[RTTY] Converting WF1B logs using BV by DF3CB

[Don Hill AA5AU]

You can convert WF1B .BIN logs to ADIF by using a free program called BV (version 7) by Bernd, DF3CB.  Many of you may know Bernd as
a RTTY contester and/or as the author of two RTTY contest modules for WriteLog - DL-DX and SCC RTTY.

Bernd has written a program which is primarily used to print labels for QSL cards.  However, in his program BV (current version 7),
he also has an Import/Export utility tool which will import WF1B .BIN files and directly export them to ADIF (it also
imports/exports all kinds of different files).  I tried it using Win XP and it worked on all my logs EXCEPT my HK0 log which was
done using the DXpedition mode of WF1B.  I don't know if that is why it only converted 158 of the 480 contacts but I'm not too
worried about it since I already have a good ADIF for my HK0 RTTY log using ADIFCONV.EXE in DOS.  I don't know if this runs on Win7
or not, but in his notes he says it runs on Vista, so I'm guessing it will run on Win7.  This is purely a guess on my part.  He
suggests BV be installed in C:\Program Files\BV.  Win 7 users might try it, if it doesn't work, try installing it in another
directory I guess. Win7 users please report back to the reflector if it works and where you installed it so other Win7 users wanting
to try will know.

I was going to write a tutorial on it, but it's kind of late tonight, so here are the steps:

1. Go to Bernd's site for BV at http://www.df3cb.com/bv/

2. Click link to go to the Download Page.

3. Download the following files:
   bv7_setup.exe
   bv7_manual.zip (or download the German or Russian language manual)
   bde_setup.exe

4. Read all the instructions on the Download Page.

5. Install BDE (Borland Database Engine) by running bde_setup.exe downloaded in step 3 above (BDE is required to run BV version 7)

6. Install BV7 with bv7_setup.exe downloaded in step 3 above.

7. Unzip bv7_manual.zip to find the bv7 manual in PDF format.  Browse the manual for import/export although this isn't absolutely
necessary.

8. Run BV.  A dialog box appears saying there are no logs yet "Do you want to let BV create a sample log file?".  Click "No".  The
dialog box goes away.

9. In the BV7 QSL Management window, click on menu Windows > Tools (Import/Export).

10. In the BV Tools Wizard, click Import/Export Logs and Next.

11. In the Choose Input Log screen, in the Log type pull-down menu, select RTTY by WF1B Contest Software.

12. Click Add Log button.

13. In the Open screen, navigate to the WF1B .BIN file to be imported, highlight the file and click Open.

14. At this point, the file name will be placed in the area on the right of the Choose Input screen with an unchecked Check Box to
the left of it.  You will also notice that the number of QSOs is shown in both the Log Size area and below the area where the BIN
file name shows with the check mark box.  At this point, it is a good idea to Analyze the log by clicking the Analyze log button.
If the log is OK, a check mark will be automatically placed in the check box to the left of the file name on the right hand side of
the screen.  If the file has a problem, the file name on the right hand side of the screen will turn gray (my HK0 file turned gray
and did not receive a check mark).  If the check mark appears by the file name, you can then click the Next button.

15. The Choose Output Log screen then appears.  In the Log Type pull-down menu, choose ADIF (Amateur Data Interchange Format). Then
type your callsign in the Callsign area.  You will notice that "Remove contest exchanges from report" is checked.  Leave it checked.
I also chose to "Replace contest reports with standard reports (59/599) by placing a check mark next to it.  If needed, you can
filter the dates by using the "Import QSO's between ___ and ___ (yyyy,mm,dd)" area but I chose not to filter the log by date.  If
this is the first time you use the utility, the output filename with the .ADI extension will be same filename as the .BIN and this
file name will show up in the File name area.  However, if you are converting a second file without closing the Wizard, you have to
manually type in the filename you wish to use because BV keeps the same filename in this box from the previous conversion.  This is
good if you are converting several files and want them all to go into one ADIF file.  I chose to export my files to individual files
based on the import files. Click the Start Conversion button.

16. BV converts the file and displays this in the Converting window.  It also shows how many QSOs are converted.  It's likely that
not all QSOs are converted if you have bad QSOs in the log.  For instance, in my 1994 ARRL RTTY Roundup file, it showed there were
740 QSOs.  Of those 740 QSOs, 739 were converted.  So apparently I had one bad QSO.  I don't know what constitutes a bad QSO but
referring to the manual may help.

Good Luck!

73, Don AA5AU
http://www.aa5au.com
http://www.rttycontesting.com