The DXSpider Installation and Administration Manual Ian Maude, G0VGS, (ianmaude@btinternet.com) $Date$ $Revision$ A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program. ______________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents 1. Installation (Original version by Iain Philipps, G0RDI) 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Preparation 1.3 Installing the software 1.4 Setting callsigns etc 1.5 Starting up for the first time 1.6 The Client program 2. Quick installation guide 3. Configuration 3.1 Allowing ax25 connects from users 3.2 Allowing telnet connects from users 3.3 Setting up telnet connects (from 1.47 onwards) 3.4 Setting up for AGW Engine (1.47 onwards) 3.5 Setting up node connects 3.6 Connection scripts 3.7 Starting the connection 3.8 Telnet echo 4. Automating things 4.1 Autostarting the cluster 4.2 The crontab file 5. Hop control 5.1 Basic hop control 5.2 Isolating networks 6. Filtering (Old Style upto v1.44) 6.1 Spots 6.2 Announcements 6.3 WWV 7. Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later) 7.1 General filter rules 7.2 Types of filter 7.3 Filter options 7.4 Default filters 7.5 Advanced filtering 8. Other filters 8.1 Filtering Mail 8.2 Filtering DX callouts (Depricated) 8.3 Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots 9. Mail 9.1 Personal mail 9.2 Bulletin mail 9.3 Forward.pl 9.4 The msg command 9.5 Message status 9.6 Filtering mail 9.7 Distribution lists 9.8 BBS interface 10. Databases 10.1 Creating databases 10.2 Importing databases 10.3 Checking available databases 10.4 Looking up databases 10.5 Removing databases 11. Information, files and useful programs 11.1 MOTD 11.2 Downtime message 11.3 Other text messages 11.4 The Aliases file 11.5 Console.pl 11.6 Updating kepler data 11.7 The QRZ callbook 12. CVS 13. The DXSpider command set 13.1 accept/announce (0) 13.2 accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8) 13.3 accept/spots (0) 13.4 accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8) 13.5 accept/wcy (0) 13.6 accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8) 13.7 accept/wwv (0) 13.8 accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8) 13.9 announce (0) 13.10 announce full (0) 13.11 announce sysop (5) 13.12 apropos (0) 13.13 bye (0) 13.14 catchup (5) 13.15 clear/spots (0) 13.16 connect (5) 13.17 dbavail (0) 13.18 dbcreate (9) 13.19 dbimport (9) 13.20 dbremove (9) 13.21 dbshow (0) 13.22 debug (9) 13.23 directory (0) 13.24 directory (extended for sysops) (5) 13.25 disconnect (8) 13.26 dx (0) 13.27 export (9) 13.28 export_users (9) 13.29 forward/latlong (8) 13.30 forward/opername (1) 13.31 help (0) 13.32 init (5) 13.33 kill (0) 13.34 kill (5) 13.35 kill full (5) 13.36 links (0) 13.37 load/aliases (9) 13.38 load/baddx (9) 13.39 load/badmsg (9) 13.40 load/badwords (9) 13.41 load/bands (9) 13.42 load/cmd_cache (9) 13.43 load/forward (9) 13.44 load/messages (9) 13.45 load/prefixes (9) 13.46 merge (5) 13.47 msg (9) 13.48 pc (8) 13.49 ping (1) 13.50 rcmd (1) 13.51 read (0) 13.52 read (extended for sysops) (5) 13.53 reject/announce 13.54 reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8) 13.55 reject/spots (0) 13.56 reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8) 13.57 reject/wcy (0) 13.58 reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8) 13.59 reject/wwv (0) 13.60 reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8) 13.61 reply (0) 13.62 send (0) 13.63 set/address (0) 13.64 set/announce (0) 13.65 set/arcluster (5) 13.66 set/baddx (8) 13.67 set/badnode (6) 13.68 set/badspotter (8) 13.69 set/beep (0) 13.70 set/clx (5) 13.71 set/debug (9) 13.72 set/dx (0) 13.73 set/dxgrid (0) 13.74 set/dxnet (5) 13.75 set/echo (0) 13.76 set/here (0) 13.77 set/homenode (0) 13.78 set/hops (8) 13.79 set/isolate (9) 13.80 set/language (0) 13.81 set/location (0) 13.82 set/sys_location (9) 13.83 set/logininfo (0) 13.84 set/lockout (9) 13.85 set/name (0) 13.86 set/node (9) 13.87 set/obscount (9) 13.88 set/page (0) 13.89 set/password (9) 13.90 set/pinginterval (9) 13.91 set/privilege (9) 13.92 set/spider (5) 13.93 set/sys_qra (9) 13.94 set/qra (0) 13.95 set/qth (0) 13.96 set/talk (0) 13.97 set/wcy (0) 13.98 set/wwv (0) 13.99 set/wx (0) 13.100 show/baddx (1) 13.101 show/badnode (6) 13.102 show/badspotter (1) 13.103 show/date (0) 13.104 show/debug (9) 13.105 show/dx (0) 13.106 show/dxcc (0) 13.107 show/files (0) 13.108 show/filter (0) 13.109 show/filter (extended for sysops) (5) 13.110 show/hops (8) 13.111 show/isolate (1) 13.112 show/lockout (9) 13.113 show/log (8) 13.114 show/moon (0) 13.115 show/muf (0) 13.116 show/node (1) 13.117 show/prefix (0) 13.118 show/program (5) 13.119 show/qra (0) 13.120 show/qrz (0) 13.121 show/route (0) 13.122 show/satellite (0) 13.123 show/sun (0) 13.124 show/time (0) 13.125 show/wcy (0) 13.126 show/wwv (0) 13.127 shutdown (5) 13.128 spoof (9) 13.129 stat/db (5) 13.130 stat/channel (5) 13.131 stat/msg (5) 13.132 stat/user (5) 13.133 sysop (0) 13.134 talk (0) 13.135 type (0) 13.136 who (0) 13.137 wx (0) 13.138 wx (enhanced for sysops) (5) ______________________________________________________________________ 11.. IInnssttaallllaattiioonn ((OOrriiggiinnaall vveerrssiioonn bbyy IIaaiinn PPhhiilliippppss,, GG00RRDDII)) 11..11.. IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn This section describes the installation of DX Spider v1.46 on a RedHat Linux Distribution. Wherever possible I will try to include differences for other distributions. I do not intend to try and cover the installation of Linux or the setup of the AX25 utilities. If you need help on this then read Iains original installation guide that comes with the Spider distribution. I am assuming a general knowledge of Linux and its commands. You should know how to use _t_a_r and how to edit files using your favourite editor. The crucial ingredient for all of this is Perl. Earlier versions of Spider required perl 5.004, however it is now _S_T_R_O_N_G_L_Y recommended that you use at least version 5.005_03 as this is the version being used in the development of Spider. In addition to the standard Red Hat distribution you will require the following modules from http://www.cpan.org/CPAN.html ... +o Data-Dumper-2.101.tar.gz +o TimeDate-1.10.tar.gz +o IO-1.20.tar.gz (for perl 5.00403 and lower) +o Net-Telnet-3.02.tar.gz +o Curses-1.05.tar.gz +o Time-HiRes-01.20.tar.gz _D_o get the latest versions of these packages and install them but use the above list as the earliest versions usable. 11..22.. PPrreeppaarraattiioonn I will assume that you have already downloaded the latest tarball of the DXSpider software and are ready to install it. I am assuming version 1.46 for this section but of course you would use the latest version. Login as root and create a user to run the cluster under. _U_N_D_E_R _N_O _C_I_R_C_U_M_S_T_A_N_C_E_S _U_S_E _R_O_O_T _A_S _T_H_I_S _U_S_E_R_!. I am going to use the name _s_y_s_o_p. You can call it anything you wish. Depending on your security requirements you may wish to use an existing user, however this is your own choice. # adduser -m sysop Now set a password for the user ... # passwd sysop # New UNIX password: # Retype new UNIX password: passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully 11..33.. IInnssttaalllliinngg tthhee ssooffttwwaarree Now to unpack the DX Spider distribution, set symbolic links and group permissions. Copy the tarball to /home/sysop and do the following. # cd ~sysop # tar xvfz spider-1.46.tar.gz # ln -s ~sysop/spider /spider # groupadd -g 251 spider (or another number) If you do not have the command _g_r_o_u_p_a_d_d available to you simply add a line in /etc/group by hand. # vi /etc/group (or your favorite editor) You also need to add some others to the group, including your own callsign (this will be used as an alias) and root. The finished line in /etc/group should look something like this spider:x:251:sysop,g0vgs,root The next step is to set the permissions on the Spider directory tree and files .... # chown -R sysop.spider spider # find . -type d -exec chmod 2775 {} \; # find . -type f -exec chmod 775 {} \; This last step allows various users of the group _s_p_i_d_e_r to have write access to all the directories. This is not really needed just yet but will be useful when web interfaces start to appear. Finally, you need to fix the permissions on the ax25_call and netrom_call programs. Check where they are with the _l_o_c_a_t_e command and alter the permissions with the _c_h_m_o_d command like this .. # chown root ax25_call netrom_call # chmod 4775 ax25_call netrom_call 11..44.. SSeettttiinngg ccaallllssiiggnnss eettcc Now login to your machine as the user you created earlier. In my case that user is called _s_y_s_o_p. Once logged in, issue the following commands .... $ cd /spider $ mkdir local $ mkdir local_cmd $ cp perl/DXVars.pm.issue local/DXVars.pm $ cd local $ vi DXVars.pm (or your favourite editor) Using the distributed DXVars.pm as a a template, set your cluster callsign, sysop callsign and other user info to suit your own environment. Note that this a perl file which will be parsed and executed as part of the cluster. If you get it wrong then perl will complain when you start the cluster process. It is important only to alter the text of any section. Some of the lines look a little odd. Take this line for example .... $myemail = "ianmaude\@btinternet.com"; There appears to be an extra slash in there. However this has to be there for the file to work so leave it in. PPLLEEAASSEE UUSSEE CCAAPPIITTAALL LLEETTTTEERRSS FFOORR CCAALLLLSSIIGGNNSS DON'T alter any file in /spider/perl, they are overwritten with every release. Any files or commands you place in /spider/local or /spider/local_cmd will automagically be used in preference to the ones in /spider/perl EVEN while the cluster is running! Save the new file and change directory to ../perl .... $ cd ../perl Now type the following command which creates the basic user file with you as the sysop. $ ./create_sysop.pl 11..55.. SSttaarrttiinngg uupp ffoorr tthhee ffiirrsstt ttiimmee We can now bring spider up for the first time and see if all is well or not! It should look something like this ... $ ./cluster.pl DXSpider DX Cluster Version 1.46 Copyright (c) 1998 Dirk Koopman G1TLH loading prefixes ... loading band data ... loading user file system ... starting listener ... reading existing message headers reading cron jobs orft we jolly well go ... If all is well then login on another term or console as _s_y_s_o_p and cd to /spider/src. Now issue the following command ... $ ./client This should log you into the cluster as the sysop under the alias callsign we set earlier. In this case the callsign is G0VGS. The cluster callsign is set in the DXVars.pm file in /spider/local. In this case we will assume that this was set as GB7MBC. You should therefore see this when you login .... G0VGS de GB7MBC 19-Nov-1999 2150Z > If you do, congratulations! If not, look over the instructions again, you have probably missed something out. You can shut spider down again with the command .... shutdown and both the cluster and the client should return to Linux prompts. 11..66.. TThhee CClliieenntt pprrooggrraamm In earlier versions of Spider, all the processes were Perl scripts. This was fine but with a lot of users your computer memory would soon be used up. To combat this a new client was written in "C". This client only works for _i_n_c_o_m_i_n_g connects at the moment. Before you can use it though it has to be "made". CD to /spider/src and type _m_a_k_e. You should see the output on your screen and hopefully now have a small C program called _c_l_i_e_n_t. Leave it in this directory. 22.. QQuuiicckk iinnssttaallllaattiioonn gguuiiddee This section is designed for experienced Spider sysops who want to install Spider from scratch. It is simply a check list of things that need to be done without any explanations. The name in brackets at the end of each line is the user that should be doing that process. +o Login as root +o Get the additional CPAN modules and install them (root) +o Create the "sysop" user and set a password (root) +o Put the Spider tarball in sysop and untar it (root) +o ln -s sysop/spider /spider (root) +o groupadd -g 251 spider (root) +o Add any more users you need to the group entry in /etc/group (root) +o Set the permissions on the spider tree (root) +o Fix permissions on ax25_call and netrom_call (root) +o Login as the sysop user +o cd to /spider (sysop) +o mkdir local (sysop) +o mkdir local_cmd (sysop) +o cp perl/DXVars.pm.issue local/DXVars.pm (sysop) +o cd to /spider/local and edit DXVars to set your details (sysop) +o cd ../perl (sysop) +o ./create_sysop.pl (sysop) +o ./cluster.pl (sysop) Spider should now be running and you should be able to login using the client program. +o Login as root +o Enter the correct line in ax25d.conf (root) +o Enter the correct line in /etc/services (root) +o Enter the correct line in /etc/inetd.conf (root) +o killall -HUP inetd (root) Spider should now be able to accept logins via telnet, netrom and ax25. +o Login as sysop +o Start the cluster (sysop) +o set/node and type for links (sysop) +o Write any connect scripts (sysop) +o Edit /spider/crontab as required (sysop) +o Edit any other files as necessary (sysop) +o Set filters, hops and forwarding files (sysop) +o Login as root +o Enter the correct line in /etc/inittab (root) 33.. CCoonnffiigguurraattiioonn 33..11.. AAlllloowwiinngg aaxx2255 ccoonnnneeccttss ffrroomm uusseerrss As stated previously, the aim of this document is not to tell you how to configure Linux or the ax25 utilities. However, you do need to add a line in your ax25d.conf to allow connections to DXSpider for your users. For each interface that you wish to allow connections on, use the following format ... default * * * * * * - sysop /spider/src/client client %u ax25 or, if you wish your users to be able to use SSID's on their callsigns .. default * * * * * * - sysop /spider/src/client client %s ax25 For most purposes this is not desirable. The only time you probably will need this is when you need to allow other cluster nodes that are using SSID's in. In this case it owuld probably be better to use the first example and then add a specific line for that node like this: GB7DJK-2 * * * * * * - sysop /spider/src/client client gb7djk-2 ax25 default * * * * * * - sysop /spider/src/client client %u ax25 33..22.. AAlllloowwiinngg tteellnneett ccoonnnneeccttss ffrroomm uusseerrss From version 1.47 there is a new (more efficient) way of doing this (see next section) but, if you prefer, the method of doing it described here will continue to work just fine. Allowing telnet connections is quite simple. Firstly you need to add a line in /etc/services to allow connections to a port number, like this .... spdlogin 7300/tcp # spider anonymous login port Then add a line in /etc/inetd.conf like this .... spdlogin stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /spider/src/client login telnet Once this is done, you need to restart inetd like this .... killall -HUP inetd Now login as _s_y_s_o_p and cd spider/src. You can test that spider is accepting telnet logins by issuing the following command .... ./client login telnet You should get a login prompt and on issuing a callsign, you will be given access to the cluster. Note, you will not get a password login. There seems no good reason for a password prompt to be given so it is not asked for. Assuming all is well, then try a telnet from your linux console .... telnet localhost 7300 You should now get the login prompt and be able to login as before. 