Installing and Upgrading N1MM Logger
Should I upgrade each time there is an update announcement? Would it be more prudent to lag by a few months, as I commonly do with other software?Sometimes, a change published on Tuesday will be important for a contest on the coming weekend. Much less frequently, we hope, a change made in the latest release will cause a problem affecting the upcoming contest. If the change is important to successful use in that contest, we will make every effort to fix it in time for a re-release before the weekend. If it is not, the best strategy will be for you to revert to the last previous version.
Typically, we keep at least 6 months’ worth of prior versions in the “Latest Updates” under the Files menu of the web site. You can always re-install a last previous version, unless that is explicitly warned against – which is very rare. You need not be concerned about uninstalling.
If you report a problem with an earlier release, our first response will likely be to ask you to install the latest version and test with that. Often, we will have fixed a problem, particularly one involving multipliers or scoring in a given contest, even before you report it.
This file comes in several different versions. You can download it from the author’s web site. A good strategy is to download the zipped file containing all of the variants, and extract them into your C:\User\[[login]]\Documents\N1MM Logger+\SupportFiles directory. The master.scp file does not have to be uploaded to your database, but check the Associated Files tab in the Contest Setup dialog for the contest you plan to operate, to make sure that the correct master file will be used.
The country file used by the program is WL_CTY.DAT which also needs to be put in the C:\User\[[login]]\Documents\N1MM Logger+\SupportFiles Directory. Updates are frequent and are announced on the N1MM Logger reflector. The CTY files are available from the author’s web site. Once downloaded, the file must be loaded into the database using the Tools menu. If the WL_CTY file in the directory is newer than the one in your current database, you will be reminded of that each time the program starts. It takes only seconds to get up to date.
You should probably refresh your anti-virus definitions, ignore the warning, and/or get a new anti-virus package. Although it could happen some day, the N1MM Logger team uses a variety of anti-virus packages and has never inflicted a virus upon N1MM Logger users. Due to the fact that the software has frequent releases and makes calls on the Internet (telnet and web pages), it is not uncommon for anti-virus programs to report false positives. Before creating yet-another false virus scare on the reflector, we recommend that you test the file against the on-line scanning site http://www.virustotal.com/index.html . If you receive a positive report from one anti-virus product, you may be the first person to test that file (due to frequent releases of updates). Run the scan again and the positive report should clear.
Program Features
When I tune close to a station in the bandmap, the call appears in the frame above the callsign field. Do I have to retype the call to enter it?No. If you press F4, or press Enter (in ESM mode), the call in the call-frame will be entered in the call-sign field and your call will be sent.
Yes. Use the Space bar to jump from field to field, and it will skip the fields that normally do not need to be changed. Use the Tab key to stop at each field.
Why Doesn't CQ repeat work on VFO B? I already set it on VFO A.
CQ Repeat must be set on each VFO or radio independently. With the Entry focus on each VFO or radio, press Alt+R to toggle repeat mode on and off, and Ctrl+R to set the repeat interval. When repeat mode is set on a VFO, the letter “R” in white appears in the center of the red Transmit Focus LED.
If you don’t usually get a station on the first call, go to the Config > Configure Ports, etc.> Function Keys tab, and un-check the so-called “Big Gun switch”, titled ESM only sends your call once in S&P, then ready to copy received exchange. .The cursor will then remain in the Callsign field, ready to send your call again the next time you press Enter. To go to the Exchange field, hit the Space bar.
Appropriate band buttons will appear in the Available depending on which contest you select. WARC bands are only shown in the DX and DXSerial contests, and VHF bands are shown when you select a VHF contest.
If the program is connected to your radio, the program will track the radio’s frequency. Alternatively, type the frequency in KHz in the call-sign field of the Entry window and press Enter. If you have enabled the band panel in the Entry window, you can control which bands are displayed by right-clicking and selecting Change Band Panel Display.
