1 <!doctype linuxdoc system>
5 <!-- Title information -->
7 <title>The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.48</title>
8 <author>Ian Maude, G0VGS, (ianmaude@btinternet.com)</author>
9 <date>Version 1.49 November 2001 revision 1.0</date>
12 A reference for SysOps of the DXSpider DXCluster program.
15 <!-- Table of contents -->
18 <!-- Begin the document -->
20 <sect>Routing and Filtering
25 From DXSpider version 1.48, major changes were introduced to the way
26 node connections are treated. This is part of an ongoing process to
27 remove problems with loops and to enable talk and other functions to
28 propagate across the whole of the worldwide cluster network. In fact,
29 in a Spider network, it would be useful, perhaps even necessary to
30 have loops. This would give real resilience to the network, meaning
31 that if a link dropped, the information flow would simply come in and
32 go out via a different route. Of course, we do not have a complete
33 network of Spider nodes, there are other programs out there. Some of
34 these do not have any protection from loops. Certainly AK1A does not
35 handle loops well at all. It is therefore necessary to have some form
36 of protection for these nodes.
39 In fact DXSpider has had a simple system for some time which is called
40 <it>isolation</it>. This is similar to what in other systems such as
41 <bf>clx</bf>, is called <it>passive mode</it>. A more detailed explanation
42 of <it>isolation</it> is given further below. This system is still available
43 and, for simple networks, is probably all that you need.
46 The new functionality introduced in version 1.48 allows filtering the node
47 and user protocol frames on a "per interface" basis. We call this
48 <it>route filtering</it>. This is used <bf>instead of</bf>
52 What this really means is that you can control more or less completely
53 which user and node management PC protocol frames pass to each of your
54 partner nodes. You can also limit what comes into your node from your
55 partners. It is even possible to control the settings that your partner
56 node has for the routing information that it sends to you
57 (using the <it>rcmd</it> command).
62 Initially when route filters were being tested we generated a
63 "default" filter. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that this
64 might suit the UK cluster network but didn't really fit anybody else.
65 However using a default filter is an appropriate thing to do. How, is
69 The first thing that you must do is determine whether you need to use
70 route filtering <bf>at all</bf>. If you are a "normal" node with two or
71 three partners and you arranged in an "official" non-looping tree type
72 network, then <bf>you do not need to do route filtering</bf> and you will
73 feel a lot better for not getting involved. If you are successfully using
74 <it>isolation</it> then you also probably don't need to use route filtering.
77 To put it simply, you should not mix Isolation and Route Filtering. It
78 will work, of sorts, but you will not get the expected results. If you
79 are using Isolation sucessfully at the moment, do not get involved in
80 Route Filtering unless you have a good supply of aspirin! Once you have
81 started down the road of Route Filtering, do not use Isolation either.
82 Use one or the other, not both.
85 You will only require this functionality if you are "well-connected". What
86 that means is that you are connected to several different parts of (say)
87 the EU cluster and, at the same time, also connected to two or three places
88 in the US which, in turn are connected back to the EU. This is called a
89 "loop" and if you are seriously looped then you need filtering.
92 I should at this stage give a little bit of background on filters. All
93 the filters in Spider work in basically the same way. You can either
94 accept or reject various options in order to create the filter rules
95 you wish to achieve. Some filters are user settable, others can only
96 be altered by the sysop. Route filtering can only be done by the sysop.
99 Anyway, without further discouragement, let me start the process
102 <sect1>The node_default filter
105 All normal systems should have a default routing filter and it should
106 usually be set to send only the normal, unlooped, view of your
107 "national" network. Here in the UK that means nodes from the UK and
108 Eire, in EU it is more complex as the networks there grew up in a more
112 The generic commands are:-
115 reject/route node_default <filter_option>
119 accept/route node_default <filter_option>
122 where filter_option is one of the following ...
125 call <prefixes>
126 call_dxcc <numbers>
127 call_itu <numbers>
128 call_zone <numbers>
129 channel <prefixes>
130 channel_dxcc <numbers>
131 channel_itu <numbers>
132 channel_zone <numbers>
135 Please be careful if you alter this setting, it will affect
136 <bf><it>ALL</it></bf> your links! Remember, this is a <it>default</it>
137 filter for node connections, not a <it>per link</it> default.
140 For the default routing filter then you have two real choices: either
141 a "national" view or the "safe" option of only your own
142 callsign. Examples of each (for my node: GB7DJK) are:-
145 acc/route node_default call_dxcc 61,38
146 acc/route node_default call gb7djk
149 GB7DJK uses the first of these. The DXCC countries can be obtained from the
150 <it>show/prefix</it> command.
153 The example filters shown control <it>output</it> <bf>TO</bf> all your
154 partner nodes unless they have a specific filter applied to them (see
158 It is also possible to control the <it>incoming</it> routing
159 information that you are prepared to accept <bf>FROM</bf> your partner
160 nodes. The reason this is necessary is to make sure that stuff like
161 mail, pings and similar commands a) go down the correct links and b)
162 don't loop around excessively. Again using GB7DJK as an example a typical
163 default input filter would be something like:
166 rej/route node_default input call_dxcc 61,38 and not channel_dxcc 61,38
169 What this does is accept node and user information for our national
170 network from nodes that are in our national network, but rejects such
171 information from anyone else. Although it doesn't explicitly say so,
172 by implication, any other node information (not from the UK and Eire)
176 As I imagine it will take a little while to get one's head around all of
177 this you can study the effect of any rules that you try by watching the
178 debug output after having done:-
184 After you have got tired of that, to put it back the way it was:-
190 <sect1>General route filtering
193 Exactly the same rules apply for general route filtering. You would
194 use either an accept filter or a reject filter like this ...
197 reject/route <node_call> <filter_option>
201 accept/route <node_call> <filter_option>
205 Here are some examples of route filters ...
208 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
209 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
210 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
211 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
214 In practice you will either be opening the default filter out for a
215 partner by defining a specific filter for that callsign:-
219 acc/route gb7baa input all
222 or restricting it quite a lot, in fact making it very nearly like an
223 <it>isolated</it> node, like this:-
226 acc/route pi4ehv-8 call gb7djk
227 rej/route pi4ehv-8 input call_dxcc 61,38
230 This last example takes everything except UK and Eire from PI4EHV-8
231 but only sends him my local configuration (just a PC19 for GB7DJK and
232 PC16s for my local users).
235 It is possible to write <bf>much</bf> more complex rules, there are up
236 to 10 accept/reject pairs per callsign per filter. For more information
237 see the next section.
240 <sect1>General filter rules
243 Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
244 v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
245 about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
246 DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
247 anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
250 There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
251 are <em>accept</em>, <em>reject</em> and <em>clear</em>. First we will look
252 generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
253 DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
256 In general terms you can create a "reject" or an "accept" filter which can have
257 up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
264 where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters
265 for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different
266 accept or reject command reference for more details.
268 There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
275 There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
278 and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
285 For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
286 principles to all types of filter.
288 <sect1>Types of filter
291 There are two main types of filter, <em>accept</em> or <em>reject</em>. You
292 can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
293 and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
294 filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
295 lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
296 action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
300 If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
301 will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
302 then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
303 For example if you have a single line <em>accept</em> filter ...
306 accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
309 then you will <em>ONLY</em> get VHF spots <em>from</em> or <em>to</em> CQ zones
313 If you set a reject filter like this ...
316 reject/spots on hf/cw
319 Then you will get everything <em>EXCEPT</em> HF CW spots. You could make this
320 single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
321 and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
322 CW, then you could say ...
325 reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
328 But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
331 accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
334 which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
335 until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
336 wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
337 don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
340 You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
341 understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
344 reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
345 reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
348 What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
349 which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
352 This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
353 you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
354 This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
355 more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
358 You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
359 at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
360 are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <em>APART</em> from those in
361 zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
362 not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
363 logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
366 (on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
369 The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
370 here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
372 As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
373 simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
374 to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
375 one line. For example ...
378 reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
381 would redefine our earlier example, or
387 To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
393 <sect1>Filter options
396 You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
397 various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
399 <sect1>Default filters
402 Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can
403 be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even
404 if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default
405 rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces,
406 WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like
410 accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
411 set/hops node_default spot 50
414 This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY.
415 This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to
416 override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should
417 you require. It is important to note that default filters should be
418 considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the
419 default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
421 <sect1>Advanced filtering
424 Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
427 The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
428 can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
433 acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
436 Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will
437 automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said <em>reject all
438 HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
439 accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones
440 14, 15 and 16</em>. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and
441 an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
444 It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default
445 for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example
446 what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed
447 to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line
448 lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
450 <sect1>Basic hop control
453 In /spider/data you will find a file called hop_table.pl. This is the file
454 that controls your hop count settings. It has a set of default hops on the
455 various PC frames and also a set for each node you want to alter the hops for.
456 You may be happy with the default settings of course, but this powerful tool
457 can help to protect and improve the network. The file will look something
462 # hop table construction
467 # default hopcount to use
470 # some variable hop counts based on message type
481 # the per node hop control thingy
513 Each set of hops is contained within a pair of curly braces and contains a
514 series of PC frame types. PC11 for example is a DX spot. The figures here
515 are not exhaustive but should give you a good idea of how the file works.
518 You can alter this file at any time, including whilst the cluster is running.
519 If you alter the file during runtime, the command <em>load/hops</em> will
520 bring your changes into effect.
522 <sect1>Hop Control on Specific Nodes
524 <p>You can set a callsign specific hop count for any of the standard filter
528 set/hops gb7djk spot 4
529 set/hops node_default route 10
530 set/hops gb7baa wcy 5
533 all work on their specific area of the protocol.
536 The <em>set/hops</em> command overrides any hops that you have set otherwise.
539 You can set what hops have been set using the <em>show/hops</em> command.
541 <sect1>Isolating networks
544 It is possible to isolate networks from each other on a "gateway" node using the
545 <em>set/isolate <node_call></em> command.
548 The effect of this is to partition an isolated network completely from another
549 node connected to your node. Your node will appear on and otherwise behave
550 normally on every network to which you are connected, but data from an isolated
551 network will not cross onto any other network or vice versa. However all the
552 spot, announce and WWV traffic and personal messages will still be handled
553 locally (because you are a real node on all connected networks), that is locally
554 connected users will appear on all networks and will be able to access and
555 receive information from all networks transparently. All routed messages will
556 be sent as normal, so if a user on one network knows that you are a gateway for
557 another network, he can still still send a talk/announce etc message via your
558 node and it will be routed across.
561 If you use isolate on a node connection you will continue to receive
562 all information from the isolated partner, however you will not pass
563 any information back to the isolated node. There are times when you
564 would like to forward only spots across a link (maybe during a contest
565 for example). To do this, isolate the node in the normal way and use
566 an <em>acc/spot >call< all</em> filter to override the isolate.
570 <sect1>Filtering Mail
573 In the /spider/msg directory you will find a file called badmsg.pl.issue. Rename
574 this to badmsg.pl and edit the file. The original looks something like this ....
578 # the list of regexes for messages that we won't store having
579 # received them (bear in mind that we must receive them fully before
583 # The format of each line is as follows
585 # type source pattern
586 # P/B/F T/F/O/S regex
588 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
589 # source: T - to field, F - from field, O - origin, S - subject
590 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
592 # Currently only type B and P msgs are affected by this code.
