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TLF(1) Ham radio TLF(1) NAME Tlf - amateur radio contest keyer/logging program for Radiosport SYNOPSIS tlf [-dhnrvV] [-f config_file] [-s user:password@host/dir/logfilename] DESCRIPTION Tlf is a console (ncurses) mode general purpose CW keyer, logging and contest program for amateur radio operators. It supports the CQWW, WPX, ARRL-DX, ARRL-FD, STEWPERRY, PACC and EU SPRINT contests as well as a lot more basic contests, general QSO and DXpedition mode. From version 1.2.0 onward there is also support for the FOC Marathon. It interfaces with a Morse Code generator, a number of radios via the Hamlib library, and with a DX Cluster via telnet or packet radio. Tlf can project DX cluster data into the excellent Xplanet program, written by Hari Nair. Contest operation mimics the popular TR-Log program for DOS, the output file is TR-Log compatible. The log can be exported in ADIF or Cabrillo format. The program was written for console mode on purpose, which allows it to run on smaller machines, or remotely via SSH or a modem link. Since Tlf version 0.9.21 the cwdaemon 0.9 is fully supported, featuring direct mode for the keyboard and output to parallel and serial ports and speed and weight control from the keyboard, and band info output on the parallel port. For users of the K1EL series of "Win Keyers", the winkeydaemon is available from GitHub <https://github.com/N0NB/winkeydaemon>. Setup is the same as for the cwdaemon. For radio control Tlf works with Hamlib (version >= 1.2.8), you can find it at www.hamlib.org <https://www.hamlib.org/>. Tlf provides full TCP/IP networking between Tlf nodes, syncing/distrib- uting log, packet data, frequency data, local talk, serial numbers, time sync etc. OPTIONS Options given to Tlf on the command line. -? Show summary of options and exit. -f config_file Start with non-default configuration file: tlf -f PA0R Defaults to logcfg.dat in actual working directory. -s user:password@host/dir/logfilename Synchronize log with other node tlf -s user:password@host/dir/logfilename -V Output version information and exit. -v Verbose startup. -d Debug rigctl. -n Start without packet/cluster. -r Start without radio control when user wants to start Tlf without modifying logcfg.dat. -i Import an existing CABRILLO file. When Tlf starts, looks for the YOURCALL.cab log, reads the configuration and rule files, and based on the current setup, generates the log(s). If the contest is WAE, and you have QTC's in cabrillo, then Tlf makes the QTC logfiles too. Tlf doesn't write over the existing log(s). The generated import will be IMPORT_CONTEST.log, where the CONTEST is the name of contest in the config. If QTC exists, then the files IMPORT_QTC_sent.log and IMPORT_QTC_recv.log will be cre- ated. USAGE Tlf has been written for console mode. If you want to run Tlf from a terminal in X, you will probably get the best results if you set TERM=linux and use a Linux console terminal. Both KDE and GNOME termi- nals have a facility to start a Linux console in an X terminal as does Xfce-terminal. By default, xterm(1) may give unreadable colours. If so, you will have to set different colours in logcfg.dat or prepare $HOME/.Xresources to the preferred colour scheme. One advantage of xterm is that it doesn't consume the F11 key which other terminal emulators reserve for full screen mode nor Ctrl-PgUp/Ctrl-PgDn which may be used for tab switching in other emulators. Recent efforts have resulted in improved keyboard handling. If you find keys that do not work, the developers would like to receive your report of which keys and which terminal have the problem. Please send the report to the mailing list shown in the BUGS section below. There are excellent results with the latest KDE, GNOME, and Xfce termi- nal emulators (vi colours are preferred by some). As Tlf uses ncurses to format its display you must use a proper font. (Good choices are the Linux font, Inconsolata, Hack, or any monospace font that dots or slashes the zero character). If you have problems, try the linux text console first and work from there. Normally you start or restart Tlf in fast mode with "tlf". During de- bugging of a logcfg.dat file you can start in verbose mode, to have a look at the startup messages. From Tlf version 0.9.3 you can load dif- ferent config files with: tlf -f config_file If you have the packet cluster enabled you will first see the packet screen (if you are using telnet and you have provided your callsign in logcfg.dat you will be automatically logged in switched to the main logging screen). Log in with your callsign, if needed, and switch to the main logging screen with the `:' command. You can come back to the packet screen later with the :PACket command from the call input field of the main logging screen. You can exit and close Tlf with the :EXIt or :QUIt commands or with Ctrl-C, Alt-Q or Alt-X. At restart Tlf recalculates the score, which may take some time depend- ing on the number of QSOs in the logfile and the speed of your system. Tlf takes the points as they are in the log, and calculates the multi- plier from either callsign or exchange field (depending on the con- test). COMMANDS These commands are entered in the callsign field of the main logging screen. Each command consists of the leading `:' and at minimum the upper case characters of the command name plus any needed parameters separated by `Space'. :ADIf Writes the log to an Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF) file logfile.adif. :CHAr Input the number of characters for CW auto-start or `m' for man- ual start. Possible values are: `0' (off), `2'...