33..33.. SSeettttiinngg uupp tteellnneett ccoonnnneeccttss ((ffrroomm 11..4477 oonnwwaarrddss)) From version 1.47 you can chose to allow the perl cluster.pl program to allow connections direct (i.e. not via the /spider/src/client interface program). If you are using Windows then this is the only method available of allowing incoming telnet connections. To do this you need first to remove any line that you may previously have set up in /etc/inetd.conf. Remember to:- killall -HUP inetd to make the change happen... Having done that then you need to copy the file /spider/perl/Listeners.pm to /spider/local and then edit it. You will need to uncomment the line containing "0.0.0.0" and select the correct port to listen on. So that it looks like this:- @listen = ( ["0.0.0.0", 7300], ); As standard, the listener will listen on all interfaces simultaniously. If you require more control than this, you can specify each interface individually:- @listen = ( ["gb7baa.dxcluster.net", 7300], ["44.131.16.2", 6300], ); This will only be successful if the IP addresses on each interface are static. If you are using some kind of dynamic IP addressing then the 'default' method is the only one which will work. Restart the cluster.pl program to enable the listener. One important difference with the internal listener is that no echoing is done by the cluster program. Users will need to set 'local-echo' on in their telnet clients if it isn't set automatically (as per the standards). Needless to say this will probably only apply to Windows users. 33..44.. SSeettttiinngg uupp ffoorr AAGGWW EEnnggiinnee ((11..4477 oonnwwaarrddss)) AGW Engine is a Windows based ax25 stack. You can connect to an AGW engine from Linux as well as Windows based machines. In order to enable access to an AGW Engine you need to copy /spider/perl/AGWConnect.pm to /spider/local and edit it. Specifically you must:- +o set $enable to 1. +o set $login and $passwd to the values set up in your AGW installation. If you haven't set any there, then you should not touch these values. +o You can connect to a remote AGW engine (ie on some other machine) by changing $addr and $port appropriately. +o Restart the cluster.pl program 33..55.. SSeettttiinngg uupp nnooddee ccoonnnneeccttss In order to allow cluster node connections, spider needs to know that the connecting callsign is a cluster node. This is the case whether the connect is incoming or outgoing. In spider this is a simple task and can be done in runtime. Later versions of Spider can distinguish different software and treat them differently. For example, the WCY beacon cannot be handles by AK1A type nodes as AK1A does not know what to do with PC73. There are 4 different types of node at present and although they may not have any major differences at the moment, it allows for compatibility. The 4 types are ... set/node (AK1A type) set/spider set/dxnet set/clx For now, we will assume that the cluster we are going to connect to is an AK1A type node. Start up the cluster as you did before and login as the sysop with client. The cluster node I am wanting to make a connection to is GB7BAA but you would obviously use whatever callsign you required. At the prompt type ... set/node gb7baa The case does not matter as long as you have a version of DXSpider later than 1.33. Earlier versions required the callsign to be in upper case. That is now set, it is as simple as that. To prove it, login on yet another console as sysop, cd to spider/src and issue the command ... ./client gb7baa (using the callsign you set as a node) You should get an initialisation string from DXSpider like this ... ./client gb7baa PC38^GB7MBC^~ If the callsign you just set up as a cluster node is for an incoming connect, this is all that needs to be done. If the connection is to be outgoing then a connection script needs to be written. Sometimes you make a mistake... Honest, it does happen. If you want to make a node back to being a normal user, regardless of what type it is, do: unset/node gb7baa 33..66.. CCoonnnneeccttiioonn ssccrriippttss Because DXSpider operates under Linux, connections can be made using just about any protocol; AX25, NETRom, tcp/ip, ROSE etc are all possible examples. Connect scripts live in the /spider/connect directory and are simple ascii files. Writing a script for connections is therefore relatively simple. The connect scripts consist of lines which start with the following keywords or symbols:- ## All lines starting with a # are ignored, as are completely blank lines. ttiimmeeoouutt timeout followed by a number is the number of seconds to wait for a command to complete. If there is no timeout specified in the script then the default is 60 seconds. aabboorrtt abort is a regular expression containing one or more strings to look for to abort a connection. This is a perl regular expression and is executed ignoring case. ccoonnnneecctt connect followed by ax25, agw (for Windows users) or telnet and some type dependent information. In the case of a telnet connection, there can be up to two parameters. The first is the ip address or hostname of the computer you wish to connect to and the second is the port number you want to use (this can be left out if it is a normal telnet session). In the case of an ax25 session then this would normally be a call to ax25_call or netrom_call as in the example above. It is your responsibility to get your node and other ax25 parameters to work before going down this route! '' line in a chat type script. The words/phrases normally come in pairs, either can be empty. Each line reads input from the connection until it sees the string (or perl regular expression) contained in the left hand string. If the left hand string is empty then it doesn't read or wait for anything. The comparison is done ignoring case. When the left hand string has found what it is looking for (if it is) then the right hand string is sent to the connection. This process is repeated for every line of chat script. cclliieenntt client starts the connection, put the arguments you would want here if you were starting the client program manually. You only need this if the script has a different name to the callsign you are trying to connect to (i.e. you have a script called other which actually connects to GB7DJK-1 [instead of a script called gb7djk-1]). There are many possible ways to configure the script but here are three examples, one for a NETRom/AX25 connect, one for AGW engines and one for tcp/ip. timeout 60 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail) # don't forget to chmod 4775 netrom_call! connect ax25 /usr/sbin/netrom_call bbs gb7djk g1tlh # you can leave this out if you call the script 'gb7dxm' client gb7dxm ax25 timeout 60 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail) # this does exactly the same as the previous example # the '1' is the AGW port number to connect thru for g1tlh connect agw 1 g1tlh # you can leave this out if you call the script 'gb7dxm' client gb7dxm ax25 timeout 15 connect telnet dirkl.tobit.co.uk # tell GB7DJK-1 that it is connected to GB7DJK # you can leave this out if you call this script 'gb7djk' client gb7djk telnet Both these examples assume that everything is set up properly at the other end. You will find other examples in the /spider/examples directory. 33..77.. SSttaarrttiinngg tthhee ccoonnnneeccttiioonn You start the connection, from within a sysop enabled cluster login, by typing in the word _c_o_n_n_e_c_t followed by a script name like this .... G0VGS de GB7MBC 13-Dec-1998 2041Z >connect gb7djk-1 connection to GB7DJK-1 started G0VGS de GB7MBC 13-Dec-1998 2043Z > This will start a connection using the script called _g_b_7_d_j_k_-_1. You can follow the connection by watching the term or console from where you started _c_l_u_s_t_e_r_._p_l. From version 1.47 onwards, you will need to set/debug connect first. You should see something like this ... <- D G1TLH connect gb7djk-1 -> D G1TLH connection to GB7DJK-1 started -> D G1TLH G1TLH de GB7DJK 13-Dec-1998 2046Z > timeout set to 15 CONNECT sort: telnet command: dirkl.tobit.co.uk CHAT "login" -> "gb7djk" received " Red Hat Linux release 5.1 (Manhattan) Kernel 2.0.35 on an i586 " received "login: " sent "gb7djk" CHAT "word" -> "gb7djk" received "gb7djk" received "Password: " sent "gb7djk" Connected to GB7DJK-1, starting normal protocol <- O GB7DJK-1 telnet -> B GB7DJK-1 0 GB7DJK-1 channel func state 0 -> init <- D GB7DJK-1 <- D GB7DJK-1 Last login: Sun Dec 13 17:59:56 from dirk1 <- D GB7DJK-1 PC38^GB7DJK-1^~ <- D GB7DJK-1 PC18^ 1 nodes, 0 local / 1 total users Max users 0 Uptime 0 00:00^5447^~ etc With later versions of Spider there is a set/login command for users. This tells them when a user or node logs in or out. If you do not add a line to your scripts after the final line (or before the client line which should always be last if needed) then the login/logout information will be sent to users _b_e_f_o_r_e the login actually completes. This means if a node is unreachable, it will continue sending logins and logouts to users even though it is not actually connecting. To avoid this use the following line ... In a script, this might look like ... timeout 35 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail) connect telnet mary 3000 33..88.. TTeellnneett eecchhoo Cluster links in particular suffer greatly from the presence of telnet echo. This is caused by the telnet negotiation itself and can create at worst severe loops. At best it creates unnecessary bandwidth and large logfiles! There are things that can be done to limit this problem but will not always work dependent on the route taken to connect. Telnet echo itself should only be a problem if the connection is being made to the telnet port (23). This port uses special rules that include echo negotiation. If the connection is to a different port, such as 7300, this negotiation does not happen and therefore no echo should be present. Sometimes it is not possible to make a direct connection to another node and this can cause problems. There is a way of trying to suppress the telnet echo but this will not always work, unfortunately it is difficult to be more specific. Here is an example of what I mean ... timeout 35 abort (Busy|Sorry|Fail) connect telnet mary.lancs.ac.uk So, the first connection is made by Spider. This is fine as Spider uses the Net_Telnet script from within perl. This actually uses TCP rather than TELNET so no negotiation will be done on the first connection. Once connected to mary.lancs.ac.uk, the command is sent to suppress echo. Now a telnet is made to a cluster node that is accepting connections on port 23. The problem with this link is that the negotiation is made by the remote machine, therefore you have no control over it. The chances are that this link will create echo and there will be no way you can stop it. 44.. AAuuttoommaattiinngg tthhiinnggss Ok, you should now have DXSpider running nicely and allowing connects by cluster nodes or users. However, it has to be shutdown and restarted manually and if connection scripts fail they have to be started again manually too, not much use if you are not at the console! So, in this section we will automate both. Firstly starting the cluster. 44..11.. AAuuttoossttaarrttiinngg tthhee cclluusstteerr This is not only a way to start the cluster automatically, it also works as a watchdog, checking the sanity of DXSpider and respawning it should it crash for any reason. Before doing the following, shutdown the cluster as you did earlier. Login as root and bring up the /etc/inittab file in your favourite editor. Add the following lines to the file near the end ... ##Start DXSpider on bootup and respawn it should it crash DX:3:respawn:/bin/su -c "/usr/bin/perl -w /spider/perl/cluster.pl" sysop >/dev/tty7 This line works fine for RedHat distributions. It is also fine for SuSE up to 7.0. From Suse 7.1 you need to add runlevels 2 and 5 like this ... DX:235:respawn:/bin/su -c "/usr/bin/perl -w /spider/perl/cluster.pl" sysop >/dev/tty7 The line required for Slackware distributions is slightly different. My thanks to Aurelio, PA3EZL for this information. DX:23:respawn:/bin/su - sysop -c "/usr/bin/perl -w /spider/perl/cluster.pl" >/dev/tty7 This will automatically start DXSpider on tty7 (ALT-F7) on bootup and restart it should it crash for any reason. As root type the command _t_e_l_i_n_i_t _q. DXSpider should start up immediately. You will see the output on tty7 and if you login as _s_y_s_o_p you should find everything running nicely. So far so good, now to automate script connections... 44..22.. TThhee ccrroonnttaabb ffiillee Login as _s_y_s_o_p and create a file in /spider/local_cmd called crontab. Edit it with your favourite editor and add a line like this (I have included a comment) # check every 10 minutes to see if gb7xxx is connected and if not # start a connect job going 0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * * start_connect('gb7xxx') if unless connected('gb7xxx') The callsign involved will be the callsign of the cluster node you are going to connect to. This will now check every 10 minutes to see if gb7xxx is connected, if it is then nothing will be done. If it is not, then a connect attempt will be started. There are probably lots of other things you could use this crontab file for. If you want to know more about it, look at the DXSpider website at the cron page where it is explained more fully. 