1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
5 <!-- Title information -->
7 <title>The DXSpider Installation and Administration Manual
8 <author>Ian Maude, G0VGS, (ianmaude@btinternet.com)
9 <date>Version 1.33 February 2001
11 A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
14 <!-- Table of contents -->
17 <!-- Begin the document -->
19 <sect>Installation (Original version by Iain Phillips, G0RDI)
24 This section describes the installation of DX Spider v1.35 on a
25 <htmlurl url="http://www.redhat.com" name="RedHat"> Linux Distribution.
26 I do not intend to try and cover the installation of Linux or the setup
27 of the AX25 utilities. If you need help on this then read Iains original
28 HOWTO on the <htmlurl url="http://www.dxcluster.org" name="DXSpider">
32 I am assuming a general knowledge of Linux and its commands. You should
33 know how to use <em>tar</em> and how to edit files using your favourite editor.
36 The crucial ingredient for all of this is
37 <htmlurl url="http://www.perl.org" name="Perl 5.004">. Now I know Perl 5.005
38 is out and this will almost certainly work with it, but
39 <htmlurl url="http://www.redhat.com" name="RedHat 5.1"> comes with 5.004.
40 <em>Be Warned</em>, earlier versions of
41 <htmlurl url="http://www.redhat.com" name="RedHat"> <bf>do not</bf> come
42 with 5.004 as standard, you need to
43 <htmlurl url="ftp://upgrade.redhat.com" name="upgrade">
45 <P>In addition to the standard Red Hat distribution you will require the
46 following <htmlurl url="http://www.cpan.org/CPAN.html" name="CPAN"> modules: -
52 <item> Data-Dumper-2.10.tar.gz
53 <item> FreezeThaw-0.3.tar.gz
54 <item> MLDBM-2.00.tar.gz
55 <item> TimeDate-1.08.tar.gz
57 <item> Net-Telnet-3.02.tar.gz
58 <item> Curses-1.05.tar.gz
59 <item> Time-HiRes-01.20.tar.gz
65 <em>Do</em> get the latest versions of these packages and install them
66 but use the above list as the earliest versions usable.
71 I will assume that you have already downloaded the latest tarball of
72 the DXSpider software and are ready to install it. I am assuming version
73 1.35 for this section but of course you would use the latest version.
76 Login as root and create a user to run the cluster under. <bf><it>UNDER
77 NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE ROOT AS THIS USER!</it></bf>. I am going to use
78 the name <em>sysop</em>. You can call it anything you wish. Depending
79 on your security requirements you may wish to use an existing user,
80 however this is your own choice.
88 Now set a password for the user ...
93 # Retype new UNIX password:
94 passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully
97 <sect1>Installing the software
100 Now to unpack the DX Spider distribution, set symbolic links and group
101 permissions. Copy the tarball to /home/sysop and do the following.
105 # tar xvfz spider-1.35.tar.gz
106 # ln -s ~sysop/spider /spider
107 # groupadd -g 251 spider (or another number)
110 If you do not have the command <em>groupadd</em> available to you simply
111 add a line in /etc/group by hand.
114 # vi /etc/group (or your favorite editor)
117 You also need to add some others to the group, including your own callsign
118 (this will be used as an alias) and root. The finished line in /etc/group
119 should look something like this
122 spider:x:251:sysop,g0vgs,root
126 The next step is to set the permissions on the Spider directory tree and files ....
129 # chown -R sysop.spider spider
130 # find . -type d -exec chmod 2775 {} \;
131 # find . -type f -exec chmod 775 {} \;
135 This last step allows various users of the group <em>spider</em> to have
136 write access to all the directories. This is not really needed just yet
137 but will be useful when web interfaces start to appear.
140 Finally, you need to fix the permissions on the ax25_call and netrom_call
141 programs. Check where they are with the <em>locate</em> command and alter
142 the permissions with the <em>chmod</em> command like this ..
145 # chown root ax25_call netrom_call
146 # chmod 4775 ax25_call netrom_call
149 <sect1>Setting callsigns etc
152 Now login to your machine as the user you created earlier. In my case that
153 user is called <em>sysop</em>. Once logged in, issue the following commands ....
159 $ cp perl/DXVars.pm.issue local/DXVars.pm
161 $ vi DXVars.pm (or your favourite editor)
165 Using the distributed DXVars.pm as a a template, set your cluster callsign,
166 sysop callsign and other user info to suit your own environment. Note that
167 this a perl file which will be parsed and executed as part of the cluster. If
168 you get it wrong then perl will complain when you start the cluster process.
169 It is important only to alter the text of any section. Some of the lines look
170 a little odd. Take this line for example ....
173 $myemail = "ianmaude\@btinternet.com";
177 There appears to be an extra slash in there. However this has to be there
178 for the file to work so leave it in.
180 <P><bf>PLEASE USE CAPITAL LETTERS FOR CALLSIGNS</bf>
183 DON'T alter the DXVars.pm (or any other file) in /spider/perl, they are
184 overwritten with every release. Any files or commands you place in /spider/local
185 or /spider/local_cmd will automagically be used in preference to the ones in
186 /spider/perl EVEN while the cluster is running!
189 Save the new file and change directory to ../perl ....
196 Now type the following command which creates the basic user file with you as
203 <sect1>Starting up for the first time
206 We can now bring spider up for the first time and see if all is well or not!
207 It should look something like this ...
211 DXSpider DX Cluster Version 1.35
212 Copyright (c) 1998 Dirk Koopman G1TLH
214 loading band data ...
215 loading user file system ...
216 starting listener ...
217 reading existing message headers
219 orft we jolly well go ...
223 If all is well then login on another term or console as <em>sysop</em> and
224 cd to /spider/perl. Now issue the following command ...
231 This should log you into the cluster as the sysop under the alias callsign we
232 set earlier. In this case the callsign is G0VGS. The cluster callsign is set
233 in the DXVars.pm file in /spider/local. In this case we will assume that this
234 was set as GB7MBC. You should therefore see this when you login ....
237 G0VGS de GB7MBC 19-Nov-1999 2150Z >
240 If you do, congratulations! If not, look over the instructions again, you
241 have probably missed something out. You can shut spider down again with the
249 and both the cluster and the client should return to Linux prompts.
251 <sect>The Client program
254 In earlier versions of Spider, all the processes were Perl scripts. This
255 was fine but with a lot of users your computer memory would soon be used up.
256 To combat this a new client was written in "C". This client only works for
257 <em>incoming</em> connects at the moment. Before you can use it though it
258 has to be "made". CD to /spider/src and type <em>make</em>. You
259 should see the output on your screen and hopefully now have a small C program
260 called <em>client</em>. Leave it in this directory.
264 <sect1>Allowing ax25 connects from users
267 As stated previously, the aim of this document is not to tell you how to
268 configure Linux or the ax25 utilities. However, you do need to add a line
269 in your ax25d.conf to allow connections to DXSpider for your users. For
270 each interface that you wish to allow connections on, use the following format ...
273 default * * * * * * - sysop /spider/src/client client %u ax25
276 <sect1>Allowing telnet connects from users
279 Allowing telnet connections is quite simple. Firstly you need to add a line
280 in /etc/services to allow connections to a port number, like this ....
283 spdlogin 8000/tcp # spider anonymous login port
286 Then add a line in /etc/inetd.conf like this ....
289 spdlogin stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /spider/src/client login telnet
293 This needs to be added above the standard services such as ftp, telnet etc.
294 Once this is done, you need to restart inetd like this ....
301 <P>Now login as <em>sysop</em> and cd spider/perl. You can test that spider
302 is accepting telnet logins by issuing the following command ....
305 client.pl login telnet
308 You should get a login prompt and on issuing a callsign, you will be given
309 access to the cluster. Note, you will not get a password login. There seems
310 no good reason for a password prompt to be given so it is not asked for.
313 Assuming all is well, then try a telnet from your linux console ....
316 telnet localhost 8000
320 You should now get the login prompt and be able to login as before.
322 <sect1>Setting up node connects
325 In order to allow cluster node connections, spider needs to know that the
326 connecting callsign is a cluster node. This is the case whether the connect
327 is incoming or outgoing. In spider this is a simple task and can be done in
331 Later versions of Spider can distinguish different software and treat them
332 differently. For example, the WCY beacon cannot be handles by AK1A type
333 nodes as AK1A does not know what to do with PC73. There are 4 different
334 types of node at present and although they may not have any major
335 differences at the moment, it allows for compatibility. The 4 types are ...
345 For now, we will assume that the cluster we are going to connect to is an
349 Start up the cluster as you did before and login as the sysop with client.pl.
350 The cluster node I am wanting to make a connection to is GB7BAA but you would
351 obviously use whatever callsign you required. At the prompt type ...
358 The case does not matter as long as you have a version of DXSpider later than
359 1.33. Earlier versions required the callsign to be in upper case.
362 That is now set, it is as simple as that. To prove it, login on yet another
363 console as sysop and issue the command ...
366 client.pl gb7baa (using the callsign you set as a node)
370 You should get an initialisation string from DXSpider like this ...
377 If the callsign you just set up as a cluster node is for an incoming connect,
378 this is all that needs to be done. If the connection is to be outgoing then
379 a connection script needs to be written.