In SO2V, SO2R and multi-op modes,serial numbers are reserved during the QSO sequence, before the number is actually transmitted. Because of this, it is possible for serial numbers to be skipped or sent out of order, if a number is reserved and not used immediately, or never used at all.
Major contest sponsors (all sponsors of serial number contests, so far as we know) do not object. The important thing to them (and to you) is that the program will never send a serial number that differs from that which is logged.
In the Log window, select your last previous QSO. On the right-click menu, select Edit QSO and change the sent serial number to what it should be. Click Update, and when you enter the next QSO in the Entry window, you’ll see the Sent Nr field increment properly.
When I change a callsign in mid-contact, the pre-filled exchange (if there is any) does not change. Is there a way to change this behavior?
Yes. Go to Config > Configure Ports, etc. and open the Other tab. At lower left, check the box labeled “Clear populated exchange on callsign change”.
There are two possibilities. Let’s assume the last QSO you logged had QSO number 133. If the Callsign field is filled with a call, the next number will be sent. Example: 599 134. If the Callsign field is empty, the last number will be sent.
The reason it is this way is that in our experience, before you have added a new callsign, you are most likely to be responding to a request for a fill from the last station you worked.
While sending CW my keying speed slowed but the display did not change. What is happening?
Check the message you are sending for “<” or “>” characters, which decrease or increase CW speed. If the number of these characters in a message is unbalanced (like <<<5NN>>), then the speed will either increase or decrease each time you send that message. Annoying, at best.
The first thing to check is the packet filters. There is some useful help for this on the right-click menu of the Bandmap, labeled “Why don’t I see spots?
In addition to filters set at the cluster node, N1MM Logger provides two primary tiers of filters. They are selectable from the Packet/Telnet right-click menu. In order to see any spots at all, you must first select at least one of the Allow HF, Allow WARC, or Allow VHF options.
After spots pass through the first filter layer, additional optional filters may be applied to pass only spots from your own continent or country, from selected call areas, or certain contest mode(s).
The use of the Digital mode filter requires that Digital sub-band frequencies be added with the
Config > Change Digital Sub-bands window.
Regardless of the filtering selections, the Bandmap frequency bar displays the three mode frequency ranges in different colors on every band. CW is blue, Digital is magenta, and SSB is black.
This sub-window also displays your current filter settings, as in this sample:
“The current user selections are:
Spots are removed when older than 60 minutes.
Allow VHF is not checked, No VHF spots allowed.
Spots allowed from these call areas: K3 K4
Filtering (removing) blacklisted spots is enabled for:
EW1OP
EW1SJ”
If you do a SH/DX and nothing appears, check your program settings to ensure that the spots are not too old (Packet Spot Timeout, on the Bandmap right-click menu), and that your system clock is properly set, so that the correct GMT time is displayed at the top of the Log window.
Spotting stations may be done from the Entry window. The station entered in the Callsign field will be spotted. If the Callsign field is empty, the last QSO with its correct frequency will be spotted.
- Alt+P spots stations
- Ctrl+P spots them with a comment
If you wish, you can also check “Spot all S&P QSOs” on the Config menu. This will cause every S&P QSO to be spotted as soon as it is logged, provided someone else has not spotted it recently, on the same frequency,
This setting is not “sticky” – that is, it will be unchecked every time you start the program, so that you will not accidentally be spotting all your S&P QSOs when you don’t want to.
First export your function keys. Select: > File > Export > Export Function keys to file, choose the mode you want, and save the .mc file in your program directory. Then send that file to your friend and have him put it in his program directory.
At this point he can either import it into his current database by using File >Import >Import function keys, or he can change the relevant file on the Associated Files tab of his Contest Setup dialog, and that file will then be loaded into the database whenever that contest is selected.
