[ct-user] CTY-2006 Country Files - 04 October 2010

[Jim Reisert AD1C]

If you are still using CT8 (yes, some people are), download the
cty-2006.zip file from the Revisions page and unzip that file into
your CT8 directory.  There is a new CTYHDG.PRE file with the new
prefixes.  You can use the CTYHDG.EXE program included to add the beam
heading to the CTY files from your local QTH.  You must have the new
CTYHDG.PRE file in order for this to work.

73 - Jim AD1C

On Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 2:21 PM, Jim Reisert AD1C <jjreisert at 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 at alum.mit.edu>, http://www.ad1c.us