Introduction

Field Day is many things to different hams.  For some, it is a contest
pitting their skills against the clock and the elements.  For others,
Field Day provides an opportunity to mobilize under less than optimal
conditions to train for the day when disaster strikes.  For all
participating hams, Field Day is a day when we can operate.

An objective of Field Day is to make as many contacts with as many
different stations as possible exchanging call signs, locations, and
a "message".  While many different logs (both paper and computer) can
be adapted for Field Day, functionality and ease of use are
important--especially in the small hours of the morning when most
operators are not terribly functional.

FIELDLOG is an attempt to provide a simple, easy to use logging
program for either DOS or Windows 95/98 operating systems that is
tailored to Field Day.  The program is not intended for general
logging or other contests, just Field Day.  Almost anyone who
can type can use FIELDLOG with about a minute's instruction.


Configuration

Preparation for using FIELDLOG starts with a configuration file,
FIELDLOG.CFG, tailored to the operating position and the computer to
be used at the operating position.  While the configuration file can
be created "on the fly", having a configuration file prepared in
advance will help station operators get started in the first few
hectic minutes of Field Day.  An example configuration file might be
as follows:

    ; Field Day Logbook Configuration File

    CALLSIGN=W8VY
    BAND=20M Phone
    FREQ=(14.175 KHz--14.350 KHz)
    FORMAT=CSV

    DisplayType=Color
    MainScrnBack=Black
    MainScrnHead=White
    MainScrnText=Green
    EditWinFrame=Green
    EditWinText=LightGray
    EditFieldBack=Red
    EditFieldText=LightGray

    ; BACKGROUND ONLY
    ; Black    Blue         Green      Cyan
    ; Red      Magenta      Brown      LightGray

    ; BACK AND FOREGROUND
    ; Black    Blue         Green      Cyan
    ; Red      Magenta      Brown      LightGray
    ; DarkGray LightBlue    LightGreen LightCyan
    ; LightRed LightMagenta Yellow     White

As people with a computer background might suspect, any line with a
semicolon in column one is treated as a comment regardless of what
follows on the line.  Comments are for humans but can also be "code"
that is "disabled".  Comments may be added, placed where desired, or
removed.  However, any comment line must have a semicolon in column
one.

The only other formatting dictate of the FIELDLOG.CFG file is that
lines containing an equal sign must NOT have spaces immediately
preceeding or following the equal sign.  The characters on the line
may be uppercase or lowercase as desired.  (Capitalization has been
used in the example only for clarity.)

The first required line, CALLSIGN, identifies the station hosting the
Field Day site.  When an operator calls CQ, or answers a call, this is
the call sign that is to be used.  The FIELDLOG program displays this
call sign at the top center of the screen so that the operator can
merely glance at the logging screen in a moment of forgetfulness to
know the station call sign to be used.

The second line, BAND, should contain text that identifies the band
and mode for the station.  (Length of the line is 10 characters.  More
characters are ignored.) The contents of this line, combined with the
FREQ line (described below) are displayed on the FIELDLOG screen for
the convenience of the operator.  The BAND line is also included in
the log files so that all logs may be combined for processing.

Given that operators of different privileges might be running the
station at different times, the FREQ line should have the frequency
range authorized for the station licensee.  This line, combined with
the BAND line, is also displayed on the FIELDLOG display to provide a
convenient reference of band limits for the current operator.(The FREQ
line is NOT used by FIELDLOG, only displayed.  Capitalization,
spacing, and content should be for the convenience of operators.)

The forth line, FORMAT, specifies the format of the log file.  The log
file, which is a text file, may be written in one of two formats.  If
the field to the right of the equal sign is DAT, the file will be
written in a fixed format with unused positions in the output fields
filled with spaces.  This allows the log file to be read by a home
brew computer program.  If the field to the right of the equal sign is
CSV, the file will be written with alphabetic fields quoted and all
fields delimited by commas.  The CSV format allows the log file to be
imported into a spreadsheet or database for processing.  (See "Post
Field Day Processing" below.)

The remaining lines control the appearance of the FIELDLOG display.
Since monitors (and a person's perceptions of what appears on the
monitor) may vary, the colors should be field tested before use.
Following is a list and brief description of what each line controls.
    DisplayType
      Defines the type of monitor.  Possible choices are COLOR and
      MONOCHROME.  Default is COLOR.  If MONOCHROME is specified, the
      remaining lines are ignored.
    MainScrnBack
      Defines the background color for the screen.
    MainScrnHead
      Defines the color for the station call sign and code.  Use a
      bright color so that these critical values are easily seen by
      the operator.
    MainScrnText
      Defines the color for prompts and command reminders.
    EditWinFrame
      Defines the color of a double line frame around the window of
      ARRL abbreviations.
    EditWinText
      Defines the color for text in informational fields that are
      changed by FIELDLOG.  These fields would be log entry fields,
      the clock, and the abbreviation window.
    EditFieldBack
      Defines the background color for the log entry field currently
      being edited by the operator.
    EditFieldText
      Defines the color of the text in the log entry field currently
      being edited by the operator.
If any or all of the color definition fields are not defined (when a
color display is indicated), the resulting color combination may or
may not be particularly pleasing.  The program works the same with or
without color definitions.

