <year and month>
2576 <bf>show/contest <year and month></bf> Show all the contests for a month
2580 Show all known contests which are maintained at http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/
2581 for a particular month or year. The format is reasonably flexible.
2589 <sect1>show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>]
2593 <bf>show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show the local time
2597 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the format
2598 of the date string if no arguments are given.
2600 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
2601 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
2602 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
2603 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
2604 <sect1>show/db0sdx <callsign>
2608 <bf>show/db0sdx <callsign></bf> Show QSL infomation from DB0SDX database
2612 This command queries the DB0SDX QSL server on the internet
2613 and returns any information available for that callsign. This service
2614 is provided for users of this software by http://www.qslinfo.de.
2616 See also SHOW/QRZ, SHOW/WM7D.
2621 <bf>show/dx</bf> Interrogate the spot database
2625 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots
2626 (sysop configurable, but usually 10).
2628 In addition you can add any number of these commands in very nearly
2629 any order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
2632 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
2633 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
2634 on <from>/<to> - eg 1000/4000 14000-30000 (in Khz)
2635 <from>-<to>
2639 <number> - the number of spots you want
2640 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in the selected list
2641 <from>/<to>
2645 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
2646 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
2647 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
2651 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
2652 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
2653 <from>/<to>
2657 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
2661 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call> is the
2666 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
2667 held in the spot database.
2671 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will look for
2672 the string iota and anything which looks like an iota
2673 island number. If you specify then it will look for
2678 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if you specify
2679 one or else anything that looks like a locator.
2683 dxcc - treat the prefix as a 'country' and look for spots
2684 from that country regardless of actual prefix.
2689 You can also use this with the 'by' keyword so
2699 SH/DX on 20m info iota
2700 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
2706 SH/DX dxcc oq2 by w dxcc
2709 <sect1>show/dxcc <prefix>
2713 <bf>show/dxcc <prefix></bf> Interrogate the spot database by country
2717 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
2718 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is
2719 and then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
2721 This is now an alias for 'SHOW/DX DXCC'
2723 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command.
2728 SH/DXCC W on 20m iota
2731 This can be done with the SHOW/DX command like this:-
2735 SH/DX dxcc w on 20m iota
2738 <sect1>show/dxqsl <callsign>
2742 <bf>show/dxqsl <callsign></bf> Show any QSL info gathered from spots
2746 The node collects information from the comment fields in spots (things
2747 like 'VIA EA7WA' or 'QSL-G1TLH') and stores these in a database.
2749 This command allows you to interrogate that database and if the callsign
2750 is found will display the manager(s) that people have spotted. This
2751 information is NOT reliable, but it is normally reasonably accurate if
2752 it is spotted enough times.
2760 You can check the raw input spots yourself with:-
2766 This gives you more background information.
2767 <sect1>show/dxstats [days] [date]
2771 <bf>show/dxstats [days] [date]</bf> Show the DX Statistics
2775 Show the total DX spots for the last <days> no of days (default is 31),
2776 starting from a <date> (default: today).
2777 <sect1>show/files [<filearea> [<string>]]
2781 <bf>show/files [<filearea> [<string>]]</bf> List the contents of a filearea
2785 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
2786 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file
2789 SH/FILES <filearea>
2791 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
2794 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
2795 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
2797 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
2800 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
2805 <bf>show/filter</bf> Show the contents of all the filters you have set
2809 Show the contents of all the filters that are set. This command displays
2810 all the filters set - for all the various categories.
2811 <sect1>show/hfstats [days] [date]
2815 <bf>show/hfstats [days] [date]</bf> Show the HF DX Statistics
2819 Show the HF DX spots breakdown by band for the last <days> no of days
2820 (default is 31), starting from a <date> (default: today).
2821 <sect1>show/hftable [days] [date] [prefix ...]
2825 <bf>show/hftable [days] [date] [prefix ...]</bf> Show the HF DX Spotter Table
2829 Show the HF DX Spotter table for the list of prefixes for the last
2830 <days> no of days (default is 31), starting from a <date> (default: today).
2832 If there are no prefixes then it will show the table for your country.
2834 Remember that some countries have more than one "DXCC country" in them
2835 (eg G :-), to show them (assuming you are not in G already which is
2836 specially treated in the code) you must list all the relevant prefixes
2839 sh/hftable g gm gd gi gj gw gu
2842 Note that the prefixes are converted into country codes so you don't have
2843 to list all possible prefixes for each country.