Yes. For QSO parties, you can edit the county list from the Contest Setup dialog, by clicking the Edit Section List button if it appears. Most other national contest have various lists of multipliers. These can be updated by finding the correct list and editing it with any text editor, and then clicking the Import Section List button in the Contest Setup dialog. Finally, the list of ARRL sections and their recognized abbreviations can be edited from the
Config Menu item labeled “Change Exchange Abbreviations.”
Yes, the right-most pane in the status line at the bottom of the Entry Window is the score. The middle pane shows QSOs and multipliers. For a more detailed score summary, open the Score Summary window from the Windows menu.
No. However, we keep track of sunrise/sunset times of stations you might wish to work. On the Bandmap, a “sun” symbol appears next to the callsigns of stations that are close to local sunrise or sunset. Also, when you enter a callsign or prefix, you have the option of displaying that station’s sunrise/sunset times in the Info window. Check its right-click window to enable that and other options
Don’t over-rate the importance of this. Most major contests now require your log in Cabrillo format, and the sponsors will be re-scoring your log anyway. If you want to try to get closer to what you think is correct, you can try “Rescore Current Contest” on the Tools menu after the contest. Before you do so, we urge you to back up the current database and put the backup in a safe place. Problems are unlikely, but you’ve invested a lot of effort in your contest log, so why take chances. Then run Rescore, which can take some time for a large log. That, plus the advisability of a backup, is why we don’t recommend running Rescore during a contest.
Go to Config > Config Ports, etc and look on the Mode Control tab. Select “Use Radio Mode” – it’s the default, and is intended to avoid such confusion. Use the other options only if you must, and only after a thorough reading of the relevant manual portions.
Each contest created in a database is what we call a contest “instance.” There is no reason why you can’t have a dozen ARRLDX instances in the same database, and the only reason to delete any test versions is neatness. That said, deleting a contest instance is simple. Go to File > Open Log in Database, and Open the Contest Setup dialog. In the drop-down list of contests in the database, click on one you want to delete. Now press the Delete key, and double-check in the pop-up confirmation box to make sure it is the one you meant to delete, before you click OK or hit Enter.
To delete a log or delete a database: A database is just a file, the same as any other file. If you intend never to use a database again and want to get rid of it, first make sure that the N1MM+ ini file no longer points to it, i.e. use the File > Open Database menu item to open a different database file (or the File > New Database menu item to create and open a new empty database), then close N1MM+. If you want to be absolutely sure that deleting the file will be safe, then instead of deleting it, first just move it to a different place, such as to the top level of your Documents folder. Then try opening up N1MM+ tand make sure everything is still working properly. If that works, you can safely delete the file, using Windows File Manager. Even a large N1MM+ database file is trivially small compared with the capacity of today’s storage devices, so there is no real need to delete an old database file, but if you are never ever going to want to open it again to look at any of the logs it contains, then deleting it won’t do any harm.
To delete a log within a database, use the File > Open Log in Database… menu item to open the contest setup window, select the log you want to delete by single-clicking on it, then press the Delete key on your keyboard. The program will ask you if you really want to delete the log and its nnn contacts. If you say yes, you really do want to delete it, then the log will be deleted from the database. This is not a reversible step – it’s up to you to make sure you are deleting the correct log, and not a log that you might later want to be able to re-open.
from Rich VE3KI, 2019-09-10
You can select Notes on the View menu to review any notes you have entered.
Let’s say you worked the following stations, at the indicated times: N2IC 21:20:59 W5OV 21:50:01
If you leave out the seconds, like Cabrillo does, then it looks like you were off for exactly 30 minutes. However, a closer examination of the actual QSO times shows you have only taken a 29 minute, 2 second time-off. This is an example of “rubber clocking”. And, yes, the log checkers have been this picky ! The CW and SSB NAQP log checker and the SS log checker will ding you if your log only shows a 30 minute time-off.
73, Steve, N2IC
Yellow simply means that the callsign was not found in the master.scp file. That color is the same as the highlight for ESM in the Function Keys area of the Entry window, and can be changed on the Config Menu by the Manage Skins, Colors and Fonts function. Red means that you worked the station before and he gave you a different exchange the first time. Green is special for CQWW, and means that the zone you logged is different from the one the call should be in, according to wl_cty.dat.
