1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
5 <!-- Title information -->
7 <title>The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.49</title>
8 <author>Ian Maude, G0VGS, (g0vgs@gb7mbc.net)</author>
9 <date>February 2002 revision 1.3</date>
12 A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
15 <!-- Table of contents -->
18 <!-- Begin the document -->
20 <sect>Routing and Filtering
25 From DXSpider version 1.48, major changes were introduced to the way
26 node connections are treated. This is part of an ongoing process to
27 remove problems with loops and to enable talk and other functions to
28 propagate across the whole of the worldwide cluster network. In fact,
29 in a Spider network, it would be useful, perhaps even necessary to
30 have loops. This would give real resilience to the network, meaning
31 that if a link dropped, the information flow would simply come in and
32 go out via a different route. Of course, we do not have a complete
33 network of Spider nodes, there are other programs out there. Some of
34 these do not have any protection from loops. Certainly AK1A does not
35 handle loops well at all. It is therefore necessary to have some form
36 of protection for these nodes.
39 In fact DXSpider has had a simple system for some time which is called
40 <it>isolation</it>. This is similar to what in other systems such as
41 <bf>clx</bf>, is called <it>passive mode</it>. A more detailed explanation
42 of <it>isolation</it> is given further below. This system is still available
43 and, for simple networks, is probably all that you need.
46 The new functionality introduced in version 1.48 allows filtering the node
47 and user protocol frames on a "per interface" basis. We call this
48 <it>route filtering</it>. This is used <bf>instead of</bf>
52 What this really means is that you can control more or less completely
53 which user and node management PC protocol frames pass to each of your
54 partner nodes. You can also limit what comes into your node from your
55 partners. It is even possible to control the settings that your partner
56 node has for the routing information that it sends to you
57 (using the <it>rcmd</it> command).
62 Initially when route filters were being tested we generated a
63 "default" filter. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that this
64 might suit the UK cluster network but didn't really fit anybody else.
65 However using a default filter is an appropriate thing to do. How, is
69 The first thing that you must do is determine whether you need to use
70 route filtering <bf>at all</bf>. If you are a "normal" node with two or
71 three partners and you arranged in an "official" non-looping tree type
72 network, then <bf>you do not need to do route filtering</bf> and you will
73 feel a lot better for not getting involved. If you are successfully using
74 <it>isolation</it> then you also probably don't need to use route filtering.
77 To put it simply, you should not mix Isolation and Route Filtering. It
78 will work, of sorts, but you will not get the expected results. If you
79 are using Isolation sucessfully at the moment, do not get involved in
80 Route Filtering unless you have a good supply of aspirin! Once you have
81 started down the road of Route Filtering, do not use Isolation either.
82 Use one or the other, not both.
85 You will only require this functionality if you are "well-connected". What
86 that means is that you are connected to several different parts of (say)
87 the EU cluster and, at the same time, also connected to two or three places
88 in the US which, in turn are connected back to the EU. This is called a
89 "loop" and if you are seriously looped then you need filtering.
92 I should at this stage give a little bit of background on filters. All
93 the filters in Spider work in basically the same way. You can either
94 accept or reject various options in order to create the filter rules
95 you wish to achieve. Some filters are user settable, others can only
96 be altered by the sysop. Route filtering can only be done by the sysop.
99 Anyway, without further discouragement, let me start the process
102 <sect1>The node_default filter
105 All normal systems should have a default routing filter and it should
106 usually be set to send only the normal, unlooped, view of your
107 "national" network. Here in the UK that means nodes from the UK and
108 Eire, in EU it is more complex as the networks there grew up in a more
112 The generic commands are:-
115 reject/route node_default <filter_option>
119 accept/route node_default <filter_option>
122 where filter_option is one of the following ...
125 call <prefixes>
126 call_dxcc <numbers>
127 call_itu <numbers>
128 call_zone <numbers>
129 channel <prefixes>
130 channel_dxcc <numbers>
131 channel_itu <numbers>
132 channel_zone <numbers>
135 Please be careful if you alter this setting, it will affect
136 <bf><it>ALL</it></bf> your links! Remember, this is a <it>default</it>
137 filter for node connections, not a <it>per link</it> default.
140 For the default routing filter then you have two real choices: either
141 a "national" view or the "safe" option of only your own
142 callsign. Examples of each (for my node: GB7DJK) are:-
145 acc/route node_default call_dxcc 61,38
146 acc/route node_default call gb7djk
149 GB7DJK uses the first of these. The DXCC countries can be obtained from the
150 <it>show/prefix</it> command.
153 The example filters shown control <it>output</it> <bf>TO</bf> all your
154 partner nodes unless they have a specific filter applied to them (see
158 It is also possible to control the <it>incoming</it> routing
159 information that you are prepared to accept <bf>FROM</bf> your partner
160 nodes. The reason this is necessary is to make sure that stuff like
161 mail, pings and similar commands a) go down the correct links and b)
162 don't loop around excessively. Again using GB7DJK as an example a typical
163 default input filter would be something like:
166 rej/route node_default input call_dxcc 61,38 and not channel_dxcc 61,38
169 What this does is accept node and user information for our national
170 network from nodes that are in our national network, but rejects such
171 information from anyone else. Although it doesn't explicitly say so,
172 by implication, any other node information (not from the UK and Eire)
176 As I imagine it will take a little while to get one's head around all of
177 this you can study the effect of any rules that you try by watching the
178 debug output after having done:-
184 After you have got tired of that, to put it back the way it was:-
190 <sect1>General route filtering
193 Exactly the same rules apply for general route filtering. You would
194 use either an accept filter or a reject filter like this ...
197 reject/route <node_call> <filter_option>
201 accept/route <node_call> <filter_option>
205 Here are some examples of route filters ...
208 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
209 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
210 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
211 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
214 In practice you will either be opening the default filter out for a
215 partner by defining a specific filter for that callsign:-
219 acc/route gb7baa input all
222 or restricting it quite a lot, in fact making it very nearly like an
223 <it>isolated</it> node, like this:-
226 acc/route pi4ehv-8 call gb7djk
227 rej/route pi4ehv-8 input call_dxcc 61,38
230 This last example takes everything except UK and Eire from PI4EHV-8
231 but only sends him my local configuration (just a PC19 for GB7DJK and
232 PC16s for my local users).
235 It is possible to write <bf>much</bf> more complex rules, there are up
236 to 10 accept/reject pairs per callsign per filter. For more information
237 see the next section.
240 <sect1>General filter rules
243 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
244 v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
245 about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
246 DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
247 anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
250 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
251 are <em>accept</em>, <em>reject</em> and <em>clear</em>. First we will look
252 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
253 DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
256 In general terms you can create a "reject" or an "accept" filter which can have
257 up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
264 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters
265 for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different
266 accept or reject command reference for more details.
268 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
275 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
278 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
285 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
286 principles to all types of filter.
288 <sect1>Types of filter
291 There are two main types of filter, <em>accept</em> or <em>reject</em>. You
292 can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
293 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
294 filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
295 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
296 action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
300 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
301 will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
302 then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
303 For example if you have a single line <em>accept</em> filter ...
306 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
309 then you will <em>ONLY</em> get VHF spots <em>from</em> or <em>to</em> CQ zones
313 If you set a reject filter like this ...
316 reject/spots on hf/cw
319 Then you will get everything <em>EXCEPT</em> HF CW spots. You could make this
320 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
321 and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
322 CW, then you could say ...
325 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
328 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
331 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
334 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
335 until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
336 wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
337 don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
340 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
341 understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
344 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
345 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
348 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
349 which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
352 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
353 you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
354 This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
355 more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
358 You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
359 at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
360 are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <em>APART</em> from those in
361 zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
362 not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
363 logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
366 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
369 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
370 here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
372 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
373 simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
374 to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
375 one line. For example ...
378 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
381 would redefine our earlier example, or
387 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
393 <sect1>Filter options
396 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
397 various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
399 <sect1>Default filters
402 Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can
403 be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even
404 if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default
405 rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces,
406 WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like
410 accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
411 set/hops node_default spot 50
414 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY.
415 This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to
416 override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should
417 you require. It is important to note that default filters should be
418 considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the
419 default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
421 <sect1>Advanced filtering
424 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
427 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
428 can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
433 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
436 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will
437 automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said <em>reject all
438 HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
439 accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones
440 14, 15 and 16</em>. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and
441 an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
444 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default
445 for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example
446 what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed
447 to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line
448 lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
450 <sect1>Basic hop control
453 In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the file
454 that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default hops on the
455 various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to alter the hops for.
456 You may be happy with the default settings of course, but this powerful tool
457 can help to protect and improve the network. The file will look something
462 # hop table construction
467 # default hopcount to use
470 # some variable hop counts based on message type
481 # the per node hop control thingy
513 Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and contains a
514 series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot. The figures here
515 are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of how the file works.
518 SHould any of the nodecalls include an ssid, it is important to wrap the
519 whole call in single quotes, like this ...
