Digital Modes Interfaces

SWISSLOG interfaces with the following digital modes programs:

FLDIGI, HamScope, WSJT-X, JTDX, MSHV, JT65-HF HB9HQX Edition, SIM PSK, N1MM and JS8 CALL are FREE. MultiPSK is freeware but you need to buy a license to get some auxiliary functions. MixW, DM780 and TrueTTY need registration.

It allows to work digital modes in real time from these programs and save the QSO in Swisslog at the same time.

 From Multimode programs (except DM780), QSO Data are sent automatically to SWISSLOG in the following ways:

In HamScope Call and Name are sent from SWISSLOG when a Call is entered into the QSO-Edit View of SWISSLOG

In DM780, N1MM, SIM PSK, VarAC and MMSSTV YONIQ when user press the corresponding Save QSO button, all QSO data is transferred to Swisslog and QSO is saved automatically.

For WSJT-X, JTDX, MSHV and JS8Call please read the specific section later.

Setup the Digital Modes Support in SWISSLOG

- Select the menu item Options | Digital Modes-Interface and then the program you will be using:

- Digital Master 780, N1MM, JT65-HF HB9HQX Edition and SIM PSK don't need any further setup in Swisslog. You have to select the program you want to enable direct logging (you can check more than one). WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call need additional setup. Please read the operation section for the selected programs.

- ONLY applicable for Multimode programs (except DM780): if you have not configured previously Multimode programs, the first time you press the button located at the bottom of the QSO entry window, Swisslog will prompt you to select the Multimode program you will be using:

Options ONLY for Multimode programs (except DM780)

- The following Dialog is displayed if you select MixW, FLDIGI or MultiPSK :

- The following Dialog is displayed if you select Hamscope:

- When selecting TrueTTY a dialog is displayed where you have to specify the directory in which TrueTTY.Exe is located.

The options are the following:

WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call UDP Settings

Swisslog supports up to 6 different instances of these programs running at the same time! There are 2 different ways to configure them:

Go to Options | Digital Modes-Interface > WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call UDP Settings:

SPECIAL NOTE FOR JTALERT USERS

If you want to use JTALERT along with Swisslog and WSJT-X or JTDX you have to use JTALERT version 2.10.17 or higher which supports UDP packet rebroadcasting on an user defined IP & Port. This must be done because the UDP port can't be shared by 2 applications at the same time. Perform the following steps if you want to use JTALERT along with Swisslog and WSJT-X / JTDX:

  • In JTALERT go to Settings > Manage Settings > Applications > WSJT-X then check the "Rebroadcast WSJT-X UDP Packets (received only)" option. Unless you know what you are doing I suggest to keep the default settings: IP address 127.0.0.1 and port 2334.

  • In Swisslog go to Options | Digital Modes-Interface | WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call UDP Settings and set the same settings defined in the previous step (default 127.0.0.1 and port 2334) either in the Main section or in one of the 5 additional Log requests instances. Set the full path and name of the JT Alert program in the Program location if you want to Auto start JT Alert when Swisslog starts up.

In case of communication problems check that your antivirus/firewall is not blocking any of the selected UDP/TCP ports!  

Important about transceiver control

Because nearly all digital modes are worked in USB or LSB (except RTTY if you work in FSK), if we are using the transceiver CAT control in Swisslog, we don't want that QSO are saved in the transceiver mode but in the real mode of operation. We also want to save the REAL frequency of operation of the digital mode being used and not the frequency displayed in the transceiver which is the USB/LSB frequency. MixW and FLDIGI sends the real frequency of operation and this is very interesting. For these reasons when the link is established between Swisslog and all supported digital modes programs (except TrueTTY) the transceiver control in Swisslog is stopped automatically giving full CAT control to these programs. For a proper operation, you have to setup the transceiver control in these programs. When deactivating the link the transceiver control in Swisslog will be started again (only if you set the option to start automatically the transceiver control).

IMPORTANT: Hardware serial COM ports can't be opened by two programs simultaneously. If you deactivate the link between the digital modes program and Swisslog, you will get an error when restoring the CAT control in Swisslog because the digital modes program is still running and using the COM port. If you are using a commercial interface (such as MicroHam) read the documentation because some of them bring the possibility to setup 2 or more serial ports to be used as CAT control. If you don't have this option or you are using a regular CAT cable or interface there is an excellent solution available to solve this problem! Virtual Serial Port Emulator (VSPE) software allows you to split your hardware serial COM ports into virtual serial ports which can be used with up to 4 programs simultaneously! It's a perfect solution to control your transceiver, PTT port, or rotator simultaneously in several programs. It also offers some other interesting functions. Best of all: it's free for 32 bits operating systems and it cost around $25 for 64 bits platforms. Please visit http://www.eterlogic.com/Products.VSPE.html to download it and get further information.