2845 If you want more or less days than the default simply include the
2846 number you require:-
2852 If you want to start at a different day, simply add the date in some
2856 sh/hftable 2 25nov02
2857 sh/hftable 2 25-nov-02
2859 sh/hftable 2 25/11/02
2862 This will show the stats for your DXCC for that CQWW contest weekend.
2864 You can specify either prefixes or full callsigns (so you can see how you
2865 did against all your mates). You can also say 'all' which will then print
2866 the worldwide statistics.
2872 <sect1>show/moon [ndays] [<prefix>|<callsign>]
2876 <bf>show/moon [ndays] [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show Moon rise and set times
2880 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
2881 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
2884 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
2885 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
2886 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
2888 In addition, it will show the illuminated fraction of the moons disk.
2890 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
2891 that you are connected to.
2900 You can also use this command to see into the past or the future, so
2901 if you want to see yesterday's times then do:-
2907 or in three days time:-
2913 Upto 366 days can be checked both in the past and in the future.
2915 Please note that the rise and set times are given as the UT times of rise and
2916 set on the requested UT day.
2917 <sect1>show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long]
2921 <bf>show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long]</bf> Show the likely propagation to a prefix
2925 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting
2926 a station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a modest
2927 power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about 0.15muV/10dB SINAD)
2929 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
2930 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
2931 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
2932 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced accuracy
2933 for paths shorter or longer than this.
2935 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
2936 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
2937 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
2938 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
2939 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
2940 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
2941 such as the Voice of America.
2943 The command will display some header information detailing its
2944 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
2945 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
2946 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
2947 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for which
2948 the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a value.
2950 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the conventional
2951 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it means that it is
2952 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by an 'm' it means that
2953 there is likely to be much fading and by an 's' that the signal is likely
2956 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
2957 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no of
2958 hours required after the prefix. For example:-
2967 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
2968 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
2969 Location Lat / Long Azim
2970 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
2971 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
2972 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
2973 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
2974 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
2977 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
2978 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
2986 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
2994 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
2995 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
2996 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
2997 <sect1>show/newconfiguration [<node>]
3001 <bf>show/newconfiguration [<node>]</bf> Show all the nodes and users visible
3005 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen
3006 and the nodes to which they are connected.
3008 This command produces essentially the same information as
3009 SHOW/CONFIGURATION except that it shows all the duplication of
3010 any routes that might be present It also uses a different format
3011 which may not take up quite as much space if you don't have any
3014 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
3015 <sect1>show/newconfiguration/node
3019 <bf>show/newconfiguration/node</bf> Show all the nodes connected locally
3023 Show all the nodes connected to this node in the new format.
3024 <sect1>show/prefix <callsign>
3028 <bf>show/prefix <callsign></bf> Interrogate the prefix database
3032 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
3033 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number
3034 it is and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country
3035 together with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
3038 <sect1>show/qra <lat> <long>
3042 <bf>show/qra <lat> <long></bf> Convert lat/long to a QRA Grid locator
3046 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
3047 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
3048 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
3049 to the locator. For example:-
3056 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator from
3057 yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and bearing from
3058 the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6 character locators.
3060 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator by
3061 using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument, for
3065 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
3068 <sect1>show/qra <locator> [<locator>]
3072 <bf>show/qra <locator> [<locator>]</bf> Show distance between QRA Grid locators
3076 <sect1>show/qrz <callsign>
3080 <bf>show/qrz <callsign></bf> Show any callbook details on a callsign
3084 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet
3085 and returns any information available for that callsign. This service
3086 is provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
3088 See also SHOW/WM7D for an alternative.
3089 <sect1>show/route <callsign> ...
3093 <bf>show/route <callsign> ...</bf> Show the route to the callsign
3097 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified are
3098 connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
3104 <sect1>show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>]
3108 <bf>show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>]</bf> Show tracking data
3112 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your choice
3113 from now on for the next few hours.
3115 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a list
3116 of all the satellites known currently to the system.
3118 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
3119 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
3120 give information for the next three hours for every five minute period.
3122 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
3125 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
3131 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
3134 <sect1>show/station [<callsign> ..]
3138 <bf>show/station [<callsign> ..]</bf> Show information about a callsign
3142 Show the information known about a callsign and whether (and where)
3143 that callsign is connected to the cluster.
3149 If no callsign is given then show the information for yourself.
3150 <sect1>show/sun [ndays] [<prefix>|<callsign>]
3154 <bf>show/sun [ndays] [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show sun rise and set times
3158 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
3159 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
3162 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
3163 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
3164 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
3166 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
3167 that you are connected to.
3173 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
3176 You can also use this command to see into the past or the future, so
3177 if you want to see yesterday's times then do:-
3183 or in three days time:-
3189 Upto 366 days can be checked both in the past and in the future.
3191 Please note that the rise and set times are given as the UT times of rise
3192 and set on the requested UT day.