381 <sect1>Connection scripts
384 Because DXSpider operates under Linux, connections can be made using just about
385 any protocol; AX25, NETRom, tcp/ip, ROSE etc are all possible examples.
386 Connect scripts live in the /spider/connect directory and are simple ascii files.
387 Writing a script for connections is therefore relatively simple.
390 The connect scripts consist of lines which start with the following keywords
395 # All lines starting with a # are ignored, as are completely
398 timeout timeout followed by a number is the number of seconds to wait for a
399 command to complete. If there is no timeout specified in the script
400 then the default is 60 seconds.
402 abort abort is a regular expression containing one or more strings to look
403 for to abort a connection. This is a perl regular expression and is
404 executed ignoring case.
406 connect connect followed by ax25 or telnet and some type dependent
407 information. In the case of a telnet connection, there can be up to
409 The first is the ip address or hostname of the computer you wish to
410 connect to and the second is the port number you want to use (this
411 can be left out if it is a normal telnet session).
412 In the case of an ax25 session then this would normally be a call to
413 ax25_call or netrom_call as in the example above. It is your
414 responsibility to get your node and other ax25 parameters to work
415 before going down this route!
417 ' ' is the delimiting character for a word or phrase of an expect/send
418 line in a chat type script. The words/phrases normally come in pairs,
419 either can be empty. Each line reads input from the connection until
420 it sees the string (or perl regular expression) contained in the
421 left hand string. If the left hand string is empty then it doesn't
422 read or wait for anything. The comparison is done ignoring case.
423 When the left hand string has found what it is looking for (if it is)
424 then the right hand string is sent to the connection.
425 This process is repeated for every line of chat script.
427 client client starts the connection, put the arguments you would want here
428 if you were starting the client program manually. You only need this
429 if the script has a different name to the callsign you are trying to
430 connect to (i.e. you have a script called other which actually
431 connects to GB7DJK-1 [instead of a script called gb7djk-1]).
435 There are many possible ways to configure the script but here are two examples,
436 one for a NETRom/AX25 connect and one for tcp/ip.
440 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail)
441 # don't forget to chmod 4775 netrom_call!
442 connect ax25 /usr/sbin/netrom_call bbs gb7djk g1tlh
446 # you can leave this out if you call the script 'gb7dxm'
454 connect telnet dirkl.tobit.co.uk
457 # tell GB7DJK-1 that it is connected to GB7DJK
458 # you can leave this out if you call this script 'gb7djk'
463 Both these examples assume that everything is set up properly at the other end.
464 You will find other examples in the /spider/examples directory.
466 <sect1>Starting the connection
469 You start the connection, from within a sysop enabled cluster login, by typing
470 in the word <em>connect</em> followed by a script name like this ....
473 G0VGS de GB7MBC 13-Dec-1998 2041Z >connect gb7djk-1
474 connection to GB7DJK-1 started
475 G0VGS de GB7MBC 13-Dec-1998 2043Z >
478 This will start a connection using the script called <em>gb7djk-1</em>. You can
479 follow the connection by watching the term or console from where you started
480 <em>cluster.pl</em>. You should see something like this ...
483 <- D G1TLH connect gb7djk-1
484 -> D G1TLH connection to GB7DJK-1 started
485 -> D G1TLH G1TLH de GB7DJK 13-Dec-1998 2046Z >
487 CONNECT sort: telnet command: dirkl.tobit.co.uk
488 CHAT "login" -> "gb7djk"
490 Red Hat Linux release 5.1 (Manhattan)
491 Kernel 2.0.35 on an i586
495 CHAT "word" -> "gb7djk"
497 received "Password: "
499 Connected to GB7DJK-1, starting normal protocol
502 GB7DJK-1 channel func state 0 -> init
504 <- D GB7DJK-1 Last login: Sun Dec 13 17:59:56 from dirk1
505 <- D GB7DJK-1 PC38^GB7DJK-1^~
506 <- D GB7DJK-1 PC18^ 1 nodes, 0 local / 1 total users Max users 0 Uptime
513 With later versions of Spider there is a set/login command for users. This
514 tells them when a user or node logs in or out. If you do not add a line to
515 your scripts after the final line (or before the client line which should always
516 be last if needed) then the login/logout information will be sent to users
517 <it>before</it> the login actually completes. This means if a node is
518 unreachable, it will continue sending logins and logouts to users even though it
519 is not actually connecting. To avoid this use the following line ...
526 In a script, this might look like ...
530 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail)
531 connect telnet mary 3000
533 '>' 'telnet 44.131.93.96 7305'
540 Cluster links in particular suffer greatly from the presence of telnet echo.
541 This is caused by the telnet negotiation itself and can create at worst severe
542 loops. At best it creates unnecessary bandwidth and large logfiles! There are
543 things that can be done to limit this problem but will not always work dependent
544 on the route taken to connect.
547 Telnet echo itself should only be a problem if the connection is being made to
548 the telnet port (23). This port uses special rules that include echo negotiation.
549 If the connection is to a different port, such as 8000, this negotiation does
550 not happen and therefore no echo should be present.
553 Sometimes it is not possible to make a direct connection to another node and this
554 can cause problems. There is a way of trying to suppress the telnet echo but
555 this will not always work, unfortunately it is difficult to be more specific.
556 Here is an example of what I mean ...
560 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail)
561 connect telnet mary.lancs.ac.uk
564 '\$' 'stty -echo raw'
565 '\$' 'telnet 44.131.93.96'
569 So, the first connection is made by Spider. This is fine as Spider uses the
570 Net_Telnet script from within perl. This actually uses TCP rather than TELNET
571 so no negotiation will be done on the first connection. Once connected to
572 mary.lancs.ac.uk, the command is sent to suppress echo. Now a telnet is made
573 to a cluster node that is accepting connections on port 23. The problem with
574 this link is that the negotiation is made by the remote machine, therefore you
575 have no control over it. The chances are that this link will create echo and
576 there will be no way you can stop it.
579 <sect>Automating things
582 Ok, you should now have DXSpider running nicely and allowing connects by cluster
583 nodes or users. However, it has to be shutdown and restarted manually and if
584 connection scripts fail they have to be started again manually too, not much use
585 if you are not at the console! So, in this section we will automate both.
586 Firstly starting the cluster.
588 <sect1>Autostarting the cluster
591 This is not only a way to start the cluster automatically, it also works as a
592 watchdog, checking the sanity of DXSpider and respawning it should it crash for
593 any reason. Before doing the following, shutdown the cluster as you did earlier.
596 Login as root and bring up the /etc/inittab file in your favourite editor. Add
597 the following lines to the file near the end ...
600 ##Start DXSpider on bootup and respawn it should it crash
601 DX:3:respawn:/bin/su -c "/usr/bin/perl -w /spider/perl/cluster.pl" sysop >/dev/tty7
605 This line works fine for RedHat and SuSE distributions. The line required for
606 Slackware distributions is slightly different. My thanks to Aurelio, PA3EZL for
610 DX:23:respawn:/bin/su - sysop -c "/usr/bin/perl -w /spider/perl/cluster.pl" >/dev/tty7
614 This will automatically start DXSpider on tty7 (ALT-F7) on bootup and restart
615 it should it crash for any reason.
618 As root type the command <em>telinit q</em>. DXSpider should start up
619 immediately. You will see the output on tty7 and if you login as <em>sysop</em>
620 you should find everything running nicely.
623 So far so good, now to automate script connections...
625 <sect1>The crontab file
628 Login as <em>sysop</em> and create a file in /spider/local_cmd called crontab.
629 Edit it with your favourite editor and add a line like this (I have included
633 # check every 10 minutes to see if gb7xxx is connected and if not
634 # start a connect job going
636 0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * * start_connect('gb7xxx') if !connected('gb7xxx')
640 The callsign involved will be the callsign of the cluster node you are
641 going to connect to. This will now check every 10 minutes to see if
642 gb7xxx is connected, if it is then nothing will be done. If it is not,
643 then a connect attempt will be started.
646 There are probably lots of other things you could use this crontab file for.
647 If you want to know more about it, look at the
648 <htmlurl url="http://www.dxcluster.org/cron.html" name="DXSpider"> website
649 at the cron page where it is explained more fully.
654 Starting with version 1.13 there is simple hop control available on a per
655 node basis. Also it is possible to isolate a network completely so that you
656 get all the benefits of being on that network, but can't pass on information
657 from it to any other networks you may be connected to (or vice versa).
659 <sect1>Basic hop control
662 In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the file
663 that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default hops on the
664 various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to alter the hops for.
665 You may be happy with the default settings of course, but this powerful tool
666 can help to protect and improve the network. The file will look something
671 # hop table construction
676 # default hopcount to use
679 # some variable hop counts based on message type
690 # the per node hop control thingy
722 Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and contains a
723 series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot. The figures here
724 are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of how the file works.
727 You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is running.
728 If you alter the file during runtime, the command <em>load/hops</em> will
729 bring your changes into effect.