594 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
595 # causes the action to be taken.
597 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
598 # for the action specified
616 I think this is fairly self explanatory. It is simply a list of subject
617 headers that we do not want to pass on to either the users of the cluster or
618 the other cluster nodes that we are linked to. This is usually because of
619 rules and regulations pertaining to items for sale etc in a particular country.
622 <sect1>Filtering words from text fields in Announce, Talk and DX spots
625 From version 1.48 onwards the interface to this has changed. You can now
626 use the commands <em>set/badword</em> to add words that you are not prepared
627 to see on the cluster, <em>unset/badword</em> to allow that word again and
628 <em>show/badword</em> to list the words that you have set.
631 If you have a previous <em>/spider/data/badwords</em>, the first time you start
632 the node, it will read and convert this file to the new commands. The old style
633 file will then be removed.
635 <sect1>Stopping (possibly bad) DX Spots from Nodes or Spotters
638 There are a number of commands that control whether a spot progresses
639 any further by regarding it as "bad" in some way.
642 A DX Spot has a number of fields which can be checked to see whether they
643 contain "bad" values, they are: the DX callsign itself, the Spotter and
644 the Originating Node.
647 There are a set of commands which allow the sysop to control whether a
656 These work in the same as the <em>set/badword</em> command, you can add
657 any words or callsigns or whatever to the appropriate database. For
658 example, to stop a spot from a particular node you do:
661 set/badnode gb7djk gb7dxc
667 set/badspotter b0mb p1rat nocall
676 You can remove a word using the appropriate unset command
677 (<em>unset/baddx, unset/badspotter, unset/badnode</em>) or list them
678 using one of <em>show/baddx, show/badspotter</em> and
679 <em>show/badnode</em>.
684 DXSpider deals seamlessly with standard AK1A type mail. It supports both
685 personal and bulletin mail and the sysop has additional commands to ensure
686 that mail gets to where it is meant. DXSpider will send mail almost
687 immediately, assuming that the target is on line. However, only one
688 mail message is dealt with at any one time. If a mail message is already
689 being sent or recieved, then the new message will be queued until it has
692 The cluster mail is automatically deleted after 30 days unless the sysop
693 sets the "keep" flag using the <em>msg</em> command.
698 Personal mail is sent using the <em>sp</em> command. This is actually the
699 default method of sending mail and so a simple <em>s</em> for send will do.
700 A full list of the send commands and options is in the <em>command set</em>
701 section, so I will not duplicate them here.
706 Bulletin mail is sent by using the <em>sb</em> command. This is one of the
707 most common mistakes users make when sending mail. They send a bulletin
708 mail with <em>s</em> or <em>sp</em> instead of <em>sb</em> and of course
709 the message never leaves the cluster. This can be rectified by the sysop
710 by using the <em>msg</em> command.
712 <P>Bulletin addresses can be set using the Forward.pl file.
717 DXSpider receives all and any mail sent to it without any alterations needed
718 in files. Because personal and bulletin mail are treated differently, there
719 is no need for a list of accepted bulletin addresses. It is necessary, however,
720 to tell the program which links accept which bulletins. For example, it is
721 pointless sending bulletins addresses to "UK" to any links other than UK
722 ones. The file that does this is called forward.pl and lives in /spider/msg.
723 At default, like other spider files it is named forward.pl.issue. Rename it
724 to forward.pl and edit the file to match your requirements.
725 The format is below ...
729 # this is an example message forwarding file for the system
731 # The format of each line is as follows
733 # type to/from/at pattern action destinations
734 # P/B/F T/F/A regex I/F [ call [, call ...] ]
736 # type: P - private, B - bulletin (msg), F - file (ak1a bull)
737 # to/from/at: T - to field, F - from field, A - home bbs, O - origin
738 # pattern: a perl regex on the field requested
739 # action: I - ignore, F - forward
740 # destinations: a reference to an array containing node callsigns
742 # if it is non-private and isn't in here then it won't get forwarded
744 # Currently only type B msgs are affected by this code.
746 # The list is read from the top down, the first pattern that matches
747 # causes the action to be taken.
749 # The pattern can be undef or 0 in which case it will always be selected
750 # for the action specified
752 # If the BBS list is undef or 0 and the action is 'F' (and it matches the
753 # pattern) then it will always be forwarded to every node that doesn't have
754 # it (I strongly recommend you don't use this unless you REALLY mean it, if
755 # you allow a new link with this on EVERY bull will be forwarded immediately
756 # on first connection)
762 'B', 'T', 'LOCAL', 'F', [ qw(GB7MBC) ],
763 'B', 'T', 'ALL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
764 'B', 'T', 'UK', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
765 'B', 'T', 'QSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
766 'B', 'T', 'QSLINF', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
767 'B', 'T', 'DX', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
768 'B', 'T', 'DXINFO', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
769 'B', 'T', 'DXNEWS', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
770 'B', 'T', 'DXQSL', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
771 'B', 'T', 'SYSOP', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX) ],
772 'B', 'T', '50MHZ', 'F', [ qw(GB7BAA GB7ADX PA4AB-14) ],
776 Simply insert a bulletin address and state in the brackets where you wish
777 that mail to go. For example, you can see here that mail sent to "UK" will
778 only be sent to the UK links and not to PA4AB-14.
781 To force the cluster to reread the file use load/forward
784 <sect1>The msg command
787 The <em>msg</em> command is a very powerful and flexible tool for the
788 sysop. It allows the sysop to alter to and from fields and make other
789 changes to manage the cluster mail.
791 Here is a full list of the various options ...
794 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
795 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
796 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
797 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
798 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
799 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
800 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
801 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
802 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
803 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waiting time for this message
804 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
805 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
806 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
807 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
810 These commands are simply typed from within the cluster as the sysop user.
812 <sect1>Message status
815 You can check on a message from within the cluster by using the command
816 <em>stat/msg</em>. This will give you additional information on the
817 message number including which nodes have received it, which node it
818 was received from and when etc. Here is an example of the output of
822 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
825 Msg Time: 26-Jan-2001 1302Z
829 Subject: AMSAT 2line KEPS 01025.AMSAT
831 Got it Nodes: GB7BAA, GB7ADX
835 G0VGS de GB7MBC 28-Jan-2001 1308Z >
838 <sect1>Filtering mail
841 This is described in the section on <em>Other filters</em> so I will not
844 <sect1>Distribution lists
847 Distribution lists are simply a list of users to send certain types of
848 mail to. An example of this is mail you only wish to send to other
849 sysops. In /spider/msg there is a directory called <em>distro</em>. You
850 put any distibution lists in here. For example, here is a file called
851 SYSOP.pl that caters for the UK sysops.
854 qw(GB7TLH GB7DJK GB7DXM GB7CDX GB7BPQ GB7DXN GB7MBC GB7MBC-6 GB7MDX
855 GB7NDX GB7SDX GB7TDX GB7UDX GB7YDX GB7ADX GB7BAA GB7DXA GB7DXH
856 GB7DXK GB7DXI GB7DXS)
859 Any mail sent to "sysop" would only be sent to the callsigns in this list.
864 Spider provides a simple BBS interface. No input is required from the sysop
865 of the cluster at all. The BBS simply sets the cluster as a BBS and pushes
866 any required mail to the cluster. No mail can flow from Spider to the BBS,
867 the interface is one-way.
870 Please be careful not to flood the cluster network with unnecessary mail.
871 Make sure you only send mail to the clusters that want it by using the
872 Forward.pl file very carefully.
877 From 1.48 onwards it will become increasingly possible to control DXSpider's
878 operation with scripts of various kinds.
881 In the first instance, in 1.48, the sysop can create, with their favorite
882 text editor, files in the directory <em>/spider/scripts</em> which contain
883 any legal command for a callsign or class of connection which will be executed
887 The filename is the callsign of the connection that you want the script to
888 operate on, eg: <em>/spider/scripts/g1tlh</em>. The filenames are always in
889 lower case on those architectures where this makes a difference.
892 In addition to the callsign specific scripts there are three others:-
900 The <em>startup</em> script is executed immediately after all
901 initialisation of the node is done, but before any connections are
905 The <em>user_default</em> script is executed for every user that does
906 <bf>NOT</bf> already have a specific script.
909 The <em>node_default</em> script is executed for every node that doesn't
910 have a specific script.
913 There are a couple of examples in the <em>/spider/scripts</em> directory.
918 Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
919 chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
920 with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
921 to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
922 database but will expand with time.
924 <sect1>Creating databases
927 Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
928 sent from the cluster prompt as the <em>sysop</em> user.
930 To create a database you use the command <em>dbcreate</em>. It can
931 be used in 3 different ways like so ..
937 To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
938 name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
939 simply defines it to say that it exists.
942 dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
945 This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
946 scanned, then the second, the third etc...
949 dbcreate <name> remote <name>
952 This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
953 name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
954 node_call of the remote node, for example...
957 dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
960 Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
961 chain can be a remote database.
963 <sect1>Importing databases
966 The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
967 AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
968 This will be added to with time.
970 To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp
971 and then issue the following command ...
974 dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
977 This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if
980 <sect1>Checking available databases
983 Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
984 added. To do this use the <em>dbavail</em> command. This will
985 output the available databases. For example ...
989 DB Name Location Chain
993 G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
996 <sect1>Looking up databases
999 To look for information in a defined database, simply use the <em>dbshow</em>
1000 command, for example ...
1003 dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
1006 will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
1007 database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users
1008 you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
1009 <em>show</em> command like this ...
1012 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
1015 Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
1017 <sect1>Removing databases
1020 To delete an existing database you use the <em>dbremove</em> command.
1027 would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
1028 system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
1029 If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created
1030 from scratch if you still required it.
1032 <sect>Information, files and useful programs
1037 One of the more important things a cluster sysop needs to do is to get
1038 information to his users. The simplest way to do this is to have a banner
1039 that is sent to the user on login. This is know as a "message of the day"
1040 or "motd". To set this up, simply create a file in /spider/data called motd
1041 and edit it to say whatever you want. It is purely a text file and will be
1042 sent automatically to anyone logging in to the cluster.
1047 This message of the day file lives in the same directory as the standard
1048 motd file but is only sent to non-registered users. Once registered they
1049 will receive the same message as any other user.
1051 <sect1>Downtime message
1054 If for any reason the cluster is down, maybe for upgrade or maintenance but
1055 the machine is still running, a message can be sent to the user advising them
1056 of the fact. This message lives in the /spider/data directory and is called
1057 "offline". Simply create the file and edit it to say whatever you wish.
1058 This file will be sent to a user attempting to log into the cluster when
1059 DXSpider is not actually running.
1061 <sect1>Other text messages
1064 You can set other text messages to be read by the user if they input the file
1065 name. This could be for news items or maybe information for new users.
1066 To set this up, make a directory under /spider called <em>packclus</em>.
1067 Under this directory you can create files called <em>news</em> or <em>newuser</em>
1068 for example. In fact you can create files with any names you like. These can
1069 be listed by the user with the command ....
1075 They can be read by the user by typing the command ....
1081 If the file they want to read is called <em>news</em>. You could also set
1082 an alias for this in the Alias file to allow them just to type <em>news</em>
1085 You can also store other information in this directory, either directly or
1086 nested under directories. One use for this would be to store DX bulletins
1087 such as the OPDX bulletins. These can be listed and read by the user.