`5' or `m' (manual). After typing as many characters in the input field or after pressing the `Enter' key in manual mode Tlf starts sending the callsign without further keystrokes. You can type in the rest of the call (but quickly). As soon as the sending catches your last typed character Tlf automatically sends the exchange and the cursor jumps to the exchange field. `Escape' stops sending. This works only in CW contests in RUN mode. :CHEck :NOCheck Turn the dupe check window On|Off. :CQDelay Change Auto_CQ delay (in 1/2 seconds, with PageUp/PageDown keys). :CLOff No cluster information (non-assisted contest operation). :CLUster :MAP Show cluster window or bandmap. :CONtest Toggle contest mode On|Off. :CTY :ZONe :MULt Show needed country multipliers, zones, multipliers per conti- nent (depends on the contest). :CWMode :SSBmode :DIGimode Switch TRX to CW|SSB|Digimode mode. :DEBug_tty Debug routine for rig communication links. :EDIt Edit the log with your favourite editor. Be careful! :EXIt :QUIt Exit Tlf (synonym to Ctl-C, Ctl-D, Alt-Q, and Alt-X). :FILter Filter cluster info (announce, dx-spots, all). :FREq Show frequency or band/score information of your other stations. :FLDIGI Turn off/on Fldigi communication. :HELp Show online help (displays help.txt from working directory or from /usr/local/share if no local one exists). :INFo Show network status. :MESsage Edit CW (Morse Code) messages. :MODe Toggle TRX mode (CW|SSB|DIG). :PACket Switch to the packet terminal. Switch back to the main logging screen with `:'. :REConnect Re-opens the connection to the DX cluster in case it was discon- nected. :REScore Recalculates the values in the score window (e.g. after deleting or editing QSOs). :RITclear Toggle the RIT reset after QSO On|Off. :SET :CFG Edit various parameters in logcfg.dat file and reload it. :SCAn Enter the SCAN function (return with `Escape'). :SCOre Toggle the score window On|Off. :SCVolume Adjust the soundcard volume for the sidetone (Up|Down). Range: 0-99. :SIMulator Toggle simulator mode. In simulator mode you can work a com- plete CQWW CW contest in TR-Log mode. Set CONTEST=cqww. :SOUnd The SOUND recorder is a utility to record the voice keyer mes- sages and enables you to record the complete contest in chunks of 1 hour to the hard drive. It does this in the directory: $HOME/tlf/soundlogs. The sound recorder uses a script called soundlog which has to be located in $HOME/tlf/soundlogs. It can be found in the scripts directory. If your soundcard is differ- ent from /dev/dsp you can use the SC_DEVICE parameter in the logcfg.dat file. The file extension is .au, the Sun ulaw for- mat. The recorder produces < 60 MB per hour. This means you can record a complete CQWW in less than 3 Giga Bytes. If your disk cannot handle this, FTP the soundfile to a server every hour. F1 ... F12, s, c, ... will record the voice keyer message for that key. 1: Start contest recording to ddhhmm.au. 2: Stop contest recording. 3: List contest recordings. 4: Play back contest recording ddhh[mm][:xx]. xx is the offset from the start of the file e.g.: 2110 will start from beginning of the day 21 hr 10:00 file. 21100013:00 will start from day 21, hh 10, mm 00, + 13 minutes: 0 seconds. To create a new file every hour add a crontab(1) job to run the following command every hour: /usr/bin/pkill -f sox > /dev/null 2> /dev/null Running the crontab job at other intervals will create sound recordings of the interval period in length. Once started the recorder will run until the lock file $HOME/.VRlock is removed. :SYNc Synchronize the logfile of this node with the logfile pointed to by the parameter SYNCFILE=user:password@host/dir/logfile. Tlf will wget(1) the logfile from the relevant node, make a dated backup of your local logfile, and merge the 2 files. The score will be recalculated. :TONe [dd]d Set PC sidetone frequency in Hertz. Range: 300-900, 0 = Off. :TRXcontrol Toggle rig control On|Off. Default is Off unless RADIO_CONTROL is given in logcfg.dat (only makes sense with rig control capa- bility). :VIEw View the log with less(1). :WRIte Write cabrillo file according to specified format (see CABRILLO statement in the RULES section). KEYS Work has been ongoing to unify the key map between the Linux text con- sole and the various X terminals. It may be slightly different on cer- tain X terminals depending on which keys they consume for their own use. Turn off any key recognition by the terminal for its own purposes (menu access, help display, etc.) if possible. Pay special attention to the F1-F12 and Alt-<char> keys. Moreover, on some systems you must set the TERM=linux or TERM=rxvt environment variables. This also works under VNC. Certain key combinations will probably not be useable as the Linux con- sole consumes Alt-F1 through Alt-Fx (often F7, but could be greater) for switching its virtual consoles. Likewise, the various desktop en- vironments consume key combinations for their own use. Ctrl-F1 through Ctrl-Fx are used to switch desktop workspaces. Alt-Fx combinations are used for various desktop features and are unavailable for Tlf use. Some desktop terminal emulators are capable of being configured to al- low the application running in them to get all of the keys the desktop environment does not consume. In testing good choices seem to be Gnome Terminal, Rox Terminal, or the classic Xterm (although its color repre- sentation differs from the Linux console and other terminal emulators). Xfce Terminal is known to consume F11 and Ctrl-PageUp and Ctrl-Page- Down. The Tlf developers have implemented Alt-PageUp and Alt-PageDown as a work-around for the Ctrl counterparts. Reports of success with other terminals are welcome. Call Input and Exchange Fields The Call Input and Exchange Fields are the two main entry fields of Tlf where the majority of the keyboard entry takes place. The call input field is active when Tlf completes its initialization and presents the main screen. Most key sequences are the same in both fields. Differences are noted as necessary. A-Z, 0-9, / Call input: ASCII letters, numerals, and the '/' characters that make up an internationally recognized amateur radio callsign plus temporary location identifiers. Spaces are not allowed. Exchange: information provided by the other station possibly separated by