55.. HHoopp ccoonnttrrooll Starting with version 1.13 there is simple hop control available on a per node basis. Also it is possible to isolate a network completely so that you get all the benefits of being on that network, but can't pass on information from it to any other networks you may be connected to (or vice versa). 55..11.. BBaassiicc hhoopp ccoonnttrrooll In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the file that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default hops on the various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to alter the hops for. You may be happy with the default settings of course, but this powerful tool can help to protect and improve the network. The file will look something like this ... # # hop table construction # package DXProt; # default hopcount to use $def_hopcount = 5; # some variable hop counts based on message type %hopcount = ( 11 => 10, 16 => 10, 17 => 10, 19 => 10, 21 => 10, ); # the per node hop control thingy %nodehops = GB7ADX => { 11 => 8, 12 => 8, 16 => 8, 17 => 8, 19 => 8, 21 => 8, }, GB7UDX => { 11 => 8, 12 => 8, 16 => 8, 17 => 8, 19 => 8, 21 => 8, }, GB7BAA => { 11 => 5, 12 => 8, 16 => 8, 17 => 8, 19 => 8, 21 => 8, }, }; Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and contains a series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot. The figures here are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of how the file works. You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is running. If you alter the file during runtime, the command _l_o_a_d_/_h_o_p_s will bring your changes into effect. 55..22.. IIssoollaattiinngg nneettwwoorrkkss It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node using the _s_e_t_/_i_s_o_l_a_t_e _<_n_o_d_e___c_a_l_l_> command. The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from another nodes connected to your node. Your node will appear on and otherwise behave normally on every network to which you are connected, but data from an isolated network will not cross onto any other network or vice versa. However all the spot, announce and WWV traffic and personal messages will still be handled locally (because you are a real node on all connected networks), that is locally connected users will appear on all networks and will be able to access and receive information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a gateway for another network, he can still still send a talk/announce etc message via your node and it will be routed across. The only limitation currently is that non-private messages cannot be passed down isolated links regardless of whether they are generated locally. This will change when the bulletin routing facility is added. If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive all information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass any information back to the isolated node. There are times when you would like to forward only spots across a link (maybe during a contest for example). To do this, isolate the node in the normal way and put in a filter in the /spider/filter/spots directory to override the isolate. This filter can be very simple and consists of just one line .... $in = [ [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 3] # The last figure (3) is the hop count ]; There is a lot more on filtering in the next section. 66.. FFiilltteerriinngg ((OOlldd SSttyyllee uuppttoo vv11..4444)) Filters can be set for spots, announcements and WWV. You will find the directories for these under /spider/filter. You will find some examples in the directories with the suffix _._i_s_s_u_e. There are two types of filter, one for incoming information and one for outgoing information. Outgoing filters are in the form _C_A_L_L_S_I_G_N_._p_l and incoming filters are in the form _i_n___C_A_L_L_S_I_G_N_._p_l. Filters can be set for both nodes and users. All filters work in basically the same way. There are several elements delimited by commas. There can be many lines in the filter and they are read from the top by the program. When writing a filter you need to think carefully about just what you want to achieve. You are either going to write a filter to _a_c_c_e_p_t or to _r_e_j_e_c_t. Think of a filter as having 2 main elements. For a reject filter, you would have a line or multiple lines rejecting the things you do not wish to receive and then a default line accepting everything else that is not included in the filter. Likewise, for an accept filter, you would have a line or multiple lines accepting the things you wish to receive and a default line rejecting everthing else. In the example below, a user requires a filter that would only return SSB spots posted in Europe on the HF bands. This is achieved by first rejecting the CW section of each HF band and rejecting all of VHF, UHF etc based on frequency. Secondly, a filter rule is set based on CQ zones to only accept spots posted in Europe. Lastly, a default filter rule is set to reject anything outside the filter. $in = [ [ 0, 0, 'r', # reject all CW spots [ 1800.0, 1850.0, 3500.0, 3600.0, 7000.0, 7040.0, 14000.0, 14100.0, 18068.0, 18110.0, 21000.0, 21150.0, 24890.0, 24930.0, 28000.0, 28180.0, 30000.0, 49000000000.0, ] ,1 ], [ 1, 11, 'n', [ 14, 15, 16, 20, 33, ], 15 ], #accept EU [ 0, 0, 'd', 0, 1 ], # 1 = want, 'd' = everything else ]; The actual elements of each filter are described more fully in the following sections. 66..11.. SSppoottss The elements of the Spot filter are .... [action, field_no, sort, possible_values, hops] There are 3 elements here to look at. Firstly, the action element. This is very simple and only 2 possible states exist, accept (1) or drop (0). The second element is the field_no. There are 13 possiblities to choose from here .... 0 = frequency 1 = call 2 = date in unix format 3 = comment 4 = spotter 5 = spotted dxcc country 6 = spotter's dxcc country 7 = origin 8 = spotted itu 9 = spotted cq 10 = spotter's itu 11 = spotter's cq 12 = callsign of the channel on which the spot has appeared The third element tells us what to expect in the fourth element. There are 4 possibilities .... n - numeric list of numbers e.g. [ 1,2,3 ] r - ranges of pairs of numbers e.g. between 2 and 4 or 10 to 17 - [ 2,4, 10,17 ] a - an alphanumeric regex d - the default rule The fifth element is simply the hops to set in this filter. This would only be used if the filter was for a node of course and overrides the hop count in hop_table.pl. So, let's look at an example spot filter. It does not matter in the example who the filter is to be used for. So, what do we need in the filter? We need to filter the spots the user/node requires and also set a default rule for anything else outside the filter. Below is a simple filter that stops spots arriving from outside Europe. $in = [ [ 0, 4, 'a', '^(K|N|A|W|VE|VA|J)'], # 0 = drop, 'a' = alphanumeric [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 1 ], # 1 = want, 'd' = everything else ]; So the filter is wrapped in between a pair of square brackets. This tells Spider to look in between these limits. Then each line is contained within its own square brackets and ends with a comma. Lets look carefully at the first line. The first element is 0 (drop). Therefore anything we put on this line will not be accepted. The next element is 4. This means we are filtering by the spotter. The third element is the letter "a" which tells the program to expect an alphanumeric expression in the fourth element. The fourth element is a list of letters separated by the pipe symbol. What this line does is tell the program to drop any spots posted by anyone in the USA, Canada or Japan. The second line is the default rule for anything else. The "d" tells us this and the line simply reads... accept anything else. You can add as many lines as you need to complete the filter but if there are several lines of the same type it is neater to enclose them all as one line. An example of this is where specific bands are set. We could write this like this .... [ 0,0,'r',[1800.0, 2000.0], 1], [ 0,0,'r',[10100.0, 10150.0], 1], [ 0,0,'r',[14000.0, 14350.0], 1], [ 0,0,'r',[18000.0, 18200.0], 1], But the line below achieves the same thing and is more efficient .... [ 0, 0, 'r', [ 1800.0, 2000.0, # top band 10100.0, 10150.0, # WARC 14000.0, 14350.0, # 20m 18000.0, 18200.0, # WARC [ ,1 ], 66..22.. AAnnnnoouunncceemmeennttss # This is an example announce or filter allowing only West EU announces # # The element list is:- # 0 - callsign of announcer # 1 - destination * = all, = routed to the node # 2 - text # 3 - * - sysop, - special list eg 6MUK, ' ', normal announce # 4 - origin # 5 - 0 - announce, 1 - wx # 6 - channel callsign (the interface from which this spot came) $in = [ [ 1, 0, 'a', '^(P[ABCDE]|DK0WCY|G|M|2|EI|F|ON)' ], [ 0, 0, 'd', 0 ] ]; In this example, only the prefixes listed will be allowed. It is possible to be quite specific. The Dutch prefix "P" is followed by several secondary identifiers which are allowed. So, in the example, "PA" or "PE" would be ok but not "PG". It is even possible to allow information from a single callsign. In the example this is DK0WCY, to allow the posting of his Aurora Beacon. 66..33.. WWWWVV # This is an example WWV filter # # The element list is:- # 0 - nominal unix date of spot (ie the day + hour:13) # 1 - the hour # 2 - SFI # 3 - K # 4 - I # 5 - text # 6 - spotter # 7 - origin # 8 - incoming interface callsign # this one doesn't filter, it just sets the hop count to 6 and is # used mainly just to override any isolation from WWV coming from # the internet. $in = [ [ 1, 0, 'd', 0, 6 ] ]; It should be noted that the filter will start to be used only once a user/node has logged out and back in again. I am not going to spend any more time on these filters now as they will become more "comprehensive" in the near future. 77.. FFiilltteerriinngg ((NNeeww SSttyyllee vv11..4455 aanndd llaatteerr)) 77..11.. GGeenneerraall ffiilltteerr rruulleess Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update. There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These are _a_c_c_e_p_t, _r_e_j_e_c_t and _c_l_e_a_r. First we will look generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism. In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which can have up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ... accept/spots ..... reject/spots ..... where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different accept or reject command reference for more details. There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ... clear/spots 1 clear/spots all There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter. and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ... show/filter For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same principles to all types of filter. 77..22.. TTyyppeess ooff ffiilltteerr There are two main types of filter, _a_c_c_e_p_t or _r_e_j_e_c_t. You can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept means take it) If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter, then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped. For example if you have a single line _a_c_c_e_p_t filter ... accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) then you will _O_N_L_Y get VHF spots _f_r_o_m or _t_o CQ zones 14, 15 and 16. If you set a reject filter like this ... reject/spots on hf/cw Then you will get everything _E_X_C_E_P_T HF CW spots. You could make this single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in CW, then you could say ... reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:- accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing! You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ... reject/spots 1 on hf/cw reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe. This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available. This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example. You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We are saying reject spots that are VHF or above _A_P_A_R_T from those in zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ... (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'. As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or one line. For example ... reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb would redefine our earlier example, or clear/spots 1 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ... clear/spots all 77..33.. FFiilltteerr ooppttiioonnss You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter. 77..44.. DDeeffaauulltt ffiilltteerrss Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces, WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like this ... accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33 set/hops node_default spot 50 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY. This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should you require. It is important to note that default filters should be considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also. 77..55.. AAddvvaanncceedd ffiilltteerriinngg Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment. The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU can be written with a mixed filter, for example ... rej/spot on hf/cw acc/spot on 0/30000 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said _r_e_j_e_c_t _a_l_l _H_F _s_p_o_t_s _i_n _t_h_e _C_W _s_e_c_t_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _b_a_n_d_s _b_u_t _a_c_c_e_p_t _a_l_l _o_t_h_e_r_s _a_t _H_F_. _A_l_s_o _a_c_c_e_p_t _a_n_y_t_h_i_n_g _i_n _V_H_F _a_n_d _a_b_o_v_e _s_p_o_t_t_e_d _i_n _o_r _b_y _o_p_e_r_a_t_o_r_s _i_n _t_h_e _z_o_n_e_s _1_4_, _1_5 _a_n_d _1_6. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot. It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU. 88.. OOtthheerr ffiilltteerrss 88..11.. FFiilltteerriinngg MMaaiill In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called badmsg.pl.issue. Rename this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The original looks something like this .... # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before # we can bin them) # The format of each line is as follows # type source pattern # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull) # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code. # # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches # causes the action to be taken. # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected # for the action specified package DXMsg; @badmsg = ( ); I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of subject headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of the cluster or the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is usually because of rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale etc in a particular country. 