NOTE: If you are using MixW, WSJT-X, JTDX, MSHV, JS8Call, JT65-HF HB9HQX Edition or SIM PSK you can avoid using VSPE by using OmniRig as CAT control in these programs and Swisslog. If you are using FLDIGI you can select FLRIG for CAT control in FLDIGI and Swisslog. Please read the transceiver control chapter.

Activate/ Deactivate Multimode programs

To activate the selected Multimode program (except Digital Master 780) press the button in the QSO Edit Window. Depending your selection it will be displayed as:

- For MixW:          

- For FLDIGI:        

- For MultiPSK:     

- For HamScope:  

- For TrueTTY:      

The red indicator tells you that Swisslog is not linked to the digital modes program. Pressing this button starts the selected digital modes program (if the program was not running before the execution of Swisslog) and enables the link to it. When the link is established you will see a green indicator. You can press again this button if you want to deactivate the link between both programs (this works this way in all programs except for TrueTTY).

IMPORTANT: While the link is established with the selected Multimode program (green button) the X button to close the QSO entry window will be disabled (except for TrueTTY). The QSO Entry window must be open during the link. Press the digital mode button to deactivate the link if you need to close the QSO Entry window. 

MixW Operation

To start operating digital modes linking Swisslog with MixW you have to press the button . MixW will start if it was not running before pressing this button. After some seconds you will see this button like this . The green dot indicates that the DDE link has been established between Swisslog and MixW. While connected, if you press again this button you deactivate the connection between both programs. Or if you close MixW Swisslog will automatically detect that the link has been broken. In both cases the button will show again the red indicator. You can press again the button to start the link between MixW and Swisslog.

Deactivating the link by pressing the button can be very useful in the following cases:

When you enter a callsign in MixW automatically will be entered (not saved) in the QSO Entry window of Swisslog. You can enter a callsign in MixW in 3 different ways:

Swisslog reads from the following MixW fields:

If you change the contents in any of the above fields in MixW, Swisslog will transfer the contents automatically to the corresponding fields. Because the QSL manager field of MixW may contain different information than a QSL manager callsign, Swisslog will extract the first valid callsign found in this field.

Keep also in mind that when entering the State or County in MixW it must have the same format as Swisslog recognises (which is the standard format), otherwise you will create wrong entries in your WAS o US Counties statistics. The US State has 2 letters: PA, NY, MD, WA, etc. The US County has de following format: US State - County name. i.e. NY-ALBANY, PA-WASHINGTON. Swisslog DOESN'T check the validity of the transferred data!

Name and QTH Locator fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in MixW. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in MixW and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

Swisslog recognises all the MixW modes except FSK63 and FSK125 which are not LOTW/ADIF compliant. If used they are converted to FSK31.

If you press the MixW button the QSO will be saved in both Swisslog and MixW. If you set the Set QSO Time on save option the QSO time will be set to the time when you press the save button. Otherwise the default behaviour is the following: the QSO Start time will be set when you enter the callsign and the QSO End Time will be set when you press the button .

If you press the MixW button all QSO fields will be cleared in both Swisslog and MixW. Keep in mind that if you select any saved QSO in MixW (i.e. for editing) you will see that Swisslog enters the callsign as if it were a new QSO (calm! it's entered not saved!). This is a normal behaviour because MixW sends the selected callsign via DDE link the same way as if it were a new QSO. Swisslog is not able to know if you are editing or entering a new QSO. If you are editing QSO in MixW a good choice is deactivating temporally the link by pressing the button. If you set the cursor to the new QSO line in MixW you may press the button to clear the QSO fields in both MixW and Swisslog. Or you can press the Cancel button in Swisslog to clear the QSO entry fields of Swisslog.

FLDIGI Operation

To start operating digital modes linking Swisslog with FLDIGI you have to press the button . FLDIGI will start if it was not running before pressing this button. After some seconds you will see this button like this . The green dot indicates that the link has been established between Swisslog and FLDIGI. While connected, if you press again this button you deactivate the connection between both programs. Or if you close FLDIGI Swisslog will automatically detect that the link has been broken. In both cases the button will show again the red indicator. You can press again the button to start the link between FLDIGI and Swisslog.

Deactivating the link by pressing the button can be very useful in the following cases:

When you type a callsign in FLDIGI automatically will be entered (not saved) in the QSO Entry window of Swisslog. You can enter a callsign in FLDIGI in 2 different ways:

NOTE: Content of FLDIGI QSO fields are transferred inmediately to the corresponding fields in Swisslog while typing in any QSO field (there is no need to press the Enter key to send the field content). By using this method there is no way to know when user has finished to enter a full callsign! Callsign begins to be transferred to Swisslog when callsign in FLDIGI contains 3 or more characters (minimum callsign length). However, every time you add/delete a new character to the call it's transferred again to the QSO Entry window as if it was a new callsign. For this reason you may experience some delay in getting all the information about the callsign, because Swisslog has to process "several" callsigns in a very short time until you finish to type the full callsign. To avoid this behaviour I recommend to use the second method described above because the full callsign is sent to Swisslog in one go (see screenshot below):

Swisslog reads from the following FLDIGI fields:

If you change the content in any of the above fields in FLDIGI, it will be transferred automatically to the corresponding field in Swisslog.