532 If you do not do this, you will get errors and the file will not work as
536 You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is running.
537 If you alter the file during runtime, the command <em>load/hops</em> will
538 bring your changes into effect.
540 <sect1>Hop Control on Specific Nodes
542 <p>You can set a callsign specific hop count for any of the standard filter
546 set/hops gb7djk spot 4
547 set/hops node_default route 10
548 set/hops gb7baa wcy 5
551 all work on their specific area of the protocol.
554 The <em>set/hops</em> command overrides any hops that you have set otherwise.
557 You can set what hops have been set using the <em>show/hops</em> command.
559 <sect1>Isolating networks
562 It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node using the
563 <em>set/isolate <node_call></em> command.
566 The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from another
567 node connected to your node. Your node will appear on and otherwise behave
568 normally on every network to which you are connected, but data from an isolated
569 network will not cross onto any other network or vice versa. However all the
570 spot, announce and WWV traffic and personal messages will still be handled
571 locally (because you are a real node on all connected networks), that is locally
572 connected users will appear on all networks and will be able to access and
573 receive information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will
574 be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a gateway for
575 another network, he can still still send a talk/announce etc message via your
576 node and it will be routed across.
579 If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive
580 all information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass
581 any information back to the isolated node. There are times when you
582 would like to forward only spots across a link (maybe during a contest
583 for example). To do this, isolate the node in the normal way and use
584 an <em>acc/spot >call< all</em> filter to override the isolate.
588 <sect1>Filtering Mail
591 In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called badmsg.pl.issue. Rename
592 this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The original looks something like this ....
596 # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having
597 # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before
601 # The format of each line is as follows
603 # type source pattern
604 # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex
606 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
607 # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject
608 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
610 # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code.
612 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
613 # causes the action to be taken.
615 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
616 # for the action specified
634 I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of subject
635 headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of the cluster or
636 the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is usually because of
637 rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale etc in a particular country.
640 <sect1>Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
643 From version 1.48 onwards the interface to this has changed. You can now
644 use the commands <em>set/badword</em> to add words that you are not prepared
645 to see on the cluster, <em>unset/badword</em> to allow that word again and
646 <em>show/badword</em> to list the words that you have set.
649 If you have a previous <em>/spider/data/badwords</em>, the first time you start
650 the node, it will read and convert this file to the new commands. The old style
651 file will then be removed.
653 <sect1>Stopping (possibly bad) DX Spots from Nodes or Spotters
656 There are a number of commands that control whether a spot progresses
657 any further by regarding it as "bad" in some way.
660 A DX Spot has a number of fields which can be checked to see whether they
661 contain "bad" values, they are: the DX callsign itself, the Spotter and
662 the Originating Node.
665 There are a set of commands which allow the sysop to control whether a
674 These work in the same as the <em>set/badword</em> command, you can add
675 any words or callsigns or whatever to the appropriate database. For
676 example, to stop a spot from a particular node you do:
679 set/badnode gb7djk gb7dxc
685 set/badspotter b0mb p1rat nocall
694 You can remove a word using the appropriate unset command
695 (<em>unset/baddx, unset/badspotter, unset/badnode</em>) or list them
696 using one of <em>show/baddx, show/badspotter</em> and
697 <em>show/badnode</em>.
702 DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports both
703 personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands to ensure
704 that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send mail almost
705 immediately, assuming that the target is on line. However, only one
706 mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a mail message is already
707 being sent or recieved, then the new message will be queued until it has
710 The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the sysop
711 sets the "keep" flag using the <em>msg</em> command.
716 Personal mail is sent using the <em>sp</em> command. This is actually the
717 default method of sending mail and so a simple <em>s</em> for send will do.
718 A full list of the send commands and options is in the <em>command set</em>
719 section, so I will not duplicate them here.
724 Bulletin mail is sent by using the <em>sb</em> command. This is one of the
725 most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a bulletin
726 mail with <em>s</em> or <em>sp</em> instead of <em>sb</em> and of course
727 the message never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop
728 by using the <em>msg</em> command.
730 <P>Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file.
735 DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations needed
736 in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated differently, there
737 is no need for a list of accepted bulletin addresses. It is necessary, however,
738 to tell the program which links accept which bulletins. For example, it is
739 pointless sending bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK
740 ones. The file that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg.
741 At default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename it
742 to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements.
743 The format is below ...
747 # this is an example message forwarding file for the system
749 # The format of each line is as follows
751 # type to/from/at pattern action destinations
752 # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ]
754 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
755 # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin
756 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
757 # action: I - ignore, F - forward
758 # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns
760 # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded
762 # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code.
764 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
765 # causes the action to be taken.
767 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
768 # for the action specified
770 # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the
771 # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have
772 # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if
773 # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately
774 # on first connection)
780 'B', 'T', 'LOCAL', 'F', [ qw(GB7MBC) ],
781 'B', 'T', 'ALL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
782 'B', 'T', 'UK', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
783 'B', 'T', 'QSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
784 'B', 'T', 'QSLINF', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
785 'B', 'T', 'DX', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
786 'B', 'T', 'DXINFO', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
787 'B', 'T', 'DXNEWS', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
788 'B', 'T', 'DXQSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
789 'B', 'T', 'SYSOP', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
790 'B', 'T', '50MHZ', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
794 Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you wish
795 that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to "UK" will
796 only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14.
799 To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward
802 <sect1>The msg command
805 The <em>msg</em> command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the
806 sysop. It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other
807 changes to manage the cluster mail.
809 Here is a full list of the various options ...
812 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
813 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
814 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
815 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
816 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
817 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
818 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
819 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
820 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
821 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waiting time for this message
822 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
823 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
824 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
825 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
828 These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop user.
830 <sect1>Message status
833 You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the command
834 <em>stat/msg</em>. This will give you additional information on the
835 message number including which nodes have received it, which node it
836 was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of
840 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
843 Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z
847 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT
849 Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX
853 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
856 <sect1>Filtering mail
859 This is described in the section on <em>Other filters</em> so I will not
862 <sect1>Distribution lists
865 Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of
866 mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other
867 sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called <em>distro</em>. You
868 put any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called
869 SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops.
872 qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX
873 GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH
874 GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS)
877 Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this list.
882 Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the sysop
883 of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS and pushes
884 any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from Spider to the BBS,
885 the interface is one-way.
888 Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary mail.
889 Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by using the
890 Forward.pl file very carefully.
895 From 1.48 onwards it will become increasingly possible to control DXSpider's
896 operation with scripts of various kinds.
899 The directory /spider/scripts is where it all happens and is used for several
900 things. Firstly it contains a file called startup that can be used to call
901 in any changes to the cluster from the default settings on startup. This
902 script is executed immediately after all initialisation of the node is done
903 but before any connections are possible. Examples of this include how many
904 spots it is possible to get with the sh/dx command, whether you want
905 registration/passwords to be permanently on etc. An example file is shown
906 below and is included in the distribution as startup.issue.
910 # startup script example
912 # set maximum no of spots allowed to 100
913 # set/var $Spot::maxspots = 1
915 # Set registration on
916 # set/var $main::reqreg = 1
919 # set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
924 As usual, any text behind a # is treated as a comment and not read. To use
925 this file, simply rename it from startup.issue to startup. In our example
926 above there are three options. The first option is the amount of spots that
927 a user can request with the <em>sh/dx</em> command. Normally the default is
928 to give 10 spots unless the user specifies more. Without this line enabled,
929 the maximum a user can request is 100 spots. Depending on your link quality
930 you may wish to enable more or less by specifying the number. If you simply
931 uncomment the line, the maximum would be 1 spot!
934 The other 2 options are dealt with more fully in the security section.
937 Secondly, it is used to store the login scripts for users and nodes. Currently
938 this can only be done by the sysop but it is envisaged that eventually users will
939 be able to set their own. An example is included in the distibution but here is
955 The lines in between commands can simply insert a blank line or a character
956 such as a + sign to make the output easier to read. Simply create this script
957 with your favourite editor and save it with the callsign of the user as the
958 filename. Filenames should always be in lower case.
961 Commands can be inserted in the same way for nodes. A node may wish a series
962 of commands to be issued on login, such as a merge command for example.
965 Thirdly, there are 2 default scripts for users and nodes who do not have a
966 specifically defined script. These are <em>user_default</em> and
967 <em>node_default</em>
972 Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
973 chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
974 with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
975 to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
976 database but will expand with time.
978 <sect1>Creating databases
981 Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
982 sent from the cluster prompt as the <em>sysop</em> user.
984 To create a database you use the command <em>dbcreate</em>. It can
985 be used in 3 different ways like so ..
991 To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
992 name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
993 simply defines it to say that it exists.
996 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
999 This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
1000 scanned, then the second, the third etc...
1003 dbcreate <name> remote <name>
1006 This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
1007 name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
1008 node_call of the remote node, for example...
1011 dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
1014 Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
1015 chain can be a remote database.