3193 <sect1>show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>]
3197 <bf>show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show the local time
3201 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
3202 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
3203 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
3204 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
3205 <sect1>show/usdb [call ..]
3209 <bf>show/usdb [call ..]</bf> Show information held on the FCC Call database
3213 Show the City and State of a Callsign held on the FCC database if
3214 his is being run on this system, eg:-
3220 <sect1>show/vhfstats [days] [date]
3224 <bf>show/vhfstats [days] [date]</bf> Show the VHF DX Statistics
3228 Show the VHF DX spots breakdown by band for the last
3229 <days> no of days (default is 31), starting from a date (default: today).
3230 <sect1>show/vhftable [days] [date] [prefix ...]
3234 <bf>show/vhftable [days] [date] [prefix ...]</bf> Show the VHF DX Spotter Table
3238 Show the VHF DX Spotter table for the list of prefixes for the last
3239 <days> no of days (default is 31), starting from a date (default: today).
3241 If there are no prefixes then it will show the table for your country.
3243 Remember that some countries have more than one "DXCC country" in them
3244 (eg G :-), to show them (assuming you are not in G already which is
3245 specially treated in the code) you must list all the relevant prefixes
3248 sh/vhftable g gm gd gi gj gw gu
3251 Note that the prefixes are converted into country codes so you don't have
3252 to list all possible prefixes for each country.
3254 If you want more or less days than the default simply include the
3255 number you require:-
3261 If you want to start at a different day, simply add the date in some
3265 sh/vhftable 2 25nov02
3266 sh/vhftable 2 25-nov-02
3267 sh/vhftable 2 021125
3268 sh/vhftable 2 25/11/02
3271 This will show the stats for your DXCC for that CQWW contest weekend.
3273 You can specify either prefixes or full callsigns (so you can see how you
3274 did against all your mates). You can also say 'all' which will then print
3275 the worldwide statistics.
3285 <bf>show/wcy</bf> Show last 10 WCY broadcasts
3289 <sect1>show/wcy <n>
3293 <bf>show/wcy <n></bf> Show last <n> WCY broadcasts
3297 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the system
3299 <sect1>show/wm7d <callsign>
3303 <bf>show/wm7d <callsign></bf> Show callbook details on a US callsigns
3307 This command queries the WM7D callbook server on the internet
3308 and returns any information available for that US callsign. This service
3309 is provided for users of this software by http://www.wm7d.net.
3316 <bf>show/wwv</bf> Show last 10 WWV broadcasts
3320 <sect1>show/wwv <n>
3324 <bf>show/wwv <n></bf> Show last <n> WWV broadcasts
3328 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the system
3333 <bf>sysop</bf> Regain your privileges if you login remotely
3337 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
3338 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
3339 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
3340 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
3341 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
3344 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
3345 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
3346 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
3347 these values are for explanation :-):
3350 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
3356 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
3361 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
3362 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
3364 <sect1>talk <call> > <node> [<text>]
3368 <bf>talk <call> > <node> [<text>]</bf> Send a text message to another station via a node
3372 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the cluster
3373 system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a SHOW/CONFIGURATION
3374 command, they don't have to be connected locally.
3376 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
3377 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
3378 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the cluster.
3380 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can only
3381 see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use the
3382 second form of the talk message.
3384 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text message
3385 out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means is that a
3386 short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you are in a
3387 'Talking' frame of mind and then you just type - everything you send will
3388 go to the station that you asked for.
3390 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on your
3393 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you preceed the normal
3394 command with a '/' character, eg:-
3397 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
3401 To leave talk mode type:
3407 If you are in 'Talk' mode, there is an extention to the '/' command which
3408 allows you to send the output to all the people you are talking to. You do
3409 with the '//' command. For example:-
3415 will send the hftable as you have it to all the people you are currently
3417 <sect1>talk <call> [<text>]
3421 <bf>talk <call> [<text>]</bf> Send a text message to another station
3425 <sect1>type <filearea>/<name>
3429 <bf>type <filearea>/<name></bf> Look at the contents of a file in one of the fileareas
3433 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
3434 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
3437 TYPE bulletins/arld051
3440 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a
3442 <sect1>unset/announce
3446 <bf>unset/announce</bf> Stop announce messages coming out on your terminal
3450 <sect1>unset/anntalk
3454 <bf>unset/anntalk</bf> Stop talk like announce messages on your terminal
3458 The announce system on legacy cluster nodes is used as a talk
3459 substitute because the network is so poorly connected. If you:
3465 you will suppress several of these announces, you may miss the odd
3466 useful one as well, but you would probably miss them anyway in the
3467 welter of useless ones.
