Greetings to all!
I would like to take just a minute to let everyone know of a
new reflector that has been set up to discuss the topic of
creating a "common format for exchanging QSO data."
A number of amateurs have been discussing the difficulty in
transferring QSO data between the various ham radio software
packages that are available, and the desirability of having a
standard format so that data can be easily transferred between
any two programs. This mailing list has been set up to
facilitate the formation of such a specification.
Any software developer or any ham who wishes to contribute to
this discussion is welcome to participate.
PLEASE!!! It is my desire that this group be handled in a very
constructive manner. It would be very easy for everyone to get
on their own personal soapbox about why their way is the only
right way to do things. I encourage all of you to post your
ideas and read the constructive criticism of your peers. View
this criticism positively and put some deep thought to what has
been said. Don't take pot shots at others just for argument
sake, but truly try to work to a successful end.
Because of the very positive comments I received from dozens
of interested people around the world, I feel this can be a very
productive discussion. Many of you are professional data
processing types with great ideas and experience in this type
of project. Many others are relatively new to computers but
still may have brilliant ideas that may have been overlooked by
some of the professionals.
There are several items to consider on this project. I will list
a few but I am sure there are many more.
1. What are the different fields required for successful
data exchange?
Date, Time, Callsign, Band, Mode, State, SigRpt, etc.
2. How should this data be organized?
YYMMDDhhmmCallSign Band Mode STsigrpt
or
"YYYYMMDD","hhmm","CallSign","Band","Mode","State",... etc.
or
YYYYMMDD,hhmm,CallSign,Band,Mode,State,... etc.
or
Whatever you see as a good idea....AND WHY!
3. Fixed length or variable length records?
4. Human readable ASCII files or allow fields with binary data?
5. How should the records be delimited? CR, CRLF, LF, etc.
6. Should the first record contain some kind of identifier
showing the "version" of the file format?
7. The list goes on and on............
To subscribe to this reflector by sending an e-mail as described
below:
To: listserv@hosenose.com
In the SUBJECT field, enter
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SUBSCRIBE ADIF
You will be sent a confirmation message within 24-48 hours of
subscribing.
Well guys (and gals), it is up to us to see what can be put together.
This is a project that has many variables (pun intended) and will
certainly see quite a bit of discussion. Please notify any ham radio
software authors you know how to get involved in the discussion.
73 to all,
Jim - KK7A
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