Copyright 2003 Scientific Solutions, Inc.
Release Notes for DXbase 2002 for Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/XP and NT4/5/Win2000
Completed Enhancements/modifications to date.
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General Changes:
1. Changed all references to the 220 band so that it is 222.
2. Added ability for users to specify the QSO field order in the log display and
Previous QSO module.
a. New utility module lets user specify the field order and save the
config file.
b. User can predefine as many different config files as desired.
c. At program start up, user will be optionally asked what config file
to use for the QSO log.
d. When displaying the Previous QSO module, user will be optionally
asked what config file to use each
time they enter this module.
e. In each config file, user can specify what fields are to be hidden.
f. The QSO log and Previous QSO modules can use the same or different
field order.
g. The width of each field is automatically saved in the config file.
Any
field width or hidden status changes made to the
field widths will be
automatically saved when closing the QSO log and/or
the Previous QSO windows.
3. Restructured the database so that primary prefix, call map, prefix map, IOTA, State
cities, favorite frequency, band mapping, manager address, and manager map tables
are now shared between multiple QSO related databases. Effectively, there is
only one reference database now so that it is no longer necessary to make
reference database adds/changes/deletes to each different QSO database.
4. When printing labels and user defined list reports, it is no longer necessary to
print to a print preview before printing to the printer. Users may now print
directly to the printer or optionally choose to print to the screen print preview.
5. When printing labels and user defined list reports, new options are now available
that allow saving the output to a bitmap, jpeg, metafile, html, PRN file, or rich
text. When printing to a graphics file or html, users may select the resolution
and color content desired.
6. The Special-1 and Special-2 QSO fields are now available for inclusion on labels.
7. Added logic to distinguish Guantanamo Bay ( KG4 ) from USA in prefix lookups.
8. DXbase will now recognize a Windows Shutdown message and automatically close
itself properly.
9. When saving an address label from the QSL info window, the manager call is no
longer required. DXbase will assume it is the same as the DXcall if it is blank.
10. When saving a manager map from the QSL info window, the manager call is no
longer required. DXbase will assume it is the same as the DXcall if it is blank.
11. Enhanced the DXbase Selection Wizard so that settings can be saved and restored
in configuration files. You can have as many different configuration files as
you want. QSO filters are now on a subwindow of the main Wizard screen.
12. Added ability to print the VUCC application front sheet in the VUCC award module.
13. Added VUCC page to Personal User Options for recording VUCC award info.
14. Added the following new digital modes:
PSKHELL105 PSKHELL245 PSK63F
PSK125F
FMHELL105 FMHELL245 FAX
MFSK8
MFSK16 STREAM
THROB SLOWFELD
CMTHELL DUPLOHELL
15. Expanded user options to allow disabling the population of the DX Info window.
16. When performing a country find in the Statistics windows, DXbase
will now perform a full call or alias lookup making it unnecessary to enter the
exact ARRL prefix.
17. Additional mode choices are available in the Previous QSO module.
A. Band
B. Mode
c. BAND+Mode - This option allows you to enter a band and mode
combination to
display only QSOs that are for that band and mode.
Entry format is BAND+MODE
e.g. 40+CW, 20+USB, etc.
d. PHONE - this selection displays QSOs that are considered phone. That
is
USB, LSB, FM, AM, SSTV.
e. DIGITAL - this selection displays QSOs that are not CW or PHONE. It
includes
all new digital modes plus RTTY.
18. Redesigned the HF and VHF statistics windows.
A. The two windows have been combined into a new Window called Summary.
A drop down list on the window lets you select the category you want
displayed.
e.g. HF-Country, HF-CQzones, VHF-Country, VHF-Grids, etc....
B. A new field is present for entering a country, zone, itoa, etc...
when
entering a lookup value. Just enter it and press c/r. No longer necessary
to click a find button and enter the value on a separate window.
C. The display now uses a grid similar to other windows thereby
allowing
the user to set colors, zoom, fonts, size, etc... for the statistics portion
of the display.
D. Beam Headings, Country name, etc.. are now displayed for VHF country
statistics.
E. Beam Headings, State name, etc... are now displayed for VHF US State statistics.
F. Clicking on the band column header will cause the Previous QSO
module to
automatically display all QSOs with the band you clicked.
G. Clicking on the band/mode coordinates such as 20m CW, or 80m Phone,
will
cause the Previous QSO module to automatically display all QSOs for the
appropriate band and mode combination.
