FAQ

MacLoggerDX Frequently Asked Questions

May I use your software at my home station and on the field on a PowerBook with one registration?

Yes, with one registration you can use the software on any number of machines as long as they are all registered to your call sign and are operated by you.

I was going to start using the logging part of the program. How does a person enter data ?

Hit the "Log QSO" button. When entering frequency data, enter a carriage return after the decimal megahertz frequency data.

The log file and the User call book files created in your data folder are tab delimited text files and can be edited in any spread sheet program that can edit tab delimited text files.

I have noticed that the record numbers are reversed in the log. In other words, my first QSO has been numbered as last number, and there is no record number "0001". is this OK ?

Yes, the first record in the file is the header and of no practical use except when editing log.dat in a spread sheet program. The record numbers are not important, they are not stored in the file. They describe the order of the records in the file, but you can display the log sorted by any field. Click on the column header to sort by that field, click again to reverse the order. Most commonly people sort by the QSO start time. By default the log is arranged in order of QSO with the last QSO being added to the end of the file. Every time the log is re-written it will be written in the order that you have chosen to sort it in. The log is re-written when you delete an entry.

I imported an ADIF file into MacLogger - and there are duplicate records now. Is there any way I can eliminate dupes in my log?

There is no automatic duplicate removal command but if you sort then in order and date and time by clicking on the "Date UTC" column heading it should be fairly easy to select the dupes for deletion.

I know I'm missing something simple but, how do I start a new log for the 10m contest so that I'm not looking at all my existing contacts for the weekend ? I know how to change the folder pointer in Prefs but how do I start the file?

Just use "Add" in the Prefs Panel Files/Logs popup to start a new folder or choose an existing one, if log.dat does not exist in that folder MacLoggerDX will create a new empty one automatically. Remember you are choosing the folder that your log file will reside in, not the log file itself.

What about providing a 'merge' option so a new log started for a contest could be merged into the 'master' log? Then people could start a fresh log for each contest and incorporate it into the master log, so they still have a 'complete and lasting log' in one place.

You can do this very easily with an ADIF export then import. Export the log to be merged and then import it on top of the one you want to merge it with. The resulting file will be sorted the way you have chosen.

Providing an auto-fill option to put specific text into the column as it was looked up or logged would be useful, so that something like "WWCQ 10m" could be added to the col without having to type that in.

You can use the key sequence - <command> V (paste) <return> to fill in successive columns without using the mouse to advance the column.

Is it possible to add DXclusters to the telnet list or how to add a schedule to the schedule list. Do I have to edit the DAT files in the DATA folder? Or is there an cleaner easier way ?

To add clusters to the DX Nodes menu, just edit the dxclusters.dat file in the data folder.

All these files are plain text files and can be saved in your log folder where MacLoggerDX looks first for them.

What significance are the day names below ie. "winterSUNDAY", "summerSATURDAY" ?

Most of the SWL broadcasts have different schedules for the summer vs the winter and on weekends vs the weekdays.

The program is working, but presents me with a list of 3 serial ports from the popup menu on the preferences tab: serial port B, serial port 1 and serial port 2. The USA-28 serial port adapter has serial ports 1 & 2. To use serial port 1 on the adapter, I have to select serial port B from the popup menu. To use serial port 2 on the adapter, I select serial port 1 on the popup menu.?

I had to write MacLoggerDX as a Carbon application for it to run on OS 9 and OS X. Because it is a Carbon application it can't use Classic Serial I/O or the Communications ToolBox under OS 9. It has to use Open Transport Serial endpoints under OS 9 and IOKit under OSX. Open Transport has pretty primitive (and obscure) port naming facilities which don't look anything like the names you see in port lists in legacy Macintosh applications.

I get a 'clack' sound every time a spot comes on and I cannot switch it off. Can this be coming from the DX Cluster or is something happening in MacLoggerDX?

The DX cluster is sending a "Bell" <control-G> that MacLoggerDX translates to a 'clack' sound. You can turn this off with the cluster command "SET/NOBEEP", or the TNC command "FILTER ON" to remove control characters.

Make sure you have it connected to the correct serial port in the preferences panel.

If the serial port does not appear in the Port popup you probably need to load the driver for the USB/Serial adapter you are using.

Make sure you have the correct baud rate, stop bits and in the case of most Icoms the CI-V address set so that they are the same in the preferences panel as you have set in your radio's menus.

If you still have trouble, please enable the "Debug" check box in the "Prefs" Panel and send us the file it creates in the MacLoggerDX folder - it will be called something like "Fri, Apr 9, 2004.dbg".

Would you take a look at this one 8R1Z ? It is supposed to be Guyana and it plots somewhere in the Indian ocean with a bearing of 54.1 degrees.

You will notice that the locator in MacLoggerDX is "iNet LL" which stands for Internet Latitude and Longitude†- Mr. O'Brian Smith has specifically entered his latitude and longitude incorrectly on QRZ and MacLoggerDX has no way of knowing that it is incorrect...

I suspect he entered 58 degrees east latitude when he meant to enter 58 degrees west latitude :)

Always check the "Locator:" field to see how MacLoggerDX arrived at it's geographic determination.

How can I use cocoaModem's CW modem with MacLoggerDX and the microHAM digiKEYER ?

Make sure the DTR and RTS check boxes in the MacLoggerDX Prefs are un-checked since RTS is used by the microHAM devices to key the radio PTT.

When you push the "Transmit" button in cocoaModem, it will tell MacLoggerDX to key the PTT using whatever method is selected in the MacLoggerDX Keyer dialog - "Soft".

How do I connect cocoaModem and MacLoggerDX with µH Router and my MicroHam MicroKeyer interface ?

MacLoggerDX is not compatible with the uH Router app, but you can use cocoaModem to cause MacLoggerDX to key the PTT using the "MLDX" option in cocoaModem.

Just set the cocoaModem PTT popup to key the PTT through MacLoggerDX without using the router.