[WriteLog] Using WriteLog for the TARA PSK Rumble (detailed)

[Don Hill]

I wanted to put this out early enough so that others could check it
out and perhaps enhance what I have done or find something altogether
better...

This weekend is the 3rd TARA PSK Rumble.  I missed the first two but
plan on putting in some time in this one.  See the rules at:

http://www.qsl.net/wm2u/rumble.html

Of course, you must be set up hardware-wise for PSK31 with your
computer's sound board and radio.  I won't go into any of that here.  If
you haven't tried PSK31, I would suggest you go to Dick, N1RCT's
website at:  http://www.megalink.net/~n1rct/ and click on PSK31.  There
are tons of links to gather more information on hardware setup, etc.

I've been working on setting up WriteLog to correctly log and score the
contest.  It appears that you can log the contest correctly, but you can't
score it correctly (exactly).  You can come close to scoring it correctly
and you can correctly track and score multipliers by using the BARTG
RTTY Contest selection.

The PSK Rumble and BARTG RTTY Contest (not BARTG Sprint) both
score one point for each QSO and have the same multipliers (DXCC
entities and K, VE, JA, VK call areas).  This helps tremendously because
the scoring will basically be the same with the exceptions that in BARTG
the score is multiplied by the number of continents and in the PSK
Rumble, the score may be multiplied by either 5 (if running 5 W or less)
or 2 (running 20 watts or less).  But this is moot because to determine
your final score you just multiply the total number of valid QSO's by the
number of country/call area multipliers and then multiplier by either 5
or 2 if running in either of those power categories.  Since WriteLog will
track your multipliers, it's easy.  SOMEONE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG
ON ANY OF THIS.

Now, there are some changes you can make in the Exchange Format
Setup for entering the exchange information into the QSO Entry window.

When you first open WriteLog you will want to "Start a new log..."  When
the WriteLog Contest Selection window opens select "BARTG RTTY Contest".
You will see that in the QSO Entry window there are prompts for CALL, RCV,
NR, TIME, COUNTRY and C.

The following steps are what I did to change the prompted selections in the
entry window.  Before I go through the steps let me try to explain what you
want when you finish.  You will have to go to the Exchange Format Setup
under the Contest menu to make these changes.  If you have not done this
before, it can be a bit tricky.  But I've set up my entry window to have
only
three entries.  These are the three that are required in the contest
exchange.
They are CALL, NAME and QTH.  When you finish you will have only these
fields present in the QSO Entry Window.  You can click on the name and
QTH as they show up in the RTTYrite window and they will go in the correct
places as long as you click them in order of first NAME, then QTH.  When
you click on a name in the RTTYrite window, the cursor will jump to the QTH
field
automatically.

Now to make the changes.  Go to the Contest menu on the main WriteLog
window and choose Exchange Format Setup.  A window will open and you
will be asked if you want to initialize ALL fields.  Choose No.

Another window will open.  This is the Edit QSO Exchange Fields window.
It is in this window you will make the changes.

The first thing I did was to get rid of the entries that are showing in the
entry
window that are not needed, which are ALL of them except CALL.  I tried to
change the attributes of some of the entries but it didn't work the way I
wanted
it to.  You don't actually get rid of the entries, you just change the
attributes of
the ones you don't want showing in the entry window and final printed log.

Let's start with RCV.  Highlight RCV by clicking on it once with your mouse.
RCV will be shown in the Caption box.    Uncheck "Print. Include this field
in
hardcopy" and uncheck "Prompt.  Include in QSO entry prompt".  Now click
the SAVE button at the bottom of the window.

If after any of these changes a window pops up and asks you if you want to
commit to the changes you just made, say YES.  This only means that you
forgot to hit the SAVE button.

Now highlight NR.  As with RCV, uncheck both Print and Prompt boxes and
also uncheck the "Required.  Field is required for entry in log" box.  This
step
may not be necessary but I did it anyway.  Hit SAVE.

Now highlight TIME.  Uncheck the Print, Prompt, and Required and hit SAVE.

Now highlight COUNTRY.  Uncheck Prompt.  I tried to leave COUNTRY in the
entry window but it screws up clicking on NAME and QTH (which you will add
in
later steps) from the RTTY (PSK) screen.  It is not needed.  A new
multiplier will
still show as a new multiplier without COUNTRY in the entry window.  Go
ahead
and hit SAVE.

Now highlight C and uncheck Prompt and hit the SAVE button.

Now click the OK button at the bottom of the Edit QSO Exchange Fields window
and the window will disappear.  You will notice that the only field in the
exchange
window is CALL.  If this is correct.  You are ready to add NAME and QTH.

Go back to the Edit QSO Exchange Fields window via the Contest menu pull
down
menu.  Click the NEW button at the bottom of the window.  The cursor is now
in
the Caption box.  You are first going to add NAME.  Before you add NAME, you
need to think how many characters you want this entry to allow.  If you type
only
NAME is that box and make your other changes and click OK then the NAME
field
will only be 4 characters long.  Since it's hard to say how many characters
will be
needed, I chose 17.  Hopefully, there won't be any names longer than 17
characters.
So in order to make this field 17 characters long you have to type in NAME,
then
add 13 spaces afterward.  Now go down and check "lower.  Allow lower case
letters"
to allow lower case letters.  Also check off Print, Prompt and "No Space
Character
is allowed."  All other boxes should be unchecked unless you want the field
to be
required in order to log the contact, then check Required.  Now click SAVE.
You
will notice that NAME is now at the bottom of the Exchange Fields: column on
the
left hand side.

Now click the New button again.  In the Caption box type in QTH then add
enough
spaces to make the entry field as many characters as you think you might
need.
Since state and VE call abbreviations and DXCC prefixes will be entered here
either
manually or by clicking on them in the RTTYrite screen, perhaps you should
make
this 4 or 5 characters long.  I made mine 4 even though I don't think I'll
be lucky
enough to work a 3DA0 or any other prefix longer than 4 characters long.
There
may be others that don't come to mind right now.  In any case, add the
appropriate
number of spaces after QTH to allow for what length you want this field to
be.

Just like you did with NAME, click the boxes for lower case, Print, Prompt
and
No Space character is allowed (and Required if you choose) and hit SAVE.
Now
click on OK.

Remember to save your contest with Save As from the File menu on the main
WriteLog screen.

Now you are all finished.  You should have CALL, NAME and QTH fields in the
QSO Entry window.  Set up the rest of the program like you normally would
for RTTY
using a sound board but change it to BPSK under Mode.

I have not been able to Network my two contest computers together after
making
these changes, but I'm trying to figure out why I'm getting the "WriteLog
has been
set up on that computer for a different exchange that (not my typo) here.
Connection
not established." message.  It may be that I don't have each and every
attribute set
exactly the same on each computer.  I'll check more into it because I was
hoping to
run two radios on two different computers.

There may be other attributes that may enhance what I have done, but this
basic
setup should work with one computer.

Are you ready to RUMBLE?!!!

73, Don AA5AU












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