[ct-user] Importing CT9.39 to DXBase 4.6 (DOS)

[Dick Dievendorff]

Tom:

DXbase 98 has two capabilities which make this issue much easier to deal
with:

1) DXbase 98 import allows you to provide a clock offset, and the default
value was (for me) correct in the last few contests with CT 9.something.

2) DXbase 98 has a selection that allows you to make a "dry run" that puts
the imported QSOs into a window, but does not write them into your log.  You
can then look at the times computed, make an adjustment, make another "dry
run" and do the import that actually updates your logging database only
after you've verified the time computation.  This also helps you fix any
prefix problems before the "real" import.

Congratulations on backing up your log file first.  DXbase says to do it, I
do it, you do it, most people should do it, but it's a painful experience
the first time any of us does something destructive that takes a lot of work
to recover.

You have CT_TIME available to adjust the times of every log entry in a copy
of your CT binary file. This is what I would suggest for your use with
DXbase 4.6.  CT_TIME is on your CT distribution diskette.

CT recently (in 9.something) altered the internal binary representation of
the time.  Ken put an indicator into the CT file (the binary header) so that
logging programs could tell which representation he used in any particular
log file, and I recall him mentioning that he'd communicated this change to
logging program authors, but of course programs published before this change
would not be aware of that indicator and would compute the time incorrectly.

What I used to do with DXbase 4.6 was convert the log from CT's .RES format
to a DXBase .sdf format with programs I wrote myself.  I controlled the
import comments and could "scrub" the data pretty carefully.  DXbase 4.6
didn't do a super job of validity checking of RSTs, and would import contest
serial numbers into RST locations in such a way that subsequent editing of
the QSOs gave error messages that annoyed me. I think also some of the state
mappings or handling of Canadian QSOs was awkward, but that may be my fuzzy
recollection rather than a real problem.  DXbase 98 has cleaned all this up
a LOT.

73 de Dick, K6KR
k6kr@arrl.net


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ct-user@contesting.com
> [mailto:owner-ct-user@contesting.com]On Behalf Of TOMHURLEY@aol.com
> Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 1999 4:16 AM
> To: ct-user@contesting.com
> Subject: [ct-user] Importing CT9.39 to DXBase 4.6 (DOS)
>
>
>
> I just upgraded to 9.39 for WPX from CT7.xx.  Procedure here has been to
> import CT contest logs into DXBase 4.6 which is my master log.  No problem
> importing version 7.xx for more than 15 past contests and 18,000 qsos.
>
> When I imported Sunday's WPX log from version CT9.39 to DXBase
> 4.6, all the
> times in DXBase were exactly 7 hours earlier than recorded in CT which was
> correct.  The date also followed the time...DXBase's database shows me
> starting the contest at 1700Z on Friday instead of 0000Z on Sat.
>
> FYI: DXbase has an import utility for CT.  One option is for version 7
> xxxx.bin files and the other is for CT version 8/9 files. I used
> the proper
> one.
>
> I realize this may be a DXBase problem and not CT....but I have never had
> problems importing version 7.  Any ideas?
>
> Tom/K1TH
>
> PS: Yes, thank God, I backed up the master log before the import
> and was able
> to restore the 18,000 QSO file to just before the contest.
>
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>



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