[Tlf-devel] cwdaemon, ARRL10 rules file

[Wilbert Knol]

> There already is an echo function in cwdaemon, it sends '^' when
> cw-playing is done, it uses the same port number (used by tucnak,
> first hit on google). I bet we can use it to do echoing.

Thanks for the tip, Joop. I'l have a play with this function...what I 
had in mind is for my logger to pop a character at a time off the 
callsign field (by left-shifting it) and to send that to cwdaemon. 
Once I get the '^' back, I pop the nect character. That way, I should 
be able to alter a callsign even as it is being transmitted.

Something else: I had a play with the latest TFL last night, trying to 
home-brew a 'rules' file for the upcoming ARRL 10 m contest (DX-side, 
multi-mode). I used 'DX_&_SECTIONS' to make TLF count DXCC countries 
as well as ARRL 'sections' as multipliers.

Of course, the 'arrlsections' file provided wouldn't work, because the 
contest deals with 'states and provinces' not sections. So I put all 
the states and provinces in one file, and called it 'arrlsections' 
and also 'arrl10.mults', pointing TLF to the latter for multipliers 
with (from memory) the 'MULTS=<filename>' statement.

It almost worked, but there are some funnies with the score...after 
the first few QSOs, TLF shows more 'sections' (aka mults)  than that 
there are QSOs in the log! New countries worked show up correctly as 
mults, except for W and VE, which is correct, too (they count as 
states/provinces mults)

However, TLF ignores some new states, as I work them. When I force a 
':rescore' it catches up, or sometimes it actually reduces the number 
of mults.

I see TLF has a facility for scoring /P stations double, perhaps 
something similar could be done for Stateside /N and /T stations 
(novices and techs) who are worth more.

I reckon contest rules are written by sadistic contest managers who 
have it in for programmers who write logging software. There should 
be a contest for the most convoluted contest. We have one here called 
the Trans-Tasman contest, and it takes longer to get your head around 
the rules than it does to work the sprint :-)

I regret I won't be able to test-drive TLF in the ARRL10, as I have 
agreed to do a multi-op at ZL1V, so I am mentally preparing myself 
for lots of crashes and corrupted logs...

Wilbert, ZL2BSJ