Digital Modes
The callsign to grab already scrolled off the screen (RX window); how do I grab it now?73’s Rick N2AMG
MMVARI.ocx This needs to be in the N1MM logger program directory
MMTTY.exe This file needs to be in the directory where MMTTY has been installed, and which is pointed to by the Path in the Configurer under the Digital Modes tab
MMTTY.ini This file should be in the directory where MMTTY has been installed. If not found, MMTTY will create it
Userpara.ini This file should be in the directory where MMTTY has been installed. If not found, MMTTY will create it
Maybe just the microphone input is deselected. Check the following in Windows:
Open Control Panel, Open Multimedia, Click on Recording and make sure the microphone is selected and the slider not at the bottom.
To correct for the offset in LSB or USB mode, open the DI window’s Digital Setup window (Setup>Settings) and check the Use Auto TRX Offset in DI1/2 check box for that DI window. If you are using a dedicated RTTY mode that displays the Mark frequency on the radio’s dial, make sure this box is unchecked.
If you use USB for PSK and FSK for RTTY, you may have to check this box when using PSK or other soundcard digital modes, and uncheck it when using FSK RTTY.
Program Errors and Requests
Where can I download the program? Why is all the data in a database?Print out the ((Key Assignments (Keyboard Shortcuts)|Key Assignments)) or the Key Assignments Short List and keep it by your radio. Even long-time users will discover new keyboard shortcuts this way.
Set up your next contest well in advance. That will give you a chance to iron out any wrinkles in the contest setup. Make some dummy QSOs before the contest. When it’s time to go, you can either create a new instance of the contest or clear out your dummy QSDOs before “Zero Hour”.
If you have problems and you can’t find the answer, don’t hesitate to ask on the N1MM Logger Plus reflector. That’s what it is for. In addition to the N1MM Development Team, there are many experienced users there who will pitch in to get you going.
The program displays an error or just stops working. What should I do?
- Try to record step-by-step what you were doing when it happened. Record the exact error message, if any. If the program just failed, make note of when and under what circumstances
- Restart Windows, and then N1MM. Go back where you were when the problem happened. Particularly in cases where RFI is involved, Windows can easily become corrupted. If your problems with RFI are particularly severe, try a complete cold restart of your computer.
- After this, if you do the same thing again does it happen again?
- Do not immediately re-install the program; this rarely solves anything. Instead, rename your N1MM Logger.ini file (N1MM Logger.old, for example) and re-start the program. This will create another minimal .ini file, eliminating any user-selected options. Try the steps that caused the problem – does it still happen? Add back your radios, keying setup and other parts of your usual configuration, one by one.. Does the error recur? At what point?
- If the problem still exists, submit a bug report and fill in the form completely. A majority of the bug reports we currently receive are not program bugs at all, but problems with the user’s understanding of the problem or in a particular set-up. Going through the steps above will help you know which your problem is, and filling out the form completely will help us help you without a lot of back-and-forth to fill in important details.
- If you need help with setup or how the program operates, you should refer to the manual, and if you don’t find what you need, ask on the reflector. That’s what it is for
There are two approaches you can take:
- Use N1MM Logger’s File >Copy(and Compact) Database function to make a new database from your old one. This process opens the database, checks for many common errors, and fixes them.
- If you can’t do it this way – if, for example, the database won’t open – then you can try using one of many SQLite database tools available on the Internet. The N1MM Development Team uses a program called SQLite Expert. The “Pro” version (payment required) includes a “repair database” option. The standard version (free) does not include the repair function but many users report that they have been able to repair databases by simple opening the broken database with SQLite Expert (free) and re-indexing its files. Before using any utility like this, make a backup copy of the database. In extreme cases, we may be able to help you recover a database that just won’t work, but not if you have lost it or damaged it further.