spaces, e.g., ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes. Space Switches from call input to exchange field. Separates exchange field elements when multiple exchange elements must be entered, e.g., ARRL Field Day and ARRL Sweepstakes. Tab Switch between call input and exchange fields (jump back to call input from exchange field). Enter Smart key depending on contest mode. Tlf follows the TR operating style which has two modes, CQ and S&P. CQ mode is used for "running", i.e., staying on one frequency and having other stations answer your call. S&P mode is for tuning up or down the band and answering the calls of other stations. In CQ Mode: • With the call input field empty, `Enter' sends the F12 message (Auto CQ). • With characters in the call input field, `Enter' answers the calling station by sending the F3 message (RST) and moves the cursor to the exchange field. • If the exchange field is empty, `Enter' repeats the F3 message (RST). • After the exchange information received from the other station is entered, `Enter' sends the CQ_TU_MSG message if defined, or "TU" and your call otherwise. Afterwards it logs the QSO, and returns the cursor to the call input field to answer the next call. In S&P Mode: • When the call input field is empty, `Enter' sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. • When the exchange field is empty, `Enter' sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. • When the call input field has been filled, `Enter' sends the S&P_CALL_MSG if defined, or your call otherwise. Afterwards it moves the cursor to the exchange field. • Once the exchange has been received, `Enter' sends the S&P_TU_MSG if defined, otherwise it sends your call followed by the F3 message (RST). Afterwards it logs the QSO and re- turns the cursor to the call input field to answer the next call. Backspace Erases the character to the left of the cursor and moves the cursor one position to the left. Escape Stop CW transmission, clears characters, returns to call input field, keyboard off (universal undo). As an example, characters have been entered in both the call in- put and exchange fields, the cursor is in the exchange field, and the transmission of a CW message is in progress. The first press of `Escape' will stop the CW transmission and clear the exchange field and position the cursor to the leftmost position of the exchange field. The second press of `Escape' will move the cursor to the right of the last character in the call input field. The third press of `Escape' will clear the call input field. <- (Left-Arrow) Change to next band lower or wrap to highest band if already on the lowest band when callsign field empty. Enter edit mode if one or more characters are present and move the cursor to the left of the rightmost character. -> (Right-Arrow) Change to next band higher or wrap to the lowest band if already on the highest band when call input field is empty. F1 In CQ mode, send message F1 (CQ). In S&P mode send message F6 (MY). Shift-F1 Restore previous CQ frequency from MEM and send message F1 (CQ). F2-F11 Send CW, RTTY or VOICE messages 2 through 11. F12 Start Auto_CQ (only from call input field). Sends F12 message repeatedly pausing for Auto_CQ delay time between messages. Auto_CQ is cancelled with first character entry into the call input field. + (Plus) Toggle between the CQ and S&P modes. PgUp Increase CW (Morse Code) speed (from call and exchange fields). If the cursor is in the call input field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: increase his S value (the leftmost of the RST pair). If the cursor is in the exchange field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: increase my S value (the rightmost of the RST pair). PgDown Decrease CW (Morse Code) speed (from call input and exchange fields). If the cursor is in the call input field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: decrease his S value (the leftmost of the RST pair). If the cursor is in the exchange field and it is not empty and CHANGE_RST is set: decrease my S value (the rightmost of the RST pair). Ctrl-PgUp Alt-PgUp Increase Auto_CQ delay pause length (+1/2 sec). Set Auto_CQ delay to message length + pause length. Ctrl-PgDown Alt-PgDown Decrease Auto_CQ delay pause length (-1/2 sec). As some terminals, Xfce Terminal is one such, consume Ctrl- PageUp/Ctrl-PageDown, the Alt-key combinations allow for setting the Auto_CQ delay pause length. NB: If neither key combination works try :CQD instead. ? (Query) In CW or DIGIMODE sends the partial call followed by " ?". In VOICE mode sends recorded message 5 (F5). ; (Semicolon) Insert note in log. , (comma) Activate Morse Keyboard. Also Ctrl-K. " (Double quotation) Send talk message to other Tlf nodes. - (Minus) Delete last QSO (Use :REScore to correct scoring afterward). |^ (Up-Arrow) Edit last QSO: Insert, overwrite, and delete; + log view. = (Equals) Confirm last call. _ (Underscore) Confirm last exchange. { (Open brace) In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch TX on. } (Close brace) In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch TX off (RX). \ (Backslash) Log QSO without CW output. In RTTY (DIGIMODE), keyboard mode switch controller to command mode (back to operating mode with "K `Enter'". # (Hash) Transceiver VFO frequency -> MEM, MEM -> transceiver VFO fre- quency. $ (Dollar) Pop MEM frequency: MEM -> transceiver VFO frequency and clear MEM. % (Percent) Swap transceiver VFO frequency and MEM. ! (Exclamation) Get a new shell. Come back with "exit". Alt-, . (Period) Change bandmap filter configuration. You can filter to show spots from all or own band only, from all/own mode only and if you want to see dupes or not (see the help (Alt-H) display), only new multiplier or all call (only CQWW). Ctrl-A Add a spot to bandmap and broadcast it on the local network. Ctrl-B Send a spot to the DX Cluster (a connection to a DX cluster must exit). Ctrl-C Ctrl-D Exit Tlf (synonyms to :EXIt, :QUIt, Alt-Q, and