731 <sect1>Isolating networks
734 It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node using the
735 <em>set/isolate <node_call></em> command.
738 The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from another
739 nodes connected to your node. Your node will appear on and otherwise behave
740 normally on every network to which you are connected, but data from an isolated
741 network will not cross onto any other network or vice versa. However all the
742 spot, announce and WWV traffic and personal messages will still be handled
743 locally (because you are a real node on all connected networks), that is locally
744 connected users will appear on all networks and will be able to access and
745 receive information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will
746 be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a gateway for
747 another network, he can still still send a talk/announce etc message via your
748 node and it will be routed across.
751 The only limitation currently is that non-private messages cannot be passed down
752 isolated links regardless of whether they are generated locally. This will change
753 when the bulletin routing facility is added.
756 If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive all
757 information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass any information
758 back to the isolated node. There are times when you would like to forward only
759 spots across a link (maybe during a contest for example). To do this, isolate
760 the node in the normal way and put in a filter in the /spider/filter/spots
761 directory to override the isolate. This filter can be very simple and consists
762 of just one line ....
766 [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 3] # The last figure (3) is the hop count
771 There is a lot more on filtering in the next section.
773 <sect>Filtering (Old Style upto v1.44)
776 Filters can be set for spots, announcements and WWV. You will find the
777 directories for these under /spider/filter. You will find some examples in
778 the directories with the suffix <em>.issue</em>. There are two types of
779 filter, one for incoming information and one for outgoing information.
780 Outgoing filters are in the form <em>CALLSIGN.pl</em> and incoming filters
781 are in the form <em>in_CALLSIGN.pl</em>. Filters can be set for both nodes
785 All filters work in basically the same way. There are several elements
786 delimited by commas. There can be many lines in the filter and they are
787 read from the top by the program. When writing a filter you need to think
788 carefully about just what you want to achieve. You are either going to write
789 a filter to <em>accept</em> or to <em>reject</em>. Think of a filter as
790 having 2 main elements. For a reject filter, you would have a line or multiple
791 lines rejecting the things you do not wish to receive and then a default line
792 accepting everything else that is not included in the filter. Likewise, for an
793 accept filter, you would have a line or multiple lines accepting the things you
794 wish to receive and a default line rejecting everthing else.
797 In the example below, a user requires a filter that would only return SSB spots
798 posted in Europe on the HF bands. This is achieved by first rejecting the CW
799 section of each HF band and rejecting all of VHF, UHF etc based on frequency.
800 Secondly, a filter rule is set based on CQ zones to only accept spots posted in
801 Europe. Lastly, a default filter rule is set to reject anything outside the filter.
805 [ 0, 0, 'r', # reject all CW spots
815 30000.0, 49000000000.0,
817 [ 1, 11, 'n', [ 14, 15, 16, 20, 33, ], 15 ], #accept EU
818 [ 0, 0, 'd', 0, 1 ], # 1 = want, 'd' = everything else
823 The actual elements of each filter are described more fully in the following
829 The elements of the Spot filter are ....
832 [action, field_no, sort, possible_values, hops]
836 There are 3 elements here to look at. Firstly, the action element. This is
837 very simple and only 2 possible states exist, accept (1) or drop (0).
840 The second element is the field_no. There are 13 possiblities to choose from
846 2 = date in unix format
849 5 = spotted dxcc country
850 6 = spotter's dxcc country
856 12 = callsign of the channel on which the spot has appeared
860 The third element tells us what to expect in the fourth element. There are
864 n - numeric list of numbers e.g. [ 1,2,3 ]
865 r - ranges of pairs of numbers e.g. between 2 and 4 or 10 to 17 - [ 2,4, 10,17 ]
866 a - an alphanumeric regex
871 The fifth element is simply the hops to set in this filter. This would only
872 be used if the filter was for a node of course and overrides the hop count in
876 So, let's look at an example spot filter. It does not matter in the example
877 who the filter is to be used for. So, what do we need in the filter? We need
878 to filter the spots the user/node requires and also set a default rule for
879 anything else outside the filter. Below is a simple filter that stops spots
880 arriving from outside Europe.
882 <tscreen><verb>$in = [
883 [ 0, 4, 'a', '^(K|N|A|W|VE|VA|J)'], # 0 = drop, 'a' = alphanumeric
884 [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 1 ], # 1 = want, 'd' = everything else
889 So the filter is wrapped in between a pair of square brackets. This tells
890 Spider to look in between these limits. Then each line is contained within
891 its own square brackets and ends with a comma. Lets look carefully at the first
892 line. The first element is 0 (drop). Therefore anything we put on this line
893 will not be accepted. The next element is 4. This means we are filtering by
894 the spotter. The third element is the letter "a" which tells the program to
895 expect an alphanumeric expression in the fourth element. The fourth element
896 is a list of letters separated by the pipe symbol.
899 What this line does is tell the program to drop any spots posted by anyone in
900 the USA, Canada or Japan.
903 The second line is the default rule for anything else. The "d" tells us this
904 and the line simply reads... accept anything else.
907 You can add as many lines as you need to complete the filter but if there are
908 several lines of the same type it is neater to enclose them all as one line.
909 An example of this is where specific bands are set. We could write this like
913 [ 0,0,'r',[1800.0, 2000.0], 1],
914 [ 0,0,'r',[10100.0, 10150.0], 1],
915 [ 0,0,'r',[14000.0, 14350.0], 1],
916 [ 0,0,'r',[18000.0, 18200.0], 1],
920 But the line below achieves the same thing and is more efficient ....
925 1800.0, 2000.0, # top band
926 10100.0, 10150.0, # WARC
927 14000.0, 14350.0, # 20m
928 18000.0, 18200.0, # WARC
938 # This is an example announce or filter allowing only West EU announces
940 # The element list is:-
941 # 0 - callsign of announcer
942 # 1 - destination * = all, <callsign> = routed to the node
944 # 3 - * - sysop, <some text> - special list eg 6MUK, ' ', normal announce
946 # 5 - 0 - announce, 1 - wx
947 # 6 - channel callsign (the interface from which this spot came)
950 [ 1, 0, 'a', '^(P[ABCDE]|DK0WCY|G|M|2|EI|F|ON)' ],
955 In this example, only the prefixes listed will be allowed. It is possible to
956 be quite specific. The Dutch prefix "P" is followed by several secondary
957 identifiers which are allowed. So, in the example, "PA" or "PE" would be ok
958 but not "PG". It is even possible to allow information from a single callsign.
959 In the example this is DK0WCY, to allow the posting of his Aurora Beacon.
966 # This is an example WWV filter
968 # The element list is:-
969 # 0 - nominal unix date of spot (ie the day + hour:13)
977 # 8 - incoming interface callsign
979 # this one doesn't filter, it just sets the hop count to 6 and is
980 # used mainly just to override any isolation from WWV coming from
990 It should be noted that the filter will start to be used only once a user/node
991 has logged out and back in again.
993 I am not going to spend any more time on these filters now as they will become
994 more "comprehensive" in the near future.
996 <sect>Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later)
998 <sect1>General filter rules
1001 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
1002 v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
1003 about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
1004 DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
1005 anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
1008 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
1009 are <em>accept</em>, <em>reject</em> and <em>clear</em>. First we will look
1010 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
1011 DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
1014 In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which can have
1015 up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
1022 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters
1023 for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different
1024 accept or reject command reference for more details.
1026 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
1033 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
1036 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
1043 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
1044 principles to all types of filter.
1046 <sect1>Types of filter
1049 There are two main types of filter, <em>accept</em> or <em>reject</em>. You
1050 can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
1051 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
1052 filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
1053 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
1054 action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
1058 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
1059 will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
1060 then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
1061 For example if you have a single line <em>accept</em> filter ...
1064 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1067 then you will <em>ONLY</em> get VHF spots <em>from</em> or <em>to</em> CQ zones
1071 If you set a reject filter like this ...
1074 reject/spots on hf/cw
1077 Then you will get everything <em>EXCEPT</em> HF CW spots. You could make this
1078 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
1079 and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
1080 CW, then you could say ...
1083 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
1086 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
1089 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
1092 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
1093 until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
1094 wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
1095 don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
1098 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
1099 understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
1102 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
1103 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1106 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
1107 which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
1110 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
1111 you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
1112 This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
1113 more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
1116 You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
1117 at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
1118 are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <em>APART</em> from those in
1119 zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
1120 not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
1121 logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
1124 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
1127 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
1128 here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
1130 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
1131 simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
1132 to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
1133 one line. For example ...
1136 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
1139 would redefine our earlier example, or
1145 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
1151 <sect1>Filter options
1154 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
1155 various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
1157 <sect1>Default filters
1160 Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can
1161 be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even
1162 if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default
1163 rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces,
1164 WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like
1168 accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
1169 set/hops node_default spot 50
1172 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY.
1173 This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to
1174 override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should
1175 you require. It is important to note that default filters should be
1176 considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the
1177 default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
1179 <sect1>Advanced filtering
1182 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
1185 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
1186 can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
1191 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1194 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will
1195 automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said <em>reject all
1196 HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
1197 accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones
1198 14, 15 and 16</em>. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and
1199 an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
1202 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default
1203 for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example
1204 what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed
1205 to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line
1206 lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
1211 <sect1>Filtering Mail
1214 In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called badmsg.pl.issue. Rename
1215 this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The original looks something like this ....