H. Replaced the RTTY designation with DIGITAL to be more representative of the
statistics that are displayed. DIGITAL includes all the new digital modes
and also RTTY.
i. Band columns can be hidden if not desired.
j. The callsign notes info has been removed from the general info
window and
added to this window and is visible all the time.
k. The General Info window has been renamed the QSL Info window and
contains
manager and address info data.
l. If latitude and longitude are available from a CD, DXbase will compute
the gridsquare and display statistics automatically.
m. If latitude and longitude are available from a CD, DXbase will use them
to compute beam headings instead of it's internal default coordinates.
n. WPX statistics are automatically displayed on DX spots.
o. Gridsquare statistics are automatically displayed for incoming DX spots if
the latitude, longitude, or gridsquare are present on the CD.
19. A new global user option is available for specifying if Deleted Entities such as
IOTA and DXCC Countries should be used when invoking the Numeric Statistics Module.
Options include Yes, No, and Prompt.
20. When the option to extract IOTA info from a DX spot is enabled, DXbase will ignore
an invalid IOTA. Error message will no longer be displayed at the time the DXspot
is received.
21. Column width settings in the Message tab are now saved/restored.
22. Added a QSL Via option equal to Mgr$$.
23. Added Grid validation in QSO log so that position 3 an 4 must be numeric.
24. Modified internal logic so that only 4 char grids are tracked in statistics. The
six char grid can still be entered in the log field if desired.
25. Added ability to print the WAS application front sheet.
26. Added computation of beam headings and distance based on grid square. Computations
are based on the ARRL World Grid Locator Atlas which provides a high degree of
accuracy within 20003 km. center to center of grids. Distances greater than this
are not computed. Computations allow for 2, 4, or 6 character grids.
27. Added new fields in the QSO log for transmitter power, and QSL Date Received. Added
ability to filter on this in the Selection Wizard. Added the power field to
be available on QSO labels and user designed reports.
28. Added ability to denote what callsign you were using for each QSO. This allows
you to have logs from your past callsigns in the same database MDB and still keep
the identity of which callsign was used for each QSO. Added ability to filter on
this in the Selection Wizard. Added this field to be available on QSO labels. By
using this new field on your label designs, DXbase can automatically use whatever
callsign you had at the time of the QSO.
29. Modified all Award modules to allow choosing whether to base the Award computations
on the full QSO log, or to base the computations on records extracted from the
DXbase Wizard. This new feature allows for such things as computing a DXCC award
for QSOs made during a specific time period etc... or any other filter conditions
available in the Wizard module.
30. The new field for Date QSL Received is automatically populated with the current date
when the CFM field is checked.
31. Added ability to compute the grid locator based on the latitude and longitude. Just
enter the lat/lon into the fields on the Summary window and click the compute button.
32. Renamed the General Info Window to QSL Info Window and redesigned the presentation
and functionality.
a. The DXbase address info and address info from a CDROM are displayed
simultaneously.
b. Additional information is retrieved from the address CD if it is
available
1. Date of Birth
2. City
3. First Name
4. Latitude
5. Longitude
6. Email address
7. US County
8. Gridsquare
c. If the gridsquare field is not present on the CD, but the Lat and
Lon are, then DXbase will automatically compute the grid square.
d. A toggle option is available on the Window to automatically select
either the DXbase address or the CD address when storing an address label.
e. When performing an Edit/Find from the QSL Info window, both the
DXbase and the CD address info will be retrieved.
f. Option available to allow for automatic display of CD info when
clicking a QSO or Packet record and when incoming DX spots are received.
33. In the QSO log, the following fields will automatically be populated if the option
to use the CD is turned on and the info is available from the CD:
a. First Name
b. QTH field will be populated with the city
c. Gridsquare
d. US County
e. US State
34. Added user name and address to be available for use when designing or printing
address labels and envelopes.
35. ARRL DXCC Award submission form has been updated to comply with Jan 2001 format.
36. Added email field on personal user options and made this field available on QSO
labels.
37. Added grid field on personal user options and made this field available on QSO
labels.
38. Added support for the TenTec Pegasus, using standard Pegasus interface option
for pegasus.in and pegasus.out file process.
39. Added ten minute "keep alive" timer for the internet packet interface.
40. Added support for the W5XD Multi+ external CW keyer board. This is the same board
made by the makers of the contest software WriteLog.
41. Modified some primary prefixes to be consistent with ARRL DXCC designations:
4K2 = R1FJ 4J1 = R1MV 4W6 = 4W
CE0A = CE0Y
CE9 = KC4 FJ = FS
FT8W = FT5W FT8X = FT5X
FT8Z = FT5Z KC6 = T8 KH7 = KH7K
OJ0 = OH0M
KP3 = HK0R VK9Y = VK9C VU7A = VU4
VU7L = VU7
7O1 = VS9A
During import of DXbase 2000 and 2001, prefix changes will be made to
your
QSO records automatically.
