Start with SWISSLOG

Getting Started with SWISSLOG

When you have finished installing the SWISSLOG program on your computer, please take a few minutes and review the sections listed below. These are the most important topics and should be reviewed before exploring other SWISSLOG functions.

The following five sections are the most important:

Quick Start and Setup

Start SWISSLOG by clicking on the SWISSLOG icon located on your desktop.

Enter your personal data (Callsign, QTH Locator, UTC Time Difference, etc.)

The first time you start SWISSLOG, a pop-up widow will appear prompting you for details about your station: Callsign, QTH, Operator Name, Time Difference compared to UTC, and a few other details. As a minimum, you are required to enter a callsign; however, it is recommended that you fill in the other fields at this point. Please see My QTH for additional details.

Hint: You can make changes to your personal data or the details describing your station at any time. For example: If you need to add another QTH or change the time difference between UTC and your local time due to Daylight Savings Time.

Now is a good time to register the program

From the main menu Select Help | About
Click on Register, type your callsign and press the Add Register button.
Now open the QSO Entry Window by clicking on the button located on the toolbar, or use the main menu and Select View | Add QSO’s, or use the keyboard shortcut which is Ctrl+A.

NOTE: You must register Swisslog with your amateur radio callsign in order to use it with no limits. Otherwise you will be limited to add a maximum of 100 records. This condition will be indicated as DEMO (Unreg) in the window title.

Select the Callbook database

The first time you open the QSO Entry window you will be asked to select which internet database (CD or internet) you want to use to retrieve callsign information. Select the database, fill the required options and select the fields to be copied for new QSOs in the "Fields Copy Instructions" tab (don't forget to check also the Automatic Copy option). Please read the Callbook Database Support section

Select the QSO-Entry-Options

At this point, you need to decide whether you want to enter QSO's in real-time mode, or whether you want to add QSO's that you made previously. When the program is first installed, real-time mode is enabled. You can disable real-time mode by pressing the right mouse button and selecting Options (or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+O). You can also switch realtime entry ON/OFF easily by double clicking in the date field. In realtime mode, background colour in the start/end time and date fields will be set to yellow. Otherwise will be set to white colour.

Hint: Remember to place the mouse cursor inside the QSO Entry Window and then right-click to activate the pop-up menu; then select Options. For detailed information on the QSO-Entry options, click on Options.

When the real-time mode is enabled, the time and date for the QSO is automatically inserted in the appropriate field. If you select Store UTC in Logbook from the options menu (default and recommended option), the time will be based on UTC. If you did not select Store UTC in Logbook, the contact time will be based on your local time. Both of these times are derived from the clock in your computer – be sure it’s set correctly and check it occasionally. Also verify that the date is changing at the correct time – midnight rather than noon.

When the real-time mode is not enabled, you can manually enter the time and date for a QSO. The time and date will be shown in these fields; however, you will be able to overwrite the data.

Hint: If you've disabled real-time mode in order to make a few manual entries, don't forget to enable it when you're finished. This is a good time to review some of the other options which can be selected from the Options for Add QSO menu. You can also select the default value for signal reports received and sent.
Now you can start adding QSO's - While the QSO's Entry window is very intuitive, you may have questions about specific fields and how they relate to your log. For a detailed explanation of the QSO Entry window, click on QSO Entry Window. Also review the various options as mentioned in the above paragraphs.
After you've entered data for a QSO and would like to save it in your log, click on the Save button, or press the F10 function key.
If you have another logging program, it may be possible to transfer previously logged QSO’s into SWISSLOG; for information on the process, click on import these QSO's.
Once you've entered or imported a few QSO's, you can start to explore other SWISSLOG functions.

Setup your transceiver

If your transceiver supports CAT control, it's practically a must to configure it in Swisslog to get all these benefits:
- Swisslog will automatically fill out the frequency and mode fields in the QSO Entry window (when working in real time).
- You may manually set the QRG/Mode to the transceptor from the transceiver status toolbar or the transceiver control window.
- Tune your transceiver automatically from a DX spot received in the DX message window / band maps (read the DX message window section / band maps).
Swisslog supports direct connections to most transceivers but also through other excellent programs such as OmniRig, DX Lab Commander, Ham Radio de Luxe or TRX Manager. Please read the transceiver control section.

Setup a DX Cluster Telnet server connection to receive DX spots

If you have an internet connection I recommend to connect to a Dx Cluster Telnet server. You only have to configure it once and Swisslog will automatically connect to the select Telnet server every time it's started (if connected to internet). There is no need to keep the Telnet window open to connect. Perform the following steps:
- Select View ¦ Telnet Control Window from the Main menu.
- Go to the Available servers tab then double click in the preferred Telnet server.
- Check the "Start automatically" option, press the Save button then Close the window.
- Keeping the preferred Telnet selected, press the button to connect to that server.
- Check in the Active Servers tab that you are connected
Now you can close the Telnet window.
Go to View | DX-Cluster Messages or go to View / Band map to view the DX spots received from the Telnet server (read the DX message window section / band maps).
Read the Telnet Support section to discover a lot of interesting features.

A further step: Setup rotator control

If you have a rotator system that can be controlled by computer I strongly recommend you to configure it in Swisslog. You won't regret it!:
- You will be able to turn the antenna automatically to the current station in the QSO Entry window
- Turn the antenna to a station from the DX message window
- You can turn the antenna to the short or long path by means of a button or shortcut keys
Please read the Rotor interface section for more details