1219 # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having
1220 # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before
1224 # The format of each line is as follows
1226 # type source pattern
1227 # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex
1229 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
1230 # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject
1231 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
1233 # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code.
1235 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
1236 # causes the action to be taken.
1238 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
1239 # for the action specified
1257 I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of subject
1258 headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of the cluster or
1259 the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is usually because of
1260 rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale etc in a particular country.
1262 <sect1>Filtering DX callouts (Depricated)
1265 <bf><it>From version 1.47, this method is replaced by the command set/baddx</it></bf>
1268 In the same way as mail, there are some types of spot we do not wish to pass on
1269 to users or linked cluster nodes. In the /spider/data directory you will find
1270 a file called baddx.pl.issue. Rename this to baddx.pl and edit the file. The
1271 original looks like this ....
1275 # the list of dx spot addresses that we don't store and don't pass on
1296 Again, this is simply a list of names we do not want to see in the spotted
1297 field of a DX callout.
1300 <sect1>Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
1303 Create a file in /spider/data called <em>badwords</em>. The format is quite
1304 simple. Lines beginning with # are ignored so comments can be added. An
1305 example file is below ...
1308 # Below is a list of words we do not wish to see on the cluster
1309 grunge grunged grunging
1310 splodge splodger splodging
1315 Multiple words can be used on the same line as shown. Obviously these
1316 are just examples :-)
1319 You can reload the file from the cluster prompt as sysop with load/badwords.
1324 DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports both
1325 personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands to ensure
1326 that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send mail almost
1327 immediately, assuming that the target is on line. However, only one
1328 mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a mail message is already
1329 being sent or recieved, then the new message will be queued until it has
1332 The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the sysop
1333 sets the "keep" flag using the <em>msg</em> command.
1335 <sect1>Personal mail
1338 Personal mail is sent using the <em>sp</em> command. This is actually the
1339 default method of sending mail and so a simple <em>s</em> for send will do.
1340 A full list of the send commands and options is in the <em>command set</em>
1341 section, so I will not duplicate them here.
1343 <sect1>Bulletin mail
1346 Bulletin mail is sent by using the <em>sb</em> command. This is one of the
1347 most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a bulletin
1348 mail with <em>s</em> or <em>sp</em> instead of <em>sb</em> and of course
1349 the message never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop
1350 by using the <em>msg</em> command.
1352 <P>Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file.
1357 DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations needed
1358 in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated differently, there
1359 is no need for a list of accepted bulletin addresses. It is necessary, however,
1360 to tell the program which links accept which bulletins. For example, it is
1361 pointless sending bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK
1362 ones. The file that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg.
1363 At default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename it
1364 to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements.
1365 The format is below ...
1369 # this is an example message forwarding file for the system
1371 # The format of each line is as follows
1373 # type to/from/at pattern action destinations
1374 # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ]
1376 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
1377 # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin
1378 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
1379 # action: I - ignore, F - forward
1380 # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns
1382 # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded
1384 # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code.
1386 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
1387 # causes the action to be taken.
1389 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
1390 # for the action specified
1392 # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the
1393 # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have
1394 # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if
1395 # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately
1396 # on first connection)
1402 'B', 'T', 'LOCAL', 'F', [ qw(GB7MBC) ],
1403 'B', 'T', 'ALL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1404 'B', 'T', 'UK', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
1405 'B', 'T', 'QSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1406 'B', 'T', 'QSLINF', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1407 'B', 'T', 'DX', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1408 'B', 'T', 'DXINFO', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1409 'B', 'T', 'DXNEWS', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1410 'B', 'T', 'DXQSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1411 'B', 'T', 'SYSOP', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
1412 'B', 'T', '50MHZ', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
1416 Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you wish
1417 that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to "UK" will
1418 only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14.
1421 To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward
1424 <sect1>The msg command
1427 The <em>msg</em> command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the
1428 sysop. It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other
1429 changes to manage the cluster mail.
1431 Here is a full list of the various options ...
1434 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
1435 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
1436 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
1437 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
1438 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
1439 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
1440 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
1441 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
1442 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
1443 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waiting time for this message
1444 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
1445 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
1446 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
1447 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
1450 These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop user.
1452 <sect1>Message status
1455 You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the command
1456 <em>stat/msg</em>. This will give you additional information on the
1457 message number including which nodes have received it, which node it
1458 was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of
1462 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
1465 Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z
1469 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT
1471 Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX
1475 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
1478 <sect1>Filtering mail
1481 This is described in the section on <em>Other filters</em> so I will not
1484 <sect1>Distribution lists
1487 Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of
1488 mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other
1489 sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called <em>distro</em>. You
1490 put any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called
1491 SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops.
1494 qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX
1495 GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH
1496 GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS)
1499 Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this list.
1501 <sect1>BBS interface
1504 Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the sysop
1505 of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS and pushes
1506 any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from Spider to the BBS,
1507 the interface is one-way.
1510 Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary mail.
1511 Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by using the
1512 Forward.pl file very carefully.
1517 Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
1518 chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
1519 with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
1520 to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
1521 database but will expand with time.
1523 <sect1>Creating databases
1526 Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
1527 sent from the cluster prompt as the <em>sysop</em> user.
1529 To create a database you use the command <em>dbcreate</em>. It can
1530 be used in 3 different ways like so ..
1536 To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
1537 name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
1538 simply defines it to say that it exists.
1541 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
1544 This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
1545 scanned, then the second, the third etc...
1548 dbcreate <name> remote <name>
1551 This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
1552 name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
1553 node_call of the remote node, for example...
1556 dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
1559 Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
1560 chain can be a remote database.
1562 <sect1>Importing databases
1565 The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
1566 AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
1567 This will be added to with time.
1569 To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp
1570 and then issue the following command ...
1573 dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
1576 This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if
1579 <sect1>Checking available databases
1582 Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
1583 added. To do this use the <em>dbavail</em> command. This will
1584 output the available databases. For example ...
1588 DB Name Location Chain
1592 G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
1595 <sect1>Looking up databases
1598 To look for information in a defined database, simply use the <em>dbshow</em>
1599 command, for example ...
1602 dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
1605 will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
1606 database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users
1607 you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
1608 <em>show</em> command like this ...
1611 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
1614 Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
1616 <sect1>Removing databases
1619 To delete an existing database you use the <em>dbremove</em> command.
1626 would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
1627 system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
1628 If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created
1629 from scratch if you still required it.
1631 <sect>Information, files and useful programs
1636 One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
1637 information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a banner
1638 that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message of the day"
1639 or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in /spider/data called motd
1640 and edit it to say whatever you want. It is purely a text file and will be
1641 sent automatically to anyone logging in to the cluster.
1643 <sect1>Downtime message
1646 If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or maintenance but
1647 the machine is still running, a message can be sent to the user advising them
1648 of the fact. This message lives in the /spider/data directory and is called
1649 "offline". Simply create the file and edit it to say whatever you wish.
1650 This file will be sent to a user attempting to log into the cluster when
1651 DXSpider is not actually running.
1653 <sect1>Other text messages
1656 You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input the file
1657 name. This could be for news items or maybe information for new users.
1658 To set this up, make a directory under /spider called <em>packclus</em>.
1659 Under this directory you can create files called <em>news</em> or <em>newuser</em>
1660 for example. In fact you can create files with any names you like. These can
1661 be listed by the user with the command ....
1667 They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
1673 If the file they want to read is called <em>news</em>. You could also set
1674 an alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type <em>news</em>
1677 You can also store other information in this directory, either directly or
1678 nested under directories. One use for this would be to store DX bulletins
1679 such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed and read by the user.
1680 To keep things tidy, make a directory under /spider/packclus called
1681 <em>bulletins</em>. Now copy any OPDX or similar bulletins into it. These
1682 can be listed by the user in the same way as above using the <em>show/files</em>
1683 command with an extension for the bulletins directory you have just created,
1687 show/files bulletins
1691 An example would look like this ....
1695 bulletins DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
1698 You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory) there is a
1699 file called <em>news</em> and a directory called <em>bulletins</em>. You can
1700 also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file <em>news</em>,
1701 you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to whether the
1702 file has been updated since you last read it. To read the file called
1703 <em>news</em> you would simply issue the command ....
1709 To look what is in the bulletins directory you issue the command ....
1712 show/files bulletins
1713 opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1714 opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1715 opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1716 opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1717 opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1718 opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1719 opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1720 opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1721 opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1722 opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1723 opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1724 opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1725 opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1726 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
1729 You can now read any file in this directory using the type command, like this ....
1732 type bulletins/opdx391
1733 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
1734 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
1738 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
1739 Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
1740 Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
1741 Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
1742 Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
1743 & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
1744 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
1747 The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
1749 <sect1>The Aliases file
1752 You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this file to
1753 /spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see something like this ...