What can I do if the contest I want to participate in is not listed?
- First, double-check the supported contests listing. If you have just been looking at the short contest names in the Contest Setup dialog, you may have overlooked the one you want.
- NA3M has developed a User Defined Contest feature , and over 250 contest definitions have been created. They are stored here. Please note, though, that while NA3M will try to help with these contests, the definition files were developed mainly by other hams, and we lack the resources to support them.
- If you do not find the contest you want, you have two options:
- Use the UDC editor to develop your own definition file. The process may seem intimidating at first, but there is real satisfaction in adding another contest to the UDC roster, one that you programmed yourself. In the process, you’ll learn a lot about what is involved in programming even the simplest contest so that all features of N1MM Logger operate correctly.
- Request that we add the contest to the roster of supported contests. If you do this, be sure to give us several months’ lead-time for coding and debugging, and plan on being available yourself to help us test. Depending on the level of user interest, we may well suggest that you go the UDC route instead; there simply isn’t enough time for everything people would like us to do
xxx this section needs complete re-write for SQLite and N1MM+ xxx
CW stutters (using lpt or serial port keying) or Voice keying stutters- Try not to run other programs not needed for contesting.
- Try filtering spots at your packet cluster node so as to reduce the traffic that must be handled by N1MM logger.
- Set your telnet filters for the minimum number of spots consistent with your needs, particularly including only the current contest’s mode and maybe only spots from areas near your own
- Zoom the bandmap in so that it covers only a relatively small frequency range around your current frequency.
- Limit the number of bands you try to cover with the Available Mults and Qs window’s spot pane (for the band that the particular PC is on).
Do not use more than one method of PTT control at the same time. Having two methods active, while it may look like a “belt and suspenders” approach, is less reliable than using only one method. The two methods can interfere with one another in such a way that the radio gets hung up in transmit when it receives two “switch to RX” commands simultaneously.
In particular, do not use “PTT via radio command” if you have another (hardware-based) PTT method working and active.
In digital modes, if you are able to do PTT from the main N1MM Logger program, do not also configure the digital engine (MMTTY or Fldigi) to do PTT; the only time you need to configure PTT in the digital engine is when you are not using any method of PTT control from N1MM Logger itself.
Another possibility is having a PTT keying line connected to a serial port control line (DTR or RTS) and having that control line set to “Always On”; this will result in the radio locking up in transmit whenever the Logger is started up.
The label you put on the function key button (the part to the left of the comma in each line) is strictly for the buttons in the Entry Window – it does not control which message goes to which key.
Most likely you accidentally omitted a # or made some other typo in one of the lines in the file, causing the program to skip one. Try counting lines, or play safe by deleting all comment lines from your file. Also, make sure that each Fkey line has a comma before the start of the text to be sent.
Troubleshooting Soundcard Issues
Step-by-step soundcard troubleshooting from Dave, K1TTT0. Close Audacity, Winamp, and any other sound recording or playback programs you may have open.
DO NOT OPEN THEM AGAIN DURING THIS PROCESS.
1. There is apparently an interaction between the windows control panel and N1MM logger that I hadn’t noticed before. The key is, select the default device with the windows control panel to the one you want windows to use… then don’t change it. If you change it windows apparently renumbers the devices so the device index number that n1mm saves isn’t valid any more. So if you ever change the windows default playback or recording devices you MUST go back into the n1mm configurer and reselect the cards AND ports if you use specific devices and not the ‘default’ card option.
The same rule also applies to MMTTY setup if you have selected a device other than -1 (default) in the Option/Setup/Misc tab.
2. Start N1MM logger and go into the ‘Configurer / Audio’ tab. Select ‘1 zero or single card’ in the top list, then ‘default’ in the first ‘select device’ list. Save that settings. Close N1MM logger.
3. Plug your microphone directly into the mic input on the sound card, plug your headset directly into the speaker output.
