[WriteLog] VHF/UHF direction & distance

[Bob McCormick W1QA]

> > if you enter a 6-character grid square ...
[snip]

> This request is already on my list. I expect
> to get to it, but I can't make any promises 
> about when.
> 
> But what was on my list was a bit different than 
> described here. The request before was not to 
> calculate based on a the grid square in the CALL field, 
> but based on an entry in the GRID field, so it would 
> be restricted to those contests that exchange grid 
> squares. Which is preferable? It seems to me that 
> the advantage of calculating from the GRID field 
> is thats the place where you have to enter it anyway. 
> The disadvantage is it would only be available in 
> grid square contests. Which is preferable?

Done some talking off-line on this one ... and also 
a little bit of playing with WriteLog visa vis 
setting it up for VHF/UHF contest.

My personal assessment is that the way to go is in
the grid square field.

What seems to be even better ... is that the grid square
field already has the ability to accept (and store)
6-character grids.

Not sure what the logistics are for how it would be
implemented ... but since there's so much backwards
compatibility with CT style setup/operation ...
maybe this could be a registry/INI style choice?

[This would also give you the ability to do this 
for contests that don't have grid square exchanges:
default would be to always display bearing and distance
for whatever's entered in the grid square, and optionally
turn that feature on for the callsign field.]

The typical scenario would be that in a multi-op test,
someone on a lower band works a station and then pushes
the contact up the bands.  Typically this is done by
relaying where they're located - most often by grid square.
(Some of the UHF antennas are so sharp ...)

The only other artifact I'd see with this ... is that
when I test entered some QSO's - the 6-character grid
is stored and output to the Cabrillo file.  I wonder 
what the ARRL would do if you sent in a log that had
FN32aq for a contact - when the station really just 
sent FN32?

(If they wouldn't like that - another cool option would
be to limit the output of that field to a fixed number 
of characters.)

BTW: I really like this program ... I haven't been QRV
for quite a few years, picked it up at Dayton ...
and operated the last couple of 160m tests with it.
Had a blast - worked flawlessly - with little learning
curve!

73
Bob W1QA