1759 # provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally
1760 # helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never
1761 # read nor understand help files)
1763 # This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is
1764 # later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm
1766 # PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST
1767 # match the filenames!)
1769 # Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it.
1770 # This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release.
1772 # You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as
1773 # you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect
1774 # so you need not add it as an alias.
1782 '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos',
1785 '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce',
1786 '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce',
1787 '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce',
1794 '^del', 'kill', 'kill',
1795 '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill',
1796 '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory',
1797 '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory',
1798 '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory',
1799 '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory',
1800 '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory',
1801 '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory',
1802 '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory',
1803 '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1820 '^l$', 'directory', 'directory',
1821 '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory',
1822 '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1827 '^news', 'type news', 'type',
1837 '^r$', 'read', 'read',
1838 '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd',
1841 '^s/p$', 'send', 'send',
1842 '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send',
1843 '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode',
1844 '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep',
1845 '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here',
1846 '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce',
1847 '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx',
1848 '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk',
1849 '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv',
1850 '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx',
1851 '^sh$', 'show', 'show',
1852 '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow',
1853 '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files',
1854 '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration',
1855 '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration',
1856 '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail',
1857 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx',
1858 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx',
1859 '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx',
1860 '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow',
1861 '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
1862 '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
1863 '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
1864 '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who',
1865 '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster',
1866 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv',
1867 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv',
1868 '^sp$', 'send', 'send',
1872 '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk',
1873 '^t$', 'talk', 'talk',
1880 '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx',
1881 '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx',
1892 You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may not
1893 always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test the
1894 results once you have set an alias.
1899 In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for the sysop.
1900 This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities and colour for spots,
1901 announces etc. To use this program, simply use console.pl instead of client.pl.
1904 To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and edit the
1905 file with your favourite editor.
1907 <sect1>Updating kepler data
1910 Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order for
1911 this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly. In
1912 general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
1913 Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
1914 file. You do this with the <em>export</em> command from the cluster prompt
1915 as the sysop. For example ...
1918 export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
1921 would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
1922 /spider/perl directory.
1924 Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
1925 the perl directory called <em>convkeps.pl</em>. All we need to do now is
1926 convert the file like so ...
1929 ./convkeps.pl keps.in
1932 Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
1938 That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
1940 <sect1>The QRZ callbook
1943 The command <em>sh/qrz</em> will only work once you have followed a few
1944 simple steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
1945 Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the file
1946 /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match your user
1947 ID and password. You also at this point need to set $allow=1 to complete
1948 the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the proprieter of
1949 <htmlurl url="http://www.qrz.com" name="qrz.com"> for allowing this access.
1954 CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider is held
1955 at <htmlurl url="http://www.sourceforge.net" name="Sourceforge">. This means
1956 that it is possible to update your DXSpider installation to the latest
1957 sources by using a few simple commands.
1960 THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!!! ONLY DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A TEST
1961 INSTALLATION OR ARE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CLUSTER CRASH ON YOU!!!
1962 THIS MUST BE CONSIDERED AT LEAST BETA TESTING AND MAYBE EVEN ALPHA!!
1963 YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
1966 DID I MENTION..... ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE
1970 I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and
1971 Internet access running.
1974 BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR
1975 ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!!
1978 Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the
1979 CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several
1980 steps which are listed below ...
1983 First login as the user <em>sysop</em>. Next you need to connect to the CVS
1984 repository. You do this with the command below ...
1987 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login
1990 You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your machine should
1991 return to a normal linux prompt.
1994 What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation that
1995 you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you just want
1996 to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for testing.
1998 If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to /home/sysop
2000 If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp
2003 The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your current
2007 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider
2010 This command is all on one line.
2013 Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3 simply compresses
2014 the download to improve speed.
2015 When this has finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full
2016 tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the magic that
2020 Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if you have
2021 just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball.
2024 If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ...
2027 tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider
2029 tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz
2032 This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course.
2035 NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the permissions
2036 correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T YOU?????
2038 Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make)
2041 At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart the cluster
2042 in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new commands or features
2043 expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster will have been restarted then so it
2044 will be too late to worry about it!
2047 Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply connect to the
2048 Internet and then, as the user <em>sysop</em> ...
2055 and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the "C" client
2056 if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if any of the perl scripts
2057 have been altered or added, again, CVS will tell you.
2060 You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file.
2062 <sect>The DXSpider command set
2065 Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster prompt.
2066 Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some commands that are useful
2067 for a sysop. These are listed below in alphabetical order. The number in
2068 brackets following the command name is the permissions level needed to use
2071 <sect1>accept/announce (0)
2075 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
2080 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
2082 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
2083 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2084 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2086 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2089 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2090 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2092 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2093 origin_itu <numbers>
2094 origin_zone <numbers>
2099 wx 1 filter WX announces
2100 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
2107 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
2108 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
2117 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK stations.
2118 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
2124 but this probably for advanced users...
2126 <sect1>accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
2130 <bf>accept/announce <call> [input] [0-9]<pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
2134 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2135 default for nodes and users eg:-
2139 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2
2140 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2
2143 <sect1>accept/spots (0)
2147 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
2152 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
2155 An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
2156 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2157 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2159 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2162 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2163 on <range> same as 'freq'
2164 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2165 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2167 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2178 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2179 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2180 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
2181 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get
2182 too hung up about that)
2188 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2191 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
2197 but this probably for advanced users...
2199 <sect1>accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
2203 <bf>accept/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Spot filter sysop version
2207 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2208 default for nodes and users eg:-
2211 accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
2212 accept/spot node_default all
2213 set/hops node_default 10
2215 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2
2218 <sect1>accept/wcy (0)
2222 <bf>accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> set an accept WCY filter
2226 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2227 filter on the following fields:-
2230 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2232 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2233 origin_itu <numbers>
2234 origin_zone <numbers>
2242 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
2243 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
2245 This command is really provided for future use.
2247 See HELP FILTER for information.
2249 <sect1>accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2253 <bf>accept/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2254 WCY filter sysop version
2258 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2259 default for nodes and users eg:-
2262 accept/wcy node_default all
2263 set/hops node_default 10
2266 <sect1>accept/wwv (0)
2270 <bf>accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept WWV filter
2274 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2275 filter on the following fields:-
2278 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2280 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2281 origin_itu <numbers>
2282 origin_zone <numbers>
2292 accept/wwv by_zone 4
2295 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
2296 by stations in the US).
2298 See HELP FILTER for information.
2300 <sect1>accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2304 <bf>accept/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2305 WWV filter sysop version
2309 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2310 default for nodes and users eg:-
2313 accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
2314 accept/wwv node_default all
2315 set/hops node_default 10
2317 accept/wwv user_default by W,K
2324 <bf>announce <text></bf> Send an announcement to local users
2328 Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where <text> is the text
2329 of the announcement you wish to broadcast
2331 <sect1>announce full (0)
2335 <bf>announce full <text></bf> Send an announcement cluster wide
2339 This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster
2343 <sect1>announce sysop (5)
2347 <bf>announce sysop <text></bf>
2351 Send an announcement to Sysops only
2357 <bf>apropos <string></bf> Search the help database
2361 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive),
2362 and print the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
2368 <bf>bye</bf> Exit from the cluster
2372 This will disconnect you from the cluster
2378 <bf>catchup <node_call> All|[<msgno> ...]</bf>
2379 Mark a message as sent
2383 When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another node
2384 is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new partner
2385 node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl file, all
2386 outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them. This may well
2387 be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by using these
2392 catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
2395 and to undo what you have just done:-
2398 uncatchup GB7DJK all
2399 uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
2402 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again.
2404 Order is not important.
2406 <sect1>clear/spots (0)
2410 <bf>clear/spots [1|all]</bf> Clear a spot filter line
2414 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or to
2415 remove the whole filter.
2417 If you have a filter:-
2421 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2430 you will be left with:-
2433 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2442 the filter will be completely removed.
2449 <bf>connect <callsign></bf> Start a connection to another DX Cluster
2453 Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to the
2454 DX cluster <callsign>. This process creates a new 'client' process which will
2455 use the script in /spider/connect/<callsign> to effect the 'chat' exchange
2456 necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the cluster <callsign>.
2462 <bf>dbavail</bf> Show a list of all the databases in the system
2466 The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases defined
2467 in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
2473 <bf>dbcreate <name></bf> Create a database entry<newline>
2474 <bf>dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>..]</bf> Create a
2475 chained database entry<newline>
2476 <bf>dbcreate <name> remote <node></bf> Create a remote database
2481 DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't actually
2482 create anything, just defines it.
2484 The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they are
2485 therefore already 'indexed'.
2487 You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg:
2491 You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword.
2492 This will search each database one after the other. A typical example
2495 DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad
2497 No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist, in
2498 fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do each of
2499 the chained databases.
2501 Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on another
2504 DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc
2506 Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a
2507 a chain can be a remote database eg:
2509 DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc
2511 To see what databases have been defined do:
2513 DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND)
2515 It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases file
2516 to allow people to use the 'SHOW/<dbname>' style syntax. So you would
2517 need to add a line like:-
2523 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
2533 to work as they may be used to.