88..22.. FFiilltteerriinngg DDXX ccaalllloouuttss ((DDeepprriiccaatteedd)) _F_r_o_m _v_e_r_s_i_o_n _1_._4_7_, _t_h_i_s _m_e_t_h_o_d _i_s _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_d _b_y _t_h_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _s_e_t_/_b_a_d_d_x In the same way as mail, there are some types of spot we do not wish to pass on to users or linked cluster nodes. In the /spider/data directory you will find a file called baddx.pl.issue. Rename this to baddx.pl and edit the file. The original looks like this .... # the list of dx spot addresses that we don't store and don't pass on package DXProt; @baddx = qw FROG SALE FORSALE WANTED P1RATE PIRATE TEST DXTEST NIL NOCALL ); Again, this is simply a list of names we do not want to see in the spotted field of a DX callout. 88..33.. FFiilltteerriinngg wwoorrddss ffrroomm tteexxtt ffiieellddss iinn AAnnnnoouunnccee,, TTaallkk aanndd DDXX ssppoottss Create a file in /spider/data called _b_a_d_w_o_r_d_s. The format is quite simple. Lines beginning with # are ignored so comments can be added. An example file is below ... # Below is a list of words we do not wish to see on the cluster grunge grunged grunging splodge splodger splodging grince fluffle Multiple words can be used on the same line as shown. Obviously these are just examples :-) You can reload the file from the cluster prompt as sysop with load/badwords. 99.. MMaaiill DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports both personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands to ensure that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send mail almost immediately, assuming that the target is on line. However, only one mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a mail message is already being sent or recieved, then the new message will be queued until it has finished. The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the sysop sets the "keep" flag using the _m_s_g command. 99..11.. PPeerrssoonnaall mmaaiill Personal mail is sent using the _s_p command. This is actually the default method of sending mail and so a simple _s for send will do. A full list of the send commands and options is in the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _s_e_t section, so I will not duplicate them here. 99..22.. BBuulllleettiinn mmaaiill Bulletin mail is sent by using the _s_b command. This is one of the most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a bulletin mail with _s or _s_p instead of _s_b and of course the message never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop by using the _m_s_g command. Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file. 99..33.. FFoorrwwaarrdd..ppll DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations needed in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated differently, there is no need for a list of accepted bulletin addresses. It is necessary, however, to tell the program which links accept which bulletins. For example, it is pointless sending bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK ones. The file that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg. At default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename it to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements. The format is below ... # # this is an example message forwarding file for the system # # The format of each line is as follows # # type to/from/at pattern action destinations # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ] # # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull) # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested # action: I - ignore, F - forward # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns # # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded # # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code. # # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches # causes the action to be taken. # # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected # for the action specified # # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately # on first connection) # package DXMsg; @forward = ( ); Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you wish that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to "UK" will only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14. To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward 99..44.. TThhee mmssgg ccoommmmaanndd The _m_s_g command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the sysop. It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other changes to manage the cluster mail. Here is a full list of the various options ... MSG TO - change TO callsign to MSG FRom - change FROM callsign to MSG PRrivate - set private flag MSG NOPRrivate - unset private flag MSG RR - set RR flag MSG NORR - unset RR flag MSG KEep - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever) MSG NOKEep - unset the keep flag MSG SUbject - change the subject to MSG WAittime - remove any waiting time for this message MSG NOREad - mark message as unread MSG REad - mark message as read MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop user. 99..55.. MMeessssaaggee ssttaattuuss You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the command _s_t_a_t_/_m_s_g. This will give you additional information on the message number including which nodes have received it, which node it was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of the command ... G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z > stat/msg 6869 From: GB7DJK Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z Msgno: 6869 Origin: GB7DJK Size: 8012 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT To: UK Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX Private: 0 Read Confirm: 0 Times read: 0 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z > 99..66.. FFiilltteerriinngg mmaaiill This is described in the section on _O_t_h_e_r _f_i_l_t_e_r_s so I will not duplicate it here. 99..77.. DDiissttrriibbuuttiioonn lliissttss Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called _d_i_s_t_r_o. You put any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops. qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS) Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this list. 99..88.. BBBBSS iinntteerrffaaccee Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the sysop of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS and pushes any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from Spider to the BBS, the interface is one-way. Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary mail. Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by using the Forward.pl file very carefully. 1100.. DDaattaabbaasseess Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL database but will expand with time. 1100..11.. CCrreeaattiinngg ddaattaabbaasseess Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are sent from the cluster prompt as the _s_y_s_o_p user. To create a database you use the command _d_b_c_r_e_a_t_e. It can be used in 3 different ways like so .. dbcreate To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it simply defines it to say that it exists. dbcreate chain [...] This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be scanned, then the second, the third etc... dbcreate remote This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual node_call of the remote node, for example... dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a chain can be a remote database. 1100..22.. IImmppoorrttiinngg ddaattaabbaasseess The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database. This will be added to with time. To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp and then issue the following command ... dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if it does not exist. 1100..33.. CChheecckkiinngg aavvaaiillaabbllee ddaattaabbaasseess Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been added. To do this use the _d_b_a_v_a_i_l command. This will output the available databases. For example ... dbavail DB Name Location Chain qsl Local buck GB7ADX hftest GB7DXM G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z > 1100..44.. LLooookkiinngg uupp ddaattaabbaasseess To look for information in a defined database, simply use the _d_b_s_h_o_w command, for example ... dbshow buckmaster G0YLM will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard _s_h_o_w command like this ... Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation. 1100..55.. RReemmoovviinngg ddaattaabbaasseess To delete an existing database you use the _d_b_r_e_m_o_v_e command. For example ... dbremove oblast would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command. If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created from scratch if you still required it. 1111.. IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn,, ffiilleess aanndd uusseeffuull pprrooggrraammss 1111..11.. MMOOTTDD One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a banner that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message of the day" or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in /spider/data called motd and edit it to say whatever you want. It is purely a text file and will be sent automatically to anyone logging in to the cluster. 1111..22.. DDoowwnnttiimmee mmeessssaaggee If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or maintenance but the machine is still running, a message can be sent to the user advising them of the fact. This message lives in the /spider/data directory and is called "offline". Simply create the file and edit it to say whatever you wish. This file will be sent to a user attempting to log into the cluster when DXSpider is not actually running. 1111..33.. OOtthheerr tteexxtt mmeessssaaggeess You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input the file name. This could be for news items or maybe information for new users. To set this up, make a directory under /spider called _p_a_c_k_c_l_u_s. Under this directory you can create files called _n_e_w_s or _n_e_w_u_s_e_r for example. In fact you can create files with any names you like. These can be listed by the user with the command .... show/files They can be read by the user by typing the command .... type news If the file they want to read is called _n_e_w_s. You could also set an alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type _n_e_w_s You can also store other information in this directory, either directly or nested under directories. One use for this would be to store DX bulletins such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed and read by the user. To keep things tidy, make a directory under /spider/packclus called _b_u_l_l_e_t_i_n. Now copy any OPDX or similar bulletins into it. These can be listed by the user in the same way as above using the _s_h_o_w_/_f_i_l_e_s command with an extension for the bulletin directory you have just created, like this .... show/files bulletin An example would look like this .... sh/files bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory) there is a file called _n_e_w_s and a directory called _b_u_l_l_e_t_i_n. You can also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file _n_e_w_s, you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to whether the file has been updated since you last read it. To read the file called _n_e_w_s you would simply issue the command .... type news To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command .... show/files bulletin opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) > You can now read any file in this directory using the type command, like this .... type bulletin/opdx391 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster DX Bulletin No. 391 BID: $OPDX.391 January 11, 1999 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!) Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR, Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) > The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to! 1111..44.. TThhee AAlliiaasseess ffiillee You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this file to /spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see something like this ... #!