4. Open the windows volume control, on the playback controls that come up first set all the sliders to mid range, and un-mute everything. You may have to go into options/properties to check the box to let you see the microphone and other sound sources.
5. In the volume control select options/properties, check the ‘recording’ box then make sure ‘microphone’ is checked in the list of controls. Do ok.
Check the box to ‘select’ the microphone and set it’s slider mid range. On the advanced microphone settings check the ‘mic boost’ box if you have one.
6. Now, when you talk in your mic you should be able to hear yourself in the headset. If you can’t then something is wrong with your hardware or drivers. Recheck volume and mute settings, check that the mic is plugged into the right spot, try a different mic, try different speakers, try playing other wave files using the sounds control panel app to make sure your headphones are working, get your 8 year old kid to help.
DO NOT PASS THIS POINT UNTIL YOU CAN HEAR YOURSELF!
7. Open the windows sound recorder, it is usually found in the accessories/entertainment, DO NOT open audacity, the tools that came with your sound card, or your other favorite tool… some of them play with the mixer settings and we don’t want that now that they are set.
8. Press the record button, say a couple words, then press the stop button. Press the play button and you should hear what you just said. If you didn’t there is something wrong with your hardware or drivers. Check recording control settings, adjust volume, make sure the mic is selected as the recording source, get that 8 year old back to help again!
DO NOT PASS THIS POINT UNTIL YOU CAN RECORD AND PLAY.
9. Close the windows sound recorder.
DO NOT PASS THIS POINT UNLESS YOU CAN HEAR YOURSELF IN 6 AND 8 ABOVE.
If those don’t work then N1MM likely won’t work and since n1mm is much more complicated it is harder to troubleshoot.
10. Start n1mm. Put the radio on ssb, make sure the entry window title bar says either USB or LSB. If you don’t have a radio connected type in 14000 and then USB.
11. Right click on the f1 button. In the wav file column make sure it says C:\Program Files\N1MM logger\wav\cq-1.wav… if not, type that in (without the quotes of course). Press ok to save it.
12. Watch the bottom of the entry window status bar. Press Ctrl+Shift+F1, status line should say recording started in C:\Program Files\N1MM logger\wav\cq-1.wav‘, if it doesn’t then check the error message and see if that helps and NOW you can ask for more help on the reflector or direct to me, but don’t change any settings or open another sound program or be prepared to go back through this again to make sure everything is set properly for the defaults.
13. If you got the ‘recording started’ message say a few words and press Ctrl+Shift+F1 again. Bottom of status bar should say ‘recording saved in C:\Program Files\N1MM logger\wav\cq-1.wav’. If it gives an error message check out that or contact the reflector or me.
14. Press f1. you should hear what you just recorded. If not, check the status bar for an error message and check that one or contact the reflector or me. Now, if all that worked it is up to you to figure out how to get the audio to/from your sound card through whatever adapters, sound blasters, cabling, to the radio… I can’t help with that except in very specific cases. But at this point if 11,12,13 worked then you have a working n1mm logger recording and playback system. Find the C:\Program Files\N1MM logger\wav\cq-1.wav file which should be under the n1mm logger installation folder and that is where to put other recordings, and the f1 line in the setup is how the other paths should look to the files. If you are going to do multi-op look up in the manual how to set up the macros to let each operator record their own voices separately.
Calibration on Windows Vista or Windows 7
If you are using Vista or Windows 7, the operating system does not
allow individual applications which share the sound card to set the
sound card’s sample rate. Instead the operating system’s hardware
abstraction layer (HAL) will *resample* the data stream (interpolate
data values) to provide audio samples to the application at the rate
the application requires.
When the sound card’s default format (Windows Control Panel, Sound,
Recording Devices, <device>, Advanced) is 48000 and an application
requests a sample rate that is not an integral divisor of the default
sample rate the clock rate will not be exact – resulting in differences
from transmit to receive.