1017 <sect1>Importing databases
1020 The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
1021 AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
1022 This will be added to with time.
1024 To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp
1025 and then issue the following command ...
1028 dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
1031 This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if
1034 <sect1>Checking available databases
1037 Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
1038 added. To do this use the <em>dbavail</em> command. This will
1039 output the available databases. For example ...
1043 DB Name Location Chain
1047 G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
1050 <sect1>Looking up databases
1053 To look for information in a defined database, simply use the <em>dbshow</em>
1054 command, for example ...
1057 dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
1060 will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
1061 database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users
1062 you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
1063 <em>show</em> command like this ...
1066 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
1069 Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
1071 <sect1>Removing databases
1074 To delete an existing database you use the <em>dbremove</em> command.
1081 would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
1082 system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
1083 If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created
1084 from scratch if you still required it.
1086 <sect>Information, files and useful programs
1091 One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
1092 information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a banner
1093 that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message of the day"
1094 or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in /spider/data called motd
1095 and edit it to say whatever you want. It is purely a text file and will be
1096 sent automatically to anyone logging in to the cluster.
1101 This message of the day file lives in the same directory as the standard
1102 motd file but is only sent to non-registered users. Once registered they
1103 will receive the same message as any other user.
1105 <sect1>Downtime message
1108 If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or maintenance but
1109 the machine is still running, a message can be sent to the user advising them
1110 of the fact. This message lives in the /spider/data directory and is called
1111 "offline". Simply create the file and edit it to say whatever you wish.
1112 This file will be sent to a user attempting to log into the cluster when
1113 DXSpider is not actually running.
1115 <sect1>Other text messages
1118 You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input the file
1119 name. This could be for news items or maybe information for new users.
1120 To set this up, make a directory under /spider called <em>packclus</em>.
1121 Under this directory you can create files called <em>news</em> or <em>newuser</em>
1122 for example. In fact you can create files with any names you like. These can
1123 be listed by the user with the command ....
1129 They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
1135 If the file they want to read is called <em>news</em>. You could also set
1136 an alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type <em>news</em>
1139 You can also store other information in this directory, either directly or
1140 nested under directories. One use for this would be to store DX bulletins
1141 such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed and read by the user.
1142 To keep things tidy, make a directory under /spider/packclus called
1143 <em>bulletin</em>. Now copy any OPDX or similar bulletins into it. These
1144 can be listed by the user in the same way as above using the <em>show/files</em>
1145 command with an extension for the bulletin directory you have just created,
1153 An example would look like this ....
1157 bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
1160 You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory) there is a
1161 file called <em>news</em> and a directory called <em>bulletin</em>. You can
1162 also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file <em>news</em>,
1163 you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to whether the
1164 file has been updated since you last read it. To read the file called
1165 <em>news</em> you would simply issue the command ....
1171 To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command ....
1175 opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1176 opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1177 opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1178 opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1179 opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1180 opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1181 opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1182 opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1183 opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1184 opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1185 opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1186 opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1187 opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1188 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
1191 You can now read any file in this directory using the type command, like this ....
1194 type bulletin/opdx391
1195 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
1196 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
1200 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
1201 Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
1202 Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
1203 Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
1204 Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
1205 & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
1206 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
1209 The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
1211 <sect1>The Aliases file
1214 You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. This is the file that
1215 controls what a user gets when issuing a command. It is also possible to
1216 create your own aliases for databases and files you create locally.
1219 You should not alter the original file in /spider/cmd/ but create a new file
1220 with the same name in /spider/local_cmd. This means that any new Aliases files
1221 that is downloaded will not overwrite your self created Aliases and also that
1222 you do not override any new Aliases with your copy in /spider/local_cmd/. You
1223 must remember that any files you store in /spider/local/ or /spider/local_cmd
1224 override the originals if the same lines are used in both files.
1227 The best way of dealing with all this then is to only put your own locally
1228 created Aliases in the copy in /spider/local_cmd. The example below is
1229 currently in use at GB7MBC.
1234 # Local Aliases File
1241 '^news$', 'type news', 'type',
1244 '^sh\w*/buck$', 'show/qrz', 'show',
1245 '^sh\w*/hftest$', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
1246 '^sh\w*/qsl$', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
1247 '^sh\w*/vhf$', 'dbshow vhf', 'dbshow',
1248 '^sh\w*/vhftest$', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
1255 Each alphabetical section should be preceded by the initial letter and the section
1256 should be wrapped in square brackets as you can see. The syntax is straightforward.
1257 The first section on each line is the new command that will be allowed once the
1258 alias is included. The second section is the command it is replacing and the last
1259 section is the actual command that is being used.
1262 The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that in the first section, the new
1263 alias command has a '^' at the start and a '$' at the end. Basically these force
1264 a perfect match on the alias. The '^' says match the beginning exactly and the
1265 '$' says match the end exactly. This prevents unwanted and unintentional matches
1266 with similar commands.
1269 I have 3 different types of alias in this file. At the top is an alias for 'news'.
1270 This is a file I have created in the /spider/packclus/ directory where I can inform
1271 users of new developments or points of interest. In it's initial form a user would
1272 have to use the command <em>type news</em>. The alias allows them to simply type
1273 <em>news</em> to get the info. Second is an alias for the <em>show/qrz</em>
1274 command so that those users used to the original <em>show/buck</em> command in
1275 AK1A will not get an error, and the rest of the lines are for locally created
1276 databases so that a user can type <em>show/hftest</em> instead of having to use
1277 the command <em>dbshow hftest</em> which is not as intuitive.
1280 This file is just an example and you should edit it to your own requirements.
1281 Once created, simply issue the command <em>load/alias</em> at the cluster
1282 prompt as the sysop user and the aliases should be available.
1288 In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for the sysop.
1289 This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities and colour for spots,
1290 announces etc. To use this program, simply use console.pl instead of client.
1293 To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and edit the
1294 file with your favourite editor.
1296 <sect1>Updating kepler data
1299 Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order for
1300 this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly. In
1301 general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
1302 Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
1303 file. You do this with the <em>export</em> command from the cluster prompt
1304 as the sysop. For example ...
1307 export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
1311 would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
1312 /spider/perl directory.
1315 Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
1316 the perl directory called <em>convkeps.pl</em>. All we need to do now is
1317 convert the file like so ...
1320 ./convkeps.pl keps.in
1324 Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
1331 That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
1333 <sect1>The QRZ callbook
1336 The command <em>sh/qrz</em> will only work once you have followed a few
1337 simple steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
1338 Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the file
1339 /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match your user
1340 ID and password. You also at this point need to set $allow=1 to complete
1341 the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the proprieter of
1342 <htmlurl url="http://www.qrz.com" name="qrz.com"> for allowing this access.
1347 From version 1.49 DXSpider has some additional security features. These
1348 are not by any means meant to be exhaustive, however they do afford some
1349 security against piracy. These two new features can be used independently
1350 of each other or in concert to tighten the security.
1355 The basic principle of registration is simple. If a user is not registered
1356 by the sysop, then they have read-only access to the cluster. The only
1357 thing they can actually send is a talk or a message to the sysop. In
1358 order for them to be able to spot, send announces or talks etc the sysop
1359 must register them with the <em>set/register</em> command, like this ...
1365 The user g0vgs can now fully use the cluster. In order to enable
1366 registration, you can issue the command ...
1369 set/var $main::reqreg = 1
1372 Any users that are not registered will now see the motd_nor file rather
1373 than the motd file as discussed in the Information, files and useful
1377 Entering this line at the prompt will only last for the time the cluster
1378 is running of course and would not be present on a restart. To make the
1379 change permanent, add the above line to /spider/scripts/startup. To
1380 read more on the startup file, see the section on Information, files
1381 and useful programs.
1384 To unregister a user use <em>unset/register</em> and to show the list
1385 of registered users, use the command <em>show/register</em>.
1390 At the moment, passwords only affect users who login to a DXSpider
1391 cluster node via telnet. If a user requires a password, they can
1392 either set it themselves or have the sysop enter it for them by using
1393 the <em>set/password</em> command. Any users who already have passwords,
1394 such as remote sysops, will be asked for their passwords automatically
1395 by the cluster. Using passwords in this way means that the user has a
1396 choice on whether to have a password or not. To force the use of
1397 passwords at login, issue the command ...
1400 set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
1403 at the cluster prompt. This can also be added to the /spider/scripts/startup
1404 file as above to make the change permanent.
1407 Of course, if you do this you will have to assign a password for each of
1408 your users. If you were asking them to register, it is anticipated that
1409 you would ask them to send you a message both to ask to be registered and
1410 to give you the password they wish to use.
1413 Should a user forget their password, it can be reset by the sysop by
1414 first removing the existing password and then setting a new one like so ...
1417 unset/password g0vgs
1418 set/password g0vgs new_password
1424 CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider is held
1425 at <htmlurl url="http://www.sourceforge.net" name="Sourceforge">. This means
1426 that it is possible to update your DXSpider installation to the latest
1427 sources by using a few simple commands.