2535 See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to databases.
2536 See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry
2542 <bf>dbimport <dbname></bf> Import AK1A data into a database
2546 If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use
2547 this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing
2548 database. For example:-
2550 DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
2552 will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the
2553 oblast database held locally.
2559 <bf>dbremove <dbname></bf> Delete a database
2563 DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any data
2564 file that is associated with it.
2566 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2572 will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also remove
2573 the associated datafile.
2577 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2579 You have been warned.
2585 <bf>dbshow <dbname> <key></bf> Display an entry, if it exists,
2590 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database system.
2591 It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local Aliases file
2592 so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of enquiry such as:
2598 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
2599 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
2610 <bf>debug</bf> Set the cluster program into debug mode
2614 Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the cluster
2621 It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has finished.
2623 <sect1>directory (0)
2627 <bf>directory</bf> List messages<newline>
2628 <bf>directory all</bf> List all messages<newline>
2629 <bf>directory own</bf> List your own messages<newline>
2630 <bf>directory new</bf> List all new messages<newline>
2631 <bf>directory to <call></bf> List all messages to <call><newline>
2632 <bf>directory from <call></bf> List all messages from <call><newline>
2633 <bf>directory subject <string></bf> List all messages with <string>
2635 <bf>directory <nn></bf> List last <nn> messages<newline>
2636 <bf>directory <from>-<to></bf> List messages <from> message <to> message <newline>
2640 List the messages in the messages directory.
2642 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
2643 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
2644 'p' then this indicates that the message has been read.
2646 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
2649 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
2654 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
2657 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a syntax:-
2665 <sect1>directory (extended for sysops) (5)
2668 Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL messages.
2670 <sect1>disconnect (8)
2674 <bf>disconnect <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Disconnect a user or node
2678 Disconnect any <call> connected locally
2684 <bf>dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks></bf> Send a DX spot
2688 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
2689 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
2697 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end
2698 of the command and they will be added to the spot.
2701 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
2704 You can credit someone else by saying:-
2707 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
2710 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
2711 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
2717 <bf>export <msgno> <filename></bf> Export a message to a file
2721 Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a local
2722 console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be in a form
2723 ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in the import
2724 directory (/spider/msg/import).
2726 This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide some
2727 measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same user as the
2728 main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere the cluster can
2729 access. For example:-
2733 <sect1>export_users (9)
2737 <bf>export_users [<filename>]</bf> Export the users database to ascii
2741 Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename
2742 is given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc.
2744 If the file already exists it will be renamed to <filename>.o. In fact
2745 up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o' on the
2748 BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No check is
2749 made on the filename (if any) that you specify.
2751 <sect1>forward/latlong (8)
2755 <bf>forward/latlong <node_call></bf> Send latitude and longitude
2756 information to another cluster
2760 This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that your
2761 cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving this
2762 information is that more locator information is held by you. This
2763 means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you have
2764 <em>set/dxgrid</em> enabled. This could be a LOT of information though, so
2765 it is not recommended on slow links.
2767 <sect1>forward/opername (1)
2771 <bf>forward/opername <call></bf> Send out information on this <call>
2776 This command sends out any information held in the user file which can
2777 be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH, Location
2778 and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is available.
2784 <bf>help <cmd></bf> Get help on a command
2788 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated
2789 to SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
2791 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help database
2792 for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely commands
2793 to look at with HELP.
2799 <bf>init <node call></bf> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node
2803 This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node
2804 that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may
2805 work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or
2806 better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD <node> DISC/F <your
2809 Best of luck - you will need it.
2815 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ..]</bf> Delete a message
2816 from the local system
2820 Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to
2821 delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are
2828 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...]</bf> Remove or erase a message from
2830 <bf>kill from <call></bf> Remove all messages from a callsign<newline>
2831 <bf>kill to <call></bf> Remove all messages to a callsign<newline>
2835 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign using
2836 this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
2838 As a sysop you can kill any message on the system.
2840 <sect1>kill full (5)
2844 <bf>kill full <msgno> [<msgno>]</bf> Delete a message from the
2849 Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system.
2851 This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the same subject
2852 will be deleted. Beware!
2858 <bf>links</bf> Show which nodes are physically connected
2862 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and
2863 some information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
2866 <sect1>load/aliases (9)
2870 <bf>load/aliases</bf> Reload the command alias table
2874 Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You will need to
2875 do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is running in order for the
2876 changes to take effect.
2879 <sect1>load/baddx (9)
2883 <bf>load/baddx</bf> Reload the bad DX table
2887 Reload the /spider/data/baddx.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2888 the cluster is running. This table contains the DX Calls that, if spotted,
2889 will not be passed on. FR0G and TEST are classic examples.
2891 <sect1>load/badmsg (9)
2895 <bf>load/badmsg</bf> Reload the bad message table
2899 Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2900 the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl regular
2901 expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of each message.
2902 If any of them match then that message is immediately deleted on receipt.
2904 <sect1>load/badwords (9)
2908 <bf>load/badwords</bf> Reload the badwords file
2912 Reload the /spider/data/badwords file if you have changed it manually whilst
2913 the cluster is running. This file contains a list of words which, if found
2914 on certain text portions of PC protocol, will cause those protocol frames
2915 to be rejected. It will all put out a message if any of these words are
2916 used on the announce, dx and talk commands. The words can be one or
2917 more on a line, lines starting with '#' are ignored.
2919 <sect1>load/bands (9)
2923 <bf>load/bands</bf> Reload the band limits table
2927 Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2928 the cluster is running.
2930 <sect1>load/cmd_cache (9)
2934 <bf>load/cmd_cache</bf> Reload the automatic command cache
2938 Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it will
2939 automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it can get confused
2940 if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or delete a command in the
2941 local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one again. Execute this command to
2942 reset everything back to the state it was just after a cluster restart.
2944 <sect1>load/forward (9)
2948 <bf>load/forward</bf> Reload the msg forwarding routing table
2951 Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it
2952 manually whilst the cluster is running.
2954 <sect1>load/messages (9)
2958 <bf>load/messages</bf> Reload the system messages file
2962 If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst fiddling/writing ne
2963 commands) you can have them take effect during a cluster session by executing this
2964 command. You need to do this if get something like :-
2966 unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en'
2968 <sect1>load/prefixes (9)
2972 <bf>load/prefixes</bf> Reload the prefix table
2976 Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it manually
2977 whilst the cluster is running.
2983 <bf>merge <node> [<no spots>/<no wwv>]</bf> Ask for the
2984 latest spots and WWV
2988 MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By default
2989 it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you select. The
2990 node must be connected locally.
2992 You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be appended
2993 to your databases they will not duplicate any that have recently been added
2994 (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV data).
3000 <bf>msg <cmd> <msgno> [data ...]</bf> Alter various message
3005 Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or bulletin
3006 or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this message from timing
3010 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
3011 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
3012 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
3013 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
3014 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
3015 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
3016 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
3017 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
3018 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
3019 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waitting time for this message
3020 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
3021 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
3022 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
3023 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
3026 You can look at the status of a message by using:-
3028 STAT/MSG <msgno>
3030 This will display more information on the message than DIR does.
3036 <bf>pc <call> <text></bf> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to <call>
3040 Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No processing is done on
3041 the text. This command allows you to send PC Protocol to unstick things if problems
3042 arise (messages get stuck etc). eg:-
3044 pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^
3046 You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user but
3047 without any processing, added of "from <blah> to <blah>" or whatever.
3049 pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!!
3055 <bf>ping <node></bf> Check the link quality between nodes
3059 his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on
3060 the network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this
3061 is a good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time
3062 it takes is output to the console in seconds.
3063 Any visible cluster node can be PINGed.
3070 <bf>rcmd <node call> <cmd></bf> Send a command to another DX cluster
3074 This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX Cluster
3075 node that is connected to the system.
3077 Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system knows
3078 that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b) whether the
3079 other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c) whether you have
3080 permission to send this command at all.
3086 <bf>read</bf> Read the next unread personal message addressed to you<newline>
3087 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read the specified message<newline>
3091 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
3092 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
3095 <sect1>read (extended for sysops) (5)
3099 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read a message on the system
3103 As a sysop you may read any message on the system
3105 <sect1>reject/announce
3109 <bf>reject/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
3114 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
3116 An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
3117 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
3118 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
3120 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
3123 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
3124 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3126 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3127 origin_itu <numbers>
3128 origin_zone <numbers>
3133 wx 1 filter WX announces
3134 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
3140 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
3143 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3149 but this probably for advanced users...
3151 <sect1>reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
3155 <bf>reject/announce <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
3159 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3160 default for nodes and users eg:-
3164 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2
3165 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2
3168 <sect1>reject/spots (0)
3172 <bf>reject/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
3177 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
3179 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
3180 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
3181 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
3183 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
3186 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
3187 on <range> same as 'freq'
3188 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
3189 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
3191 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3201 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
3202 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
3203 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
3204 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get
3205 too hung up about that)
3211 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3214 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3220 but this probably for advanced users...
