I waited and hoped Wayne would address this before I made
some comments on this subject. He is correct, I don't know how
else he could write the program to do the things needed to totally
automate sending serial numbers using 2 radios.
Although I've never used WriteLog in a Multi-Single set up using
two radios, I have used it many times on a networked single op,
2 or 3 PC/radio setup. When operating Multi-Multi, each band uses
it's own set of serial numbers so no problems arise like it does
in single-2 radio or multi-single 2 radio operation.
In my experience, once you know how the software works, you can
be very efficient at running two or more radios as a single op and
keep the serial numbers in sequence. It appears that efficient
multi-single 2 radio operation can be realized as well.
I hope I can explain this so you'll understand it.
For simplicity sakes, let's say we have two entry windows A & B.
It doesn't matter if you are using two networked PC's with a single
radio on each PC or if you are running two radios on one PC, it
works the same. Imagine two separate entry windows A & B.
If you enter a callsign in either or both entry windows by either typing
in the callsign or clicking on a callsign in the RTTY window, you will
notice that the serial number under SEQ in that entry window is
GRAY. Once you either TAB over or hit the space bar to move the
cursor over to the next field in the entry window OR transmit using
one of the F keys, the serial number turns BLUE.
I like to think of a serial number that is BLUE is one that is "locked in"
to that particular QSO meaning that is the actual serial number for
that QSO. Once the number turns BLUE, it will not change. However,
if a serial number is GRAY, it will change to the next available serial
number once a QSO is logged in the other entry window.
So in entry window A you have K5DJ entered and the serial number
is Gray. In window B you have AA5AU entered and the serial number
is gray. Both entry windows show 1 under SEQ in gray. You
choose to work K5DJ on A by sending the F key for the exchange.
In entry window A, 1 turns from gray to blue. You receive the serial
number from K5DJ, enter it and log the QSO. If you look in the B
entry window, you will notice that the gray 1 has changed to 2 automatically.
You can go ahead and work AA5AU now with serial number 2. In the
mean time, you could be entering another callsign in entry window A
waiting to log AA5AU on B. The serial number in A will then automatically
change to 3 when you log AA5AU if you have a callsign entered.
The important thing to remember is that you have to log the QSO on
one in order to receive the next available serial number on the other.
If you keep that in mind, the rest may come easier.
There will be times when you need to send exchange on A, then send
exchange on B before logging A. How do you do that? There is only one
way I know of and that is to go ahead and send exchange on A using
the F key. Then you have to go "live" at the keyboard and send exchange
B. This is easy on CW, all you have to do is use your paddle. On RTTY,
you have to be a good quick typist, hit ALT-K, type the exchange using
the next available serial number, then hit ALT-K again. If you had K5DJ
in A and AA5AU in B in the above example, you would hit the F key to
send the exchange to K5DJ, then you would have to type the exchange
"live" to AA5AU by using ALT-K. When you hit ALT-K, the gray 1 stays
gray. So after you log K5DJ, the serial number on B will automatically
change to 2 and you can log AA5AU using the correct serial number sent.
Sometimes your fingers do things on the keyboard they shouldn't. If you
accidentally "lock in" a serial number in both entry windows, you must
wipe one of them clean with ALT-W and re-enter the callsign.
Something else that happens is, say you are running on A and hunting
for mults on B. You enter the callsign in A that is calling you (K5DJ) and
you come across AA5AU and he's a mult on B so you enter AA5AU in
B and after you've sent your report to K5DJ on A, you hit the F key that
sends your call on B to AA5AU. It locks in the same serial number you
just sent to K5DJ in the B entry window. What you must do is clear the
window with ALT-W on B and re-enter AA5AU. What I normally do in
this situation is not enter a callsign in B until A is logged. You can still
call the station on B, just don't enter his callsign until A is logged.
The most logical situation is to always wait before you start a QSO on
one radio until you have logged a QSO in progress on the other radio.
I imagine in a Multi-Single set up with 2 radios, you have to have verbal
communications between the two operators. Like when the operator
hunting mults comes across one, he/she tells the other operator to hold
up until the mult is worked and logged. But I really don't know.
With practice, running 2 radios with serial number exchanges in WriteLog
is not a problem. It sure beats any other alternative I know.
73, Don AA5AU
----- Original Message -----
From: W. Wright, W5XD <w5xd@writelog.com>
To: <writelog@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2000 11:47 AM
Subject: RE: [WriteLog] 2R serial number question
>
> Running 2 radios in a serial number contest brings up some issues about
> serial numbers.
> There's no way to write software such that ALL the following assertions are
> true:
>
> 1. There are no duplicate sent serial numbers in a single-PC setup
> 2. There are no duplicate sent serial numbers in a multi-PC network
> 3. All logged serial numbers in your log are in consectutive order when
> viewed chronologically.
> 4. The serial numbers in your log exactly match what you sent on the air.
> 5. There are no missing serial numbers in your log.
> 6. you operate two radios such that situations occur where you have sent two
> serial numbers to two different stations but neither is QSLd yet and might
> never be.
> 7. when you don't complete a QSO (i.e. you don't get a QSL of a sent
> exchange), you don't log it at all.
> 8. PC's in a multi-PC network contribute QSOs to the log while the network
> is down, and the QSOs are merged later.
>
> You may accuse the author of non reponse, and you may call it a bug, but you
> can't change the facts. WriteLog's design is such that assertions 4,6,7,8
> are true. Assertions 1, 2, 3, 5 are false. You may want your logging
> software to make a different set of these true, but you are never going to
> get any software such that all are true.
>
> Wayne, W5XD
>
>
> --
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> Problems: owner-writelog@contesting.com
>
>
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