1430 Please be aware that if you update your system using CVS, it is possible that
1431 you could be running code that is very beta and not fully tested. There is
1432 a possibility that it could be unstable.
1435 I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and
1436 Internet access running.
1439 BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR
1440 ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!!
1443 Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the
1444 CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several
1445 steps which are listed below ...
1448 First login as the user <em>sysop</em>. Next you need to connect to the CVS
1449 repository. You do this with the command below ...
1452 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login
1455 You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your machine should
1456 return to a normal linux prompt.
1459 What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation that
1460 you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you just want
1461 to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for testing.
1463 If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to /home/sysop
1465 If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp
1468 The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your current
1472 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider
1475 This command is all on one line.
1478 Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3 simply compresses
1479 the download to improve speed.
1480 When this has finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full
1481 tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the magic that
1485 Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if you have
1486 just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball.
1489 If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ...
1492 tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider
1494 tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz
1497 This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course.
1500 NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the permissions
1501 correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T YOU?????
1503 Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make)
1506 At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart the cluster
1507 in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new commands or features
1508 expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster will have been restarted then so it
1509 will be too late to worry about it!
1512 Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply connect to the
1513 Internet and then, as the user <em>sysop</em> ...
1520 and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the "C" client
1521 if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if any of the perl scripts
1522 have been altered or added, again, CVS will tell you.
1525 You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file.
1527 <sect>The DXSpider command set
1530 Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster prompt.
1531 Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some commands that are useful
1532 for a sysop. These are listed below in alphabetical order. The number in
1533 brackets following the command name is the permissions level needed to use
1536 <sect1>accept/announce (0)
1540 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
1545 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
1547 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
1548 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
1549 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1551 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1554 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1555 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1557 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1558 origin_itu <numbers>
1559 origin_zone <numbers>
1564 wx 1 filter WX announces
1565 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
1572 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
1573 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
1582 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK stations.
1583 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1589 but this probably for advanced users...
1591 <sect1>accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
1595 <bf>accept/announce <call> [input] [0-9]<pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
1599 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1600 default for nodes and users eg:-
1604 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2
1605 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2
1608 <sect1>accept/route (8)
1612 <bf>accept/route <call> [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'accept' filter line for routing
1616 Create an 'accept this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
1619 An accept filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches this filter
1620 it is passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1621 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1624 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1627 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
1628 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1631 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
1632 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1633 origin_itu <numbers>
1634 origin_zone <numbers>
1641 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
1642 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
1646 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1652 <sect1>accept/spots (0)
1656 <bf>accept/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
1661 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
1664 An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
1665 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
1666 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1668 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1671 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
1672 on <range> same as 'freq'
1673 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
1674 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1676 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1687 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
1688 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
1689 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
1690 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get
1691 too hung up about that)
1697 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1700 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
1706 but this probably for advanced users...
1708 <sect1>accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
1712 <bf>accept/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Spot filter sysop version
1716 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1717 default for nodes and users eg:-
1720 accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
1721 accept/spot node_default all
1722 set/hops node_default 10
1724 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2
1727 <sect1>accept/wcy (0)
1731 <bf>accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> set an accept WCY filter
1735 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1736 filter on the following fields:-
1739 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1741 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1742 origin_itu <numbers>
1743 origin_zone <numbers>
1751 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
1752 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
1754 This command is really provided for future use.
1756 See HELP FILTER for information.
1758 <sect1>accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
1762 <bf>accept/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
1763 WCY filter sysop version
1767 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1768 default for nodes and users eg:-
1771 accept/wcy node_default all
1772 set/hops node_default 10
1775 <sect1>accept/wwv (0)
1779 <bf>accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept WWV filter
1783 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1784 filter on the following fields:-
1787 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1789 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1790 origin_itu <numbers>
1791 origin_zone <numbers>
1801 accept/wwv by_zone 4
1804 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
1805 by stations in the US).
1807 See HELP FILTER for information.
1809 <sect1>accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
1813 <bf>accept/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
1814 WWV filter sysop version
1818 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1819 default for nodes and users eg:-
1822 accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
1823 accept/wwv node_default all
1824 set/hops node_default 10
1826 accept/wwv user_default by W,K
1833 <bf>announce <text></bf> Send an announcement to local users
1837 Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where <text> is the text
1838 of the announcement you wish to broadcast. If you do not wish to receive
1839 announces, use the <em>set/noannounce</em> command. Any announces made by
1840 a sysop will override set/noannounce.
1842 <sect1>announce full (0)
1846 <bf>announce full <text></bf> Send an announcement cluster wide
1850 This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster
1854 <sect1>announce sysop (5)
1858 <bf>announce sysop <text></bf>
1862 Send an announcement to Sysops only
1868 <bf>apropos <string></bf> Search the help database
1872 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive),
1873 and print the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
1879 <bf>bye</bf> Exit from the cluster
1883 This will disconnect you from the cluster
1889 <bf>catchup <node_call> All|[<msgno> ...]</bf>
1890 Mark a message as sent
1894 When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another node
1895 is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new partner
1896 node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl file, all
1897 outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them. This may well
1898 be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by using these
1903 catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
1906 and to undo what you have just done:-
1909 uncatchup GB7DJK all
1910 uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
1913 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again.
1915 Order is not important.
1917 <sect1>clear/announce (8)
1921 <bf>clear/announce [input] <callsign> [0-9|all]</bf> Clear an announce filter line
1925 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
1926 node_default or user_default.
1928 <sect1>clear/route (8)
1932 <bf>clear/route [input] ^lt;callsign> [0-9|all]</bf> Clear a route filter line
1936 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a route filter or to
1937 remove the whole filter.
1939 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
1941 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
1942 node_default or user_default.
1944 <sect1>clear/spots (0)
1948 <bf>clear/spots [1|all]</bf> Clear a spot filter line
1952 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or to
1953 remove the whole filter.
1955 If you have a filter:-
1959 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1968 you will be left with:-
1971 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1980 the filter will be completely removed.
1982 <sect1>clear/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
1986 <bf>clear/spots [input] <callsign> [0-9|all]</bf> Clear a spot filter line
1990 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
1991 node_default or user_default.
1993 <sect1>clear/wcy (0)
1997 <bf>clear/wcy [1|all]</bf> Clear a WCY filter line
2001 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a WCY filter or to
2002 remove the whole filter.
2004 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
2006 <sect1>clear/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2010 <bf>clear/wcy [input] <callsign> [0-9|all]</bf> Clear a WCY filter line
2014 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2015 node_default or user_default.
2017 <sect1>clear/wwv (0)
2021 <bf>clear/wwv [1|all]</bf> Clear a WWV filter line
2025 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a WWV filter or to
2026 remove the whole filter.
2028 see CLEAR/SPOTS for a more detailed explanation.
2030 <sect1>clear/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2034 <bf>clear/wwv [input] <callsign> [0-9|all]</bf> Clear a WWV filter line
2038 A sysop can clear an input or normal output filter for a user or the
2039 node_default or user_default.
2045 <bf>connect <callsign></bf> Start a connection to another DX Cluster
2049 Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to the
2050 DX cluster <callsign>. This process creates a new 'client' process which will
2051 use the script in /spider/connect/<callsign> to effect the 'chat' exchange
2052 necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the cluster <callsign>.
2058 <bf>dbavail</bf> Show a list of all the databases in the system
2062 The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases defined
2063 in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
2069 <bf>dbcreate <name></bf> Create a database entry<newline>
2070 <bf>dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>..]</bf> Create a
2071 chained database entry<newline>
2072 <bf>dbcreate <name> remote <node></bf> Create a remote database
2077 DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't actually
2078 create anything, just defines it.
2080 The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they are
2081 therefore already 'indexed'.
2083 You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg:
2087 You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword.
2088 This will search each database one after the other. A typical example
2091 DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad
2093 No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist, in
2094 fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do each of
2095 the chained databases.
2097 Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on another
2100 DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc
2102 Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a
2103 a chain can be a remote database eg:
2105 DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc
2107 To see what databases have been defined do:
2109 DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND)
2111 It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases file
2112 to allow people to use the 'SHOW/<dbname>' style syntax. So you would
2113 need to add a line like:-
2119 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
2129 to work as they may be used to.
2131 See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to databases.
2132 See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry
2138 <bf>dbimport <dbname></bf> Import AK1A data into a database
2142 If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use
2143 this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing
2144 database. For example:-
2146 DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
2148 will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the
2149 oblast database held locally.
2155 <bf>dbremove <dbname></bf> Delete a database
2159 DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any data
2160 file that is associated with it.
2162 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2168 will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also remove
2169 the associated datafile.
2173 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2175 You have been warned.
2181 <bf>dbshow <dbname> <key></bf> Display an entry, if it exists,
2186 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database system.
