As the documentation says, if the transmit and receive focus are split and
you send a function key message that doesn't start with %X, Writelog will
automatically move the transmit focus to the radio that has keyboard focus.
But if the message starts with %X, Writelog will not move the transmit
focus.
The %X command is part of Writelog's automatic SO2R switching feature. The
basic idea behind automatic switching is to minimize the keystrokes required
to switch between the radios as you CQ on the run radio while working
stations on the second radio.
When you're in automatic switching mode, you have a repeating CQ going on
the run radio while you tune the second radio. When you find a station you
want to work, you drop in your call using F4. This automatically stops the
CQ on the run radio and sends your call on the second radio. When Writelog
finishes sending your call on the second radio, it automatically restarts
the CQ on the run radio. Same thing happens when you subsequently use F2 to
send the exchange on the second radio. Until you have to work a station
answering your CQ on the run radio, the only keystrokes required for this
are F4 and F2.
Now, to use the automatic switching feature, you must split the focus
between the run radio and the second radio. The transmit focus has to be on
the run radio because it's CQing. The keyboard focus has to be on the second
radio so you can dupe stations and log the QSOs. This is where %X comes in.
You have to prefix the CQ message (nominally F1) with %X or Writelog will
move the transmit focus to the second radio when the CQ starts or restarts
(i.e., it will start CQing on the second radio!) But if the CQ message is
prefixed with %X, Writelog will keep the transmit focus on the run radio
when the CQ message is sent. Note that the messages in F2 and F4 are not
prefixed with %X. When you send those messages, the transmit focus
automatically moves to the second radio, which is what you want (and any
movement of the transmit focus stops the current transmission, which is the
CQ, and that's what you want, too.) When the F2 or F4 message is finished,
Writelog moves the transmit focus back to the run radio and resumes the CQ
message from the start. That's what the Auto Resume flag in the Timed CQ
dialog is for.
To summarize, in the absence of %X, the focus is united on the radio that
has keyboard focus. With %X, it remains split. You can see how the former is
necessary for F2 and F4 (or, for example, another function key containing
"?".) You need the transmit focus to move to the second radio for those
messages. But you don't want that for F1. Note that the %X has no effect
when the focus is not split -- i.e., it doesn't interfere with using one
radio at a time.
Here's what I do during a contest to set up and use automatic SO2R
switching:
Let's say I'm running on the L radio. In this case, the transmit and
keyboard focus will both be on the L radio. I work a bunch of stations, then
as the rate slows a bit, I decide to tune for mults on the second radio.
First thing I do is set up an automatic CQ. I hit ALT-T, then fill in the
repeat interval (I usually use 3 seconds.) Then I check the Auto Resume box.
Then I split the headphone audio so the L radio is in my left ear and the R
radio is in my right ear. Then I split the entry window focus by moving the
keyboard focus to the R radio, leaving the transmit focus on the L radio
(I've used keyboard shortcuts to map the commands that move keyboard and
transmit focus to the [ and ] keys, respectively.) Then I hit F1 to start a
CQ on the run radio. While that's going on, I tune the second radio. When I
find a station I need, I hit F4 to drop in my call. The CQ stops, my call is
sent on the second radio, and the CQ restarts from the beginning. Same thing
happens when I use F2 to send the exchange. If I get an answer on the CQ
radio, I hit ESC to cancel the repeating CQ and move the keyboard focus back
to the run radio so I can work the station.
Note that I set the ini parameter MoveHeadphonesWithFocus=1 to put both ears
on the radio with keyboard focus when it's not split. If I'm having trouble
hearing the station on the second radio, I just take the headphones out of
split and the mono audio is automatically on the second radio (because
that's where the keyboard focus is.)
Some people like to use Latch mode for the headphone audio, which puts both
ears on the second radio during the CQ, and splits the audio between CQs. I
find that very distracting, so I don't use it. Also, I think it's better to
train yourself to listen to both radios at the same time. I do turn the
monitor audio down to almost zero on the run radio.
It's important to note that it's not necessary to use the automatic SO2R
switching and in some cases it's better not to. It's possible to do all of
the switching manually, or to use a combination of manual and automatic
switching, with or without repeating CQs. It really depends on what works
best for you.
The steps for all-manual switching without %X would be:
1. Start CQ on run radio (don't split focus)
2. Split headphone audio
3. When you find a station on the second radio, move combined focus to
second radio
4. Use F4 to drop in call on second radio
5. Move combined focus back to run radio and start CQ
6. Repeat 3-5 for the exchange
As you can see, this is sort of cumbersome. You can get semi-automatic
switching by splitting the focus and prefixing the CQ message with %X. In
that case, the sequence would be:
1. Split focus: transmit on run radio, keyboard on second radio
2. Start CQ on run radio
3. Split headphone audio
4. When you find a station on the second radio, use F4 to drop in call on
second radio (transmit focus moves automatically)
5. Move transmit focus back to run radio and start CQ
6. Repeat 4-5 for the exchange
I believe K5ZD uses this sequence, preferring to maintain more control over
the CQ timing. There are situations where Timed CQ can be a pain -- i.e.,
starting the CQ just as someone calls you. It's also kind of obnoxious for
stations trying to listen for your call on the run radio when you have to
keep interrupting the CQ to repeat your call or the exchange on the second
radio. You can avoid this by using the above sequence with Timed CQ enabled,
but without Auto Resume checked. That way, the CQ will repeat as you tune
the second radio, but it won't automatically restart after you transmit on
the second radio.
Finally, you have to remove the %X from the CQ message when you want to do
Dueling CQs.
So that's it. Any questions?
73, Dick WC1M
-----Original Message-----
From: Don Hill AA5AU [mailto:aa5au@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 8:15 PM
To: writelog@contesting.com
Subject: [WriteLog] What exactly does %X do?
I am set up for SO2R on one PC in RTTY mode which is completely new to me
since I normally use two PCs networked. What I am trying to find out is if
there is a command you can put into a message to force that particular
message to go out on a particular radio.
The only thing I can find remotely resembling this is the %X command, but I
can't figure out what exactly it does. The HELP file
says:
"F2 through F11 move the transmit focus to match the keyboard focus before
transmitting . You can change this behavior on a message-by-message basis by
adding a %X at the beginning of the message buffer, which retains the
transmit radio focus."
What exactly does %X do? And how is it used?
73, Don AA5AU
http://www.aa5au.com
http://www.rttycontesting.com
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