42. The QSO database name will be displayed in the title bar of the QSO log window.
The CW WPM will be displayed in the DXbase status bar.
43. Modified Log Internet and VHF spot so that the DX spot that was last clicked is the
one that is logged. This removes the behavior where an incoming spot could over
ride the one that you were attempting to log during periods of high activity.
44. Stored CW messages will be displayed in pop up tooltip when the cursor is positioned
over the CW toolbar button for each message.
45. Expanded Initialize Tables functionality so that numeric statistics tables will be
automatically recreated during the initialization. This should remove any need to
create new databases and import if statistics become out of sync.
46. When changing the frequency field in the QSO log, the RSTs and RSTr will be
automatically changed to agree with the mode that was computed from the new
frequency.
47. Added the copy/cut/paste functionality for the main DXbase screen windows.
48. Simplified the process of entering QSL info from the main screen. The separate
menu selection for "Add a Manager Map" has been removed, and the route field on
the QSL Info window is also removed. DXbase will keep track of the route number
automatically. To add address info, simply enter the address, if any, and enter
the mapping info. DXbase will show you any existing address info and ask if you
want to overwrite it. It will then check to see if the mapping exists and if not
it will ask you if you want to add the manager mapping.
49. When computing a DXCC award, if the Field Check only option is set, then QSOs
on the 160m band are automatically excluded per ARRL rules.
50. Added code to allow specifying a custom port for the IP host. Entries in the
host file that require a port should be in the IP format of
24.6.217.21:7300 where the :7300 is the port.
This allows connecting to internet clusters that require a specific port.
51. User can enter a call into the callsign field of the Summary Window and press the
enter key. DXbase will lookup previous QSOs, callsign notes and numeric stats
and display them. This feature only applies when the user has selected the HF
or VHF country choices in the Summary window.
52. User can enter a call into the DX Call field of the QSL info window press the enter
key and DXbase will perform a lookup of address info in its internal database and
if CD option is active will lookup the call in the CD.
53. User can enter a call into the Manager field of the QSL Info window press the enter
key and DXbase will perform a lookup of the manager call in a CDROM if one is used.
54. Updated the import utility to accomodate the new changes and additions adopted by
the ADIF standards committee. This includes the new modes and also recognition of
the new submode classification.
55. Added an interface to QRZ web for callsign lookup based on the call that is in the
DX call field of the QSL Info window. DXbase automatically activates your web
browser, sends the query to QRZ web site, and results are displayed by QRZ web site
in your web browser.
56. Added a new program for PSK operation called DxbPSK. This is the original v2.09 of
WinPSK by Moe Wheatley, AE4JY, and used by DXbase with his permission. The WinPSK
program was modified by Dave Cook, WA0TTN, and by Scientific Solutions to allow for
a direct interface between DxbPSK and DXbase for logging purposes.
57. Added an interface to the PathFinder web for callsign lookup based on the call that
is in the DX call field of the QSL Info Window. DXbase automatically activates your
web browser, sends the query to the PathFinder web site, and results are displayed
in your web browser.
58. Added code to distinguish between FO, FO/A, FO/C, and FO/M for automatic prefix
extraction.
Fixes:
1. Expanded the valid frequency range for the 1240, 2300, 3300, and 5650 bands.
2. Default RST for PSK corrected to be 599 ( previously fixed on a patch).
3. Corrected problem where the Frequency field was not populated on the pending
QSO label when saving a label from the Previous QSO module.
4. When cancelling the Initialize Tables box without performing the initialization,
statistics data could be erased thus forcing you to perform the table initialization.
This has been corrected.
5. Changed code to allow deleting the QSL Date sent information from a QSO record.
Misc Additions/changes:
1. Added some more prefix and callsign mapping entries.
2. Corrected spelling of NH, Hillsborough county in the county database.
3. Updated the IOTA database based on the March 23, 2001 list.
4. DXbase 2002 folder will now be the default in most places where you are asked
to select a filename.
5. Added new entries to the host file for Internet Clusters.
6. Added logic to protect DXbase when packet cluster software fails to enforce limits
on the allowable length of a callsign in a DX spot.
# # # © 1989 - 1999
Scientific Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. DXbase is a registered trademark of
Scientific Solutions, Inc. in the United States. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT are
either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries. All other trademarks or service marks are property of their
respective owners. |
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