2187 It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local Aliases file
2188 so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of enquiry such as:
2194 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
2195 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
2206 <bf>debug</bf> Set the cluster program into debug mode
2210 Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the cluster
2217 It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has finished.
2219 <sect1>delete/user (9)
2223 <bf>delete/user <callsign></bf> Delete a user from the User Database
2227 This command will completely remove a one or more users from the database.
2229 There is NO SECOND CHANCE.
2231 It goes without saying that you should use this command CAREFULLY!
2234 <sect1>directory (0)
2238 <bf>directory</bf> List messages<newline>
2239 <bf>directory all</bf> List all messages<newline>
2240 <bf>directory own</bf> List your own messages<newline>
2241 <bf>directory new</bf> List all new messages<newline>
2242 <bf>directory to <call></bf> List all messages to <call><newline>
2243 <bf>directory from <call></bf> List all messages from <call><newline>
2244 <bf>directory subject <string></bf> List all messages with <string>
2246 <bf>directory <nn></bf> List last <nn> messages<newline>
2247 <bf>directory <from>-<to></bf> List messages <from> message <to> message <newline>
2251 List the messages in the messages directory.
2253 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
2254 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
2255 'p' then this indicates that the message has been read.
2257 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
2260 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
2265 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
2268 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a syntax:-
2276 <sect1>directory (extended for sysops) (5)
2279 Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL messages.
2281 <sect1>disconnect (8)
2285 <bf>disconnect <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Disconnect a user or node
2289 Disconnect any <call> connected locally
2295 <bf>dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks></bf> Send a DX spot
2299 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
2300 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
2308 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end
2309 of the command and they will be added to the spot.
2312 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
2315 You can credit someone else by saying:-
2318 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
2321 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
2322 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
2328 <bf>export <msgno> <filename></bf> Export a message to a file
2332 Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a local
2333 console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be in a form
2334 ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in the import
2335 directory (/spider/msg/import).
2337 This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide some
2338 measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same user as the
2339 main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere the cluster can
2340 access. For example:-
2344 <sect1>export_users (9)
2348 <bf>export_users [<filename>]</bf> Export the users database to ascii
2352 Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename
2353 is given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc.
2355 If the file already exists it will be renamed to <filename>.o. In fact
2356 up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o' on the
2359 BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No check is
2360 made on the filename (if any) that you specify.
2362 <sect1>filtering (0)
2366 <bf>filtering</bf> Filtering things in DXSpider
2370 There are a number of things you can filter in the DXSpider system. They
2371 all use the same general mechanism.
2373 In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which
2374 can have up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example:-
2379 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There
2380 are filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops)
2381 connects. See each different accept or reject command reference for
2384 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter and
2385 one to show you what you have set. They are:-
2394 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
2396 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply
2397 the principles to all types of filter.
2399 There are two main types of filter 'accept' or 'reject'; which you use
2400 depends entirely on how you look at the world and what is least
2401 writing to achieve what you want. Each filter has 10 lines (of any
2402 length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the action
2403 you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
2406 The important thing to remember is that if you specify a 'reject'
2407 filter (all the lines in it say 'reject/spots' (for instance) then if
2408 a spot comes in that doesn't match any of the lines then you will get
2409 it BUT if you specify an 'accept' filter then any spots that don't
2410 match are dumped. For example if I have a one line accept filter:-
2412 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2414 then automatically you will ONLY get VHF spots from or to CQ zones 14
2415 15 and 16. If you set a reject filter like:
2417 reject/spots on hf/cw
2419 Then you will get everything EXCEPT HF CW spots, If you am interested in IOTA
2420 and will work it even on CW then you could say:-
2422 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
2424 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
2426 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
2428 which is exactly the same. You should choose one or the other until
2429 you are confortable with the way it works. Yes, you can mix them
2430 (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
2431 don't try this at home until you can analyse the results that you get
2432 without ringing up the sysop for help.
2434 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your
2435 own understanding or simply convenience. I have one set frequently:-
2437 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
2438 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2440 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots (being a class B I can't
2441 read any CW and couldn't possibly be interested in HF :-) and also
2442 rejects any spots on VHF which don't either originate or spot someone
2445 This is an exmaple where you would use the line number (1 and 2 in
2446 this case), if you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits
2447 '0'-'9' are available.
2449 You can leave the word 'and' out if you want, it is implied. You can
2450 use any number of brackets to make the 'expression' as you want
2451 it. There are things called precedence rules working here which mean
2452 that you will NEED brackets in a situation like line 2 because,
2453 without it, will assume:-
2455 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
2457 annoying, but that is the way it is. If you use OR - use
2458 brackets. Whilst we are here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is
2461 If you want to alter your filter you can just redefine one or more
2462 lines of it or clear out one line. For example:-
2464 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
2470 To remove the filter in its entirty:-
2474 There are similar CLEAR commands for the other filters:-
2482 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
2484 my example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
2485 can be written with a mixed filter, eg:
2489 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2491 each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and an 'accept'
2492 slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
2494 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match,
2495 the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for
2496 'accept'. In the example what happens is that the reject is executed
2497 first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets
2498 thru everything else on HF.
2500 The next filter line lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
2502 <sect1>forward/latlong (8)
2506 <bf>forward/latlong <node_call></bf> Send latitude and longitude
2507 information to another cluster
2511 This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that your
2512 cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving this
2513 information is that more locator information is held by you. This
2514 means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you have
2515 <em>set/dxgrid</em> enabled. This could be a LOT of information though, so
2516 it is not recommended on slow links.
2518 <sect1>forward/opername (1)
2522 <bf>forward/opername <call></bf> Send out information on this <call>
2527 This command sends out any information held in the user file which can
2528 be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH, Location
2529 and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is available.
2535 <bf>help <cmd></bf> Get help on a command
2539 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated
2540 to SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
2542 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help database
2543 for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely commands
2544 to look at with HELP.
2550 <bf>init <node call></bf> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node
2554 This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node
2555 that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may
2556 work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or
2557 better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD <node> DISC/F <your
2560 Best of luck - you will need it.
2566 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ..]</bf> Delete a message
2567 from the local system
2571 Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to
2572 delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are
2579 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...]</bf> Remove or erase a message from
2581 <bf>kill from <call></bf> Remove all messages from a callsign<newline>
2582 <bf>kill to <call></bf> Remove all messages to a callsign<newline>
2586 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign using
2587 this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
2589 As a sysop you can kill any message on the system.
2591 <sect1>kill full (5)
2595 <bf>kill full <msgno> [<msgno>]</bf> Delete a message from the
2600 Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system.
2602 This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the same subject
2603 will be deleted. Beware!
2605 <sect1>kill/expunge (6)
2609 <bf>kill/expunge <msgno> [<msgno>..]</bf>Expunge a message
2613 Deleting a message using the normal KILL commands only marks that message
2614 for deletion. The actual deletion only happens later (usually two days later).
2616 The KILL EXPUNGE command causes the message to be truly deleted more or less
2619 It otherwise is used in the same way as the KILL command.
2626 <bf>links</bf> Show which nodes are physically connected
2630 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and
2631 some information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
2634 <sect1>load/aliases (9)
2638 <bf>load/aliases</bf> Reload the command alias table
2642 Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You will need to
2643 do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is running in order for the
2644 changes to take effect.
2646 <sect1>load/badmsg (9)
2650 <bf>load/badmsg</bf> Reload the bad message table
2654 Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2655 the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl regular
2656 expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of each message.
2657 If any of them match then that message is immediately deleted on receipt.
2659 <sect1>load/badwords (9)
2663 <bf>load/badwords</bf> Reload the bad words table
2667 Reload the /spider/data/badwords file if you have changed it manually whilst
2668 the cluster is running. This file contains a list of words which, if found
2669 on certain text portions of PC protocol, will cause those protocol frames
2670 to be rejected. It will all put out a message if any of these words are
2671 used on the announce, dx and talk commands. The words can be one or
2672 more on a line, lines starting with '#' are ignored.
2674 <sect1>load/bands (9)
2678 <bf>load/bands</bf> Reload the band limits table
2682 Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2683 the cluster is running.
2685 <sect1>load/cmd_cache (9)
2689 <bf>load/cmd_cache</bf> Reload the automatic command cache
2693 Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it will
2694 automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it can get confused
2695 if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or delete a command in the
2696 local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one again. Execute this command to
2697 reset everything back to the state it was just after a cluster restart.
2699 <sect1>load/forward (9)
2703 <bf>load/forward</bf> Reload the msg forwarding routing table
2706 Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it
2707 manually whilst the cluster is running.
2709 <sect1>load/messages (9)
2713 <bf>load/messages</bf> Reload the system messages file
2717 If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst fiddling/writing ne
2718 commands) you can have them take effect during a cluster session by executing this
2719 command. You need to do this if get something like :-
2721 unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en'
2723 <sect1>load/prefixes (9)
2727 <bf>load/prefixes</bf> Reload the prefix table
2731 Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it manually
2732 whilst the cluster is running.
