Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From -v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just -about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of -DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do -anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update. -
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There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These -are accept, reject and clear. First we will look -generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the -DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism. -
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In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which can have -up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ... -
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-accept/spots .....
-reject/spots .....
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-where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters -for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different -accept or reject command reference for more details. -
There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ... -
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-clear/spots 1
-clear/spots all
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-There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter. -
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and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ... -
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-show/filter
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For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same -principles to all types of filter. +
Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports +chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned +with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present +to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL +database but will expand with time.
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There are two main types of filter, accept or reject. You -can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference -and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject -filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10 -lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the -action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept -means take it) -
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If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter -will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter, -then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped. -For example if you have a single line accept filter ... +
Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are +sent from the cluster prompt as the sysop user. +
To create a database you use the command dbcreate. It can +be used in 3 different ways like so ..
-accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+dbcreate <name>
then you will ONLY get VHF spots from or to CQ zones -14, 15 and 16. -
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If you set a reject filter like this ... +
To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the +name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it +simply defines it to say that it exists.
-reject/spots on hf/cw
+dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
Then you will get everything EXCEPT HF CW spots. You could make this -single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA -and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in -CW, then you could say ... +
This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be +scanned, then the second, the third etc...
-reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
+dbcreate <name> remote <name>
But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:- +
This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database +name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual +node_call of the remote node, for example...
-accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
+dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other -until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you -wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but -don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing! +
Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a +chain can be a remote database.
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You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own -understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ... +
The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard +AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database. +This will be added to with time. +
To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp +and then issue the following command ...
-reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
-reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF -which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe. -
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This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if -you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available. -This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it -more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example. -
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You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look -at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We -are saying reject spots that are VHF or above APART from those in -zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did -not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it -logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ... +
This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if +it does not exist.
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-(on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
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-The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are -here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'. -
As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than -simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want -to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or -one line. For example ... +
Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been +added. To do this use the dbavail command. This will +output the available databases. For example ...
-reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
+dbavail
+DB Name Location Chain
+qsl Local
+buck GB7ADX
+hftest GB7DXM
+G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
would redefine our earlier example, or
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-clear/spots 1
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-To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ... +
To look for information in a defined database, simply use the dbshow +command, for example ...
-clear/spots all
+dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
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You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the -various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter. -
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Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can -be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even -if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default -rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces, -WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like -this ... +
will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster +database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users +you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard +show command like this ...
-accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
-set/hops node_default spot 50
+'^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY. -This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to -override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should -you require. It is important to note that default filters should be -considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the -default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also. +
Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
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Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment. -
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The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU -can be written with a mixed filter, for example ... +
To delete an existing database you use the dbremove command. +For example ...
-rej/spot on hf/cw
-acc/spot on 0/30000
-acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+dbremove oblast
Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will -automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said reject all -HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also -accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones -14, 15 and 16. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and -an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot. -
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It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default -for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example -what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed -to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line -lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU. -
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would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the +system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command. +If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created +from scratch if you still required it.