Alt-X). Ctrl-E Ends modem capture for RTTY mode in QTC window (started with Ctrl-S). See /usr/local/share/doc/README_QTC_RTTY.txt for more informa- tion. Ctrl-F Set frequency. Use Up/Down-Arrow for 100hz steps and Pg-Up/Pg- Down for 500hz steps. Return to logging with `Escape'. Ctrl-G Grab next DX spot from bandmap. Ctrl-K Keyboard (CW and RTTY). Ctrl-L Reset the screen. Ctrl-P Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) display. Ctrl-Q Open the QTC window for receiving QTCs if QTC=RECV or QTC=BOTH or sending QTCs if QTC=SEND is set in logcfg.dat. Same as Ctrl- S if QTC=SEND. See /usr/local/share/doc/README_QTC.txt and /usr/lo- cal/share/doc/README_QTC_RTTY.txt for more information. Ctrl-R Toggle /dev/lp0 pin 14 (Mic/Soundcard switch | trx1/trx2 switch). Ctrl-S Open the QTC window for sending QTCs if QTC=SEND or QTC=BOTH in logcfg.dat. Saves QTCs while in QTC window. In RTTY mode starts capture from the modem after the window has been opened with Ctrl-Q. End capture with Ctrl-E. See /usr/local/share/doc/README_QTC.txt and /usr/lo- cal/share/doc/README_QTC_RTTY.txt for more information. Ctrl-T Show talk messages. In the QTC window shows RTTY lines. Ctrl-Z Stop Tlf. Alt-0...Alt-9 Send CW (Morse code) messages. Alt-A Cycle cluster window: NOCLUSTER -> CLUSTER -> BANDMAP -> ... Alt-B Band up in TR-Log mode. Alt-C Toggle display of checkwindow. Alt-E Enter QSO edit mode. Alt-G Grab first spot from bandmap which has the characters in the call input field in its call. Allows the operator to selec- tively grab a specific call from the bandmap. Alt-H Show help. Alt-I Show talk messages. Alt-J Show other local stations frequencies. Alt-K Keyboard (CW and RTTY). Alt-M Show multipliers. Alt-N Add Note to log. Alt-P Toggle PTT (via cwdaemon). Alt-Q Alt-X Exit Tlf (synonym to :EXIt , :QUIt , Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-D). Alt-R Toggle score window. Alt-S Toggle score window. Alt-T Tune your transceiver (via cwdaemon). Activates PTT and Key output for 6 seconds. Stop tuning by pressing any key. Alt-V Band down. Alt-W Set CW weight. Alt-Z Show zones worked. CT Compatible Mode Tlf has limited support for the logging sequence keys used in the once popular CT logging program. Unlike the default Enter Sends Message (ESM) mode, the CT Compatible mode uses the Insert and + keys in the logging sequence and Enter logs a complete QSO. Unlike ESM mode, CT mode does not have separate CQ or S&P modes. CT Compatible mode is enabled with the CTCOMPATIBLE keyword in logcfg.dat (see the PREFERENCES section below). The following keys differ in behavior in CT Compatible mode. Enter Log the complete QSO without sending any message macro. If the callsign field is empty, pressing Enter will activate the Auto-CQ function. If the exchange field is empty, pressing En- ter in either the callsign or exchange field will result in no action. Insert Send the RST (F3) macro. Since the RST macro includes the other station's callsign by de- fault, the HIS macro is not sent first. This differs from clas- sic CT, but is a compromise to use the default Tlf macros. + (Plus) Send the TU macro and log the QSO. The + key checks if the exchange field is empty and if it is nothing is sent or logged. In rare cases where nothing needs to be entered in the exchange field, e.g. working DX from USA in ARRL 160, simply enter a space to allow the + key to send the TU message and log the QSO. Alt-V Change CW speed. PREFERENCES Tlf can be fully configured by editing the logcfg.dat file. Normally you keep one logcfg.dat file, setting up your callsign, the log file name, the ports and addresses for packet, the radio, the network etc., and a separate rules file per contest. The logcfg.dat file can be edited from within Tlf by the :CFG or :SET commands (or with any other plain text editor before starting Tlf). You can set your favourite editor in the logcfg.dat file. You connect the rules file by using the statement RULES=con- test_rules_file_name in logcfg.dat. Tlf will first look in the working directory for a logcfg.dat file, and if it cannot find one it will look in /usr/local/share/tlf for a de- fault one. Make sure you edit the logcfg.dat file at least to hold your call and your preferred system configuration. LOGCFG.DAT STATEMENTS Configuration parameters set in logcfg.dat located in the working di- rectory (where Tlf is started). RULES=contest_rules_filename Name of the rules file to load. It helps if you name the rules file according to the contest you want to describe. SYNCFILE=user:password@host/dir/syncfile File on remote host you want to synchronize with (use wget(1) syntax). CTCOMPATIBLE Do not use the TR-Log QSO sequence, but use `+', `Insert' and `Enter' to log the QSO. The default mode of operation is the TR-Log sequence which uses `+' to switch between CQ and S&P modes, in which `Enter' is the sole key used to call the other station, send the exchange, and log the QSO. TLFCOLORn=FG/BG Defaults: TLFCOLOR1=23 (Header and footer) TLFCOLOR2=67 (Pop up windows) TLFCOLOR3=70 (Log window) TLFCOLOR4=57 (Markers/dupe colour) TLFCOLOR5=43 (Input fields) TLFCOLOR6=63 (Window frames) The numbers are given in octal, FG/BG or BG/FG (some experimen- tation likely required). You should only specify these if you wish to modify the standard colours of Tlf. In some Terminals you can set a special profile for Tlf with your own colours. Another way is to define the colours via the $HOME/.Xresources file. EDITOR=nano | vi[m] | <your_favorite_editor> Editor used to modify the QSO log or logcfg.dat. The command specified receives the file name as an argument. When using a GUI editor that runs in the background (e.g. gvim) make sure to exit the editor before logging new stations. You also have to use :RES command to reread the log and correct scoring. Best is to force the editor to stay in foreground (e.g. with 'gvim -f'). CALL=PA0R Your call used in messages and used to determine your country, zone and continent. TIME_OFFSET=0 