1088 To keep things tidy, make a directory under /spider/packclus called
1089 <em>bulletin</em>. Now copy any OPDX or similar bulletins into it. These
1090 can be listed by the user in the same way as above using the <em>show/files</em>
1091 command with an extension for the bulletin directory you have just created,
1099 An example would look like this ....
1103 bulletin DIR 20-Dec-1999 1715Z news 1602 14-Dec-1999 1330Z
1106 You can see that in the files area (basically the packclus directory) there is a
1107 file called <em>news</em> and a directory called <em>bulletin</em>. You can
1108 also see that dates they were created. In the case of the file <em>news</em>,
1109 you can also see the time it was last modified, a good clue as to whether the
1110 file has been updated since you last read it. To read the file called
1111 <em>news</em> you would simply issue the command ....
1117 To look what is in the bulletin directory you issue the command ....
1121 opdx390 21381 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx390.1 1670 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1122 opdx390.2 2193 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx391 25045 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1123 opdx392 35969 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx393 15023 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1124 opdx394 33429 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx394.1 3116 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1125 opdx395 24319 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396 32647 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1126 opdx396.1 5537 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx396.2 6242 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1127 opdx397 18433 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx398 19961 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1128 opdx399 17719 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx400 19600 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1129 opdx401 27738 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx402 18698 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1130 opdx403 24994 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx404 15685 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1131 opdx405 13984 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx405.1 4166 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1132 opdx406 28934 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx407 24153 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1133 opdx408 15081 29-Nov-1999 1621Z opdx409 23234 29-Nov-1999 1621Z
1134 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (16 lines) >
1137 You can now read any file in this directory using the type command, like this ....
1140 type bulletin/opdx391
1141 Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 391
1142 The Ohio/Penn Dx PacketCluster
1146 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW
1147 Provided by BARF-80 BBS Cleveland, Ohio
1148 Online at 440-237-8208 28.8k-1200 Baud 8/N/1 (New Area Code!)
1149 Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX
1150 Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, K1XN & Golist, WB2RAJ/WB2YQH
1151 & The 59(9) DXReport, W3UR & The Daily DX, K3TEJ, KN4UG, W4DC, NC6J, N6HR,
1152 Press Enter to continue, A to abort (508 lines) >
1155 The page length will of course depend on what you have it set to!
1157 <sect1>The Aliases file
1160 You will find a file in /spider/cmd/ called Aliases. First, copy this file to
1161 /spider/local_cmd/Aliases and edit this file. You will see something like this ...
1167 # provide some standard aliases for commands for terminally
1168 # helpless ak1a user (helpless in the sense that they never
1169 # read nor understand help files)
1171 # This file is automagically reloaded if its modification time is
1172 # later than the one stored in CmdAlias.pm
1174 # PLEASE make this file consistant with reality! (the patterns MUST
1175 # match the filenames!)
1177 # Don't alter this file, copy it into the local_cmd tree and modify it.
1178 # This file will be replaced everytime I issue a new release.
1180 # You only need to put aliases in here for commands that don't work as
1181 # you desire naturally, e.g sh/dx on its own just works as you expect
1182 # so you need not add it as an alias.
1190 '^\?', 'apropos', 'apropos',
1193 '^ann.*/full', 'announce full', 'announce',
1194 '^ann.*/sysop', 'announce sysop', 'announce',
1195 '^ann.*/(.*)$', 'announce $1', 'announce',
1202 '^del', 'kill', 'kill',
1203 '^del\w*/fu', 'kill full', 'kill',
1204 '^di\w*/a\w*', 'directory all', 'directory',
1205 '^di\w*/b\w*', 'directory bulletins', 'directory',
1206 '^di\w*/n\w*', 'directory new', 'directory',
1207 '^di\w*/o\w*', 'directory own', 'directory',
1208 '^di\w*/s\w*', 'directory subject', 'directory',
1209 '^di\w*/t\w*', 'directory to', 'directory',
1210 '^di\w*/f\w*', 'directory from', 'directory',
1211 '^di\w*/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1228 '^l$', 'directory', 'directory',
1229 '^ll$', 'directory', 'directory',
1230 '^ll/(\d+)', 'directory $1', 'directory',
1235 '^news', 'type news', 'type',
1245 '^r$', 'read', 'read',
1246 '^rcmd/(\S+)', 'rcmd $1', 'rcmd',
1249 '^s/p$', 'send', 'send',
1250 '^sb$', 'send noprivate', 'send',
1251 '^set/home$', 'set/homenode', 'set/homenode',
1252 '^set/nobe', 'unset/beep', 'unset/beep',
1253 '^set/nohe', 'unset/here', 'unset/here',
1254 '^set/noan', 'unset/announce', 'unset/announce',
1255 '^set/nodx', 'unset/dx', 'unset/dx',
1256 '^set/nota', 'unset/talk', 'unset/talk',
1257 '^set/noww', 'unset/wwv', 'unset/wwv',
1258 '^set/nowx', 'unset/wx', 'unset/wx',
1259 '^sh$', 'show', 'show',
1260 '^sh\w*/buck', 'dbshow buck', 'dbshow',
1261 '^sh\w*/bu', 'show/files bulletins', 'show/files',
1262 '^sh\w*/c/n', 'show/configuration nodes', 'show/configuration',
1263 '^sh\w*/c$', 'show/configuration', 'show/configuration',
1264 '^sh\w*/com', 'dbavail', 'dbavail',
1265 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/dx $1-$2', 'show/dx',
1266 '^sh\w*/dx/(\d+)', 'show/dx $1', 'show/dx',
1267 '^sh\w*/dx/d(\d+)', 'show/dx from $1', 'show/dx',
1268 '^sh\w*/email', 'dbshow email', 'dbshow',
1269 '^sh\w*/hftest', 'dbshow hftest', 'dbshow',
1270 '^sh\w*/vhftest', 'dbshow vhftest', 'dbshow',
1271 '^sh\w*/qsl', 'dbshow qsl', 'dbshow',
1272 '^sh\w*/tnc', 'who', 'who',
1273 '^sh\w*/up', 'show/cluster', 'show/cluster',
1274 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)-(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1-$2', 'show/wwv',
1275 '^sh\w*/w\w*/(\d+)', 'show/wwv $1', 'show/wwv',
1276 '^sp$', 'send', 'send',
1280 '^ta$', 'talk', 'talk',
1281 '^t$', 'talk', 'talk',
1288 '^wx/full', 'wx full', 'wx',
1289 '^wx/sysop', 'wx sysop', 'wx',
1300 You can create aliases for commands at will. Beware though, these may not
1301 always turn out as you think. Care is needed and you need to test the
1302 results once you have set an alias.
1307 In later versions of Spider a simple console program is provided for the sysop.
1308 This has a type ahead buffer with line editing facilities and colour for spots,
1309 announces etc. To use this program, simply use console.pl instead of client.
1312 To edit the colours, copy /spider/perl/Console.pl to /spider/local and edit the
1313 file with your favourite editor.
1315 <sect1>Updating kepler data
1318 Spider has a powerful and flexible show/satellite command. In order for
1319 this to be accurate, the kepler data has to be updated regularly. In
1320 general, this data is available as an email or via cluster mail.
1321 Updating it is simple. First you need to export the mail message as a
1322 file. You do this with the <em>export</em> command from the cluster prompt
1323 as the sysop. For example ...
1326 export 5467 /spider/perl/keps.in
1329 would export message number 5467 as a file called keps.in in the
1330 /spider/perl directory.
1332 Now login to a VT as sysop and cd /spider/perl. There is a command in
1333 the perl directory called <em>convkeps.pl</em>. All we need to do now is
1334 convert the file like so ...
1337 ./convkeps.pl keps.in
1340 Now go back to the cluster and issue the command ...
1346 That is it! the kepler data has been updated.
1348 <sect1>The QRZ callbook
1351 The command <em>sh/qrz</em> will only work once you have followed a few
1352 simple steps. First you need to get a user ID and password from qrz.com.
1353 Simply go to the site and create one. Secondly you need to copy the file
1354 /spider/perl/Internet.pm to /spider/local and alter it to match your user
1355 ID and password. You also at this point need to set $allow=1 to complete
1356 the setup. Many thanks to Fred Lloyd, the proprieter of
1357 <htmlurl url="http://www.qrz.com" name="qrz.com"> for allowing this access.
1362 The directory /spider/scripts is used for several things. Firstly it
1363 contains a file called startup that can be used to call in any changes
1364 to the cluster from the default settings on startup. Examples of this
1365 include how many spots it is possible to get with the sh/dx command,
1366 whether you want registration/passwords to be permanently on etc. An
1367 example file is shown below and is included in the distribution as
1372 # startup script example
1374 # set maximum no of spots allowed to 100
1375 # set/var $Spot::maxspots = 1
1377 # Set registration on
1378 # set/var $main::reqreg = 1
1381 # set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
1385 Secondly, it is used to store the login scripts for users. Currently
1386 this can only be done by the sysop but it is envisaged that eventually
1387 users will be able to set their own. An example is included in the
1388 distibution but here is a further example.
1403 The lines in between commands can simply insert a blank line or a character
1404 such as a + sign to make the output easier to read.
1409 From version 1.49 DXSpider has some additional security features. These
1410 are not by any means meant to be exhaustive, however they do afford some
1411 security against piracy. These two new features can be used independently
1412 of each other or in concert to tighten the security.
1417 The basic principle of registration is simple. If a user is not registered
1418 by the sysop, then they have read-only access to the cluster. The only
1419 thing they can actually send is a talk or a message to the sysop. In
1420 order for them to be able to spot, send announces or talks etc the sysop
1421 must register them with the <em>set/register</em> command, like this ...
1427 The user g0vgs can now fully use the cluster. In order to enable
1428 registration, you can issue the command ...
1431 set/var $main::reqreg = 1
1434 Any users that are not registered will now see the motd_nor file rather
1435 than the motd file as discussed in the Information, files and useful
1439 Entering this line at the prompt will only last for the time the cluster
1440 is running of course and would not be present on a restart. To make the
1441 change permanent, add the above line to /spider/scripts/startup. To
1442 read more on the startup file, see the section on Information, files
1443 and useful programs.
1446 To unregister a user use <em>unset/register</em> and to show the list
1447 of registered users, use the command <em>show/register</em>.
1452 At the moment, passwords only affect users who login to a DXSpider
1453 cluster node via telnet. If a user requires a password, they can
1454 either set it themselves or have the sysop enter it for them by using
1455 the <em>set/password</em> command. Any users who already have passwords,
1456 such as remote sysops, will be asked for their passwords automatically
1457 by the cluster. Using passwords in this way means that the user has a
1458 choice on whether to have a password or not. To force the use of
1459 passwords at login, issue the command ...
1462 set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
1465 at the cluster prompt. This can also be added to the /spider/scripts/startup
1466 file as above to make the change permanent.
1469 Of course, if you do this you will have to assign a password for each of
1470 your users. If you were asking them to register, it is anticipated that
1471 you would ask them to send you a message both to ask to be registered and
1472 to give you the password they wish to use.
1475 Should a user forget their password, it can be reset by the sysop by
1476 first removing the existing password and then setting a new one like so ...