2738 <bf>merge <node> [<no spots>/<no wwv>]</bf> Ask for the
2739 latest spots and WWV
2743 MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By default
2744 it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you select. The
2745 node must be connected locally.
2747 You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be appended
2748 to your databases they will not duplicate any that have recently been added
2749 (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV data).
2755 <bf>msg <cmd> <msgno> [data ...]</bf> Alter various message
2760 Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or bulletin
2761 or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this message from timing
2765 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
2766 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
2767 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
2768 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
2769 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
2770 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
2771 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
2772 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
2773 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
2774 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waitting time for this message
2775 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
2776 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
2777 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
2778 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
2781 You can look at the status of a message by using:-
2783 STAT/MSG <msgno>
2785 This will display more information on the message than DIR does.
2791 <bf>pc <call> <text></bf> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to <call>
2795 Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No processing is done on
2796 the text. This command allows you to send PC Protocol to unstick things if problems
2797 arise (messages get stuck etc). eg:-
2799 pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^
2801 You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user but
2802 without any processing, added of "from <blah> to <blah>" or whatever.
2804 pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!!
2810 <bf>ping <node></bf> Check the link quality between nodes
2814 his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on
2815 the network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this
2816 is a good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time
2817 it takes is output to the console in seconds.
2818 Any visible cluster node can be PINGed.
2825 <bf>rcmd <node call> <cmd></bf> Send a command to another DX cluster
2829 This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX Cluster
2830 node that is connected to the system.
2832 Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system knows
2833 that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b) whether the
2834 other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c) whether you have
2835 permission to send this command at all.
2841 <bf>read</bf> Read the next unread personal message addressed to you<newline>
2842 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read the specified message<newline>
2846 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
2847 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
2850 <sect1>read (extended for sysops) (5)
2854 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read a message on the system
2858 As a sysop you may read any message on the system
2860 <sect1>reject/announce
2864 <bf>reject/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
2869 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
2871 An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
2872 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2873 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2875 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2878 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2879 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2881 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2882 origin_itu <numbers>
2883 origin_zone <numbers>
2888 wx 1 filter WX announces
2889 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
2895 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
2898 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2904 but this probably for advanced users...
2906 <sect1>reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
2910 <bf>reject/announce <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
2914 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2915 default for nodes and users eg:-
2919 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2
2920 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2
2923 <sect1>reject/route (8)
2927 <bf>reject/route <call> [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'reject' filter line for routing
2931 Create an 'reject this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
2934 An reject filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches this filter
2935 it is NOT passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please
2936 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2937 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2940 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
2941 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2944 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
2945 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2946 origin_itu <numbers>
2947 origin_zone <numbers>
2954 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
2958 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2961 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
2964 <sect1>reject/spots (0)
2968 <bf>reject/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
2973 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
2975 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
2976 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2977 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2979 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2982 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2983 on <range> same as 'freq'
2984 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2985 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2987 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2997 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2998 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2999 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
3000 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get
3001 too hung up about that)
3007 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3010 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3016 but this probably for advanced users...
3018 <sect1>reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
3022 <bf>reject/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
3023 Reject spot filter sysop version
3027 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3028 default for nodes and users eg:-
3031 reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
3032 reject/spot node_default all
3033 set/hops node_default 10
3035 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2
3038 <sect1>reject/wcy (0)
3042 <bf>reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WCY filter
3046 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
3047 filter on the following fields:-
3050 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3052 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3053 origin_itu <numbers>
3054 origin_zone <numbers>
3061 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
3062 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
3064 This command is really provided for future use.
3066 See HELP FILTER for information.
3068 <sect1>reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
3072 <bf>reject/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
3073 WCY reject filter sysop version
3077 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3078 default for nodes and users eg:-
3080 reject/wcy gb7djk all
3082 <sect1>reject/wwv (0)
3086 <bf>reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WWV filter
3090 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
3091 filter on the following fields:-
3094 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3096 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3097 origin_itu <numbers>
3098 origin_zone <numbers>
3108 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
3111 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
3112 by stations in the US).
3114 See HELP FILTER for information.
3116 <sect1>reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
3120 <bf>reject/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
3121 WWV reject filter sysop version
3124 <P>This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3125 default for nodes and users eg:-
3128 reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
3129 reject/wwv node_default all
3131 reject/wwv user_default by W
3138 <bf>reply</bf> Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read<newline>
3139 <bf>reply <msgno></bf> Reply (privately) to the specified message<newline>
3140 <bf>reply B <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message<newline>
3141 <bf>reply NOPrivate <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified
3143 <bf>reply RR <msgno></bf> Reply to the specified message with read
3148 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
3149 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
3151 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
3152 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND
3153 for further details)
3159 <bf>send <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Send a message to
3160 one or more callsigns<newline>
3161 <bf>send RR <call></bf> Send a message and ask for a read receipt<newline>
3162 <bf>send COPY <msgno> <call></bf> Send a copy of a message
3164 <bf>send PRIVATE <call></bf> Send a personal message<newline>
3165 <bf>send NOPRIVATE <call></bf> Send a message to all stations<newline>
3169 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either to
3170 an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
3172 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that is
3173 it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster node that
3174 that callsign is connected to.
3176 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
3178 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
3181 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
3184 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you will
3185 receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
3187 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak)
3188 SP is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
3190 <sect1>set/address (0)
3194 <bf>set/address <your_address></bf> Record your postal address
3198 Literally, record your address details on the cluster.
3200 <sect1>set/announce (0)
3204 <bf>set/announce</bf> Allow announce messages
3208 Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal.
3210 <sect1>set/arcluster (5)
3214 <bf>set/arcluster <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3215 the node_call an AR-Cluster type node
3219 Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node
3221 <sect1>set/baddx (8)
3225 <bf>set/baddx <call></bf> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign field
3226 of a dx spot being propagated
3230 Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the callsign
3231 field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be displayed and they
3232 will not be sent onto other nodes.
3234 The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3237 set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G
3240 To allow a word again, use the following command ...
3246 <sect1>set/badnode (6)
3250 <bf>set/badnode <node_call></bf> Stop spots from this node_call
3255 Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node
3256 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3257 sent onto other nodes.
3259 The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:-
3265 will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's)
3271 will allow spots from him again.
3273 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
3275 <sect1>set/badspotter (8)
3279 <bf>set/badspotter <call></bf> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated
3283 Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this callsign
3284 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3285 sent onto other nodes.
3287 The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3290 set/badspotter VE2STN
3293 will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you must
3294 enter them specifically.
3297 unset/badspotter VE2STN
3300 will allow spots from him again.
3302 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
3304 <sect1>set/badword (8)
3308 <bf>set/badword <word></bf> Stop things with this word being propogated
3312 Setting a word as a 'badword' will prevent things like spots,
3313 announces or talks with this word in the the text part from going any
3314 further. They will not be displayed and they will not be sent onto
3317 The word must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3319 set/badword annihilate annihilated annihilation
3321 will stop anything with these words in the text.
3323 unset/badword annihilated
3325 will allow text with this word again.
3332 <bf>set/beep</bf> Add beeps to terminal messages
3336 Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages.
3342 <bf>set/bbs <call> [<call>..]</bf>Make <call> a BBS
3349 <bf>set/clx <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3350 the node_call a CLX type node
3354 Set the node_call as a CLX type node
3356 <sect1>set/debug (9)
3360 <bf>set/debug <name></bf> Add a debug level to the debug set
3364 You can choose to log several different levels. The levels are
3372 You can show what levels you are logging with the <em>show/debug</em>
3375 You can remove a debug level with unset/debug <name>
3381 <bf>set/dx</bf>Allow DX messages to arrive at your terminal
3385 You can stop DX messages with the <em>unset/dx</em> command
3387 <sect1>set/dxgrid (0)
3391 <bf>set/dxgrid</bf>Allow grid squares on the end of DX messages
3395 Some logging programs do not like the additional information at
3396 the end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the <em>unset/dxgrid</em>
3397 command to remove the grid squares.
3399 <sect1>set/dxnet (5)
3403 <bf>set/dxnet <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3404 the node_call a DXNet type node
3408 Set the node_call as a DXNet type node
3414 <bf>set/echo</bf> Make the cluster echo your input
3418 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
3419 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
3420 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command
3421 to change the setting appropriately.
3423 You can remove the echo with the <em>unset/echo</em> command
3425 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3427 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
3429 <sect1>set/email (0)
3433 <bf>set/email <email_address></bf> Set email address(es) and forward your personals
3437 If any personal messages come in for your callsign then you can use
3438 these commands to control whether they are forwarded onto your email
3439 address. To enable the forwarding do something like:-
3441 SET/EMAIL mike.tubby@somewhere.com
3443 You can have more than one email address (each one separated by a space).
3444 Emails are forwarded to all the email addresses you specify.
3446 You can disable forwarding by:-
3454 <bf>set/here</bf> Set the here flag
3458 Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your
3459 callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the <em>unset/here</em>
3460 command to let people know you are away. This simply puts brackets
3461 around your callsign to indicate you are not available.