/usr/bin/perl # provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally # helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never # read nor understand help files) # This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is # later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm # PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST # match the filenames!) # Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it. # This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release. # You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as # you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect # so you need not add it as an alias. package CmdAlias; %alias = ( '?' => [ '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos', ], 'a' => [ '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce', '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce', '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce', ], 'b' => [ ], 'c' => [ ], 'd' => [ '^del', 'kill', 'kill', '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill', '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory', '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory', '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory', '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory', '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory', '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory', '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory', '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory', ], 'e' => [ ], 'f' => [ ], 'g' => [ ], 'h' => [ ], 'i' => [ ], 'j' => [ ], 'k' => [ ], 'l' => [ '^l$', 'directory', 'directory', '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory', '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory', ], 'm' => [ ], 'n' => [ '^news', 'type news', 'type', ], 'o' => [ ], 'p' => [ ], 'q' => [ '^q', 'bye', 'bye', ], 'r' => [ '^r$', 'read', 'read', '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd', ], 's' => [ '^s/p$', 'send', 'send', '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send', '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode', '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep', '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here', '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce', '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx', '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk', '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv', '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx', '^sh$', 'show', 'show', '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow', '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files', '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration', '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration', '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail', '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx', '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx', '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx', '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow', '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow', '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow', '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow', '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who', '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster', '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv', '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv', '^sp$', 'send', 'send', ], 't' => [ '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk', '^t$', 'talk', 'talk', ], 'u' => [ ], 'v' => [ ], 'w' => [ '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx', '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx', ], 'x' => [ ], 'y' => [ ], 'z' => [ ], ) You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may not always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test the results once you have set an alias. 1111..55.. CCoonnssoollee..ppll In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for the sysop. This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities and colour for spots, announces etc. To use this program, simply use console.pl instead of client. To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and edit the file with your favourite editor. 1111..66.. UUppddaattiinngg kkeepplleerr ddaattaa Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order for this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly. In general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail. Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a file. You do this with the _e_x_p_o_r_t command from the cluster prompt as the sysop. For example ... export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the /spider/perl directory. Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in the perl directory called _c_o_n_v_k_e_p_s_._p_l. All we need to do now is convert the file like so ... ./convkeps.pl keps.in Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ... load/keps That is it! the kepler data has been updated. 1111..77.. TThhee QQRRZZ ccaallllbbooookk The command _s_h_/_q_r_z will only work once you have followed a few simple steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com. Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the file /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match your user ID and password. You also at this point need to set $allow=1 to complete the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the proprieter of qrz.com for allowing this access. 1122.. CCVVSS CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider is held at Sourceforge. This means that it is possible to update your DXSpider installation to the latest sources by using a few simple commands. THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!!! ONLY DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A TEST INSTALLATION OR ARE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CLUSTER CRASH ON YOU!!! THIS MUST BE CONSIDERED AT LEAST BETA TESTING AND MAYBE EVEN ALPHA!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! DID I MENTION..... ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES!!! I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and Internet access running. BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!! Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several steps which are listed below ... First login as the user _s_y_s_o_p. Next you need to connect to the CVS repository. You do this with the command below ... cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your machine should return to a normal linux prompt. What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation that you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you just want to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for testing. If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to /home/sysop If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your current directory. cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider This command is all on one line. Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3 simply compresses the download to improve speed. When this has finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the magic that it does. Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if you have just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball. If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ... tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider cd / tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course. NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the permissions correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T YOU????? Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make) At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart the cluster in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new commands or features expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster will have been restarted then so it will be too late to worry about it! Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply connect to the Internet and then, as the user _s_y_s_o_p ... cd /spider cvs -z3 update -d and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the "C" client if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if any of the perl scripts have been altered or added, again, CVS will tell you. You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file. 1133.. TThhee DDXXSSppiiddeerr ccoommmmaanndd sseett Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster prompt. Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some commands that are useful for a sysop. These are listed below in alphabetical order. The number in brackets following the command name is the permissions level needed to use the command. 1133..11.. aacccceepptt//aannnnoouunnccee ((00)) aacccceepptt//aannnnoouunnccee [[00--99]] <> Set an accept filter line for announce Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter. An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on. You can use any of the following things in this line:- info eg: iota or qsl by eg: G,M,2 origin origin_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) origin_itu origin_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone channel wx 1 filter WX announces dest eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros) some examples:- acc/ann dest 6MUK acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16) or acc/ann by G,M,2 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK stations. You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg: acc/ann all but this probably for advanced users... 1133..22.. aacccceepptt//aannnnoouunnccee ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) aacccceepptt//aannnnoouunnccee <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]]<> Announce filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- accept/ann by G,M,2 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2 1133..33.. aacccceepptt//ssppoottss ((00)) aacccceepptt//aannnnoouunnccee [[00--99]] <> Set an accept filter line for spots Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter. An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on. You can use any of the following things in this line:- freq eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m on same as 'freq' call eg: G,PA,HB9 info eg: iota or qsl by call_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) call_itu call_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone origin channel For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb - thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 - this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get too hung up about that) some examples:- acc/spot 1 on hf/cw acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg: acc/spot 3 all but this probably for advanced users... 1133..44.. aacccceepptt//ssppoottss ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) aacccceepptt//ssppoottss <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> Spot filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16 accept/spot node_default all set/hops node_default 10 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2 1133..55.. aacccceepptt//wwccyy ((00)) aacccceepptt//wwccyy [[00--99]] <> set an accept WCY filter It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can filter on the following fields:- by eg: G,M,2 origin origin_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) origin_itu origin_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone channel There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them). This command is really provided for future use. See HELP FILTER for information. 1133..66.. aacccceepptt//wwccyy ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) aacccceepptt//wwccyy <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> WCY filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- accept/wcy node_default all set/hops node_default 10 1133..77.. aacccceepptt//wwwwvv ((00)) aacccceepptt//wwwwvv [[00--99]] <> Set an accept WWV filter It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can filter on the following fields:- by eg: G,M,2 origin origin_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) origin_itu origin_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone channel for example accept/wwv by_zone 4 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts by stations in the US). See HELP FILTER for information. 1133..88.. aacccceepptt//wwwwvv ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) aacccceepptt//wwwwvv <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> WWV filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4 accept/wwv node_default all set/hops node_default 10 accept/wwv user_default by W,K 1133..99.. aannnnoouunnccee ((00)) aannnnoouunnccee <> Send an announcement to local users Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where is the text of the announcement you wish to broadcast 1133..1100.. aannnnoouunnccee ffuullll ((00)) aannnnoouunnccee ffuullll <> Send an announcement cluster wide This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster network. 1133..1111.. aannnnoouunnccee ssyyssoopp ((55)) aannnnoouunnccee ssyyssoopp <> Send an announcement to Sysops only 1133..1122.. aapprrooppooss ((00)) aapprrooppooss <> Search the help database Search the help database for (it isn't case sensitive), and print the names of all the commands that may be relevant. 1133..1133.. bbyyee ((00)) bbyyee Exit from the cluster This will disconnect you from the cluster 1133..1144.. ccaattcchhuupp ((55)) ccaattcchhuupp <> AAllll||[[<> ......]] Mark a message as sent When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another node is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new partner node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl file, all outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them. This may well be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by using these commmands:- catchup GB7DJK all catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510 and to undo what you have just done:- uncatchup GB7DJK all uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again. Order is not important. 1133..1155.. cclleeaarr//ssppoottss ((00)) cclleeaarr//ssppoottss [[11||aallll]] Clear a spot filter line This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or to remove the whole filter. If you have a filter:- acc/spot 1 on hf/cw acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) and you say:- clear/spot 1 you will be left with:- acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) If you do: clear/spot all the filter will be completely removed. 1133..1166.. ccoonnnneecctt ((55)) ccoonnnneecctt <> Start a connection to another DX Cluster Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to the DX cluster . This process creates a new 'client' process which will use the script in /spider/connect/ to effect the 'chat' exchange necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the cluster . 1133..1177.. ddbbaavvaaiill ((00)) ddbbaavvaaiill Show a list of all the databases in the system The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases defined in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND. 1133..1188.. ddbbccrreeaattee ((99)) ddbbccrreeaattee <> Create a database entry ddbbccrreeaattee <> cchhaaiinn <> [[<>....]] Create a chained database entry ddbbccrreeaattee <> rreemmoottee <> Create a remote database entry DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't actually create anything, just defines it. The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they are therefore already 'indexed'. You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg: DBCREATE oblast You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword. This will search each database one after the other. A typical example is: DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist, in fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do each of the chained databases. Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on another node do: DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a a chain can be a remote database eg: DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc To see what databases have been defined do: DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND) It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases file to allow people to use the 'SHOW/' style syntax. So you would need to add a line like:- 's' => [ .. .. '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow', .. .. ], to allow SH/BUCK g1tlh to work as they may be used to. See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to databases. See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry 1133..1199.. ddbbiimmppoorrtt ((99)) ddbbiimmppoorrtt <> Import AK1A data into a database If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing database. For example:- DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the oblast database held locally. 1133..2200.. ddbbrreemmoovvee ((99)) ddbbrreemmoovvee <> Delete a database DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any data file that is associated with it. There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net. For example: DBREMOVE oblast will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also remove the associated datafile. I repeat: There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net. You have been warned. 1133..2211.. ddbbsshhooww ((00)) ddbbsshhooww <> <> Display an entry, if it exists, in a database This is the generic user interface to the database to the database system. It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local Aliases file so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of enquiry such as: SH/BUCK G1TLH but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with: DBSHOW buck G1TLH 1133..2222.. ddeebbuugg ((99)) ddeebbuugg Set the cluster program into debug mode Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the cluster in debug mode i.e. perl -d cluster.pl It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has finished. 1133..2233.. ddiirreeccttoorryy ((00)) ddiirreeccttoorryy List messages ddiirreeccttoorryy oowwnn List your own messages ddiirreeccttoorryy nneeww List all new messages ddiirreeccttoorryy ttoo <> List all messages to ddiirreeccttoorryy ffrroomm <> List all messages from ddiirreeccttoorryy ssuubbjjeecctt <> List all messages with in subject ddiirreeccttoorryy <> List last messages ddiirreeccttoorryy <>--<> List messages message message List the messages in the messages directory. If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the fields. You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:- DIR TO G1TLH 5 or DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a syntax:- DIR/T G1* 10 DIR/S QSL 10-100 5 1133..2244.. ddiirreeccttoorryy ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((55)) Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL messages. 1133..2255.. ddiissccoonnnneecctt ((88)) ddiissccoonnnneecctt <> [[<> ......]] Disconnect a user or node Disconnect any connected locally 1133..2266.. ddxx ((00)) ddxx [[bbyy <>]] <> <> <> Send a DX spot This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now enter the and the either way round. DX FR0G 144.600 DX 144.600 FR0G DX 144600 FR0G will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end of the command and they will be added to the spot. DX FR0G 144600 this is a test You can credit someone else by saying:- DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster The is compared against the available bands set up in the cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information. 1133..2277.. eexxppoorrtt ((99)) eexxppoorrtt <> <> Export a message to a file Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a local console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be in a form ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in the import directory (/spider/msg/import). This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide some measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same user as the main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere the cluster can access. For example:- EXPORT 2345 /tmp/a 1133..2288.. eexxppoorrtt__uusseerrss ((99)) eexxppoorrtt__uusseerrss [[<>]] Export the users database to ascii Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename is given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc. If the file already exists it will be renamed to .o. In fact up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o' on the suffix. BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No check is made on the filename (if any) that you specify. 1133..2299.. ffoorrwwaarrdd//llaattlloonngg ((88)) ffoorrwwaarrdd//llaattlloonngg <> Send latitude and longitude information to another cluster This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that your cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving this information is that more locator information is held by you. This means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you have _s_e_t_/_d_x_g_r_i_d enabled. This could be a LOT of information though, so it is not recommended on slow links. 1133..3300.. ffoorrwwaarrdd//ooppeerrnnaammee ((11)) ffoorrwwaarrdd//ooppeerrnnaammee <> Send out information on this to all clusters This command sends out any information held in the user file which can be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH, Location and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is available. 1133..3311.. hheellpp ((00)) hheellpp <> Get help on a command All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated to SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on. Look at the APROPOS command which will search the help database for the you specify and give you a list of likely commands to look at with HELP. 1133..3322.. iinniitt ((55)) iinniitt <> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD DISC/F ). Best of luck - you will need it. 1133..3333.. kkiillll ((00)) kkiillll <> [[<> ....]] Delete a message from the local system Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are the sysop). 1133..3344.. kkiillll ((55)) kkiillll <> [[<> ......]] Remove or erase a message from the system kkiillll ffrroomm <> Remove all messages from a callsign kkiillll ttoo <> Remove all messages to a callsign You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign using this command. You can remove more than one message at a time. As a sysop you can kill any message on the system. 1133..3355.. kkiillll ffuullll ((55)) kkiillll ffuullll <> [[<>]] Delete a message from the whole cluster Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system. This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the same subject will be deleted. Beware! 1133..3366.. lliinnkkss ((00)) lliinnkkss Show which nodes are physically connected This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and some information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections. 1133..3377.. llooaadd//aalliiaasseess ((99)) llooaadd//aalliiaasseess Reload the command alias table Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You will need to do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is running in order for the changes to take effect. 1133..3388.. llooaadd//bbaaddddxx ((99)) llooaadd//bbaaddddxx Reload the bad DX table Reload the /spider/data/baddx.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst the cluster is running. This table contains the DX Calls that, if spotted, will not be passed on. FR0G and TEST are classic examples. 1133..3399.. llooaadd//bbaaddmmssgg ((99)) llooaadd//bbaaddmmssgg Reload the bad message table Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl regular expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of each message. If any of them match then that message is immediately deleted on receipt. 1133..4400.. llooaadd//bbaaddwwoorrddss ((99)) llooaadd//bbaaddwwoorrddss Reload the badwords file Reload the /spider/data/badwords file if you have changed it manually whilst the cluster is running. This file contains a list of words which, if found on certain text portions of PC protocol, will cause those protocol frames to be rejected. It will all put out a message if any of these words are used on the announce, dx and talk commands. The words can be one or more on a line, lines starting with '#' are ignored. 1133..4411.. llooaadd//bbaannddss ((99)) llooaadd//bbaannddss Reload the band limits table Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst the cluster is running. 1133..4422.. llooaadd//ccmmdd__ccaacchhee ((99)) llooaadd//ccmmdd__ccaacchhee Reload the automatic command cache Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it will automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it can get confused if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or delete a command in the local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one again. Execute this command to reset everything back to the state it was just after a cluster restart. 1133..4433.. llooaadd//ffoorrwwaarrdd ((99)) llooaadd//ffoorrwwaarrdd Reload the msg forwarding routing table Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst the cluster is running. 1133..4444.. llooaadd//mmeessssaaggeess ((99)) llooaadd//mmeessssaaggeess Reload the system messages file If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst fiddling/writing ne commands) you can have them take effect during a cluster session by executing this command. You need to do this if get something like :- unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en' 1133..4455.. llooaadd//pprreeffiixxeess ((99)) llooaadd//pprreeffiixxeess Reload the prefix table Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst the cluster is running. 1133..4466.. mmeerrggee ((55)) mmeerrggee <> [[<>//<>]] Ask for the latest spots and WWV MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By default it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you select. The node must be connected locally. You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be appended to your databases they will not duplicate any that have recently been added (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV data). 1133..4477.. mmssgg ((99)) mmssgg <> <> [[ddaattaa ......]] Alter various message parameters Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or bulletin or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this message from timing out. MSG TO - change TO callsign to MSG FRom - change FROM callsign to MSG PRrivate - set private flag MSG NOPRrivate - unset private flag MSG RR - set RR flag MSG NORR - unset RR flag MSG KEep - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever) MSG NOKEep - unset the keep flag MSG SUbject - change the subject to MSG WAittime - remove any waitting time for this message MSG NOREad - mark message as unread MSG REad - mark message as read MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages You can look at the status of a message by using:- STAT/MSG This will display more information on the message than DIR does. 1133..4488.. ppcc ((88)) ppcc <> <> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No processing is done on the text. This command allows you to send PC Protocol to unstick things if problems arise (messages get stuck etc). eg:- pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^ You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user but without any processing, added of "from to " or whatever. pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!! 1133..4499.. ppiinngg ((11)) ppiinngg <> Check the link quality between nodes his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on the network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this is a good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time it takes is output to the console in seconds. Any visible cluster node can be PINGed. 1133..5500.. rrccmmdd ((11)) rrccmmdd <> <> Send a command to another DX cluster This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX Cluster node that is connected to the system. Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system knows that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b) whether the other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c) whether you have permission to send this command at all. 1133..5511.. rreeaadd ((00)) rreeaadd Read the next unread personal message addressed to you rreeaadd <> Read the specified message You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any message either sent by or sent to your callsign. 1133..5522.. rreeaadd ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((55)) rreeaadd <> Read a message on the system As a sysop you may read any message on the system 1133..5533.. rreejjeecctt//aannnnoouunnccee rreejjeecctt//aannnnoouunnccee [[00--99]] <> Set a reject filter for announce Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter. An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on. You can use any of the following things in this line:- info eg: iota or qsl by eg: G,M,2 origin origin_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) origin_itu origin_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone channel wx 1 filter WX announces dest eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros) some examples:- rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg: rej/ann all but this probably for advanced users... 1133..5544.. rreejjeecctt//aannnnoouunnccee ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) rreejjeecctt//aannnnoouunnccee <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> Announce filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- reject/ann by G,M,2 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2 1133..5555.. rreejjeecctt//ssppoottss ((00)) rreejjeecctt//ssppoottss [[00--99]] <> Set a reject filter line for spots Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter. A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on. You can use any of the following things in this line:- freq eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m on same as 'freq' call eg: G,PA,HB9 info eg: iota or qsl by call_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) call_itu call_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone origin channel For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb - thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 - this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get too hung up about that) some examples:- rej/spot 1 on hf rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16) You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg: rej/spot 3 all but this probably for advanced users... 