[TRLog] Telnet & TRlog

[Nino Molaro]

On my page on the Net I have write this article.

I hope this can help you .....

Have my best ,

Nino



--------------------


Hi Everybody.                   


I'm here just to describe an experience, which might be useful to somebody else.

The object is: importing DX spots from a DXCluster directly into TR logging software, without using any TNC but connecting the DX cluster via the Internet.

I think this can be VERY useful for some contest teams when no local DXCluster is available.

I was able to perform the link using two programs connected each other via a serial port: TR and DXTelnet (DXTelnet download site:

http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/wd4ngb/telnet.htm ).

DXTelnet is a DXer oriented telnet application which can connect to a certain number of DXClusters (EU US and others) via an Internet connection, then routes the received DX spots to any other program via a serial port link.

This can be done not only with ordinary DXClusters but also with OH2BUA web cluster (thanks to the included DXPlorer program which periodically refreshes the spots from OH2BUA with a push technology).

I made specific and successful tests with TR in this case.

The nice thing is that you have two ways to link DXTelnet to TR.

An hardware saving way and a full professional way.

The first way requires ONLY one free serial port on a single PC.  You have to make a dummy connector with some bridged pins to plug into a free serial port.

I made this with a DB9 female connector with pins 2-3 and 4-6-8 shortened.

If the PC connector is a DB25, the pins to shorten are 2-3 and 5-6-20.

I first created a directory in my PC named C:\DXHUNTER then went into DX-Telnet, choosed "Configuration" then "Links" then enabled the "Enable Link" check box then saved and restarted DXTelnet.  In my case the comm port to use for the link was COMM1 so I edited the DXT2LOG.INI file (included in the DXTelnet package) and set the proper comm port address to &H3F8 (the hex I/O address for COMM1).  Then I started a DOS SHELL under win 95 and started the DXT2LOG.EXE TSR program (included in the DXTelnet package).  In the same DOS shell I started TR right after (TR configured to receive on COMM1) and got the DX spots received by DXTelnet into TR: fantastic!  One may say that TR does not like to run under a win DOS Shell for some functions, such as CW keying.

I perfectly agree, but here comes the second way to link the two programs.  The second way requires two separate PCs: a DOS one, running TR and a Windows one, running DXTelnet.

The two PCs must have one free serial port each: one for TR and one for DXTelnet; the two ports being linked via a null modem standard cable.  In DXTelnet you need to activate the link by choosing "Configuration" then "Aux Comm" then set the proper comm port value and check the "Enable Com Port" check box then save quit and restart.  With this link all the traffic received by DXTelnet is sent to TR and what you type from TR is sent to DXTelnet: Fantastic!.  And you don't loose performance on TR cause it's running on a dedicated PC!!!

You can also get a remote link by replacing the null modem cable with a couple of TNCs and radios: this in case the Internet link is not immediately available at the contest shack but at a few miles away.

I'm sure this combination can be an interesting tool for your (and mine) next contests .

Best Regards and 73s

Nino


---------------------------------------





Alle 12.13 29/08/98 +0200 Lei ha scritto quanto segue:

>

>Hello Igor,

>

>>>I do this often.  Just give TR the serial port of your modem.

>>>Use your terminal emulation program (or control-B) to dial

>>>up your ISP and then telnet to the cluster (cluster.akron.net

>>>works).  TR will then just think it is talking to a TNC.

>>>

>>>Tree

>

>IS> I have tested the above. Does not work for me. I do it in Win95. Start

>IS> telnet program (CRT in my case), telnet to one of the sites where feed

>IS> from dx summit is available,start to get spottings. I start TRlog in a

>IS> dos box and when the program asks for the port where my tnc supposed to

>IS> be I give the port where modem is connected (serial 4 in my case). I

>IS> continue get spots on telnet app but nothing shows up in TRlog. What do

>IS> I do wrong?

>

>Do not use Windows Internet utilities.

>Just type Ctrl+B in TR.

>Then type

>  ATDP 123456789

>or something else to connect your ISP, input login and password, then

>type

>  telnet cluster.acron.net

>Then enter DXCluster. After such long procedure type Ctrl+B again.

>

>This works OK here.

>

>Question to Tree:

>  If you do this often, maybe simple script will help? Such feature will

>be great especially for hams with bad phone lines so they have to

>redial ISP very often.

>

>Another note:

>  Some of ISPs do not allow telnet to run. Or directly switch on PPP

>  or SLIP after succesfully entered password...

>  We can use W95 built-in telnet application or use Netscape/IE. We

>  can use DXMon or DXTelnet, but there is no possibility to transfer

>  DX info to TR-LOG.





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