3463 <sect1>set/homenode (0)
3467 <bf>set/homenode <node_call></bf> Set your home cluster
3471 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages sent
3472 to you will normally find their way there should you not be connected.
3483 <bf>set/hops <node_call> ann|spots|wwv|wcy <n></bf>
3488 Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node.
3490 This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node
3491 for currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts.
3495 set/hops gb7djk ann 10
3496 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20
3499 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command
3500 creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system.
3502 <sect1>set/isolate (9)
3506 <bf>set/isolate <node call></bf> Isolate a node from the rest of the network
3510 Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full protocol
3511 member of its network and can see all spots on it, but nothing either leaks
3512 out from it nor goes back into from the rest of the nodes connected to you.
3514 You can potentially connect several nodes in this way.
3516 You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1) command.
3518 You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate.
3520 <sect1>set/language (0)
3524 <bf>set/language <language></bf> Set the language you wish to use
3528 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use. Currently
3529 the languages available are <em>en</em> (English) and <em>nl</em> (Dutch).
3531 <sect1>set/location (0)
3535 <bf>set/location <lat and long></bf> Set your latitude and longitude
3539 You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use the
3540 <em>set/qra</em> command which will do the conversion for you.
3543 set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E
3547 <sect1>set/sys_location (9)
3551 <bf>set/sys_location <lat & long></bf> Set your cluster latitude and longitude
3555 In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the system
3556 what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a SET/QRA
3557 then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For example:-
3560 SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E
3563 <sect1>set/logininfo (0)
3567 <bf>set/logininfo</bf> Show logins and logouts of nodes and users
3571 Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster. You
3572 can stop these messages by using the <em>unset/logininfo</em> command.
3575 <sect1>set/lockout (9)
3579 <bf>set/lockout <call></bf> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster
3583 You can show who is locked out with the <em>show/lockout</em> command.
3584 To allow the user to connect again, use the <em>unset/lockout</em> command.
3590 <bf>set/name <your_name></bf> Set your name
3594 Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:-
3604 <bf>set/node <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Make the callsign an AK1A cluster
3608 Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and
3609 fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands.
3611 From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster
3620 To see what your nodes are set to, use the <em>show/nodes</em> command.
3622 <sect1>set/obscount (9)
3626 <bf>set/obscount <count> <node call></bf> Set the 'pump-up'
3627 obsolescence counter
3631 From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals (see
3632 SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes. There is a 'pump-up'
3633 counter which is decremented on every outgoing ping and then reset to
3634 the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping. The default value of this
3637 What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at
3638 (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just before
3639 what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected.
3641 If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using
3642 default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15 minutes,
3649 <bf>set/page <n></bf> Set the number of lines per page
3653 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of lines
3654 of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20. Setting it
3655 explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
3662 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3664 <sect1>set/password (0)
3668 <bf>set/password</bf> Set your own password
3672 This command only works for a 'telnet' user (currently). It will
3673 only work if you have a password already set. This initial password
3674 can only be set by the sysop.
3676 When you execute this command it will ask you for your old password,
3677 then ask you to type in your new password twice (to make sure you
3678 get it right). You may or may not see the data echoed on the screen
3679 as you type, depending on the type of telnet client you have.
3681 <sect1>set/password (9)
3685 <bf>set/password <callsign> <string></bf> Set a users password
3689 The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string
3690 can contain any characters.
3692 The way this field is used depends on context. If it is being used in
3693 the SYSOP command context then you are offered 5 random numbers and you
3694 have to supply the corresponding letters. This is now mainly for ax25
3697 If it is being used on incoming telnet connections then, if a password
3700 set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
3702 command is executed in the startup script, then a password prompt is
3703 given after the normal 'login: ' prompt.
3705 The command "unset/password" is provided to allow a sysop to remove a
3706 users password completely in case a user forgets or loses their password.
3708 <sect1>set/pinginterval (9)
3711 <tt><bf>set/pinginterval <time> <node call></bf> Set the ping time
3712 to neighbouring nodes
3716 As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals
3717 in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and, in future, to
3718 affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300 secs or 5 minutes.
3720 You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't.
3722 But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and seconds
3723 for numbers greater than that.
3725 This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end
3726 (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT
3727 for more information.
3729 <sect1>set/privilege (9)
3733 <bf>set/privilege <n> <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Set the
3734 privilege level on a call
3738 Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that pertain
3739 to commands are as default:-
3743 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs
3744 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc-
3745 connect), the normal level for another node.
3746 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect)
3747 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS
3751 If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote connection
3752 your privilege will automatically be set to 0.
3754 <sect1>set/spider (5)
3758 <bf>set/spider <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3759 the node_call a DXSpider type node
3763 Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node
3765 <sect1>set/sys_qra (9)
3769 <bf>set/sys_qra <locator></bf> Set your cluster QRA locator
3776 <bf>set/qra <locator></bf> Set your QRA locator
3780 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have not
3781 done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set roughly
3782 correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
3792 <bf>set/qth <your QTH></bf> Set your QTH
3796 Tell the system where your are. For example:-
3799 set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk
3802 <sect1>set/register (9)
3806 <bf>set/register <call></bf> Mark a user as registered
3810 Registration is a concept that you can switch on by executing the
3812 set/var $main::regreq = 1
3814 command (usually in your startup file)
3816 If a user is NOT registered then, firstly, instead of the normal
3817 motd file (/spider/data/motd) being sent to the user at startup, the
3818 user is sent the motd_nor file instead. Secondly, the non registered
3819 user only has READ-ONLY access to the node. The non-registered user
3820 cannot use DX, ANN etc.
3822 The only exception to this is that a non-registered user can TALK or
3823 SEND messages to the sysop.
3825 To unset a user use the 'unset/register' command
3831 <bf>set/talk</bf> Allow talk messages to be seen at your console
3835 Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off
3836 talks with the <em>unset/talk</em> command.
3842 <bf>set/wcy</bf> Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console
3846 Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3847 WCY messages with the <em>unset/wcy</em> command.
3853 <bf>set/wwv</bf> Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console
3857 Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3858 WWV messages with the <em>unset/wwv</em> command.
3864 <bf>set/wx</bf> Allow WX messages to be seen at your console
3868 Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3869 WX messages with the <em>unset/wx</em> command.
3871 <sect1>show/baddx (1)
3875 <bf>show/baddx</bf>Show all the bad dx calls in the system
3879 Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX
3880 for more information.
3882 <sect1>show/badnode (6)
3886 <bf>show/badnode</bf> Show all the bad nodes in the system
3890 Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE
3891 for more information.
3893 <sect1>show/badspotter (1)
3897 <bf>show/badspotter</bf> Show all the bad spotters in the system
3901 Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see SET/BADSPOTTER
3902 for more information.
3904 <sect1>show/badword (1)
3908 <bf>show/badword</bf> Show all the bad words in the system
3912 Display all the bad words in the system, see SET/BADWORD
3913 for more information.
3915 <sect1>show/configuration (0)
3919 <bf>show/configuration [<node>]</bf> Show all visible nodes and their users
3923 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen
3924 and the nodes to which they are connected. With the optional <em>node</em>,
3925 you can specify a particular node to look at.
3927 This command is normally abbreviated to: sh/c
3929 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
3931 <sect1>show/configuration/node (0)
3935 <bf>show/configuration/node</bf> Show all the nodes connected
3939 Show all the nodes connected locally and the nodes they have connected.
3941 <sect1>show/connect (1)
3945 <bf>show/connect</bf> Show all the active connections
3949 This command shows information on all the active connections known to
3950 the node. This command gives slightly more information than WHO.
3952 <sect1>show/date (0)
3956 <bf>show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
3961 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the format
3962 of the date string if no arguments are given.
3964 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
3965 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
3966 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
3967 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
3969 <sect1>show/debug (9)
3973 <bf>show/debug</bf> Show what levels of debug you are logging
3977 The levels can be set with <em>set/debug</em>
3983 <bf>show/dx [options]</bf> interrogate the spot database
3987 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots
3988 (sysop configurable, but usually 10).
3990 In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly
3991 any order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
3994 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
3995 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
3997 <number> - the number of spots you want
3998 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in
4001 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
4002 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
4003 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
4005 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
4006 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
4008 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
4010 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call>
4013 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
4014 held in the spot database.
4016 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will
4017 look for the string iota and anything which looks like
4018 an iota island number. If you specify then it will look
4021 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if
4022 you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator.
4029 SH/DX on 20m info iota
4030 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
4037 <sect1>show/dxcc (0)
4041 <bf>show/dxcc <prefix></bf> Interrogate the spot database by country
4045 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
4046 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is
4047 and then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
4049 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command.
