Call

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Operational Summary:

The following actions are focused on the Call field:

Enter Call for Log and Log Search

Progressive Matching of input to Callbook content if Show Info enabled

Enter "!" for Comment Entry

4-letter Pseudo-Prefix for Deleted

Assign Notepad to Call, Ctrl+N

Enter odd Calls, Ctrl+F4 ( or Fn+CTRL+F4 in Windows 8 )

Search ambiguous Call, Alt+CursorDown

Search Locator/Gridsquare, Ctrl+F

Search Band, Ctrl+F

Search Mode, Ctrl+F

Search Prefix, Ctrl+F

Search Countryname, Ctrl+F

Search Userkey, Ctrl+F

Enter wild cards % and _ for Partial Call Search

Search IOTA-Keyword, Ctrl+I

Search Prefix for IOTAs, Ctrl+H

Clear Log Input Line, Ctrl+R

Open Configuration Menu/Setup Ctrl+S

Open Transceiver Setup Ctrl T

Grab Log-Record/Spot, Ctrl+G

Send Packet Spot, Ctrl+Alt+S

Open Call Stack, Ctrl+Cursor+Down

Open Alarms & Messages tab sheet, Ctrl+Alt+C

Open Basic Properties tab sheet, Ctrl+S

Full information:

As you can see: This is where the most important information of the log must be entered: The call sign of your QSO partner. Since it makes no sense to log without entering a call sign we have designed the call field as permanent by default. A nice feature that assists in logging is: You can select a call from a log record of the logbook window and put it into the Call field of the loginput line by drag & drop action or using the hot key Ctrl+G.

Of course the call field can be arranged on the loginput line in accordance with your personal needs. All features described for customizing the loginput line apply for the call field. This includes the commands available and search operations ( keyword search, quick search) in particular.

With respect to the field properties the call field is equipped with an input stack by default. This means that every manual input into this field will be stored in a memory line of the stack. The stack will pop up directly below the call field on pressing Ctrl+Cursor+Down. If you want to load the content of an earlier input into the call field you just select the line of interest by mouse or by pressing Cursor+Down. A left mouse key double click will enter the stack line into the call field. Likewise you can press Enter for the same action. Both operations will not only load from the stack but also move the input focus to the field next right to the call field. This saves an additional keystroke.

Leaving the call field to the right will automatically trigger the prefix analysis. If a valid prefix can be verified from the entry TurboLog 4 will display all available country information assigned to this prefix in the country information frame.

A QSO can be logged by pressing Enter from any field of the loginput line if focused. Pressing the key starts a thorough analysis of the information entered in the call field. A QSO will only be logged if the following minimum QSO essentials containing valid data have been entered either manually or automatically:

•CALL

•MODE

•BAND

•DATE ( Derived from WINDOWS date/time system )

•RSTs ( Defaults 599/59 inserted if missing )

•TIME ( START-END-Time are read from the system's time)

With respect to the call the user can decide in the log configuration menu by (Yes/No) whether strict rules should be applied when checking of the call field entry takes place. The governing parameter APPLY STRICT RULES is defined in the log's setup.

STRICT_RULES=YES comprises the following checks:

1.Call field is not empty

2.Entry consists of at least 3 characters or is otherwise unique

3.Entry includes at least one letter and one number

STRICT_RULES=NO just requires the field not to be empty.

We recommend to always apply the first choice which we chose as the default.

If the rule conditions are fulfilled and all other QSO essentials successfully passed their individual test for integrity, then the QSO will be logged. Otherwise an error message will be generated with an indication of the problem. The input focus will automatically jump to the field at fault.

If the logging information is incomplete in terms of QSO essentials but you want to log the input anyway you can bypass all checks by entering the character ! into the first spot of the call field entry.

Please note the following important parameters:

COMMENT ENTRY:

TurboLog 4 will handle all entries in the log input line started by a control character at the first position of the call field as a comment entry. The control character is defined among the INI-variables and should not be edited by the user. In principal it could be any non-alphanumerical character other than blank, = and ;. The default control character chosen in TurboLog 4 is the !. The ! can be followed by whatever additional input in the same, any other or all input fields. This facility should be used to log important station messages as requested by the authorities in various countries, e.g. TVI-TEST, ANTENNA-TEST, STATION CLOSED, etc.