3222 <sect1>reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
3226 <bf>reject/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
3227 Reject spot filter sysop version
3231 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3232 default for nodes and users eg:-
3235 reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
3236 reject/spot node_default all
3237 set/hops node_default 10
3239 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2
3242 <sect1>reject/wcy (0)
3246 <bf>reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WCY filter
3250 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
3251 filter on the following fields:-
3254 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3256 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3257 origin_itu <numbers>
3258 origin_zone <numbers>
3265 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
3266 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
3268 This command is really provided for future use.
3270 See HELP FILTER for information.
3272 <sect1>reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
3276 <bf>reject/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
3277 WCY reject filter sysop version
3281 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3282 default for nodes and users eg:-
3284 reject/wcy gb7djk all
3286 <sect1>reject/wwv (0)
3290 <bf>reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WWV filter
3294 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
3295 filter on the following fields:-
3298 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3300 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3301 origin_itu <numbers>
3302 origin_zone <numbers>
3312 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
3315 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
3316 by stations in the US).
3318 See HELP FILTER for information.
3320 <sect1>reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
3324 <bf>reject/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
3325 WWV reject filter sysop version
3328 <P>This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
3329 default for nodes and users eg:-
3332 reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
3333 reject/wwv node_default all
3335 reject/wwv user_default by W
3342 <bf>reply</bf> Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read<newline>
3343 <bf>reply <msgno></bf> Reply (privately) to the specified message<newline>
3344 <bf>reply B <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message<newline>
3345 <bf>reply NOPrivate <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified
3347 <bf>reply RR <msgno></bf> Reply to the specified message with read
3352 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
3353 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
3355 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
3356 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND
3357 for further details)
3363 <bf>send <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Send a message to
3364 one or more callsigns<newline>
3365 <bf>send RR <call></bf> Send a message and ask for a read receipt<newline>
3366 <bf>send COPY <msgno> <call></bf> Send a copy of a message
3368 <bf>send PRIVATE <call></bf> Send a personal message<newline>
3369 <bf>send NOPRIVATE <call></bf> Send a message to all stations<newline>
3373 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either to
3374 an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
3376 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that is
3377 it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster node that
3378 that callsign is connected to.
3380 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
3382 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
3385 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
3388 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you will
3389 receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
3391 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak)
3392 SP is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
3394 <sect1>set/address (0)
3398 <bf>set/address <your_address></bf> Record your postal address
3402 Literally, record your address details on the cluster.
3404 <sect1>set/announce (0)
3408 <bf>set/announce</bf> Allow announce messages
3412 Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal.
3414 <sect1>set/arcluster (5)
3418 <bf>set/arcluster <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3419 the node_call an AR-Cluster type node
3423 Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node
3425 <sect1>set/baddx (8)
3429 <bf>set/baddx <call></bf> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign field
3430 of a dx spot being propagated
3434 Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the callsign
3435 field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be displayed and they
3436 will not be sent onto other nodes.
3438 The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3441 set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G
3444 To allow a word again, use the following command ...
3450 <sect1>set/badnode (6)
3454 <bf>set/badnode <node_call></bf> Stop spots from this node_call
3459 Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node
3460 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3461 sent onto other nodes.
3463 The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:-
3469 will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's)
3475 will allow spots from him again.
3477 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
3479 <sect1>set/badspotter (8)
3483 <bf>set/badspotter <call></bf> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated
3487 Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this callsign
3488 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3489 sent onto other nodes.
3491 The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3494 set/badspotter VE2STN
3497 will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you must
3498 enter them specifically.
3501 unset/badspotter VE2STN
3504 will allow spots from him again.
3506 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
3512 <bf>set/beep</bf> Add beeps to terminal messages
3516 Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages.
3522 <bf>set/clx <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3523 the node_call a CLX type node
3527 Set the node_call as a CLX type node
3529 <sect1>set/debug (9)
3533 <bf>set/debug <name></bf> Add a debug level to the debug set
3537 You can remove this level with unset/debug <name>
3543 <bf>set/dx</bf>Allow DX messages to arrive at your terminal
3547 You can stop DX messages with the <em>unset/dx</em> command
3549 <sect1>set/dxgrid (0)
3553 <bf>set/dxgrid</bf>Allow grid squares on the end of DX messages
3557 Some logging programs do not like the additional information at
3558 the end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the <em>unset/dxgrid</em>
3559 command to remove the grid squares.
3561 <sect1>set/dxnet (5)
3565 <bf>set/dxnet <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3566 the node_call a DXNet type node
3570 Set the node_call as a DXNet type node
3576 <bf>set/echo</bf> Make the cluster echo your input
3580 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
3581 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
3582 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command
3583 to change the setting appropriately.
3585 You can remove the echo with the <em>unset/echo</em> command
3587 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3589 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
3595 <bf>set/here</bf> Set the here flag
3599 Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your
3600 callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the <em>unset/here</em>
3601 command to let people know you are away. This simply puts brackets
3602 around your callsign to indicate you are not available.
3604 <sect1>set/homenode (0)
3608 <bf>set/homenode <node_call></bf> Set your home cluster
3612 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages sent
3613 to you will normally find their way there should you not be connected.
3624 <bf>set/hops <node_call> ann|spots|wwv|wcy <n></bf>
3629 Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node.
3631 This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node
3632 for currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts.
3636 set/hops gb7djk ann 10
3637 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20
3640 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command
3641 creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system.
3643 <sect1>set/isolate (9)
3647 <bf>set/isolate <node call></bf> Isolate a node from the rest of the network
3651 Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full protocol
3652 member of its network and can see all spots on it, but nothing either leaks
3653 out from it nor goes back into from the rest of the nodes connected to you.
3655 You can potentially connect several nodes in this way.
3657 You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1) command.
3659 You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate.
3661 <sect1>set/language (0)
3665 <bf>set/language <language></bf> Set the language you wish to use
3669 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use. Currently
3670 the languages available are <em>en</em> (English) and <em>nl</em> (Dutch).
3672 <sect1>set/location (0)
3676 <bf>set/location <lat and long></bf> Set your latitude and longitude
3680 You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use the
3681 <em>set/qra</em> command which will do the conversion for you.
3684 set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E
3688 <sect1>set/sys_location (9)
3692 <bf>set/sys_location <lat & long></bf> Set your cluster latitude and longitude
3696 In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the system
3697 what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a SET/QRA
3698 then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For example:-
3701 SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E
3704 <sect1>set/logininfo (0)
3708 <bf>set/logininfo</bf> Show logins and logouts of nodes and users
3712 Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster. You
3713 can stop these messages by using the <em>unset/logininfo</em> command.
3716 <sect1>set/lockout (9)
3720 <bf>set/lockout <call></bf> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster
3724 You can show who is locked out with the <em>show/lockout</em> command.
3725 To allow the user to connect again, use the <em>unset/lockout</em> command.
3731 <bf>set/name <your_name></bf> Set your name
3735 Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:-
3745 <bf>set/node <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Make the callsign an AK1A cluster
3749 Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and
3750 fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands.
3752 From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster
3761 To see what your nodes are set to, use the <em>show/nodes</em> command.
3763 <sect1>set/obscount (9)
3767 <bf>set/obscount <count> <node call></bf> Set the 'pump-up'
3768 obsolescence counter
3772 From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals (see
3773 SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes. There is a 'pump-up'
3774 counter which is decremented on every outgoing ping and then reset to
3775 the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping. The default value of this
3778 What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at
3779 (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just before
3780 what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected.
3782 If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using
3783 default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15 minutes,
3790 <bf>set/page <n></bf> Set the number of lines per page
3794 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of lines
3795 of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20. Setting it
3796 explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
3803 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3806 <sect1>set/password (9)
3810 <bf>set/password <callsign> <string></bf> Set a users password
3814 The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string
3815 can contain any characters but any spaces are removed (you can type in
3816 spaces - but they won't appear in the password). You can see the
3817 result with STAT/USER. The password is the usual 30 character baycom
3820 <sect1>set/pinginterval (9)
3824 <bf>set/pinginterval <time> <node call></bf> Set the ping time
3825 to neighbouring nodes
3829 As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals
3830 in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and, in future, to
3831 affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300 secs or 5 minutes.
3833 You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't.
3835 But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and seconds
3836 for numbers greater than that.
3838 This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end
3839 (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT
3840 for more information.
3842 <sect1>set/privilege (9)
3846 <bf>set/privilege <n> <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Set the
3847 privilege level on a call
3851 Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that pertain
3852 to commands are as default:-
3856 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs
3857 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc-
3858 connect), the normal level for another node.
3859 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect)
3860 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS
3864 If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote connection
3865 your privilege will automatically be set to 0.
3867 <sect1>set/spider (5)
3871 <bf>set/spider <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3872 the node_call a DXSpider type node
3876 Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node
3878 <sect1>set/sys_qra (9)
3882 <bf>set/sys_qra <locator></bf> Set your cluster QRA locator
3889 <bf>set/qra <locator></bf> Set your QRA locator
3893 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have not
3894 done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set roughly
3895 correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
3905 <bf>set/qth <your QTH></bf> Set your QTH
3909 Tell the system where your are. For example:-
3912 set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk
3919 <bf>set/talk</bf> Allow talk messages to be seen at your console
3923 Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off
3924 talks with the <em>unset/talk</em> command.