1479 unset/password g0vgs
1480 set/password g0vgs new_password
1486 CVS stands for "Concurrent Versions System" and the CVS for DXSpider is held
1487 at <htmlurl url="http://www.sourceforge.net" name="Sourceforge">. This means
1488 that it is possible to update your DXSpider installation to the latest
1489 sources by using a few simple commands.
1492 Please be aware that if you update your system using CVS, it is possible that
1493 you could be running code that is very beta and not fully tested. There is
1494 a possibility that it could be unstable.
1497 I am of course assuming that you have a machine with both DXSpider and
1498 Internet access running.
1501 BEFORE YOU EVEN CONSIDER STARTING WITH THIS MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR
1502 ENTIRE SPIDER TREE!!
1505 Assuming you are connected to the Internet, you need to login to the
1506 CVS repository and then update your Spider source. There are several
1507 steps which are listed below ...
1510 First login as the user <em>sysop</em>. Next you need to connect to the CVS
1511 repository. You do this with the command below ...
1514 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider login
1517 You will get a password prompt. Simply hit return here and your machine should
1518 return to a normal linux prompt.
1521 What happens next depends on whether you have an existing installation that
1522 you want to update with the latest and greatest or whether you just want
1523 to see what is there and/or run it on a new machine for testing.
1525 If you are installing Spider from CVS then change directory to /home/sysop
1527 If you are wanting to update Spider then cd to /tmp
1530 The next step will create a brand new 'spider' directory in your current
1534 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.DXSpider.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/dxspider co spider
1537 This command is all on one line.
1540 Hopefully your screen should show you downloading files. The -z3 simply compresses
1541 the download to improve speed.
1542 When this has finished, you will have exactly the same as if you had untarred a full
1543 tarball PLUS some extra directories and files that CVS needs to do the magic that
1547 Now if you are doing a new installation, that's it. Carry on as if you have
1548 just downloaded and untarred the lastest tarball.
1551 If you want to upgrade your current installation then do this ...
1554 tar cvfz /tmp/s.tgz spider
1556 tar xvfzp /tmp/s.tgz
1559 This is assuming you downloaded to the /tmp directory of course.
1562 NOTE: the 'p' on the end of the 'xvfz' is IMPORTANT! It keeps the permissions
1563 correct. YOU WERE LOGGED IN AS THE USER SYSOP WEREN'T YOU?????
1565 Remember to recompile the C client (cd /spider/src; make)
1568 At this point the files have been upgraded. You can (usually) restart the cluster
1569 in your own time. However, if you attempt to use any new commands or features
1570 expect it to be fatal! At least your cluster will have been restarted then so it
1571 will be too late to worry about it!
1574 Now the magic part! From now on when you want to update, simply connect to the
1575 Internet and then, as the user <em>sysop</em> ...
1582 and your files will be updated. As above, remember to recompile the "C" client
1583 if it has been updated (CVS will tell you) and restart if any of the perl scripts
1584 have been altered or added, again, CVS will tell you.
1587 You will find any changes documented in the /spider/Changes file.
1589 <sect>The DXSpider command set
1592 Below is a complete list of commands available from the cluster prompt.
1593 Most maintenance tasks are automatic but there are some commands that are useful
1594 for a sysop. These are listed below in alphabetical order. The number in
1595 brackets following the command name is the permissions level needed to use
1598 <sect1>accept/announce (0)
1602 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
1607 Create an 'accept this announce' line for a filter.
1609 An accept filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
1610 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
1611 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1613 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1616 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1617 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1619 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1620 origin_itu <numbers>
1621 origin_zone <numbers>
1626 wx 1 filter WX announces
1627 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
1634 acc/ann 2 by_zone 14,15,16
1635 (this could be all on one line: acc/ann dest 6MUK or by_zone 14,15,16)
1644 This filter would only allow announces that were posted buy UK stations.
1645 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1651 but this probably for advanced users...
1653 <sect1>accept/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
1657 <bf>accept/announce <call> [input] [0-9]<pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
1661 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1662 default for nodes and users eg:-
1666 accept/ann input node_default by G,M,2
1667 accept/ann user_default by G,M,2
1670 <sect1>accept/route (8)
1674 <bf>accept/route <call> [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'accept' filter line for routing
1678 Create an 'accept this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
1681 An accept filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches this filter
1682 it is passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please read this
1683 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1686 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1689 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
1690 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1693 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
1694 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1695 origin_itu <numbers>
1696 origin_zone <numbers>
1703 acc/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (send only UK+EIRE nodes)
1704 acc/route gb7djk call gb7djk (equiv to SET/ISOLATE)
1708 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything eg:
1714 <sect1>accept/spots (0)
1718 <bf>accept/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept filter
1723 Create an 'accept this spot' line for a filter.
1726 An accept filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
1727 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
1728 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
1730 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
1733 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
1734 on <range> same as 'freq'
1735 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
1736 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
1738 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1749 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
1750 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
1751 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
1752 this is more efficient than saying simply: freq HF (but don't get
1753 too hung up about that)
1759 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
1762 You can use the tag 'all' to accept everything, eg:
1768 but this probably for advanced users...
1770 <sect1>accept/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
1774 <bf>accept/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Spot filter sysop version
1778 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1779 default for nodes and users eg:-
1782 accept/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
1783 accept/spot node_default all
1784 set/hops node_default 10
1786 accept/spot user_default by G,M,2
1789 <sect1>accept/wcy (0)
1793 <bf>accept/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> set an accept WCY filter
1797 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1798 filter on the following fields:-
1801 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1803 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1804 origin_itu <numbers>
1805 origin_zone <numbers>
1813 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
1814 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
1816 This command is really provided for future use.
1818 See HELP FILTER for information.
1820 <sect1>accept/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
1824 <bf>accept/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
1825 WCY filter sysop version
1829 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1830 default for nodes and users eg:-
1833 accept/wcy node_default all
1834 set/hops node_default 10
1837 <sect1>accept/wwv (0)
1841 <bf>accept/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an accept WWV filter
1845 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
1846 filter on the following fields:-
1849 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
1851 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
1852 origin_itu <numbers>
1853 origin_zone <numbers>
1863 accept/wwv by_zone 4
1866 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
1867 by stations in the US).
1869 See HELP FILTER for information.
1871 <sect1>accept/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
1875 <bf>accept/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
1876 WWV filter sysop version
1880 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
1881 default for nodes and users eg:-
1884 accept/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
1885 accept/wwv node_default all
1886 set/hops node_default 10
1888 accept/wwv user_default by W,K
1895 <bf>announce <text></bf> Send an announcement to local users
1899 Send an announcement to LOCAL users only, where <text> is the text
1900 of the announcement you wish to broadcast. If you do not wish to receive
1901 announces, use the <em>set/noannounce</em> command. Any announces made by
1902 a sysop will override set/noannounce.
1904 <sect1>announce full (0)
1908 <bf>announce full <text></bf> Send an announcement cluster wide
1912 This command will send your announcement across the whole cluster
1916 <sect1>announce sysop (5)
1920 <bf>announce sysop <text></bf>
1924 Send an announcement to Sysops only
1930 <bf>apropos <string></bf> Search the help database
1934 Search the help database for <string> (it isn't case sensitive),
1935 and print the names of all the commands that may be relevant.
1941 <bf>bye</bf> Exit from the cluster
1945 This will disconnect you from the cluster
1951 <bf>catchup <node_call> All|[<msgno> ...]</bf>
1952 Mark a message as sent
1956 When you send messages the fact that you have forwarded it to another node
1957 is remembered so that it isn't sent again. When you have a new partner
1958 node and you add their callsign to your /spider/msg/forward.pl file, all
1959 outstanding non-private messages will be forwarded to them. This may well
1960 be ALL the non-private messages. You can prevent this by using these
1965 catchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
1968 and to undo what you have just done:-
1971 uncatchup GB7DJK all
1972 uncatchup GB7DJK 300 301 302 303 500-510
1975 which will arrange for them to be forward candidates again.
1977 Order is not important.
1979 <sect1>clear/spots (0)
1983 <bf>clear/spots [1|all]</bf> Clear a spot filter line
1987 This command allows you to clear (remove) a line in a spot filter or to
1988 remove the whole filter.
1990 If you have a filter:-
1994 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2003 you will be left with:-
2006 acc/spot 2 on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2015 the filter will be completely removed.
2022 <bf>connect <callsign></bf> Start a connection to another DX Cluster
2026 Start a connection process that will culminate in a new connection to the
2027 DX cluster <callsign>. This process creates a new 'client' process which will
2028 use the script in /spider/connect/<callsign> to effect the 'chat' exchange
2029 necessary to traverse the network(s) to logon to the cluster <callsign>.
2035 <bf>dbavail</bf> Show a list of all the databases in the system
2039 The title says it all really, this command lists all the databases defined
2040 in the system. It is also aliased to SHOW/COMMAND.
2046 <bf>dbcreate <name></bf> Create a database entry<newline>
2047 <bf>dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>..]</bf> Create a
2048 chained database entry<newline>
2049 <bf>dbcreate <name> remote <node></bf> Create a remote database
2054 DBCREATE allows you to define a database in the system. It doesn't actually
2055 create anything, just defines it.
2057 The databases that are created are simple DB_File hash databases, they are
2058 therefore already 'indexed'.
2060 You can define a local database with the first form of the command eg:
2064 You can also chain databases with the addition of the 'chain' keyword.
2065 This will search each database one after the other. A typical example
2068 DBCREATE sdx_qsl chain sql_ad
2070 No checking is done to see if the any of the chained databases exist, in
2071 fact it is usually better to do the above statement first then do each of
2072 the chained databases.
2074 Databases can exist offsite. To define a database that lives on another
2077 DBCREATE buckmaster remote gb7dxc
2079 Remote databases cannot be chained; however, the last database in a
2080 a chain can be a remote database eg:
2082 DBCREATE qsl chain gb7dxc
2084 To see what databases have been defined do:
2086 DBAVAIL (or it will have been aliased to SHOW/COMMAND)
2088 It would be normal for you to add an entry into your local Aliases file
2089 to allow people to use the 'SHOW/<dbname>' style syntax. So you would
2090 need to add a line like:-
2096 '^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
2106 to work as they may be used to.
2108 See DBIMPORT for the importing of existing AK1A format data to databases.
2109 See DBSHOW for generic database enquiry
2115 <bf>dbimport <dbname></bf> Import AK1A data into a database
2119 If you want to import or update data in bulk to a database you can use
2120 this command. It will either create or update entries into an existing
2121 database. For example:-
2123 DBIMPORT oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
2125 will import the standard OBLAST database that comes with AK1A into the
2126 oblast database held locally.
2132 <bf>dbremove <dbname></bf> Delete a database
2136 DBREMOVE will completely remove a database entry and also delete any data
2137 file that is associated with it.
2139 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2145 will remove the oblast database from the system and it will also remove
2146 the associated datafile.