Keep also in mind that when entering the US State in FLDIGI it must have the same format as Swisslog recognises (which is the standard format), otherwise you will create wrong entries in your WAS award. The US State has 2 letters: PA, NY, MD, WA, etc. Swisslog DOESN'T check the validity of the transferred data!

Name and Locator fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in FLDIGI. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in FLDIGI and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

If you press the FLDIGI button the QSO will be saved in both Swisslog and FLDIGI and at the same time will clear all QSO fields in FLDIGI. If you set the Set QSO Time on save option the QSO time will be set to the time when you press the save button. Otherwise the default behaviour is the following: the QSO Start time will be set when you enter the callsign and the QSO End Time will be set when you press the button .

If you press the FLDIGI button all QSO fields will be cleared in both Swisslog and FLDIGI.

IMPORTANT: If you use the eQSL realtime logging option in Swisslog you have to disable the eQSL realtime logging in FLDIGI, otherwise you will upload 2 QSOs at the same time!

MultiPSK Operation

Before using MultiPSK together with Swisslog, you have to activate an option in the MultiPSK configuration. Swisslog reads data from MultiPSK by using the TCP/IP link of MultiPSK and also from the internal DDE server. By default the TCP/IP link is not active. To activate it start MultiPSK and go to the configuration screen, select "Your logbook" and select the option "TCP/IP client Logbook (through the Multipsk TCP/IP link"):

Now you are ready to start operating digital modes linking Swisslog with MultiPSK. Press the button . MultiPSK will start if it was not running before pressing this button. After some seconds you will see this button like this . The green dot indicates that the TCP/IP link has been established between Swisslog and MultiPSK. While connected, if you press again this button you deactivate the connection between both programs. Or if you close MultiPSK Swisslog will automatically detect that the link has been broken. In both cases the button will show again the red indicator. You can press again the button to start the link between MultiPSK and Swisslog.

Deactivating the link by pressing the button can be very useful in the following cases:

When you type a callsign in MultiPSK automatically will be entered (not saved) in the QSO Entry window of Swisslog. You can enter a callsign in MultiPSK in 2 different ways:

NOTE: Content of MultiPSK QSO fields are transferred inmediately to the corresponding fields in Swisslog while typing in any QSO field (there is no need to press the Enter key to send the field content). By using this method there is no way to know when user has finished to enter a full callsign! Callsign begins to be transferred to Swisslog when callsign in MultiPSK contains 3 or more characters (minimum callsign length). However, every time you add/delete a new character to the call it's transferred again to the QSO Entry window as if it was a new callsign. For this reason you may experience some delay in getting all the information about the callsign, because Swisslog has to process "several" callsigns in a very short time until you finish to type the full callsign. To avoid this behaviour I recommend to use the second method described above because the full callsign is sent to Swisslog in one go (see screenshot below):

Swisslog reads from the following MultiPSK fields:

If you change the content in any of the above fields in MultiPSK, it will be transferred automatically to the corresponding field in Swisslog.

Name and Locator fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in MultiPSK. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in MultiPSK and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

Swisslog recognises all the MultiPSK except the professional modes and the following special modes: ASCII, LENTUS, ALE400 and 141A (ALE). If using any of these modes user will have to manually select any similar QSO mode in Swisslog or add them in Edit | Add / Edit modes.

If you press the MultiPSK button the QSO will be saved in both Swisslog and MultiPSK. If you set the Set QSO Time on save option the QSO time will be set to the time when you press the save button. Otherwise the default behaviour is the following: the QSO Start time will be set when you enter the callsign and the QSO End Time will be set when you press the button . 

If you press the MultiPSK button all QSO fields will be cleared in both Swisslog and MultiPSK.

TrueTTY Operation

To start operating digital modes linking Swisslog with TrueTTY you have to press the button . TrueTTY will start if it was not running before pressing this button.

When TrueTTY is launched a special toolbar is displayed in the QSO-Edit Window to trigger the TrueTTY macros. This toolbar is only visible while TrueTTY is running and hides automatically when TrueTTY is closed. It contains:

TrueTTY works the same way as CWType with Macros. Please read this chapter

HamScope Operation

To start operating digital modes linking Swisslog with HamScope you have to press the button . HamScope will start if it was not running before pressing this button. After some seconds you will see this button like this . The green dot indicates that the DDE link has been established between Swisslog and HamScope. While connected, if you press again this button you deactivate the connection between both programs. Or if you close HamScope Swisslog will automatically detect that the link has been broken. In both cases the button will show again the red indicator. You can press again the button to start the link between HamScope and Swisslog.