1133..5566.. rreejjeecctt//ssppoottss ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) rreejjeecctt//ssppoottss <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> Reject spot filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16 reject/spot node_default all set/hops node_default 10 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2 1133..5577.. rreejjeecctt//wwccyy ((00)) rreejjeecctt//wwccyy [[00--99]] <> Set a reject WCY filter It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can filter on the following fields:- by eg: G,M,2 origin origin_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) origin_itu origin_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone channel There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them). This command is really provided for future use. See HELP FILTER for information. 1133..5588.. rreejjeecctt//wwccyy ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) rreejjeecctt//wwccyy <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> WCY reject filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- reject/wcy gb7djk all 1133..5599.. rreejjeecctt//wwwwvv ((00)) rreejjeecctt//wwwwvv [[00--99]] <> Set a reject WWV filter It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can filter on the following fields:- by eg: G,M,2 origin origin_dxcc eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G) origin_itu origin_zone by_dxcc by_itu by_zone channel for example reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts by stations in the US). See HELP FILTER for information. 1133..6600.. rreejjeecctt//wwwwvv ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((88)) rreejjeecctt//wwwwvv <> [[iinnppuutt]] [[00--99]] <> WWV reject filter sysop version This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the default for nodes and users eg:- reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4 reject/wwv node_default all reject/wwv user_default by W 1133..6611.. rreeppllyy ((00)) rreeppllyy Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read rreeppllyy <> Reply (privately) to the specified message rreeppllyy BB <> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message rreeppllyy NNOOPPrriivvaattee <> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message rreeppllyy RRRR <> Reply to the specified message with read receipt You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present. You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE, NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND for further details) 1133..6622.. sseenndd ((00)) sseenndd <> [[<> ......]] Send a message to one or more callsigns sseenndd RRRR <> Send a message and ask for a read receipt sseenndd CCOOPPYY <> <> Send a copy of a message to someone sseenndd PPRRIIVVAATTEE <> Send a personal message sseenndd NNOOPPRRIIVVAATTEE <> Send a message to all stations All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either to an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses. SEND on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that is it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster node that that callsign is connected to. You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands. You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:- SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you will receive a read receipt when they have read the message. SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak) SP is an alias for SEND PRIVATE 1133..6633.. sseett//aaddddrreessss ((00)) sseett//aaddddrreessss <> Record your postal address Literally, record your address details on the cluster. 1133..6644.. sseett//aannnnoouunnccee ((00)) sseett//aannnnoouunnccee Allow announce messages Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal. 1133..6655.. sseett//aarrcclluusstteerr ((55)) sseett//aarrcclluusstteerr <> [[<> ......]] Make the node_call an AR- Cluster type node Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node 1133..6666.. sseett//bbaaddddxx ((88)) sseett//bbaaddddxx <> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign field of a dx spot being propagated Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the callsign field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be sent onto other nodes. The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:- set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G To allow a word again, use the following command ... unset/baddx VIDEO 1133..6677.. sseett//bbaaddnnooddee ((66)) sseett//bbaaddnnooddee <> Stop spots from this node_call being propagated Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be sent onto other nodes. The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:- set/badnode K1TTT will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's) unset/badnode K1TTT will allow spots from him again. Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing. 1133..6688.. sseett//bbaaddssppootttteerr ((88)) sseett//bbaaddssppootttteerr <> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this callsign going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be sent onto other nodes. The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:- set/badspotter VE2STN will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you must enter them specifically. unset/badspotter VE2STN will allow spots from him again. Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing. 1133..6699.. sseett//bbeeeepp ((00)) sseett//bbeeeepp Add beeps to terminal messages Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages. 1133..7700.. sseett//ccllxx ((55)) sseett//ccllxx <> [[<> ......]] Make the node_call a CLX type node Set the node_call as a CLX type node 1133..7711.. sseett//ddeebbuugg ((99)) sseett//ddeebbuugg <> Add a debug level to the debug set You can choose to log several different levels. The levels are chan state msg cron connect You can show what levels you are logging with the _s_h_o_w_/_d_e_b_u_g command. You can remove a debug level with unset/debug 1133..7722.. sseett//ddxx ((00)) sseett//ddxxAllow DX messages to arrive at your terminal You can stop DX messages with the _u_n_s_e_t_/_d_x command 1133..7733.. sseett//ddxxggrriidd ((00)) sseett//ddxxggrriiddAllow grid squares on the end of DX messages Some logging programs do not like the additional information at the end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the _u_n_s_e_t_/_d_x_g_r_i_d command to remove the grid squares. 1133..7744.. sseett//ddxxnneett ((55)) sseett//ddxxnneett <> [[<> ......]] Make the node_call a DXNet type node Set the node_call as a DXNet type node 1133..7755.. sseett//eecchhoo ((00)) sseett//eecchhoo Make the cluster echo your input If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command to change the setting appropriately. You can remove the echo with the _u_n_s_e_t_/_e_c_h_o command The setting is stored in your user profile. YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25. 1133..7766.. sseett//hheerree ((00)) sseett//hheerree Set the here flag Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the _u_n_s_e_t_/_h_e_r_e command to let people know you are away. This simply puts brackets around your callsign to indicate you are not available. 1133..7777.. sseett//hhoommeennooddee ((00)) sseett//hhoommeennooddee <> Set your home cluster Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages sent to you will normally find their way there should you not be connected. eg:- SET/HOMENODE gb7djk 1133..7788.. sseett//hhooppss ((88)) sseett//hhooppss <> aannnn||ssppoottss||wwwwvv||wwccyy <> Set hop count Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node. This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node for currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts. eg: set/hops gb7djk ann 10 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system. 1133..7799.. sseett//iissoollaattee ((99)) sseett//iissoollaattee <> Isolate a node from the rest of the network Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full protocol member of its network and can see all spots on it, but nothing either leaks out from it nor goes back into from the rest of the nodes connected to you. You can potentially connect several nodes in this way. You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1) command. You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate. 1133..8800.. sseett//llaanngguuaaggee ((00)) sseett//llaanngguuaaggee <> Set the language you wish to use You can select the language that you want the cluster to use. Currently the languages available are _e_n (English) and _n_l (Dutch). 1133..8811.. sseett//llooccaattiioonn ((00)) sseett//llooccaattiioonn <> Set your latitude and longitude You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use the _s_e_t_/_q_r_a command which will do the conversion for you. set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E 1133..8822.. sseett//ssyyss__llooccaattiioonn ((99)) sseett//ssyyss__llooccaattiioonn <> Set your cluster latitude and longitude In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the system what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a SET/QRA then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For example:- SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E 1133..8833.. sseett//llooggiinniinnffoo ((00)) sseett//llooggiinniinnffoo Show logins and logouts of nodes and users Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster. You can stop these messages by using the _u_n_s_e_t_/_l_o_g_i_n_i_n_f_o command. 1133..8844.. sseett//lloocckkoouutt ((99)) sseett//lloocckkoouutt <> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster You can show who is locked out with the _s_h_o_w_/_l_o_c_k_o_u_t command. To allow the user to connect again, use the _u_n_s_e_t_/_l_o_c_k_o_u_t command. 1133..8855.. sseett//nnaammee ((00)) sseett//nnaammee <> Set your name Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:- set/name Dirk 1133..8866.. sseett//nnooddee ((99)) sseett//nnooddee <> [[<> ......]] Make the callsign an AK1A cluster Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands. From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster set/spider set/dxnet set/clx set/arcluster To see what your nodes are set to, use the _s_h_o_w_/_n_o_d_e_s command. 1133..8877.. sseett//oobbssccoouunntt ((99)) sseett//oobbssccoouunntt <> <> Set the 'pump-up' obsolescence counter From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals (see SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes. There is a 'pump-up' counter which is decremented on every outgoing ping and then reset to the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping. The default value of this parameter is 2. What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just before what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected. If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15 minutes, it is disconnected. 1133..8888.. sseett//ppaaggee ((00)) sseett//ppaaggee <> Set the number of lines per page Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of lines of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20. Setting it explicitly to 0 will disable paging. SET/PAGE 30 SET/PAGE 0 The setting is stored in your user profile. 1133..8899.. sseett//ppaasssswwoorrdd ((99)) sseett//ppaasssswwoorrdd <> <> Set a users password The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string can contain any characters but any spaces are removed (you can type in spaces - but they won't appear in the password). You can see the result with STAT/USER. The password is the usual 30 character baycom type password. 1133..9900.. sseett//ppiinnggiinntteerrvvaall ((99)) sseett//ppiinnggiinntteerrvvaall <> <> Set the ping time to neighbouring nodes As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and, in future, to affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300 secs or 5 minutes. You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't. But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and seconds for numbers greater than that. This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT for more information. 1133..9911.. sseett//pprriivviilleeggee ((99)) sseett//pprriivviilleeggee <> <> [[<> ......]] Set the privilege level on a call Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that pertain to commands are as default:- 0 - normal user 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc- connect), the normal level for another node. 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect) 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS LEVEL. If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote connection your privilege will automatically be set to 0. 1133..9922.. sseett//ssppiiddeerr ((55)) sseett//ssppiiddeerr <> [[<> ......]] Make the node_call a DXSpider type node Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node 1133..9933.. sseett//ssyyss__qqrraa ((99)) sseett//ssyyss__qqrraa <> Set your cluster QRA locator 1133..9944.. sseett//qqrraa ((00)) sseett//qqrraa <> Set your QRA locator Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have not done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set roughly correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:- SET/QRA JO02LQ 1133..9955.. sseett//qqtthh ((00)) sseett//qqtthh <> Set your QTH Tell the system where your are. For example:- set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk 1133..9966.. sseett//ttaallkk ((00)) sseett//ttaallkk Allow talk messages to be seen at your console Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off talks with the _u_n_s_e_t_/_t_a_l_k command. 1133..9977.. sseett//wwccyy ((00)) sseett//wwccyy Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off WCY messages with the _u_n_s_e_t_/_w_c_y command. 1133..9988.. sseett//wwwwvv ((00)) sseett//wwwwvv Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off WWV messages with the _u_n_s_e_t_/_w_w_v command. 1133..9999.. sseett//wwxx ((00)) sseett//wwxx Allow WX messages to be seen at your console Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off WX messages with the _u_n_s_e_t_/_w_x command. 