2150 There is no warning, no comeback, no safety net.
2152 You have been warned.
2158 <bf>dbshow <dbname> <key></bf> Display an entry, if it exists,
2163 This is the generic user interface to the database to the database system.
2164 It is expected that the sysop will add an entry to the local Aliases file
2165 so that users can use the more familiar AK1A style of enquiry such as:
2171 but if he hasn't and the database really does exist (use DBAVAIL or
2172 SHOW/COMMAND to find out) you can do the same thing with:
2183 <bf>debug</bf> Set the cluster program into debug mode
2187 Executing this command will only have an effect if you are running the cluster
2194 It will interrupt the cluster just after the debug command has finished.
2196 <sect1>directory (0)
2200 <bf>directory</bf> List messages<newline>
2201 <bf>directory all</bf> List all messages<newline>
2202 <bf>directory own</bf> List your own messages<newline>
2203 <bf>directory new</bf> List all new messages<newline>
2204 <bf>directory to <call></bf> List all messages to <call><newline>
2205 <bf>directory from <call></bf> List all messages from <call><newline>
2206 <bf>directory subject <string></bf> List all messages with <string>
2208 <bf>directory <nn></bf> List last <nn> messages<newline>
2209 <bf>directory <from>-<to></bf> List messages <from> message <to> message <newline>
2213 List the messages in the messages directory.
2215 If there is a 'p' one space after the message number then it is a
2216 personal message. If there is a '-' between the message number and the
2217 'p' then this indicates that the message has been read.
2219 You can use shell escape characters such as '*' and '?' in the <call>
2222 You can combine some of the various directory commands together eg:-
2227 DIR SUBJECT IOTA 200-250
2230 You can abbreviate all the commands to one letter and use ak1a syntax:-
2238 <sect1>directory (extended for sysops) (5)
2241 Works just like the user command except that sysops can see ALL messages.
2243 <sect1>disconnect (8)
2247 <bf>disconnect <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Disconnect a user or node
2251 Disconnect any <call> connected locally
2257 <bf>dx [by <call>] <freq> <call> <remarks></bf> Send a DX spot
2261 This is how you send a DX Spot to other users. You can, in fact, now
2262 enter the <freq> and the <call> either way round.
2270 will all give the same result. You can add some remarks to the end
2271 of the command and they will be added to the spot.
2274 DX FR0G 144600 this is a test
2277 You can credit someone else by saying:-
2280 DX by G1TLH FR0G 144.600 he isn't on the cluster
2283 The <freq> is compared against the available bands set up in the
2284 cluster. See SHOW/BANDS for more information.
2290 <bf>export <msgno> <filename></bf> Export a message to a file
2294 Export a message to a file. This command can only be executed on a local
2295 console with a fully privileged user. The file produced will be in a form
2296 ready to be imported back into the cluster by placing it in the import
2297 directory (/spider/msg/import).
2299 This command cannot overwrite an existing file. This is to provide some
2300 measure of security. Any files written will owned by the same user as the
2301 main cluster, otherwise you can put the new files anywhere the cluster can
2302 access. For example:-
2306 <sect1>export_users (9)
2310 <bf>export_users [<filename>]</bf> Export the users database to ascii
2314 Export the users database to a file in ascii format. If no filename
2315 is given then it will export the file to /spider/data/user_asc.
2317 If the file already exists it will be renamed to <filename>.o. In fact
2318 up to 5 generations of the file can be kept each one with an extra 'o' on the
2321 BE WARNED: this will write to any file you have write access to. No check is
2322 made on the filename (if any) that you specify.
2324 <sect1>forward/latlong (8)
2328 <bf>forward/latlong <node_call></bf> Send latitude and longitude
2329 information to another cluster
2333 This command sends all the latitude and longitude information that your
2334 cluster is holding against callsigns. One advantage of recieving this
2335 information is that more locator information is held by you. This
2336 means that more locators are given on the DX line assuming you have
2337 <em>set/dxgrid</em> enabled. This could be a LOT of information though, so
2338 it is not recommended on slow links.
2340 <sect1>forward/opername (1)
2344 <bf>forward/opername <call></bf> Send out information on this <call>
2349 This command sends out any information held in the user file which can
2350 be broadcast in PC41 protocol packets. This information is Name, QTH, Location
2351 and Homenode. PC41s are only sent for the information that is available.
2357 <bf>help <cmd></bf> Get help on a command
2361 All commands can be abbreviated, so SHOW/DX can be abbreviated
2362 to SH/DX, ANNOUNCE can be shortened to AN and so on.
2364 Look at the APROPOS <string> command which will search the help database
2365 for the <string> you specify and give you a list of likely commands
2366 to look at with HELP.
2372 <bf>init <node call></bf> Re-initialise a link to an AK1A compatible node
2376 This command attempts to re-initialise a link to a (usually) AK1A node
2377 that has got confused, usually by a protocol loop of some kind. It may
2378 work - but you usually will be better off simply disconnecting it (or
2379 better, if it is a real AK1A node, doing an RCMD <node> DISC/F <your
2382 Best of luck - you will need it.
2388 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ..]</bf> Delete a message
2389 from the local system
2393 Delete a message from the local system. You will only be able to
2394 delete messages that you have originated or been sent (unless you are
2401 <bf>kill <msgno> [<msgno> ...]</bf> Remove or erase a message from
2403 <bf>kill from <call></bf> Remove all messages from a callsign<newline>
2404 <bf>kill to <call></bf> Remove all messages to a callsign<newline>
2408 You can get rid of any message to or originating from your callsign using
2409 this command. You can remove more than one message at a time.
2411 As a sysop you can kill any message on the system.
2413 <sect1>kill full (5)
2417 <bf>kill full <msgno> [<msgno>]</bf> Delete a message from the
2422 Delete a message (usually a 'bulletin') from the whole cluster system.
2424 This uses the subject field, so any messages that have exactly the same subject
2425 will be deleted. Beware!
2431 <bf>links</bf> Show which nodes are physically connected
2435 This is a quick listing that shows which links are connected and
2436 some information about them. See WHO for a list of all connections.
2439 <sect1>load/aliases (9)
2443 <bf>load/aliases</bf> Reload the command alias table
2447 Reload the /spider/cmd/Aliases file after you have editted it. You will need to
2448 do this if you change this file whilst the cluster is running in order for the
2449 changes to take effect.
2451 <sect1>load/badmsg (9)
2455 <bf>load/badmsg</bf> Reload the bad message table
2459 Reload the /spider/msg/badmsg.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2460 the cluster is running. This table contains a number of perl regular
2461 expressions which are searched for in the fields targetted of each message.
2462 If any of them match then that message is immediately deleted on receipt.
2464 <sect1>load/bands (9)
2468 <bf>load/bands</bf> Reload the band limits table
2472 Reload the /spider/data/bands.pl file if you have changed it manually whilst
2473 the cluster is running.
2475 <sect1>load/cmd_cache (9)
2479 <bf>load/cmd_cache</bf> Reload the automatic command cache
2483 Normally, if you change a command file in the cmd or local_cmd tree it will
2484 automatially be picked up by the cluster program. Sometimes it can get confused
2485 if you are doing a lot of moving commands about or delete a command in the
2486 local_cmd tree and want to use the normal one again. Execute this command to
2487 reset everything back to the state it was just after a cluster restart.
2489 <sect1>load/forward (9)
2493 <bf>load/forward</bf> Reload the msg forwarding routing table
2496 Reload the /spider/msg/forward.pl file if you have changed it
2497 manually whilst the cluster is running.
2499 <sect1>load/messages (9)
2503 <bf>load/messages</bf> Reload the system messages file
2507 If you change the /spider/perl/Messages file (usually whilst fiddling/writing ne
2508 commands) you can have them take effect during a cluster session by executing this
2509 command. You need to do this if get something like :-
2511 unknown message 'xxxx' in lang 'en'
2513 <sect1>load/prefixes (9)
2517 <bf>load/prefixes</bf> Reload the prefix table
2521 Reload the /spider/data/prefix_data.pl file if you have changed it manually
2522 whilst the cluster is running.
2528 <bf>merge <node> [<no spots>/<no wwv>]</bf> Ask for the
2529 latest spots and WWV
2533 MERGE allows you to bring your spot and wwv database up to date. By default
2534 it will request the last 10 spots and 5 WWVs from the node you select. The
2535 node must be connected locally.
2537 You can request any number of spots or wwv and although they will be appended
2538 to your databases they will not duplicate any that have recently been added
2539 (the last 2 days for spots and last month for WWV data).
2545 <bf>msg <cmd> <msgno> [data ...]</bf> Alter various message
2550 Alter message parameters like To, From, Subject, whether private or bulletin
2551 or return receipt (RR) is required or whether to keep this message from timing
2555 MSG TO <msgno> <call> - change TO callsign to <call>
2556 MSG FRom <msgno> <call> - change FROM callsign to <call>
2557 MSG PRrivate <msgno> - set private flag
2558 MSG NOPRrivate <msgno> - unset private flag
2559 MSG RR <msgno> - set RR flag
2560 MSG NORR <msgno> - unset RR flag
2561 MSG KEep <msgno> - set the keep flag (message won't be deleted ever)
2562 MSG NOKEep <msgno> - unset the keep flag
2563 MSG SUbject <msgno> <new> - change the subject to <new>
2564 MSG WAittime <msgno> - remove any waitting time for this message
2565 MSG NOREad <msgno> - mark message as unread
2566 MSG REad <msgno> - mark message as read
2567 MSG QUeue - queue any outstanding bulletins
2568 MSG QUeue 1 - queue any outstanding private messages
2571 You can look at the status of a message by using:-
2573 STAT/MSG <msgno>
2575 This will display more information on the message than DIR does.
2581 <bf>pc <call> <text></bf> Send text (eg PC Protocol) to <call>
2585 Send some arbitrary text to a locally connected callsign. No processing is done on
2586 the text. This command allows you to send PC Protocol to unstick things if problems
2587 arise (messages get stuck etc). eg:-
2589 pc gb7djk PC33^GB7TLH^GB7DJK^400^
2591 You can also use in the same way as a talk command to a connected user but
2592 without any processing, added of "from <blah> to <blah>" or whatever.
2594 pc G1TLH Try doing that properly!!!
2600 <bf>ping <node></bf> Check the link quality between nodes
2604 his command allows you to send a frame to another cluster node on
2605 the network and get a return frame. The time it takes to do this
2606 is a good indication of the quality of the link. The actual time
2607 it takes is output to the console in seconds.
2608 Any visible cluster node can be PINGed.
2615 <bf>rcmd <node call> <cmd></bf> Send a command to another DX cluster
2619 This command allows you to send nearly any command to another DX Cluster
2620 node that is connected to the system.
2622 Whether you get any output is dependant on a) whether the other system knows
2623 that the node callsign of this cluster is in fact a node b) whether the
2624 other system is allowing RCMDs from this node and c) whether you have
2625 permission to send this command at all.
2631 <bf>read</bf> Read the next unread personal message addressed to you<newline>
2632 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read the specified message<newline>
2636 You can read any messages that are sent as 'non-personal' and also any
2637 message either sent by or sent to your callsign.
2640 <sect1>read (extended for sysops) (5)
2644 <bf>read <msgno></bf> Read a message on the system
2648 As a sysop you may read any message on the system
2650 <sect1>reject/announce
2654 <bf>reject/announce [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
2659 Create an 'reject this announce' line for a filter.
2661 An reject filter line means that if the announce matches this filter it is
2662 passed onto the user. See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2663 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2665 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2668 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2669 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2671 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2672 origin_itu <numbers>
2673 origin_zone <numbers>
2678 wx 1 filter WX announces
2679 dest <prefixes> eg: 6MUK,WDX (distros)
2685 rej/ann by_zone 14,15,16 and not by G,M,2
2688 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2694 but this probably for advanced users...