FIELDLOG can be run from a 720K floppy with room for the log and
configuration files.  However, for reasons of speed, FIELDLOG should
be run from a hard drive rather than a floppy.  The only installation
requirement is that FIELDLOG must "know" the location of the
FIELDLOG.CFG file (which will also be the location where the log file
will be created).  Rather than require the user to specify the
location as a parameter when FIELDLOG is executed, a configuration
program, CNFG-FL.COM is provided to modify FIELDLOG.EXE with the
location of the FIELDLOG.CFG file.

As released, FIELDLOG is configured to assume that FIELDLOG.CFG will
be found in the root directory of a diskette in the A: floppy drive.
To change the drive and/or path where FIELDLOG.EXE will find the
configuration file and write the log file, perform the following
steps:
    1) If necessary, create a directory on the appropriate hard drive
       with the same name as the directory to be used on the Field Day
       computer.  (CNFG-FL.COM will check for the existence of this
       directory and will not modify FIELDLOG if the directory does
       not exist.)
    2) With both CNFG-FL.COM and FIELDLOG.EXE in the default directory
       (this may be a floppy or hard drive), enter the command
	    CNFG-FL
       at the DOS prompt.
    3) CNFG-FL.COM will display the current drive/path configuration
       and prompt for a new configuration of your choice with with the
       message
	    Change to:
    4) If the existing drive/path is acceptable, just press the ENTER
       key.  If a different drive/path is desired, enter your choice
       and press the ENTER key.

       Note: A path may be specified for either a floppy or a hard
       drive but must NOT end in a backslash.  The root directory may
       be specified for either drive A: or B: (by omitting the "\"),
       but hard drives must always have a subdirectory specified.

If each operating position is given a diskette with the FIELDLOG
software, the installing operator needs to install the software on the
operating position computer.


DOS Installation

Assuming FIELDLOG is configured to use C:\LOGGING, DOS users would
install and start the software with the following steps:
    1)  Create the directory with the command
            MKDIR C:\LOGGING
    2)  Copy FIELDLOG.EXE and FIELDLOG.CFG from the floppy to the
	newly created directory with the command
	    COPY A:FIELDLOG.* C:\LOGGING\*.*
    3)  Make the C:\LOGGING directory the default directory with the
	commands
	    C:
	    CD C:\LOGGING
For DOS users, FIELDLOG is ready to run.


Windows Installation

Assuming FIELDLOG is configured to use C:\LOGGING, Windows users would
install software with the following steps:
    1)  Double click with the left mouse button on the "My Computer"
        icon on the desktop.
    2)  On the representation of the desired drive (name or icon), 
        again double click with the left mouse button.
    3)  Single click with the left mouse button on "File" in the upper
        left corner of the window to display the associated pull-down
        menu.
    4)  Point the mouse at "New" and slide across to display the "New"
        menu on which you want to point and click (left mouse button)
        on "Folder".
    5)  Below the image of a folder, the words "New Folder" will be 
	hi-lited with a box around the words.
    6)  Type the name that you want to give the new folder, such as 
        "Logging" and then press the ENTER key.
    7)  Returning to the "My Computer" window, double click on the 
	floppy drive identifier where FIELDLOG and FIELDLOG.CFG are
	located.
    8)  In turn, click and hold on the representations of the two
        files and drag them on top of the "Logging" folder.

While FIELDLOG can be executed without menu or icon representation.
for most Windows users, this is not a convenient technique.  To create
a "shortcut" (desktop icon) for FIELDLOG, the following steps may be
taken:
    1)  Click the right mouse button in an empty area of the desktop.
    2)  On the resulting menu, point at "New" which will result in a
	second menu.
    3)  In the second menu, point at and click the left mouse button
	on "Shortcut".
    4)  In the "Command line:" box, enter 
            C:\LOGGING\FIELDLOG.EXE
    5)  Point at and click the left mouse button on the "Next" button.
    6)  From the display of icons, choose an appropriate icon (such as
	a pencil writing on paper) and click on the "Finish" button.

As installed, FIELDLOG will run in a Window on the desktop.  To run
using the entire screen (as FIELDLOG does under DOS), do the
following:
    1) Point at and click the right mouse button on the "Fieldlog"
	icon.
    2)  On the presented menu, point at and click the left mouse
	button on "Properties".
    3)  Point at and click the left mouse button on the "Screen" tab.
    4)  Within the framed "Usage" box, click on the radio button
	representing "Full-screen".
    5)  At the bottom of the Window, point at and click the left mouse
	button on the "Ok" button.
A Windows user may now run FIELDLOG as a fullscreen application by
clicking on the desktop shortcut.