Used to shift the Tlf time with respect to the computer clock. Normally 0. Range: 0-23. TIME_MASTER This node transmits the time over the network (only one master allowed!). ADDNODE=Node_address[:Port_number] Adds an IP address (and optionally a port number) to which we broadcast stuff. (WARNING: Only add addresses of other nodes). THISNODE=A Node designator (default "A"). If Tlf hears its own node ID on the network it will exit and ask you to pick another one! Range: A-H. LAN_PORT=Portnumber Specifies on which portnumber (default "6788") Tlf is listening for broadcasts from other instances. LANDEBUG Switches on the debug function. Dumps all Tlf net traffic re- ceived on this node into a file named debuglog in the working directory. This log can be used as a backup log for the whole network, as it is easy to retrieve QSO data, cluster messages, gab messages etc. after the contest. Some users have this en- abled all the time. NETKEYER Switches the CW keyer on. Only the IP networked keyer cwdaemon or any other program that emulates cwdaemon such as winkeydaemon is supported. You may also need the keyer for PTT control or band info output. NETKEYERPORT=port_number Default port is 6789. NETKEYERHOST=host_address Default host is 127.0.0.1 (localhost). MFJ1278_KEYER=serial_port Activates support for the MFJ-1278B multi-mode controller. The MFJ-1278 supports CW as well as RTTY contesting. Fixed serial port rate is 9600 bps. CWSPEED=speed_in_WPM Range: 4-69. WEIGHT=weight_ratio Set the dot to dash ratio. Only for the NETKEYER. Range: -45-50. TXDELAY=PTT_delay_in_mS Delay activation of the Push To Talk pin. Range: 0-50. KEYER_BACKSPACE Support backspace key in keyer window. SOUNDCARD Use soundcard for sidetone output. SIDETONE_VOLUME=soundcard_volume Set soundcard sidetone volume (default is 70). A value of 0 turns off sidetone output (even for the console speaker). Range: 0-99. CQDELAY=Auto_cq Set automatic CQ pause delay in 1/2 seconds increments between message transmissions. Range: 3-60. CWTONE=sidetone Set the PC speaker or soundcard frequency. A value of 0 switches the sidetone off. Range: 0-999. (Due to a bug in cwdaemon it also turns off the Alt-T tune func- tion. Use SIDETONE_VOLUME=0 instead). BANDOUTPUT Outputs band information to pins 2, 7, 8, 9 on the parallel port. Output is 1 (160m), 2 (80m) ... 9 (10m). This format is compatible with the standard interface for antenna switches, band filters etc. BANDOUTPUT=124181818 Output pin 2 for 160, 30, 17 and 12, pin 7 for 80, pin 8 for 40, and pin 9 for 20, 15 and 10. This comes in handy when you have 3 dipoles and a 3-band beam (...). NO_BANDSWITCH_ARROWKEYS This will prevent unwanted band switching when you are not using rig control. Band up = Alt-B, band down = Alt-V (TR-Log compat- ible). TELNETHOST=cluster_address Use Telnet to connect to a DX Cluster node using a DNS name or IP address, e.g. claudia.esrac.ele.tue.nl or 131.155.192.179. TELNETPORT=telnet_port_of_cluster DX Clusters often use a non-standard port for Telnet, e.g. 8000. TNCPORT=serial_port You can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc. anything that looks like a tty. TNCSPEED=serial_rate Tlf supports 1200, 2400, 4800 and 9600 bps. FIFO_INTERFACE The FIFO (First In First Out) interface is used when you want to receive cluster info from the network, or from another source. The FIFO interface uses a special FIFO file in the working di- rectory called clfile. Anything you dump into this FIFO will be displayed by the packet interface. RADIO_CONTROL Switches the radio interface on. The rig interface makes use of the Hamlib library which supports a number of different rigs. RIGMODEL=rig_number Look at the Hamlib documentation for the rig_number. Hint: rigctl -l and its manual page (rigctl(1)). RIGSPEED=serial_rate Speed of the serial port for rig control. RIGPORT=serial_port You can use /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc. anything that looks like a tty. RPC rig daemon users should use RIGMODEL=1901 and RIGPORT=local- host. In this case RIGSPEED is ignored (NB: rig model 1901 is deprecated in Hamlib releases 3.0 and later and is replaced by rigctld(8) which is rig model 2). RIGCONF=rig_configuration_parameters Send rig configuration parameters to Hamlib. e.g. RIGCONF=civaddr=0x40,retry=3,rig_pathname=/dev/ttyS0 RIT_CLEAR Clears the RIT after logging the qso. This only works if the rig, and the Hamlib routine supports it (tested on the OMNI 6+). RIGPTT Declares that Hamlib CAT PTT capability should be checked at startup and if available use it to activate the radio's PTT for sending voice messages instead of the NetKeyer PTT. CWBANDWIDTH=width Sets the CW bandwidth of your rig when changing bands. If unset or 0 the default bandwidth (as determined by Hamlib) is used. (a valid bandwidth for the rig must be used). SC_DEVICE=device Sound card device for scan function. e.g. SC_DEVICE=/dev/dsp0 SSBMODE Start Tlf in SSB mode (default is CW). RTTYMODE Start Tlf in RTTY mode (defaul is CW) GMFSK=$HOME/gMFSK.log Tell miniterm(1) where to get the data. DIGIMODEM=$HOME/gmfsk_autofile Tell Tlf where to send the macros. CLUSTER Show cluster window at startup. CLUSTERLOGIN=yourcall Automatic login for the telnet client. CLUSTER_LOG Write clusterlog to disk. BANDMAP Shows cluster bandmap on startup. Use '.' to change bandmap filtering. BANDMAP=xyz,number Show cluster bandmap on startup and set start values for filter- ing. <xyz> string parsed for: "B" - only own band "M" - only own mode "D" - do not show dupes "S" - skip dupes during grab_next (Ctrl-G) "O" - show only multiplier (CQWW only) <number> livetime for new spots in seconds (number >= 30) SCOREWINDOW Show the score window (same as Alt-R). CHECKWINDOW Show the country/call check window. PARTIALS Show a list of possible contest calls. USEPARTIALS Use the auto-complete utility (takes some practice...). Tlf will complete the call as soon as it is unique in the database. This can of course lead