2696 <sect1>reject/announce (extended for sysops) (8)
2700 <bf>reject/announce <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf> Announce filter sysop version
2704 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2705 default for nodes and users eg:-
2709 reject/ann input node_default by G,M,2
2710 reject/ann user_default by G,M,2
2713 <sect1>reject/route (8)
2717 <bf>reject/route <call> [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set an 'reject' filter line for routing
2721 Create an 'reject this routing PC Protocol' line for a filter.
2724 An reject filter line means that if a PC16/17/19/21/24/41/50 matches this filter
2725 it is NOT passed thru that interface. See HELP FILTERING for more info. Please
2726 read this to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2727 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2730 call <prefixes> the callsign of the thingy
2731 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2734 origin <prefixes> really the interface it came in on
2735 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2736 origin_itu <numbers>
2737 origin_zone <numbers>
2744 rej/route gb7djk call_dxcc 61,38 (everything except UK+EIRE nodes)
2748 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2751 rej/route all (equiv to [very] restricted mode)
2754 <sect1>reject/spots (0)
2758 <bf>reject/spots [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject filter
2763 Create a 'reject this spot' line for a filter.
2765 A reject filter line means that if the spot matches this filter it is
2766 dumped (not passed on). See HELP FILTERS for more info. Please read this
2767 to understand how filters work - it will save a lot of grief later on.
2769 You can use any of the following things in this line:-
2772 freq <range> eg: 0/30000 or hf or hf/cw or 6m,4m,2m
2773 on <range> same as 'freq'
2774 call <prefixes> eg: G,PA,HB9
2775 info <string> eg: iota or qsl
2777 call_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2787 For frequencies, you can use any of the band names defined in
2788 SHOW/BANDS and you can use a subband name like: cw, rtty, data, ssb -
2789 thus: hf/ssb. You can also just have a simple range like: 0/30000 -
2790 this is more efficient than saying simply: on HF (but don't get
2791 too hung up about that)
2797 rej/spot 2 on vhf and not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
2800 You can use the tag 'all' to reject everything eg:
2806 but this probably for advanced users...
2808 <sect1>reject/spots (extended for sysops) (8)
2812 <bf>reject/spots <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2813 Reject spot filter sysop version
2817 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2818 default for nodes and users eg:-
2821 reject/spot db0sue-7 1 by_zone 14,15,16
2822 reject/spot node_default all
2823 set/hops node_default 10
2825 reject/spot user_default by G,M,2
2828 <sect1>reject/wcy (0)
2832 <bf>reject/wcy [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WCY filter
2836 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2837 filter on the following fields:-
2840 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2842 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2843 origin_itu <numbers>
2844 origin_zone <numbers>
2851 There are no examples because WCY Broadcasts only come from one place and
2852 you either want them or not (see UNSET/WCY if you don't want them).
2854 This command is really provided for future use.
2856 See HELP FILTER for information.
2858 <sect1>reject/wcy (extended for sysops) (8)
2862 <bf>reject/wcy <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2863 WCY reject filter sysop version
2867 This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2868 default for nodes and users eg:-
2870 reject/wcy gb7djk all
2872 <sect1>reject/wwv (0)
2876 <bf>reject/wwv [0-9] <pattern></bf> Set a reject WWV filter
2880 It is unlikely that you will want to do this, but if you do then you can
2881 filter on the following fields:-
2884 by <prefixes> eg: G,M,2
2886 origin_dxcc <numbers> eg: 61,62 (from eg: sh/pre G)
2887 origin_itu <numbers>
2888 origin_zone <numbers>
2898 reject/wwv by_zone 14,15,16
2901 is probably the only useful thing to do (which will only show WWV broadcasts
2902 by stations in the US).
2904 See HELP FILTER for information.
2906 <sect1>reject/wwv (extended for sysops) (8)
2910 <bf>reject/wwv <call> [input] [0-9] <pattern></bf>
2911 WWV reject filter sysop version
2914 <P>This version allows a sysop to set a filter for a callsign as well as the
2915 default for nodes and users eg:-
2918 reject/wwv db0sue-7 1 by_zone 4
2919 reject/wwv node_default all
2921 reject/wwv user_default by W
2928 <bf>reply</bf> Reply (privately) to the last message that you have read<newline>
2929 <bf>reply <msgno></bf> Reply (privately) to the specified message<newline>
2930 <bf>reply B <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified message<newline>
2931 <bf>reply NOPrivate <msgno></bf> Reply as a Bulletin to the specified
2933 <bf>reply RR <msgno></bf> Reply to the specified message with read
2938 You can reply to a message and the subject will automatically have
2939 "Re:" inserted in front of it, if it isn't already present.
2941 You can also use all the extra qualifiers such as RR, PRIVATE,
2942 NOPRIVATE, B that you can use with the SEND command (see SEND
2943 for further details)
2949 <bf>send <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Send a message to
2950 one or more callsigns<newline>
2951 <bf>send RR <call></bf> Send a message and ask for a read receipt<newline>
2952 <bf>send COPY <msgno> <call></bf> Send a copy of a message
2954 <bf>send PRIVATE <call></bf> Send a personal message<newline>
2955 <bf>send NOPRIVATE <call></bf> Send a message to all stations<newline>
2959 All the SEND commands will create a message which will be sent either to
2960 an individual callsign or to one of the 'bulletin' addresses.
2962 SEND <call> on its own acts as though you had typed SEND PRIVATE, that is
2963 it will mark the message as personal and send it to the cluster node that
2964 that callsign is connected to.
2966 You can have more than one callsign in all of the SEND commands.
2968 You can have multiple qualifiers so that you can have for example:-
2971 SEND RR COPY 123 PRIVATE G1TLH G0RDI
2974 which should send a copy of message 123 to G1TLH and G0RDI and you will
2975 receive a read receipt when they have read the message.
2977 SB is an alias for SEND NOPRIVATE (or send a bulletin in BBS speak)
2978 SP is an alias for SEND PRIVATE
2980 <sect1>set/address (0)
2984 <bf>set/address <your_address></bf> Record your postal address
2988 Literally, record your address details on the cluster.
2990 <sect1>set/announce (0)
2994 <bf>set/announce</bf> Allow announce messages
2998 Allow announce messages to arrive at your terminal.
3000 <sect1>set/arcluster (5)
3004 <bf>set/arcluster <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3005 the node_call an AR-Cluster type node
3009 Set the node_call as an AR-Cluster type node
3011 <sect1>set/baddx (8)
3015 <bf>set/baddx <call></bf> Stop words we do not wish to see in the callsign field
3016 of a dx spot being propagated
3020 Setting a word as 'baddx' will prevent spots with that word in the callsign
3021 field of a DX spot from going any further. They will not be displayed and they
3022 will not be sent onto other nodes.
3024 The word must be wriiten in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3027 set/baddx FORSALE VIDEO FR0G
3030 To allow a word again, use the following command ...
3036 <sect1>set/badnode (6)
3040 <bf>set/badnode <node_call></bf> Stop spots from this node_call
3045 Setting a callsign as a 'badnode' will prevent spots from that node
3046 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3047 sent onto other nodes.
3049 The call can be a full or partial call (or a prefix), eg:-
3055 will stop anything from K1TTT (including any SSID's)
3061 will allow spots from him again.
3063 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
3065 <sect1>set/badspotter (8)
3069 <bf>set/badspotter <call></bf> Stop spots from this callsign being propagated
3073 Setting a callsign as a 'badspotter' will prevent spots from this callsign
3074 going any further. They will not be displayed and they will not be
3075 sent onto other nodes.
3077 The call must be written in full, no wild cards are allowed eg:-
3080 set/badspotter VE2STN
3083 will stop anything from VE2STN. If you want SSIDs as well then you must
3084 enter them specifically.
3087 unset/badspotter VE2STN
3090 will allow spots from him again.
3092 Use with extreme care. This command may well be superceded by FILTERing.
3098 <bf>set/beep</bf> Add beeps to terminal messages
3102 Add a beep to DX and other terminal messages.
3108 <bf>set/bbs <call> [<call>..]</bf>Make <call> a BBS
3115 <bf>set/clx <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3116 the node_call a CLX type node
3120 Set the node_call as a CLX type node
3122 <sect1>set/debug (9)
3126 <bf>set/debug <name></bf> Add a debug level to the debug set
3130 You can choose to log several different levels. The levels are
3138 You can show what levels you are logging with the <em>show/debug</em>
3141 You can remove a debug level with unset/debug <name>
3147 <bf>set/dx</bf>Allow DX messages to arrive at your terminal
3151 You can stop DX messages with the <em>unset/dx</em> command
3153 <sect1>set/dxgrid (0)
3157 <bf>set/dxgrid</bf>Allow grid squares on the end of DX messages
3161 Some logging programs do not like the additional information at
3162 the end of a DX spot. If this is the case, use the <em>unset/dxgrid</em>
3163 command to remove the grid squares.
3165 <sect1>set/dxnet (5)
3169 <bf>set/dxnet <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3170 the node_call a DXNet type node
3174 Set the node_call as a DXNet type node
3180 <bf>set/echo</bf> Make the cluster echo your input
3184 If you are connected via a telnet session, different implimentations
3185 of telnet handle echo differently depending on whether you are
3186 connected via port 23 or some other port. You can use this command
3187 to change the setting appropriately.
3189 You can remove the echo with the <em>unset/echo</em> command
3191 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3193 YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE THIS COMMAND IF YOU ARE CONNECTED VIA AX25.
3199 <bf>set/here</bf> Set the here flag
3203 Let others on the cluster know you are here by only displaying your
3204 callsign. If you are away from your terminal you can use the <em>unset/here</em>
3205 command to let people know you are away. This simply puts brackets
3206 around your callsign to indicate you are not available.
3208 <sect1>set/homenode (0)
3212 <bf>set/homenode <node_call></bf> Set your home cluster
3216 Tell the cluster system where you normally connect to. Any Messages sent
3217 to you will normally find their way there should you not be connected.
3228 <bf>set/hops <node_call> ann|spots|wwv|wcy <n></bf>
3233 Set the hop count for a particular type of broadcast for a node.
3235 This command allows you to set up special hop counts for a node
3236 for currently: announce, spots, wwv and wcy broadcasts.
3240 set/hops gb7djk ann 10
3241 set/hops gb7mbc spots 20
3244 Set SHOW/HOPS for information on what is already set. This command
3245 creates a filter and works in conjunction with the filter system.
3247 <sect1>set/isolate (9)
3251 <bf>set/isolate <node call></bf> Isolate a node from the rest of the network
3255 Connect a node to your system in such a way that you are a full protocol
3256 member of its network and can see all spots on it, but nothing either leaks
3257 out from it nor goes back into from the rest of the nodes connected to you.
3259 You can potentially connect several nodes in this way.
3261 You can see which nodes are isolated with the show/isolate (1) command.
3263 You can remove the isolation with the command unset/isolate.
3265 <sect1>set/language (0)
3269 <bf>set/language <language></bf> Set the language you wish to use
3273 You can select the language that you want the cluster to use. Currently
3274 the languages available are <em>en</em> (English) and <em>nl</em> (Dutch).
3276 <sect1>set/location (0)
3280 <bf>set/location <lat and long></bf> Set your latitude and longitude
3284 You can set your latitude and longitude manually or alternatively use the
3285 <em>set/qra</em> command which will do the conversion for you.
