VHFcontesting
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Re: [VHFcontesting] Logging between various software programs

To: "'David Olean'" <k1whs@metrocast.net>, <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>, <NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Logging between various software programs
From: <k3sk@buckwalter.co>
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2023 21:08:10 -0400
List-post: <mailto:vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
I use Writelog for contesting and my daily log program is Ham Radio Deluxe 
(HRD).    After every contest, I use Writelog to create the ADIF or Cabrillo 
for submittal.   I then export a full ADIF from Writelog that I import into HRD 
to keep a consolidated log of all contacts made.    I then use HRD to upload 
and download to LotW.  It's been pretty reliable with one exception.    Q65 is 
a sub mode of MFSK and something between HRD and LotW is screwed up and each 
blame the other.   To get a LotW match I have to change mode MFSK to Q65, 
otherwise even thought the contact is downloaded it doesn't match and won't get 
saved to the HRD logbook.     

Dave Buckwalter

-----Original Message-----
From: David Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net> 
Sent: Monday, August 7, 2023 2:29 PM
To: vhfcontesting@contesting.com; NEWSVHF@mailman.qth.net
Subject: [VHFcontesting] Logging between various software programs

I have had all sorts of problems with logging software and contest entry 
software that processes logs.  Maybe I missed it, but It is hard to find 
documentation that gets down and dirty to tell us what responses are allowed in 
each block where data is entered.  In this past contest I used N1MM to log for 
the 222 and Up contest, and it allows certain entries for MODE. My regular 
logging program is VQ-Log and it has various modes allowed.  When you make an 
ADIF file to submit to the ARRL LOTW, those choices may be incompatibile.  The 
ADIF format allows only

SSB
CW
RTTY
TOR=AMTOR
PKT
AM
FM
SSTV
ATV
PAC=PACTOR
CLO=CLOVER

N1MM recognizes CW, USB, LSB, SSB, AM, FM,SSTV, RTTY, PSK31, PSK63, PSK125, 
PSK250,  DIGITAL, FT8 and FT4.

Note that many of the modes allowed by N1MM are not listed in the ADIF 
specification. This means that any program with the wrong mode might be bounced 
out of the LOTW log and you are out of luck. The contact is discarded.

If you supply a Cabrillo file to the ARRL for your contest submission, the 
modes that are allowed are only

CW
PH
FM
RY
DG

It gets better. My daily logging software VQ-Log and is primarily aimed at VHF 
ops. There is a field for propagation type. If you read enough you might find a 
comment telling you that the propagation mode is not required in ADIF,  but I 
found out the hard way that only certain prop modes are accepted by the ARRL 
adif files.  TR means tropo but TRS in VQ-LOg indicates tropo scatter which is 
a primary means that we VHFers communicate with. I hand copied almost all of my 
old paper logs and entered the prop mode as TRS and only later found out that 
all of those submitted files went into the bit bucket in Newington.  So I have 
to go back and modify all my entries from TRS to TR to make things work. 
Really, my life is too short to have to deal with these glaring software 
compatability issues.

Somewhere, I have an email that delineates all of the prop modes recognized by 
ARRL LOTW and the adif input file.  I wish it had been published somewhere.

So I submitted my 222 & Up file to LOTW. Please let me know if you do not get a 
match. I ended up calling everything either CW or SSB.  There was no real good 
choice for FT8 or MSK144, or Q65. You would think that maybe DIGI might be a 
good name for all of these VHF modes, but you would be mistaken.  Your choices 
are SSB or maybe RTTY.    There must be some patches between software to fix 
some of this, but it sure has gotten me in trouble very often.

grumble grumble!

Dave K1WHS




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