to strange effects, but in practice there are far more hits than misses. Sometimes you must edit the call because it has locked on a unique call. Try it, and switch it off when you don't like it. LOGFREQUENCY Put frequency (kHz) into QSO number to enable logging of fre- quency (only QSO and dxped mode). IGNOREDUPES Enable to allow multiple QSOs in a contest with the same station (considered a good idea these days as contest bots will take care of dupes). SUNSPOTS=SSN Set the sunspots value which is used to do a rough calculation of the MUF. If the cluster interface is used the SSN will be updated by WWV or WCY messages. SFI=Solar_flux_value Set SFI used to calculate SSN. The SSN value is used to do a rough calculation of the MUF. If the packet interface is used the SSN will be updated by WWV or WCY messages. CHANGE_RST If set in logcfg.dat, PgUp and PgDown will change RST instead of CW speed if field is not empty. Default is Off. NOB4 Do not send automatic "QSO B4" message. Default is On. NOAUTOCQ No automatic CQ when pressing `Enter' or `F12'. MARKERS=file_name Generate marker file for Xplanet. Xplanet will show the last 8 spots on an azimuthal map. See the relevant Xplanet documenta- tion. Use azimuthal projection and center the map on your QTH. POWERMULT=power_multiplier Use this value to multiply the final points. If the contest rule allows one to use the power multiplier (e.g. Stewperry, ARRL-FD), you can pass that here. NB: The type of POWERMULT is a float, e.g. POWERMULT=1.5, but the final score will be rounded by the C library floor(3) func- tion, which gives the largest integer value that is not greater than multiplied score. SEND_DE Sends a "DE" word before your callsign, e.g. "DE W1AW". There is a special case: if SEND_DE is present in logcfg.dat, and Tlf if is in DIGIMODE, then the other station's callsign will be sent before "DE", e.g. "DL1A DE W1AW". DIGI_RIG_MODE=mode If set with RADIO_CONTROL option, specifies the mode to change the rig to when :DIG mode is selected. mode may be one of "USB", "LSB", "RTTY", or "RTTYR". If not set, "USB" is used if FLDIGI is set and "LSB" is used otherwise. RULES The contest rules can be put into separate files. Tlf will first look for a directory called rules/ in the working directory, and a file named for the contest, e.g. cqww. If Tlf cannot find such a file, it will look into the directory /usr/local/share/tlf/rules. A rules file contains contest specific parameters like multipliers, scoring rules, CW and voice keyer messages, etc. NB: The rules file overrides settings from the logcfg.dat file! WARNING! It is your own responsibility to try these rules well BEFORE the contest. The authors of Tlf cannot possibly check all rules for all contests :) and during the contest there is normally no time to fix it. CONTEST=xxxxx Name of the contest (same as the file name contest_name refer- enced above). Some contests, like CQWW and WPX, are pre-pro- grammed. Look for the relevant rules file in /usr/lo- cal/share/tlf/rules. LOGFILE=log_file_name Mandatory! CABRILLO=cabrillo_format Specify the name of the cabrillo format to use (see doc/README.cab). CONTEST_MODE Sets Tlf into contest mode. Do not use this parameter for nor- mal QSO logging! NO_RST Do not use RST in contest, e.g. for CW Open, ARRL Sweepstakes, or ARRL Field Day. If you want to write a Cabrillo log you must provide a conforming format definition without RST values. CQWW_M2 Put the node ID into the logline (just after the QSO number) to support Multi/2 operation where the station logging the QSO must be in the Cabrillo file. This can also be used for M/1 and M/M, to enable post-contest analysis of the nodes. Macro characters in the messages % = mycall, @ = hiscall, # = serial number, [ = RST, + = in- crease cw speed, - = decrease cw speed, * = AR, = = BT, < = SK, ( = KN, ! = SN, & = AS, > = BK, ! = his serial (e.g. confirm exchange of station in DIGIMODE). F1="cw message 1" CQ message, (e.g. CQ de PA0R TEST). F2="cw message 2" S&P call message, (e.g. @ de %). F3="cw message 3" Exchange message, (e.g. @ ++5NN--#). F4="cw message 4" TU message, (e.g. TU 73 %). F5="cw message 5" Call of the other station (e.g. @). F6="cw message 6" Your call (e.g. %). F7="cw message 7" QSO B4 message (e.g. @ sri qso b4 gl). F8="cw message 8" Again message (e.g. AGN). F9="cw message 9" Query message (e.g. ?). F10="cw message 10" QRZ message (e.g. QRZ?). F11="cw message 11" Please reply message (e.g. PSE K). F12="cw message 12" Auto-CQ message (e.g. +++TEST %---). CQ_TU_MSG="cw message 13" Auto Exchange message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode), (e.g. TU %). S&P_TU_MSG="cw message 14" Auto Exchange message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode), (e.g. TU 5NN #). S&P_CALL_MSG="cw message 25" Custom call message in S&P mode. Allows replacing the auto-gen- erated S&P call message. Alt_0=<...> ... Alt_9=<...> Up to 10 additional messages. SHORT_SERIAL Uses short form for serial number (599=5NN, 001=TT1). LONG_SERIAL Uses long form for serial number (default). VKM1=voice message file name 1 ... VKM12=voice message file name 12 Use F1 ... F12 keys to send recorded messages for phone. VKCQM=voice_message_file_name Auto Exchange voice message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode) VKSPM=voice_message_file_name Auto Exchange voice message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode) ONE_POINT One point per QSO. TWO_POINTS Two points per QSO. THREE_POINTS Three points per QSO CWPOINTS=d Points per CW QSO. SSBPOINTS=d Points per SSB QSO. NB: SSBPOINTS and CWPOINTS need to be set for both to work! MY_COUNTRY_POINTS=d Points for working your own DXCC entity (often zero (0)). MY_CONTINENT_POINTS=d Points for working countries in your own continent. DX_POINTS=d Points for working a station in other continents. 