[Dxbase] Suggestion for new utility/report

[Fred Handscombe]

Neal

Your first paragraph is stating what I have argued several times until I just gave up with Jack!

That is how the UK licensing works.  If a friend uses my call I am legally obliged to note his call in my log.  In the old days he had to sign his name too on the paper log.  Just exactly how *I* interpret the purpose of the "OPR call" column

BUT!

If you do that (enter the real OPR Call on each QSO) then you will not be able to

- print QSLs
- Export to ADIF
(probably something else!)
(You can only log on to the packet cluster with a registered callsign also)

for ANY of the QSOs made by your "friend"

Your second paragraph is incorrect, OPR Call most definitely IS used to "validate" the use of DXBase 2007 by the registered callsign(s)

QSL cards/label printing and ADIF exporting REALLY IS validated by the "Opr call"

I have directly experienced it many times with QSL labels

This morning I solved my missing 1044 QSOs in Club log mystery

I was missing 1044 QSOs in 2003 in Club log, the totals per year on DXB and CL were close all years except 2003

Scrolling the log I saw we used my callsign with 2 other operators in our Field day activity in 2003

I changed those Opr call entries to "G4BWP"  (making my log "illegal"!) and out of nowhere I get 1044 QSOs exported to ADIF and when upload to Club log the 2003 year totals matched

The one and only thing I did was change the "OPR call" from what it was before to G4BWP

It was slightly different in the old DOS versions. You HAD to have the registered call included on the text to be printed on the QSL labels.  If you did not they would not print!

I don't think it is a bug as its too reliable and so directly related to the list of registered callsigns

73 Fred


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Neal Campbell 
  To: Fred Handscombe 
  Cc: Fred Handscombe ; Joe WA6AXE ; dxbase at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2011 7:56 PM
  Subject: Re: [Dxbase] Suggestion for new utility/report


  Hi Fred

  I think that the concept of the OPR Call field is that it should allow anyone visiting the shack to operate and for the registered owner to know who it was, not enforcing the call against the registration. So the concept that it should be a registered call is not how I understand the use of it.

  The other two points, however, do not appear to live up to the purpose of the field (it should not be part of ADIF export validation). The DXBase re-write will only use a registration key for installation and not for operational verification BTW. I will see if there is an easy way to fix the opr call validation 'bug' in the current version!

  73
  Neal Campbell
  Abroham Neal Software
  www.abrohamnealsoftware.com
  (540) 645 5394 NEW PHONE NUMBER

  Amateur Radio: K3NC
  Blog: http://www.abrohamnealsoftware.com/blog/
  DXBase bug reports: email to cases at dxbase.fogbugz.com
  Abroham Neal forums: http:/www.abrohamnealsoftware.com/community/






  On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 3:36 AM, Fred Handscombe <fredch57 at emirates.net.ae> wrote:

    Hi Joe

    I want to add my thanks fo the support you give the DXbase users!

    I have a suggestion for a new report or utility.

    DXBase uses the "Opr Call" column to "validate" the use of the programme.  I
    have had many discussions with Jack over the years as to why this is wrong
    under the licencing conditions in some countries and hopefully something new
    will be used under the new ownership/SW release.

    The way the OPR call column is used introduces errors into the logs and the
    way they interact with the likes of Club Log and LOTW.  In fact it was using
    Club log I have spotted my problem (check it out and join at for free
    www.clublog.org )

    First the Opr Cal is NOT validated against the valid registered callsigns
    which it should be.  You can enter anything in the column and you are NOT
    warned, which seems a little unwise when the column is used later to
    "validate " the data.

    Second if the Opr call entry is NOT one of the registered callsigns then if
    you do an ADIF export to LOTW, for example, then that line of data is NOT
    included in the export file.

    Third if you do an LOTW export and certain lines are excluded, these line
    ARE marked as sent to LOTW even though THEY HAVE NOT BEEN sent!! How crazy
    is that?  Maybe you see my disagreemnet with this "method" of validating the
    user.

    So Joe my request is a report or utility that checks each log line for a
    valid registered call against the registration file, and flags up any wrong
    entries in Opr Call column.  If there was a way to open each entry for
    editing, to undo the errors introduced as above,  or do it automatically,
    that would be even better

    73 Fred
    G4BWP - A65BD

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