4054 SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota
4057 <sect1>sh/dxstats (0)
4061 <bf>sh/dxstats</bf> Show the DX Statistics for last 31 days
4065 Show the total DX spots for the last 31 days
4068 <sect1>show/files (0)
4072 <bf>show/files [<filearea> [<string>]]</bf> List
4073 the contents of a filearea
4077 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
4078 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file
4082 SH/FILES <filearea>
4085 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
4088 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
4089 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
4092 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
4095 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
4097 <sect1>show/filter (0)
4101 <bf>show/filter</bf> Show the filters you have set
4105 Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command
4106 displays all the filters set - for all the various categories.
4108 <sect1>show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
4112 <bf>show/filter <callsign></bf> Show the filters set by <callsign>
4116 A sysop can look at any filters that have been set.
4118 <sect1>show/hfstats (0)
4122 <bf>show/hfstats</bf> Show the HF DX Statistics for last 31 days
4126 Show the HF DX spots breakdown by band for the last 31 days
4128 <sect1>show/hftable (0)
4132 <bf>show/hftable</bf> Show the HF DX Spotter Table for your country
4136 Show the HF DX Spotter table for your country for the last 31 days
4138 <sect1>show/hops (8)
4142 <bf>show/hops <node_call> [ann|spots|wcy|wwv|]</bf> Show the hop
4147 This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify
4148 which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then
4149 all the categories will be listed.
4151 <sect1>show/isolate (1)
4155 <bf>show/isolate</bf> Show a list of isolated nodes
4159 Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated.
4161 <sect1>show/lockout (9)
4165 <bf>show/lockout</bf> Show a list of excluded callsigns
4169 Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the
4170 cluster locally with the <em>set/lockout</em> command
4176 <bf>show/log [<callsign>]</bf> Show excerpts from the system log
4180 This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own
4181 it will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will
4182 show output from the log associated with that callsign.
4184 <sect1>show/moon (0)
4188 <bf>show/moon [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show moon
4193 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
4194 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
4197 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
4198 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
4199 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4201 In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal
4202 distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit.
4204 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
4205 that you are connected to.
4218 <bf>show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long]</bf> Show
4219 the likely propagation to <prefix>
4223 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting
4224 a station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a modest
4225 power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about 0.15muV/10dB SINAD)
4227 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
4228 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
4229 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
4230 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced accuracy
4231 for paths shorter or longer than this.
4233 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
4234 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
4235 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
4236 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
4237 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
4238 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
4239 such as the Voice of America.
4241 The command will display some header information detailing its
4242 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
4243 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
4244 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
4245 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for which
4246 the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a value.
4248 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the conventional
4249 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it means that it is
4250 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by an 'm' it means that
4251 there is likely to be much fading and by an 's' that the signal is likely
4254 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
4255 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no of
4256 hours required after the prefix. For example:-
4265 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
4266 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
4267 Location Lat / Long Azim
4268 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
4269 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
4270 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
4271 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
4272 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
4275 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
4276 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
4284 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
4292 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
4293 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
4294 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
4296 <sect1>show/newconfiguration (0)
4300 <bf>show/newconfiguration [<node>]</bf> Show all the nodes and users visible
4304 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen
4305 and the nodes to which they are connected.
4307 This command produces essentially the same information as
4308 SHOW/CONFIGURATION except that it shows all the duplication of
4309 any routes that might be present It also uses a different format
4310 which may not take up quite as much space if you don't have any
4313 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
4315 <sect1>show/newconfiguration/node (0)
4319 <bf>show/newconfiguration/node</bf> Show all the nodes connected locally
4323 Show all the nodes connected to this node in the new format.
4325 <sect1>show/node (1)
4329 <bf>show/node [<node_call> ...]</bf> Show the type and version
4334 Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the
4335 command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all
4336 the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed.
4338 <sect1>show/prefix (0)
4342 <bf>show/prefix <callsign></bf> Interrogate the prefix database
4346 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
4347 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number
4348 it is and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country
4349 together with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
4354 <sect1>show/program (5)
4358 <bf>show/program</bf> Show the locations of all the included program modules
4362 Show the name and location where every program module was load from. This
4363 is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file from.
4369 <bf>show/qra <locator> [<locator>]</bf> Show the distance
4370 between locators<newline>
4371 <bf>show/qra <lat> <long></bf> Convert latitude and longitude to
4376 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
4377 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
4378 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
4379 to the locator. For example:-
4386 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator from
4387 yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and bearing from
4388 the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6 character locators.
4390 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator by
4391 using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument, for
4395 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
4402 <bf>show/qrz <callsign></bf> Show any callbook details on a callsign
4406 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet
4407 and returns any information available for that callsign. This service
4408 is provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
4410 <sect1>show/registered (9)
4414 <bf>show/registered [<prefix>[</bf> Show the registered users
4417 <sect1>show/route (0)
4421 <bf>show/route <callsign></bf> Show the route to <callsign>
4425 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified are
4426 connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
4432 <sect1>show/satellite (0)
4436 <bf>show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>]</bf>
4437 Show satellite tracking data
4441 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your choice
4442 from now on for the next few hours.
4444 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a list
4445 of all the satellites known currently to the system.
4447 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
4448 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
4449 give information for the next three hours for every five minute period.
4451 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
4454 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
4460 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
4467 <bf>show/sun [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4468 sun rise and set times
4472 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
4473 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
4476 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
4477 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
4478 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4480 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
4481 that you are connected to.
4487 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
4490 <sect1>show/time (0)
4494 <bf>show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4499 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
4500 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
4501 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
4502 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
4504 <sect1>show/vhfstats (0)
4508 <bf>show/vhfstats</bf> Show the VHF DX Statistics for last 31 days
4512 Show the VHF DX spots breakdown by band for the last 31 days
4514 <sect1>show/vhftable (0)
4518 <bf>show/vhftable</bf> Show the VHF DX Spotter Table for your country
4522 Show the VHF DX Spotter table for your country for the last 31 days
4528 <bf>show/wcy</bf> Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts<newline>
4529 <bf>show/wcy <n></bf> Show the last <n> WCY broadcasts
4533 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the system
4539 <bf>show/wwv</bf> Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts<newline>
4540 <bf>show/wwv <n></bf> Show the last <n> WWV broadcasts
4544 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the system
4551 <bf>shutdown</bf> Shutdown the cluster
4555 Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider
4556 set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart.
4562 <bf>spoof <callsign> <command></bf> Run commands as another user
4566 This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows you to
4567 issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very useful for the
4568 kind of things that users seem to always get wrong.. like home_node for
4575 <bf>stat/db <dbname></bf> Show the status of a database
4579 Show the internal status of a database descriptor.
4581 Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less information.
4582 This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone other than a sysop.
4584 <sect1>stat/channel (5)
4588 <bf>stat/channel <callsign></bf> Show the status of a channel on the cluster
4592 Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel that
4593 you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for.
4595 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4601 <bf>stat/msg <msgno></bf> Show the status of a message
4605 This command shows the internal status of a message and includes information
4606 such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin etc etc.
4609 If no message number is given then the status of the message system is
4612 <sect1>stat/route_node (5)
4616 <bf>stat/route_node <callsign></bf> Show the data in a Route::Node object
4619 <sect1>stat/route_user (5)
4623 <bf>stat/route_user <callsign></bf> Show the data in a Route::User object
4626 <sect1>stat/user (5)
4630 <bf>stat/user <callsign></bf> Show the full status of a user
4634 Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret flags
4637 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4643 <bf>sysop</bf> Regain your privileges if you login remotely
4647 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
4648 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
4649 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
4650 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
4651 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
4654 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
4655 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
4656 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
4657 these values are for explanation :-):
4660 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
4668 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
4673 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
4674 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
4681 <bf>talk <callsign></bf> Enter talk mode with <callsign><newline>
4682 <bf>talk <callsign> <text></bf> Send a text message to <callsign><newline>
4683 <bf>talk <callsign> > <node_call> [<text>]</bf>
4684 Send a text message to <callsign> via <node_call>
4688 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the cluster
4689 system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a SHOW/CONFIGURATION
4690 command, they don't have to be connected locally.
4692 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
4693 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
4694 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the cluster.
4696 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can only
4697 see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use the
4698 second form of the talk message.
4700 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text message
4701 out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means is that a
4702 short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you are in a 'Talking'
4703 frame of mind and then you just type - everything you send will go to the
4704 station that you asked for.
4706 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on your
4709 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the normal
4710 command with a '/' character, eg:-
4713 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
4717 To leave talk mode type:
4727 <bf>type <filearea>/<name></bf> Look at a file in one of the fileareas
4731 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
4732 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
4736 TYPE bulletins/arld051
4739 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a
4746 <bf>who</bf> Show who is physically connected locally
4750 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
4751 what sort of connection they have
4757 <bf>wx <text></bf> Send a weather message to local users<newline>
4758 <bf>wx full <text> </bf> Send a weather message to all cluster users
4762 Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an extreme
4763 that may indicate enhanced conditions
4765 <sect1>wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
4769 <bf>wx sysop <text></bf> Send a weather message to other clusters only
4773 Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general users.
projects / spider.git / blob