1133..110000.. sshhooww//bbaaddddxx ((11)) sshhooww//bbaaddddxxShow all the bad dx calls in the system Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX for more information. 1133..110011.. sshhooww//bbaaddnnooddee ((66)) sshhooww//bbaaddnnooddee Show all the bad nodes in the system Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE for more information. 1133..110022.. sshhooww//bbaaddssppootttteerr ((11)) sshhooww//bbaaddssppootttteerr Show all the bad spotters in the system Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see SET/BADSPOTTER for more information. 1133..110033.. sshhooww//ddaattee ((00)) sshhooww//ddaattee [[<>||<>]] Show the local time This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the format of the date string if no arguments are given. If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at the prefixes or callsigns that you specify. 1133..110044.. sshhooww//ddeebbuugg ((99)) sshhooww//ddeebbuugg Show what levels of debug you are logging The levels can be set with _s_e_t_/_d_e_b_u_g 1133..110055.. sshhooww//ddxx ((00)) sshhooww//ddxx [[ooppttiioonnss]] interrogate the spot database If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots (sysop configurable, but usually 10). In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly any order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:- on - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm on - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS) - the number of spots you want - - spot no spot no in the selected list - for a spotted callsign beginning with * - for a spotted callsign ending in ** - for a spotted callsign containing day - starting days ago day - - days days ago info - any spots containing in the info or remarks by - any spots spotted by (spotter is the same). qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call held in the spot database. iota [] - If the iota island number is missing it will look for the string iota and anything which looks like an iota island number. If you specify then it will look for that island. qra [] - this will look for the specific locator if you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator. e.g. SH/DX 9m0 SH/DX on 20m info iota SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30 SH/DX rf1p qsl SH/DX iota SH/DX iota eu-064 SH/DX qra jn86 1133..110066.. sshhooww//ddxxcccc ((00)) sshhooww//ddxxcccc <> Interrogate the spot database by country This command takes the (which can be a full or partial callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is and then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country. The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command. e.g. SH/DXCC G SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota 1133..110077.. sshhooww//ffiilleess ((00)) sshhooww//ffiilleess [[<> [[<>]]]] List the contents of a filearea SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file area type:- SH/FILES where is the name of the filearea you want to see the contents of. You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:- SH/FILES bulletins arld* See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file. 1133..110088.. sshhooww//ffiilltteerr ((00)) sshhooww//ffiilltteerr Show the filters you have set Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command displays all the filters set - for all the various categories. 1133..110099.. sshhooww//ffiilltteerr ((eexxtteennddeedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((55)) sshhooww//ffiilltteerr <> Show the filters set by A sysop can look at any filters that have been set. 1133..111100.. sshhooww//hhooppss ((88)) sshhooww//hhooppss <> [[aannnn||ssppoottss||wwccyy||wwwwvv||]] Show the hop counts for a node This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then all the categories will be listed. 1133..111111.. sshhooww//iissoollaattee ((11)) sshhooww//iissoollaattee Show a list of isolated nodes Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated. 1133..111122.. sshhooww//lloocckkoouutt ((99)) sshhooww//lloocckkoouutt Show a list of excluded callsigns Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the cluster locally with the _s_e_t_/_l_o_c_k_o_u_t command 1133..111133.. sshhooww//lloogg ((88)) sshhooww//lloogg [[<>]] Show excerpts from the system log This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own it will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will show output from the log associated with that callsign. 1133..111144.. sshhooww//mmoooonn ((00)) sshhooww//mmoooonn [[<>||<>]] Show moon rise and set times Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns, together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those locations. If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA), together with the current azimuth and elevation. In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit. If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node that you are connected to. For example:- SH/MOON SH/MOON G1TLH W5UN 1133..111155.. sshhooww//mmuuff ((00)) sshhooww//mmuuff <> [[<>]][[lloonngg]] Show the likely propagation to This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting a station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a modest power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about 0.15muV/10dB SINAD) The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced accuracy for paths shorter or longer than this. The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year, hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here, with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations, such as the Voice of America. The command will display some header information detailing its assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for which the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a value. The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the conventional 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it means that it is 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by an 'm' it means that there is likely to be much fading and by an 's' that the signal is likely to be noisy. By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no of hours required after the prefix. For example:- SH/MUF W produces: RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms Location Lat / Long Azim East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3). inputing:- SH/MUF W 24 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of propagation data. SH/MUF W L 24 SH/MUF W 24 Long Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness. 1133..111166.. sshhooww//nnooddee ((11)) sshhooww//nnooddee [[<> ......]] Show the type and version number of nodes Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed. 1133..111177.. sshhooww//pprreeffiixx ((00)) sshhooww//pprreeffiixx <> Interrogate the prefix database This command takes the (which can be a full or partial callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number it is and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country together with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions. See also SHOW/DXCC 1133..111188.. sshhooww//pprrooggrraamm ((55)) sshhooww//pprrooggrraamm Show the locations of all the included program modules Show the name and location where every program module was load from. This is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file from. 1133..111199.. sshhooww//qqrraa ((00)) sshhooww//qqrraa <> [[<>]] Show the distance between locators sshhooww//qqrraa <> <> Convert latitude and longitude to a locator This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station to the locator. For example:- SH/QRA IO92QL SH/QRA JN06 IN73 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator from yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and bearing from the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6 character locators. It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator by using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument, for example:- SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E 1133..112200.. sshhooww//qqrrzz ((00)) sshhooww//qqrrzz <> Show any callbook details on a callsign This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet and returns any information available for that callsign. This service is provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com 1133..112211.. sshhooww//rroouuttee ((00)) sshhooww//rroouuttee <> Show the route to This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified are connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config. sh/route n2tly 1133..112222.. sshhooww//ssaatteelllliittee ((00)) sshhooww//ssaatteelllliittee <> [[<> <>]] Show satellite tracking data Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your choice from now on for the next few hours. If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a list of all the satellites known currently to the system. If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will give information for the next three hours for every five minute period. You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain limits. Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters So for example:- SH/SAT AO-10 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2 1133..112233.. sshhooww//ssuunn ((00)) sshhooww//ssuunn [[<>||<>]] Show sun rise and set times Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns, together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those locations. If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA), together with the current azimuth and elevation. If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node that you are connected to. For example:- SH/SUN SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS 1133..112244.. sshhooww//ttiimmee ((00)) sshhooww//ttiimmee [[<>||<>]] Show the local time If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at the prefixes or callsigns that you specify. 1133..112255.. sshhooww//wwccyy ((00)) sshhooww//wwccyy Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts sshhooww//wwccyy <> Show the last WCY broadcasts Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the system 1133..112266.. sshhooww//wwwwvv ((00)) sshhooww//wwwwvv Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts sshhooww//wwwwvv <> Show the last WWV broadcasts Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the system 1133..112277.. sshhuuttddoowwnn ((55)) sshhuuttddoowwnn Shutdown the cluster Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart. 1133..112288.. ssppooooff ((99)) ssppooooff <> <> Run commands as another user This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows you to issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very useful for the kind of things that users seem to always get wrong.. like home_node for example. 1133..112299.. ssttaatt//ddbb ((55)) ssttaatt//ddbb <> Show the status of a database Show the internal status of a database descriptor. Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less information. This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone other than a sysop. 1133..113300.. ssttaatt//cchhaannnneell ((55)) ssttaatt//cchhaannnneell <> Show the status of a channel on the cluster Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel that you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for. Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed. 1133..113311.. ssttaatt//mmssgg ((55)) ssttaatt//mmssgg <> Show the status of a message This command shows the internal status of a message and includes information such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin etc etc. 1133..113322.. ssttaatt//uusseerr ((55)) ssttaatt//uusseerr <> Show the full status of a user Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret flags and stuff. Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed. 1133..113333.. ssyyssoopp ((00)) ssyyssoopp Regain your privileges if you login remotely The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from zero. You are expected to return a string which contains the characters required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and these values are for explanation :-): password = 012345678901234567890123456789 > sysop 22 10 15 17 3 you type:- aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n or 2 0 5 7 3 or 20573 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is case sensitive. 1133..113344.. ttaallkk ((00)) ttaallkk <> Enter talk mode with ttaallkk <> <> Send a text message to ttaallkk <> >> <> [[<>]] Send a text message to via Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the cluster system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a SHOW/CONFIGURATION command, they don't have to be connected locally. The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send the user information usually associated with logging on and off the cluster. If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can only see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use the second form of the talk message. If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text message out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means is that a short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you are in a 'Talking' frame of mind and then you just type - everything you send will go to the station that you asked for. All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on your terminal. If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the normal command with a '/' character, eg:- /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW? /HELP talk To leave talk mode type: /EX 1133..113355.. ttyyppee ((00)) ttyyppee <>//<> Look at a file in one of the fileareas Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would enter:- TYPE bulletins/arld051 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a list of content. 1133..113366.. wwhhoo ((00)) wwhhoo Show who is physically connected locally This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and what sort of connection they have 1133..113377.. wwxx ((00)) wwxx <> Send a weather message to local users wwxx ffuullll <> Send a weather message to all cluster users Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an extreme that may indicate enhanced conditions 1133..113388.. wwxx ((eennhhaanncceedd ffoorr ssyyssooppss)) ((55)) wwxx ssyyssoopp <> Send a weather message to other clusters only Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general users.