The default format for most motherboard or add-in cards (PCI/PCI-E)
is set by their custom drivers (supplied by the manufacturer) and is
generally 44,100 Hz (CD Quality). However, the default format for
external (USB) sound cards is set to 48,000 Hz (DVD Quality) by the
Microsoft driver built into he operating system.
There are two solutions:
2) Reset the Windows Default format to 44100 Hz (CD Quality). This
also removes the offset.
Either solution will work if your only sound card digital program
is MMTTY. If you use other software – particularly if you use
multiple programs at the same time or switch between programs,
changing the MMTTY/MMVARI sample rate to 12000 may be a better idea
since there are some programs that use fixed 48000 Hz sample rates.
Calibration with Multiple Soundcards on Windows XP
If you are running multiple soundcard applications, Windows XP will
behave just like Vista/Win 7. That is, the *first* to open the sound
card will set the sample rate and XP will then virtualize the sound
card to the second and subsequent applications. If the first app
uses 48 KHz, the remaining apps will get 48 KHz samples.
The offset is because MMTTY/MMVARI/etc. think they are decoding the
requested sample rate so they transmit at the assumed rate … the
calculations are off by that much.
73,
… Joe, W4TV
Other Questions…
How do I make a file to upload to LoTW?Open the contest into which you want to import. Now log one or more imaginary contacts in that contest; if the contest has different exchanges from different categories of stations (e.g. HQ stations in IARU or W/VE vs. DX stations in ARRL 10), log an imaginary contact of each type. Export an ADIF file with those contacts. Now compare the ADIF tags in your file with the ones in the file you want to import. Make sure that the tags are the same as in N1MM Logger’s ADIF output. If not, use a text editor to do a global search and replace to bring them into agreement. Also, make sure that the length modifiers in the ADIF tags are correct (i.e. in <tag:n>data, make sure that the number n is equal to the number of characters in the data in that record).
A couple of things to look out for in particular: First, the Logger will look for a field tagged with the CONTEST_ID tag to ensure that the log you are importing is for the correct contest type (this is necessary to ensure that the exchange information is imported into the correct field(s) in the database). Make sure this field appears, in the same format, in the file you are importing. Second, for some contests N1MM Logger uses an ADIF field called APP_N1MM_EXCHANGE1 for part of the exchange. This field is not exported by other programs; you will have to figure out what goes into this field and insert it into each applicable record in the ADIF file. In some cases, you may find the same data in two fields in the ADIF file exported from the Logger. In these cases, you may have to duplicate the data in the file you wish to import so that it can be imported into both fields. Third, if the contest type is one of the WAE contests (WAECW, WAESSB or WAERTTY), you should be aware that QTCs are not included in ADIF files and therefore will not be transferred during ADIF file exports and imports.
After doing this, you can either delete the imaginary contacts from the contest before importing, or you can delete the entire imaginary contest and create a new empty contest of the correct type to import the ADIF file into. After importing the ADIF file, you should rescore the contest in N1MM Logger (Tools > Rescore Current Contest).
The N1MM Logger database can not contain QSO’s with identical time stamps. Therefore, it will not be possible to import the same ADIF file into the same database more than once. Simply open another database and contest prior to importing.
The Winkeyer offloads the process of generating CW, so that even older, slower computers can be used. It also provides CW and PTT for two radios, and the PTT functions in all modes. Finally, with Winkeyer you can interrupt stored CW messages with a simple touch of the paddle, which is all too often invaluable.
Either way, the most efficient solution is to hit Ctrl+Alt+Enter, which will “force” the program to log the exchange as received. A note window will pop up, and if you put something in there to flag it, you’ll be able to find it easily after the contest.
- As with any operation that could potentially endanger the contents of your database, back up your database. Omit this step at your peril.
- Export the log in ADIF format.
- Create an instance of the correct contest and export a log with a couple of imaginary contacts, also in ADIF format.