2EU3DX_POINTS Deprecated. Use MY_CONTINENT_POINTS and DX_POINTS instead. COUNTRY_LIST_POINTS=d Points for countries in country list. USE_COUNTRYLIST_ONLY Score zero points for countries not in the list. COUNTRYLIST="comma separated list of prefixes starting with colon" e.g. Scandinavia:SM,LA,OZ,OH. COUNTRYLIST=file_name File with a list of prefixes. PORTABLE_MULT_2 Multiply points x2 for portable stations (e.g. R1 field day). LOWBAND_DOUBLE Double all points for lowband (40, 80, and 160m) QSOs (can be combined with any other value). (Will be deprecated in future! Use BANDWEIGHT_POINTS instead.) WYSIWYG_MULTIBAND Exchange is multiplier, per band, whatever you enter. Tlf builds its own list of multipliers. WYSIWYG_ONCE Exchange is multiplier, whatever you enter. Counts once for the whole contest (not per band). WAZMULT Multiplier is the CQ zone (per band). ITUMULT Multiplier is the ITU zone (per band). PFX_MULT Multiplier is prefix (PA0, DA2, VE7, etc.). Counted once per contest, not per band. PFX_MULT_MULTIBAND Same as WPX, but the WPX only used CQ-WW-WPX, and there a single prefix multiplier only once, not all band. With this option, the PFX counts as multiplier on all band. This usable on AA-DX. COUNTRY_MULT Multiplier is the DXCC entity (per band). MULT_LIST=file_name Name of multipliers file (often sections, provinces, states, counties). May contain comment lines starting with "#" in the first column. Each multiplier resides on a single line by it- self. Starting from Tlf-1.4 on you can also use aliases for the multi- pliers. Define the aliases as multiplier:alias1,alias2,alias3 If you log a QSO with one of the aliases it will be counted for as the according multiplier. You can have more than one line for the same multiplier. SECTION_MULT Multiplier is section from multipliers file. SERIAL+SECTION Exchange is serial number and section, multiplier is section from multiplier file. Mults count per band. SERIAL_OR_SECTION Exchange is serial number or section. This option is similar to SERIAL+SECTION, except the exchange could be a serial OR the section. The options was introduced for HA-DX, where HA sta- tions give the shortest form of their county, other stations give serial. SERIAL+GRID4 Exchange is serial number and grid (e.g. JO21QI), multipler is 4-character grid (JO21). Mults count per band. DX_&_SECTIONS Multiplier is DXCC country or section from multiplier file. RECALL_MULTS Exchange can be recycled, will be filled into exchange field when it is known (see also INITIAL_EXCHANGE). INITIAL_EXCHANGE=exchanges.txt The file must contain a comma-separated list of exchanges, if e.g. the exchange is the name of the operator: PA0R,rein PG4I,joop OK1RR,martin If RECALL_MULTS is set, Tlf will look in this list for the ex- change and fill it in for you. There are various contests which have a standard exchange, like e.g. the FOC Marathon. The mod- ule also recognises embedded calls (CT3/PA0R/QRP). CALLMASTER=callmaster Allow to name a different file used as callmaster database (de- fault is 'callmaster'). See FILES section. CONTINENT_EXCHANGE Exchange is continent (NA, SA, EU, AS, AF, OC). SERIAL_EXCHANGE Exchange is serial number (formats exchange field). MIXED Station can be worked both in SSB and CW. SSBMODE Start Tlf in SSB mode. MYQRA For the "Stewperry" contest, this option is used to set the QRA, e.g.: JN97, or the full form: JN97OM. In Stewperry, the points are calculated based on the distance between the stations. QTC If you want to send or receive QTC's on contest (usually on WAEDC), put this option to logcfg.dat. This needs a parameter, which could be one of these: RECV, SEND, BOTH - note, that cur- rently just the RECV works. For more information, please see the README_QTC.txt file. QTC_CAP_CALLS=list_of_qtc_capable_callsigns.txt If you want to help yourself to indicate that the station is QTC capable, you can see it on your bandmap or worked window. Put the callsign of stations in a file, one callsign per line, and give it as an argument to this variable. QTC_AUTO_FILLTIME If you use QTC feature, and you are on EU station in CW/SSB modes, then you can only RECEIVE the QTC's. Most sender station send their QTC's as a most short form, example, after the first line it doesn't send the first two characters of time field. If you set this option, then when you fill the first QTC line, then Tlf will fills the other time fields, only the first two charac- ters. Of course, if you change the hour (eg., if there is a time: 2059, and the next one is 2100), then all next time fields will be changed. QTC_RECV_LAZY If you use QTC feature, and you are on EU station in CW/SSB modes, then you can use this feature. In normal case, Tlf checks all received QTC lines: the time field must be 4 characters long, callsign and serial fields must be non-empty. If you set up this option, Tlf will ignore this restrictions. CONTINENTLIST="comma separated list of continents" Valid values are: SA, NA, EU, AF, AS and OC. CONTINENT_LIST_POINTS=d Points for stations from continents in CONTINENTLIST USE_CONTINENTLIST_ONLY Score zero points for station from continents not in the list. BANDWEIGHT_POINTS Allow a point weighting factor for different bands. E.g. BANDWEIGHT_POINTS=160:3,80:2,40:1,20:1,15:1,10:2 can be used for AADX contest. It will multiply all QSO points by 3 on 160m, by 2 on 80m and 10m and on all other bands only by 1. Bands not in list are weighted by 1. BANDWEIGHT_MULTIS Allow a weigthing factor for multipliers on different bands. E.g. BANDWEIGHT_MULTIS=80:4,40:3,20:2,15:2,10:2 can be used for WAEDC contest. It will multiply the number of multipliers on 80 by 4, on 40 by 3 and on 20/15/10 by 2. The multiply operation is executed after any other multiplier modification. Bands not in list will be weighted by 1. PFX_NUM_MULTIS On WAEDC (and maybe with other contests too) the multipliers are the different countries, but there are some exceptions where of certain countries a different prefix number is a different mul- tiplier. On WAEDC these countries are: W, VE, VK, ZL, ZS, JA, PY and RA8/RA9 and RA. With this option, you can list the