3288 set/location 54 04 N 2 02 E
3292 <sect1>set/sys_location (9)
3296 <bf>set/sys_location <lat & long></bf> Set your cluster latitude and longitude
3300 In order to get accurate headings and such like you must tell the system
3301 what your latitude and longitude is. If you have not yet done a SET/QRA
3302 then this command will set your QRA locator for you. For example:-
3305 SET/LOCATION 52 22 N 0 57 E
3308 <sect1>set/logininfo (0)
3312 <bf>set/logininfo</bf> Show logins and logouts of nodes and users
3316 Show users and nodes when they log in and out of the local cluster. You
3317 can stop these messages by using the <em>unset/logininfo</em> command.
3320 <sect1>set/lockout (9)
3324 <bf>set/lockout <call></bf> Stop a callsign connecting to the cluster
3328 You can show who is locked out with the <em>show/lockout</em> command.
3329 To allow the user to connect again, use the <em>unset/lockout</em> command.
3335 <bf>set/name <your_name></bf> Set your name
3339 Tell the cluster what your name is, eg:-
3349 <bf>set/node <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Make the callsign an AK1A cluster
3353 Tell the system that the call(s) are to be treated as AK1A cluster and
3354 fed PC Protocol rather normal user commands.
3356 From version 1.41 you can also set the following types of cluster
3365 To see what your nodes are set to, use the <em>show/nodes</em> command.
3367 <sect1>set/obscount (9)
3371 <bf>set/obscount <count> <node call></bf> Set the 'pump-up'
3372 obsolescence counter
3376 From version 1.35 onwards neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals (see
3377 SET/PINGINTERVAL), usually 300 seconds or 5 minutes. There is a 'pump-up'
3378 counter which is decremented on every outgoing ping and then reset to
3379 the 'obscount' value on every incoming ping. The default value of this
3382 What this means is that a neighbouring node will be pinged twice at
3383 (default) 300 second intervals and if no reply has been heard just before
3384 what would be the third attempt, that node is disconnected.
3386 If a ping is heard then the obscount is reset to the full value. Using
3387 default values, if a node has not responded to a ping within 15 minutes,
3394 <bf>set/page <n></bf> Set the number of lines per page
3398 Tell the system how many lines you wish on a page when the number of lines
3399 of output from a command is more than this. The default is 20. Setting it
3400 explicitly to 0 will disable paging.
3407 The setting is stored in your user profile.
3410 <sect1>set/password (9)
3414 <bf>set/password <callsign> <string></bf> Set a users password
3418 The password for a user can only be set by a full sysop. The string
3419 can contain any characters but any spaces are removed (you can type in
3420 spaces - but they won't appear in the password). You can see the
3421 result with STAT/USER. The password is the usual 30 character baycom
3424 <sect1>set/pinginterval (9)
3428 <bf>set/pinginterval <time> <node call></bf> Set the ping time
3429 to neighbouring nodes
3433 As from version 1.35 all neighbouring nodes are pinged at regular intervals
3434 in order to determine the rolling quality of the link and, in future, to
3435 affect routing decisions. The default interval is 300 secs or 5 minutes.
3437 You can use this command to set a different interval. Please don't.
3439 But if you do the value you enter is treated as minutes up 60 and seconds
3440 for numbers greater than that.
3442 This is used also to help determine when a link is down at the far end
3443 (as certain cluster software doesn't always notice), see SET/OBSCOUNT
3444 for more information.
3446 <sect1>set/privilege (9)
3450 <bf>set/privilege <n> <call> [<call> ...]</bf> Set the
3451 privilege level on a call
3455 Set the privilege level on a callsign. The privilege levels that pertain
3456 to commands are as default:-
3460 1 - allow remote nodes normal user RCMDs
3461 5 - various privileged commands (including shutdown, but not disc-
3462 connect), the normal level for another node.
3463 8 - more privileged commands (including disconnect)
3464 9 - local sysop privilege. DO NOT SET ANY REMOTE USER OR NODE TO THIS
3468 If you are a sysop and you come in as a normal user on a remote connection
3469 your privilege will automatically be set to 0.
3471 <sect1>set/spider (5)
3475 <bf>set/spider <node_call> [<node_call> ...]</bf> Make
3476 the node_call a DXSpider type node
3480 Set the node_call as a DXSpider type node
3482 <sect1>set/sys_qra (9)
3486 <bf>set/sys_qra <locator></bf> Set your cluster QRA locator
3493 <bf>set/qra <locator></bf> Set your QRA locator
3497 Tell the system what your QRA (or Maidenhead) locator is. If you have not
3498 done a SET/LOCATION then your latitude and longitude will be set roughly
3499 correctly (assuming your locator is correct ;-). For example:-
3509 <bf>set/qth <your QTH></bf> Set your QTH
3513 Tell the system where your are. For example:-
3516 set/qth East Dereham, Norfolk
3523 <bf>set/talk</bf> Allow talk messages to be seen at your console
3527 Allow talk messages to arrive at your console. You can switch off
3528 talks with the <em>unset/talk</em> command.
3534 <bf>set/wcy</bf> Allow WCY messages to be seen at your console
3538 Allow WCY information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3539 WCY messages with the <em>unset/wcy</em> command.
3545 <bf>set/wwv</bf> Allow WWV messages to be seen at your console
3549 Allow WWV information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3550 WWV messages with the <em>unset/wwv</em> command.
3556 <bf>set/wx</bf> Allow WX messages to be seen at your console
3560 Allow WX information to be seen at your console. You can switch off
3561 WX messages with the <em>unset/wx</em> command.
3563 <sect1>show/baddx (1)
3567 <bf>show/baddx</bf>Show all the bad dx calls in the system
3571 Display all the bad dx callsigns in the system, see SET/BADDX
3572 for more information.
3574 <sect1>show/badnode (6)
3578 <bf>show/badnode</bf> Show all the bad nodes in the system
3582 Display all the bad node callsigns in the system, see SET/BADNODE
3583 for more information.
3585 <sect1>show/badspotter (1)
3589 <bf>show/badspotter</bf> Show all the bad spotters in the system
3593 Display all the bad spotter's callsigns in the system, see SET/BADSPOTTER
3594 for more information.
3596 <sect1>show/configuration (0)
3600 <bf>show/configuration [<node>]</bf> Show all visible nodes and their users
3604 This command allows you to see all the users that can be seen
3605 and the nodes to which they are connected. With the optional <em>node</em>,
3606 you can specify a particular node to look at.
3608 This command is normally abbreviated to: sh/c
3610 BE WARNED: the list that is returned can be VERY long
3612 <sect1>show/configuration/node (0)
3616 <bf>show/configuration/node</bf> Show all the nodes connected
3620 Show all the nodes connected locally and the nodes they have connected.
3622 <sect1>show/connect (1)
3626 <bf>show/connect</bf> Show all the active connections
3630 This command shows information on all the active connections known to
3631 the node. This command gives slightly more information than WHO.
3633 <sect1>show/date (0)
3637 <bf>show/date [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
3642 This is very nearly the same as SHOW/TIME, the only difference the format
3643 of the date string if no arguments are given.
3645 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
3646 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
3647 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
3648 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
3650 <sect1>show/debug (9)
3654 <bf>show/debug</bf> Show what levels of debug you are logging
3658 The levels can be set with <em>set/debug</em>
3664 <bf>show/dx [options]</bf> interrogate the spot database
3668 If you just type SHOW/DX you will get the last so many spots
3669 (sysop configurable, but usually 10).
3671 In addition you can add any number of these options in very nearly
3672 any order to the basic SHOW/DX command, they are:-
3675 on <band> - eg 160m 20m 2m 23cm 6mm
3676 on <region> - eg hf vhf uhf shf (see SHOW/BANDS)
3678 <number> - the number of spots you want
3679 <from>-<to> - <from> spot no <to> spot no in
3682 <prefix> - for a spotted callsign beginning with <prefix>
3683 *<suffix> - for a spotted callsign ending in <suffix>
3684 *<string>* - for a spotted callsign containing <string>
3686 day <number> - starting <number> days ago
3687 day <from>-<to> - <from> days <to> days ago
3689 info <text> - any spots containing <text> in the info or remarks
3691 by <call> - any spots spotted by <call> (spotter <call>
3694 qsl - this automatically looks for any qsl info on the call
3695 held in the spot database.
3697 iota [<iota>] - If the iota island number is missing it will
3698 look for the string iota and anything which looks like
3699 an iota island number. If you specify then it will look
3702 qra [<locator>] - this will look for the specific locator if
3703 you specify one or else anything that looks like a locator.
3710 SH/DX on 20m info iota
3711 SH/DX 9a on vhf day 30
3718 <sect1>show/dxcc (0)
3722 <bf>show/dxcc <prefix></bf> Interrogate the spot database by country
3726 This command takes the <prefix> (which can be a full or partial
3727 callsign if desired), looks up which internal country number it is
3728 and then displays all the spots as per SH/DX for that country.
3730 The options for SHOW/DX also apply to this command.
3735 SH/DXCC W on 20m info iota
3738 <sect1>show/files (0)
3742 <bf>show/files [<filearea> [<string>]]</bf> List
3743 the contents of a filearea
3747 SHOW/FILES on its own will show you a list of the various fileareas
3748 available on the system. To see the contents of a particular file
3752 SH/FILES <filearea>
3755 where <filearea> is the name of the filearea you want to see the
3758 You can also use shell globbing characters like '*' and '?' in a
3759 string to see a selection of files in a filearea eg:-
3762 SH/FILES bulletins arld*
3765 See also TYPE - to see the contents of a file.
3767 <sect1>show/filter (0)
3771 <bf>show/filter</bf> Show the filters you have set
3775 Show the contents of all the filters that are set by you. This command
3776 displays all the filters set - for all the various categories.
3778 <sect1>show/filter (extended for sysops) (5)
3782 <bf>show/filter <callsign></bf> Show the filters set by <callsign>
3786 A sysop can look at any filters that have been set.
3788 <sect1>show/hops (8)
3792 <bf>show/hops <node_call> [ann|spots|wcy|wwv|]</bf> Show the hop
3797 This command shows the hop counts set up for a node. You can specify
3798 which category you want to see. If you leave the category out then
3799 all the categories will be listed.
3801 <sect1>show/isolate (1)
3805 <bf>show/isolate</bf> Show a list of isolated nodes
3809 Show which nodes are currently set to be isolated.
3811 <sect1>show/lockout (9)
3815 <bf>show/lockout</bf> Show a list of excluded callsigns
3819 Show a list of callsigns that have been excluded (locked out) of the
3820 cluster locally with the <em>set/lockout</em> command
3826 <bf>show/log [<callsign>]</bf> Show excerpts from the system log
3830 This command outputs a short section of the system log. On its own
3831 it will output a general logfile. With the optional callsign it will
3832 show output from the log associated with that callsign.
3834 <sect1>show/moon (0)
3838 <bf>show/moon [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show moon
3843 Show the Moon rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
3844 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
3847 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
3848 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
3849 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
3851 In addition, it will show the gain or loss dB relative to the nominal
3852 distance of 385,000Km due to the ellipsoidal nature of the orbit.
3854 If all else fails it will show the Moonrise and set times for the node
3855 that you are connected to.