- If the correct contest has varying exchanges for different categories of stations (e.g. ARRL10, where W/VE/XE stations send state/province and DX stations send a serial number), make sure you include examples of both kinds of contacts.
- Change all contest IDs in the entire ADIF file of your misplaced contest to match the contest type you wish to import into. For example, if the original log used the general DX log, each QSO record will contain the field <CONTEST_ID:2>DX . In order to import this into a CQWWSSB log, you will have to change all of these to <CONTEST_ID:9>CQ-WW-SSB .
- Edit the ADIF log of your misplaced contest so that it has the same set of tags as the imaginary log you exported. You want the fields in the edited log to use the same tags as the corresponding fields in the sample log. A text editor is the best tool for this.
- The field type you are most likely to have problems with is the APP_N1MM_EXCHANGE1 field. This field is used for different purposes in different contest types; depending on the contest types you are exporting from and importing to, you may need to remove or add this field in the edited ADIF file.
- There are other fields starting with APP_N1MM; you can just leave those as is.
- There is a number included with each tag in an ADIF file. This number is a count of the number of characters in the field. If you change the field name without changing the data, don’t change the number. On the other hand, if you change the actual data, make sure the new number is the correct character count for the new data.
- Start a new contest log of the correct type (e.g. CQWWSSB), preferably in another N1MM+ database. The start date in the Contest Setup dialog does not matter except as identification in the list, but if you want the exact times in the log to be recorded correctly, you must do this in a different database, because the same contact (same timestamp) cannot exist in two contests in the same database. If you try to import the contacts into a different (or the same!) log in the same database, the program will adjust the times of the contacts to prevent exact duplicates. For most contacts, the new time will be 1 second later than the original time, but for a few (1.7%) contacts, the new time will be 59 seconds early. If this possibility does not matter to you, you can try importing into a different log in the same database instead of creating a new database.
- Import the modified ADIF file into the new contest log.
- Use the Tools > Rescore Current Contest menu item to update the score.
- Export the log (Export ADIF to file…).
- Create an empty instance of the same contest (e.g., CQWWSSB)
- Import the ADIF file (Import ADIF from file…)
This method only transfers QSOs, not QTCs, and therefore it cannot be used for WAE logs containing QTCs.
A third method involves transaction log files. To transfer a copy of a single log file into a new database containing only that log, first create the new database, create an empty contest of the required type, and then use the File > Import > Recover QSOs from a Transaction Log… menu item to copy the contacts (and in the case of WAE contests, QTCs) from the transaction log file for the original log into the new database.
- Make sure that your computer is not powering down its USB ports. You need to check both in the Control Panel, under Power Options, and in Device Manager, in the properties of each USB hub (generic and root), on their Power Management tabs.
- If your USB-to-serial adapter is connected to a level converter which is in turn connected to a TTL-level input on the radio, and if that level converter is powered by one of the serial port control lines (DTR or RTS), make sure that or those control lines are set to Always On in the Configurer.
- If you are using a radio that requires RTS/CTS handshaking on its serial port (e.g. most Kenwood radios), make sure that RTS on that port is set either to Always On or to Handshake.
- If you are using an adapter which has a Prolific chipset, there are problems with Prolific drivers. At one time we suggested updating to the latest driver, but this is no longer the case, as a number of users have reported problems with the latest drivers that were resolved by switching to an older driver (specifically 3/12/2010 version 3.3.11.152). If the problem persists, you may need to switch adapters. Some versions of the Prolific chipset and/or some versions of the drivers are not compatible with programs (like N1MM Logger) written in Visual Basic.
Website Questions and Answers
Who operates the N1MM Logger website?The contents of the Manuals are maintained by a group of volunteer Editors who contribute their time and efforts to the program. You can see the names of the most recent editors at the bottom of each section when viewing the manuals on-line.
I think I’d like to help with the website. How do I volunteer?
If you’d like to volunteer as an Editor, send an email to Larry K8UT.