This release contains additional files for WriteLog which help get
more accurate great circle bearings to certain parts of the world.
Here is a list of the files:
AF_cty.dat - Africa
AS_cty.dat - Asia (except China, Asiatic Russia)
BY_cty.dat - China (already included with WriteLog)
cty_rus.dat - European and Asiatic Russia (already included with WriteLog)
EU_cty.dat - Europe (except European Russia)
NA_cty.dat - USA and Canada (already included with WriteLog)
SA_cty.dat - South America
VK_cty.dat - Australia and New Zealand (already included with
WriteLog, but expanded)
These files will ultimately be distributed with WriteLog starting with
version 10.81. To make use of them now, please follow these
instructions.
NOTE: you edit the writelog.ini file at your own risk!
First, identify the "data store" for WriteLog. This might be any of
the following directories, depending on the version of WriteLog and
your operating system:
WriteLog 10.77 and later:
# Windows 98: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\WriteLog
# Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\WriteLog
# Windows Vista: C:\ProgramData\WriteLog
# Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\WriteLog
Writelog 10.76 and earlier:
WRITELOG\PROGRAMS
Now download and unpack the contents of "wl_cty-2006.zip" into that
directory. Note that you can find a link to the download on the
Country Files "Revisions" page.
Next, find this section in your WriteLog.INI file (usually located in
C:\Windows):
[GreatCircleLookups]
RussianDX=cty_rus.bin
NA_cty=NA_cty.bin
VK_cty=VK_cty.bin
Add the following lines so it looks like this when you are done:
[GreatCircleLookups]
RussianDX=cty_rus.bin
AF_cty=AF_cty.bin
AS_cty=AS_cty.bin
BY_CTY=BY_CTY.bin
EU_cty=EU_cty.bin
na_cty=NA_cty.bin
SA_cty=SA_cty.bin
vk_cty=VK_cty.bin
wl_cty=WL_cty.bin
I don't know if capitalization/case matters above. I have named all
the data files using an UPPER-case prefix, except for "cty_rus.dat"
Now for each *_cty.bin file shown above, go to your WriteLog program
folder (in the Start menu) and run the "Convert CTY to WriteLog"
program. Click on the "Convert alternative prefix database..."
button. Then double-click on the matching file name, for example
"AF_cty". This will convert the database to a format that WriteLog
can use.
You'll have to do this for each of the nine (9) entries in the
WriteLog.INI file shown above. This data will eventually be
distributed with WriteLog, so you won't have to do this.
Now open an old or new WriteLog log, and make sure you are showing the
Beam Headings window. Try logging a prefix like CU1, it should say
Santa Maria instead of Azores. If it does not, navigate to your
WriteLog program data directory, then verify that 1) the .dat files
are dated October 2010, and b) there are corresponding .bin files with
today's date.
73 - Jim AD1C
On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 2:22 PM, Jim Reisert AD1C <jjreisert@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> The Country (CTY) Files were updated on 04 October 2010.
>
> http://www.country-files.com/cty/
>
> To install the file(s), follow the link to your software at the top of
> the page.
>
> THIS IS A MAJOR RELEASE! Before using the files, check with your
> software's reflector to see if there are additional instructions.
> There may be additional downloads required, or you might not choose or
> be able to use them right away.
>
>
> Here are the release notes:
>
>
> 4 October 2010 (CTY-2006)
> VER20101004, Version entity is Guadeloupe, FG
>
> * Removed entities PJ2, Netherlands Antilles and PJ7, Sint Maarten
>
> * Added four new entities resulting from the breakup of the
> Netherlands Antilles starting 10 October 2010. This is tentative
> and simply a "best guess" based on the available information. When
> the ARRL announces the actual entities, the country files will be
> updated ASAP.
>
> o PJ2 - Curacao
> o PJ4 - Bonaire
> o PJ5 - Saba and St. Eustatius
> o PJ7 - Sint Maarten
>
> * Revised the list of USA callsign exceptions, based on the Super
> Check Partial (SCP) release of 1 August 2010 and the latest FCC
> database. USA callsigns that require only an ITU zone override are
> now included, but only for states that lie entirely within the
> same ITU zone, i.e. Indiana but not Illinois. This process is
> entirely automated now, so the list of calls will be updated when
> there is a country file released after a SCP release.
>
> This release of the country files is based on a complete tool rewrite
> and new flow, as well as a new set of input data. I finally decided to
> merge my two databases into one. I tried to maintain the original
> content in each country file as much as possible, however, there are
> bound to be some differences, mistakes or oversights. I have not tested
> all these files on all the different platforms. If something is wrong or
> missing, let me know and I will fix it ASAP.
>
> Some of the highlights:
>
> * Many ITU zone overrides were added or corrected.
>
> * Many old callsigns have been "retired". Thus you'll notice shorter
> lists for Martinique, FM; UK callsigns beginning with GB and
> various LU callsign overrides. Calls are "retired" about a year
> after they last appear on the bands. If an entity hasn't been
> active for more than a year, then the last callsign used from that
> entity will be in the country file. Thus, these files are not
> useful as a historical database (and they never have been).
>
> * N3FJP is now a supported format.
>
> * Win-Test files are generated "natively" rather than doing a text
> substitution to the original CTY.DAT file. This results in a
> cleaner design, as well as fixing a handful of bugs in the
> previous Win-Test files.
>
> * Win-Test (cty_wt_mod.dat) now has geographic coordinates for some
> additional countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South
> America.
>
> * There are now additional files that WriteLog can use to enhance
> beam headings for Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America.
>
> * CT8, N3FJP, Win-Test and WriteLog have separate .ZIP files that
> contain only the files needed for those programs. Of course,
> CTY-####.zip still contains all the files.
--
Jim Reisert AD1C, <jjreisert@alum.mit.edu>, http://www.ad1c.us
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