affected countries: PFX_NUM_MULTIS=W,VE,VK,ZL,ZS,JA,PY,UA9. Tlf will read these items, make a lookup in a countrylist for a country code, and that code will be used. If you include the UA9 prefix and then make a QSO with a station from Asiatic Russia, the PFX number will evaulated with a new multiplier, but European Russia will not. EXCLUDE_MULTILIST Some contests have a special multipliers list, which is easier to write with by excluding a predefined set. For example, the main set could be COUNTRY_MULT, and you need to exclude from that list just a few countries, e.g. the SAC contest excludes the Scandinavian countries as they are not multipliers). In that case you can use this configuration: COUNTRY_MULT COUNTRYLIST=sac:JW,JX,LA,OF1,OF0,OJ1,OJ0,OX,OW,OZ,SM,TF EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=COUNTRYLIST Another useful example at WAEDC RTTY contest: then all stations can work each other, for EU stations only the non-EU stations are the multi's, and reverse: for non-EU stations only the EU stations are the multipliers. In that case the EU stations can use this config: CONTINENTLIST=EU COUNTRY_MULT EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=CONTINENTLIST Now all country are multi, except the EU stations. In this con- test the non-EU stations can use this config: CONTINENTLIST=SA,NA,AF,AS,OC COUNTRY_MULT EXCLUDE_MULTILIST=CONTINENTLIST In this example all countries are multis, except from SA, NA, AF, OC and AS continent, so only the EU stations left as multi- pliers. BMAUTOGRAB If set, with RADIO_CONTROL and BANDMAP (mandatory) options, Tlf will grab the callsign from bandmap, if the TRX frequency is equal with bandmap freq. BMAUTOADD If set, with RADIO_CONTROL and BANDMAP (mandatory) options, Tlf will add the callsign from callsign field, if at least 3 charac- ter have been entered. Use "S"kip dupes in BANDMAP settings to control if it should also grab dupes. SPRINTMODE If set, Tlf will automatically switch its mode between LOG and S&P after every QSO. FLDIGI If you work RTTY (or any other digital modes), you can communi- cate with Fldigi through XMLRPC. The FLDIGI keyword will acti- vate the interface. By default it connects to http://local- host:7362/RPC2 <http://localhost:7362/RPC2>. If you run Fldigi's xmlrpc server on an different port use FLDIGI=http://localhost:port_#/RPC2 MINITEST [=NNN] Use this option when the contest is a minitest like contest. In that contests the full contest intervall is divided into shorter sections (e.g. 6 * 10 minute sections in an hour). Any station can be worked once in each of the time sections without counting as dupe. The default length of the sections is 600 seconds (10 minutes), but you can pass another value (in seconds) after the '=' sign. There must be an integral number of time sections per hour! UNIQUE_CALL_MULTI Multiplier is callsign. You have to pass one of these argu- ments: ALL, BAND. Example: UNIQUE_CALL_MULTI=BAND The argument tells Tlf, how to score the callsigns as multipli- ers: ALL means the callsign is a multiplier, independet of band. BAND means the callsign counts as multiplier on different bands. DKF1=digi keyer message 1 ... DKF12=digi keyer message 12 Use F1 ... F12 keys to send recorded messages for phone. DKCQM=message Auto Exchange TU digi message in CQ mode (TR-Log mode) DKSPM=message Auto Exchange TU digi message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode) DKSPC=message Auto Exchange call digi message in S&P mode (TR-Log mode) FILES /usr/local/share/tlf/logcfg.dat is a recent example of the configura- tion file Tlf needs to know what to do. Tlf won't start without one. Copy it into the working directory and edit it before use. You should do your experiments well before the contest. It contains, amongst other settings, your call, name of the log file, info about ports for CW keying, packet or rig control, contest rules, points, multipliers etc. /usr/local/share/tlf/rules/contestname contains the rules of the vari- ous contests. You can easily write one for your favourite contest mak- ing use of the various multiplier and points capabilities. Check it before the contest and send a message to the Tlf development list <tlf- devel@nongnu.org> if anything is wrong (or right!). /usr/local/share/tlf/cty.dat contains a flat ASCII database of info about countries. This is the same file as used by CT or TR-Log. Up- dated versions from Jim, AD1C, are available from: Country Files <http://www.country-files.com/>. /usr/local/share/tlf/callmaster contains a flat ASCII database of known contest callsigns. Updates are available from Super Check Partial <http://www.supercheckpartial.com/>. Save the master.scp file as call- master in the working directory (or use CALLMASTER=master.scp to use that file). It will take precedence over the system installed callmas- ter. Section files contain a flat ASCII database of multpliers like states, sections, provinces, districts, names, ages, etc. They are invoked by including MULT_LIST=section_file_name in the rules file. DOCUMENTATION An operation manual (a little bit outdated) is available in HTML format at the old Tlf project page <http://sharon.esrac.ele.tue.nl/pub/linux/ham/tlf/>. An FAQ and other useful tips are installed in the system doc directory under tlf. BUGS Please send bug reports to the Tlf development list <tlf- devel@nongnu.org>. AUTHORS Tlf was written by Rein Couperus <pa0r> aka Rein Couperus <rein> but maintained from 2009 onward by Thomas Beierlein <tb>. Lots of valuable contributions from PG4I (Joop PA4TU), PA3FWM, LZ3NY, VA3DB, OM4AA, OK1RR, DH5FS, G4KNO and various other contributors. (See the AUTHORS file for more). Thanks to all for improving Tlf! Beta testers and feedback are always welcome! TLF version 1.4.1 TLF(1)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | USAGE | COMMANDS | KEYS | PREFERENCES | LOGCFG.DAT STATEMENTS | RULES | FILES | DOCUMENTATION | BUGS | AUTHORS
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