Deactivating the link by pressing the button can be very useful in the following cases:

When you enter a callsign in HamScope automatically will be entered (not saved) in the QSO Entry window of Swisslog. You can enter a callsign in HamScope in 2 different ways:

Swisslog reads from the following Hamscope fields:

If you press the HamScope button "Log it" the QSO will be saved in both Swisslog and HamScope. If you set the Set QSO Time on save option the QSO time will be set to the time when you press the save button. Otherwise the default behaviour is the following: the QSO Start time will be set when you enter the callsign and the QSO End Time will be set when you press the button "Log it".

If you press the HamScope button "Clear" all QSO fields will be cleared in both Swisslog and HamScope.

JT65-HF HB9HQX Edition Operation

VERY IMPORTANT:

Perform the following steps to configure Swisslog as logdatabase in JT65-HF HB9HQX Edition:

In the lower right part of the main window you will see "Swisslog (and version number)" as current Logdatabase and total number of JT65 QSOs stored in the Swisslog database. HB9HQX Edition loads all JT65 QSOs stored in Swisslog when connection is performed.

When QSO is finished simply press the LOG QSO button and QSO will be automatically saved in Swisslog:

The following fields will be transferred to Swisslog:

 IMPORTANT: If you use the realtime logging options in Swisslog you have to disable the realtime logging in HB9HQX Edition, otherwise you will upload 2 QSOs at the same time!

 

Name and Grid fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in HB9HQX. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in HB9HQX and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (being the same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call Operation

WSJT-X / JTDX / JS8Call setup:

MSHV setup:

When QSO is finished simply press the LOG QSO button (WSJT-X / JTDX), LOG button (JS8Call) or ADD TO LOG button (MSHV) and QSO will be automatically saved in Swisslog. IMPORTANT: If you are editing a QSO in Swisslog or Swisslog is logging another QSO sent by another instance just in this moment, the QSO will be queued to be saved automatically after Swisslog finishes editing/saving. Pending Log requests number is displayed in the Swisslog main window title:

The following fields will be transferred to Swisslog:

Name and Grid fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in WSJT-X / JTDX / MSHV / JS8Call and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (being the same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

Swisslog implements a band map function to monitor the band activity of WSJT-X / JTDX (must be configured as the Main instance). Please read the WSJT-X / JTDX Band Map chapter.

SIM PSK Operation

SIM PSK is a program developed by Nizar Ben Rejeb. It features a special mode called SIM31. SIM31 is a new robust digimode specially designed for making reliable, confirmed QSOs under extreme conditions on all amateur bands. SIM31 stands for “Structured Integrated Message BPSK 31 bauds”. There is also a SIM63 mode available. You can also work PSK31/PSK63 modes with this program. Although it's a experimental mode I have implemented it in Swisslog because many Swisslog users are using this special mode.

When QSO is finished press the SAVE QSO button. The following window will pop up:

Set any comments (if any) and make sure you check the SWISSLOG option to save QSO in Swisslog. Press the SAVE QSO button and QSO will be automatically saved in Swisslog.

IMPORTANT: Don't check the WEB LOGBOOKS options here if you are already saving QSO in realtime in Swisslog. Otherwise you will upload 2 duplicate QSO!

The following fields will be transferred to Swisslog:

Name and Grid fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in SIM PSK. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in SIM PSK and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (being the same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

Digital Master 780 /N1MM Operation

Perform the following steps to configure Swisslog in DM780 (check first the HRD version you use!):

HRD v5.xx:

HRD v6.xx:

IMPORTANT: HRD Logbook must be started and connected to the database to allow QSO forwarding! Check the highlighted options in the Connection tab as displayed in the screenshot:

When QSO is finished simply press the ADD button (or press F7) and QSO will be automatically saved in Swisslog.

To configure QSO forwarding from N1MM go to Config > Configure Ports, Mode control, Winkey, etc > Broadcast Data then check the Contacts checkbox:

When pressing the LOG button in N1MM QSO will also be automatically saved in Swisslog. 

The following fields will be transferred to Swisslog:

Name and Grid fields will be checked in the selected Callbook databases in Swisslog (if configured). Name will only be checked if empty in DM780. If QTH locator is set as 4 digit format in DM780 and found in Callbook databases in 6 digits format (being the same Maiden Head!), the 6 digits locator will be saved in Swisslog. Example:

Copyright © 2004 SWISSLOG Last modified: 19 ene. 2024