Wildcard characters in the Call field:

In Previous Call search tasks the following wildcard characters can be used for Partial Call Search:

Underscore ( _ ) is used as a wildcard character representing an arbitrary single character specifier at the location in character pattern.

Thus, DJ_KG would yield Call entries like DJAKG....DJ1KG.....DJ9KG...etc.. Multiple applications such as D__KG are allowed and would yield all calls like D00KG ...DA0KG... DZZKG.

Percent ( % ) is used as a character representing an arbitrary string specifier at the location in character pattern.

Entering %KG in the Call filed and leaving it by pressing CursorDown would yield all entries containing KG somewhere in the Call, such as KG1AA...AA1KG...AA1KGC...etc..

CALL COUNTRY ASSIGNMENT:

In TurboLog 4 we apply another strict rule for the call-country-assignment by following the new regulations of the ITU and CEPT that force the country's determining prefix to be positioned in lead of the main call. This means: In compound calls, e.g. KH9/W1ABC the leading part ...KH9... determines the country assignment. The incorrect case ....W1ABC/KH9.... will be assigned to W1-land according to the rules. This procedure is not just following the international regulations but also a matter of data integrity. As another negative example we refer to the many odd extensions on calls as found on the packet cluster these days, e.g. .../LGT, .../BEACON, ..., etc. These unofficial extensions would all lead to wrong country assignments if they were processed, such as Norway, China, ..., etc. Of course we do evaluate all official and internationally recognized extensions correctly such as, e.g. ..../p, .../m, .../mm, .../am, etc.

PSEUDO PREFIXES

Deleted countries, Non DXCC countries and Antarctica can be accessed from the Call field by entering their 4-letter Pseudo Prefix, e.g. ANTA for Antarctica, SAAR for Saarland or BEAR for Bear Island.

BASE CALL:

In TurboLog 4 we follow a proven procedure from TurboLog III with respect to dealing with compound calls in review mode. In a call as above we extract the regular part of the call sign and automatically save it in a field named BASE_CALL. By means of this procedure it is possible to display all QSOs with W1ABC in review mode, independent from the entry in the call field. If you enter W1ABC you will not only see QSOs with this call but all compounds such as KH9/W1ABC, etc. as well.

AMBIGUOUS CALLS:

When an ambiguous call is entered into the call field, e.g. 3D2XX or FK/KM9D, the user is prompted to add the necessary information in order to decide on the definite country assignment. TurboLog 4 will automatically list the possible choices in a frame which pops up on pressing the Enter key ( for logging...) or Cursor+Down from the call field. The same applies if you dragged and dropped a call from the log or from the packet window. In addition to this you can also call the list of choices for an ambiguous call by pressing Alt+Cursor+Down. The correct country needs to be selected from the following list box:

Figure 192: Resolving Ambiguous Calls

Please note:

In order to avoid being constantly teased by this pop-up on the same call we recommend to save the call which causes this prompting as permanent in the Calls.dat database by pressing the Ctrl+F4 key ( see next paragraph on ODD CALLS ). It is good practice to keep those calls in Calls.dat which you have logged and/or which you think will be of significance for the future.

Click the Accept button to complete the choice and close the frame. Click Cancel to leave the frame without fixing a choice.

ODD CALLS:

Calls are termed ODD CALLS if the prefix analysis of the entry yields a distinct country assignment, the call, however, belongs to a different country. This happens quite often to special call signs or on activation of one country's rare or never used prefix blocks. Assuming the call AS2XX was entered in the call field and on pressing Cursor+Down identified as Pakistan although the station was from the US. The user now needs to force a new country assignment by pressing the Ctrl+F4 key (..may be Fn+CTRL+F4 in Windows 8). This will yield the following pop-up frame:

Figure 192: Assigning Odd Calls

The list box shows the original country selection ( Pakistan ) at the top. The new assignment needs to be selected from the list ( United States ). The user finally needs to decide whether this assignment should be valid temporary, for just this QSO, or be saved permanently. Clicking the appropriate buttons implements the assignment and closes the frame. Again, clicking Cancel will leave the procedure without making changes and close the frame. Odd calls are saved in a special file which is read by TurboLog 4 to look for a suitable match. This file can be serviced from the Edit menu, sub item Calls Database.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please force new assignments for full calls only. Otherwise the automatic prefix validation will be corrupted.

Active Commands: