1 The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.47
2 Ian Maude, G0VGS, (ianmaude@btinternet.com)
5 A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
6 ______________________________________________________________________
70 1.2 Isolating networks
72 2. Filtering (Old Style upto v1.44)
78 3. Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later)
80 3.1 General filter rules
84 3.5 Advanced filtering
89 4.2 Filtering DX callouts (Depricated)
90 4.3 Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
100 5.7 Distribution lists
105 6.1 Creating databases
106 6.2 Importing databases
107 6.3 Checking available databases
108 6.4 Looking up databases
109 6.5 Removing databases
111 7. Information, files and useful programs
115 7.3 Other text messages
118 7.6 Updating kepler data
123 9. The DXSpider command set
125 9.1 accept/announce (0)
126 9.2 accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
128 9.4 accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
130 9.6 accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
132 9.8 accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
134 9.10 announce full (0)
135 9.11 announce sysop (5)
148 9.24 directory (extended for sysops) (5)
152 9.28 export_users (9)
153 9.29 forward/latlong (8)
154 9.30 forward/opername (1)
161 9.37 load/aliases (9)
164 9.40 load/badwords (9)
166 9.42 load/cmd_cache (9)
167 9.43 load/forward (9)
168 9.44 load/messages (9)
169 9.45 load/prefixes (9)
176 9.52 read (extended for sysops) (5)
178 9.54 reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
179 9.55 reject/spots (0)
180 9.56 reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
182 9.58 reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
184 9.60 reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
188 9.64 set/announce (0)
189 9.65 set/arcluster (5)
192 9.68 set/badspotter (8)
201 9.77 set/homenode (0)
204 9.80 set/language (0)
205 9.81 set/location (0)
206 9.82 set/sys_location (9)
207 9.83 set/logininfo (0)
211 9.87 set/obscount (9)
213 9.89 set/password (9)
214 9.90 set/pinginterval (9)
215 9.91 set/privilege (9)
225 9.101 show/badnode (6)
226 9.102 show/badspotter (1)
227 9.103 show/configuration (0)
228 9.104 show/configuration/node (0)
229 9.105 show/connect (1)
235 9.111 show/filter (0)
236 9.112 show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
238 9.114 show/isolate (1)
239 9.115 show/lockout (9)
244 9.120 show/prefix (0)
245 9.121 show/program (5)
249 9.125 show/satellite (0)
257 9.133 stat/channel (5)
265 9.141 wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
268 ______________________________________________________________________
272 Starting with version 1.13 there is simple hop control available on a
273 per node basis. Also it is possible to isolate a network completely so
274 that you get all the benefits of being on that network, but can't pass
275 on information from it to any other networks you may be connected to
279 1.1. Basic hop control
281 In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the
282 file that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default
283 hops on the various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to
284 alter the hops for. You may be happy with the default settings of
285 course, but this powerful tool can help to protect and improve the
286 network. The file will look something like this ...
332 # hop table construction
337 # default hopcount to use
340 # some variable hop counts based on message type
351 # the per node hop control thingy
385 Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and
386 contains a series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot.
387 The figures here are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of
391 You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is
392 running. If you alter the file during runtime, the command load/hops
393 will bring your changes into effect.
397 1.2. Isolating networks
399 It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node
400 using the set/isolate <node_call> command.
403 The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from
404 another nodes connected to your node. Your node will appear on and
405 otherwise behave normally on every network to which you are connected,
406 but data from an isolated network will not cross onto any other
407 network or vice versa. However all the spot, announce and WWV traffic
408 and personal messages will still be handled locally (because you are a
409 real node on all connected networks), that is locally connected users
410 will appear on all networks and will be able to access and receive
411 information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will
412 be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a
413 gateway for another network, he can still still send a talk/announce
414 etc message via your node and it will be routed across.
417 The only limitation currently is that non-private messages cannot be
418 passed down isolated links regardless of whether they are generated
419 locally. This will change when the bulletin routing facility is added.
422 If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive
423 all information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass
424 any information back to the isolated node. There are times when you
425 would like to forward only spots across a link (maybe during a contest
426 for example). To do this, isolate the node in the normal way and put
427 in a filter in the /spider/filter/spots directory to override the
428 isolate. This filter can be very simple and consists of just one line
434 [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 3] # The last figure (3) is the hop count
441 There is a lot more on filtering in the next section.
444 2. Filtering (Old Style upto v1.44)
446 Filters can be set for spots, announcements and WWV. You will find
447 the directories for these under /spider/filter. You will find some
448 examples in the directories with the suffix .issue. There are two
449 types of filter, one for incoming information and one for outgoing
450 information. Outgoing filters are in the form CALLSIGN.pl and
451 incoming filters are in the form in_CALLSIGN.pl. Filters can be set
452 for both nodes and users.
455 All filters work in basically the same way. There are several
456 elements delimited by commas. There can be many lines in the filter
457 and they are read from the top by the program. When writing a filter
458 you need to think carefully about just what you want to achieve. You
459 are either going to write a filter to accept or to reject. Think of a
460 filter as having 2 main elements. For a reject filter, you would have
461 a line or multiple lines rejecting the things you do not wish to
462 receive and then a default line accepting everything else that is not
463 included in the filter. Likewise, for an accept filter, you would
464 have a line or multiple lines accepting the things you wish to receive
465 and a default line rejecting everthing else.
468 In the example below, a user requires a filter that would only return
469 SSB spots posted in Europe on the HF bands. This is achieved by first
470 rejecting the CW section of each HF band and rejecting all of VHF, UHF
471 etc based on frequency. Secondly, a filter rule is set based on CQ
472 zones to only accept spots posted in Europe. Lastly, a default filter
473 rule is set to reject anything outside the filter.
478 [ 0, 0, 'r', # reject all CW spots
488 30000.0, 49000000000.0,
490 [ 1, 11, 'n', [ 14, 15, 16, 20, 33, ], 15 ], #accept EU
491 [ 0, 0, 'd', 0, 1 ], # 1 = want, 'd' = everything else
498 The actual elements of each filter are described more fully in the
504 The elements of the Spot filter are ....
508 [action, field_no, sort, possible_values, hops]
514 There are 3 elements here to look at. Firstly, the action element.
515 This is very simple and only 2 possible states exist, accept (1) or
519 The second element is the field_no. There are 13 possiblities to
520 choose from here ....
531 2 = date in unix format
534 5 = spotted dxcc country
535 6 = spotter's dxcc country
541 12 = callsign of the channel on which the spot has appeared
547 The third element tells us what to expect in the fourth element.
548 There are 4 possibilities ....
552 n - numeric list of numbers e.g. [ 1,2,3 ]
553 r - ranges of pairs of numbers e.g. between 2 and 4 or 10 to 17 - [ 2,4, 10,17 ]
554 a - an alphanumeric regex
561 The fifth element is simply the hops to set in this filter. This
562 would only be used if the filter was for a node of course and
563 overrides the hop count in hop_table.pl.
566 So, let's look at an example spot filter. It does not matter in the
567 example who the filter is to be used for. So, what do we need in the
568 filter? We need to filter the spots the user/node requires and also
569 set a default rule for anything else outside the filter. Below is a
570 simple filter that stops spots arriving from outside Europe.
575 [ 0, 4, 'a', '^(K|N|A|W|VE|VA|J)'], # 0 = drop, 'a' = alphanumeric
576 [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 1 ], # 1 = want, 'd' = everything else
583 So the filter is wrapped in between a pair of square brackets. This
584 tells Spider to look in between these limits. Then each line is
585 contained within its own square brackets and ends with a comma. Lets
586 look carefully at the first line. The first element is 0 (drop).
587 Therefore anything we put on this line will not be accepted. The next
588 element is 4. This means we are filtering by the spotter. The third
589 element is the letter "a" which tells the program to expect an
590 alphanumeric expression in the fourth element. The fourth element is
591 a list of letters separated by the pipe symbol.
595 What this line does is tell the program to drop any spots posted by
596 anyone in the USA, Canada or Japan.
599 The second line is the default rule for anything else. The "d" tells
600 us this and the line simply reads... accept anything else.
603 You can add as many lines as you need to complete the filter but if
604 there are several lines of the same type it is neater to enclose them
605 all as one line. An example of this is where specific bands are set.
606 We could write this like this ....
610 [ 0,0,'r',[1800.0, 2000.0], 1],
611 [ 0,0,'r',[10100.0, 10150.0], 1],
612 [ 0,0,'r',[14000.0, 14350.0], 1],
613 [ 0,0,'r',[18000.0, 18200.0], 1],
619 But the line below achieves the same thing and is more efficient ....
625 1800.0, 2000.0, # top band
626 10100.0, 10150.0, # WARC
627 14000.0, 14350.0, # 20m
628 18000.0, 18200.0, # WARC
641 # This is an example announce or filter allowing only West EU announces
643 # The element list is:-
644 # 0 - callsign of announcer
645 # 1 - destination * = all, <callsign> = routed to the node
647 # 3 - * - sysop, <some text> - special list eg 6MUK, ' ', normal announce
649 # 5 - 0 - announce, 1 - wx
650 # 6 - channel callsign (the interface from which this spot came)
653 [ 1, 0, 'a', '^(P[ABCDE]|DK0WCY|G|M|2|EI|F|ON)' ],
661 In this example, only the prefixes listed will be allowed. It is
662 possible to be quite specific. The Dutch prefix "P" is followed by
663 several secondary identifiers which are allowed. So, in the example,
664 "PA" or "PE" would be ok but not "PG". It is even possible to allow
665 information from a single callsign. In the example this is DK0WCY, to
666 allow the posting of his Aurora Beacon.
674 # This is an example WWV filter
676 # The element list is:-
677 # 0 - nominal unix date of spot (ie the day + hour:13)
685 # 8 - incoming interface callsign
687 # this one doesn't filter, it just sets the hop count to 6 and is
688 # used mainly just to override any isolation from WWV coming from
699 It should be noted that the filter will start to be used only once a
700 user/node has logged out and back in again.
702 I am not going to spend any more time on these filters now as they
703 will become more "comprehensive" in the near future.
706 3. Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later)
708 3.1. General filter rules
710 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters.
711 From v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set
712 filters for just about anything you wish. If you have just updated
713 from an older version of DXSpider you will need to update your new
714 filters. You do not need to do anything with your old filters, they
715 will be renamed as you update.
718 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating
719 filters. These are accept, reject and clear. First we will look
720 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in
721 the DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
724 In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which
725 can have up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
733 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There
734 are filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects.
735 See each different accept or reject command reference for more
738 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter.
749 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
752 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
763 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply
764 the same principles to all types of filter.
769 There are two main types of filter, accept or reject. You can use
770 either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
771 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of
772 reject filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each
773 filter has 10 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a
774 line matches then the action you have specified is taken (ie reject
775 means ignore it and accept means take it)
778 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match
779 the filter will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use
780 an accept filter, then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted
781 and all else will be dumped. For example if you have a single line
786 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
791 then you will ONLY get VHF spots from or to CQ zones 14, 15 and 16.
793 If you set a reject filter like this ...
797 reject/spots on hf/cw
802 Then you will get everything EXCEPT HF CW spots. You could make this
803 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested
804 in IOTA and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not
805 interested in CW, then you could say ...
809 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
814 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
818 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
823 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the
824 other until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix
825 them if you wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the
826 same line) but don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you
830 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your
831 own understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
835 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
836 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
841 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots
842 on VHF which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
845 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this
846 case), if you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits
847 '0'-'9' are available. This make it easier to see just what filters
848 you have set. It also makes it more simple to remove individual
849 filters, during a contest for example.
852 You will notice in the above example that the second line has
853 brackets. Look at the line logically. You can see there are 2
854 separate sections to it. We are saying reject spots that are VHF or
855 above APART from those in zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or
856 originated there). If you did not have the brackets to separate the 2
857 sections, then Spider would read it logically from the front and see a
858 different expression entirely ...
859 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
864 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets.
865 Whilst we are here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the
866 same as 'and by_zone'.
868 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible
869 than simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that
870 if you want to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one
871 or more lines of it or one line. For example ...
875 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
880 would redefine our earlier example, or
889 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
901 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in
902 the various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
907 Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects.
908 This can be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be
909 followed, even if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set
910 specifically. Default rules can be set for nodes and users. They can
911 be set for spots, announces, WWV and WCY. They can also be used for
912 hops. An example might look like this ...
916 accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
917 set/hops node_default spot 50
922 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV
923 and WCY. This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific
924 filter is written to override it for a particular node. You can also
925 set a user_default should you require. It is important to note that
926 default filters should be considered to be "connected". By this I
927 mean that should you override the default filter for spots, you need
928 to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
931 3.5. Advanced filtering
933 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to
937 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf
938 spots from EU can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
944 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
949 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This
950 will automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have
951 said reject all HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all
952 others at HF. Also accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by
953 operators in the zones 14, 15 and 16. Each filter slot actually has a
954 'reject' slot and an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE
958 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match,
959 the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for
960 'accept'. In the example what happens is that the reject is executed
961 first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets
962 through everything else on HF. The next filter line lets through just
963 VHF/UHF spots from EU.
971 In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called
972 badmsg.pl.issue. Rename this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The
973 original looks something like this ....
991 # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having
992 # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before
996 # The format of each line is as follows
998 # type source pattern
999 # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex
1001 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
1002 # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject
1003 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
1005 # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code.
1007 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
1008 # causes the action to be taken.
1010 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
1011 # for the action specified
1024 I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of
1025 subject headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of
1026 the cluster or the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is
1027 usually because of rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale
1028 etc in a particular country.
1031 4.2. Filtering DX callouts (Depricated)
1033 From version 1.47, this method is replaced by the command set/baddx
1036 In the same way as mail, there are some types of spot we do not wish
1037 to pass on to users or linked cluster nodes. In the /spider/data
1038 directory you will find a file called baddx.pl.issue. Rename this to
1039 baddx.pl and edit the file. The original looks like this ....
1057 # the list of dx spot addresses that we don't store and don't pass on
1080 Again, this is simply a list of names we do not want to see in the
1081 spotted field of a DX callout.
1085 4.3. Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
1087 Create a file in /spider/data called badwords. The format is quite
1088 simple. Lines beginning with # are ignored so comments can be added.
1089 An example file is below ...
1093 # Below is a list of words we do not wish to see on the cluster
1094 grunge grunged grunging
1095 splodge splodger splodging
1102 Multiple words can be used on the same line as shown. Obviously these
1103 are just examples :-)
1106 You can reload the file from the cluster prompt as sysop with
1112 DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports
1113 both personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands
1114 to ensure that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send
1115 mail almost immediately, assuming that the target is on line.
1116 However, only one mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a
1117 mail message is already being sent or recieved, then the new message
1118 will be queued until it has finished.
1120 The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the
1121 sysop sets the "keep" flag using the msg command.
1125 Personal mail is sent using the sp command. This is actually the
1126 default method of sending mail and so a simple s for send will do. A
1127 full list of the send commands and options is in the command set
1128 section, so I will not duplicate them here.
1133 Bulletin mail is sent by using the sb command. This is one of the
1134 most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a
1135 bulletin mail with s or sp instead of sb and of course the message
1136 never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop by using
1140 Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file.
1145 DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations
1146 needed in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated
1147 differently, there is no need for a list of accepted bulletin
1148 addresses. It is necessary, however, to tell the program which links
1149 accept which bulletins. For example, it is pointless sending
1150 bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK ones. The file
1151 that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg. At
1152 default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename
1153 it to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements. The
1190 # this is an example message forwarding file for the system
1192 # The format of each line is as follows
1194 # type to/from/at pattern action destinations
1195 # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ]
1197 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
1198 # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin
1199 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
1200 # action: I - ignore, F - forward
1201 # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns
1203 # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded
1205 # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code.
1207 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
1208 # causes the action to be taken.
1210 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
1211 # for the action specified
1213 # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the
1214 # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have
1215 # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if
1216 # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately
1217 # on first connection)
1228 Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you
1229 wish that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to
1230 "UK" will only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14.
1233 To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward
1237 5.4. The msg command
1239 The msg command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the sysop.
1240 It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other changes
1241 to manage the cluster mail.
1243 Here is a full list of the various options ...
1255 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
1256 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
1257 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
1258 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
1259 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
1260 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
1261 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
1262 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
1263 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
1264 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waiting time for this message
1265 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
1266 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
1267 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
1268 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
1273 These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop
1279 You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the
1280 command stat/msg. This will give you additional information on the
1281 message number including which nodes have received it, which node it
1282 was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of
1287 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
1290 Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z
1294 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT
1296 Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX
1300 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
1308 This is described in the section on Other filters so I will not
1312 5.7. Distribution lists
1314 Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of
1315 mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other
1316 sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called distro. You put
1317 any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called
1318 SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops.
1321 qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX
1322 GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH
1323 GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS)
1328 Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this
1334 Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the
1335 sysop of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS
1336 and pushes any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from
1337 Spider to the BBS, the interface is one-way.
1340 Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary
1341 mail. Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by
1342 using the Forward.pl file very carefully.
1347 Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
1348 chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
1349 with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
1350 to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
1351 database but will expand with time.
1354 6.1. Creating databases
1356 Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
1357 sent from the cluster prompt as the sysop user.
1359 To create a database you use the command dbcreate. It can be used in
1360 3 different ways like so ..
1369 To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
1370 name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
1371 simply defines it to say that it exists.
1375 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
1380 This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
1381 scanned, then the second, the third etc...
1385 dbcreate <name> remote <name>
1387 This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
1388 name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
1389 node_call of the remote node, for example...
1393 dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
1398 Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
1399 chain can be a remote database.
1402 6.2. Importing databases
1404 The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
1405 AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
1406 This will be added to with time.
1408 To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like
1409 /tmp and then issue the following command ...
1413 dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
1418 This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if it
1422 6.3. Checking available databases
1424 Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
1425 added. To do this use the dbavail command. This will output the
1426 available databases. For example ...
1431 DB Name Location Chain
1435 G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
1441 6.4. Looking up databases
1443 To look for information in a defined database, simply use the dbshow
1444 command, for example ...
1448 dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
1453 will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
1454 database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users you
1455 can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
1456 show command like this ...
1464 Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
1467 6.5. Removing databases
1469 To delete an existing database you use the dbremove command. For
1479 would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
1480 system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
1481 If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be
1482 created from scratch if you still required it.
1485 7. Information, files and useful programs
1489 One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
1490 information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a
1491 banner that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message
1492 of the day" or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in
1493 /spider/data called motd and edit it to say whatever you want. It is
1494 purely a text file and will be sent automatically to anyone logging in
1498 7.2. Downtime message
1500 If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or
1501 maintenance but the machine is still running, a message can be sent to
1502 the user advising them of the fact. This message lives in the
1503 /spider/data directory and is called "offline". Simply create the
1504 file and edit it to say whatever you wish. This file will be sent to
1505 a user attempting to log into the cluster when DXSpider is not
1509 7.3. Other text messages
1511 You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input
1512 the file name. This could be for news items or maybe information for
1513 new users. To set this up, make a directory under /spider called
1514 packclus. Under this directory you can create files called news or
1515 newuser for example. In fact you can create files with any names you
1516 like. These can be listed by the user with the command ....
1524 They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
1533 If the file they want to read is called news. You could also set an
1534 alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type news
1537 You can also store other information in this directory, either
1538 directly or nested under directories. One use for this would be to
1539 store DX bulletins such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed
1540 and read by the user. To keep things tidy, make a directory under
1541 /spider/packclus called bulletin. Now copy any OPDX or similar
1542 bulletins into it. These can be listed by the user in the same way as
1543 above using the show/files command with an extension for the bulletin
1544 directory you have just created, like this ....
1554 An example would look like this ....
1559 bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
1564 You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory)
1565 there is a file called news and a directory called bulletin. You can
1566 also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file news,
1567 you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to
1568 whether the file has been updated since you last read it. To read the
1569 file called news you would simply issue the command ....
1578 To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command ....
1586 opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1587 opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1588 opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1589 opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1590 opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1591 opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1592 opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1593 opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1594 opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1595 opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1596 opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1597 opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1598 opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1599 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
1604 You can now read any file in this directory using the type command,
1609 type bulletin/opdx391
1610 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
1611 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
1615 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
1616 Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
1617 Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
1618 Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
1619 Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
1620 & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
1621 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
1626 The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
1629 7.4. The Aliases file
1631 You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this
1632 file to /spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see
1633 something like this ...
1653 # provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally
1654 # helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never
1655 # read nor understand help files)
1657 # This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is
1658 # later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm
1660 # PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST
1661 # match the filenames!)
1663 # Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it.
1664 # This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release.
1666 # You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as
1667 # you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect
1668 # so you need not add it as an alias.
1676 '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos',
1679 '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce',
1680 '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce',
1681 '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce',
1688 '^del', 'kill', 'kill',
1689 '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill',
1690 '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory',
1691 '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory',
1692 '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory',
1693 '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory',
1694 '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory',
1695 '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory',
1696 '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory',
1697 '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1714 '^l$', 'directory', 'directory',
1715 '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory',
1716 '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1721 '^news', 'type news', 'type',
1731 '^r$', 'read', 'read',
1732 '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd',
1735 '^s/p$', 'send', 'send',
1736 '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send',
1737 '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode',
1738 '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep',
1739 '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here',
1740 '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce',
1741 '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx',
1742 '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk',
1743 '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv',
1744 '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx',
1745 '^sh$', 'show', 'show',
1746 '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow',
1747 '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files',
1748 '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration',
1749 '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration',
1750 '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail',
1751 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx',
1752 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx',
1753 '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx',
1754 '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow',
1755 '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
1756 '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
1757 '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
1758 '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who',
1759 '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster',
1760 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv',
1761 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv',
1762 '^sp$', 'send', 'send',
1766 '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk',
1767 '^t$', 'talk', 'talk',
1774 '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx',
1775 '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx',
1788 You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may
1789 not always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test
1790 the results once you have set an alias.
1795 In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for
1796 the sysop. This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities
1797 and colour for spots, announces etc. To use this program, simply use
1798 console.pl instead of client.
1801 To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and
1802 edit the file with your favourite editor.
1805 7.6. Updating kepler data
1807 Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order
1808 for this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly.
1809 In general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
1810 Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
1811 file. You do this with the export command from the cluster prompt as
1812 the sysop. For example ...
1816 export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
1821 would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
1822 /spider/perl directory.
1824 Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
1825 the perl directory called convkeps.pl. All we need to do now is
1826 convert the file like so ...
1830 ./convkeps.pl keps.in
1835 Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
1844 That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
1849 7.7. The QRZ callbook
1851 The command sh/qrz will only work once you have followed a few simple
1852 steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
1853 Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the
1854 file /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match
1855 your user ID and password. You also at this point need to set
1856 $allow=1 to complete the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the
1857 proprieter of qrz.com for allowing this access.
1862 CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider
1863 is held at Sourceforge. This means that it is possible to update your
1864 DXSpider installation to the latest sources by using a few simple
1868 THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!!! ONLY DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A TEST
1869 INSTALLATION OR ARE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CLUSTER CRASH ON YOU!!! THIS
1870 MUST BE CONSIDERED AT LEAST BETA TESTING AND MAYBE EVEN ALPHA!! YOU
1874 DID I MENTION..... ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE
1878 I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and
1879 Internet access running.
1882 BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR
1883 ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!!
1886 Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the
1887 CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several
1888 steps which are listed below ...
1891 First login as the user sysop. Next you need to connect to the CVS
1892 repository. You do this with the command below ...
1895 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login
1899 You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your
1900 machine should return to a normal linux prompt.
1903 What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation
1904 that you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you
1905 just want to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for
1908 If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to
1911 If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp
1915 The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your
1919 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider
1923 This command is all on one line.
1926 Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3
1927 simply compresses the download to improve speed. When this has
1928 finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full
1929 tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the
1933 Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if
1934 you have just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball.
1937 If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ...
1941 tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider
1943 tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz
1948 This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course.
1951 NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the
1952 permissions correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T
1955 Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make)
1958 At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart
1959 the cluster in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new
1960 commands or features expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster
1961 will have been restarted then so it will be too late to worry about
1965 Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply
1966 connect to the Internet and then, as the user sysop ...
1976 and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the
1977 "C" client if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if
1978 any of the perl scripts have been altered or added, again, CVS will
1981 You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file.
1984 9. The DXSpider command set
1986 Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster
1987 prompt. Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some
1988 commands that are useful for a sysop. These are listed below in
1989 alphabetical order. The number in brackets following the command name
1990 is the permissions level needed to use the command.
1993 9.1. accept/announce (0)
1995 accept/announce [0-9] <pattern> Set an accept filter line for announce
1998 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
2000 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter
2001 it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please
2002 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief
2005 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2009 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2010 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2012 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2013 origin_itu <numbers>
2014 origin_zone <numbers>
2019 wx 1 filter WX announces
2020 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
2030 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
2031 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
2045 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK
2046 stations. You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
2052 but this probably for advanced users...
2055 9.2. accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
2057 accept/announce <call> [input] [0-9]<pattern> Announce filter sysop
2061 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2062 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2067 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2
2068 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2
2074 9.3. accept/spots (0)
2076 accept/announce [0-9] <pattern> Set an accept filter line for spots
2079 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
2082 An accept filter line means that if the spot 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:-
2090 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2091 on <range> same as 'freq'
2092 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2093 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2095 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2108 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2109 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2110 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
2111 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get too
2118 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2123 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
2132 but this probably for advanced users...
2135 9.4. accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
2137 accept/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> Spot filter sysop version
2140 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2141 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2145 accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
2146 accept/spot node_default all
2147 set/hops node_default 10
2149 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2
2157 accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern> set an accept WCY filter
2160 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
2161 can filter on the following fields:-
2165 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2167 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2168 origin_itu <numbers>
2169 origin_zone <numbers>
2179 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place
2180 and you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want
2183 This command is really provided for future use.
2185 See HELP FILTER for information.
2188 9.6. accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2190 accept/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WCY filter sysop version
2193 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2194 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2198 accept/wcy node_default all
2199 set/hops node_default 10
2207 accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern> Set an accept WWV filter
2210 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
2211 can filter on the following fields:-
2215 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2217 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2218 origin_itu <numbers>
2219 origin_zone <numbers>
2232 accept/wwv by_zone 4
2237 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV
2238 broadcasts by stations in the US).
2240 See HELP FILTER for information.
2245 9.8. accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2247 accept/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WWV filter sysop version
2250 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
2251 the default for nodes and users eg:-
2255 accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
2256 accept/wwv node_default all
2257 set/hops node_default 10
2259 accept/wwv user_default by W,K
2267 announce <text> Send an announcement to local users
2270 Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where <text> is the text of
2271 the announcement you wish to broadcast
2274 9.10. announce full (0)
2276 announce full <text> Send an announcement cluster wide
2279 This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster
2284 9.11. announce sysop (5)
2286 announce sysop <text>
2289 Send an announcement to Sysops only
2294 apropos <string> Search the help database
2297 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive), and
2298 print the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
2303 bye Exit from the cluster
2306 This will disconnect you from the cluster
2313 catchup <node_call> All|[<msgno> ...] Mark a message as sent
2316 When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another
2317 node is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new
2318 partner node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl
2319 file, all outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them.
2320 This may well be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by
2321 using these commmands:-
2326 catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
2331 and to undo what you have just done:-
2335 uncatchup GB7DJK all
2336 uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
2341 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again.
2343 Order is not important.
2346 9.15. clear/spots (0)
2348 clear/spots [1|all] Clear a spot filter line
2351 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or
2352 to remove the whole filter.
2354 If you have a filter:-
2359 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2373 you will be left with:-
2377 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2391 the filter will be completely removed.
2397 connect <callsign> Start a connection to another DX Cluster
2400 Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to
2401 the DX cluster <callsign>. This process creates a new 'client' process
2402 which will use the script in /spider/connect/<callsign> to effect the
2403 'chat' exchange necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the
2409 dbavail Show a list of all the databases in the system
2412 The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases
2413 defined in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
2418 dbcreate <name> Create a database entry
2419 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>..] Create a chained database
2421 dbcreate <name> remote <node> Create a remote database entry
2424 DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't
2425 actually create anything, just defines it.
2427 The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they
2428 are therefore already 'indexed'.
2430 You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg:
2434 You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword.
2435 This will search each database one after the other. A typical example
2438 DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad
2440 No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist,
2441 in fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do
2442 each of the chained databases.
2443 Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on
2446 DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc
2448 Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a a
2449 chain can be a remote database eg:
2451 DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc
2453 To see what databases have been defined do:
2455 DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND)
2457 It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases
2458 file to allow people to use the 'SHOW/<dbname>' style syntax. So you
2459 would need to add a line like:-
2466 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
2478 to work as they may be used to.
2480 See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to
2481 databases. See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry
2486 dbimport <dbname> Import AK1A data into a database
2489 If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use
2490 this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing
2491 database. For example:-
2493 DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
2495 will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the
2496 oblast database held locally.
2501 dbremove <dbname> Delete a database
2504 DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any
2505 data file that is associated with it.
2507 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2513 will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also
2514 remove the associated datafile.
2518 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2520 You have been warned.
2525 dbshow <dbname> <key> Display an entry, if it exists, in a database
2528 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database
2529 system. It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local
2530 Aliases file so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of
2540 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
2541 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
2554 debug Set the cluster program into debug mode
2557 Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the
2558 cluster in debug mode i.e.
2567 It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has
2573 directory List messages
2574 directory own List your own messages
2575 directory new List all new messages
2576 directory to <call> List all messages to <call>
2577 directory from <call> List all messages from <call>
2578 directory subject <string> List all messages with <string> in subject
2579 directory <nn> List last <nn> messages
2580 directory <from>-<to> List messages <from> message <to> message
2583 List the messages in the messages directory.
2585 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
2586 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
2588 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
2591 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
2597 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
2602 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a
2615 9.24. directory (extended for sysops) (5)
2617 Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL
2621 9.25. disconnect (8)
2623 disconnect <call> [<call> ...] Disconnect a user or node
2626 Disconnect any <call> connected locally
2631 dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks> Send a DX spot
2634 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
2635 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
2648 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end of
2649 the command and they will be added to the spot.
2653 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
2658 You can credit someone else by saying:-
2662 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
2667 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
2668 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
2673 export <msgno> <filename> Export a message to a file
2676 Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a
2677 local console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be
2678 in a form ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in
2679 the import directory (/spider/msg/import).
2681 This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide
2682 some measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same
2683 user as the main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere
2684 the cluster can access. For example:-
2689 9.28. export_users (9)
2691 export_users [<filename>] Export the users database to ascii
2694 Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename is
2695 given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc.
2697 If the file already exists it will be renamed to <filename>.o. In fact
2698 up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o'
2701 BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No
2702 check is made on the filename (if any) that you specify.
2707 9.29. forward/latlong (8)
2709 forward/latlong <node_call> Send latitude and longitude information to
2713 This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that
2714 your cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving
2715 this information is that more locator information is held by you.
2716 This means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you
2717 have set/dxgrid enabled. This could be a LOT of information though,
2718 so it is not recommended on slow links.
2721 9.30. forward/opername (1)
2723 forward/opername <call> Send out information on this <call> to all
2727 This command sends out any information held in the user file which can
2728 be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH,
2729 Location and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is
2735 help <cmd> Get help on a command
2738 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated to
2739 SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
2741 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help
2742 database for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely
2743 commands to look at with HELP.
2748 init <node call> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node
2751 This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node
2752 that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may
2753 work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or
2754 better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD <node> DISC/F <your
2757 Best of luck - you will need it.
2762 kill <msgno> [<msgno> ..] Delete a message from the local system
2765 Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to
2766 delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are
2775 kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...] Remove or erase a message from the system
2776 kill from <call> Remove all messages from a callsign
2777 kill to <call> Remove all messages to a callsign
2780 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign
2781 using this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
2783 As a sysop you can kill any message on the system.
2788 kill full <msgno> [<msgno>] Delete a message from the whole cluster
2791 Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system.
2793 This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the
2794 same subject will be deleted. Beware!
2799 links Show which nodes are physically connected
2802 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and some
2803 information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
2807 9.37. load/aliases (9)
2809 load/aliases Reload the command alias table
2812 Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You
2813 will need to do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is
2814 running in order for the changes to take effect.
2818 9.38. load/baddx (9)
2820 load/baddx Reload the bad DX table
2823 Reload the /spider/data/baddx.pl file if you have changed it manually
2824 whilst the cluster is running. This table contains the DX Calls that,
2825 if spotted, will not be passed on. FR0G and TEST are classic examples.
2828 9.39. load/badmsg (9)
2830 load/badmsg Reload the bad message table
2833 Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually
2834 whilst the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl
2835 regular expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of
2836 each message. If any of them match then that message is immediately
2839 9.40. load/badwords (9)
2841 load/badwords Reload the badwords file
2844 Reload the /spider/data/badwords file if you have changed it manually
2845 whilst the cluster is running. This file contains a list of words
2846 which, if found on certain text portions of PC protocol, will cause
2847 those protocol frames to be rejected. It will all put out a message if
2848 any of these words are used on the announce, dx and talk commands. The
2849 words can be one or more on a line, lines starting with '#' are
2853 9.41. load/bands (9)
2855 load/bands Reload the band limits table
2858 Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually
2859 whilst the cluster is running.
2862 9.42. load/cmd_cache (9)
2864 load/cmd_cache Reload the automatic command cache
2867 Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it
2868 will automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it
2869 can get confused if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or
2870 delete a command in the local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one
2871 again. Execute this command to reset everything back to the state it
2872 was just after a cluster restart.
2875 9.43. load/forward (9)
2877 load/forward Reload the msg forwarding routing table
2879 Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it manually
2880 whilst the cluster is running.
2883 9.44. load/messages (9)
2885 load/messages Reload the system messages file
2888 If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst
2889 fiddling/writing ne commands) you can have them take effect during a
2890 cluster session by executing this command. You need to do this if get
2893 unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en'
2896 9.45. load/prefixes (9)
2898 load/prefixes Reload the prefix table
2901 Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it
2902 manually whilst the cluster is running.
2907 merge <node> [<no spots>/<no wwv>] Ask for the latest spots and WWV
2910 MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By
2911 default it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you
2912 select. The node must be connected locally.
2914 You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be
2915 appended to your databases they will not duplicate any that have
2916 recently been added (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV
2922 msg <cmd> <msgno> [data ...] Alter various message parameters
2925 Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or
2926 bulletin or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this
2927 message from timing out.
2931 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
2932 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
2933 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
2934 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
2935 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
2936 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
2937 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
2938 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
2939 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
2940 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waitting time for this message
2941 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
2942 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
2943 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
2944 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
2949 You can look at the status of a message by using:-
2953 This will display more information on the message than DIR does.
2958 pc <call> <text> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to <call>
2961 Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No
2962 processing is done on the text. This command allows you to send PC
2963 Protocol to unstick things if problems arise (messages get stuck etc).
2966 pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^
2968 You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user
2969 but without any processing, added of "from <blah> to <blah>" or
2971 pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!!
2976 ping <node> Check the link quality between nodes
2979 his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on the
2980 network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this is a
2981 good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time it takes
2982 is output to the console in seconds. Any visible cluster node can be
2989 rcmd <node call> <cmd> Send a command to another DX cluster
2992 This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX
2993 Cluster node that is connected to the system.
2995 Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system
2996 knows that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b)
2997 whether the other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c)
2998 whether you have permission to send this command at all.
3003 read Read the next unread personal message addressed to you
3004 read <msgno> Read the specified message
3007 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
3008 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
3012 9.52. read (extended for sysops) (5)
3014 read <msgno> Read a message on the system
3017 As a sysop you may read any message on the system
3020 9.53. reject/announce
3022 reject/announce [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject filter for announce
3025 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
3027 An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter
3028 it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please
3029 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief
3032 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
3037 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
3038 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3040 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3041 origin_itu <numbers>
3042 origin_zone <numbers>
3047 wx 1 filter WX announces
3048 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
3057 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
3062 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3071 but this probably for advanced users...
3074 9.54. reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
3076 reject/announce <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> Announce filter sysop
3080 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3081 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3086 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2
3087 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2
3093 9.55. reject/spots (0)
3095 reject/spots [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject filter line for spots
3098 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
3100 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
3101 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read
3102 this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief
3105 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
3109 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
3110 on <range> same as 'freq'
3111 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
3112 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
3114 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3126 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
3127 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
3128 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
3129 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get too
3137 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
3142 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
3151 but this probably for advanced users...
3154 9.56. reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
3156 reject/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> Reject spot filter sysop
3160 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3161 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3169 reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
3170 reject/spot node_default all
3171 set/hops node_default 10
3173 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2
3179 9.57. reject/wcy (0)
3181 reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject WCY filter
3184 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
3185 can filter on the following fields:-
3189 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3191 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3192 origin_itu <numbers>
3193 origin_zone <numbers>
3202 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place
3203 and you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want
3206 This command is really provided for future use.
3208 See HELP FILTER for information.
3211 9.58. reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
3213 reject/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WCY reject filter sysop
3217 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3218 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3220 reject/wcy gb7djk all
3223 9.59. reject/wwv (0)
3225 reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern> Set a reject WWV filter
3228 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you
3229 can filter on the following fields:-
3235 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
3237 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
3238 origin_itu <numbers>
3239 origin_zone <numbers>
3252 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
3257 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV
3258 broadcasts by stations in the US).
3260 See HELP FILTER for information.
3263 9.60. reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
3265 reject/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern> WWV reject filter sysop
3269 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as
3270 the default for nodes and users eg:-
3274 reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
3275 reject/wwv node_default all
3277 reject/wwv user_default by W
3285 reply Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read
3286 reply <msgno> Reply (privately) to the specified message
3287 reply B <msgno> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message
3288 reply NOPrivate <msgno> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message
3289 reply RR <msgno> Reply to the specified message with read receipt
3292 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
3293 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
3295 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
3296 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND for
3303 send <call> [<call> ...] Send a message to one or more callsigns
3304 send RR <call> Send a message and ask for a read receipt
3305 send COPY <msgno> <call> Send a copy of a message to someone
3306 send PRIVATE <call> Send a personal message
3307 send NOPRIVATE <call> Send a message to all stations
3310 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either
3311 to an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
3313 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that
3314 is it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster
3315 node that that callsign is connected to.
3317 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
3319 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
3323 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
3328 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you
3329 will receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
3331 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak) SP
3332 is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
3335 9.63. set/address (0)
3337 set/address <your_address> Record your postal address
3340 Literally, record your address details on the cluster.
3343 9.64. set/announce (0)
3345 set/announce Allow announce messages
3348 Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal.
3351 9.65. set/arcluster (5)
3353 set/arcluster <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call an AR-
3357 Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node
3362 set/baddx <call> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign
3363 field of a dx spot being propagated
3367 Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the
3368 callsign field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be
3369 displayed and they will not be sent onto other nodes.
3371 The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3375 set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G
3380 To allow a word again, use the following command ...
3390 9.67. set/badnode (6)
3392 set/badnode <node_call> Stop spots from this node_call being
3396 Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node
3397 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3398 sent onto other nodes.
3400 The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:-
3409 will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's)
3418 will allow spots from him again.
3420 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by
3424 9.68. set/badspotter (8)
3426 set/badspotter <call> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated
3429 Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this
3430 callsign going any further. They will not be displayed and they will
3431 not be sent onto other nodes.
3433 The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3437 set/badspotter VE2STN
3442 will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you
3443 must enter them specifically.
3447 unset/badspotter VE2STN
3452 will allow spots from him again.
3454 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by
3460 set/beep Add beeps to terminal messages
3463 Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages.
3468 set/clx <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call a CLX type
3472 Set the node_call as a CLX type node
3477 set/debug <name> Add a debug level to the debug set
3480 You can choose to log several different levels. The levels are
3482 chan state msg cron connect
3484 You can show what levels you are logging with the show/debug command.
3486 You can remove a debug level with unset/debug <name>
3491 set/dxAllow DX messages to arrive at your terminal
3494 You can stop DX messages with the unset/dx command
3499 9.73. set/dxgrid (0)
3501 set/dxgridAllow grid squares on the end of DX messages
3504 Some logging programs do not like the additional information at the
3505 end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the unset/dxgrid command
3506 to remove the grid squares.
3511 set/dxnet <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call a DXNet
3515 Set the node_call as a DXNet type node
3520 set/echo Make the cluster echo your input
3523 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
3524 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
3525 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command to
3526 change the setting appropriately.
3528 You can remove the echo with the unset/echo command
3530 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3532 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
3537 set/here Set the here flag
3540 Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your
3541 callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the
3542 unset/here command to let people know you are away. This simply puts
3543 brackets around your callsign to indicate you are not available.
3546 9.77. set/homenode (0)
3548 set/homenode <node_call> Set your home cluster
3551 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages
3552 sent to you will normally find their way there should you not be
3567 set/hops <node_call> ann|spots|wwv|wcy <n> Set hop count
3570 Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node.
3572 This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node for
3573 currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts.
3578 set/hops gb7djk ann 10
3579 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20
3584 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command
3585 creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system.
3588 9.79. set/isolate (9)
3590 set/isolate <node call> Isolate a node from the rest of the network
3593 Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full
3594 protocol member of its network and can see all spots on it, but
3595 nothing either leaks out from it nor goes back into from the rest of
3596 the nodes connected to you.
3598 You can potentially connect several nodes in this way.
3600 You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1)
3603 You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate.
3606 9.80. set/language (0)
3608 set/language <language> Set the language you wish to use
3611 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use.
3612 Currently the languages available are en (English) and nl (Dutch).
3615 9.81. set/location (0)
3617 set/location <lat and long> Set your latitude and longitude
3620 You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use
3621 the set/qra command which will do the conversion for you.
3625 set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E
3631 9.82. set/sys_location (9)
3633 set/sys_location <lat & long> Set your cluster latitude and longitude
3636 In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the
3637 system what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a
3638 SET/QRA then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For
3643 SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E
3649 9.83. set/logininfo (0)
3651 set/logininfo Show logins and logouts of nodes and users
3654 Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster.
3655 You can stop these messages by using the unset/logininfo command.
3659 9.84. set/lockout (9)
3661 set/lockout <call> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster
3664 You can show who is locked out with the show/lockout command. To
3665 allow the user to connect again, use the unset/lockout command.
3670 set/name <your_name> Set your name
3673 Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:-
3685 set/node <call> [<call> ...] Make the callsign an AK1A cluster
3688 Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and
3689 fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands.
3691 From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster
3705 To see what your nodes are set to, use the show/nodes command.
3708 9.87. set/obscount (9)
3710 set/obscount <count> <node call> Set the 'pump-up' obsolescence
3714 From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular
3715 intervals (see SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes.
3716 There is a 'pump-up' counter which is decremented on every outgoing
3717 ping and then reset to the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping.
3718 The default value of this parameter is 2.
3720 What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at
3721 (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just
3722 before what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected.
3724 If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using
3725 default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15
3726 minutes, it is disconnected.
3731 set/page <n> Set the number of lines per page
3734 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of
3735 lines of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20.
3736 Setting it explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
3746 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3750 9.89. set/password (9)
3752 set/password <callsign> <string> Set a users password
3755 The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string
3756 can contain any characters but any spaces are removed (you can type in
3757 spaces - but they won't appear in the password). You can see the
3758 result with STAT/USER. The password is the usual 30 character baycom
3763 9.90. set/pinginterval (9)
3765 set/pinginterval <time> <node call> Set the ping time to neighbouring
3769 As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular
3770 intervals in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and,
3771 in future, to affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300
3774 You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't.
3776 But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and
3777 seconds for numbers greater than that.
3779 This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end
3780 (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT
3781 for more information.
3784 9.91. set/privilege (9)
3786 set/privilege <n> <call> [<call> ...] Set the privilege level on a
3790 Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that
3791 pertain to commands are as default:-
3796 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs
3797 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc-
3798 connect), the normal level for another node.
3799 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect)
3800 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS
3806 If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote
3807 connection your privilege will automatically be set to 0.
3810 9.92. set/spider (5)
3812 set/spider <node_call> [<node_call> ...] Make the node_call a DXSpider
3816 Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node
3819 9.93. set/sys_qra (9)
3821 set/sys_qra <locator> Set your cluster QRA locator
3826 set/qra <locator> Set your QRA locator
3829 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have
3830 not done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set
3831 roughly correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
3843 set/qth <your QTH> Set your QTH
3846 Tell the system where your are. For example:-
3850 set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk
3858 set/talk Allow talk messages to be seen at your console
3861 Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off
3862 talks with the unset/talk command.
3867 set/wcy Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console
3870 Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3871 WCY messages with the unset/wcy command.
3876 set/wwv Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console
3879 Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3880 WWV messages with the unset/wwv command.
3885 set/wx Allow WX messages to be seen at your console
3888 Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3889 WX messages with the unset/wx command.
3895 9.100. show/baddx (1)
3897 show/baddxShow all the bad dx calls in the system
3900 Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX for more
3904 9.101. show/badnode (6)
3906 show/badnode Show all the bad nodes in the system
3909 Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE for
3913 9.102. show/badspotter (1)
3915 show/badspotter Show all the bad spotters in the system
3918 Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see
3919 SET/BADSPOTTER for more information.
3922 9.103. show/configuration (0)
3924 show/configuration [<node>] Show all visible nodes and their users
3927 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen and the
3928 nodes to which they are connected. With the optional node, you can
3929 specify a particular node to look at.
3931 This command is normally abbreviated to: sh/c
3933 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
3936 9.104. show/configuration/node (0)
3938 show/configuration/node Show all the nodes connected
3941 Show all the nodes connected locally and the nodes they have
3945 9.105. show/connect (1)
3947 show/connect Show all the active connections
3950 This command shows information on all the active connections known to
3951 the node. This command gives slightly more information than WHO.
3954 9.106. show/date (0)
3956 show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show the local time
3959 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the
3960 format of the date string if no arguments are given.
3961 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the
3962 local time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some
3963 prefixes then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not
3964 including DST) at the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
3967 9.107. show/debug (9)
3969 show/debug Show what levels of debug you are logging
3972 The levels can be set with set/debug
3977 show/dx [options] interrogate the spot database
3980 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots (sysop
3981 configurable, but usually 10).
3983 In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly any
3984 order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
3989 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
3990 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
3992 <number> - the number of spots you want
3993 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in
3996 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
3997 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
3998 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
4000 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
4001 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
4003 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
4005 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call>
4008 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
4009 held in the spot database.
4011 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will
4012 look for the string iota and anything which looks like
4013 an iota island number. If you specify then it will look
4016 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if
4017 you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator.
4028 SH/DX on 20m info iota
4029 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
4039 9.109. show/dxcc (0)
4041 show/dxcc <prefix> Interrogate the spot database by country
4044 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
4045 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is and
4046 then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
4048 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command. e.g.
4054 SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota
4060 9.110. show/files (0)
4062 show/files [<filearea> [<string>]] List the contents of a filearea
4065 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
4066 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file area
4076 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
4079 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
4080 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
4084 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
4089 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
4093 9.111. show/filter (0)
4095 show/filter Show the filters you have set
4098 Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command
4099 displays all the filters set - for all the various categories.
4102 9.112. show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
4104 show/filter <callsign> Show the filters set by <callsign>
4107 A sysop can look at any filters that have been set.
4110 9.113. show/hops (8)
4112 show/hops <node_call> [ann|spots|wcy|wwv|] Show the hop counts for a
4116 This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify
4117 which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then all
4118 the categories will be listed.
4121 9.114. show/isolate (1)
4123 show/isolate Show a list of isolated nodes
4126 Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated.
4129 9.115. show/lockout (9)
4131 show/lockout Show a list of excluded callsigns
4134 Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the
4135 cluster locally with the set/lockout command
4140 show/log [<callsign>] Show excerpts from the system log
4143 This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own it
4144 will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will
4145 show output from the log associated with that callsign.
4148 9.117. show/moon (0)
4150 show/moon [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show moon rise and set times
4153 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or
4154 callsigns, together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun
4155 currently at those locations.
4157 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times
4158 for your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or
4159 SET/QRA), together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4161 In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal
4162 distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit.
4164 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
4165 that you are connected to.
4180 show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long] Show the likely propagation to
4184 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting a
4185 station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a
4186 modest power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about
4189 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
4190 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
4191 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
4192 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced
4193 accuracy for paths shorter or longer than this.
4195 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
4196 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
4197 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
4198 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
4199 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
4200 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
4201 such as the Voice of America.
4203 The command will display some header information detailing its
4204 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
4205 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
4206 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
4207 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for
4208 which the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a
4211 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the
4212 conventional 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it
4213 means that it is 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by
4214 an 'm' it means that there is likely to be much fading and by an 's'
4215 that the signal is likely to be noisy.
4217 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
4218 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no
4219 of hours required after the prefix. For example:-
4229 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
4230 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
4231 Location Lat / Long Azim
4232 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
4233 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
4234 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
4235 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
4236 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
4241 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
4242 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
4253 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
4264 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
4265 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
4266 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
4269 9.119. show/node (1)
4271 show/node [<node_call> ...] Show the type and version number of nodes
4274 Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the
4275 command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all
4276 the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed.
4279 9.120. show/prefix (0)
4281 show/prefix <callsign> Interrogate the prefix database
4284 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
4285 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number it is
4286 and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country together
4287 with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
4291 9.121. show/program (5)
4293 show/program Show the locations of all the included program modules
4296 Show the name and location where every program module was load from.
4297 This is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file
4303 show/qra <locator> [<locator>] Show the distance between locators
4304 show/qra <lat> <long> Convert latitude and longitude to a locator
4307 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
4308 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
4309 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
4310 to the locator. For example:-
4320 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator
4321 from yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and
4322 bearing from the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6
4325 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator
4326 by using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument,
4331 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
4339 show/qrz <callsign> Show any callbook details on a callsign
4342 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet and
4343 returns any information available for that callsign. This service is
4344 provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
4347 9.124. show/route (0)
4349 show/route <callsign> Show the route to <callsign>
4352 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified
4353 are connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
4363 9.125. show/satellite (0)
4365 show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>] Show satellite tracking
4369 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your
4370 choice from now on for the next few hours.
4372 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a
4373 list of all the satellites known currently to the system.
4375 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
4376 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
4377 give information for the next three hours for every five minute
4380 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
4383 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
4390 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
4398 show/sun [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show sun rise and set times
4401 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
4402 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
4405 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times
4406 for your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or
4407 SET/QRA), together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4409 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
4410 that you are connected to.
4417 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
4423 9.127. show/time (0)
4425 show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>] Show the local time
4428 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the
4429 local time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some
4430 prefixes then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not
4431 including DST) at the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
4436 show/wcy Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts
4437 show/wcy <n> Show the last <n> WCY broadcasts
4440 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the
4446 show/wwv Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts
4447 show/wwv <n> Show the last <n> WWV broadcasts
4450 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the
4457 shutdown Shutdown the cluster
4460 Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider
4461 set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart.
4466 spoof <callsign> <command> Run commands as another user
4469 This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows
4470 you to issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very
4471 useful for the kind of things that users seem to always get wrong..
4472 like home_node for example.
4477 stat/db <dbname> Show the status of a database
4480 Show the internal status of a database descriptor.
4482 Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less
4483 information. This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone
4489 9.133. stat/channel (5)
4491 stat/channel <callsign> Show the status of a channel on the cluster
4494 Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel
4495 that you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for.
4497 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4502 stat/msg <msgno> Show the status of a message
4505 This command shows the internal status of a message and includes
4506 information such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin
4510 9.135. stat/user (5)
4512 stat/user <callsign> Show the full status of a user
4515 Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret
4518 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4523 sysop Regain your privileges if you login remotely
4526 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
4527 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
4528 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
4529 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
4530 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
4533 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
4534 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
4535 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
4536 these values are for explanation :-):
4540 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
4551 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
4555 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
4556 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
4562 talk <callsign> Enter talk mode with <callsign>
4563 talk <callsign> <text> Send a text message to <callsign>
4564 talk <callsign> > <node_call> [<text>] Send a text message to
4565 <callsign> via <node_call>
4568 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the
4569 cluster system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a
4570 SHOW/CONFIGURATION command, they don't have to be connected locally.
4572 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
4573 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
4574 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the
4577 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can
4578 only see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use
4579 the second form of the talk message.
4581 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text
4582 message out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means
4583 is that a short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you
4584 are in a 'Talking' frame of mind and then you just type - everything
4585 you send will go to the station that you asked for.
4587 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on
4590 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the
4591 normal command with a '/' character, eg:-
4595 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
4601 To leave talk mode type:
4613 type <filearea>/<name> Look at a file in one of the fileareas
4616 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
4617 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
4621 TYPE bulletins/arld051
4626 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a list of
4632 who Show who is physically connected locally
4635 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
4636 what sort of connection they have
4641 wx <text> Send a weather message to local users
4642 wx full <text> Send a weather message to all cluster users
4645 Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an
4646 extreme that may indicate enhanced conditions
4649 9.141. wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
4651 wx sysop <text> Send a weather message to other clusters only
4654 Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general
projects / spider.git / blob