Using FIELDLOG

Part of the design criteria for FIELDLOG is to log as well as display
the current time.  Depending on how your local field day coordinator
want the logs written, you might need to set your computer to the
correct local time or GMT.  Unless you have a very ancient DOS
computer or the clock battery in your computer is dead, setting the
time (and date, if necessary) should be sufficient for the duration of
Field Day.

Assuming that the above installation instructions (or equivalent) were
followed, DOS users would invoke FIELDLOG with a command similar to
    C:\LOGGING\FIELDLOG xxxx
where "xxx" is the entry category (such as "7A") for the group running
the Field Day site.  Windows users need only click on the appropriate
Desktop icon to execute FIELDLOG.  (Windows users and those DOS users
who forget or enter invalid information in the entry category
parameter will be prompted for this information.) All of the following
information applies equally to DOS and Windows installations.

When FIELDLOG is invoked, a prompt for operator identification
information is also made.  Anything is acceptable (call signs, names,
etc.) that will fit within 10 characters.  When the operator changes,
type the command "operator" (either upper or lower case letters) in
the "Call" field and press the ENTER key.  At the bottom of the
screen, a prompt and editing field of ten characters in size will be
provided to log the new operator.  The operator field is appended to
each entry of the log.

When you hear a station, enter the call sign of the station in the
"Call" field and press the TAB key.  If the station is a duplicate,
the word "DUPLICATE" will appear in bright white flashing letters next
to the "Call" field.  Pressing any key will clear the field (and
duplicate message) with nothing logged.  If the call is new, an
alphabetic list of zones within the district and the abbreviations for
these zones is shown in the window.

Call signs are expected to be at least four characters in length.
U.S.  call signs are expected start with "A", "K", "N", or "W" and to
contain a district identifying number as the second or third character
position in the call sign.  A call sign is assumed to be Canadian if it
starts with a "V".  FIELDLOG does not do any other checking of
call signs.  (Operators are assumed to be much better at this than a
computer algorithm.)

With a nonduplicate call, the next field is the "Code" field in which
(after contact is made) you enter the category of the remote station.
The code is entered as one or two digits followed by an alphabetic
character ("A" through "E", inclusively and the battery entries of
"AB"/"BB").  Pressing TAB changes the edit field to the final entry
for the log, "Location", if and only if a valid code has been entered.

For most loggings, the "Location" entry can be found from the window
just below the editing fields.  Given the district number for U.S.
stations (or the "V" call sign for Canadian stations), the window will
reflect the proper abbreviations and their expanded meaning.  Hence,
if a "K9" station gives its location as "Illinois", a glance at the
window will show the proper abbreviation is "IL".  The "Location"
field is 20 positions in length to handle locations that are not in
the table or for other purposes.  (The "Location" field is only
checked for not being empty, not for content.)

When something has been entered into the "Location" field, press the
ENTER key to log the contact.  The log entry is written immediately to
disk.  The most recent entry will be lost if the computer loses power
at the time of the logging of the entry, but otherwise the program is
not affected by a sudden loss of power.  When power is restored, just
re-start FIELDLOG and continue.

If you call a station after determining that it is not a duplicate but
fail to make contact, press the ESC key to clear the entry fields and
prepare for the next contact.  Nothing is logged and you are ready to
enter your next contact.

The editing fields (Call, Code, and Location) may be edited (when the
field is highlighted), with the expected editing keys familiar to most
computer users.  The recognized keys and their function are as
follows:
    Backspace
        Move cursor one position to left erasing character.
    Cursor left (left arrow)
        Move cursor one position to left.
    Cursor right (right arrow)
        Move cursor one position to right.
    Del
	Delete character at current cursor position, shifting
	subsequent characters to the left.
    End
	Move cursor to end of string within current editing field.
    Esc
	Move cursor to "Call" field and erase (WITHOUT logging) all
	editing fields.
    Enter/Return
	Log contact (only when "Location" field is current editing
	field and filled) or submit OPERATOR/EXIT commands.
    Home
        Move cursor to start of string within current editing field.
    Insert
	Turn on insert mode to allow inserting characters before
	current cursor position, pushing characters to the right.
	The cursor transformed from underline to block.  (Default
	mode is to overwrite characters within editing field.)
    Spacebar
        Place space at current cursor position within editing field.
    Tab
	Move to next editing field (assuming current field is
	acceptable).  If in the last editing field, Tab will advance
	to the first editing field.