3473 allows you to see them again. This is the default.
3478 <bf>unset/beep</bf> Stop beeps for DX and other messages on your terminal
3486 <bf>unset/dx</bf> Stop DX messages coming out on your terminal
3494 <bf>unset/dxcq</bf> Stop CQ Zones on the end of DX announcements
3498 Display both the Spotter's and the Spotted's CQ Zone on the end
3499 of a DX announcement (there is just enough room). Some user programs
3500 cannot cope with this. The Spotter's CQ is on the RHS of the
3501 time, the Spotted's CQ is on the LHS.
3503 Conflicts with: SET/DXGRID, SET/DXITU, SHOW/USSTATE
3505 Do a STAT/USER to see which flags you have set if you are confused.
3510 <bf>unset/dxgrid</bf> Stop QRA Grid Squares on the end of DX announcements
3514 A standard feature which is enabled in version 1.43 and above is
3515 that if the spotter's grid square is known it is output on the end
3516 of a DX announcement (there is just enough room). Some user programs
3517 cannot cope with this. You can use this command to reset (or set)
3520 Conflicts with: SET/DXCQ, SET/DXITU
3522 Do a STAT/USER to see which flags you have set if you are confused.
3527 <bf>unset/dxitu</bf> Stop ITU Zones on the end of DX announcements
3531 Display both the Spotter's and the Spotted's ITU Zone on the end
3532 of a DX announcement (there is just enough room). Some user programs
3533 cannot cope with this. The Spotter's ITU is on the RHS of the
3534 time, the Spotted's ITU is on the LHS.
3536 Conflicts with: SET/DXGRID, SET/DXCQ, SHOW/USSTATE
3538 Do a STAT/USER to see which flags you have set if you are confused.
3543 <bf>unset/echo</bf> Stop the cluster echoing your input
3547 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
3548 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
3549 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command
3550 to change the setting appropriately.
3552 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3554 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
3559 <bf>unset/email</bf> Stop personal msgs being forwarded by email
3563 If any personal messages come in for your callsign then you can use
3564 these commands to control whether they are forwarded onto your email
3565 address. To enable the forwarding do something like:-
3568 SET/EMAIL mike.tubby@somewhere.com
3571 You can have more than one email address (each one separated by a space).
3572 Emails are forwarded to all the email addresses you specify.
3574 You can disable forwarding by:-
3584 <bf>unset/here</bf> Tell the system you are absent from your terminal
3588 <sect1>unset/logininfo
3592 <bf>unset/logininfo</bf> Inform when a station logs out locally
3596 <sect1>unset/privilege
3600 <bf>unset/privilege</bf> Remove any privilege for this session
3604 You can use this command to 'protect' this session from unauthorised
3605 use. If you want to get your normal privilege back you will need to
3606 either logout and login again (if you are on a console) or use the
3612 <bf>unset/prompt</bf> Set your prompt back to default
3616 This command will set your user prompt to exactly the string that you
3617 say. The point of this command to enable a user to interface to programs
3618 that are looking for a specific prompt (or else you just want a different
3625 UNSET/PROMPT will undo the SET/PROMPT command and set you prompt back to
3631 <bf>unset/talk</bf> Stop TALK messages coming out on your terminal
3635 <sect1>unset/usstate
3639 <bf>unset/usstate</bf> Stop US State info on the end of DX announcements
3643 If the spotter's or spotted's US State is known it is output on the
3644 end of a DX announcement (there is just enough room).
3646 A spotter's state will appear on the RHS of the time (like
3647 SET/DXGRID) and the spotted's State will appear on the LHS of the
3648 time field. Any information found will override any locator
3649 information from SET/DXGRID.
3651 Some user programs cannot cope with this. You can use this command
3652 to reset (or set) this feature.
3654 Conflicts with: SET/DXCQ, SET/DXITU
3656 Do a STAT/USER to see which flags you have set if you are confused.
3661 <bf>unset/wcy</bf> Stop WCY messages coming out on your terminal
3669 <bf>unset/wwv</bf> Stop WWV messages coming out on your terminal
3677 <bf>unset/wx</bf> Stop WX messages coming out on your terminal
3685 <bf>who</bf> Show who is physically connected
3689 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
3690 what sort of connection they have
3691 <sect1>wx <text>
3695 <bf>wx <text></bf> Send a weather message to local users
3699 <sect1>wx full <text>
3703 <bf>wx full <text></bf> Send a weather message to all cluster users