3868 <bf>show/muf <prefix> [<hours>][long]</bf> Show
3869 the likely propagation to <prefix>
3873 This command allow you to estimate the likelihood of you contacting
3874 a station with the prefix you have specified. The output assumes a modest
3875 power of 20dBW and receiver sensitivity of -123dBm (about 0.15muV/10dB SINAD)
3877 The result predicts the most likely operating frequencies and signal
3878 levels for high frequency (shortwave) radio propagation paths on
3879 specified days of the year and hours of the day. It is most useful for
3880 paths between 250 km and 6000 km, but can be used with reduced accuracy
3881 for paths shorter or longer than this.
3883 The command uses a routine MINIMUF 3.5 developed by the U.S. Navy and
3884 used to predict the MUF given the predicted flux, day of the year,
3885 hour of the day and geographic coordinates of the transmitter and
3886 receiver. This routine is reasonably accurate for the purposes here,
3887 with a claimed RMS error of 3.8 MHz, but much smaller and less complex
3888 than the programs used by major shortwave broadcasting organizations,
3889 such as the Voice of America.
3891 The command will display some header information detailing its
3892 assumptions, together with the locations, latitude and longitudes and
3893 bearings. It will then show UTC (UT), local time at the other end
3894 (LT), calculate the MUFs, Sun zenith angle at the midpoint of the path
3895 (Zen) and the likely signal strengths. Then for each frequency for which
3896 the system thinks there is a likelihood of a circuit it prints a value.
3898 The value is currently a likely S meter reading based on the conventional
3899 6dB / S point scale. If the value has a '+' appended it means that it is
3900 1/2 an S point stronger. If the value is preceeded by an 'm' it means that
3901 there is likely to be much fading and by an 's' that the signal is likely
3904 By default SHOW/MUF will show the next two hours worth of data. You
3905 can specify anything up to 24 hours worth of data by appending the no of
3906 hours required after the prefix. For example:-
3915 RxSens: -123 dBM SFI: 159 R: 193 Month: 10 Day: 21
3916 Power : 20 dBW Distance: 6283 km Delay: 22.4 ms
3917 Location Lat / Long Azim
3918 East Dereham, Norfolk 52 41 N 0 57 E 47
3919 United-States-W 43 0 N 87 54 W 299
3920 UT LT MUF Zen 1.8 3.5 7.0 10.1 14.0 18.1 21.0 24.9 28.0 50.0
3921 18 23 11.5 -35 mS0+ mS2 S3
3922 19 0 11.2 -41 mS0+ mS2 S3
3925 indicating that you will have weak, fading circuits on top band and
3926 80m but usable signals on 40m (about S3).
3934 will get you the above display, but with the next 24 hours worth of
3942 Gives you an estimate of the long path propagation characterics. It
3943 should be noted that the figures will probably not be very useful, nor
3944 terrible accurate, but it is included for completeness.
3946 <sect1>show/node (1)
3950 <bf>show/node [<node_call> ...]</bf> Show the type and version
3955 Show the type and version (if connected) of the nodes specified on the
3956 command line. If no callsigns are specified then a sorted list of all
3957 the non-user callsigns known to the system will be displayed.
3959 <sect1>show/prefix (0)
3963 <bf>show/prefix <callsign></bf> Interrogate the prefix database
3967 This command takes the <callsign> (which can be a full or partial
3968 callsign or a prefix), looks up which internal country number
3969 it is and then displays all the relevant prefixes for that country
3970 together with the internal country no, the CQ and ITU regions.
3975 <sect1>show/program (5)
3979 <bf>show/program</bf> Show the locations of all the included program modules
3983 Show the name and location where every program module was load from. This
3984 is useful for checking where you think you have loaded a .pm file from.
3990 <bf>show/qra <locator> [<locator>]</bf> Show the distance
3991 between locators<newline>
3992 <bf>show/qra <lat> <long></bf> Convert latitude and longitude to
3997 This is a multipurpose command that allows you either to calculate the
3998 distance and bearing between two locators or (if only one locator is
3999 given on the command line) the distance and beraing from your station
4000 to the locator. For example:-
4007 The first example will show the distance and bearing to the locator from
4008 yourself, the second example will calculate the distance and bearing from
4009 the first locator to the second. You can use 4 or 6 character locators.
4011 It is also possible to convert a latitude and longitude to a locator by
4012 using this command with a latitude and longitude as an argument, for
4016 SH/QRA 52 41 N 0 58 E
4023 <bf>show/qrz <callsign></bf> Show any callbook details on a callsign
4027 This command queries the QRZ callbook server on the internet
4028 and returns any information available for that callsign. This service
4029 is provided for users of this software by http://www.qrz.com
4031 <sect1>show/route (0)
4035 <bf>show/route <callsign></bf> Show the route to <callsign>
4039 This command allows you to see to which node the callsigns specified are
4040 connected. It is a sort of inverse sh/config.
4046 <sect1>show/satellite (0)
4050 <bf>show/satellite <name> [<hours> <interval>]</bf>
4051 Show satellite tracking data
4055 Show the tracking data from your location to the satellite of your choice
4056 from now on for the next few hours.
4058 If you use this command without a satellite name it will display a list
4059 of all the satellites known currently to the system.
4061 If you give a name then you can obtain tracking data of all the passes
4062 that start and finish 5 degrees below the horizon. As default it will
4063 give information for the next three hours for every five minute period.
4065 You can alter the number of hours and the step size, within certain
4068 Each pass in a period is separated with a row of '-----' characters
4074 SH/SAT FENGYUN1 12 2
4081 <bf>show/sun [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4082 sun rise and set times
4086 Show the sun rise and set times for a (list of) prefixes or callsigns,
4087 together with the azimuth and elevation of the sun currently at those
4090 If you don't specify any prefixes or callsigns, it will show the times for
4091 your QTH (assuming you have set it with either SET/LOCATION or SET/QRA),
4092 together with the current azimuth and elevation.
4094 If all else fails it will show the sunrise and set times for the node
4095 that you are connected to.
4101 SH/SUN G1TLH K9CW ZS
4104 <sect1>show/time (0)
4108 <bf>show/time [<prefix>|<callsign>]</bf> Show
4113 If no prefixes or callsigns are given then this command returns the local
4114 time and UTC as the computer has it right now. If you give some prefixes
4115 then it will show UTC and UTC + the local offset (not including DST) at
4116 the prefixes or callsigns that you specify.
4122 <bf>show/wcy</bf> Show the last 10 WCY broadcasts<newline>
4123 <bf>show/wcy <n></bf> Show the last <n> WCY broadcasts
4127 Display the most recent WCY information that has been received by the system
4133 <bf>show/wwv</bf> Show the last 10 WWV broadcasts<newline>
4134 <bf>show/wwv <n></bf> Show the last <n> WWV broadcasts
4138 Display the most recent WWV information that has been received by the system
4145 <bf>shutdown</bf> Shutdown the cluster
4149 Shutdown the cluster and disconnect all the users. If you have Spider
4150 set to respawn in /etc/inittab it will of course restart.
4156 <bf>spoof <callsign> <command></bf> Run commands as another user
4160 This is a very simple yet powerful command for the sysop. It allows you to
4161 issue commands as if you were a different user. This is very useful for the
4162 kind of things that users seem to always get wrong.. like home_node for
4169 <bf>stat/db <dbname></bf> Show the status of a database
4173 Show the internal status of a database descriptor.
4175 Depending on your privilege level you will see more or less information.
4176 This command is unlikely to be of much use to anyone other than a sysop.
4178 <sect1>stat/channel (5)
4182 <bf>stat/channel <callsign></bf> Show the status of a channel on the cluster
4186 Show the internal status of the channel object either for the channel that
4187 you are on or else for the callsign that you asked for.
4189 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4195 <bf>stat/msg <msgno></bf> Show the status of a message
4199 This command shows the internal status of a message and includes information
4200 such as to whom it has been forwarded, its size, origin etc etc.
4203 If no message number is given then the status of the message system is
4206 <sect1>stat/route_node (5)
4210 <bf>stat/route_node <callsign></bf> Show the data in a Route::Node object
4213 <sect1>stat/route_user (5)
4217 <bf>stat/route_user <callsign></bf> Show the data in a Route::User object
4220 <sect1>stat/user (5)
4224 <bf>stat/user <callsign></bf> Show the full status of a user
4228 Shows the full contents of a user record including all the secret flags
4231 Only the fields that are defined (in perl term) will be displayed.
4237 <bf>sysop</bf> Regain your privileges if you login remotely
4241 The system automatically reduces your privilege level to that of a
4242 normal user if you login in remotely. This command allows you to
4243 regain your normal privilege level. It uses the normal system: five
4244 numbers are returned that are indexes into the character array that is
4245 your assigned password (see SET/PASSWORD). The indexes start from
4248 You are expected to return a string which contains the characters
4249 required in the correct order. You may intersperse those characters
4250 with others to obscure your reply for any watchers. For example (and
4251 these values are for explanation :-):
4254 password = 012345678901234567890123456789
4262 aa2bbbb0ccc5ddd7xxx3n
4267 They will all match. If there is no password you will still be offered
4268 numbers but nothing will happen when you input a string. Any match is
4275 <bf>talk <callsign></bf> Enter talk mode with <callsign><newline>
4276 <bf>talk <callsign> <text></bf> Send a text message to <callsign><newline>
4277 <bf>talk <callsign> > <node_call> [<text>]</bf>
4278 Send a text message to <callsign> via <node_call>
4282 Send a short message to any other station that is visible on the cluster
4283 system. You can send it to anyone you can see with a SHOW/CONFIGURATION
4284 command, they don't have to be connected locally.
4286 The second form of TALK is used when other cluster nodes are connected
4287 with restricted information. This usually means that they don't send
4288 the user information usually associated with logging on and off the cluster.
4290 If you know that G3JNB is likely to be present on GB7TLH, but you can only
4291 see GB7TLH in the SH/C list but with no users, then you would use the
4292 second form of the talk message.
4294 If you want to have a ragchew with someone you can leave the text message
4295 out and the system will go into 'Talk' mode. What this means is that a
4296 short message is sent to the recipient telling them that you are in a 'Talking'
4297 frame of mind and then you just type - everything you send will go to the
4298 station that you asked for.
4300 All the usual announcements, spots and so on will still come out on your
4303 If you want to do something (such as send a spot) you precede the normal
4304 command with a '/' character, eg:-
4307 /DX 14001 G1TLH What's a B class licensee doing on 20m CW?
4311 To leave talk mode type:
4321 <bf>type <filearea>/<name></bf> Look at a file in one of the fileareas
4325 Type out the contents of a file in a filearea. So, for example, in
4326 filearea 'bulletins' you want to look at file 'arld051' you would
4330 TYPE bulletins/arld051
4333 See also SHOW/FILES to see what fileareas are available and a
4340 <bf>who</bf> Show who is physically connected locally
4344 This is a quick listing that shows which callsigns are connected and
4345 what sort of connection they have
4351 <bf>wx <text></bf> Send a weather message to local users<newline>
4352 <bf>wx full <text> </bf> Send a weather message to all cluster users
4356 Weather messages can sometimes be useful if you are experiencing an extreme
4357 that may indicate enhanced conditions
4359 <sect1>wx (enhanced for sysops) (5)
4363 <bf>wx sysop <text></bf> Send a weather message to other clusters only
4367 Send a weather message only to other cluster nodes and not to general users.