3930 <bf>set/wcy</bf> Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console
3934 Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3935 WCY messages with the <em>unset/wcy</em> command.
3941 <bf>set/wwv</bf> Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console
3945 Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3946 WWV messages with the <em>unset/wwv</em> command.
3952 <bf>set/wx</bf> Allow WX messages to be seen at your console
3956 Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3957 WX messages with the <em>unset/wx</em> command.
3959 <sect1>show/baddx (1)
3963 <bf>show/baddx</bf>Show all the bad dx calls in the system
3967 Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX
3968 for more information.
3970 <sect1>show/badnode (6)
3974 <bf>show/badnode</bf> Show all the bad nodes in the system
3978 Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE
3979 for more information.
3981 <sect1>show/badspotter (1)
3985 <bf>show/badspotter</bf>Show all the bad spotters in the system
3989 Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see SET/BADSPOTTER
3990 for more information.
3992 <sect1>show/date (0)
3996 <bf>show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4001 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the format
4002 of the date string if no arguments are given.
4004 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
4005 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
4006 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
4007 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
4013 <bf>show/dx [options]</bf> interrogate the spot database
4017 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots
4018 (sysop configurable, but usually 10).
4020 In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly
4021 any order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
4024 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
4025 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
4027 <number> - the number of spots you want
4028 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in
4031 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
4032 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
4033 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
4035 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
4036 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
4038 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
4040 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call>
4043 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
4044 held in the spot database.
4046 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will
4047 look for the string iota and anything which looks like
4048 an iota island number. If you specify then it will look
4051 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if
4052 you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator.
4059 SH/DX on 20m info iota
4060 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
4067 <sect1>show/dxcc (0)
4071 <bf>show/dxcc <prefix></bf> Interrogate the spot database by country
4075 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
4076 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is
4077 and then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
4079 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command.
4084 SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota
4087 <sect1>show/files (0)
4091 <bf>show/files [<filearea> [<string>]]</bf> List
4092 the contents of a filearea
4096 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
4097 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file
4101 SH/FILES <filearea>
4104 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
4107 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
4108 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
4111 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
4114 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
4116 <sect1>show/filter (0)
4120 <bf>show/filter</bf> Show the filters you have set
4124 Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command
4125 displays all the filters set - for all the various categories.
4127 <sect1>show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
4131 <bf>show/filter <callsign></bf> Show the filters set by <callsign>
4135 A sysop can look at any filters that have been set.
4137 <sect1>show/hops (8)
4141 <bf>show/hops <node_call> [ann|spots|wcy|wwv|]</bf> Show the hop
4146 This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify
4147 which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then
4148 all the categories will be listed.
4150 <sect1>show/isolate (1)
4154 <bf>show/isolate</bf> Show a list of isolated nodes
4158 Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated.
4160 <sect1>show/lockout (9)
4164 <bf>show/lockout</bf> Show a list of excluded callsigns
4168 Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the
4169 cluster locally with the <em>set/lockout</em> command
4175 <bf>show/log [<callsign>]</bf> Show excerpts from the system log
4179 This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own
4180 it will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will
4181 show output from the log associated with that callsign.
4183 <sect1>show/moon (0)
4187 <bf>show/moon [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show moon
4192 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
4193 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
4196 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
4197 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
4198 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4200 In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal
4201 distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit.
4203 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
4204 that you are connected to.
4217 <bf>show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long]</bf> Show
4218 the likely propagation to <prefix>
4222 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting
4223 a station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a modest
4224 power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about 0.15muV/10dB SINAD)
4226 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
4227 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
4228 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
4229 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced accuracy
4230 for paths shorter or longer than this.
4232 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
4233 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
4234 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
4235 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
4236 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
4237 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
4238 such as the Voice of America.
4240 The command will display some header information detailing its
4241 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
4242 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
4243 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
4244 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for which
4245 the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a value.
4247 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the conventional
4248 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it means that it is
4249 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by an 'm' it means that
4250 there is likely to be much fading and by an 's' that the signal is likely
4253 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
4254 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no of
4255 hours required after the prefix. For example:-
4264 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
4265 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
4266 Location Lat / Long Azim
4267 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
4268 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
4269 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
4270 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
4271 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
4274 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
4275 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
4283 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
4291 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
4292 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
4293 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
4295 <sect1>show/node (1)
4299 <bf>show/node [<node_call> ...]</bf> Show the type and version
4304 Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the
4305 command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all
4306 the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed.
4308 <sect1>show/prefix (0)
4312 <bf>show/prefix <callsign></bf> Interrogate the prefix database
4316 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
4317 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number
4318 it is and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country
4319 together with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
4324 <sect1>show/program (5)
4328 <bf>show/program</bf> Show the locations of all the included program modules
4332 Show the name and location where every program module was load from. This
4333 is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file from.
4339 <bf>show/qra <locator> [<locator>]</bf> Show the distance
4340 between locators<newline>
4341 <bf>show/qra <lat> <long></bf> Convert latitude and longitude to
4346 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
4347 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
4348 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
4349 to the locator. For example:-
4356 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator from
4357 yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and bearing from
4358 the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6 character locators.
4360 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator by
4361 using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument, for
4365 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
4372 <bf>show/qrz <callsign></bf> Show any callbook details on a callsign
4376 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet
4377 and returns any information available for that callsign. This service
4378 is provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
4380 <sect1>show/route (0)
4384 <bf>show/route <callsign></bf> Show the route to <callsign>
4388 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified are
4389 connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
4395 <sect1>show/satellite (0)
4399 <bf>show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>]</bf>
4400 Show satellite tracking data
4404 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your choice
4405 from now on for the next few hours.
4407 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a list
4408 of all the satellites known currently to the system.
4410 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
4411 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
4412 give information for the next three hours for every five minute period.
4414 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
4417 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
4423 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
4430 <bf>show/sun [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4431 sun rise and set times
4435 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
4436 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
4439 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
4440 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
4441 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4443 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
4444 that you are connected to.
4450 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
4453 <sect1>show/time (0)
4457 <bf>show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4462 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
4463 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
4464 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
4465 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
4471 <bf>show/wcy</bf> Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts<newline>
4472 <bf>show/wcy <n></bf> Show the last <n> WCY broadcasts
4476 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the system
4482 <bf>show/wwv</bf> Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts<newline>
4483 <bf>show/wwv <n></bf> Show the last <n> WWV broadcasts
4487 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the system
4494 <bf>shutdown</bf> Shutdown the cluster
4498 Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider
4499 set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart.
4505 <bf>spoof <callsign> <command></bf> Run commands as another user
4509 This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows you to
4510 issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very useful for the
4511 kind of things that users seem to always get wrong.. like home_node for
4518 <bf>stat/db <dbname></bf> Show the status of a database
4522 Show the internal status of a database descriptor.
4524 Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less information.
4525 This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone other than a sysop.
4527 <sect1>stat/channel (5)
4531 <bf>stat/channel <callsign></bf> Show the status of a channel on the cluster
4535 Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel that
4536 you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for.
4538 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4544 <bf>stat/msg <msgno></bf> Show the status of a message
4548 This command shows the internal status of a message and includes information
4549 such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin etc etc.
4551 <sect1>stat/user (5)
4555 <bf>stat/user <callsign></bf> Show the full status of a user
4559 Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret flags
4562 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4568 <bf>sysop</bf> Regain your privileges if you login remotely
4572 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
4573 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
4574 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
4575 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
4576 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
4579 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
4580 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
4581 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
4582 these values are for explanation :-):
4585 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
4593 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
4598 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
4599 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
4606 <bf>talk <callsign></bf> Enter talk mode with <callsign><newline>
4607 <bf>talk <callsign> <text></bf> Send a text message to <callsign><newline>
4608 <bf>talk <callsign> > <node_call> [<text>]</bf>
4609 Send a text message to <callsign> via <node_call>
4613 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the cluster
4614 system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a SHOW/CONFIGURATION
4615 command, they don't have to be connected locally.
4617 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
4618 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
4619 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the cluster.
4621 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can only
4622 see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use the
4623 second form of the talk message.
4625 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text message
4626 out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means is that a
4627 short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you are in a 'Talking'
4628 frame of mind and then you just type - everything you send will go to the
4629 station that you asked for.
4631 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on your
4634 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the normal
4635 command with a '/' character, eg:-
4638 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
4642 To leave talk mode type:
4652 <bf>type <filearea>/<name></bf> Look at a file in one of the fileareas
4656 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
4657 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
4661 TYPE bulletins/arld051
4664 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a
4671 <bf>who</bf> Show who is physically connected locally
4675 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
4676 what sort of connection they have
4682 <bf>wx <text></bf> Send a weather message to local users<newline>
4683 <bf>wx full <text> </bf> Send a weather message to all cluster users
4687 Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an extreme
4688 that may indicate enhanced conditions
4690 <sect1>wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
4694 <bf>wx sysop <text></bf> Send a weather message to other clusters only
4698 Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general users.
projects / spider.git / blob