Of course, sooner or later, the operator will want to stop FIELDLOG
(to fuel the generator, the operator, etc.).  To gracefully terminate
FIELDLOG, enter "exit" in the "Call" field.  As noted previously, the
site's entry category and the current operator will have to be
re-entered when FIELDLOG is again run, but the log of all prior calls
will be continued without operator action.

As a final note, occasionally, some significant event will need to be
logged.  With a "call" of REMARK1 (or any other identifier that is
obviously not a call sign), a valid entry in the "Code" field, and the
location field could have a terse comment (duly marked with date and
time) in the log.  An example logging from a dedicated Field Day
operator might be
     REMARK1   2B   XYL HAD TWINS
The relative merits (and wisdom) of the operator being in a position
to log such an entry on Field Day is left to the consideration of the
reader.


Post Field Day Processing

When Field Day is done, someone has to go through and determine the
results based on the log entries.  With FIELDLOG this might be an
easier (and more accurate) task.  As noted previously, two data
formats for the log are available.  The computing tools of the person
delegated to do the validation and scoring of the logs will probably
determine which format is to be used.  (Note: FIELDLOG.EXE can NOT
convert logs from one format to another!)

For the analyst with computer programming skills, the DAT format might
be deemed more desirable.  In appearance, the format is similar to the
following:

KB8OAX     01 AB MI          2000-03-10 11:29:25 20m Phone  WB8ZVV
KC8NDL     01 E  MI          2000-03-10 11:29:41 20m Phone  WB8ZVV

This provides columns of input fields as follows:
    1 - 10  call sign
   12 - 13  number of operators at site
   15 - 16  power code for site
   18 - 37  location
   39 - 48  date (YMD) delimited by dashes
   50 - 57  time (HHMMDD) delimited by colons
   59 - 68  contents from BAND line in FIELDLOG.CFG
   70 - 79  operator ID
Most programming languages can read a file with these fields
(delimited by spaces) and a program could be written to provide the score or
other analysis of the data.

However, with the availability and power of a spreadsheet program,
other Field Day analysts might prefer the data provided by the CSV
format.  The same log in CSV format would appear as follows:
  "KB8OAX",99,"AB","MI",2000-03-10,11:21:38,"20m Phone","WB8ZVV"
  "KC8NDL",01,"E","MI",2000-03-10,11:21:53,"20m Phone","WB8ZVV"

Alphabetic fields (including date and time fields) are enclosed in
double quote marks.  The numeric operator count field is not quoted.
All fields are delimited by a comma.  Spreadsheet programs (and some
database programs) on a PC can read a file with this formatting which
will allow simple, but rapid evaluation of the logged data.

Error Messages

    CNFG-FL.COM
	FIELDLOG.EXE not found in current directory
	    FIELDLOG.EXE must be in the same directory as CNFG-FL.COM.
	FIELDLOG.EXE is not correct size
	    Either the distribution contains two different versions
	    of CNFG-FL.COM and FIELDLOG.EXE or FIELDLOG.EXE has been
	    infected with a computer virus.

    FIELDLOG.EXE
	Missing CALLSIGN line from FIELDLOG.CFG
	    The CALLSIGN line is missing from the FIELDLOG.CFG file.
	Missing BAND line from FIELDLOG.CFG
	    The BAND line is missing from the FIELDLOG.CFG file.
	Missing FREQ line from FIELDLOG.CFG
	    The FREQ line is missing from the FIELDLOG.CFG file.
	Missing FORMAT line from FIELDLOG.CFG
	    The FORMAT line is missing from the FIELDLOG.CFG file.
	Unrecognized FORMAT value
	    Either "DAT" or "CSV" must appear to the right of the
	    equal sign.
	Missing d:\path\FIELDLOG.CFG file
	    FIELDLOG.CFG is not in the drive/directory shown in the
	    error message.
	LOG ENTRY CAPACITY REACHED!  CHANGE TO NEW LOG FILE!
	    You have a LOT of comments or the bands are hot.  Rename
	    the log file (to anything other than FIELDLOG.DAT or
	    FIELDLOG.CSV) and restart FIELDLOG.  (You have 4096 log
	    entries.)

Credits and Disclaimers

Names and other copyrighted designations used in this documentation
are the property of their respective copyright holders and are cited
only for purposes of identifying the product of the copyright holder.

FIELDLOG.EXE and associated files may be freely distributed only
through non-commercial channels.  The only warranty expressed or
implied with this software is that the software worked for me.
Derivation of any additional rules governing this software are based
on the preceding two tenets and are left to the interested reader.


Comments, Questions, Criticisms?

Problems, suggestions or comments may be e-mailed or sent to my callbook
address.  Inquiries requesting a response should include an e-mail address
or sufficient postage for a response.

Snail mail:  John D. Tucker
	     2024 Lauralwood
	     Portage, MI 49002

E-mail:      wb8zvv@arrl.net
